"I'M BUT A STRANGER HERE!"

"I'M BUT A STRANGER HERE!"

Philippians 3:17-21

Grace, mercy and peace be unto you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Dearly Beloved in Christ,
Most human beings don't like being or feeling like a stranger, i.e., an outsider, one who
doesn't belong! That's why we want to welcome any visitors in our midst, to help overcome
that feeling of strangeness and unfamiliarity they feel in our midst. That's one of the main
reasons for our fellowship time after Church, with coffee, etc. To get a chance to meet and
greet our visitors, and make them feel at home.
One of the increasing problems in our society is that more and more Americans feel like
strangers in their own country. The rapidly increasing hostility of our society in general, and
our government in particular, to the traditional values upon which our nation was founded
leave many feeling as if they no longer belong here. I certainly feel that way – especially
because I am a Christian. The fact that most of the so-called "politically correct" views held
in America today are contrary to the Christian faith makes me want to move to another
country – but there's no place to go anymore, since the liberal factions who foster this
ungodliness have determined to spread their doctrine all over the world, especially through
television and movies.
But what we are experiencing at the beginning of the 21st century is nothing new in the
history of the world. Rather, it is merely a return to what the world was like before
Christianity became the prevailing force in Western Civilization. For up until that time, all
Christians experienced the very same thing, no matter where they went! Abortion,
homosexuality, spiritism, etc. were the norm until Christianity prevailed, and now they are
the norm again, even here in the last bastion of the Western Church on earth. Again, and
increasingly, that makes me, and probably you too, feel like a stranger! Yes, in a very real
way, every Christian is able both to sing and to feel our Sermon hymn: "I'm but a stranger
here, Heaven is my home; earth is a desert drear(y) Heaven is my home. Danger and sorrow
stand Round me on every hand; Heaven is my fatherland, Heaven is my home." For this is
the testimony of the Apostle Paul in the third chapter of his epistle to the saints at Philippi.
Let us consider what we mean by this saying:

I. "I'm But a Stranger Here!

A. Like Abraham, the Hebrew – "One who passes over", i.e., "Just passing through"
(Heb. 11:8-10) "By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a
place which he was to receive as an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing
where he was going. And he lived as an alien in the land of the Promise, as in a
foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow-heirs of the same
Promise. For he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect
and builder is God."
1. Abraham was apparently wealthy & comfortable in Ur of the Chaldees.
(Mesopotamia, Iraq!)
2. But God called him out of his comfortable life into the unknown wilderness!
a. And made him a "Stranger and a pilgrim on the earth" (A pilgrim is one
on a journey to a Holy Place; "just passing through wherever they are
at the moment.)
b. So much a stranger, even in the Promised Land, was Abraham, that he
had to purchase a piece of land just to bury his dear wife!
(1) O.T. Lesson, Gen. 23:4 "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."
(2) Thus all he ever owned of the Promised Land was a burial plot
containing the bones of his beloved fellow-pilgrim, Sarah!

B. All Christians are Hebrews – "Ones from the Other Side!!!"
1. As were all the O.T. fathers, according to author to the Hebrews: "All these
died in faith, without having received the things Promised, but having only
seen them afar off, and having saluted them, and having confessed that they
were strangers and pilgrims on the earth." (Heb. 11:13)
a. "All these" == those covered in all of Heb. 11: Abel, Noah, Abraham,
Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, etc.
b. Enoch alone didn't die, but was taken directly to heaven.
2. As David confessed in our Introit, saying: "SAVIOR, show me the end of my
life, and the extent of my days; that I may know how fleeting my life is!" (Ps.
39:4)
a. And he complains about the futility of being a Stranger in the earth:
"Surely every man at his best is a mere breath; surely every man walks
about as a mere phantom! Surely he makes an uproar for nothing; he
heaps up wealth, not knowing who will get it!" (Ps. 39:5-6)
b. But at last he confesses: "But now, SAVIOR, what am I waiting for?
My hope is in Thee! Deliver me from all my transgressions; make me
not the reproach of fools." (Ps. 39:7-8)
c. And he prays: "Hear my prayer, O SAVIOR, and give ear to my cry. Do
not be deaf to my weeping, for I am a stranger before Thee, and a
sojourner, like all my fathers!" (Ps. 39:12)
3. If you feel like a stranger here, Christian, you are not alone!

