LOOKING FOR A CITY
Hebrews 11 (Part 4)
In Hebrews 1 we saw that Jesus is not just a prophet - but greater than the prophets.
JESUS GREATER THAN
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We then saw that Jesus, the Son of God, is not an angel - but greater than the angels.
JESUS GREATER THAN
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In Hebrews 3 we saw that Jesus is greater than Moses, the mediator of the Old Covenant (Testament).
JESUS GREATER THAN
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In Hebrews 4 we saw that Jesus is greater than Joshua, because through him we enter the true rest (from works).
JESUS GREATER THAN
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In Hebrews 5-7 we saw that Jesus is greater than Aaron, because he has a better priesthood.
JESUS GREATER THAN
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In Hebrews 5-7 we also saw that Jesus is greater than Abraham.
JESUS GREATER THAN
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In Heb 8-10 we saw that Jesus was mediator of a better covenant, offering a better sacrifice in a better sanctuary.
JESUS GREATER THAN
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In Hebrews 11 we saw that we have better grounds for having faith in God than those in the Old Covenant.
BETTER GROUNDS - FAITH
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Today we’ll see that we have a BETTER CITY
A BETTER CITY
CITIZENS
OF HEAVEN
Gen 12:1 The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.”
Gen 12:4-5 So Abram left, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him… He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Haran,
and they set out for the
land of Canaan, and
they arrived there.
Heb 11:9-10 By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
In this way Abraham typifies Christians, who are “aliens and strangers on earth” and who by faith are “longing for a better country - a heavenly one.”
Heb 11:13-15 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. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one.
A BETTER COUNTRY
When Satan tempted Jesus, he offered him
“all the kingdoms of this world” (Matt 4:8-9).
All this I will give you if you will bow down and worship me.
TWO KINGDOMS
And Jesus told Pilate that his kingdom was “not of this world”.
My kingdom is not of this world… But now my kingdom is from another place. (Jn 18:36)
So we see that there are 2 types of kingdom:
TWO KINGDOMS
The kingdoms of this world
A kingdom not of this world
Jesus contrasted the people of this world to the people of the light: “For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light.” (Luke 16:8)
TWO KINGDOMS
The people of this world
The people of the light
The Bible makes it clear that the kingdoms of this world are under Satan’s dominion. Jesus repeatedly called Satan the “prince of this world” who stood condemned and who would ultimately be driven out:
John 12:30-31 I will not speak with you much longer, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold on me, but the world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me.
John 16:11 and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.
John 12:31 Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out.
SATAN’S DOMINION
Paul refers to Satan as “the god of this world” who has blinded the unsaved:
2 Cor 4:3-4 And even
if our gospel is veiled,
it is veiled to those
who are perishing, in
whose case the god
of this world has
blinded the minds
of the unbelieving so
that they might not
see the light of the
gospel of the glory of
Christ, who is the
image of God. (NASB)
SATAN’S DOMINION
Paul also calls Satan “the ruler of the kingdom of the air”.
Eph 2:1-2 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.
So Satan is the prince of this world by virtue of the influence and control that he exerts over the unbelievers.
1 John 5:19 We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.
SATAN’S DOMINION
John speaks of the great dragon who was hurled down to earth and calls him “that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray.” (Rev 12:9)
We saw how Satan offered Jesus the “kingdoms of this world”. He could not offer what was not his to give and Jesus himself does not contest that the kingdoms belong to him.
Luke 4:5-7 The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendour, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. So if you worship me, it will all be yours.”
Note that Satan said that the authority of the world’s kingdoms had been given to him (again Jesus doesn’t contest this). Who gave this to him?
SATAN’S DOMINION
Initially God gave dominion of the world to man - Gen 1:28 (NKJV).
Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.
But man forfeited this dominion through the Fall and inadvertently Satan gained control of the world.
Rom 5:2 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin…
Jesus came to redeem man and to reclaim the kingdoms of the earth for God and man. And so Jesus defeated the evil powers in the world at the cross:
Col 2:15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
SATAN’S DOMINION
Who is the one “from above” that gave Pilate the power?
You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.
Do you refuse to speak to me? Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?
The word “therefore” that Jesus used, links the one giving power from above to the one who handed him over to Pilate.
