Pastor Wayne Cordeiro
January 30, 2005 - W0505

We are familiar with the word citizen because it’s a term used in conjunction with what we consider our homelands, places of residence, or under whose laws we live. The word sojourner, however, is not one used very frequently. Sojourner simply means: one is passing through, making stops along the way with a destination in mind, but has not yet arrived there. And the more I read the Bible, I become more convinced that we live where two worlds intersect and sometimes, collide. So grasping this will help us better understand who we are and how to live as citizens and sojourners on this planet with two worlds. 

JESUS ESTABLISHES TWO KINGDOMS

That’s right two worlds are sharing the same earth. In fact, Jesus established this idea of two worlds or kingdoms as He stood before His accusers:” He was saying to them, ‘you are from below, I am from above. You are of this world, I am not of this world’” (John 8:23).

In the Bible, James speaks of two sources of wisdom; one coming from above and one from underneath (see James 3:13-15). Paul speaks in his epistles about setting our minds on things above and not on things of this world (see Colossians 3:2). Each world has its own distinct characteristics, jurisdictions, and ways yet they are not divided by nationality, race, or region. In fact, there are no physical “countries” with visible perimeters. And the Lord actually speaks of this in the gospels: “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; …For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst.’” (Luke 17:20b-21, NASB).

It is not a physical or geographical location, but rather two philosophies under which one lives. Remember that we share the same earth, but two different worlds exist and we will have to choose where our citizenship lies. The first of these two worlds is:

1.                 

2.                 

1.    THE KINGDOM OF GOD (OR HEAVEN).

The Kingdom of Heaven is where Jesus reigns and it is based on a heart of love for the Father. Therefore, if we are citizens of this kingdom, we are subject to God’s law, jurisdiction, provision, direction, command, and instruction. “He rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son” (Colossians 1:13). Now we are not automatically citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven because here He is talking about a transferring of citizenship that takes place when we let Jesus reign in our lives. There is also a second kingdom which is….

2.    THE KINGDOM OF THIS WORLD.

Unlike the Kingdom of God (which is where Jesus reigns and is based on the heart and love of the Father), the kingdom of this world is based on self and the one who reigns and rules there and referred to as “the king of this world”. So that means…

·        The world is where Satan works.

When Satan was cast to the Earth from heaven, he was referred to as the prince or power of the air, the god of this world. His goal? To keep people from transferring to the eternal kingdom. God even warns us about his “goal”: “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Cor. 4:4). Nevertheless, “…God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Not only that, we need to also know that…

·        One Kingdom is eternal and the other is passing away.

In Jesus’ dealings with Pilate before His crucifixion, Pilate assumed that the Jews didn’t want Jesus to be king of their people or nation but, “Jesus answered, ‘My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm’” (John 18:36). Jesus referred to two different kingdoms that shared the same earth, but couldn’t be physically distinguished except by philosophy, mindset, and heart-set. So although we may be born into this world, we are told “The world is passing away and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:17).

The goal of Satan is to keep us from the eternal; God came to give us a citizenship that lasts. However, keep in mind that…

·        Our stay on Earth is brief.

In the book of James, it speaks of our lives as a vapor (see Jas. 4:14) that appears for a moment and then is gone. The Psalmist refers our life to a sigh (see Ps. 90:9). Since our stay is so brief, we need to understand our purpose here on earth; that we are citizens and sojourners. We are exhorted through the word: “…you must live in reverent fear of Him during your time as foreigners her on earth” (1Peter 1:17 NLT). That also means that while we are here we need to learn how to take care of that which belongs to God and steward it well. God created “The earth is the Lord’s and all it contains…” (Ps. 24:1) for us in all its fullness to be enjoyed.

The earth is beautiful, but we have to choose which of these two worlds will have our citizenship. Will we just “visit” or actually transfer ship to the Kingdom of God and become citizens and sojourners?  

HOW DO WE TRANSFER?

That is exactly what a Pharisee named Nicodemas asked Jesus one night. He came at night because he didn’t want his peers to see him talk to Jesus (who was considered an outlaw, a renegade). And this was Jesus’ response to him: “Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God’” (John 3:3). In other words we must…

1.    CHOOSE TO BE BORN AGAIN.

Nicodemus couldn’t understand the concept of being born again; meaning one would have to “die” in order for that to happen. He wondered how it was possible. Certainly none of us can physically die and come back to life. However, God made a way possible through Jesus’ death and resurrection. He gives us an invitation or an entryway into the Kingdom so that we too by His power can be born again to a living hope as citizens of Heaven.

