INTRODUCTION

1. We often sing Here We are but Straying Pilgrims and This World is not my Home, but do we live more like "Here We are but Permanent Residents" and "Heaven is not my Home"?

2. What makes us to be strangers and exiles in this world?  Let us consider the example of Abraham.

    

ABRAHAM LIVED AS AN ALIEN IN A FOREIGN LAND

1. Abraham confessed to being a stranger and an exile on earth not by his words but by his deeds.

   1. Abraham (Abram) was seventy-five years old when he left his home in Haran with his family and all his possessions (Gen. 12:4-5). Abraham's reaction to God's call is stated in Hebrews 11:8:

      By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going.

   2. When Abraham arrived in Canaan, God declared to him, "To your descendants I will give this land" (Gen. 12:7).  Later, God revealed to Abraham that first his descendants would be enslaved four hundred years in a foreign land before they would return to receive the land of Canaan (Gen. 15:13-16).

   3. Undaunted by his age, the fact that he would not inherit the land personally, or the fact that his descendants would not receive the land for hundreds of years, Abraham continued to live faithfully to God.  Consider Hebrews 11:9-10:

      ⁹By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise; ¹⁰for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

   4. While in the land of promise, Sarah also lived faithfully and bore Isaac, the son of promise.  Notice Hebrews 11:11-12:

      ¹¹By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she considered Him faithful who had promised.  ¹²Therefore there was born even of one man, and him as good as dead at that, as many descendants as the stars of heaven in number, and innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.

   5. For Abraham and Sarah, their faith in God was not about the land or any other thing on earth.  They were not of this world, and their goal was not of this world. Consider Hebrews 11:13-16:

      ¹³All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.  ¹⁴For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own.  ¹⁵And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return.  ¹⁶But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one.  Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.

   6. There is no record of Abraham or Sarah ever saying, "We are strangers and exiles on the earth."  Even so, their deeds expressed a virtual confession, for they lived as if they were not of this world.

2. Abraham was a stranger in the land of promise for several reasons.

   1. Obviously, Abraham was unfamiliar with the place and the people of Canaan.  It was a land he did not know, and none of his father's people were there.

   2. Abraham lived in tents and not in houses.  He had no permanent dwelling place in the land.

   3. More significantly, Abraham obeyed God by faith, which was strange in the land of Canaan.

      1. Abraham lived by faith and obedience, which were not traits of Canaan and are not traits of this world.  Instead, all that is in the world is the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life (1John 2:16).

      2. Abraham sojourned in the land of Canaan where the sinful Amorites lived.  Adjacent to Canaan was the valley of the Jordan where the exceedingly wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were located.  Among such sinful people, the faithful and righteous Abraham was a stranger and an exile indeed.

   4. Abraham was looking for a heavenly country and a city built by God.

      1. Abraham did not set his goal as the land of Canaan, but rather he sought for a much better, heavenly country.

      2. While he dwelt in tents, Abraham looked forward to his permanent dwelling, which is "the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God."

WE MUST LIVE AS STRANGERS AND EXILES ON THE EARTH

1. The kingdom of Christ is not of this world.

   1. Jesus declared this to Pilate as He was answering the question, "Are you the King of the Jews?"  Notice John 18:36:

      Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world.  If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm."

   2. Truly, Christ's kingdom is of heaven, where He now rules. Notice Ephesians 1:20-23, which speaks of the greatness of God's power...

      ²⁰...which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, ²¹far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.  ²²And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, ²³which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

2. As citizens of the kingdom of Christ, we must live as strangers and exiles on the earth.

   1. When we became Christians, God "rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son" (Col. 1:13). The "domain of darkness" is the world, for "the whole world lies in the power of the evil one" (1John 5:19).

   2. Therefore, we are citizens of kingdom of heaven and subjects of the Lord Jesus, even though we continue to live upon the earth. Consider Philippians 3:20-21:

      ²⁰For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; ²¹who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.

   3. Being strangers and exiles on the earth will manifest itself in our behavior, speech, values, and priorities.  Consider a few passages that address this fact.

      1. 1Peter 2:11 -- Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul.

      2. Ephesians 5:3-5 -- ³But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints; ⁴and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks.  ⁵For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

      3. Matthew 6:19-21 --¹⁹"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  ²⁰But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; ²¹for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

   4. Being strangers and exiles on the earth will also cause division between us and the people of the world.  This is a natural consequence of being different.  Notice some warnings from Scripture:

      1. 1Peter 4:3-5 -- ³For the time already past is sufficient for you to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles, having pursued a course of sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousing, drinking parties and abominable idolatries.  ⁴In all this, they are surprised that you do not run with them into the same excesses of dissipation, and they malign you; ⁵but they will give account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.

      2. John 15:18-19 -- ¹⁸"If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you.  ¹⁹If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you."

      3. 2Corinthians 6:14 -- Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?

          

CONCLUSION

1. Christians are not of this world, and we should not want to be so.  This world is bound for destruction, so "we are looking for a new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells" (2Pet. 3:13)

2. Jesus died so that we could be free of this world, so we close with this thought from Hebrews 13:12-14:

   ¹²Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate.  ¹³So, let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach.  ¹⁴For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come.