News Flash: You're a Saint! - Part A

He writes to the Corinthians, and he calls them saints. If you know anything about Corinth or the Corinthian church, you know that the term saint has a latitude then. Saints who are at Corinth. When Paul was writing these letters, he wasn't writing to dead people.

It's not like he's the kid in Sixth Sense who said, I see dead people. Paul was writing to living, breathing saints, those who were on the earth and declared, to be God's people set apart as God's people. When Jesus prayed to God the Father, he said that we are not of this world, but we've been sent into the world.

So what does that mean exactly? Find out when you connect with Skip Heisig today. But before we begin, we invite you to catch Skip's Sunday message live online at 9 and 11 a.m. Just visit live.calvarynm.church. That's 9 and 11 a.m. at live.calvarynm.church.

Now we want to let you know about our resource. That can help you access the power of the Holy Spirit to live victoriously. The Holy Spirit is mysterious.

In the Bible, Jesus even said he moves like the wind. Even so, Christians are instructed to know and be sensitive to the Holy Spirit and his help, counsel and comfort. Skip Heisig reminds us you can't neglect the Holy Spirit since the scripture is full of the Holy Spirit from beginning to end, from Genesis to Revelation. Not only is the Bible full of the Holy Spirit, you can be too. The Holy Spirit is a divine person who helps us. How many of you think you need all the help you can get to live your Christian life?

Yeah, I'm with you. We need help. Discover who the Holy Spirit is with Pastor Skip's DVD study, Expound Holy Spirit. Okay, we'll be in Philippians chapter one for today's study, so let's join Skip Heisig. Philippians chapter one, verse one and two read, Paul and Timothy bond servants of Jesus Christ to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi with the bishop of Jesus Christ.

The bishops and deacons, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. One of the most misunderstood words in all of the Christian language is a word found in verse one. It's the word saint. Now I grew up hearing a lot about saints in the church that I was raised in, but I always thought a saint was a dead person who was made into a statue. I didn't understand what the biblical significance or definition of a saint was.

Now the way it turns out is you won't get much help from the Webster's dictionary. If you want to find out what a saint is according to Webster's dictionary, it is not the same according to the New Testament. The Webster's dictionary defines a saint as someone officially recognized through canonization as being preeminent for holiness. Second definition, according to Webster, it's one of the spirits of the departed who are now in heaven. In other words, according to Webster's dictionary, a saint is a near perfect person now dead in heaven.

Well, how did all that come about? It came about throughout church history when early on third century, fourth century, AD, because the persecution was so rampant, the killing of Christians was so rampant that it was believed that anybody who died as a Christian martyr would be declared a saint. But then as time went on, the Vatican in Rome decided there needs to be a process so that unworthy people don't get declared saints. So they came up with a process of canonization. Now if you want to become a saint according to that process, there's a few things you have to do. Number one, you have to die and wait five years. During that time, a local devotional group grows up around your memory.

They discuss your life and they want to emulate things about you. That's number one. Number two, your life is then investigated by local bishops to see if you are worthy of the title saint. Number three, your case is sent to the Vatican to a special group called the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints.

There is a group called that. They will review your case. Number four, people start praying to you for a miracle.

So you better cough one up. They start praying to you for a miracle. If the miracle occurs, it is investigated. Fifth, the Vatican, if the miracle is legit, the Vatican then declares you blessed and officially declares that you are in heaven, though by now you've known that for some time. And you are then given a feast day to celebrate your life. Now a special note, if you were a martyr, you will Skip all the intermediate steps and just be declared blessed.

And then sixth, if you can do another miracle, that will push you over the edge. Now you will be canonized a saint, declared officially a saint, and you will be in what is called the Great Communion of the Saints. That's how you become a saint according to the Vatican. That's an elaborate process. It's going to take you some time.

I've got a better idea. Trust in Jesus Christ now and Skip the line. That is a New Testament idea of a saint. The New Testament knows nothing of canonizing a dead person.

