Transcription downloaded from https://sermonarchive.gfcbremen.com/sermons/77744/i-am-gods-heir/.

Disclaimer: this is an automatically generated machine transcription - there may be small errors or mistranscriptions.
Please refer to the original audio if you are in any doubt.


[0:00] Well, let's take our Bibles and turn to the Gospel of Luke. Luke chapter 12. We're going to begin reading in verse 13 and read through verse 21.

[0:13] ! Luke chapter 12, verse 13. Someone in the crowd said to him, Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.

[0:24] And Jesus replied, Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you? Then he said to them, Watch out. Be on your guard against all kinds of greed.

[0:37] A man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions. And he told them this parable. The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop.

[0:48] He thought to himself, What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops. Then he said, This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones.

[0:59] And there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to myself, You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy. Eat, drink, and be merry.

[1:11] But God said to him, You fool. This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself? This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself, but is not rich toward God.

[1:28] And then turn over to 1 Peter. Near the end of your New Testaments, 1 Peter, chapter 1. We'll begin reading in verse 3.

[1:43] Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In his great mercy, he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade, kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

[2:11] In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little time, while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire, may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

[2:37] Though you have not seen him, you love him. And even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy.

[2:48] For you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. How much do you make of the thought of being God's son and having him as your father?

[3:08] J.I. Packer says your answer to that question reveals how much you know of biblical Christianity because that's at the very heart of it. To be a Christian is to be a child. Of the living God.

[3:20] And that's not just something theoretical, but it's something that is to influence everything that we do. And we've been seeing how having God as our father changes the way we pray.

[3:33] Changes the way we face worries in life. It makes a difference in how we read the Bible. It makes a difference in how we endure hardship.

[3:44] Now, this morning, we're going to see how our identity as God's children is meant to teach us what we have to look forward to. Our father's inheritance.

[3:56] An inheritance. So, the family's gathered around in the room. The lawyer or the executor of the will is there to open the will and read.

[4:08] And all the children are waiting to see just what father has left for them. Nobody falls asleep in one of those meetings, do they?

[4:20] They're very interested. They're invested in this issue. Well, God has a will. It's this book.

[4:34] And he's revealed in this will what he's left for his children. And I trust nobody will fall asleep. What we're looking at are the many privileges of having God as our father.

[4:46] To have the father's love, it's to have the father's listening ears. It's to have the father's watchful eyes. It's to have his providing and protecting hands.

[4:59] It's to have his words of encouragement. It's to have his loving discipline. And, yes, there's even more. It's to have his inheritance. So, this idea of being heirs of the father's inheritance.

[5:11] It's not a small privilege of the children of God. Nothing is more demeaned and sold short by the world than this inheritance of the father.

[5:22] But I assure you, it's something staggering. The Bible speaks about it some 325 times. It's a word with a great history, says A.T. Robertson.

[5:34] In the Old Testament, God promised his adopted children of Israel an inheritance, didn't he? The promised land in Canaan. And every one of the Israelites was to receive a portion of that inheritance.

[5:50] That land of milk and honey was a shadow foretelling our full inheritance as children of God through faith in Jesus Christ. I want you to notice ten things, if we can get them in this morning.

[6:05] Rarely do I preach a message with ten points. We'll see if we can get them. Ten things the Bible says about our father's inheritance. The first is this, that all God's children receive his inheritance.

[6:18] Now, it's not always that way in earthly families, is it? Some of you kids may not know this, but you need to know it. Sometimes children are written out of the will.

[6:29] They're left out. Maybe they didn't live up to the expectations of father and mother. Maybe they displeased them. Maybe they lived in such a way that father knew that they would squander the wealth if it was given to them.

[6:46] And so, for one reason or another, they're left out of the will. Not so with the heavenly father. He has promised an amazing inheritance to every one of his children without exception.

[6:58] To be a child of God is to be an heir with rights to the inheritance. Listen how Paul puts it in Romans 8, 16 and 17.

[7:12] The spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now, if we are children, then we are heirs.

