This World Is Not Our Home
I Peter 2:10-12
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C. S Lewis once said - "If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world". C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, New York, Macmillan, 1960, p. 119.
For the past 7 years you all have been so gracious as to provide us with a nice place to live. I have been fortunate to raise my children in a house that keeps us safe and dry, cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Amber and I have lived here 3 times as long as we have lived anywhere else. In that time we have almost completely remodeled the house and in many ways have made it our home. But it is a temporary home. As the job goes so goes the house. I do not nor will I ever posses the title to the house of the deed to the land. 16 miles away from here we have a house in Oxford that we call our own. But it really isn't. Technically BBT will own it for the next 21 years. And even if we held the deed it would still be our temporary home. And even if we held the deed it would still be our temporary home. A fire or tornado could destroy it within minutes. The government could seize it if I fail to pay the property taxes. The state could claim imminent domain and bulldoze it. If we miss enough payments in a row the bank will foreclose. There is no guarantee that it will always be ours.
The same is true for each person here, certain circumstances could arise and you would find yourself displaced from what you call home. But for those who are born again we have a guarantee of a permanent residence. The Apostle Paul said in - Philippians 3:20 For our citizenship is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ:
Here in I Peter 2:10-12 Peter says that Christians are "pilgrims and strangers" in this world. When he uses the word "Stranger" he is speaking of a "sojourner". This is one who lives for an extended time in a country that is not his own. He will be there long enough to need a house to live in but he is not a legal citizen of that country. That is the case for the child of God. We live in this world but our real home is in Heaven. We are simply pilgrims passing through this world. Even though we have a hope of a far better place, we are still here until the Lord calls us home. And The Apostle Peter tells us in these verses how we should live while we are here.
I would like to walk through these verses and preach on the simple thought "This World Is Not Our Home" . Let's begin by examining:
I. The Hope We Possess While In This World - v10 Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.
We must first consider the context of this verse. Peter is writing to people who had been Gentiles. Israel was chosen by God and they were literally "the children of God" . But the door was opened to the Gentiles and they had become "the people of God" in the Spiritual sense. This new relationship that they were privileged to receive was only possible through God's amazing mercy! And this verse applies to you and I as much as it did to those in the first century church.
When Jesus came to us, we were not even part of a people - Ephesians 2:11 ¶Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; 12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: 13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
Not only were we without an identity as a people, Romans 8:7 tells us that "we were the enemies of God". We were destined for Hell and that is exactly what we deserved! It is still what we deserve! But God extended His mercy to us...He "called us out of darkness into His marvelous light" - Even though we are merely "pilgrims passing through this world" we possess a hope of an eternal home! Because of the work that Jesus performed... And because of God's great mercy, grace, love and salvation those who are saved have eternal life. And on top of this eternal life we are promised a home in a place beyond description. We have only been given a glimpse of this place and our minds cannot comprehend what we have been told about Heaven!
A little girl was taking an evening walk with her father. Wonderingly, she looked up at the stars and exclaimed; "Oh, Daddy, if the wrong side of heaven is so beautiful, what must the right side be!" (Charles L. Allen in Home Fires)
In Revelation 21 Jesus tells us that this place has: Golden streets, Jasper walls, A Crystal sea, Gates of pearl and a foundation made of precious gem stones. He also tells us that in this place there will be: No more sickness, sorrow, death, crying, or tears. This will also be a land with no more sin, and NO MORE SATAN!!! I don't know about you but I cannot imagine how great Heaven is going to be! But I know this... while traveling through this world of sorrow, I possess hope in a much better place! No matter how bad things may get down here, we have a promise of eternal life in that Heavenly Home!!! I am proud to say "THIS WORLD IS NOT MY HOME!!!"
Verse 11 gives us even more reason to rejoice in the hope we possess in this world. Consider:
II. The Temptation We Face While In This World - v11 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;
Peter tells these "pilgrims and strangers" to "stay away from worldly desires" . He says that these desires "war against the soul" . We are to avoid the desires of the flesh at all cost.What are these desires? Paul gives us a comprehensive list of them in Galatians 5-
sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties and other sins like these.