It knows everything about recognizing a living person. You see, Paul the Apostle writes to saints in the book of Philippians chapter one. He writes to saints in the book of Romans chapter one. He writes to saints in the book of Colossians chapter one. And he writes to the Corinthians and he calls them saints. If you know anything about Corinth or the Corinthian church, you know that the term saint has a latitude then. Saints who are at Corinth. When Paul was writing these letters, he wasn't writing to dead people.

It's not like he's the kid in sixth sense who said, I see dead people. Paul was writing to living, breathing saints. Those who were on the earth and declared to be God's people, set apart as God's people. Not only is there an elaborate process of canonization in that church, the church I grew up in that I have just mentioned, but there are saints that are given sort of jurisdiction over special areas in life. They're called patron saints.

They're guardians of special areas. I grew up with knowing about Saint Christopher, the patron saint of travel. Saint Anthony, the patron saint of lost things. Saint Jude, the patron saint of difficult circumstances. But if you do a little research on this and you'll find it interesting, you will find hundreds and hundreds of patron saints over virtually every possible category in life.

Some are quite surprising. For example, there is Saint Barbara who is the patron saint of fireworks. There is Saint Isidore of Seville, the patron saint of the internet.

I kid you not, I had to triple check this at a few different sources to make sure I was accurate. There is Saint Drogo who is the patron saint of unattractive people. Everybody needs a saint. And then there is Saint Ganesias of Rome who is the patron saint of actors and comedians.

And we all know they need a lot of help. It is a statehood with what we noted last week as the theme of this letter, which is joy. When most people think of a saint, they think of somebody sort of gloomy and sad and serious, like all those saints portrayed in ancient Christian art. So allow me with you to look back at Philippians chapter one and let me give you some qualities that describe a biblical saint. A biblical saint.

The first quality is this, a saint is somebody who belongs to two spheres, two spheres. Look at in verse 1, Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi. They're in Christ, that's the first address.

They're in Philippi, that's the second address. So think of it this way, God's people have dual citizenship. We live here, we live here on this earth. But according to Paul, we live and move and have our being in him. So I have a physical address here in town, I also have a spiritual address in Christ and because of that I have an eventual address in heaven.

So you may live at 1611 Comanche Court Northeast, that's your physical address. Jesus said at my father's house there are many mansions and I'm going there to prepare a place for you. So you might live on earth but you long for heaven. You dwell on earth but you're destined for glory as we will read about when we get to chapter 3, whenever that will be. In verse 20 Paul will say, for our citizenship is in heaven. So it's good and we'll look at each address a little deeper in a moment but it's good to think of yourself as having two addresses, living in this world with two different spheres in Christ but in wherever I live, Albuquerque. Now let me say a word to those of you who consider yourself as living only in one address, a physical address. You're bound to this earth, you live for the pleasures of this earth, you are not in Christ and you have no intention of ever being in Christ. You are content to go to church from time to time to take part in whatever your family wants to but you're not weak like those members of your family that have accepted Jesus Christ. You're content with just living for the here and now. If that is your stance, if that is your posture, then let me just encourage you to make sure that you suck all of the pleasure you can out of your earthly address because it's the last good time you'll ever have.

You might as well get all the gusto right now, right here and just take every ounce of fun you can out of it. But Paul believed that he could live in the sphere of the here and now but also in Christ knowing that he would be in heaven and it would add a fuller life and that's what brought him joy. Look at the spiritual address mentioned in verse 1, to all the saints in Christ Jesus. Now 87 times in your New Testament is that phrase in Christ Jesus.

It's repeated over and over. We are in Christ Jesus which means simply we are united to his life. The life of Jesus Christ is in you. And so when Jesus prayed in John 17 to his father, he said, Father, I in you and you in me that they, his followers, may be one in us. It's very unique to the Christian life to say you are in Christ. You will never find a Buddhist saying I am in Buddha. They'll follow the teachings of that leader but they're not in Buddha. You'll never hear a Muslim saying I'm in Muhammad or a Mormon saying I'm in Joseph Smith or I'm in Brigham Young or a Jehovah Witness saying I'm in Charles Taze Russell or a Christian Science saying I'm in Mary Baker Eddy but you'll find a Christian like Paul saying you are in Christ Jesus.

