Citizenship in Heaven
Elections, Anxiety, & Prayer
With the presidential election in just two days, many of us are experiencing a tremendous amount of fear and anxiety. And I understand why.
For those of us who consider ourselves followers of Jesus we want to navigate the political moment well and do so in a spirit of love that reflects the heart of Jesus and elevates our witness about Him to a watching world.
We want to lean into the goodness of God and the Sovereignty of God.
To paraphrase one of my favorite verses from Philippians 4:6, as Christians this is our posture in this political season and in every season…
Be anxious about nothing, PRAY about everything.
In fact, let’s begin with a word of prayer:
O Sovereign Lord,
We come before you in humility and faith. We pray for our country, that you would help us and guide us through these upcoming days as we elect a new president. We pray for the candidates, for all those running for office, that you would protect them, that you would be with them, and that whatever happens Tuesday, that they would go about the good work of governance in this country in a way that would honor you and be for the good of people. We pray that we would be one nation under God, and that You… the God who is Sovereign over every nation in every time in every place, would work all things together in this moment for our good and for your ultimate glory. We pray for your church, that we would be united in Christ, that we would be known for our love, and that we could be people of peace. May we be a light in the darkness, a beacon of hope for the hopeless, the salt of the earth, a city on a hill shining for you. In the name of Jesus our Lord and Savior we pray, Amen.
Reframed
One of my favorite books by CS Lewis is the Voyage of the Dawn Treader. It’s a pretty good movie, too!
There’s this moment in the story. If you’ve read the book or seen the movie, you may remember it. These three kids named Edmund, Lucy and Eustace enter Narnia NOT through a wardrobe, but through a picture frame.
The picture frame contained a picture of a boat on the sea and all of a sudden, the picture comes alive. Water is pouring out of the picture frame. The room is flooded. And the kids are carried away into Narnia.
The picture frame reframed WHERE they were. But NOT just where they were, WHO they were. Who they were in Narnia was NOT who they were before.
In the same way, when you put your faith in Jesus, Jesus reframes WHO you are and WHERE you are.
We are blessed to live in this country. The freedoms we enjoy are unparalleled. The prosperity we enjoy is incredible. The rights we have as citizens are wonderful. The brave men and women who serve and who have served our country, some of which have given their lives for this country, we will forever be grateful for those sacrifices.
Please hear me when I say that. And please don’t misunderstand what I am about to say next.
We are blessed to live in this country. But as followers of Jesus, Jesus has reframed both WHO we are and WHERE we are.
No matter where we were born, what country we are a citizen of, as Christians our primary identity is found in Christ.
Jesus has reframed WHO we are.
WHO are we?
We are followers of Jesus, saved by His grace, we have placed our faith in His Name, our hope is in Him, we are redeemed, we are sons and daughters of God, we are forgiven, we are the salt of the earth and the light of the world, we are God’s workmanship, we are a new creation, we are created by God, in the image of God, for the glory of God.
This world would want us to define ourselves in other ways. But according to scripture, this is WHO we are in CHRIST.
But Jesus hasn’t just reframed WHO we are, He has reframed WHERE we are.
Where are we?
We are seated with Christ in the heavenly realms, we are citizens of Heaven, we are walking in the light as He is in the Light, we are always in the presence of God, we are abiding in Him as He abides in us, we are in this world, but we are not of this world.
This world would want us to define our location in other ways. But according to scripture, this is WHERE we are in CHRIST.
The question we have to ask and answer is simply this…
Have we allowed the gospel of Jesus Christ to reframe WHO we are and WHERE we are today?
Citizens of Heaven
The good news is that Scripture has a lot to say to us about how we live in this world, how we interact with government, and what’s most important for us as followers of Jesus during this political season and in every season.
The Apostle Paul considered himself a Roman citizen (Acts 22:25-28). And he understood the rights and protections his Roman citizenship afforded him. He also considered himself a good Jew. He learned at the feet of Rabbi Gamaliel (Acts 23:6; Acts 22:3).
Before he came to Christ, he was rising among the ranks of the religious leaders. He could have easily located his primary identity as a Roman citizen or as a Jewish leader. But this was not the location of his primary identity.
Listen to what he once wrote to his friends living in the ancient city of Philippi:
But we are citizens of heaven, (not we will be) where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. – Philippians 3.20
Paul had allowed the gospel of Jesus Christ to reframe WHO he was and WHERE he claimed primary citizenship.
Yes, he was a Roman citizen.
Yes, he was a Jew who had been educated at the feet of Gamaliel and trained as a Pharisee.
But now, after having a life changing encounter with Jesus, his primary citizenship is in heaven. His primary identity is in Christ!
How to Live Here as Citizens of Heaven
So how does Paul, given all of this, teach us to live as citizens of an earthly kingdom, an empire, or nation, while finding our primary citizenship in heaven and our primary identity in Christ?
We could look in a lot of different places today to find encouragement and direction from the Apostle Paul, but today I want us to lean into his words found in 1 Timothy 2.
In many ways, Timothy was like a son to Paul in the faith. Timothy was a young minister serving the church in the city of Ephesus which, at the time, was under Roman control. Paul wants to give Timothy all the help he can to help him love and lead the church in this political climate. So listen to what Paul writes to Timothy.
1 Timothy 2.1-7
1 I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them.
What’s the first thing Paul wants Timothy to do? PRAY! For who? For ALL people.
