Strangers, Pilgrims & Sojourners

sermon study guide

• Like many pastors I am deeply concerned for all I see in our country and
in the church as we are engaged in another presidential cycle that
threatens to divide our fractured country even further. Truly spiritually
minded people know without a doubt…the more inflammatory rhetoric
from both sides will not heal our country.
2 Chronicles 7:13-14 At times I might shut up the heavens so that no rain falls,
or command grasshoppers to devour your crops, or send plagues among you.
14 Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and
pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from
heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.
• My major concern for me personally is for THE PEOPLE OF GOD…in
the most pivotal hour in our history. We find ourselves serving Jesus
at the end of the age…or in THE LAST DAYS
Matthew 24:3b-14 …What sign will signal your return and the end of the
world? 4 Jesus told them, “Don’t let anyone mislead you, 5 for many will come in
my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah.’ They will deceive many. 6 And you will
hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take
place, but the end won’t follow immediately. 7 Nation will go to war against
nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in
many parts of the world. 8 But all this is only the first of the birth pains, with more
to come. 9 “Then you will be arrested, persecuted, and killed. You will be hated
all over the world because you are my followers. 10 And many will turn away
from me and betray and hate each other. 11 And many false prophets will appear
and will deceive many people. 12 Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love
of many will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
14 And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the
whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come.
2 Timothy 3:1-5 “You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will
be very difficult times. 2 For people will love only themselves and their money.
They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and
ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. 3 They will be unloving and
unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel
and hate what is good. 4 They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up
with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. 5 They will act religious, but they
will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that!
We are “the Anchor Leg (4x100)”
• Typically the fastest or most experienced competitor runs it
• Athlete is responsible for making up ground or preserving a lead
NOTE: The church has lost ground…our witness/testimony has been
undermined with our public leadership failures, they have watched our in
fighting publicly among ourselves, and our in ability at times to love the very
people JESUS came to SEEK & TO SAVE.
• We have been GRACED/EQUIPPED/EMPOWERED FOR THIS HOUR,
BUT WE MUST WALK EVER CLOSER TO JESUS TO STAND/
WITHSTAND
Amidst it all…THIS IS THE GREATEST OPPORTUNITY
FOR THE GOSPEL & THE CHURCH.
We offer something dramatically different…
1. A NEW KINGDOM & A KING
Kingdom of God/Heaven (synonymous)
KINGDOM: the spiritual rule & reign of God, it is the rule of God overall…
over the world, His church and individually as His sons/daughters
Personally - we must willingly submit to God’s authority in every area of
our lives we must INVITE his leadership/rulership
Ps 103:19 The Lord has made the heavens his throne; from there he rules over
everything.
Daniel 4:3 How great are his signs, how powerful his wonders! His kingdom will
last forever, his rule through all generations.
Romans 13:1 Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority
comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by
God.
a. We have a new address: THE KINGDOM OF GOD
Colossians 1:13-14 For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness
and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, 14 who purchased our
freedom and forgave our sins.
“…it’s disorienting, disruptive, dislocating…”
“…we have time to ADJUST to our new reality”
“This in theological terms is called the SANCTIFICATION process”
This is the process of setting us apart from His use…it takes time
b. New Values, New Identity, New Purposes To Pursue (his agenda)
2. The Dilemma of Our DUAL CITIZENSHIP
Phil 3:20 But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And
we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior.
Context:
- Map …orientation…PORTS meant commerce…goods, trade
- It is the FIRST place Christianity was preached in Europe!
- Roman Colony where discharged soldiers were given fertile land to farm
- It’s why Paul used military terminology in His Epistle/letter to them
(Phil 2:25…my fellow soldier)
- Port Cities had people from all over…other nations…so NATIONAL
PRIDE was an issue…you ought to feel proud of your culture, I am
proud to be an American…
- PAUL is reminding these believers that although a part of the
Roman Empire…THEY ARE CITIZENS OF HEAVEN
- We all need to be reminded from time to time…
a. What are the implications of our HEAVENLY CITIZENSHIP?
- Everything is New:
New priorities, New values, New constitution, New allegiances
b. Dual Citizenship is a BLESSING & A BURDEN. (MY PASSPORT)
- Subject to the obligations imposed by BOTH COUNTRIES
“I’m a Christian, ok BUT YOU STILL GOTTA PAY TAXES”
- We are to live RIGHTEOUSLY in both
c. Our Ultimate LOYALTY & ALLEGIANCE is to our KING & His
Kingdom…and that kingdom is not synonymous with the
United States
And WHEN Those two conflict or clash: WE CHOSE THE
KINGDOM & OUR KINGS WAY
Matthew 6:33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and
he will give you everything you need.
BUT…our first & UTMOST allegiance & loyalty must
ALWAYS be to our KING & HIS KINGDOM
d. Our allegiance to JESUS actually should result in
HEALING OUR DIVISIONS, and bring reconciliation.
Not stoking the flames of division, hate and fear…
3. Home but Not At Home
a. We have a home, but we are NOT home!
b. There is a collection off “biblical words” that describe our
present experience…to help us adjust our expectations
Pilgrim - one who journeys in foreign lands
Sojourner - temporary resident
Stranger - resident alien, foreigner
Alien - belonging or owning allegiance to another country or government
Exile - a period of FORCED absence from one’s home
NOTE: in 586BC the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar besieged
Jerusalem …sacked it, carried away precious/sacred articles in worship
and deported the young, bright, skilled, influential people….to indoctrinate
in Babylonian culture to further strengthen themselves as a nation….
(Daniel)
Hebrews 11:8 It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave
home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He
went without knowing where he was going. 9 And even when he reached the
land God promised him, he lived there by faith—for he was like a foreigner,
living in tents. And so did Isaac and Jacob, who inherited the same promise.
10 Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal
foundations, a city designed and built by God.
Hebrews 11:13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did
not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a
distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth
1 Peter 1:1 This letter is from Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ.I am writing to
God’s chosen people who are living as FOREIGNERS in the provinces
1 Peter 2:11-12 Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain
from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. 12 Live such good lives
among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see
your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
b. A deep LONGING FOR HOME”
Hebrews 11:10 Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city with
eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God.
c. Words used to help us IDENTIFY OUR PRESENT REALITY
So that we have the RIGHT EXPECTATIONS &
LIVE ON MISSION ACCORDING TO THAT REALITY
d. We are transients…passing through. There is a sense of…
Feelings of being “DISPLACED,
DISLOCATED & DISORIENTED
e. Called be distinct, a contrast, Ambassadors
Deuteronomy 7:6-8 For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord
your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his
people, his treasured possession. 7 The Lord did not set his affection on you and
choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were
the fewest of all peoples. 8 But it was because the Lord loved you and kept the
oath he swore to your ancestors that he brought you out with a mighty hand and
redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
2 Cor 5:20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were
making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled
to God