7/16/23 Where is Your Citizenship?

“Where is your Citizenship?”

Acts 16:35-40

As many of you know, Lisa & I were on vacation with the rest of our family last week. We did a lot of hiking and eating…sometimes both at the same time!

We had the opportunity to experience some of God’s beautiful creation in Glacier National Park in Montana and Banff National Park on the border of Alberta & British Columbia, Canada.

The beautiful high-altitude turquoise lakes in Banff were even more spectacular than pictures in the guidebooks and online videos depicted, and the sweeping mountainous vistas in Glacier made us feel like we were the VonTrapp family from The Sound of Music walking over the Alps as we hiked over the continental divide at Logan Pass.

It was absolutely gorgeous, and if you ever have the opportunity to see either of these places, it will enhance your appreciation for God’s creative gifts to mankind.

There was something else we noticed, however, as we cruised around these parks in our rental vehicle over the past week…and that was the existence of campgrounds everywhere!

Not only are these National Parks (And their surrounding area) a photographer’s paradise, but they are also a camper’s paradise. Every mile we saw campsite after campsite filled to capacity with everything from simple tents to half-million dollar RV’s.

I suspect that many of these people are “Full-Time” campers as they follow the 70 & 80 degree temperatures found up north this time of year and then head down south during the winter.

At the same time, however, many of these travelers (When asked) will reference a single geographical location where they call home.

At times, Lisa & I will run into some of these people who are constantly traveling and ask where they are from, and we have yet to hear someone tell us that “Home” is wherever they currently are. Many times, it will be a city somewhere out East, or the Midwest, or maybe somewhere in Canada.

In other words, these people a have home that is near and dear to their heart, yet they are seldom (If ever) there.

Another way of saying this is that their citizenship is aligned with a specific location – a land far away from where they happen to be as they constantly wander the highways and byways of North America.

This is a perfect illustration of the believer in Jesus Christ.

For the Christian (the person who has given their life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ) we are sojourners (wanderers) in a world that is not our true home.

Even though we technically are citizens of the United States of America, our real (And far more important) citizenship as God’s children, lies within the spiritual borders of His kingdom.

Our passage of scripture for today speaks to the importance of citizenship in the ancient world, along with the rights and privileges enjoyed by those who have obtained or inherited citizenship within a particular region – especially – Roman citizenship.

This was the case for Paul.

If you recall, last week our brother Chris Anderson spoke about Paul & Silas being thrown in prison after driving out an evil spirit from a demon-possessed slave girl. This healing miracle, of course, led to her owners’ losing boatloads of profit from her (Now Non-existent) demonic gift of divination.

The girl’s masters complained to the authorities, resulting in Paul and Silas being beaten and thrown into prison.

God sends an earthquake that miraculously frees Paul and Silas from their shackles, but rather than running away to freedom, they stick around in hopes of making an impact upon the jailer who they had undoubtedly been witnessing to while in jail.

This life-saving act on the part of Paul & Silas does indeed make an impact upon the jailer as he and his entire family are brought to faith in Christ that same night.

Our passage for today picks up the next morning as verse 35 (Acts 16:35) tells us that “The magistrates sent their officers (The same officers, by the way, who had given Paul & Silas their beatings) to the jailer with the order: ‘Release those men.’”

Talk about a quick change of heart from the local authorities!

All of a sudden, the evil slave masters didn’t have quite the pull they once did in town…Paul & Silas were now free to go!

Do you think the rare and timely earthquake had something to do with their decision to let Paul & Silas go so quickly? … I do. I think the magistrates were smart enough to realize that Paul & Silas had some sort of divine authority on their side.

…and If there’s one thing that hasn’t changed through the centuries, it’s that worldly people in power will always look out for themselves before truly considering the needs and well-being of others.

In this case, their self-centered mindset actually helps Paul and Silas as they are given the green light to leave town.

…and In verse 36 (Acts 16:36) the jailer delivers the good news to Paul.

End of story, right?

Why are there 4 more verses in this chapter?

Shouldn’t this be the end of the visit to Philippi?

Why aren’t Paul and his gang saddling up and riding off into the sunset? (Or, in this case, the sunrise)?

Well, Paul was a clever individual, a person who constantly looked to the Lord for guidance in every situation – including this one.

You see, wherever Paul went within the Roman empire, he always had an ace up his sleeve.

Paul was a Roman citizen. Having been born in Tarsus, a free city within the Roman Empire, Paul would have been a Roman citizen by birth.

In those days, if you were a citizen of Rome, it either meant that you had parents who were Roman citizens and you inherited your fortuitous position, or you purchased citizenship yourself – which came at an extremely high price that average people simply could not afford.

Today, it would be like someone booking a week-long stay at the Fairmont Chateau on Lake Louise in Banff National Park.

A one night stay right now during peak season at this expensive hotel will set you back $1,000 a night, your average person is not going to be able to afford this hotel (Needless to say, my family and I did NOT stay at the Fairmont!) 😊

But when you book a room at the Fairmont, you receive certain rights & privileges, with the most important one being that you have a reserved parking spot in a very limited parking area that usually fills up with tourists before 7:00 in the morning.

Likewise, with Roman citizenship came certain rights & privileges.

One of those rights was that a Roman citizen could not be beaten or incarcerated without a trial – something that Paul never received in Philippi.

So, as an honored citizen of Rome, Paul has as plan.

In verse 37 (Acts 16:37) Paul says to the officers: “They beat us publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens (Silas was also a Roman citizen) and threw us into prison. And now do they want to get rid of us so quietly? No! Let them come themselves and escort us out.”

Wow, Paul! You’ve got guts!