You share the same life as him. Galatians chapter 2 verse 20 Paul says, I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me and the life that I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. So what that means is though we are in this world, we're not of this world because we're in Christ. You see, when you're in this world and you're in Christ, you're in this world but not of this world which means as you live in this world, you live with a light touch, a light touch in this world because you're only passing through it. It's not your permanent home.

It's simply transitory, it's temporary, you're on your way to something far better. I want you to listen to a portion of a letter written from the 2nd century AD to a man by the name of Diognetus who was actually the tutor of Marcus Aurelius, the Roman emperor. And this letter to him was describing Christians that were the new phenomenon in the Roman Empire. This author says to this unbelieving Roman government official these words, Christians are not marked out from the rest of mankind by their country or by their speech or by their customs.

They dwell in cities, both Greek and barbarian, as each has his own lot, following the customs of the region in clothing and in food and in outward things of life generally, yet they manifest the wonderful and openly paradoxical character of their own state. They inhabit the lands of their birth but as temporary residents thereof. And they take their share of all the responsibilities as citizens and endure all the disabilities as aliens. Every foreign land is their native land and every native land is as a foreign land. They pass their days upon the earth but their citizenship is in heaven.

What a testimony. They live responsibly here but their citizenship is in heaven. That's important because some have accused Christians of being so heavenly minded they're no earthly good.

And to that Paul would say, well you haven't understood the next part of the address. We're not only in Christ Jesus but notice what it says in verse 1, who are in Philippi. In other words, on this earth you happen to be citizens of the Roman Empire in the Roman colony called the city of Philippi. So we are residents of two realms. In this case, if we were in Philippi, we're in Christ but in Philippi.

So because we're residents of two realms, we should live responsible in both realms. Be responsible citizens in Christ and in Philippi. Jesus prayed this, my prayer, praying to his father in John 17, my prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you keep them from the evil one.

Please understand his heart cry. Remember don't take them out of this world, just keep them from the evil one while they're in this world. In other words, Jesus never intended for you to live in a cave or a monastery as a hermit and to be uninvolved and disassociated from your world and your society. In fact, Jesus said this and it must have startled his disciples. Jesus said, behold, I am sending you out like sheep in the midst of wolves.

If I heard that, I would have said, why? You don't love me very much if you want to send me your sheep in the midst of wolves. You must be cruel.

No, he's kind. He loves wolves so much that sending his sheep out in the midst of them may turn some of those wolves into some of his sheep. That's the purpose of it. But this then becomes a struggle to us. Part of our struggle is knowing how to balance both passports. I'm in Christ, but I'm in Albuquerque. I'm in Christ, but I'm in Philippi. So we have responsibilities to both.

How do we balance that? One of the ways we balance it is make sure that you are talking to Christ about your Philippi and talking to Philippi about your Christ. When you talk to Jesus, when you pray to him, tell him about your neighbors, your neighborhood, your city, the problems in your city.

Pray about where you live. And then tell your Philippi about your Christ. Tell people who don't know the Lord about what following Jesus is like.

That will keep you and I in the balance of carrying responsibly two passports in this dual citizenship in which we live. We're responsible to him, but we're responsible in our culture. Back in the days of what is called the Jesus movement, I always feel like I need to explain that nowadays because that's so old from memory. The Jesus movement was a phenomenon in the 60s and 70s whereby thousands upon thousands of young people were coming to Christ in droves, especially on the West Coast.

It was a phenomenon. But we all believe that Jesus was coming soon. I still believe that, but we believe what that meant is he's coming so soon, might as well just do nothing. Just sit around and wait for him.

Just enjoy yourself because he'll be here, well, any minute. So it created a lot of people who were irresponsible. And I remember when I announced to some of my friends that I was going to go to college. They go, college, Jesus will come back before you graduate from college. I say, well, if he does, he'll find me a college. And last time I checked, colleges need to hear about Jesus. They're not like the bastion of righteousness and goodness. I feel colleges need a good witness, so that's where I'm going to be. If he comes back before I am done, fine. Jesus said he was coming, but he also said, occupy until I come.