So the power that was delegated to Pilate was not from God – because the one who gave it was guilty of sin. It was a reference to Satan who indirectly controls the world’s kingdoms.
“The one who handed me over to you” in John 19:11 is not a reference to Judas because he could not give power to Pilate. It refers to the motivating spirit behind Judas i.e. Satan.
SATAN’S DOMINION
Luke 22:3-4 Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve. And Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus.
John 13:26-27 Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.” Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, son of Simon. As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him.
If they had understood what was to be accomplished on the cross, the rulers would not have crucified Jesus.
1 Cor 2:6-8 We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. No, we speak of God’s secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory
Through the church these rulers are seeing God’s wisdom:
Eph 3:10 His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms
SATAN’S DOMINION
Despite the victory of Jesus on the cross, Christians still continue to battle Satan in the Church Age:
Eph 6:11-12 Put on the full armour of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Christians however have been set free from Satan’s control:
2 Timothy 2:26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.
SATAN’S DOMINION
So although we live in a world that is still dominated by Satan and his dark rulers, we belong to another kingdom that is “not of this world”.
It is the kingdom of God “within you” and not the earthly kingdom the Jews of Jesus’ day expected the Messiah to bring:
Luke 17:20-21 Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you.”
SATAN’S DOMINION
But ultimately at the end of the age, the kingdoms of this world will be restored to God:
Rev 12:15 The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever.”
This has not happened yet and is not happening now as Dominionists and Postmillennialists teach. It will happen in the Millennial reign of Christ in the future.
RESTORATION
This kingdom of God on earth was foretold in Daniel 2:44 “In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever.”
In Augustine’s famous 5th century book “The City of God”, human history is presented “as being a conflict between what Augustine calls the City of Man and the City of God, a conflict that is destined to end in
victory for the latter. The City of God
is marked by people who forgot earthly
pleasure to dedicate themselves to the
eternal truths of God, now revealed
fully in the Christian faith. The City
of Man, on the other hand, consists
of people who have immersed
themselves in the cares and
pleasures of the present,
passing world.” 1
1 http:// en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/ City_of_God_(book)
A TALE OF TWO CITIES
Heb 11:16 Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
Heb 12:22-23 But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven.
A BETTER CITY
Definition: An ambassador is an official representative for his or her country, stationed in another nation… Ambassador usually describes the official diplomatic envoy who represents one country to another. These ambassadors work to promote understanding, perhaps by settling differences or
clearing up
misunderstanding. 1
1 https:// www.vocabulary.com
/ dictionary/ ambassador
AMBASSADORS
Paul calls himself an ambassador of Christ (Eph 6:19-20)
Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains.
Ambassadors are not citizens of
the country where they reside.
Likewise Jesus says of his
disciples:
John 17:16 They are not of
the world, even as I am not of it.
1 Pet 1:1 To God’s elect, strangers
in the world…
Heb 11:13 And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth.
ALIENS & STRANGERS
Stranger: one who does not belong to or is kept from the activities of a group. 1
Alien (adjective) 2
Owing political allegiance to another country or government; foreign: alien residents.
Alien (noun) 2
An unnaturalized foreign resident of a country. Also called noncitizen.
A person from another and very different family, people, or place.
A person who is not included in a group; an outsider.
1 merriam-webster.com/ dictionary/ stranger
2 thefreedictionary.com/ alien
ALIENS & STRANGERS
As Christians, we have changed kingdoms and citizenship:
Eph 2:12 remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.
Col 1:13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves
In his prayer in John 17, Jesus said that we are IN THE WORLD…
John 17:11a I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world…
… but NOT OF THIS WORLD
John 17:14 I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.
This means that while we are physically present in the world — we don’t share it’s value system.
ALIENS & STRANGERS
THERE’S NO PROBLEM WHEN THE SHIP IS IN THE SEA.
BUT THERE’S A SERIOUS PROBLEM WHEN THE SEA IS IN THE SHIP!!!
SO WE CAN BE IN THE WORLD – BUT THE WORLD MUSTN’T BE IN US.
James 1:27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
James 4:4 You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.
1 John 2:15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
ALIENS & STRANGERS
The kingdom of God has a totally different value system to the world.
