Strangers and Pilgrims

[00:00:00] This audio sermon is provided by AnabaptistSermons.com and may be freely copied and distributed. You may not sell or edit this sermon. Our prayer is that you would be blessed by this ministry. I'd like to turn this morning to Hebrews chapter 11, and I'd like to read the first number of verses here. My message is not about faith, although this is considered the faith chapter, but I'd like especially to notice the last part of what I'll be reading, especially verses 13 through 16. [00:00:40] Shall we stand for the reading of God's word? Now faith is, this is Hebrews chapter 11 beginning at verse 1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen For by it the elders obtained a good report Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God So that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain By which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts, and by it being dead, yet speaketh. [00:01:20] By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death, and was not found, because God had translated him. For before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please him For he that cometh to God must believe that he is And that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet Moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house [00:01:53] By the which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith By faith, Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed, and he went out not knowing whither he went. By faith, he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promises. For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. [00:02:24] Through faith, also, Sarah herself received strength to conceive seed. and was delivered of a child when she was past age because she judged him faithful who had promised therefore sprang there even of one and him as good as dead so many as the stars of the sky in multitude and as the sand which is by the seashore innumerable these all died in faith not having received the promises but having seen them afar off and were persuaded of them and embraced them [00:02:55] and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country, and truly if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now that is there a better country, that is in heavenly, wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. The last number of verses here characterizes the people of faith by calling them strangers and pilgrims. [00:03:31] They are people that are not home, but they are traveling toward their home, we might say. I think another word that, I don't know if other translations use this, I didn't check, but I wonder if some of the translations might not call these people aliens. Because I think that's what these people actually were. They were in a country not their own, it said. And I say that tongue-in-cheek, with a grain of salt. [00:04:01] I'm not speaking against citizenship in an earthly country. But the way we view that citizenship is more what I would like to talk about this morning. What are some of the characteristics of a stranger and a pilgrim? If we live as strangers and pilgrims, what are some things that we will do and some things that we will not do? One of the things that I think of that should characterize an alien or a stranger in a pilgrim is just simply the fact that he is a person outside of his own country. [00:04:41] He is an alien, as I said. Another thing that I think of is that these people should travel lightly, if you understand what I mean by that term. Maybe Hebrews chapter 12, just after the portion that I read, verse 1 would help us in understanding that. It says, Wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us. [00:05:14] Laying aside the weight. Now, it talks here about that weight as being sin. May I just simply say that there are things that are not sin for us to have that can become sin when we have them in the wrong way. It is not wrong for us to have money, but that money can become a weight. And we need to be careful, I think, that it does not become that. So I think we should travel lightly and when I look at the amount of possessions and things that we have I wonder if I know anything about traveling lightly. [00:05:52] I have, in our first, in the first years of our married life, I'm not sure was it the first ten years we moved, was it the first nine years we moved ten times, I forget. About once a year on the average. We've been living where we are for almost 29 years now. And things have a way of accumulating. And maybe we should make a sale or maybe we should give away things. I don't know. But I don't want to lose sight of this. I really do think that we do well to travel lightly. [00:06:26] We're not at home here. You know, there are some of you who can empathize with this much better than I can. We have some people in our midst who are not citizens of the U.S., members of our church, and they are here, and they are among us, and they are a part of us, but they're not citizens here. They understand perhaps better what we're talking about, and some of these things they will identify with better than some of the rest of us. [00:06:59] Several weeks ago, we were in Kansas over the weekend and we were at the home of my youngest sister, even though she is older than I, she is my youngest sister, and we were well provided for there. We felt quite at home there. But there were some