UNDERSTANDING OUR DUAL CITIZENSHIP

[Albert Finch]

Philippians 3:20 - "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;"

As Christians, we are wonderfully privileged to have dual citizenship. We are citizens of earth and citizens of Heaven all at the same time! Many believe we receive our Heavenly citizenship only after we die. The Bible, however, illustrates how connected to Heaven we are while living on earth.

For example:
• When we pray on earth, our spirit manifests in Heaven before the throne of God. We read in Hebrews, "Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence" (Heb. 4:16). How, then, can we approach the throne of God in Heaven while we are still here on earth? It happens in the place of prayer – the place where Heaven and earth unite.

• When King David prayed to the Lord, "May my prayer be set before You like incense" (Psalm 141:2), we see the answer to that prayer in Revelation 5. This powerful throne room scene depicts the four living creatures and 24 elders, each with a harp and a golden bowl of incense, and these "golden bowls full of incense – are the prayers of God's people" (v.8).

• Jesus specifically taught us to pray for God's Kingdom to come and His will to be done on earth as it is in Heaven (Matthew 6:8,10). Although Heaven is a future reality, as a result of our prayers we are seeing and experiencing increasing deposits of Heaven on earth today in the form of signs, wonders, miracles, and supernatural activity.

Being citizens of Heaven puts us into direct spiritual conflict on the earth. King Jesus is leading a Kingdom invasion through us and displacing what used to belong to satan. Satan lost his authority over the earth at the Cross, but he didn't lose his power. He still uses his power against us, but we have the name and authority of Jesus to overcome it.

These conflicts appear in many different forms and dimensions, and if we are not aware, we will fail to connect that they are rooted in the spiritual realm. We will erroneously believe we are dealing with just a natural problem, but not be able to solve our problem because it needs a spiritual remedy.

ALBERT FINCH MINISTRY
http://afministry.ning.com/