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Speaker 1: Life Audio. For more resources to help you in your

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Speaker 1: walk with Christ, please visit us at Bible Studyheadquarters dot com.

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Speaker 1: You're listening to Daily Devotions with Pastor John. I'm John Stangey,

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Speaker 1: and today's devotion is inspired by Philippians Chapter three, verse twenty,

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Speaker 1: which says, but our citizenship is in heaven, and from

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Speaker 1: it we await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Because

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Speaker 1: we're so used to living in this world, during this

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Speaker 1: era of history, and in our particular culture, it can

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Speaker 1: be easy for us to mistakenly believe that what we

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Speaker 1: currently see is all there is and all there ever

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Speaker 1: will be. We can look at what's around us and

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Speaker 1: begin to believe that our true citizenship is in a

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Speaker 1: temporary kingdom. We can also mistakenly begin to look to

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Speaker 1: our human leaders to say, satisfy a void in our

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Speaker 1: lives that they aren't truly capable of filling. We want

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Speaker 1: them to end our pain and suffering. We want them

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Speaker 1: to usher in an era of lasting peace. We want

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Speaker 1: them to foster all kinds of prosperity. But then we

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Speaker 1: discover they're just human, like the rest of us. Presidents

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Speaker 1: and prime ministers can't satisfy the deepest longings of our souls.

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Speaker 1: Only Jesus can meet our deepest needs. He's the king

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Speaker 1: we're truly waiting for. He's the one who will right

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Speaker 1: the wrongs and restore this bruised creation. Through faith in him,

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Speaker 1: we are welcomed as citizens of his eternal kingdom. In Christ,

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Speaker 1: we find our sense of belonging, satisfaction, peace, community, and

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Speaker 1: an unending supply of all we will ever need. Sometime

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Speaker 1: soon Jesus will return, and when he comes, he will

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Speaker 1: rule this earth with justice, peace and love. Let's pray. Lord,

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Speaker 1: we thank you for your word, and we thank you

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Speaker 1: for the privilege that it is to be able to

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Speaker 1: look at this small portion of scripture today from the

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Speaker 1: Book of Philippians. And Father, we're grateful for the things

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Speaker 1: that you reveal to us in this passage. You remind

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Speaker 1: us that we're not citizens primarily of an earthly kingdom.

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Speaker 1: Our citizenship is in heaven. And you tell us in

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Speaker 1: this portion of scripture that we're waiting for the Savior.

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Speaker 1: We're waiting for the Lord, Jesus Christ, the ultimate leader,

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Speaker 1: the only one who can restore this lost creation. Lord,

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Speaker 1: we know that so often we look to our human

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Speaker 1: leaders and human institutions to try to restore this fallen world.

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Speaker 1: We hope that they can bring peace where there's conflict,

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Speaker 1: and we hope that they can bring prosperity to places

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Speaker 1: where there is poverty. But Father, we know that this

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Speaker 1: creation is only going to find the leader that it

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Speaker 1: seeks through your son, Jesus Christ. This world will not

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Speaker 1: be restored to a place of perfection through any other leader.

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Speaker 1: So Lord, we pray that you'd help us to keep

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Speaker 1: that in mind as we look at our circumstances and

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Speaker 1: we look at the things that are going on all

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Speaker 1: around us at any given time. Help us to place

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Speaker 1: our faith in the right place. Help us to remember

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Speaker 1: the ultimate kingdom that we're part of, and help us

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Speaker 1: to continue looking forward to the future, so that we

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Speaker 1: don't become discouraged or filled with despair by looking at

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Speaker 1: what's going on around us in the present. You have

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Speaker 1: good things in store for us, Lord, and we pray

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Speaker 1: that our hearts will continue looking forward to the good

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Speaker 1: things that you have promised us. We're grateful for all

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Speaker 1: of these blessings, Lord, and we're grateful for this reminder

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Speaker 1: from your word today. We pray this all in Jesus'

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Speaker 1: name Amen,