[7:24] Heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ. If indeed we share in his sufferings, in order that we may also share in his glory. In God's family, to be a child is to be an heir.

[7:37] An heir, kids, is just an inheritor. One who inherits the inheritance. The Holy Father writes none out of his will.

[7:49] Paul repeats the same to the church in the Galatians. When the time had fully come, God sent his son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under law. That we might receive the full rights of sonship.

[8:05] Because you are sons, God sent the spirit of his son into our hearts. The spirit who calls out, Abba, Father, you're no longer a slave, but a son. And since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.

[8:20] The inheritance comes with sonship. It's part of your full rights as sons. Indeed, the Proverbs tell us that a good man leaves an inheritance not only for his children, but for his children's children.

[8:35] Do you think God's going to be outdone by good fathers and somehow leave a child outside of his will? Not in your life. Remember, he's much more better and good than these earthly fathers.

[8:49] So every child receives the inheritance. Number two, your heavenly father is the one who qualifies you to share in this inheritance. Galatians 4, we just read that God sent his son to redeem you that you might receive the full rights of sons.

[9:07] Your inheritance was paid in full with the blood of God's eternal son. And through that blood, those who believe in him receive the right to become children of God.

[9:23] And so Colossians 1, 12 through 14 says that Paul's praying for the Colossians that they might joyfully giving thanks to the father who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.

[9:40] For he's rescued us from the dominion of darkness. And he's brought us into the kingdom of the son he loves in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Giving thanks to the father who has qualified you to share in the inheritance.

[9:58] Now we had done more than disappointed God. We had done more than not lived up to his expectations. We were rebellious. We just sang of it. I was a, what was the, I was a wondering child.

[10:11] I didn't love my father. I didn't love the home. I didn't like his laws. I didn't like his gospel. I didn't like anything about him. And so we left.

[10:24] We were children of the devil. Our sins separated us from God and forfeited our inheritance. No way could we somehow qualify ourselves to get back in to the father's good graces and receive an inheritance from us, from him.

[10:42] But it was then when we were without strength, without any strength of our own, that he sent his son.

[10:54] And through his son, he qualified us to share in the inheritance. He rescued us from Satan's kingdom and family. He transplanted us out of that kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of the son he loves.

[11:09] In whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He gave his own son to obey for us, to die for us. So that by turning from our own way and trusting in him, we might share in the inheritance of the saints in light.

[11:27] That's the gospel of grace. God qualifies those who could never qualify themselves for the inheritance. Titus says as much when the kindness and love of God, our Savior appeared, he saved us.

[11:42] Not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured on us generously through Jesus Christ, our Savior.

[11:55] So that. So that having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs, having the hope of eternal life.

[12:06] How did we become inheritors of this grand inheritance, which here he calls eternal life? It wasn't by works of righteousness that we had done, but it was through the justifying grace of God in Christ.

[12:19] That Jesus obeyed for us. Jesus suffered for us. And that was counted to our record when we trusted in the Savior. Paul says to the church at Ephesus, I commend you.

[12:38] Acts 20, 32. I commend you to God in the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among those who are sanctified. God in the word of his grace.

[12:50] That's the gospel. The gospel of grace. Able to build you up and to give. That's a free thing. It's not earned. It's not your inheritance. It's not an achievement you earn for pleasing the Father.

[13:02] It's a gift from the Father. Pure grace. And so it's the Father who qualifies us to share in this inheritance.

[13:15] It's a gift from God, but it must be received by faith. And that's why it's said of Noah that by faith, Hebrews 11, 7. By faith, Noah became heir of the righteousness that comes from faith.

[13:28] Salvation. Salvation. Eternal life. The inheritance. You need righteousness to come into that inheritance.

[13:40] And you don't have any of your own. But through faith in Christ, he gives you his righteousness. So Noah believed God and became the heir of the righteousness that came by faith.

[13:53] So. The inheritance is for all God's children. The inheritance is something that God qualifies us for through the work of his son on the cross and in obedience to the law.

