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💭 Consider this: What does it really mean to you to be a Christian—not merely in name, but in who you are, where you belong, and what you live for?

RefQuests

What does it mean to you to be a part of God’s household? How does this truth shape the way you live?
What hinders you from embracing your place in God’s household? How can you overcome those obstacles?
How are you contributing to the strengthening of God’s household?
How does the reality of your heavenly citizenship shape the way you respond to earthly challenges?
How does God use those within His household to help you grow in your faith?

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Do you deserve to be called a Christian?
“It is either you are in Christ or you are not. There’s no halfway house, so to speak.”
“there's a thin line between glorifying ourselves and glorifying God.”
“And whatever glory that is due to Him, we take it for ourselves. We are robbing Him.”

YT Description

📣 Where do you truly belong? 🤔

Many long for a place to call home, a community that truly accepts them. But what if true belonging isn’t found in culture, status, or bloodline, but in Christ alone?

In Ephesians 2:19–22, Paul reveals that believers are no longer outsiders, but fellow citizens with the saints—“lively stones” being built together into a holy temple for God’s dwelling.

So, what does it mean to be part of God’s household today? How do we live as one people in a world so divided? And if we are the temple of God, are our lives reflecting His presence within us? Learn what this identity through Christ means and changes for us today.

📄 Follow along with this sermon's transcript:

The Amazing Prospect And Awesome Responsibility Of Being A Christian The Amazing Prospect And Awesome Responsibility Of Being A Christian

📍 Sermon Outline

00:00 Trailer : What is the church? : I. GOD’S KINGDOM : Fellowcitizens of God’s Kingdom : Treasure is where your heart is : II. GOD’S FAMILY : What does it mean to be a Christian? : The privileges of being in God’s family : III. GOD’S TEMPLE : God’s Word as the foundational cornerstone : A lively stone chosen by God : Giving all glory to God

Highlights

I. God’s Kingdom

Firstly, we belong to God's kingdom. Beginning with verse 19: “Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints” (Ephesians 2:19). The phrase “Now therefore” tells us what happens after God has saved us by grace and through faith. The word “saints” means the holy ones, referring to the believers who have been saved.

It is contrary to what the Roman Catholic Church taught about saints being people who have accomplished extraordinary deeds or lived exemplary lives, and they have also met certain requirements and after their deaths they were officially canonised as saints. But Scripture makes it very clear to us that all believers are saints, redeemed and set apart from sin unto God. So if you are a believer, the Bible tells you that you are a saint.

“Fellowcitizens” means citizens belonging to a city, and this is a reference to God's kingdom where He rules as King. As believers, we acknowledge that God rules over everything. Every circumstance and situation, God is in sovereign control. Whether it be in the past, in the present, or in the future, He also rules in our hearts and lives through the wonder-working of His Spirit.

Romans 14:17 says, “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.” All the believers past, present, and future belong to the kingdom of God. If we are true believers, then we are fellowcitizens of God's kingdom with the saints from every age, whether Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses in the Old Testament, or the apostles Peter, Paul, John, and James in the New Testament, or the Reformers Martin Luther, John Calvin, William Tyndale, and Zwingli, as well as all the believers who have trusted in the one living and true God.

During the time of the Apostle Paul, citizenship was a source of great pride. A man's city provided his identity. The law of the city was his protection. The custom of the city was his pride. The citizens of the city were his lifelong friends. In those days, the Romans were in power and there were many privileges to being a Roman citizen. A Roman citizen could not be arrested and imprisoned without a trial. He could not be scourged. That was the reason why Paul questioned the centurion in Acts 22:25: “Is it lawful for you to scourge a man that is a Roman, and uncondemned?” If he felt that he was not receiving justice, he could appeal to Rome. So there were many privileges.

Strangers and foreigners were the opposite of fellowcitizens and saints. The Ephesians were previously strangers and foreigners outside God's kingdom. But now they were believers, and they became the fellowcitizens of God's kingdom. There were no strangers and foreigners, no second-class citizens. They received a citizenship far superior than any nation, even more than the much-coveted Roman citizenship. They were fellowcitizens of God's kingdom.

