Aliens And Strangers In This World Philippians 3:17-20 Hebrews 11:13-14 Leviticus 25:23 1 Peter 1:17-19 1 Peter 2:11-12 Colossians 3:1-4 1 John 2:15-17 1 Timothy 6:6-8 Matthew 6:31-34 03.25.19

ALIENS AND STRANGERS IN THIS WORLD

BREAD

¹⁷ Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you. ¹⁸ For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. ¹⁹ Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. ²⁰ But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.   Philippians 3:17-20 (NIV)

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. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. ¹⁴ People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own.   Hebrews 11:13-14 (NIV)

²³ “The land must not be sold permanently, because the land is mine and you are but aliens and my tenants.”    Leviticus 25:23 (NIV)

¹⁷ Since you call on a Father who judges each man's work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear. ¹⁸ For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, ¹⁹ but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.  1 Peter 1:17-19 (NIV)

¹¹ Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which 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.  1 Peter 2:11-12 (NIV)

¹ Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. ² Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. ³ For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. ⁴ When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.  Colossians 3:1-4 (NIV)

¹⁵ Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶ For everything in the world--the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does--comes not from the Father but from the world. ¹⁷ The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.  1 John 2:15-17 (NIV)

⁶ But godliness with contentment is great gain. ⁷ For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. ⁸ But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.  1 Timothy 6:6-8 (NIV)

³¹ “So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴  Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”  Matthew 6:31-34 (NIV)

BUTTER

“Aliens from other countries are rarely shown the ‘welcome mat’… They may even find themselves victims of discrimination, rejection, or intolerance.  The Bible says that we are ‘aliens and strangers in the world’ (1 Peter 2:11)…Our customs are different, our ways of living are different, our concerns are different.  And as Christ’s followers…we may find ourselves scorned, rejected, or even persecuted.  If so, we shouldn’t be surprised.  Jesus warned, ‘If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you’ (John 15:20).  But never forget:  You are a citizen of the Kingdom of God.  And some day you will be Home!”   Billy Graham

   

“Daniel was a spiritual man in spite of the environment he was in. Carried away captive to Babylon, he could have easily fallen into compromise. There in the palace, he literally lived in the lap of luxury. It was a place of rampant idolatry, incredible cruelty, and sexual immorality. Yet in the midst of it all, Daniel remained a righteous man and flourished spiritually.  Sometimes when we are in an environment around Christians all the time, we can put our lives on spiritual cruise control. On the other hand, when we are in a secular environment, it forces us to do one of two things: either blend into the woodwork or stand up and be counted.”   Greg Laurie

“Jesus reminds us that we do not belong to this world.  We have been sent into the world to be living witnesses of God's unconditional love, calling all people to look beyond the passing structures of our temporary existence to the eternal life promised to us.”   Henri Nouwen

“If you want to make an impact for Christ, you cannot blend with the world.”  BHY

“The point of your life is to point to Him.  Whatever you are doing, God wants to be glorified.  Because this whole thing is His.  It is His movie, His world, His gift.”    Francis Chan

   
“Unlike the worldly culture around us, we are not rudderless. We have God's guiding Holy Spirit to show us the best course. But first we must surrender completely to following His will and His commandments, even when they do not match our personal desires. We must spend regular time in prayer learning His voice and His heart. The more we know God, the easier it will be to discern His voice from our own self-serving thoughts.”   Michael Youssef

“You may talk of God as a metaphor or a mystification . . . but nobody protests. But if you speak of God as a fact, as a thing like a tiger, as a reason for changing one's conduct, then the modern world will stop you somehow if it can.”   G. K. Chesterton

“Does my life and conduct correspond to my high calling as a Christian?  Am I actuated by the love of Christ instead of worldly ambition?  Do I prefer God’s honor to my own and justice to gain?  When I look to myself, I feel such a burden of sin that no other hope of salvation is left me but in the mercy of Christ alone.”  Gregory VII - Hildebrand

“A spiritual life is a life in which our security is based not in any created things, good as they may be, but in God, who is everlasting love. We probably will never be completely free from our attachment to the temporal world, but if we want to live in that world in a truly free way, we'd better not belong to it. ‘You cannot be the slave both of God and of money’ (Luke 16:13).”   Henri Nouwen

“Because I love you, I’m asking you to guard your heart from anyone or anything that can steal you away from Me. Remember, My love, this world offers a counterfeit Life that will never fulfill you. What I create for you will satisfy your soul; what the enemy offers will satisfy your flesh for a while. However, in the end the world’s way leads to destruction. If your heart wanders and you are not equipped with My Word, you will be unable to discern the difference between real faith and counterfeit religion.”   Sheri Rose Shepherd

“One needs to be dispossessed of all the possessions that possess us — before one can be possessed of God.  Let the things of this world fall away so the soul can fall in love with God.” Ann Voskamp 

“Worldliness is a spirit, a temperament, an attitude of soul.  It is life without high callings, life devoid of lofty ideals.  It is a gaze horizontal, never vertical.  Its motto is ‘Forward’, never ‘Upward’.”   John Henry Jowett  

“Our world is hungry for genuinely changed people.  Leo Tolstoy observes, ‘Everybody thinks of changing humanity and nobody thinks of changing himself.’  Let us be among those who believe that the inner transformation of our lives is a goal worthy of our best effort.”   Richard J. Foster  

“The fundamental problem in the evangelical world is not inadequate technique, insufficient organization or antiquated music, and those who want to squander the Church’s resources bandaging these scratches will do nothing to stanch the flow of blood spilling from its true wounds. The fundamental problem in the evangelical world today is that God rests too inconsequentially upon the Church.  His truth is too distant, His grace is too ordinary, His judgment is too benign, His Gospel is too easy and His Christ is too common.”  David Wells
“What concerns me is that we are so worried about fitting in, so worried about relating, and so worried about being cool that we have forgotten what it is to make a stand for what is true. And instead of the church turning the world upside down, my fear is that the world is turning the church upside down.”   Greg Laurie

“We are not going to move this world by criticism of it nor conformity to it, but by the combustion within it of lives ignited by the Spirit of God.”   Vance Havner

“And every day, with every word, we get to decide: Do we mar the world, or mark the world?  Why in the world disdain the small? It’s always the smallest strokes that add up to the greatest masterpieces.”   Ann Voskamp

HEART SAVOR

·         To make an impact for the Lord I cannot blend with the world.

·         Christians are aliens and strangers in this world – earth is not our home, heaven is.

·         Believers are to live by faith with our eyes fixed on heaven and the earth under our feet.