[14:07] Third, your inheritance is eternal life in the kingdom of God. What is this inheritance? Well, it's called many different things in the scripture. It's called salvation.

[14:19] Salvation. The angels have been given to be ministers to those who will inherit salvation. Hebrews 1, 14. What is it we inherit? It's salvation.

[14:32] It's eternal life. We just read in Titus 3 that having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. That's what we inherit as heirs of God.

[14:42] Eternal life. Remember the rich young ruler that came to Jesus? And what did he ask him? What must I do to inherit eternal life? That's what we inherit in the father's family.

[14:55] Eternal life. In other places, the inheritance is said to be the kingdom of God. Remember, we did that study in Sunday school for the adults. What is the kingdom of God?

[15:05] It's God's people in God's place under the rule and blessing of God's king. Well, that kingdom has begun, but it's to be consummated and brought in in fullness.

[15:20] In Matthew 25, 31 and following, Jesus takes us to the day of judgment and he tells us what he's going to do and say on that day.

[15:30] He says, Take the inheritance prepared for you since the creation of the world.

[16:06] Then the righteous will go away to eternal life. What do we learn from that passage? Well, children of God, your inheritance is the kingdom of God. Prepared for you since the creation of the world.

[16:19] And it comes to you as a blessing of Jesus father. Come, you who are blessed by my father and in Christ, his father is our father. And so.

[16:31] The inheritance is the blessing of the father with the kingdom of God here. It's your father's good pleasure to give to you the kingdom, Jesus says to his own.

[16:43] So God's kingdom. And we're to think of it as in its fullness as come to earth at the end of the age.

[16:53] This is this is the day of judgment at the very end. And that's when we enter into the fullness of God's kingdom. With Jesus Christ ruling and reigning. In finality, in fullness, in perfection, in a new heaven, in a new earth, the home of righteousness.

[17:11] Where his will is done on earth as it is being done today in heaven. In case you haven't noticed, that hasn't happened yet. We're still waiting for that. But it's coming.

[17:21] And that's your inheritance. This new earth. Daniel was promised this inheritance. In the very last verse of his book, an angel said to him, as for you, Daniel, you go your way till the end.

[17:36] You will rest. And then at the end of days, you will rise to receive your allotted inheritance. You see, Daniel will be on the right hand side of Jesus.

[17:49] Because by faith, he looked to God's promise of a coming redeemer. And had his sins forgiven. He will hear. Come, you who are blessed by my father.

[18:02] Inherit the kingdom prepared for you. Well, flesh and blood can't inherit the kingdom of God. Because flesh and blood is perishable.

[18:13] And this is an imperishable kingdom. No, we must be born again. We must be remade. We must be changed. Have a resurrection body to inherit this kingdom.

[18:24] An imperishable body to inherit an imperishable kingdom. So this inheritance is eternal life in the kingdom of God.

[18:35] Fourth, this inheritance is inconceivably great. Inconceivably great. Once in a while, we hear of a tremendous amount of wealth being left to a family. By some heir or heiress.

[18:48] And we say, wow, they could never spend that money in their whole life. Well, that's right. But that's nothing. That's nothing compared to the inheritance that awaits the child of God.

[19:00] Romans 8 and verse 17. I began with this text. Now, if we are children, then we are heirs. Heirs of God.

[19:13] Co-heirs with Jesus Christ. To be a co-heir, a joint heir, is to be an equal heir. It means we're heirs to all that is Christ.

[19:27] So what is Christ? Well, Hebrews 1, 2 says that in these last days, God has spoken to us by his son, who he appointed heir of all things, through whom he made the universe.

[19:43] Did you hear that? God has appointed his son to be heir of all things. The whole universe. You say, well, then what's left for us to inherit?

[19:55] Zero. Absolutely nothing. Unless, of course, you could be joined to Christ and then everything that's his will be yours too. But he's already appointed his son to be heir of all things.

[20:08] And no one will inherit anything except as they become joined to him. It's just like in marriage. We're going to see Brooke and Ollie stand before witnesses and promise each other to each other.