Stay responsible, stay busy, stay involved, stay engaged. So we are in Christ, but we are in Philippi. A saint belongs to two spheres. There's a second quality of a saint, a New Testament saint. A saint behaves submissively. In other words, a saint is a servant. And notice in verse one, I know I touched on it last week, but there's always more in a verse, you know. So I did one verse last week, I'm doing verse one and two this week.

Just look at that word. Paul and Timothy bond servants of Jesus Christ. Don't you love how Paul introduces himself? He didn't say, Paul and Timothy, big wigs. Or Dr. Paul and Dr. Timothy, eminent theologians, writing to you lowlifers in Philippi, who really don't know theology like I do.

He came as low as you can get. We are bond slaves of Jesus Christ. Now Paul is writing as a slave, as a servant to saints. But look at it this way, he's writing as a servant to servants.

You see, throughout this book, he's going to encourage them to become like him. Chapter two, he's going to say, let this mind be in you, which was also even in Jesus Christ, who being in the form of God did not think it robbery to be the same on the same par as God, but he emptied himself and became a bond servant. So be servants like Jesus was a servant and like I am a servant.

So he's writing as a servant to servants. Now when they heard the term bond slave or bond servant, it sounded different to their ears than it does to our ears. We have eradicated slavery in our culture in the Roman Empire. Slavery was 40% of the population still.

40% of people in the Roman Empire were owned by other human beings at that time. But it was an enforced kind of a slavery. They were often despised and slaves were regarded as simply a piece of property. Now there was a slavery even in Judaism, in the religious sector. But if you know your Old Testament, you know that you could have a slave for six years, you had to treat them very kindly, and then on the seventh year, you released them. But if the slave loved the master, you remember there was a ceremony? The slave could say, no, no, no, I want to serve my master for the rest of my life. Well, the ceremony was you take your slave to the doorpost and you run a spike through his earlobe or an awl, like you'd get an earring, you'd pierce it, and you would designate that person as a servant voluntarily for life. That's the idea of a New Testament bond servant. I'm a bond servant of Jesus, not because I have to. I signed up for this. I want to.

A voluntary bond servant bound willfully to Christ. That's Skip Heitzig with a message from the series Technicolor Joy. Now, reading the stories of the Bible is a very good thing. Walking where these stories took place is at a whole other level. Skip Heitzig is planning his next tour, and you can be on it.

Here's the invitation from Skip. You're in for an incredible time as we travel throughout Israel and experience the culture that's so unique to that country. Now I've been to Israel a number of times over the years, and I can honestly say that visiting the places where the events of the Scriptures unfolded, where Jesus lived, taught, and healed, it just never gets old. We'll start on the Mediterranean Sea and head north, seeing places like Caesarea and Nazareth, the Sea of Galilee, and the Jordan River. We'll spend several days in and around Jerusalem and see the Temple Mount, Calvary, the Garden of Gethsemane, and the Mount of Olives, and much more. This remarkable itinerary is made richer with times of worship, Bible study, and lots of fellowship.

The Bible will come alive to you in a way it never has before. I hope you'll join Lenny and me on what is always an unforgettable trip. I can't wait to see you in Israel.

This dream can come true for you. Start planning and saving now to tour Israel with Skip Heitzig. Visit him at inspirationcruises.com slash c-a-b-q.

That's inspirationcruises.com slash c-a-b-q. And real quick, catch Connect with Skip Heitzig on the Hillsong Channel on Saturdays at 4.30 p.m. Mountain, or watch it on TBN on Sundays at 5.30 a.m. Eastern. Check your local listings, and be sure to come back next week as Skip Heitzig shares how you can embrace the spiritual blessings God's made available to you through Christ. Connect with Skip Heitzig is a presentation of Connection Communications, connecting you to God's never-changing truth in ever-changing times.