So what is the single most important thing to keep in mind regarding the fact that we are even right at this moment "seated in heavenly places?"
Without question, it is: THAT IS WHERE JESUS IS!
That may seem obvious, but it seems like it's often the most obvious things that are most easily overlooked or taken for granted.
There's no question that Jesus Christ is to be the all-consuming object of the heart and mind of every child of God (Hebrews 2: 9; 3:1; 12:1-3; II Corinthians 3:18; Philippians 1:21; 3:10; Luke 10:38-42). The Bible indicates there is spiritual encouragement and strength to be had through "considering Him," and, through "beholding His glory," we are actually "conformed to the same image" progressively, by the Spirit of God.
Sometimes, folks seem unaware that there is an actual focal point in the physical universe for us to fixate on as we "turn (our) eyes upon Jesus," and it is not Galilee, or Jerusalem, or the Cross, or even the empty tomb!
Neither are we ever to think of Him as "dead and gone," BUT VERY MUCH ALIVE AND READILY ACCESSIBLE TO YOU AND EVERY CHILD OF GOD (Romans 5:1-2; Ephesians 3:12; Hebrews 7:25)
As the angel said, "Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; HE IS NOT HERE. Why seek ye the living among the dead?"
Peter, in his sermon on the day of Pentecost in Jerusalem, made it emphatically clear that Jesus was now ascended and exalted by the Father, and SEATED AT THE FATHER'S RIGHT HAND IN HEAVEN (please read Acts 2:22-36). If you have any difficulty believing this is an actual physical point in space and time, kindly take a moment to study Hebrews 8:1-5.
The Lord, Himself, dramatically demonstrated this was the New focal point for the Church saint (that is, any believer during the current Church age), from the time of His ascension until the blessed day He returns for us, when Stephen, the Church's first martyr, was stoned to death by the members of the Sanhedrin.
Acts 7:55: "But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, AND SAW THE GLORY OF GOD, AND JESUS STANDING ON THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD, And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God."
This is where the Lord Jesus currently dwells, and the Bible indicates we are to consider Him there, through the eyes of faith.
But, someone may ask, isn't Jesus God? And isn't God omnipresent? And hasn't Heaven been His rightful Home from all ETERNITY?
I'll leave you to think about that for just a while, and talk about that a little more next time.
In the meantime, I highly recommend you consider the powerful, repeated emphasis that the Holy Spirit places on Jesus's present location throughout the book of Hebrews: see Heb. 1:3, 13; 8:1; 10:12-13; 12:2.
More later, Lord willing.