The moment that we're born again, a series of amazing changes take place. We're justified. Our sins are forever forgiven. We're saved from the penalty of our sins. We're born again. We become a new creation. We're adopted into God's family and we become children of God and we receive all of the rights and privileges belonging to those who are members of the family of God. We become home to the Holy Spirit. He indwells us. He comes to live inside of us. And with all these remarkable blessings, there is still one more. And that is this. We receive a new citizenship, a new citizenship. We become citizens of heaven. The moment that we're saved, we begin to have a dual citizenship. We are citizens of earth. And we also now are citizens of heaven. Well, what does it mean to be a citizen of heaven? Philippians 2 verses 17 to 21 give us a picture of the person who is a citizen of heaven. And a citizen of heaven is someone who lives with a citizen's perspective. He has a unique way of looking at life. He sees life from the point of view of a citizen of heaven. He lives with a citizen's perspective. And he also has a citizen's hope. He has a unique relationship with the future. He anticipates a good future. He anticipates good things. And he looks forward to the future. He embraces the future that God has for him. And so let's take a look at Philippians 3, starting at verse 17. And the first thing we see is that a citizen of heaven is someone who lives with a citizen's perspective. He looks at life from the point of view of a citizen of heaven. He's someone who is different, and he is different from other people in several ways. First of all, a citizen of heaven is someone who is born again, someone who is born again. Take a look at verse 17. He says, brethren, join in following my example. And he addresses the Philippian believers as brethren, as brothers, brothers and sisters, as family. And Paul is saying that they, like him, are people who are born again. And so they are brothers and sisters in Christ. And so they're born again believers in Jesus Christ. Now, citizenship in heaven is open to anyone, and it is free and without cost. Revelation 22 says this. Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. And the doors of heaven are open wide today to whoever will come. Citizenship in heaven is open to all who will come, but there is only one doorway into heavenly citizenship, and that doorway is Jesus Christ, faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus himself said this, he said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, but through me. And citizenship in heaven is open to all who will receive it. And Jesus Christ is the way to citizenship in heaven. So the citizen of heaven is someone who is different. He's different because he's born again. He's also different because he follows the example of godly believers. The citizen of heaven is someone who does not blindly follow the crowd, but he's careful and selective in the people he looks to as his examples, the people he follows as his own examples. And the citizen of heaven is someone who's a disciple, he's a student, he's teachable, and he learns from the examples of other believers. He's careful about the examples that he chooses, the mentors that he chooses. Verse one, he says, join in following my example and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us. And so Paul presents himself to the Philippians as an example they should follow, as a pattern they should imitate. And again, Paul presents to them a Christ-like example. We read this in 1 Corinthians chapter 11. Paul says to the Corinthians, be imitators of me just as I also am of Christ. And so as the Philippian believers would follow the example of Paul, they were following the example of Christ. And the citizen of heaven is someone who is actively seeking out people in his fellowship who are leading godly lives, and he follows their example. And what we see here in Philippians 3 is something that is sad, but sometimes very true. that even in the local church there are those who claim to be believers, claim to be citizens of heaven, but their lives say that perhaps they're not. Take a look at verse 18. He says, For many walk, of whom I have often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ. Well, who are these many? Who are they? Well, certainly there are unsafe people who would fit into that category, but in this case also, there are people who claim to be believers, but in fact, they're not living like believers at all. Well, how do we respond to those who say, I'm a Christian, but their lives say, maybe I'm not. How do we respond to that person? Do we judge them? Do we condemn them? What do we do? Well, look at Paul's example. He says, I'm telling you about them and I'm weeping. We should grieve for them. We should grieve for them, not condemn them necessarily, but we should grieve for them. And the citizen of heaven follows the example of godly believers. Even in the local church, as in the world, there is a mixture of those who are living for Christ and those who are not. For those who are not, we should grieve for those who are far from the Lord And we should follow the example of those who are faithful followers of Christ. And then also, number three, the person who is a citizen of heaven is different because he is a faithful friend of Christ. There are many people who are enemies of Christ, enemies of the church, enemies of the gospel. but the citizen of heaven is someone who is a faithful friend of Christ. And starting at verse 18, we have a detailed description of everything that a citizen of heaven is not. And from this