Dear friend, if you and I are true believers, we are fellowcitizens of God's kingdom. It is an amazing prospect because Heaven will be our eternal home. But it also comes with an awesome responsibility. Philippians 3:20: “For our conversation” - which means our citizenship is in Heaven. If our citizen is in Heaven, then that is from where we look to the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. So if our true citizenship is in Heaven, then we must behave as one. We must live as true citizens fit for the kingdom of God.

Some of us here are Australians, others are not. Oftentimes people would only think of the benefits and privileges of being a citizen of a particular country and nothing more than that. Some people are made citizens as a matter of choice. Others are made citizens by way of family. Their parents were citizens, so they became citizens. Yet others are due to economic factors, or even by default. But whatever be the case, you may previously be a citizen of a particular country, but now you are an Australian citizen. You must behave like one and be subjected to the laws, customs, and way of living. Likewise, in the spiritual realm, the same principle applies.

I remember my late grandmother who migrated to Singapore in the early 1930s from China. And even after 40 or 50 years living in Singapore, she would still be thinking and behaving like someone from China. She would always be talking about China. On paper, she was a Singapore citizen then, but her heart was buried in China. From then I realised that true citizenship has a lot to do with the heart. Isn't it true for some of us here? Perhaps you may be physically here, but your heart is somewhere else, maybe in Hong Kong, Malaysia, or Vietnam.

It is true in the spiritual sense. Where is your heart? Is your heart in this world or in the kingdom of God? Jesus said, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:21). Treasure is a very descriptive term. It is something that motivates a person in his daily life. A treasure is something that is worth a certain value. No one would treasure something that is of no value to him. If I were to hold a dollar note in front of you, why is it worth one dollar? It is worth one dollar, obviously not because of the paper or the ink, but because of a certain value that has been given to that piece of paper. Once a certain value has been assigned to this note, all of a sudden it takes on all kinds of influences in our lives. We begin to treasure it. We will subject our lives to it in certain ways. The quality of our lives will be determined by how many of these notes we have. How much we have will determine where we live, who our friends will be, what food we eat, what clothes we wear, our future plans, our retirement plans, etc. It can become a tremendous influence in our lives. Before we know it, it has become something that we live for.

The Bible uses a very interesting word: treasure. “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Your most cherished treasure and your deepest motives and desires cannot be separated. If money is your treasure, then there will your heart be also. If your treasure is found in this world, then your heart will also be buried in this world. But if your treasure is in the kingdom of God, then there will your heart be also. It is impossible to have your treasure on Earth and your heart in Heaven. They will either both be earthly or both be heavenly. They cannot be separated.

Ask yourself this simple question: Do you feel a certain pain in your heart each time you part with your money? Do you feel any discomfort in your heart when you give of your tithes and offerings? Do you realise that it reflects a great deal about the condition of our hearts? Why does the Bible say, “God loveth a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7)? It is not just the gift that is important. It is the heart behind the giving that is more important. And God sees into the innermost of our hearts.

This world is not our home; we are just a passing through. If you are in your seventies or eighties, you are living in your bonus years. Soon death will knock on your doors. That is how our lives are—like a vapour - it “appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away” (James 4:14). We are just pilgrims in this temporal world. If we truly believe and understand this part, if we truly belong to the kingdom of God, then there should our heart be also, because that will be the place we will dwell for all eternity.

We will set our affections on things above, not on things on this Earth. We will seek to advance the kingdom of God through our evangelism efforts. We will seek to obey our almighty God so that we can glorify Him. We will consider Him in everything we do, say, or think. As Jesus said, “But seek ye first” - first of everything - ”the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33).

II. God’s Family

Our second point is we belong to God's family. Look at the last part of verse 19: “And of the household of God.” The original Greek word for household can refer to an entire family establishment, including friends who live with a family, servants, and hired workers. But here Paul was referring to being members of God's spiritual family, the church, made up of other believers. As if being members of the divine kingdom is not enough, God's gracious work in Jesus Christ has drawn us closer to Himself, and He has made us members of His household. All of us would agree that family relationships, no matter what, are most intimate and the bonds even stronger. To become a member of a family, you must either be born into it or be adopted into it.

