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Citizens of God’s Kingdom

Sermon by Rev. Paul Fahnestock — November 18, 2007
 

Introduction
Jesus was never confused about who He was, where He was from, or what His purpose was. There was never any confusion for Him concerning His relationship as the Son of God and His mission to gain salvation for humanity that was totally lost and broken. Before Jesus was crucified and died for our sins, He prayed to the Father. He prayed for the disciples whom He had chosen and who were with Him, and He prayed for all those in the future who would follow Him, not because they had personally seen, heard, and touched Jesus, but because they had believed the witness of those who had seen, heard, and touched Him. Jesus prayed that His followers would not be confused about who they were and what their purpose was. I invite you to listen to a portion of this prayer, recorded by the apostle John:

     ¹³“And now I am coming to you. I have told them many things while I was with them so they would be filled with my joy. ¹⁴I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not. ¹⁵I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. ¹⁶They are not part of this world any more than I am. ¹⁷Make them pure and holy by teaching them your words of truth. ¹⁸As you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world. ¹⁹And I give myself entirely to you so they also might be entirely yours.
     ²⁰“I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me because of their testimony. ²¹My prayer for all of them is that they will be one, just as you and I are one, Father—that just as you are in me and I am in you, so they will be in us, and the world will believe you sent me.
     ²²“I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are—²³I in them and you in me, all being perfected into one. Then the world will know that you sent me and will understand that you love them as much as you love me.”

John 17:13-23 (NLT)

Citizenship in God's Kingdom
The first thing I want to emphasize from this prayer is that those who know Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord are no longer citizens of this world. Those who accept God’s salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ, become citizens of God’s kingdom. That’s the significance when Jesus prayed, “I told them many things while I was with them in this world so they would be filled with my joy. And the world [this world] hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. Father, I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. They do not belong to this world any more than I do” (17:13-16).

I believe we can understand our citizenship in God’s kingdom by comparing it with our common understanding of citizenship. Citizenship means that one has membership in a political community, usually a country, and this membership carries with it rights to political participation. Citizenship is a legal relationship with a country. There are two types of citizenship. I would guess that most of us are citizens of the USA because we were born in the USA; we are “nationals.” But a person could be a Guatemalan national, or African, or Haitian, or Argentinean and become an American citizen through naturalization. Naturalization is the act of acquiring citizenship in a country different from one’s birth. Thus, a Guatemalan national can voluntarily choose to become a citizen of the USA, and the USA has specific requirements to be met for that to happen—including the study of rights and responsibilities of U.S. citizenship, a civics examination and, finally, the swearing of allegiance to their new country.

As a citizen of God’s kingdom, I believe we should view ourselves as both nationals and naturalized citizens. Let me explain why.

From the perspective of one’s heart, a Christian is a national of God’s kingdom. When the Pharisee Nicodemus came to Jesus one night inquiring about the kingdom of God, Jesus told him, “You must be born again to enter God’s kingdom.” “How does that happen,” Nicodemus asked in return. And Jesus responded, “What is born of the flesh is flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to the spirit” (John 3:1-6). Paul explained it to the Corinthians, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17). By God’s Spirit, those who put their faith in Jesus Christ become a new person, born into God’s kingdom and, thus, a national, born to be a citizen of God’s kingdom.

From the perspective of one's mind, however, a Christian is a naturalized citizen of God’s kingdom. This "naturalization" happens when we voluntarily choose to believe in God’s salvation in Jesus Christ and to submit ourselves to God’s commandments and obey His law. For example, in our worldly thinking, there are 235 geo-political countries in the world, and, therefore, there are 235 different citizenships in the world. But from God’s perspective there are only two possible citizenships—citizenship in this world or citizenship in His kingdom. And our thinking should conform to God’s perspective.

As a citizen of God’s kingdom, our allegiance is first and foremost to God and obedience to His law and His direction. The greatest commandment of God’s kingdom is: “Love the Lord, your God, with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength.” If we allow nationality, race, or any other barrier to divide the citizens of God’s kingdom—that is, to divide the Church—then we lift our worldly thinking above God’s. We place our standards above God’s and violate His commands.

Citizens... not of this World
We do not belong to this world and we must not think as the world thinks. The apostle Paul said it this way to the early church in Rome: “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect” (Romans 12:2). We become naturalized citizens of God’s kingdom as we study the history, rights, and responsibilities of the kingdom and renew our minds and conform our actions to God’s will.

The Pharisees once confronted Jesus, asking Him why His disciples didn’t ceremonially wash their hands before eating. Jesus’ response was that the Pharisees were more concerned with their traditions and their worldview than they were with God’s commandments and His worldview. Jesus called them hypocrites, and said Isaiah was right when he prophesied about them, saying, “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God” (Matthew 15:1-6).