[20:25] And at that moment where they're pronounced husband and wife, all of the things that Ollie has will become Brooke's and all that Brooke has will become Ollie's. They're co-heirs together.

[20:36] And that's what happens when someone is joined to Jesus Christ. Everything that's his becomes ours. All his righteousness becomes ours. But all that he inherits, the whole universe becomes ours.

[20:52] That blows my mind when I think of the greatness of my inheritance to be a joint heir with Jesus Christ.

[21:04] Nothing is Christ that will not be mine too. We're to be heirs of the world, of the universe. And it's not just that our inheritance is inconceivably great in its extent, all things, the whole universe.

[21:20] But it's also the greatness of our enjoyment of it that's amazing. Psalm 1611 says that in his presence is fullness of joy and that his right hand are pleasures forevermore.

[21:35] This inheritance is amazing because of the joy and the pleasures that are full and forever. Today's memory verse points us to something of the greatness of our enjoyment of our heavenly father's inheritance.

[21:53] First Peter 1.4 that we've been born again into a living hope and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. Our inheritance can never perish.

[22:08] It can never come to an end and be no more. Earthly inheritances can and do perish, but not our inheritance. Earthly inheritance can be spent and be no more as the prodigal son found out.

[22:23] He asked his father for all his inheritance. He was given it and he went and spent it and that was it. It was shot. And now he's a beggar again. So that's the way it is with earthly inheritances.

[22:35] But not your father's. It can never perish. It's impossible to perish. It can never spoil. You know, even good food can go bad. It spoils. But never the father's inheritance.

[22:48] It never becomes something less than the wonderful thing that it is. It never spoils. And I think this last word is just amazing. It can never fade. Never fade.

[23:01] Kids, you know what it is to fade. Think of the one of the biggest presents that you were looking forward to getting either for Christmas or your birthday when you were five years old.

[23:17] And you got it. And you thought your world had been changed forever. And you played with that thing all day long. And at night you had a hard time putting it away.

[23:27] And you just dreamed of the moment. The sun would rise and you could get up and play again with that toy. And you did. And you just, life was good. And that lasted for a week.

[23:38] And then the second week, yes, you got up and played with that toy again. And it was nice. And then the third week, yeah, it was okay. But what else is there to play with?

[23:50] And in a couple months, it was forgotten in the bottom of the toy box. What happened? It faded. Your pleasure, your joy faded.

[24:06] And that's the way the toys that men and women seek after and accumulate to themselves are. They fade.

[24:17] All things earthly fade. And the enjoyment of them fizzles little by little. Fading is the worldlings pleasure.

[24:29] All is boasted pomp and show. Solid joys and lasting treasures. None but Zion's children know. John Newton says. So this inheritance can never fade.

[24:42] Now think about it. When you get to heaven, you're going to be perfected. That means your capacities for joy will be enlarged. Perfected. And yet your joy will remain full without any fading.

[24:58] And your pleasures will be full not for a week, a month, or a year, but forever. They are eternal pleasures at his right hand. What must that inheritance be to keep you full of joy forever?

[25:12] Not the least fading of your joy. But one sweet surprise after another for all eternity. Growing in the excitement and the wonder of God's inheritance.

[25:29] Now something that good, we say, could you put that in writing, please? Could you guarantee that? Well, you know God has done just that. And that's our fifth lesson.

[25:40] Not only is this inheritance amazing and inconceivably great, but fifthly, God's children have this inheritance guaranteed and reserved for them in heaven. There's nothing iffy about your inheritance, and God wants you to know that, child of God.

[25:55] God knows that children are wondering the Father's heart toward me and what will be for me. And he wants you to know right up front. There's nothing iffy about this inheritance.

[26:07] It's yours. It's yours. And so he guarantees it. Ephesians 1, 13 and 14.

[26:19] Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession to the praise of his glory.

[26:34] So the Holy Spirit is here. So the Holy Spirit is here called the deposit, the down payment that guarantees your inheritance. He's, as it were, the first installment of heaven's inheritance.