II. "I'm But a Stranger here – Heaven is My home!!!"

A. Because Christ Jesus, "for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven
and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary and was made man; and
was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate. He suffered and was buried; and the
third day He rose again according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and
sitteth on the right hand of the Father!"
1. Thus He made us "Citizens of Heaven"!
a. By Himself becoming "A stranger in a strange land," and that,
voluntarily. (Imagine leaving all that for this!)
b. By taking our sins upon Himself – thus making Himself a stranger to
God! ("My God, My God, why has Thou forsaken Me?")
c. This He did in order to transfer His citizenship to us! "So then you are
no longer strangers and aliens (in heaven), but you are fellow
citizens with the saints, and are of God's household!" (Eph. 2:19).
d. As young Sean Eaton became this very morning through Holy Baptism!
2. And having accomplished this great work, He Himself rose from the dead and
returned to His heavenly Kingdom, receiving the hero’s welcome that only He
deserved!

B. Therefore, we should act like Citizens of Heaven!
1. For even though We ARE Citizens of Heaven, we must still live here on
this earth for the time being, but never acting contrary to the Home rules!!
a. Home rules still apply as long as we want to remain citizens of that far
off land!
b. "We must obey God rather than men." (Acts 5:29)
c. Otherwise, we forsake and forfeit our citizenship! (I Pet. 2:11)
"Beloved, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain
from fleshly lusts, which war against your soul."
2. We must not act like those who were troubling the Philippian Church.
a. The Judaizers, who were "Living as enemies of the cross of Christ.” (18)
(1) They wanted to pervert the doctrine that all men are damned to
hell by their sins.
(2) They would not accept that only through Christ's cross can we be
saved, and not by our works.
(3) "Their end is destruction, their god is the belly, and their glory is
in their shame, for they set their minds on earthly things!" (vs. 19)
b. But the Apostle urges us "Citizens of Heaven" to follow his example and
that of other like him. (vs. 17)
(1) "Brethren, join in imitating me, and observe those who live
according to the example you have in us."
(2) Keeping the sound doctrines of our Kingdom.
(3) Keeping our heavenly goal.
(4) Desiring always to go home, where we fit in and belong!

C. For Christ will soon return to take us home!
1. For "Our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a
Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ!" (vs. 20)
2. "Who will change our lowly body to be like His glorious body, by the power
which He has, even to subject all things to Himself!" (vs. 21)
a. The physical, bodily resurrection is true, as Jesus Himself taught in our
Gospel lesson: "Have you not read that which was spoken to you by God,
saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of
Jacob'? He is not the God of the dead but of the living." (Matt. 22:31-32)
b. As Abraham, et al, first believed, and then experienced!

Dear Fellow Redeemed in the Blood of Christ,
I once saw a presentation on the life of the Big Band leader, Glen Miller. Some of you
may remember that he was a student at CU in the 1920's, and became the most popular band
leader in America before he died in a WWII plane crash – at the age of only 40. At any rate,
what impressed me the most about this talented man was that under his senior picture in his
High School Annual he had written, "I'm but a stranger here, heaven is my home"! Why did
he write that? He was already somewhat of a successful musician in Ft. Morgan, where he
lived, and he came from what appeared to be a good home, too. Yet he wrote this strange
epitaph at the age of only 17 or so. Maybe he knew something – maybe God had given him
some knowledge that very soon he would go home!
Well, whether that is true or not; soon, very soon, you will be called out of this vale of
tears to your heavenly home. How long – 20 years, 40, 60 or even 80, for such as young Sean
Eaton, baptized into the Kingdom of God here this morning? Only God knows, of course, but
some of us will no doubt depart sooner than others. But are you ready? Are you really ready
to Go Home? I am, and I have been for a long time, for I feel in my bones and cheerfully
confess that I have long been "A Stranger in a Strange Land", and I am a homebody! Fear
not, for your Savior God is simply providing you with the same experience as Abraham, Isaac
and Jacob, as well as all the saints of all time. And after all, who could ever have felt more
a stranger here on earth, than the Only-Begotten Son of God? But because He endured it
through death to victory, this is to be our lot as well. God grant each one of you the grace to
persevere in faith until you meet Him in your real, your eternal home – Heaven. Amen.

The peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts & minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.