Our Heavenly Citizenship

By Leslie Peters

The Bible is the least complicated book and offers clear-cut answers to all the complexities of life. Many people want to know about the afterlife and about what happens when they leave this world someday. God’s Word tells us straightforwardly that there is a glorious heaven reserved for God’s righteous family. Within the pages of this book you will discover the joy of becoming a citizen of heaven and living from a heavenly perspective whilst walking as a pilgrim on the earth. Read this book and learn the secrets of living joyfully and victoriously as a citizen of heaven. Our Heavenly Citizenship will fill your heart with a hope that heals and give you an unshakeable confidence to face the future.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Feb 8, 2018
• ISBN: 9781543481815

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Copyright © 2018 by Leslie Peters.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the Holy Bible, King James Version (Authorized Version). First published in 1611. Quoted from the KJV Classic Reference Bible, Copyright © 1983 by The Zondervan Corporation.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. [Biblica]

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Rev. date: 03/02/2022

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Contents

Chapter 1     Citizens Of Heaven

Chapter 2     The Book Of Life

Chapter 3     Pilgrims On The Earth

Chapter 4     Living By Faith

Chapter 5     Looking For The City Whose Builder And Maker Is God

Chapter 6     The New Jerusalem

Chapter 7     The River Of Life

Chapter 8     The Character And Conduct Of A Heavenly Citizen

Chapter 9     The Testimony Of Kat Kerr

Chapter 10   Risen With Christ

Chapter 11   Put On The New Man

Chapter 12   Abstain From Fleshly Lusts

Chapter 13   Focus On Serving The Lord

Chapter 14   Citizens Of Joy

Chapter 15   We Are A Victorious People

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This Book Is Dedicated To Our Son Jesse David Peters

- A Citizen of Heaven -

Chapter 1

Citizens Of Heaven

I want you to go with me in your Bible to Philippians chapter 3 verses 17 to 21. I’m going to read first from the King James Version of the Bible. Then I’m going to read that again from the New International Version.

Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample.

(For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:

Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)

For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:

Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.

If you are a born-again child of God, then you are a citizen of heaven. I want you to know that I am not talking about one day in the sweet by-and-by or one day when you leave this world. I want you to understand that in this present life, right now, if you are born again, then you are a citizen of heaven. I want you to declare that. Make a confession of it. Say it right now. Say I am a citizen of heaven. That’s right. In the natural, you are citizens of a particular country. But I want you to understand the Bible is absolutely clear about you being a citizen of heaven, and if you will understand that, then you can journey through life with greater confidence. Those who have passed on to be with Jesus are citizens in heaven, and we on earth are also citizens of heaven. Those who have gone on and those who are here right now are all one in Christ.

Friends, it should truly gladden your heart to realize that you are a citizen of heaven. In this life, we go through many trials. Many are burdened. Many are going through financial difficulties. Don’t you think it’s a comforting thing when you begin to realize that this world is not your home? You’re just passing through. Your treasures ought to be laid up somewhere beyond the blue. Doesn’t that bring comfort to you? Whatever you are facing today is just a momentary affliction. It is not your permanent lot in life. We’re just on our way. We’re passing through, and heaven is our true home. Heaven is our fatherland. We are mere pilgrims on this earth. Glory to God!

Now I want you to read what the apostle Paul had to write. Taken from the King James Version of the Bible, Philippians chapter 3, beginning at verse 17, he writes,

Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample.

In other words, the apostle Paul wants us to be followers of him. He said that we are to follow him as he followed Christ (1 Cor. 11:1). As a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, we have to make sure that, firstly, we are following the Word of God. We’ve got to make sure we are following those who are living right and walking right. In fact, the Bible says very clearly that we must withdraw from those who walk disorderly (2 Thess. 3:6). If there is some Christian that you are aware of that is walking in a disorderly fashion, then you are not to follow them in their wrongdoing. Because then it’s a case of the blind following the blind, and both are going to fall in a ditch. You’ve got to follow those who follow the Word of God. I’m going to even say this: Follow me as I follow Christ. Pastors are called to be examples to the flock. Paul is now warning us and admonishing us.

For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ. (v. 18)

Note the sternness and the tone of his voice. They are not followers of Christ. But he says that on the contrary, they are the enemies of the cross of Christ.

Now that you have been born again and now that you have come into the kingdom of God, what you need are good role models. If you know of a believer in Christ who is enticing you and saying, Hey, come and follow me. Today I am going to go and do something wrong. Come on, man, don’t be such a sissy. Come on, just follow me. Let’s go and do that stuff, well, you are not going to follow that kind of a person, are you? No, no, no. Because you know now to say, Hey, I am a child of God. The things I used to do I do them no more. All those bad habits and those wrong things—I don’t want to touch that stuff anymore. You can call me a sissy or you can call me a weakling or whatever, but I have made up my mind that I am going to follow Jesus. Praise God! So Paul says now that you are a believer in Christ, mark them because they are the enemies of the cross of Jesus Christ. He further amplifies that by stating in verse 19,

Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.

You see, their end is destruction. Why? Because they are not sowing to their spirit. They are sowing to their flesh. And, my friends, we are not to sow to the flesh because if we sow to the flesh, we are going to reap corruption. This Christian life is a beautiful life. God promises you prosperity, God promises you health, and God promises you the very best. He promises you a home in heaven, but there are some things that as Christians we do, and then there are some things we are not to do. We need to realize that the Christian life is a separated life. It’s not a boring or a dull life, but it’s a life that’s separated to God. In other words, we’ve got to live clean. We’ve got to live as children of God. Now somebody might be saying, You know, I am overtaken in a fault, and I’ve got certain issues in my life. I’ve got certain weaknesses. Well, in that case, be honest to God about it and confess that to God and say, Lord, I want you to help me. Lord, there are some things I really don’t want to do, but God, I am struggling with these things. And go to God and say, Father, help me. Perhaps ask the church to pray with you. We must remember what the Bible says in Galatians 6 verse 1: Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Dear friends, Paul is stern here, and he says, Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly. In other words, all they live for is their flesh and the feeding of their flesh rather than the feeding of their spirit. We’ve got to feed our spirits most importantly. Reading the Bible, praising, worshipping, praying, and spending time in fasting—that’s how you’re going to be able to subdue the flesh.

Now for those characters who are living in the flesh and are doing those things that they ought not to be doing as Christians, the Bible says, Whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame. The only glory they will have is not the glory that comes from God, but it is a shame that comes from the devil himself. Whose end is their shame—friends, when we do those things that are displeasing to God, then what really happens is that it just ends up in us living shameful lives. It brings reproach to the name of God. Now I do understand that we are all work in progress. But make up your mind and say, God, I really want to serve you. Now he says, Whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things. They are of no heavenly good because they are too earthly and that’s all they live for. They live for their flesh, waking up every morning thinking of ways and means of how they can entertain their flesh. But, my friends, I want you to understand that you and I are more than just physical bodies. First and foremost, we are spiritual beings, we have a soul, and we live in a body.

For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. (v. 20)

He says, For our conversation, and I want you to underscore the