This is exemplified in Jesus’ list of Beatitudes from his Sermon on the Mount. He pronounces blessings on those who are poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers and those who are persecuted because of righteousness.
In contrast the world values arrogance, power, wealth and popularity.
Jesus said, “What is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight.” (Luke 16:15)
ALIENS & STRANGERS
Ambassadors represent another country or kingdom (the kingdom not of this world) and it is our responsibility to reflect the “official position” of the
kingdom of heaven. The message we
present is reconciliation to God.
2 Cor 5:20 We are
therefore Christ’s
ambassadors, as
though God were
making his appeal
through us. We implore
you on Christ’s behalf:
Be reconciled to God.
Is that the message you present?
OUR MISSION
WE ARE NOT
TOURISTS
A tourist visits a country for their own pleasure. We are not in the world on our own business.
WE ARE AMBASSADORS
Jesus sends us into the world:
John 17:18 “As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.”
He gives us a mission:
Matt 28:19-20 “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”
And we are told to be devoted to that mission:
1 Cor 15:58b Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain.
OUR MISSION
Their heart and interests do not lie with the country they reside in, but in the country where they are true citizens:
Heb 11:16 Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one.
Gal 6:14 May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
As such, we realise that even life in this world is not something we need to cling to:
John 12:25 The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
HEART & INTERESTS
Our lives should reflect the fact that we are only passing through this world, This should be evident in our attitude towards money and worldly possessions:
1 Cor 7:30-31 … those who buy something, as if it were not theirs to keep; those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form
is passing away.
HEART & INTERESTS
Matt 6:19-21 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven,
where moth and rust do
not destroy, and
where thieves do
not break in and
steal. For where
your treasure is,
there your heart
will be also.”
HEART & INTERESTS
Ambassadors have to be careful how they act and speak because they represent their country. They have to be careful not to bring disrepute upon their homeland.
1 Pet 2:11-12 Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. 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 Pet 1:17 Since you call on a Father who judges each man’s work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear.
REPRESENTATIVES
Foreigners from another country are not always made welcome and are often even hated by the citizens of the country where they reside.
John 15:18-19 “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.”
John 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
MISTREATED
So too the heroes of the faith were often mistreated:
Heb 11:35-38 … Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they
were put to death by the sword.
They went about in sheepskins
and goatskins, destitute,
persecuted and mistreated—
the world was not worthy
of them. They wandered
in deserts and mountains,
and in caves and
holes in the ground.
MISTREATED
Heb 11:24-26 By
faith Moses, when
he had grown up,
refused to be
known as the son
of Pharaoh’s
daughter. He
chose to be
mistreated along
with the people of
God rather than
to enjoy the
pleasures of sin
for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.
MISTREATED
Because Satan is the prince of this world, we must expect opposition from him:
1 Pet 5:8-9 Be self-controlled
and alert. Your enemy the
devil prowls around like a
roaring lion looking for
someone to devour.
Resist him, standing
firm in the faith,
because you know
that your brothers
throughout the world
are undergoing the
same kind of
sufferings.
MISTREATED
Diplomatic Immunity is a “principle of International Law that provides foreign diplomats with protection from legal action in the country in which they work.” 1
Because the world is Satan’s domain and we are in it, we need protection from him. God gives us this protection or “diplomatic immunity”. In John 17:15 Jesus prays:
“My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.”
Psalm 91:14-15 “Because he loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honour him.”
1 http:// legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/ Diplomatic+Immunity
DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITY
As we learn from the book of Job, while Satan can sometimes touch us in this world, he can only do it with God’s explicit permission and with boundaries being stipulated. Satan complained that the norm was for God to have “a hedge” of protection around Job.
Does Job fear God for nothing? Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands…
Those from another country have different customs. Because we belong to a different kingdom, we have a different mindset and employ different methods to the world.
Col 2:8 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.
2 Cor 1:12 Now this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you, in the holiness and sincerity that are from God. We have done so not according to worldly wisdom but according to God’s grace.
MINDSET & METHODS
Col 2:20 Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules:
2 Cor 10:3-5 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power
to demolish strongholds. We
demolish arguments and
every pretension that sets
itself up against the
knowledge of God, and
we take captive every
thought to make it
obedient to Christ.