We often blame Satan when we are tempted to sin, and he does his part, But these "lusts" are "of the flesh". These are things that the natural man wants! Like someone said "if there were no devil, I would be all the devil I need! Peter says that these lusts "war against the soul". This speaks the great power of temptation “War" means to carry on a military campaign. What is the answer for "The Temptation We Face While In This World"? The answer is found in - Galatians 5:16 ... Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh." - We must actively fight the desires of the flesh! I am glad that this world is not my home, I am even more excited about the fact that in my real home there is no more temptation!!!
Temptation is a reality as we live in this world, but there is another issue that we will encounter while traveling through this world. I am referring to the persecution of the Christian. Notice:
III. The Hostility We Encounter While In This World - v12 Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.
The people Peter was writing to were suffering severe persecution. He wanted them to live securely in the face of hostility. So he gives some instructions as to how to live in a hostile world. We can benefit greatly from these instructions as well. There seems to be a mounting hostility toward Christianity in our society. Christians in our nation face increasing hostility on personal and governmental levels. The reason the world hates us is because we do not belong in this world. Jesus has called us to be different. If we follow Jesus and live according to His Word, the world WILL HATE US!
Jesus told us that this would happen! John 15:18 ¶If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. 19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. - When we are sold out and live in the way the Lord has commanded us to, then we will make the people of this world very uncomfortable. If you profess to be a Christ follower but you live like the world, you may not face this hostility that I speak of. But when you fully surrender to Jesus and live according to His Word, you will not be popular! You will face persecution, aggression and hostility! When this happens you can rejoice because THIS WORLD IS NOT OUR HOME!!!
Even though This World Is Not Our Home, there are some requirements for how we should live while we are here. Notice:
IV. The Responsibility We Have While In This World - v12 Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.
As "pilgrims and strangers" we have a responsibility to live properly among those who are of this world.
Have you ever encountered someone from another country? It doesn't take long to realize that they think and act much different than we do. They are from an entirely different culture, they have different customs and beliefs. When I was in High School I had a friend who was born in Korea. I went to his house one time and I noticed that just outside the door was a bunch of shoes. He explained to me that when entering a Korean home, you must remove your shoes. To do any less is a sign of great disrespect.
We are citizens of Heaven and we should have a heavenly mindset. We have different beliefs and customs. As Christians we should think and act differently than the people of this world. Whether we realize it or not the people of this world are watching us. They are looking to see if our faith is real. Many are watching and hoping to see us fail so they can criticize us. This may be frustrating on the surface but it is actually a great opportunity. When we live consistent Christian lives... We prove that our faith is genuine - We prove that we are different and We show what a difference Jesus can make in a life.
Though they may criticize us for our standards...Though they may mock, scorn and ridicule us for what we oppose.... Though they are "hostile" towards us.... Some may be lead to Christ as a result of the witness we have for Christ. May we live each day in such a way that the lost world will see the glorious change that Jesus has wrought in our lives!
As long as we are in this world, we will be "pilgrims and strangers". But we have a responsibility while we are here to share the good news of Jesus Christ. We are to our lives as His representatives - II Corinthians 5:20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ; certain that God is appealing through us, we plead on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled to God.”
We will face hostility in this world, we will face temptation in this world but we have hope that This Word Is Not Our Home! In this world we have our troubles but the Christian can rest in the fact that "This World Is Not Our Home"
2 Corinthians 5:1 we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. - We will face temptations and we battle daily with the "fleshly desires that war against our soul" . We must walk in the Spirit, We must pursue Holiness and We must be witnesses to this lost and dying world.
The Boy Scouts have a rule: "Always leave the campground cleaner than you found it." The rule is simple if you find a mess on the ground, you clean it up regardless of who might have made the mess. In doing this you intentionally improve the environment for the next group of campers. The original form of that rule, written by Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell, the father of scouting, was "Try and leave this world a little better than you found it."
We have been called out of the darkness into the light. And we should shine as lights in the darkness!
If you are here and you do not know Jesus as your personal Savior, this old world is as good as it is going to get for you. You are living this life with no hope. You are headed toward eternal condemnation. Jesus said that "unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God" . But He also gave this promise "He that believed is not condemned!"
If you will trust Jesus as your Savior you too can have the hope of eternal life. And when you face the troubles, difficulties and sufferings of this life you can do so with hope, I encourage you to surrender to Christ today and you can say with us ...."This World Is Not Our Home!"