What is the American Church or the Guatemalan Church or the African Church or the Chinese Church? We are but one Church. Those in Christ are citizens of one kingdom. We are one in Christ. If we as the American Church say that we have our own problems and we should take care of them and let others take care of theirs, then we do not have a vision for the one Church of Christ. Then, we do not embrace all who are in Christ as brothers and sisters, members of one body, the body of Christ, the kingdom of God. When we do this, the world looks at the church and determines that the church lives by the same worldly standards and divisions as anyone else. The church is no different from any other self-serving nation, club, or organization. If we are in Christ, we are citizens of God’s kingdom. Kingdom citizens are not Americans or Guatemalans or Haitians or Argentineans or Africans. We are a new race, a new creation in Christ, and in Christ, we are one with each other and with God.

Ambassadors... to this World
The second and final point I would like to emphasize this morning from Jesus’ prayer is where He prayed, “As you, Father, sent me into the world, I am sending all who believe in me into the world.”

Jesus’ prayer was for His immediate disciples and for all who will believe in Him through their message—that’s you and me. Jesus’ prayer to the Father is that the assignment that He was given by the Father also be the assignment of His followers. Jesus came to testify to the truth about God and we are to proclaim that same truth. Paul wrote a letter to his protégé Timothy and instructed him, “You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others” (2 Timothy 2:1-2). Paul, Timothy, and other faithful followers of Jesus took Jesus’ message and passed it on to others, and so it has been from generation to generation.

As the Father sent Jesus, Jesus sent them with the message. We all have this in common. Someone who received the message of God’s salvation in Christ and believed it then shared that message with you and me. It started in Jerusalem over two thousand years ago. And faithful citizens of God’s kingdom have taken the message from one village, one town, one city, one country, and one people to another. And everywhere the message—the truth—is received, there is a new citizen of God’s kingdom, and he or she takes up the baton to run and pass the message to others. And today it is our assignment.

Can you remember someone who prayed for you? Can you remember who was faithful in sharing God’s message with you? Maybe it was your father or mother. Was it a godly grandmother or grandfather? Maybe it was a neighbor who invited you to church. I thank God for my maternal grandmother who prayed for me and whenever she wrote me, she would write a Scripture verse at the end of her letter. I thank God for a pastor and his wife who befriended Linda and me, when we were a young married couple, and encouraged us to study the Bible with them.

Who has God placed on your heart? Is there a son or daughter, a grandson or granddaughter, a neighbor or colleague who you know needs to hear the message of salvation and life in Jesus Christ? Are you praying for them? Are you really serous? Are you asking? Are you seeking? Are you knocking on the door of heaven everyday? Do you pray fervently: “Lord, I pray that you will give my son, my granddaughter, my friend, my colleague eyes to see, ears to hear, and a heart to believe. Lord, may your grace and loving kindness be irresistible to them. Lord, I want my son, I want my granddaughter to know you, to love you, to serve you.” Are you asking God for the wisdom, the courage, and the opportunity to speak to them about God’s love and plan of salvation? Are you prepared to answer them when the opportunity arises? Are you reading and studying Scripture everyday? Are you a knowledgeable citizen of God’s kingdom? This is how Jesus sends you into the world.

As a citizen of God’s kingdom, you have the privilege and responsibility to be an ambassador for the kingdom, Christ’s representative, God’s kingdom representative, in this world. You have a part to play, but you cannot play that part without your brothers and sisters in Christ. Your part will be played in the context of your local church. We at FPC will work together to do what God has called us to do. But FPC cannot do all that God wants to do in the world. We need all the other parts working together as the Spirit leads us, knitting us together to accomplish God’s plans and purposes in the world.

Citizens of God’s kingdom cannot think in terms of this world’s boundaries and walls that would divide God’s kingdom into races and cultures and nations. We need our Guatemalan brothers and sisters in Christ and they need us. We need our Haitian brothers and sisters and they need us. We need our African brothers and sisters and they need us. We are not smart enough to know how it all fits together—but God is. We must be knit together and work together as the Spirit of Christ leads us, and we must recognize our need for each other and our unity in Christ. May Jesus’ prayer be answered in our lives.

Closing Prayer
Lord Jesus, you prayed that we might be one as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one. As you are in the Father and the Father in you, so we are to be in God. God open our eyes that we may see beyond the sinful barriers of race and culture and nationality. That is not who we are in Christ. May your prayer, Lord Jesus, become a reality in our lives. That is, may we, the family of God all around the world, experience such perfect unity that the world will know that Jesus was sent by the Father and that you love those who believe His message as much as you love the Son. In Jesus’ name. Amen.