Interestingly, the Bible uses both these two terms to describe what it means to be a Christian. Jesus said to Nicodemus in John 3:7, “Ye must be born again.” And the Apostle Peter said in 1 Peter 1:23, “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.” On the other hand, Ephesians 1:5 speaks of us being adopted into God's family: “Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will.”

It is a supernatural spiritual work because we were once children of God's wrath. We deserved to be sent to the eternal lake of fire. But God, who is rich in mercy, has enabled us to be born again and adopted into His family, and we have identified ourselves with Jesus Christ by faith. Now when God sees and treats us, He sees Christ in us, and He loves us with an infinite love. All Christians who are part of God's kingdom are also part of God's family, and we have the same heavenly Father.

Every week we are gathered together for a time of worship like this and we would say the Lord’s Prayer: Our Father which art in Heaven. Why do we do that? Because all God’s children call Him by the same intimate name. He is your Father and He is also my Father, and together we say, Our Father.

If you are a member of God’s household and I am a member of His household, then we ought to be reminded that we have this spiritual relationship with one another. That was the reason why the Apostle Paul said in 1 Timothy 5:1–2, “Rebuke not an elder, but intreat him as a father; and the younger men as brethren; the elder women as mothers; the younger as sisters, with all purity.” Take note of the words father, mothers, brothers, and sisters. Those were terms of endearment. We are all brethren in Christ.

There is this spiritual connection between us because of Jesus Christ. No doubt we may have differences in opinions. We may not always agree on the things that we discuss. We may differ in certain matters. But after all, we are a family. The church is the place of love, reconciliation, and acceptance. Sadly, it is so common for people to strive against one another even in the church. Our church is not exempted from this sin of strife. And no church, even the most doctrinally sound and spiritually mature, is immune from this threat of strife.

Strife is always associated with personal and group rivalries and infighting. Someone explained it this way, which makes a lot of sense: it carries the idea of building oneself up by tearing someone else down. Just like gambling, whereby one man’s gain is derived from another man’s loss. But the question is this: would we do that to our own family members? Most certainly not. If I were to tell you that it is a terrible thing to strive against your own mother and father, most of you would agree with me. If I were to tell you that it is a devastating thing to gossip about your own brother and sister, most of you would agree with me. But yet, we do that so often to our brothers and sisters in Christ. May the Lord forgive us.

Being a member of God’s family brings tremendous privileges with it. We can call upon God as our Heavenly Father. We can come to Him in prayer at any moment of any day with any requests. And we have the assurance that He hears us and He will answer us according to His sovereign purpose and perfect will. But it also means that we are not the only child in God’s family. We have other spiritual brothers and sisters in Christ. We share with one another in fellowship, in mutual edification and encouragement. This is why coming to church, especially the prayer meeting, is so important. Some people would say, On my own I do pray, on my own I always pray. That is well and good. But we have been taught not only to say, My Father, but also, Our Father which art in Heaven.

Dear friend, you may be strong to pray on your own. You may not have any urgent matters. Everything is working well for you. Your job is secured. Your business is running smoothly. Your children are doing well. But there may be someone in the church who is too weak to pray and needs someone to come alongside her to pray. Or there may be someone in the church who is facing a life and death issue, and he does not even know what to say. He just needs someone to come alongside him and to help him to pray. Would you be that person?

You see, I can give you all the fundamental reasons to come to the church and the prayer meeting, but if you miss the point, you miss everything.

You are a member of God’s family, and all the people are your brothers and sisters. We need one another.

is household. All of us would agree that family relationships, no matter what, are most intimate and the bonds even stronger. To become a member of a family, you must either be born into it or be adopted into it.

Interestingly, the Bible uses both these two terms to describe what it means to be a Christian.

All Christians who are part of God's kingdom are also part of God's family, We are all brethren in Christ.

There is this spiritual connection between us because of Jesus Christ. We share with one another in fellowship, in mutual edification and encouragement. This is why coming to church, especially the prayer meeting, is so important. Some people would say, On my own I do pray, on my own I always pray. That is well and good. But we have been taught not only to say, My Father, but also, Our Father which art in Heaven.

You see, I can give you all the fundamental reasons to come to the church and the prayer meeting, but if you miss the point, you miss everything.

You are a member of God’s family, and all the people are your brothers and sisters. We need one another.