WHETHER IT BE PHYSICAL OR SPIRITUAL ALIENISM, GOD HAS THE ALIEN’S AGENDA AT HEART

Introduction

The exact date I cannot recall; the event itself, however, I cannot forget. I was northbound on Abram’s Rd on a drizzling afternoon of spring 2000. As I was approaching the Abrams-Forest crossroad, the lights turned red. Naturally I hit my brakes. In a split second, my stationary Isuzu had been rear-ended and tossed into the middle of the Abrams-Forest junction. Realizing that I had not given up the Ghost after all, I slowly opened the driver’s door and with paper and pen in hand headed straight towards the driver’s window of the car that had just rammed into me. The first sentence that leapt out of my mouth was “let me have your insurance information.” The African American teenager behind the wheel told me she did not know where the insurance information was since the car belonged to her uncle. I had her check the glove compartment. She claimed it wasn’t there. In the absence of the insurance information, I thought it wise to involve the police. But lest the lady move her car and tamper with the evidence I ordered her to freeze as I made my way to a nearby booth to make a call. As I headed for the booth a police car showed up. Apparently the officer had noticed the accident. So I abandoned my calling plans, raced back to the accident scene and I identified myself to the officer as the owner of the rammed vehicle. He asked us to both move our cars to the adjacent shopping center. We did that and then approached the officer. The officer instructed us to exchange insurance information. I pulled my information out. Already aware that the African American teenager had no insurance on her, I let the officer know.
What did the officer do? Did he write her a ticket since driving a car without an insurance is a “ticketable” offense? No! Did he at least reprimand the girl for driving without insurance? No! All he said was, “let her give you her uncle’s phone number; you call the uncle for the insurance information.” That treatment puzzled me. Later on I narrated this treatment to one of the seminary police, and he too thought the officer’s handling of the incident was un-procedural.
To this day I am convinced that this officer treated me unfairly because I spoke with an accent. He was unwilling to allow the Law to take its full course because he suspected I was an alien. He was unwilling to take the alien’s agenda at heart. As I have reflected on this officer’s unjust dealing with me, I am comforted by one precious, priceless thought, which is, God is so unlike this officer. To borrow the phraseology of Num. 23:19 which reads (Num. 23:19: “God is not a human being, that he should lie, …”), God is not this police officer that He should dismiss, disregard, ignore the alien’s agenda.

Physical and spiritual alienism: Three demonstration of how God has the alien’s agenda at heart

Demonstration#1: When it comes to physical alienism, GOD’S LAW reveals that He has the alien’s agenda at heart

When it comes to physical alienism… Let’s define “physical alienism”. “Physical” we understand. In the context of this sermon, physical is the opposite of spiritual. How about alienism/alien? Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines the term alien as “a person of another place.” I would like to modify that definition a little bit to fit our context. Let’s define “alien” as “one who is away from home.” “Alienism would thus refer to the “state of being away from home.” “Physical alienism” would refer to the experience of being physically away from home.

When it comes to physical alienism, God’s Law reveals that He has the alien’s agenda at heart. If you want to know whether a system has your agenda at heart, look at the system’s legislature or the system’s constitution. We have heard some commentaries emerge from behind this pulpit—commentaries on Kenya’s new constitution. So far we have heard negative commentaries. Now I am not questioning the veracity of those negative comments. All I wish to highlight is that there are positive aspects of the new constitution. Those of us who have read the draft form of the new constitution would attest with me that the new constitution, in as far as the treatment of the Kenyan in Diaspora is concerned, does have our agenda at heart. Here are 2 articles of the constitution for your consideration.

Article #23: Dual citizenship is permitted under the laws of Kenya. A person who as a result of acquiring the citizenship of another country lost the citizenship of Kenya at any time before the coming into operation of the constitution, is entitled on application to be registered as a citizen of Kenya.
Question: Has it not been the agenda of the Kenyan in Diaspora to acquire dual citizenship? Well, article #23 of the new constitution addresses that agenda. Does this article then reveal that the framers of the constitution have the agenda of the Kenyan in Diaspora at heart? The answer would have to be “Yes.”

Article #77 reads: Subject to any provision in the constitution, Parliament shall enact a law to provide for the registration of, and voting by, citizens who are outside Kenya
Question: Has it not been the agenda of the Kenyan in Diaspora to be able to participate in the elections at home? Well, article #77 of the new constitution addresses this very agenda. Does article # 77 then reveal that the framers of the new constitution have the agenda of the Kenyan in Diaspora at heart? The answer would have to be “Yes.”

In the same manner that the new constitution reveals the extent to which the framers have the agenda of the Kenyan in Diaspora at heart so does the Law of God reveal the extent to which He has the alien’s agenda at heart.
What does the law of God say about aliens? Time does not allow us to take a peek at all the alien-related laws. But here are just two among the many.
Cognizant of the vulnerability of the alien to oppression or maltreatment God’s jurisprudence categorically restrains the natives from mistreating the alien: (Ex. 22:21 ¶ You shall not wrong or oppress a resident alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt; Lev. 19:33 ¶ When an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress the alien.).
Cognizant of the vulnerability of the alien to injustice, God’s jurisprudence categorically restrains the natives from denying the alien justice: (Deut. 24:17 ¶ You shall not deprive a resident alien or an orphan of justice; … Deut. 27:19 ¶ “Cursed be anyone who deprives the alien, the orphan, and the widow of justice)

Beyond promulgating pro-alien legislature, God himself poses as the alien’s watchman ( Psa. 146:9 The LORD watches over the strangers; he upholds the orphan and the widow, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin). God also poses as the lover of the alien (Deut. 10:17 For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who is not partial and takes no bribe, Deut. 10:18 who executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and who loves the strangers, providing them food and clothing.)