things that, not being in my own house, I wouldn't have just gone and opened drawers at will there and just looked through them. I don't suppose if I would have had some hunger pangs that I would have gone to the refrigerator and helped myself, at least not without talking with them. [00:07:37] And I know that we do some of those things, and I'm not saying that you shouldn't. I am saying that I don't feel as free if I'm not at home. And that is true about being a stranger and a pilgrim here as well. There are some things that we are not involved in. We say that we are apolitical, if you understand what I mean by apolitical. A, if you put the prefix A in front, it means not. We do not get involved in politics. That is one of the things. [00:08:08] and as far as the military is concerned, we do not get involved in that. Those are some of the things that we do not get involved in. The same way that I don't go into your drawers, I don't get involved in those things in your home. If I am traveling as a stranger in a pilgrim, if I am truly doing as we read here in Hebrews chapter 11, said they declare plainly that they seek a country and truly if they had been mindful of that country [00:08:41] from whence they came out they might have had opportunity to have returned talking I think about the children of Israel have returned to Egypt but no, they desire a better country that is a heavenly let us not lose sight of the heavenly country when my folks came to visit me in El Salvador in the late 60s when I was there as a single person that dates me, I recognize that but they came and it struck them that they could not even read the billboards of that country [00:09:13] you know, they looked at them and sometimes they asked what does that say? and we could tell them, but they couldn't the language that we speak as God's people is it the language of God? is it the language of the world? and I think you understand that We take that with a grain of salt. But as we are in other countries, as we are visiting other countries, there are things that we need to ask. [00:09:44] Recently, some friends from Mexico were driving up in the United States and he had a Mexican driver's license and the police stopped him. And the question arises, does that driver's license stand? Is it recognized here? and I believe it was. But those are things that we think of. There is quite a bit of ado about the health care reform that our president at present is pushing for. [00:10:22] One of the sticky points I understand is would illegal aliens be entitled to these? and I'm not going to push that point. All I'm saying is what government services are we entitled to if we are a pilgrim and stranger, if we really are a pilgrim and stranger. I have too been, as I indicated, I have been a stranger and I've been an alien in another country and I know a little bit of what it feels like. [00:10:54] I remember when we were in Costa Rica for language school. On July 4th, the Costa Rican ambassador threw a party for all U.S. citizens that were in the country. And I don't remember for sure. I suspect we had to have a proof of citizenship, like a passport or something, to gain entrance to the compound there. But gain entrance we did. Once inside the compound, free food. I don't remember what all was free, but it was a place to go. [00:11:25] And somehow it kind of felt like being at home to people that were used to seeing strange sights all at once. We were at home. Now, why do I say this? I think our meeting this morning here should be a little bit like that was as citizens. We come together and here we are and it feels like home to us. And I trust that's what it feels like as we are together. I think it can be a taste of home when we get together with our family who are God's people. [00:11:57] May God help us to sense that family as we are together in the house of worship with people who have the same citizenship that we do. And as we meet with God in prayer, I trust that that can also be a place that we can be blessed. Recently, as we attended a reunion of our eighth grade graduating class, and it was the 50th, I thought it was only old people that could relate back that far, and I guess it is. [00:12:32] But one of our fellow students, one of my fellow students, back in the graduating class of 58 and 59 of Elrica School, the first graduating class, said something that kind of arrested my attention. They live in, I think it's El Dorado, Arkansas, where the Hudson Memorial Nursing Home is. He is the administrator of the Hudson Memorial Nursing Home. And they open their home there. They live in a part of the city that is not a good part of the city. [00:13:04] But they have people that come in. And they have people that come in to spend time there. They have like apartments there. And they have people that spend time with them there. As they had people come in there, after a while, these people told them why they come in there. These people said, we have demonic attacks when we are out there. [00:13:36] When we stepped on your doorstep, they had to leave. Friends, that communicates something. Are our homes safe havens for people? Are we people of faith whose homes are a place where people can come to and be blessed and find a place where they can be at home? Now, as aliens in El Salvador, we were not permitted to work for monetary gain. Now, we may work for monetary gain here, but the way we do it is