December 17, 2023 - Inheritance
Notes
Transcript
Last week we saw the Radical Kindness of God come to Ahab.
King Ahab, who is described in 1 Kings as the one who provoked God more than all kings prior to him...
…the worst of the worst...
Is TOLD by God (by way of a prophet) - that he will be victorious in his battle against Ben-hadad, the King of Syria.
And so God - extends kindness and mercy - to this guy who REVELS in his REBELLION against God.
And we might think - WHY?
But - as we saw last week - there is a PURPOSE in God’s KINDNESS - toward us....toward sinners.
God’s kindness is...
Displayed for All to See
Draws Mankind through Common Grace (air to breathe, food to eat)
Delivers From Death to Life
And so we saw how the Kindness of God (TODAY) - (and FOR Ahab) - was meant to bring him to repentance!
If you remember what Romans tells us...
4 Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?
And so - when we wonder WHY God would allow Ahab to = WIN on the battle field...
The REASON - is so that Ahab - In his heart - would TURN to God in repentance!
And REPENTANCE - we should know - isn’t merely a WORD FORMULA…
It’s not simply - something we SAY - and then BECAUSE we SAID it - we’re GOOD with God.
Repentance is actually a GIFT from God…
24 And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil,
25 correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth,
So = repentance is a GIFT - granted to us by GOD...
and THIS TRUE gift will be - GENUINE.
IF it’s from GOD!
10 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.
And so people can actually GRIEVE their bad choices - but still not be - honoring God in their grief.
AND SO - when it comes to Ahab - God showed kindness to him - that he might REPENT.
After the 2nd battle against Ben-hadad - - a battle that the Lord gave to Ahab -
…Ahab ends up letting Ben-hadad go...
Something God wasn’t happy with.
We read of this here...
42 And he said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Because you have let go out of your hand the man whom I had devoted to destruction, therefore your life shall be for his life, and your people for his people.’ ”
43 And the king of Israel went to his house vexed and sullen and came to Samaria.
So Ahab - having received God’s KINDNESS - ends up disobeying God...
And finding out what God is going to do about it.
We then come to our text today...
Let’s pull out enough of the text to get the story...
1 Now Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard in Jezreel, beside the palace of Ahab king of Samaria.
2 And after this Ahab said to Naboth, “Give me your vineyard, that I may have it for a vegetable garden, because it is near my house, and I will give you a better vineyard for it; or, if it seems good to you, I will give you its value in money.”
3 But Naboth said to Ahab, “The Lord forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers.”
4 And Ahab went into his house vexed and sullen because of what Naboth the Jezreelite had said to him, for he had said, “I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers.” And he lay down on his bed and turned away his face and would eat no food.
So Ahab decides that he wants a VINEYARD that belonged to Naboth.
…but that was NEAR his palace.
Naboth lets him know that he can’t do that - BECAUSE - it’s a part of his INHERITANCE - and the LORD forbid him from letting go of it.
What happens?
5 But Jezebel his wife came to him and said to him, “Why is your spirit so vexed that you eat no food?”
6 And he said to her, “Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite and said to him, ‘Give me your vineyard for money, or else, if it please you, I will give you another vineyard for it.’ And he answered, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.’ ”
7 And Jezebel his wife said to him, “Do you now govern Israel? Arise and eat bread and let your heart be cheerful; I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”
So Ahab’s wife - Jezebel - steps into the situation - decides that her husband should have what he wants...
And she decides to take matters into her own hands.
8 So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name and sealed them with his seal, and she sent the letters to the elders and the leaders who lived with Naboth in his city.
9 And she wrote in the letters, “Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth at the head of the people.
10 And set two worthless men opposite him, and let them bring a charge against him, saying, ‘You have cursed God and the king.’ Then take him out and stone him to death.”
11 And the men of his city, the elders and the leaders who lived in his city, did as Jezebel had sent word to them. As it was written in the letters that she had sent to them,
12 they proclaimed a fast and set Naboth at the head of the people.
13 And the two worthless men came in and sat opposite him. And the worthless men brought a charge against Naboth in the presence of the people, saying, “Naboth cursed God and the king.” So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death with stones.
14 Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, “Naboth has been stoned; he is dead.”
And so after Naboth was stoned, Jezebel tells Ahab to go take possession of the Inheritance…the vineyard!
NOW - What can we pull from this?
What was God teaching His people in the playing out of this account?
FIRST - I’d like to focus in on the concept of INHERITANCE - in Scripture!
There are 170 different references to the word INHERITANCE in the Old Testament -
With there being 17 references in the New Testament
(depending on translation)
With that SAID - there’s much to say on this topic.
In the Old Testament - we see Inheritance - in terms of land, property, position, or wealth.
And I think we all - understand that.
BUT there’s also ANOTHER ASPECT of Inheritance that God puts forth in His word.... in the Old Testament.