[26:48] To have the Holy Spirit, to have God himself dwelling in you. That's that's the first installment of the glories of heaven. And it becomes the guarantee that the rest is coming.

[26:59] You don't need to worry about that child of God. The Holy Spirit is the guarantee that you will not come short of your inheritance.

[27:12] That final redemption, when all things will be made new, you'll be there. The Holy Spirit will see to that. He's the guarantee. And he will preserve you so that you will persevere in the way of faith and repentance to the end of your life.

[27:33] And you will go and take your place in the inheritance. But your inheritance is not only guaranteed, it's also reserved for you. First Peter 1, 4, talking about this inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade, says it's kept in heaven for you.

[27:53] It's kept for you. The word there could also be translated reserved for you. It's something that's secure. If you have a reserved seat at an event, you don't have to wonder if there'll be room for you there.

[28:06] You don't have to go early just to make sure you get a seat. No, whenever you arrive, your seat will be waiting for you. It's reserved. And even so, children of God, your inheritance is reserved for you in heaven.

[28:20] It's not going anywhere. No thief can break through and steal it. God himself keeps it in heaven for you. And so your inheritance is being kept for you in heaven.

[28:32] And you yourself are being kept for it. It's a double keeping. The Holy Spirit is keeping you for that inheritance. And that inheritance is being kept for you.

[28:46] More happy, but not more secure. The glorified spirits in heaven. They're in heaven. They may be more happy than we are, but they're no more secure.

[28:58] Because our inheritance is just as certain. It's guaranteed by the presence of the Spirit in our life. And it's reserved by our Father in heaven.

[29:09] Now, that's five. The last five have got to go quicker. And they're applications of the Father's inheritance. They're more on the application end. So, number one, we have in this inheritance, we always have cause for joyful thanksgiving to the heavenly Father.

[29:29] What we are going to inherit is so glorious that whatever else is happening or isn't happening, the children of God ought to be the most joyful and thankful people on the planet. Thankful and joyful in their heavenly Father.

[29:43] It won't be long till we'll be going home. Home to our inheritance. Till we hear Christ say, come, you who have been blessed by my Father, take your inheritance, the kingdom.

[29:59] So, joyfully give thanks to the Father who's qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. And that inheritance is to be a cause for joy, even in painful trials.

[30:12] As our memory work will go on next week, in the week to follow in 1 Peter 1.4, that we have this inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade. Kept in heaven for you.

[30:24] And in this you greatly rejoice. In what? In this inheritance from your Father. You greatly rejoice in this, even though for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.

[30:39] Now, that's reality. Griefs in the Christian life, but joy. That even in the midst of our griefs, there is this great joy in this coming inheritance when trials and sorrow and heartache will be no more.

[30:55] And so this inheritance, you see, it's something so sweet and so precious that it spills the joy of that day down into the troubles and pains of this life.

[31:10] In just a little while, these light and momentary troubles will achieve for us the mother load of inheritances and eternal glory that will far outweigh them all.

[31:25] Remember, don't have time for that. Number two. So, joyful thanksgiving. We ought to be a thankful, joyful people to the Father. Second, your future inheritance means you don't have to have it all now.

[31:40] Psalm 37 is kind of like Psalm 73. Just flip the numbers. Remember Asaph's Psalm. Psalm 37 is a psalm where the wicked are prospering and the righteous are suffering.

[31:57] But it's not just that. They're suffering at the hands of the wicked who are prospering. So, it's the wicked who are trampling on them, pushing them down, taking advantage of them, abusing them.

[32:10] Well, that's a tempting time, isn't it? There's all kinds of sinful responses that we're being tempted to when that's the scenario. Me, the righteous, being persecuted by the prosperous wicked while I'm suffering.

[32:24] I could fret. I could get all worked up and do evil back to them or envy them or think bad things about them. And that's all there in that psalm.

[32:37] I could complain. But what's the divine remedy? What's the medicine that God prescribes for a situation like that? In three words, it's remember your inheritance.

