Inheriting God's Kingdom- CPBC
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Intro
Intro
**disclaimer to parents
Everyone would like that call from a lawyers office about the long lost uncle or aunt that you never knew that has left you millions in cash or acres of land in their last will and testament. Its a dream made in the movies…but its far from reality. But it has happened so there is always hope!
Brothers Zsolt and Geza Peladi were homeless in 2009, living in a cave outside Budapest, Hungary, and scavenging junk for a living in Hungary when they learned they had inherited a fortune from a grandmother in Germany. The siblings were located by charity workers and put in touch with the attorneys who were handling the estate of their maternal grandmother in Baden-Württemberg, The Telegraph reported.
The once-penniless brothers received 4 billion pounds. Today, that would be equivalent to more than $5 billion in U.S. dollars.
Inheritance in this life can be a great experience, but it can be a deadly one as well. It often times leads to greed, covetousness and family divisions. The opportunity to receive an increase in wealth quickly can be a dangerous temptation for greed to fill our hearts. That shot of wealth quickly vanishes and leads to a hunger for more that is not readily available.
Jesus said:
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
The Bible makes it abundantly clear that our true treasure is not found on this earth, but instead it comes from above in a relationship with Jesus Christ. He is our greatest treasure and when he enter into a relationship with him, we are promised something greater than any sum of wealth can grant us on this earth. Followers of Jesus are called into a restored relationship with God and we become heirs of a heavenly inheritance.
1. Inheriting God’s Kingdom
One reign with two sides: Redeemed side:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
1. Redeemed come through regeneration by faith and repentance
relationship built on love
brought about by regeneration given to us
called and empowered to live holy, separate from world
2. Rebels reject/defy the king but remain under his rule and reign
unrighteous will eventually bow before their king
so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Paul writes because the church in Corinth is composed the redeemed and rebels. You can belong to a church membership and not truly belong to the church. The church is not a membership roll written on paper, its a membership roll written with the pen of heaven, scripted before the foundation of the world.
He wants them to see the problem within, where sin was not being dealt with among them and it was bringing corruption and death to the church. Cross pointe, are you overlooking blatant sin in among you? Are you willing to stand firm upon the gospel of Jesus Christ no matter what cultural group might get offended.
2. Characteristics of Heirs and Rebels of the Kingdom
Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.
Gratifying the flesh:lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh, pride of life)
Sexually
Immorality (porneia): Hellenistic influence of the Jews led them to use the term more broadly to cover all extramarital sexual sins. Paul uses it here as an introductory word to summarize the first five of the sins of this list. They first five sins listed are all related to sexual sin outside the marriage relationship.
Idolatry:The sovereignty of God declares that the Lord rules all of his creation. His declaration of the tree of good and evil in the garden declared that even Adam and Eve were not rulers equal with God, but subordinates under him. Therefore, when journey outside the marriage relationship for sexual intimacy, we are not submitting to God’s reign over our lives and instead, we are worshipping and gratifying the physical realm. He are seeking to satisfy the lust in our eyes. Like a kid throwing a tantrum in a toy store at Christmas, we all see what we desire and we stop at nothing to get it.
Romans 1:18-22
Adultery: Violation of marriage bed, Jesus points to lust of heart
Homosexuality: two GK words are used here to
***violations of Gods design
***not a new issue in the world-14 /15 Roman Emporers
Materially
Covetous: Greed and it comes from a root word that means “too much or excess.” Greed then is the desire for too much. Instead of contentment with what God has given, we are always on the hunt for more, always hungry but never satisfied.
Theft: Greed is the lust for other people’s possessions while theft is the action of violating our neighbors and taking what belongs to someone else.
Extortioners: Jesus rebuked the Scribes and Pharisees for “devouring widows houses. ” Devouring widows houses was a way in which Scribes would convince widows to sell their property or put it under the control of religious leaders so that the church might profit from an porersit. This of course who strip away any assets that were built up for the widow by her deceased husband.
Emotionally
Drunkards drunkenness is a characteristic which is related to unrighteousness, recklessness, and a lack of self-control, then God is calling those who belong to his kingdom to turn from such indulgences but instead to cast their hope in him.