In the Old Testament - we also see that God’s people - are His inheritance
9 But the Lord’s portion is his people, Jacob his allotted heritage.
29 For they are your people and your heritage, whom you brought out by your great power and by your outstretched arm.’
16 Not like these is he who is the portion of Jacob, for he is the one who formed all things, and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance; the Lord of hosts is his name.
So in the Old Testament - we see a heavy dose of INHERITANCE being discussed in terms of PROPERTY… LAND
But what else is something we know about the Old Testament??
We know that much of the Old Testament - while REAL (real events, real people)...
…that much of the Old Testament is SHADOW - - pointing to the SUBSTANCE of the New Testament.
That much of the Old Testament - teaches us about the GREATER realities - of the New Testament.
Examples -
We know that the Lamb at Passover - represented the “Lamb of God” who would come to take away the sins of the world.
We know that the sacrificial system of the Old Testament was pointing to the One FINAL sacrifice - made by Christ on the cross - once - for ALL.
We know that there are many TYPES of Christ in the Old Testament - pointing to the true Christ who was to come!
And so we see and know - that the Old Testament (many of the systems, events, and people) - were meant by God - USED by God - to teach us about Himself and His plan of redemption.
And - INHERITANCE is another lesson He’s teaching mankind about.
And so in a LOT of the OT - we see inheritance deal with LAND...
But God ALSO puts forth the idea of God’s People being GOD’s INHERITANCE...
- AND - this concept is also seen a bit - in the NT as well...
28 Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.
the word “Obtained” in this verse is the VERBAL form of the word - POSSESSION...
So God - TOOK POSSESSION of us - with his own blood.
NOW - what we ALSO see - very widely in the NT is the idea that WE - as believers - will RECEIVE an inheritance ourselves - in the story of redemption.
So - WE are God’s INHERITANCE - AND - we ALSO - receive an INHERITANCE from God.
And we see this AS WELL - throughout scripture...
11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,
12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.
13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,
14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.
15 Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.
And the last verses we’ll look at - and LINGER OVER...
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,
So CLEARLY - WE TOO = will RECEIVE an inheritance - those IN Christ...
And this inheritance has some characteristics to it.
But let’s look at these characteristics - in LIGHT of how Ahab and Jezebel - handled the INHERITANCE of Naboth.
To do this - let’s focus in on verse 4 here on the screen.
4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,
Ok, so the inheritance waiting for us - has 4 characteristics God wanted us to know about.
SLIDE: Our Inheritance: Imperishable, Undefiled, Unfading, Kept
Our Inheritance
Our Inheritance
All we have to do is - LOOK AROUND this world -
And everything we see - DECAYS!
EVERYTHING!
Leave a banana on the counter for 4 weeks - and what happens?
It decays.
Leaves on a tree - over time - they decay
EVERYTHING.
Even we as humans...
We are BORN into this world - and the very second we’re born -
We are placed on the conveyor belt - heading to the - GRAVE.
We begin to DECAY.
We go thru phases - but all of us - at the moment of birth...
Begin the dying process.
It’s ALL AROUND us… DECAY!
And we can ALSO think of this as - EROSION.
When we go to the Grand Canyon - you can see - Erosion.
If you think of a CLIFF that erodes - What happens?
Over time - the elements (mainly water) - can wear away at a cliff side.
And that cliff side - can collapse, and just get WORN back over time.
But our INHERITANCE in Christ?
it’s as Hebrews tells us… [read verse - eternal inheritance]
15 Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.
It’s - FOREVER!
it NEVER decays!
It NEVER erodes!!
The inheritance that awaits us - will NEVER perish...
It will never DECAY! Never erode!!
It will NEVER BECOME - less!
Why?
Because - The INHERITANCE we’re talking about - is NOT OF this world!
It’s HELD together by God...
It’s been FASHIONED by God!
In a sense - SANCTIONED - by God…THEREFORE it’s FOREVER!
Our inheritance is ALSO Undefiled!
SLIDE: Our Inheritance: Imperishable, Undefiled, Unfading, Kept
Our Inheritance
Our Inheritance
Another way to speak to THIS - is that our inheritance is - PURE!
Everything we see in the world = is flawed.
There’s nothing in this world that is PERFECT.
But CHRIST is PERFECT....
He is HOLY…blameless - and PURE!
26 For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.
NOW - while this is true…that CHRIST is PURE!
We also know this...
27 But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
IT here - refers to the New Jerusalem.
And so Our Inheritance in undefiled!
It’s ALSO -
SLIDE: Our Inheritance: Imperishable, Undefiled, Unfading, Kept
Our Inheritance
Our Inheritance
It’s ALSO - Unfading
Think of how HUNGRY Cleveland is for a Superbowl!
It’s hard for us to IMAGINE what it would be like...