[32:49] Remember your inheritance. I read through it this morning again. I think I counted six times the word inherit or inheritance is used in that psalm. Almost to say, you know, whenever you are righteous and suffering and even at the hands of the wicked who are prospering, you need to start thinking about your inheritance.

[33:10] Things are going hard now, but the future belongs to the children of the Father. So, those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land.

[33:23] I will endure. Their inheritance will endure forever. And then this very famous verse, Psalm 37, 11. The meek will inherit the land.

[33:38] The meek, they're not pushing their weight around. They're not demanding their rights. They're not demanding their share here and now. I've got to have it now. No, the meek can't afford to go without.

[33:50] The meek can't afford to suffer unjustly. Everything's going to be made right in the end when inheritances are given out forever. So, you don't have to have it all now because you know that you will have it all later.

[34:06] God's children are a people of the later. The future belongs to God's children. And, you know, Jesus says, that attitude, that's a mark of the citizens of my kingdom.

[34:23] You know who belongs to my kingdom? He gives eight beatitudes. The Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5, 5. What does he say?

[34:33] He quotes from Psalm 37. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. It's a quote from Psalm 37 with a tweak. Blessed are the meek.

[34:43] He doesn't say, for they will inherit the land, the promised land in Canaan. But they will inherit the earth, the whole thing. Because the promised land in Canaan was a picture that pointed to that future inheritance of the saints, which is the whole world.

[35:00] It's all that Jesus has made in the universe. And that's what stressed out children of God need to remember.

[35:12] That they're going to inherit the earth so they can afford to be meek. That's why the Hebrew Christians were commended. He says, you know, when you were first converted, you joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property.

[35:28] Kids, you know what confiscation means? It means that somebody else came up and said, I like your bike and takes it. And somebody else says, I like your cat and takes it.

[35:38] And they just confiscate it. They make off with it. And that's what was happening to Christians. They were having their goods taken from them. And they joyfully accepted the confiscation of their property because you knew that you had better and lasting possessions.

[35:55] Well, that's your inheritance, you see. It's the difference your inheritance makes. So God's kids need not get all bent out of shape if we don't get our fair share of stuff now.

[36:06] The whole shoot match will be ours later, by and by, when eternal inheritances are given out. Application number three. Your inheritance ought to make you the best worker at your job.

[36:18] It's where you spend probably most of your time. What does the father's inheritance have to say about my work? Colossians 3, 22 to 24. Slaves.

[36:30] Now, this is the lowest work on the totem pole. Slaves. And if it applies to slaves, it applies to you, whatever your job is. Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything.

[36:41] And do it not only when their eye is on you to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord, not for men.

[36:56] Now hear it. Verse 24. Since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward, it is the Lord Christ you are serving. According to the Bible, your inheritance ought to change the way you work.

[37:11] You ought to work not just to please the boss. You ought to work to please the capital B-O-S-S. It's the Lord Christ you are serving.

[37:25] And that's why we work with our whole heart. And that's why we work whoever's eye is upon us here. We know there's an eye in heaven that's watching us.

[37:38] And he will not let one good thing go unrewarded. It's for all work that's done.

[37:50] Here is the slave. That's menial work. And that's why I say it probably includes everything that you do. Work wholeheartedly as to the Lord in whatever you do.

[38:02] As the song says, whether flipping burgers or flipping houses, whether cooking up mergers or cooking up meals, whether or not your work is being appreciated now by your boss, by your husband, by your children.

[38:15] They may not even know that you're doing the work. But your Lord does. And if you're doing it with an eye to him, you know what he says? You will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward.

[38:29] So all day long, from one task to the next, this is for you, Lord. This is for you. It's how we make our way through the day. It's a whole life.

[38:41] Lived unto the Lord. Lived with him. Lived for him. Application number four. Treasure the Lord himself as the best part of your inheritance. It's perhaps easy for us just to quantify our inheritance in terms of material things.