Not just people like you. Not just for people who agree with you. Or think like you. Or vote like you. Or even believe like you.
Pray for ALL people.
Jesus would say it this way, “Love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you.” (Matthew 5:44)
But what if I don’t like them? What if I don’t agree with them? What if I don’t like the way they voted? What if I didn’t vote for them?
Paul says… “Ask God to help them. And… Intercede for them. And… give thanks for them.”
When we do this, as we do this, we follow the way of Jesus.
Pray for Who?
And just in case there was any confusion, Paul went on to clearly say…
2 Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity.
I understand, that may be a hard teaching to hear. You may be thinking… there’s no way I can pray for that president, or that candidate, or that person.
You may even be thinking, I bet when Paul gave these instructions to Timothy it was different. It was better. It was easier.
We don’t know exactly the date of this letter to Timothy, but as Ronnie alluded to last week, there’s a good chance that this letter was written at a time when Ephesus was under Roman control and the Emperor of Rome was Nero!
And if you didn’t know, Nero burned Christians alive, crucified them, and threw them into arenas to be torn apart by wild animals for the sake of entertainment. He was brutal in his persecution of Christians in Rome. I’m sure the Christians in Ephesus lived in fear for their lives hearing these stories coming out of Rome. Can you imagine coming to church one day and hearing a sermon about praying for Nero?
Yet that’s exactly what Paul was instructing Timothy to do.
What Matters Most
Why would Paul do that?
Paul wanted Timothy to be praying for all those in authority in government so that…
…we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity.
And this is important. Don’t miss this. Paul wants us as followers of Jesus to live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity.
Does that describe your life? Does that describe your social media feed? Your social media posts? Are we living peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity?
You might say, “Don’t I need to speak up and speak out against people who are just plain wrong?” Or, “Don’t I need to post about people who think this or think that so that people will know how to vote?”
Truthfully, the answer to that question is… “Maybe.” But before you do, consider what Paul says next.
3 This is good and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth. 5 For, there is one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus. 6 He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone. This is the message God gave to the world at just the right time. 7 And I have been chosen as a preacher and apostle to teach the Gentiles this message about faith and truth. I’m not exaggerating—just telling the truth.
Why does Paul want us to begin with praying for ALL people including those who are in authority and why does he want us to live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity?
Because, Paul knows,
The credibility of our message about Jesus is dependent on our character.
And Paul knows…
Our character is revealed when the tension is real!
And right now, the tension is real.
We all feel it. The tension is so real that it is dividing our country, our communities, it is dividing families, and… it can even divide churches.
Paul knows that this is the kind of tension that can and often does exist in any political system. So he instructs Timothy to teach those in his churches to live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity.
Paul doesn’t want anything to hamper your witness about Jesus.
WHY? Because, our mission and mandate as followers of Jesus isn’t to win elections, it IS to make disciples! And Paul doesn’t want anything to come between us and our message about Jesus.
Your Secret Country is Real
The most important election isn’t what happens in our country on Tuesday, but what happens in your heart today and who you decide to place on the throne of your life.
When you elect Jesus as the Lord and Savior of your life you become a citizen of Heaven. A son, a daughter, of God.
So as we approach Tuesday, I want to ask you to remember how Jesus has reframed WHO you are and WHERE you are.
Before Lucy, Edmond, and Eustace entered Narnia through the picture frame, CS Lewis begins the chapter with this…
“Most of us, I suppose, have a secret country, but for most of us it is only an imaginary country. Edmund and Lucy were luckier than other people in that respect. Their secret country was real.” – The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, ch 1
Here’s the Good News for you today, your secret country is REAL.
If you are a follower of Jesus, you are a citizen of heaven. Your primary identity is in Christ.
Our hope isn’t in a candidate…
Our hope is in our KING!
And our King is seated on an eternal throne.
So we don’t have to be anxious about anything. We can pray about everything. And no matter who is elected, we can move forward in confidence because of Christ.
That doesn’t mean that we don’t work to make a difference in this world for Christ. We do. But we do this full of hope and confidence, we do this in redemptive ways participating with Jesus in this world to make things on earth as they are in Heaven.
NS: We do this by praying for local and national leaders. We do this by living quiet and godly lives. We do this by loving our neighbor and praying for our enemies. We do this by sharing the good news about the great love of God with others. If we really want to change the world, this is how we do it. We make disciples.
Misplaced Hope
Misplaced hope leads to fear, anxiety, worry, anger, disappointment, and so much more. This week, we will vote for a president. But our ultimate hope isn’t a president – whoever that president may be.
The hope we have transcends election cycles and presidential candidates. It transcends nations and generations. The hope we have reminds us that even when we can’t see it, God is working. And He is working all things together for our good and for His ultimate glory. No matter what happens Tuesday, may we remember: God is sovereign and our hope is in Him!
Sovereign Lord, You are sovereign over all the earth. And you are good. We pray that we will live as faithful citizens of Heaven today and every day, we pray that our witness to a watching world will point them to our loving God, we pray that you bless our country, that you bless our current president as well as the president who will be elected this week. We pray that our country truly could be one nation under God, and that as a country we would turn to you. We pray that our church would be united in love and be people of peace. We pray that we would be a light in this community, in this country, and in this world for You! Father guide us in your grace, help us live in faith. In the name of Jesus our Lord and Savior we pray, Amen.
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