different than if our primary goal is for making money. [00:14:16] You know, I have contact with people, and I'm sure all of us do, that it's fairly obvious that making money is very important. Well, it seems to me that the scriptures teach us what money is for. The Bible says, work with your hands so you can eat, and one other thing, give to those that have need. Those are basically the things that we're to earn money for, as I understand. [00:14:47] And I'm not saying this morning that we may not have something stored up for a rainy day. In fact, I think it's wise to be wise stewards. But as we help one another as a congregation, it, I think, reduces the need for that. And I trust that we don't overdo that kind of thing. I think that if we operate as a stranger and pilgrim, it will affect the way we do business. [00:15:18] I think it will affect the kind of music that I listen to. I think it will affect the way I look at sports it will affect the way I consider my own personal rights personal rights there are several things that I think of but if somebody does something that is really obnoxious and I just simply have a hard time taking that is there something within me that stands up? Or am I willing to build God's kingdom by letting that person have my own rights, what I consider my personal rights? [00:16:00] What are those anyway? I'm not sure. But what if somebody doesn't pay you? It's something that you have coming, but he just doesn't pay you. I think that Christians have some recourse. We have a business. We don't just go on sending things out indefinitely if people don't pay us. But I am just simply going to say one thing. Once in a while Tim or Luke will hand me the phone. [00:16:30] Here Dad, I don't know what's there. Sometimes it's somebody that would like to collect our bills for us. I do not give them the time of day. I'm sorry, I don't. And I'll tell you why. I would rather be a representative of the Lord Jesus Christ to that person that owes me money than let him try to be a representative. Because I'm afraid that what he would do would not be something that I could in good conscience endorse. And I'm not saying that, well, we'll just leave that. [00:17:04] I'd just like to relate one thing. A business that I do business with, a number of years ago a man told me that, and these are plain Mennonites, and I'm just going to stop there, I'm not going to identify them. But one of the business owners said, sometimes we use collection agencies, and I was kind of surprised, just to be truthful. I do not know if things have changed or if it's just because I talked to a different owner of the same business. But one thing I appreciate is that recently, in the recent years, when I talk with them about how they relate, how they act in cases like that, this brother just simply told me that sometimes we just simply call a meeting and we sit down and see what it is that we can work out with these people. [00:17:57] I don't know about you but to me that sounds more like the kind of thing that I would feel good about doing than turning my accounts over to a collection agency and by the way we do not have a lot of problem with that there are times when people run into problems and I think that's going to be our case wherever we are I think we need to relate to people But how can we help others to meet their obligations, I think, is a question that comes to us. [00:18:31] And I'm just going to say that what sets God's people apart from the people of this world is the way we relate to some of these things. These very real nuts and bolts issues of life. How do I handle them? And I think that God's people are set apart by the way they relate to these things. Now, when we call a meeting, or when we try our other ways of getting what is rightfully ours, does it always work? [00:19:03] Not always, but if we respond in a right way, does it help to build God's kingdom? I think so. I think at least God has something that he can use, and I trust that God can lead us, and I think that it helps my relationship with that other person. One of the things that I have told people that would like to collect our bills is I try to practice the golden rule. And I have learned that when I say no, I hang up the phone. [00:19:33] Because they have an endless list of reasons why I should continue, why I should use their services, and I don't think I have to listen to that. But I think that we as God's people say a lot about ourselves and our concept of the two kingdoms And the fact that we are living in the kingdom of this world but we are not a part of it And I think it just simply gets home in other areas as well The kind of vacations that we take [00:20:07] Recently, there was some talk, a group of people that we're a part of, and I'm not going to say more than that, about taking a vacation that would have gotten rather expensive. And I didn't say anything at that point, but I did just simply take the liberty to say later that I'm not saying that we wouldn't be a part of it, but I feel better about spending my money in a different way than that. and I recognize that for different people this may, the line may be at different places [00:20:44] but God's word and God's principles are true and I think we need to keep that in mind. What about when my vacation coincides with revival meetings? Am I willing to give up my vacation? And I'm not saying that you always must but it does say