[38:58] And indeed, in the Old Testament, the inheritance was portrayed in a land of milk and honey and very material things. But it's meant to point us to higher things.

[39:11] Yes, it will be material blessings in the inheritance that the Father gives us. But it will be even far higher spiritual blessings. So we treasure the Lord himself as the best part of our inheritance.

[39:25] Now, I wonder if you realize that you, child of God, are the Lord's inheritance just as he is your inheritance.

[39:38] Psalm 33, 12. Blessed are the people he chose for his inheritance. If that hasn't ever stopped you in your tracks and said, Have you ever read that verse, John?

[39:49] Now's the time to wake up to it. The people he chose for his inheritance. Did you realize you are God's inheritance? We've been talking about our inheritance.

[40:03] Well, let's talk a little bit about God's inheritance. What does he get? He gets us. He counts us as his treasured possession, as his inheritance.

[40:15] Many verses, we don't have time to read them. Solomon's prayer. They are your people and your inheritance whom you brought out of Egypt, out of that iron smelting furnace. For you singled them out from all the nations of the world to be your own inheritance.

[40:28] They've been redeemed to be the people of his inheritance. The Lord's portion is his people, his inheritance. And that's why Paul prayed for the Ephesians to grasp. I pray in Ephesians 1, 18.

[40:40] I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you. The riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints. Saints, children of God, you are his inheritance.

[40:56] No, you are his glorious inheritance. That's how he considers you. And just as you are his inheritance, so he is our inheritance.

[41:11] When Israel came into the promised land, everybody was to get their portion of the land, right? But there was one group that received no land. It was Aaron and his descendants, the priests.

[41:23] And they were told by God, you will have no inheritance in their land, nor will you have any share among them. I am your share and your inheritance among the Israelites. Numbers 18, 20.

[41:35] The Lord was to be the inheritance of the priests. You know, in the new covenant, the blood of Jesus has made us his priests.

[41:47] Revelation 1, 6. By Christ's blood, he made us a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father. And so he's the pinnacle of the inheritance.

[41:59] Just to have him. One thing have I desired of the Lord. That will I seek after. That I may dwell in the house of the Lord. David knew that was the pinnacle of the kingdom.

[42:17] That was the pinnacle of the inheritance. Goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life. But then, I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. That's it.

[42:30] The psalm ends at the highest point of the inheritance. Goodness and mercy here now. Dwelling with him forever. Isn't that where John took us in our opening message on the blessing of children of God?

[42:42] We don't. Now we are the children of God. But what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know this much. That when he appears, we shall be like him. For we will see him as he is. It's seeing him.

[42:54] It's being with him. That's the highest part of this inheritance. Inheritance. And the streets of gold simply tell us that heaven's riches are so far superior to earthly riches.

[43:05] That what men view as the most precious of metals here is pavement for the feet in heaven. Superior pleasures to be found in Christ.

[43:16] Riches in Christ. Forevermore. So. We're his inheritance. He's our inheritance.

[43:27] Would you agree we got the better deal there? He gets us. We get him. Let's treasure him. And lastly. This inheritance is to be valued above all else.

[43:39] And I don't need to tell you. But sadly. It is not being valued. We saw it in Luke chapter 12. The passage that was read. You know what's valued today?

[43:53] It's what's on that will. From daddy. Am I in that? How much is mine? And families. Tear at each other like wild animals to get more of that.

[44:05] Inheritance. Teacher. Tell my brother to share the inheritance with me. Man.

[44:16] You're settling for. Pennies. You need to seek a better inheritance. And he tells the parable. The man who had so much of this earth. And he stores it up for himself.

[44:28] And he tells himself. Oh you're set now self. You can. You. You got it all. You can eat. Drink. And be merry. And live for a long time. In. In sweet retirement. And God says.

[44:39] You fool. Your life will be required this night. And then who will get all these things that you've stored up for yourself. So it will be. Here's the application of the story of the parable.

[44:50] He's talking now to us. So it will be for everyone who is not rich toward God. Are you rich toward God? Doesn't matter what your bank account.