So what are the implications of the biblical truth that, when it comes to physical alienism, God has the alien’s agenda at heart?

1. As an alien, have you been a victim of maltreatment? Maybe an officer let a native off the hook at your expense or a teacher graded you down because you have an accent or you were strip-searched at the airport because you looked different. I can imagine the bitterness or the vexation that the mistreatment brought to you. You probably felt helpless, unable to bring the mistreater to book. I encourage you, in the name of the Lord to let go the bitterness or the vexation. God took note of the mistreatment. His requirements still stand (Ex. 22:21 ¶ You shall not wrong or oppress a resident alien,; Deut. 24:17 ¶ You shall not deprive a resident alien or an orphan of justice;). To maltreat an alien is to break God’s commandment. And in His justice He will not overlook such an infraction.

2. When we arrive in a foreign the land, we should not be duped into thinking that God would be such an inconvenience that He has to be left at the airport. Who leaves the scene without the bodyguard? So how would you even contemplate leaving without one one who watches over the alien? Who voluntarily leaves behind a loved one? So how would you even contemplated leaving behind the one who loves the alien? My advice to you, then, is if you left God at DFW, make you way back there and get Him.
ere and get Him

Demonstration #2: When it comes to sin-engendered spiritual alienism, God’s measure to ensure its sweet cancellation demonstrates that He has the alien’s agenda at heart.

When it comes to “spiritual alienism … . “ Alienism,” we have already defined. It’s the state of being away from home. “Spiritual alienism” would thus be referring to the state of being spiritually away from home.
Home for you and me, spiritually speaking is relationally being with God. The state of man upon birth, however, is one of relational separation from God. The cause of the separation is sin. That you and I have sinned, Romans 3:23 makes clear: (Rom. 3:23 since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God). That sin is the cause of the separation between God and man Rom. 6:23 clearly attests to (Rom. 6:23: For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.); (the wages of sin is death) death here refers to the rift or the valley or the separation between God and man since death in its essence means separation. Left to our selves this rift between God and man would forever remain unbridged becausing nothing in and of ourselves can bring about the bridging of the rift–no works however good or impressive or laudable, no church attendance however frequent, no tithing however high, no baptism; nothing. Eph 2:9 says (Eph. 2:9: not the result of works, so that no one may boast.)
The good news, though, is that God has supplied the bridge that forever cancels the rift between Himself and man.
During the colonial era, when the British wanted to establish a road between Kirinyaga and Embu in the Mt Kenya region to fight Mau Mau insurgence, there was one snag. The Nyamindi river that flows from Mt Kenya into RiverTana required a bridge. However there was neither time nor resources for that kind of project during the state of emergency. Unknown to the mbeberu but known to the locals was the existence of a bridge somewhere in the woods of Murinduko. It was a strong bridge almost 20 metres long. The bridge exists even today–about a Kilometer from Mururi trading center off the Embu-Nairobi Rd. The locals would use the bridge to cross the Nyamindi Brook. As much as the locals utilized the bridge, no one knew how this bridge came into being. So the the residents of Murinduko and the Mt Kenya region came up with a name for the bridge. They named the bridge “Ndaraca ya Ngai” (which means “God’s bridge”)
God has supplied a Ndaraca that forever cancels the rift between Deity and mankind. That Ndaraca is Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Ndaraca ya Ngai.
If you were to repent of your sins and receive Christ, you would become a believer. Once a believer this description would be true of you as it was for the Ephesians believers (Eph. 2:12: Remember that you were at that time without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world; Eph. 2:19: So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God). When it comes to sin-engendered spiritual alienism, God has put in place a measure to ensure its sweet cancellation. That God has such a measure in place demonstrates that He has the alien’s agenda at heart.

Demonstration #3 When it comes to Heaven-associated spiritual alienism, God’s measure to ensure its glorious termination demonstrates that He has the alien’s agenda at heart.
No sooner is an individual transfered from the kingdom of darkness to the Kingom of God’s beloved son, upon belief, and of that new believer it is said “you are no longer strangers and aliens but you are citizens with the saints and members of the household of God–no sooner is all these true of a believer than the believer is branded an alien yet again. This time the alienism is not the sin-engendered spiritual alienism. That type of spiritual alienism is cancelled upon belief. This time the status of the believer is the heaven-associated spiritual alienism.
Philippians chapter 3 verses 18-21 reads (Phil. 3:18: For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Phil. 3:19 Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. Phil. 3:20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, Phil. 3:21 who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. ). If our citizenship is in heaven, then as long as we out here we remain aliens. But not for long. Soon and very soon we are going to see the King. Soon and very soon the roll will be called. In the words of the hymnist James M Black:
(When the trumpet of the Lord shall sound,
And time shall be no more,
And the morning breaks, eternal, bright, and fair;
When the saved of earth shall gather over on the other shore,
And the roll is called up yonder, we believers, we will be there.
When the roll is called up yonder,
When the roll is called up yonder,
When the roll is called up yonder,
When the roll is called up yonder, we believers, we will be there.

On that bright and cloudless morning
When the dead in Christ shall rise,
And the glory of his resurrection share;
When his chosen ones shall gather
To their home beyond the skies,
And the roll is called up yonder, we believers , we will be there.
When the roll is called up yonder,
When the roll is called up yonder,
When the roll is called up yonder,
When the roll is called up yonder, I’ll be there…)

Challenge

God is pro-alien through and through. He is pro-alien when it comes to physical alienism. He is pro-alien when it comes to spiritual alienism. The question is whether you are pro-God? He is already pro-you; are you pro-Him?

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