Say you drive over to Baraboo and you’re in the drive-thru lane at Culvers. Someone falsely claims that they saw you throw a ketchup packet out your window. Suddenly the police descend upon your vehicle, arrest you and throw you in the county jail for the night. In the morning they apologize and tell you that you can go home.

You would probably want to see someone in authority be publicly held accountable for such a gross violation of your rights, right?

I’m sure Paul felt this way as well, but I don’t think he calls for the magistrates to grovel just for his own benefit – I believe that he has a more important reason for demanding that they escort him and his companions to the city limits.

Paul knew that the Philippian authorities would be scared when they found out that he and Silas were Roman citizens.

You see, if the high level authorities in Rome had caught wind of how the local magistrates in Philippi treated these Roman citizens, it could jeopardize their own jobs as well as the status of Philippi as a privileged Roman colony.

Knowing this, Paul wanted to make a public statement of legitimacy for not only himself and his message, but also for the church that he and his companions had founded there.

Paul understood that if the local authorities were forced to publicly admit their legal error, this would ensure that they would respect the rights and boundaries of the congregation of new believers in town as well.

Verse 39 (Acts 16:39) tells us that the magistrates complied with Paul’s demand for a public escort.

I like how this account provides a sort of framework for how we as Christians today can also demand that government (local, state, or national) recognize our constitutional rights.

Christian law firms such as Liberty Council and Alliance Defending Freedom, amongst others, fill an important role today in standing up for the rights of Christians in this country.

These days, much of their advocacy involves public education cases in which local school boards have tried to limit or deny rights of a Christian student or organization.

It’s vitally important that faith-based groups are afforded the same rights and privileges as that of non-religious groups on public campuses.

Our oldest daughter, Lindsay, volunteers with kindergarteners through her church at a public school in Marshfield – as do all of the pastors from her church as well. There is nothing unlawful about this kind of faith-based representation in our public-school systems – despite what many people may claim to the contrary.

Essentially, this is what Paul is doing here in Philippi as well. He is forcing those who oppose him to ‘Play by the rules’…to publicly acknowledge his rights – and by extension – the rights of the newly formed church in Philippi.

Verse 40 (Acts 16:40) of our passage for today describes another bold move on the part of Paul and his companions.

The magistrates have publicly humiliated themselves by humbly walking these four Christian missionaries to the wall of the city in hopes that they will just leave, thereby calming the city down so they can all get back to their false worship and idolatry without any push-back.

What do Paul and his companions do? They simply turn around and walk back into town on their way to Lydia’s house!

Can you envision this? Can you imagine the look on the magistrate’s faces?

Remember the looks on the faces of the Detroit Lions fans after Aaron Rodgers threw that 50-yard hail-mary bomb to the endzone and it was caught by the tight end Richard Rodgers to win the game? – They call it the ‘Miracle in Motown’?

Yeah, I’m thinking it was that kind of look on the faces of the Philippian authorities when Paul and his companions get escorted to the city gate just to turn on a dime and head back into town.

Now that’s boldness.

Do we have that kind of boldness for Jesus? Are we willing to risk our own reputations, our own social standing, even our own safety, in order to win others to Christ?

As your pastor, I’m preaching to myself here as well. Like many of you, I was basically raised to “fit-in” and not “stir the pot”…remember that phrase? In other words, do whatever it takes to not make other people angry.

And In school, we are told to make friends, not enemies, right?

Well, if we live our lives with the goal of never offending anyone, we will seldom -if ever -  win people to Jesus.

Why? Because the gospel of Jesus Christ is OFFENSIVE to lost souls!

Why is it offensive? Because it demands that people acknowledge and confront their own sin…and no one likes to do that.

Jesus tells his followers (Including us today) that we will not be liked because of the message that we proclaim to the world.

Jesus says in Matthew 10:22 “All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.”

I’m sure that we could have this sanctuary filled to capacity with multiple Sunday morning services if we never mentioned sin, or the atoning blood of Christ, or God’s wrath toward anyone who has not accepted Jesus and his moral commands.

But this church has always, and as long as I’m pastor here, always will preach the truth of the gospel….and yes, at times that will be offensive to some people.

But this truth should come as no surprise.

Paul reminds us in 2 Timothy 3:12 “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”

Did you catch that word ‘everyone’? Not just some believers, every believer will suffer some form of persecution for living according to biblical standards of morality.

Paul, Silas, Timothy, and Luke all were subject to hatred, to ridicule, to persecution, to oppression – all because they made a choice.

They made a choice to follow Jesus and preach the truth that Jesus is the only path to eternal salvation.

The choice to follow Jesus also establishes your citizenship in God’s Kingdom rather than in the Kingdom of this world, which is influenced in every way by Satan.

Ephesians 2:1-2 says “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.”

This is a powerful passage.

It reminds us that our citizenship, our home, is either with God or it is with Satan.

Every person will feel more comfortable in one more than the other…

Every person will long for one more than the other…

Every person will want to dwell in one more than the other.

Where is your citizenship this morning?

Is your citizenship in this world and its ways….or is your citizenship in God’s kingdom and His ways?

When my family and I were coming back into the USA from Canada, the last words from the officer at the checkpoint after he handed back our passports were these: “Welcome Home.”

If you have placed your faith and trust in Jesus, your citizenship is tied to a land that you have never seen – but you have experienced.

If you have placed your faith and trust in Jesus, your citizenship is tied to a land in which you have never literally stepped foot – but, spiritually,  you have walked in it through the power of the Holy Spirit.

If you have placed your faith and trust in Jesus, your citizenship is tied to a Kingdom where truth, love, righteousness, and harmony abide….and someday when your hike through this land of pain and sorrow is over, you will cross the border into God’s presence, and you will hear those same words that my family & I heard when we came back into the states…… “Welcome Home”

Let’s Pray.