negative example, we can draw out a positive picture of what a citizen of heaven really should be. Take a look at verse 18. Again, he says they are enemies of the cross. And these are people who are not believers, but also there could be people who claim to be believers, and yet, in the way they live their lives, in the things that they say and do, they are enemies of the cross. They're enemies of Christ, and they're enemies of the gospel. A citizen of heaven is a faithful friend of Jesus Christ. And the Lord Jesus has a love language. His love language is obedience. We can say, I love you, Lord, by obeying him in all that we do. Jesus said this in John 14. If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And the way we show our love for Christ is in our obedience to His commands. One of the best things we can do in our Christian lives is to be in the Word on a regular basis and to be looking at those promises, looking at the commands that are there, and asking God to show us, am I following this command? Do I need to make some changes? What do I need to do to live my life in conformity with the commands of Christ, to make him happy, to please him in all things. Again, Jesus said, if you love me, you will keep my commandments. And then in John 15, he said, you are my friends if you do what I command you. And so the citizen of heaven imitates the example of the Lord Jesus himself. He loved to obey the Father. We have in Psalm 40 a conversation in heaven between the Father and the Son. And we read this in verse eight, the Lord Jesus speaking to the father, I delight to do your will. Oh my God, your law is within my heart. And again, the Lord Jesus expressed his love for the Father in his devotion to him and his desire to please him by obeying him in every way. And certainly we see the Lord Jesus obeying the Father as he went to the cross for us. He set the example. Now, citizens of any country follow the laws of that land. And citizens of heaven, as citizens of heaven, we are to live in obedience to the laws of the King. Psalm 112 gives this promise. How blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in his commandments. And the commands of God are not a burden, but a blessing. The truly happy person makes the word of God his map and compass for living life. The way to real happiness is to live in the will of God and to discover and to obey the commands of God in his word. The citizen of any nation on earth lives by the laws of the land that is his home, and the citizen of heaven lives by the laws of heaven, the word of God. And number four, the citizen of heaven, is someone who has an eternal home in heaven. Now, the one who is not a citizen of heaven lives however he wants today, and he may enjoy himself doing it. However, he is on the wrong road, and it is a road that does not lead to life. It leads to destruction. Take a look at verse 19. It says, whose end is destruction. This is the end. This is where things will end up for the person who is not a citizen of heaven. The end of the road for that person, and he may enjoy the road he's on right now, living for himself, doing what he wants, doing what feels good, having a good time. He may be enjoying that very, very much. but he is on a road that leads ultimately to destruction. And so this is someone who is a citizen in word only. His future is not good. Now when the Bible speaks of destruction in this way, it's not speaking of annihilation. Some people think that when you die you're just annihilated and it's over. But in fact, the Bible teaches that everyone will live somewhere forever. And destruction describes the eternal destiny of the unsaved person, of the person who is not a citizen of heaven. And that place, that destruction, is eternal punishment, eternal punishment for his sins. And so again, the one who is living as a non-citizen of heaven is going to be enduring punishment for all eternity. Now, by contrast, the citizen of heaven has a guaranteed home in heaven. And Paul lived with this confidence as he faced the very real possibility of his own execution at the hands of the Romans. He said this in Philippians 1, starting at verse 21, to live is Christ, to die is gain. And Paul knew that should he be executed, should he die, his life was not going to end. He would not simply be annihilated. He would be relocated, relocated from earth to heaven. He would go into the presence of the Lord. In verse 23, the same chapter, he talks about departing to be with Christ. And Paul saw his possible death as an immediate transition from earth to heaven. And the citizen of heaven has a forever home ready and waiting in heaven. And number five, he is controlled by the power of the spirit. Now, the person who is not a citizen of heaven is controlled by whatever feels good. His motto would be, if it feels good, do it. And that's what he does. That's how he lives. But the citizen of heaven is controlled by the power of the Holy Spirit. Well, let's look at the citizen of earth, verse 19, the one who is not a citizen of heaven. Again, he says, whose end is destruction, whose God is their appetite. Whose God is their appetite. And so they worship and obey their own appetites. They obey their desires. Whatever feels good, looks good to them, those are the things they get involved in. They're not concerned about what God wants, they're concerned about what they want. They're not concerned about what is right, but they're concerned about what feels good. And so again, the one who is not a citizen of heaven is controlled by his own desires. He's controlled by what feels good. Now the citizen of heaven is ruled by a greater power, the power of the Holy Spirit. And in Galatians 5, we read this, walk by the spirit and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. And the citizen of heaven lives under the control of the Holy Spirit, not the control of the old sin nature. Now in Galatians 5, we see some of the things that the Holy Spirit does in our lives. And what the Holy Spirit does is he produces Christian, Christ-like character qualities. And we read this in Galatians 5. It says this in verse 22. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law. And these are the kinds of Christ-like character qualities that the Holy Spirit can produce in our lives. And we would all agree The world needs more of these things today, and we can be the people who demonstrate these character qualities through the power of the Holy Spirit. He's working in our lives. And so we're not controlled by our feelings, by our desires, but as citizens of heaven, we can be controlled by the power of the Spirit who's working inside us to make us like Christ. And also number six, the citizen of heaven loves what is right. He loves what is right. He loves what is consistent with the will of God and the word of God. Now the non-citizen of heaven does what is wrong, and he's proud of it. He delights in it. He publicizes it. He wants the world to know that he's doing these things that God says are wrong, and he's more than happy to do it. Take a look at verse 19 again. He says, whose glory is in their shame. And these are people who are committing terrible sins, some of the worst of sins. And they do it on a regular basis, and they're not ashamed. They're not convicted by their conscience, by the Word of God, but they are more than happy to continue down that path, doing things that God says are completely wrong, things that God condemns. And yet they say they want to do it, and they delight in it, they publicize it, they proclaim it, and they're proud of these kinds of behaviors. But the citizen of heaven loves to do what is right. We saw earlier in chapter 3 the Apostle Paul's commitment to growing in holiness. What a picture of a believer who loves what is right, loves to be like Christ, loves to grow in holiness and sanctification. Paul says this, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. And Paul knows he hasn't arrived yet. He hasn't arrived at spiritual perfection. He's not as holy as he could be, not as holy as he will be, but he presses on. He's pursuing this. He wants to do what's right. He wants to be like the Lord. And that's what a citizen of heaven is. He loves to do what's right. The citizen of heaven loves what is right and is engaged in the lifelong process of growing to be holy, to be like Christ. And number seven, the citizen of heaven is focused on the things of God. Now the citizen of earth has his mind on other things. In fact, the things of God are not even on his list. Again, verse 19, who set their minds on earthly things. And this is a person who is in love with the world, not just planet Earth, but the world system. And the world system has a powerful attraction for believer and unbeliever alike. John says this in 1 John 2. He says, do not love the world nor the things in the world. Literally, his words are saying, stop loving the world. He's talking to believers. And these are believers who are caught up in the things of this world rather than being absorbed in the things of heaven. He says, stop loving the world nor the things of the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. And the idea is we can't love two things at the same time. We can't love the Father with all that we are, and we can't love the world with all that we are at the same time. It has to be one or the other. And John says to them, and possibly even to us, stop loving the world, stop loving the things of the world. Well, what is the world? He says this, for all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life is not from the Father, but is from the world. And so the world is all about Pleasure, power, and possessions. That's what the world is all about. And a person who is in love with pleasure, with doing what feels good, having a good time, is in love with the world and the things of the world. The person who's in love with possessions, who wants to have more and more, again, he is in love with the things of the world. And then for the person who has a real lust for power, who wants to be more and be greater, to be on top, That person may very well be in love with the things of the world. Now, the citizen of heaven is, as the old bumper sticker says, just visiting this planet. He's here, but he's not at home. In fact, he spends his time thinking about home. And that's the mark of the citizen of heaven. He's living in this world, visiting this world, but heaven is home. Colossians 3 says this therefore if you have been raised up with Christ and these words can be understood this way Because you have been raised up with Christ because we're born again, because we have new life in Christ, we're new people in Christ, we need to change our perspective. He says this, keep seeking the things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. And so for the one who is a citizen of heaven, our focus is on heaven, on the things that are above. on the things of God, on the things of Christ. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory. And the citizen of heaven is busy thinking about our home in heaven, and our forever future in heaven, and Jesus' return, when we see our life revealed, when he comes, and when we're glorified. The Bible tells us that our real wealth is located in heaven. Ephesians 1 says this, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. One writer has listed 33 different blessings that make up the wealth that is ours in heaven. These priceless blessings include our redemption, our justification. They include our direct access to God. They include eternal life, an eternal home, and an eternal inheritance, and so much more. And all of this is ours because we are citizens of heaven. A citizen of heaven has priceless wealth and privileges securely reserved in heaven. He has an amazing future and a priceless inheritance. His mind is occupied not with the things in this world, although we wouldn't say that a citizen of heaven is to be so heavenly minded that he's of no earthly good, no. Certainly he does his job, he takes care of his responsibilities, but his thoughts frequently turn to heaven and the things of heaven. His mind is occupied with all that is going to be his in glory. The citizen of earth is only concerned with the things of this world and what they can do for him. And so a citizen of heaven is someone who lives with a citizen's perspective. He's different in a number of ways. And also, and our second main point is this, he lives with a citizen's hope, a citizen's hope. Now, a citizen of heaven does not fear the future. And in these days, many people are fearing the future. They wonder what the economy will do. They wonder what the COVID virus will do. They wonder what their savings and employment will do and what their health will do. Many people are living in fear of the future. But the citizen of heaven does not need to fear the future. In fact, The citizen of heaven is someone who's living in eager expectation of a future that's waiting for us. And it is a Christ-centered future. Take a look at verse 20. Our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. And this promise is the promise of the return of Jesus Christ at the rapture of the church. and he will return in the air to remove us, to remove his church from the world before the beginning of the great end-time drama. 1 Thessalonians 4 explains how this will happen. The Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first, And then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we shall always be with the Lord. When the Lord Jesus returns, every believer who has died will be raised. And certainly in my ministry, I've stood by the graves of many who died as believers and we place their bodies in the ground And we knew that, of course, they're with the Lord, that person's with the Lord, but their body is placed in the ground for safekeeping, if you will. We knew that that body was there not forever, but temporarily, waiting, anticipating the return of Jesus Christ, when he will return and the dead in Christ will rise. And in those believers who are alive, and that could be us, should Jesus return today, the dead in Christ rise first, and we who are alive will be instantly transformed. Bible students call this translation. Like Elijah, he went directly from earth to heaven. Like Enoch, he walked with God and he was not. And so he went directly from earth to heaven without passing through that experience of death. and will be immediately taken, will be transformed and glorified, and will be with Christ forever. And our new body will be a resurrection body, a glorified body. Take a look at verse 21. And at the return of Jesus Christ, we'll see an amazing demonstration of the power of God over our great enemy, death. Verse 21, he'll transform the body of our humble state. Some virgins have it the body of our humiliation. And there is a lot that is humiliating about the human body, especially as the years go by. As the years go by, we find we can't see as well as we once did. And maybe we need a magnifying glass or somebody to read something for us because we can't see as well. Maybe we can't walk as well. Knees and hips are giving us trouble. Maybe our balance is off and we have to worry about falling. We can't think as well. We start forgetting things and so much more. And we have bodies that can become humiliating to us as time goes on, as the body of our humble state. These are material bodies, earthly bodies that are subject to all of the problems involved in living in a fallen world. And the Lord Jesus is going to transform this body of our humble state. And the idea is that our existence continues. That if we are here alive on earth and the Lord Jesus returns, our transformation will be seamless. We'll be here with these bodies that are in good condition or maybe partially worn out or mostly worn out. And there'll be an instantaneous transformation. We'll be conscious. for this whole experience. And suddenly, the same person that we are will have this forever eternal body. Amazing. Just an amazing thing to even ponder. And yet that is our future. That's the future of the one who is a citizen of heaven. And so again, what is this body? Well, it says here, that we'll be transformed into conformity with the body of his glory. And so our resurrection bodies will be very much, will be like the resurrection body of the Lord Jesus. His resurrection body was a literal, physical body. Remember, Mary embraced him, and he said, stop clinging to me. He had to go to the Father. And so, a literal, physical body. It was a recognizable body. Eventually, the disciples were able to recognize who he was. His wounds were still visible, still present, although they didn't present any health problems to him. But it was also a supernatural body. When the disciples were in the room and the doors were shut and locked, the Lord Jesus entered without opening the door. And so this is a body that