Paul Daniels Sunday, June 22 nd, 2014
Inheritance: That which we receive, as part of a family. It is a gift, not something we earn as a result of our efforts. Possessing it and living out all its benefits is another matter. Kingdom: A specific area that is under the protection, control, and rule of a king. A kingdom has area, government, and residents.
16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.
13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love Ephesians 2:19 (NKJV) 19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God
Remember: this is God s kingdom, not ours! As citizens, we have privileges, benefits, obligations, and duties. For the Israelites, the promised land was a primarily physical place. It had definite boarders, and each citizen got a clearly defined piece as his inheritance.
7 For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, that flow out of valleys and hills; 8 a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey; 9 a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing; a land whose stones are iron and out of whose hills you can dig copper. 10 When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land which He has given you.
For Christians, it is different. Our promised land is found in Christ. It is not primarily physical, but can include physical places. Our inheritance is intimacy with the Father, through the sacrifice of Jesus, realized through the work and ministry of the Holy Spirit.
17 Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men.
Israel s old covenant: A physical thing with specific locations where God literally dwelt. The Church s new covenant: Spiritual things not dependant on a physical place. He dwells with and in His people. Intimacy: Close familiarity and fellowship; nearness in friendship. (Webster 1824)
17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD, for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.
3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. Revelations 3:20 (NKJV) 20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.
21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.
We all have an inheritance in His kingdom, but not everyone enters into it. Sin separates us from God; we need forgiveness. He does this through salvation, which is a position, a place, and a gift. We are working to claim our inheritance, not to win it. Unfortunately, we will never enter fully until we get to Heaven.
The promised land is not empty! It is filled with trespassers who are enemies of God. They need to be thrown out or destroyed if we are to fully posses our inheritance. The ability to walk in intimacy with the Father is called the abiding life, maturity, or living in the fullness of the stature of Christ.
Numbers 14:9 (NJKV) 9 Only do not rebel against the LORD, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the LORD is with us. Do not fear them. There are many types of Satanic forces that will try to block our intimacy with the Father. They are dedicated to opposing His authority.
Paul Daniels Sunday, June 22 nd, 2014