Citizens of Heaven

Philippians 3:20-21

Introduction:
There was a terrible storm on the Great Lakes, and a tugboat towing a barge began to sink. The captain and his shipmates took to a small boat. All night they tossed on the waves, constantly in danger of losing their lives. In the morning they were rescued by a passing ship. The captain afterward testified that there was one thing that gave strength to their arms as they rowed and kept them from losing hope. It was the lights of home they saw shining through the darkness of the storm.
In this world, we as Christians often sail through stormy seas, but when we are tempted to give up, we must direct our eyes to the lights of Home! We don’t belong to this world, as the Apostle Paul states to the Philippians, but we are residents of a place that we have never been.

I. HEAVENLY ATTACHMENT-
The word conversation could also be translated citizenship
It comes from the same root word from which we get our word politic
Today, the word politic that speaks of a connection between members of a society
This is the only time this word appears in the New Testament
Like Paul, the Philippians were Roman citizens by virtue of being a colony of Rome
Paul was a Roman citizen by birth
Citizenship in heaven implies that we are members of a society with certain privileges
By virtue of being born again into the family of God, we have a connection to heaven
We aren’t foreigners seeking entry into heaven and having to pass through bureaucratic red tape
Nor is there a process for naturalization, nor is there a border we might illegally sneak across
This heavenly citizenship is not something we will obtain one day, but can possess right now
Paul uses the present tense is in heaven. We are already citizens of heaven as God’s children
Ephesians 2:19 says, "Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;"
Beulah Land- “I’m kinda homesick for a country to which I’ve never been before”
Not only does the Bible speak of our being of the household of God, but also of being seated “together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Eph 2:6)
Those who are saved are assured of their place in heaven because we are already there in a sense
When we find ourselves discouraged and disgusted with this world, we just need to be reminded that we don’t belong to this world

II. HEAVENLY ATTITUDE-
When I was in elementary school, we used to get awards for good citizenship
We were taught that there are certain behaviors that were appropriate and expected
So, conversation is really a very good word to use to speak of our citizenship
There is a Culture in heaven. Culture is defined as the behaviors and beliefs characteristic of a particular social, ethnic, or age group
As God’s children and heavenly citizens, there are certain behaviors and beliefs
Heavenly citizenship effects the way we think and view the world around us
Like me, you have probably heard the phrase that “Some people are so heavenly minded that they aren’t any worldly good.”
I have to say that I have never met anyone like that, but I know many people who are so “worldly minded that they aren’t any heavenly good.”
When we baptized Cindy Sunday, I referred to what the Bible says in Colossians