Revilers : This means to mock, or ridicule, to insult someone. This is using words that promote hate towards them, not building them up, but tearing them down.
Redeemed Heirs of the Kingdom:
Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.
Past tense
CLEANSED
Pauls says that we were cleansed in the name of Jesus and by the Spirit. We understand cleansing to mean that we have the effects of sin removed from us. Not only is the debt of sin paid by the Lord Jesus, but its hold on our lives is nullified as well. Sin no longer has power over our lives because we are cleansed for the stain of guilt and shame it brings upon us.
“Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. “Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. “I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.
Jesus as the Living God had to power to forgive sins and he granted that forgiveness to all who call upon his name by faith. He makes us clean by his death upon the cross and his resurrection. This washing is symoblized in the baptism of a believer who comes up out of the water, after being immersed, cleansed from sin. The water in the baptism has no spiritual effects, for Christ accomplished what is pictured on the cross when he died.
This is why baptism follows conversion because you cannot symbolize the cleansing act before its happened in your life. Therefore, what Christ has done in you to regenerate you to new life is pictured when you are lower under the water and then emerge rejoicing in all Christ has done in you.
MADE HOLY
The second word, also in a past tense, is stated as also happening to believers. You are made holy, set apart in holiness. This points to the position of a person born in sin who cannot enter into the presence of God because our sin is offensive to God’s holiness. Any sin that entered into his God’s presence would result in death.
But Jesus, being fully God and fully man, obeyed the Father in every way and as perfectly holy, without inherited sin from Adam, became the sacrifice, spotless and blameless, for sinners. His sacrifice ensures that sinners are made holy.
How can you enter into heaven? Its not making your self clean, making yourself holy. None of us can do these things. Given to ourselves, we will be gratify our flesh, we will worship idols of our body and accomplishments. We will be greedy and cheat and steal so we can gain advantage. But Christ changed all that when we called us out of darkness into marvelous light. When he cleansed us and made us holy.
For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us; for after saying, “This is the covenant that I will make with them After those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws upon their heart, And on their mind I will write them,” He then says, “And their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin.
DECLARE RIGHT
Do you know sin carries a legal debt before God? You and I are guilty and deserving of the greatest punishment. We are enemies of the state of heaven, traitors to the crown. We deserve the full wrath of God against our sins. There can be no overlooking or sweeping our sin under the rug.
You were declared innocent. Innocence is not earned by man. We were born with a sin nature, rebels of heart standing in opposition to God. But God saves sinners!
How were you made right before God? Christ imputed his righteousness to you. Jesus was in a right relationship with God. He was sinless and therefore no violations were on his record. It was a clean slate.
When you trust in him, he washes away your sin, he makes you holy to stand before God and he takes on himself the debt of sin, bearing the full weight of legal responsibly for punishment and gives us his robe of righteousness so we can be made right legal standing before the Just Judge.
He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
When He does this to a person, the we don’t live in sin, becauase we have been changed.
When He cleanes us, we no longer can stomach living in filth.
When he makes us holy and we expereince the presence of God’s light, darkness looses its appeal
When he justifies us, we don’t want to return to the prison after we have tasted freedom.
This is the characteristics of those who inherit the kingdom. Are you an heir of GOd’s kingdom? Do you belong?
Honor the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman because of their love for God and his commandments. They so desire to please him in this way, not because marriage is easy, but because it brings him glory. Faithful marriage, faithful intimacy brings God supreme glory as husbands and wife reflect the beauty of Christ day by day.
For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.
Gender
Marriage
Intimacy
Trust the Lord for their possessions and know that He is providing for their needs day by day. They do not need to cheap others, steal or even covet what they do nto have. Instead, they know that the Lord provides all that they need like he gave manna to Israel in the wilderness, like he provided for the church to grow and expand in persecution, and how he provides spiritual provision in Christ.
Someone in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” But He said to him, “Man, who appointed Me a judge or arbitrator over you?” Then He said to them, “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.”
“So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” And He said to His disciples, “For this reason I say to you, do not worry about your life, as to what you will eat; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. “For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing.
Hope in Christ by finding identity in him and not in the emotional satisfaction in things of this world like material or emotional satisfaction in earthly things They are emotional fixes that fade away. Our true emotional hope is our refuge in Christ.