What do we have to do? We need to believe in Jesus Christ. We have to choose to lose our identity and die to the old way as we were born in this world. That’s why Jesus says that unless a man is born of water and the Spirit, he will never see the Kingdom of God. You must be born twice. So if we believe in Jesus and die to our old self, we will come alive in the Kingdom of God with a new identity. “…for you were once not a people, but now you are the people of God…” (1 Pet. 2:10) We need to remember there are…

·        NO DUAL CITIZENSHIPS!

We must choose. Where is your home base? Some people would like to be citizens of this world and still have the promise of heaven. Others just like to “visit” now and then. However, it doesn’t work that way; it’s one or the other. When we transfer our citizenship, we become sojourners for Christ. We are under His protection, provision, embrace, and promises. Not only that, we become ambassadors for Christ to those trying to find a way out of the world. That’s why…

2.     GOD ASKS US TO BE A PREVIEW OF HEAVEN!

Sometimes the only Bible anyone will read or experience is through the life of someone whose citizenship is with the Kingdom of God. It’s kind of like those one-minute movie trailers that give the audience a glimpse of a film. If the trailer is good, people will likely be convinced to see it. The same is true when people view Christians. People will base their view of the Kingdom on how well we represent Him. We become, as the scriptures exhort us: “…you are a chosen people. You are a kingdom of priests, God’s holy nation, His very own possession. This is so you can show others the goodness of God, for He called you out of the darkness into His wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9 NLT). If we steward our citizenship in the Kingdom of God well (doing things God’s way) we become that preview.

We sometimes forget or become unsure of where our citizenship lies. We can start to take on worldly character qualities so it becomes hard for people to tell just where our loyalties lie. Are we Christians and citizens of Heaven? How will they know? That’s what happened to the Israelites. Their problem was that they memory lapses. So they needed to celebrate many festivals and traditions as a constant reminder of who they were and who they belonged to because they’d forgotten their identity.   

Yet why, we might ask, does God want us to still be here on Earth even though we choose Heaven? Well, it’s all about others. Will our lives give an accurate view of what the Kingdom of Heaven is like? Folks, we are the previews. It’s important for us to not only to understand the existence of these two worlds, but to also choose where we stand in them because it will help us to live in such a way that others will know our citizenship is in the Kingdom of Heaven. 

Let me end with a story of a missionary who, in 1925, went to a very remote village in China. He was sure the people there never heard any story about the gospel. When people gathered around him, they listened as he told them about the Lord Jesus. He told them about a man sent by God to tell people about God, lived an unselfish life, and loved them as no one could love them. The missionary revealed that it was a man named Jesus who came to live and die for our sins so that we could have future. Just then, the villagers’ eyes opened wide and excitedly replied that they knew of whom he was talking about. The missionary, puzzled, followed them outside to a gravesite over-grown with weeds. There in a corner, they brushed away the dust off a headstone of an unknown missionary that had come to their village about 20 years earlier. The Chinese were convinced that this was the man the missionary was talking about because the Jesus the missionary spoke of was exactly this man he described. This man who came 20 years earlier was Jesus to them.

We live on a planet where two kingdoms exist. And though we are born into this world, God gives us an opportunity to transfer our citizenship to the Kingdom of Heaven for eternity. How? By believing in Jesus Christ and being born again. And in doing so, we become citizens and sojourners for Christ and ambassadors for those looking for a way out of a world that is passing away.

Discussion Questions:

1.      Have you ever been in a sticky situation of mistaken identity or even lost communication? Share and describe.

2.      We live in a place where two worlds or kingdoms intersect. In our attempt to live out our Heavenly citizenship, how would you rate your life if others saw it as a one-minute movie trailer?

3.      Like the Israelites, Christians also tend to forget about their identity and get caught up in the things of the world. We all know how living in a dirty world can soil us. The wonderful thing about the Cross is that Jesus’ invitation remains just that: an IN-vite. You are always welcome in.  Will you believe that Jesus’ power will keep and sustain you?

4.      Take time to reaffirm His authority in your life and reflect upon the fact that you are, a citizen of heaven through scripture.

5.      How will you be different from what you’ve learned today and how will you apply one lesson to your live this week?

Mahalo to Liz Texeira for this week’s summary – a young woman who is a shining light in this darkened world and has chosen her homeland in the Kingdom of God.