[45:02] The inheritance you got from your father. Are you rich toward God? What have you received from that father? Have you received a righteousness that is perfect? The righteousness of his son?

[45:12] Has he given that to you? Because you have turned away from trust in yourself. And you've thrown yourself upon his mercy by faith. Is this inheritance that we've spoken of that can never perish?

[45:25] Spoiler. Is it yours? Because Christ is yours. And join to Christ. All that's his is yours. To everyone who is not rich toward God.

[45:36] It will be. To spend eternity as a fool. And to wake up a half second after you're dead. To find you've lived for the wrong world.

[45:49] You're rich in stuff. But you're not rich in the right stuff. Rich toward God. And so a warning is given.

[46:03] In Hebrews chapter 12. Don't be like Esau. Kids you've had this story in your Sunday school. You remember when Esau went hunting. He came home one day. He was very hungry. And his brother Jacob had some lentil stew.

[46:18] He says give me some of the stew. And Jacob says well. Let me see. I could get something out of him. For this stew. He says give me your birthright to the inheritance.

[46:29] As the oldest Esau had the big inheritance coming to him. And he thought to himself. What good is that inheritance anyway? I'm starving. Give me the soup.

[46:40] You can have my inheritance. What did he do? He despised the inheritance. What are people doing today? They're despising the inheritance. They're selling it for a bowl of soup.

[46:52] Something that will gratify them immediately. And give their flesh something real and tangible. I can't even see or taste. That inheritance.

[47:02] What good is it? There will come a day when you'll see what good it is. And you on the left will be looking at those on the right. And he will say to them.

[47:13] Come you who are blessed by my father. Inherit the kingdom. And then he'll say to you. Depart from me. You who are cursed. I never knew you. You never treasured me. You never wanted me.

[47:24] You sold your inheritance. You forfeited your inheritance. For the stuff of earth. For soup. Well.

[47:36] We're gathered around the father's. Will. And let me just conclude with these words. As the father's will is now being read.

[47:46] Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. For the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. And there was no longer any sea. I saw the holy city.

[47:56] The new Jerusalem. Coming down out of heaven from God. Prepared as a bride. Beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying. Now the dwelling of God is with men.

[48:09] And he will live with them. And they will be his people. And he himself will be with them. And be their God. And he will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death.

[48:19] Or mourning. Or crying. Or pain. For the old order of things has passed away. And he who was seated on the throne said. I am making everything new. And then he said. Write this down.

[48:30] For these words are trustworthy and true. And he said to me. It is done. I am the alpha. And the omega. The beginning. And the end. To him who is thirsty. I will give to drink without cost.

[48:42] From the spring of the water of life. Now listen. He who overcomes. Will inherit all this. What I have just read.

[48:53] He who overcomes. Will inherit all this. And I will be his God. And he will be my son. But. The cowardly. The unbelieving. The vile.

[49:03] The murderers. The sexually immoral. Those who practice magic arts. The idolaters. And all liars. Their place will be.

[49:14] In the lake. Of burning sulfur. This is the second death. You overcome. By getting into Christ. The overcomer.

[49:26] And he will get you. To the inheritance. That will stagger us forever. But don't miss Christ. Or you miss the inheritance. He is. The best of the inheritance.

[49:37] Let's pray. Behold. What kind of love is this. Father. That you. Should. Call us.

[49:48] Children of God. And that is what we are. We who were once. Children of the devil. Now made children of God. And therefore qualified by you. To share in this inheritance.

[49:59] Through the work of Christ. Do help us then. To think about it more. To. To be more full of joy. And thanksgiving to you. For giving it to us. And.

[50:09] To work hard. In our jobs. To. To be thinking. Of. Of what you've prepared us for. To be held up. In the midst of trials here.

[50:20] So. Thank you. Thank you for your grace. This. This wonderful gift to us. And bring others today. To no longer despise it. But to. Treasure it. And to long to have Christ himself.

[50:31]  As their inheritance. We pray in Jesus name. Amen. Amen.