Philippians 3:20 – For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

cit·i·zen- a native or naturalized person who owes allegiance to a government and is entitled to protection from it

2 Corinthians 5:20 – Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.

am·bas·sa·dor – an accredited diplomat sent by a country as its official representative to a foreign country.

Mark 4:30 -Then He said, “To what shall we liken the kingdom of God? Or with what parable shall we picture it? 31 It is like a mustard seed which, when it is sown on the ground, is smaller than all the seeds on earth; 32 but when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all herbs, and shoots out large branches, so that the birds of the air may nest under its shade.”

Romans 8:28-30 – And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.  For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.  Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.

Here’s how these work together…  We know (because the Apostle Paul explains to us) that we are not FROM here…  Oh, we may be, in our flesh, created here, or evolved here (if that is the divine Creator’s plan, not because science says so), but we who believe, the “called according to His purpose”, (some fully realized and some not yet), are spirits before we are clothed in flesh (yes just like Jesus), and the implication of Romans 8:28-30 is that we were foreknown by God, justified by His death on the Cross, and are even now, glorified with Him.

Now Paul also says we were predestined, but I think that is often misunderstood to imply that we were in some way preselected, and so belong to some special Christian “club”.   Not so!  Because the Creator/Father God is Transcendent (omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, and unknowable by our simple minds) He already knows who the called are, because all Time and Space is ONE to Him and He knows what WILL happen because, in His Transcendence, it has already happened and IS HAPPENING.

Now, follow me here… in His imminence (as our Lord and Savior Jesus the Messiah, Son of God) He withholds this knowledge even from Himself so that the selection of the called becomes a truly relational exercise, where our free will meets His Truth (in the living Word of God, Christ Jesus) and we choose to follow Him or we do not.

SO… We have established who we, as the called, ARE.  Now we must recognize ourselves as citizens of Heaven, who are IN the world but not OF it.  As the definition of citizen shows us (see above) we have both protection from our home country (in this case the power of God in Heaven) and an obligation to obey it’s laws.  Jesus spoke clearly on what the law now consists of …

Mark 12: 29 – 31 -Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.

Now… we are not only citizens of Heaven sent here to fulfill God’s Purpose, but we are also Ambassadors as 2Cor 5:20 tells us (also above).  As Ambassadors, we are able to offer our heavenly protection (through the power of faith-filled prayer and the practicing of miracles through the Holy Spirit) to those to whom the Lord calls us.  When two or three are gathered in His Name (Matthew 18:20), we ambassadors are also an Embassy (see definition above below).

Em-bas-sy – One country’s main diplomatic office in another (usually in the capital city of the host country) where the highest diplomatic officer is the ambassador. Embassy premises and all its diplomatic staff fall under the sovereignty of the ambassador’s home country and are protected under the concept of diplomatic immunity by the host country.

As an Embassy, we are able to offer God’s protection because, as we know, for example, when there is an American Embassy in Beirut, and someone enters into the Embassy, they are no longer on Lebanese soil, legally speaking, but standing on American soil, with the rights and sanctions afforded an American citizen.  We provide sanctuary to those who allow themselves to come under our (as the Lord’s) protection.   Like that mustard seed grown into a mighty tree, we offer the “birds of the air” protection and sustenance, spiritually speaking.

Now, as ambassadors of Heaven, we also have the responsibility to be good representatives of our home “country”.  Not self-righteous, not judgmental, not pharisaical, not callous to sin, but rather understanding of it and loving, as our Savior was, to the poor, the disenfranchised, the widows and the orphans and also to the devil-tormented, the addicted and the sexually immoral (as was Jesus similarly understanding and willing to lay down His life to change them).

WE ARE AMBASSADORS FROM HEAVEN, SENT TO EARTH TO LIGHT THE DARKNESS AND HELP THE CAPTIVES TO BE FREE.

Yep… That’s us, according to the full Gospel of Jesus Christ.

That is what Jesus is doing!

Love you saints,
John Henry Raskin, Roadhouse Rabbi