something about our values. It says something about what is important to us, what is most important to us. And what's my attitude about vacation? I've earned it. I intend to take it regardless what. [00:21:16] Or am I more concerned about building the kingdom of God is I think what is important here. You may say now, wait a minute, and I am not going to tell you what you may and what you may not do. But there is a phrase that is used quite a bit in society. Well, in fact, there are, what are there, necklaces that have a WWJD on it? [00:21:48] And I, it's kind of, what, kind of ironic to me that they put that kind of a bracelet on or that kind of a necklace on. What does that stand for, by the way? What would Jesus do? The question is right. Is it right to put a necklace on your neck? That would be a question that I would have. But it becomes almost trite because it is asked so often in a lot of different situations. [00:22:22] I wonder how many of us read In His Steps, the book In His Steps by Charles Sheldon. Okay, I see a good number of hands over here, a number of hands over here. Brethren, you have your homework. You should find that book and read it. The book, that is where the phrase came from, I believe. That's the place where I was introduced to the phrase, and you should read that book. It is a book where I think Charles Sheldon helps us to understand what it means to be a pilgrim and stranger. [00:22:58] I didn't even think of that. I don't have that in my notes. But when I talked about what would Jesus do, I think that we do well to consider those words. Do you suppose that Jesus would have found time to come down to this earth, to live here, to be separated from the glories of heaven, to be separated from his father, and I was going to say from the Holy Spirit, I guess I'm not quite sure there. [00:23:29] But to be separated from that which he knew, if he would not have epitomized the pilgrim and stranger concept, the stranger and pilgrim concept He was willing to do that for us I think one of the things that we need to remember is that we are not selfish about the way we look at these things But rather, how can I help others, how can I build God's kingdom I don't think that Christians are pushovers If you think that I am preaching, yeah, we should say yes to everybody. I don't, I'm not trying to say that. In fact, as a part of an assignment for my involvement at Faith Builders, I was asked to read a book entitled Boundaries by John Townsend and Henry Cloud. [00:24:28] Okay, at first as I was reading this book, I said, now wait a minute, is this what a Christian should do? But then I stopped to think, does Jesus set boundaries? Did Jesus set boundaries? Very obviously, I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man cometh unto the Father but by me. Did Jesus set a boundary there? Absolutely, he said he's the only way. And so God's people are allowed to set boundaries. [00:24:59] The thing is, we should not do so selfishly. That is the thing that I would like to have us remember. Turn with me this morning to Colossians chapter 3. As we endeavor to live our lives, as God would have us live our lives. And there are two scriptures that I thought of that I could read. I'm going to tell you what the other one is. I'm not going to turn to it because I think the time is moving on. But the other scripture that we do well, we would do well to read is Philippians chapter 2 verses 1 through 11. [00:25:38] But I would like to read Colossians chapter 3, 1 through 7 If you then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God Set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God When Christ through his our life shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth, fornication, uncleanness inordinate affection, evil concupiscence and covetousness which is idolatry [00:26:13] for which things say the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience in the which ye also walked sometime when ye lived in them drop down to verse 12 put on therefore as the elect of God holy and beloved bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering forbearing one another and forgiving one another If any man have a quarrel against any, even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. [00:26:45] And I'd like to just refer, if you just turn back several pages in your Bibles, I'd like to refer to, I said the mind of Christ is important. Philippians chapter 2 verse 5, let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. And it talks about the fact that he was willing to come down here and to die, even as I just said just a little bit ago. May the mind of Christ be our mind. May building his kingdom be more important than building an earthly empire here. [00:27:20] Because the things that we do on this earth, we are not going to take with us. But if our children, if other people profess the name of Christ, those are things of eternal value. The things for here, they will stay here. And if you want just a little bit of a gauge as to where your heart is, how unsettling is it when things around us seem to be kind of like this? [00:27:51] You know, the financial institutions even now, that seems to have calmed down somewhat. But what does that do to my heart? Does that make me fear and tremble? Or is my assurance, is what I have my heart set on at a place where these financial institutions can't take it down? I trust that it is.