We are sojourners on the earth
Notes
Transcript
Scripture reading: Heb. 11:13-16
Scripture reading: Heb. 11:13-16
All 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.
For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own.
And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return.
But 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.
When man dies, they go either straight to heaven or hell. As we live out our lives, there are things we do well, and things we do poorly. And we need to repent for the wrong things that we have done.
What kind of heart did we have as we began this year, and with what kind of heart have we lived this year? The people of faith in the Bible waited with joy for the promise of God.
The Lord said that He shed His blood for us in order to purify us, to be zealous for good deeds.
who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.
There is no limit to greed if God is not in our hearts. Right before the Apostle Paul died, he confessed that he had everything, even though he had nothing. Those who have Jesus Christ are the richest people. A saint needs to know how to long for their true home in heaven. Our forefathers of faith longed for the city of God. God was not ashamed to be called “God” by them, because He has prepared a city for them. When we close our eyes and depart from this world, we can have no fear, because we are confident in God. For those who do not repent, they are on a direct line to hell. Anyone whose name is not found in the book of life will be thrown into the lake of fire.
We must live confidently in every part of our lives. We must have faith, for it is the difference between heaven and hell. There is also a difference in our lives when we have faith.
Let us confirm for ourselves that we live as sojourners. If God asks us “How have you lived?”, we must reply, “I have lived as a sojourner.” A sojourner is a person who leaves their home to live in a foreign place. It is a person who wanders from place to place. In the Bible, the people of faith all confessed that they were sojourners. After Abraham’s wife Sarah died, Abraham confessed that he is a sojourner.
“I am a stranger and a sojourner among you; give me a burial site among you that I may bury my dead out of my sight.”
We are the spiritual sons of Abraham.
And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham.
Isaac’s son, Jacob, told Pharaoh that he was a sojourner.
So Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The years of my sojourning are one hundred and thirty; few and unpleasant have been the years of my life, nor have they attained the years that my fathers lived during the days of their sojourning.”
David confessed that we are sojourners.
“For we are sojourners before You, and tenants, as all our fathers were; our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no hope.
The Apostle Paul wrote that we have our citizenship in heaven.
For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;
We are aliens and strangers in this world. No matter how high or low we may be, we are still sojourners. And so we must live according to what God has given us.
‘The land, moreover, shall not be sold permanently, for the land is Mine; for you are but aliens and sojourners with Me.
As we live our lives on this earth, we always seek our own interests. But let us try seeking God’s interests.
Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.”
Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.
Do not boast about tomorrow,
For you do not know what a day may bring forth.
This world will pass away.
The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.
Before the tent of our flesh is torn down, we must do all we can to glorify God and give thanks.
For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
For indeed in this house we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven,
For,
“All flesh is like grass,
And all its glory like the flower of grass.
The grass withers,
And the flower falls off,
But the word of the Lord endures forever.”
And this is the word which was preached to you.
The members of the church in Corinth fought so much with each other and caused so much heartache for the Apostle Paul. And so he told them that this world is passing away. This is the key to stop fighting.
and those who weep, as though they did not weep; and those who rejoice, as though they did not rejoice; and those who buy, as though they did not possess;
and those who use the world, as though they did not make full use of it; for the form of this world is passing away.
One who is gracious to a poor man lends to the Lord,
And He will repay him for his good deed.
The Apostle Paul is telling us not to have any expectations for this world.
There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven—
A time to give birth and a time to die;
A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted.
A time to kill and a time to heal;
A time to tear down and a time to build up.
A time to weep and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn and a time to dance.
A time to throw stones and a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing.
A time to search and a time to give up as lost;
A time to keep and a time to throw away.
A time to tear apart and a time to sew together;
A time to be silent and a time to speak.
A time to love and a time to hate;
A time for war and a time for peace.
We must make an honest confession like the Moses in this psalm.
As for the days of our life, they contain seventy years,
Or if due to strength, eighty years,
Yet their pride is but labor and sorrow;
For soon it is gone and we fly away.
Who understands the power of Your anger
And Your fury, according to the fear that is due You?
So teach us to number our days,
That we may present to You a heart of wisdom.
After King David gathered the people together, the people started praising him. And so he became conceited.
David confessed therefore, ‘My times are in Your hand.’
My times are in Your hand;
Deliver me from the hand of my enemies and from those who persecute me.
“For we are sojourners before You, and tenants, as all our fathers were; our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no hope.
The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person.
My days are like a lengthened shadow,
And I wither away like grass.
For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake,
A sojourner must not be obsessed with the present. We must only be devoted to our present task. Everything in the present is just preparation for tomorrow. A sojourner who has too much lingering attachment cannot continue to travel. And the same applies to church life. It’s not about saying “I believe”. We must be mature and brave. As Christians walking this path, we must not be too attached to the world.
But this I say, brethren, the time has been shortened, so that from now on those who have wives should be as though they had none;
and those who weep, as though they did not weep; and those who rejoice, as though they did not rejoice; and those who buy, as though they did not possess;
and those who use the world, as though they did not make full use of it; for the form of this world is passing away.
As each day passes, heaven draws near.
We human beings complain and grumble because we want more than we need.
But we must realize that our current possessions are not eternal. We must conduct ourselves in fear during the time of our stay on earth.
If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth;
Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul.
For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either.
If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content.
For when he dies he will carry nothing away;
His glory will not descend after him.
As we live as sojourners, we must not make others feel wronged. We must also forgive everyone.
“My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart.”
If you don’t have a sojourner’s faith, you cannot forgive.