MINDSET & METHODS
Rom 12:2a Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. (NIV)
MINDSET & METHODS
Rom 12:2a Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-mould your minds from within… (J.B. Phillips New Testament)
Ambassadors are accountable to their country of citizenship and their conduct in the foreign country will be subject to judgment:
Luke 16:10-12 “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will
also be dishonest with much.
So if you have not been
trustworthy in handling
worldly wealth, who will
trust you with true riches?
And if you have not been
trustworthy with someone
else’s property, who will give
you property of your own?”
ACCOUNTABILITY
Ambassadors will be recalled to their country one day. But they are also recalled before a war breaks out between their home country and the foreign country where they are residing.
We too will one day be recalled to our home country:
Phil 3:19-20 Their mind is on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Saviour from there, the Lord Jesus Christ
RECALLED
Henry C. Morrison was a missionary who, after serving the Lord in Africa for forty years, became sick and had to return to America in 1909. On the way back he began to wonder “will anyone remember us? Will anyone meet us at the boat?”
When the ship pulled into New York harbour he looked to see if anyone had come to welcome them. Thousands of people were there cheering. Bands were playing. There were signs, banners, and billboards everywhere saying, “Welcome Home”. Henry and his wife were very excited about the crowds of people that had come to welcome them home. But when they went down to get their luggage, and came back to the deck of the ship they realized that the parade of people had already gone.
RECALLED
Unknown to Henry Morrison and his wife, Theodore Roosevelt, the president of the US was also on board that ship. He had gone to Africa on a much publicized big game hunting trip.
The crowds they had seen had come to welcome Roosevelt. Morrison and his wife slowly walked away unnoticed. They took a cab to the one bedroom apartment which had been provided by the mission board.
Theodore Roosevelt
(1858-1919)
RECALLED
Over the next few weeks, Henry tried, but failed to put the incident behind him. One evening, he said to his wife, “This is all wrong. This man comes back from a hunting trip and everybody throws a big party. We give our lives in faithful service to God for all these many years, but no one seems to care.”
He was advised by his wife to pray about it. After about ten minutes of fervent prayer, Henry returned to the living room with a peaceful look on his face. He told his wife, “The Lord settled it for me. I told Him how bitter I was that the President received this tremendous homecoming, but no one even met us as we returned home.
When I finished, it seemed as though the Lord put His hand on my shoulder and simply said, ‘But Henry, you are not home yet!’”
RECALLED
Remember too that we are not home yet and must not be discouraged if we
don’t get any recognition in this
world. But one day we will be recalled either in death or at Jesus’ coming.
PROMISES
Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. (John 14:1-3)
As citizens of heaven, we escape the corruption in the world:
2 Pet 1:4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
PROMISES
Despite living in a world of turmoil we have peace:
John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
PROMISES
Heb 13:14 For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.
LOOKING FOR A CITY
WELL HERE AMONG THOSE SHADOWS
LIVING IN A LONELY LAND
WE'RE A BAND OF PILGRIMS ON THE MOVE
OH BURDENED DOWN WITH SORROWS
SOMETIMES I’M SHUNNED ON EVERY HAND
BUT I’M LOOKING FOR
LOOKING FOR A CITY BUILT ABOVE
LOOKING FOR A CITY, WHERE WE'LL NEVER DIE
THERE THE SAINTED MILLIONS, NEVER SAY GOODBYE
THERE WE'LL MEET OUR SAVIOUR
AND OUR LOVED ONES TOO
COME O HOLY SPIRIT, ALL OUR HOPES RENEW
IN THIS LAND OF BURDENS, GOING HERE AND THERE
SIMPLY TRUSTING THE BLESSED SAVIOUR’S LOVE
THOUGH WE MAY BE STRANGERS
LIVING IN A WORLD OF CARE
LOOKING FOR THAT CITY BUILT ABOVE
LOOKING FOR A CITY, WHERE WE'LL NEVER DIE
THERE THE SAINTED MILLIONS, NEVER SAY GOODBYE
THERE WE'LL MEET OUR SAVIOUR
AND OUR LOVED ONES TOO
COME O HOLY SPIRIT, ALL OUR HOPES RENEW
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