is not restricted to the laws of time and space and material matter. It's a remarkable body that is, in a sense, a spiritual body. The Bible says it really is the same, but different. And we don't know exactly everything about it, but it's going to be a remarkable body ideally suited for living in the Father's house and serving him for all eternity. And at his return, we'll see the Lord Jesus' tremendous power over our great enemy, death. You know, the COVID virus has taken the lives of thousands of people. And some of us may know someone who was taken by this and we see the power of death. There's nothing that medicine can do once a patient dies. But the Lord Jesus has power over death. We see again at the end of verse 21, describes here the exertion of the power that he has even to subject all things to himself. And he'll be able to bring death under his power and to defeat the power of death and to bring the bodies of those who died back to life and to be glorified forever. It's going to be a remarkable, remarkable time. And so the citizen of heaven is a person of hope, a person of complete confidence in the promise that Jesus is coming again. And Jesus tells us always to be ready because he can return at any time. The signs of the times tell us that today may certainly be the day. In these days, our world has been nearly paralyzed by fear, the fear of an infinitesimally small organism that has the power to sicken and to kill. Whatever the future may hold for us as citizens of heaven, we need never fear death. Death takes us immediately into the presence of the Lord. When the Lord Jesus returns, our bodies will be raised, transformed, and glorified, and the best truly is yet to come. Well, the moment we believe in Jesus Christ, an amazing change suddenly takes place. We're born again. The Bible says that we have passed from death to life. The Bible says we become a new creation. We're adopted as children of God. We're indwelt by the Holy Spirit and placed into the spiritual body of Christ. In addition to all these blessings, there is yet one more. In addition to our earthly citizenship, we become citizens of heaven. Every believer is a citizen of heaven. What is a citizen of heaven? Well, a citizen of heaven lives with a different perspective. He really is different in several ways. He's different from other people because he has new life. He's born again. He's different because he follows the example of godly believers. He lives in a world and possibly even in a church that is a mix of godly and ungodly people, saved, perhaps even unsaved people. And he is selective in the people he associates with, selective in the examples that he follows. He's also a faithful friend of Christ. There are many who claim to be citizens of heaven, but in the way they live their lives, they're enemies of Christ. The citizen of heaven is a friend of Christ, and he shows that friendship by his love and obedience to him. And then also, the citizen of heaven is someone who is different because his home is not here. His home is in heaven. The person who is a citizen of earth will never be in heaven unless he comes to know the Lord. He's also empowered by the Holy Spirit. The citizen of earth is someone who is driven by his natural physical desires. His motto could be simply stated, if it feels good, do it. Well, the citizen of heaven is empowered by something entirely different, and that is the power of the Holy Spirit inside of us. He loves what is right. The citizen of earth loves to do what is wrong and is proud of it. But the person who is a citizen of heaven is engaged in the race of the Christian life, engaged in that continual struggle to grow in holiness, to be the people God wants us to be. The citizen of earth is focused on the things of this world, on pleasure, power, possessions, and how to get more of all of them. But the citizen of heaven is focused on the things of God, on heaven, on the future that God has for us. And so the citizen of heaven is someone who lives with a citizen's perspective, and he lives with a citizen's hope. That is, he does not fear the future, he eagerly anticipates it, and it is a Christ-centered future. The citizen of heaven is looking for the return of Jesus Christ. It could be today. And also, it is a resurrection hope. That is, he has no fear of dying because the citizen of heaven knows that we'll be raised again when the Lord Jesus returns. Well, as we close, let me ask you, what is your citizenship today? Are you a citizen of heaven? Can you say that, yes, I have trusted in Christ, as the one who died for my sins and rose again. Yes, I have eternal life and I believe that my citizenship is in heaven because I come to God through faith in Jesus Christ and his finished work alone. Jesus himself said it so well. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. And I trust that that eternal life And that citizenship is yours today. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for the wonder of citizenship. We thank you for our earthly citizenship and the privileges and rights that it provides to us in this world. But we thank you especially for our citizenship that is in heaven and all that it means to us. Thank you that it is a citizenship that is a free gift, that it is ours through faith in Jesus Christ, purchased at great cost through his death on the cross, and yet ours for the asking. And Father, it's my prayer today that if there's anyone who would be listening at this time who is not sure where his or her citizenship lies, I pray that today will be the day that they would trust in Christ and become citizens of heaven. In Jesus' name, amen.