BUT - we actually can imagine it.
In 2016 - the Cavs went to the finals.
And - as you know - We won.
I remember where I was - how I felt...
And how CRAZY the city went when we won.
I’ve seen lots of videos of people who recorded themselves - watching the end of the game - and then we SEE THEM GO CRAZY!
Well - - that was 7 years ago.
Guess what - ALL the CRAZINESS...
ALL the STRUTTIN AROUND....
ALL the JOY!
… faded!
At this point - No one cares.
But what’s waiting for us - IN CHRIST!!
Our inheritance - will NEVER FADE...
Never fade in...
excitement
joy
absolute amazement
Infinite intensity
This is our inheritance -
BUT it’s also...
SLIDE: Our Inheritance: Imperishable, Undefiled, Unfading, Kept
Our Inheritance
Our Inheritance
It’s also - KEPT
Reserved!
And the Holy Spirit is our - GUARANTEE!!
13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,
14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
This thing - is a DONE DEAL!
And think about it - GOD is the one who says - IT’S a DONE DEAL!!
THIS WILL HAPPEN!
It IS waiting for us!!
Our Inheritance...
SLIDE: Our Inheritance: Imperishable, Undefiled, Unfading, Kept
Our Inheritance
Our Inheritance
NOW - with THIS IN MIND - with this in VIEW - let’s go back to Naboth and his inheritance...
And let’s look at how Ahab and Jezebel handled Naboth’s inheritance - TO SEE WHAT GOD MAY HAVE been teaching his people and the world - about our COMING inheritance - in Christ..
5 But Jezebel his wife came to him and said to him, “Why is your spirit so vexed that you eat no food?”
6 And he said to her, “Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite and said to him, ‘Give me your vineyard for money, or else, if it please you, I will give you another vineyard for it.’ And he answered, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.’ ”
7 And Jezebel his wife said to him, “Do you now govern Israel? Arise and eat bread and let your heart be cheerful; I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”
NOW - it’s important to KNOW here - what was said prior to this...
3 But Naboth said to Ahab, “The Lord forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers.”
Naboth - according to God - was in no position to SELL or TRADE AWAY his inheritance....this vineyard.
BUT - Jezebel decides - We’re gonna TAKE this thing for ourselves!
And we’ll DO IT - OUR WAY!
8 So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name and sealed them with his seal, and she sent the letters to the elders and the leaders who lived with Naboth in his city.
9 And she wrote in the letters, “Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth at the head of the people.
10 And set two worthless men opposite him, and let them bring a charge against him, saying, ‘You have cursed God and the king.’ Then take him out and stone him to death.”
After reading this - I don’t think it takes too long to begin to see similarities between Naboth - and Jesus Christ.
Like Christ - Naboth here - is charged with a bogus charge...
And LIKE Christ - Naboth - an innocent man - is executed for that charge.
BOTH men - having an inheritance in play.
And so in seeing this play out - I think we can conclude...
SLIDE:
When we try to get to God our own way, we demonstrate our desire to acquire His blessings without His Lordship.
What did Jezebel do?
She IMITATED the King.
She (IN A SENSE) - sat on the throne - in writing those letters and PRETENDING to be King Ahab!
We do the SAME THING with God - when we try to GET TO GOD - our own way!!
When I try to get to God...
By being good...
Doing good things!
Avoiding BAD things…!
What I’m doing is - BELIEVING that WHAT I SAY matters MOST...
I’m IGNORING what God has ALREADY said!
I AM - trying to SNEAK into HEAVEN through a back door.
Problem with that?
THERE IS - no back door!
Jesus said -
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
See - Jesus IS the door!
He IS the door - to our Inheritance.
We don’t get to decide HOW we’re going to RETRIEVE the inheritance...
It’s ONLY THRU FAITH - in Jesus.
It’s THRU - - SURRENDER - to the TRUE King.... King Jesus!
Not by us - PLAYING KING - and thinking we can get to God our OWN way!
But what else did Ahab and Jezebel do to get the inheritance of Naboth?
11 And the men of his city, the elders and the leaders who lived in his city, did as Jezebel had sent word to them. As it was written in the letters that she had sent to them,
12 they proclaimed a fast and set Naboth at the head of the people.
13 And the two worthless men came in and sat opposite him. And the worthless men brought a charge against Naboth in the presence of the people, saying, “Naboth cursed God and the king.” So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death with stones.
14 Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, “Naboth has been stoned; he is dead.”
And so what we see here in THIS ACCOUNT - is that Naboth’s inheritance - was acquired by the BLOOD of a SINNER (Naboth) - his life TAKEN from him - on the basis of lies!
That’s how this TRANSACTION took place...
AND SO - this inheritance - was STOLEN!
OUR INHERITANCE - however - our inheritance of ETERNAL LIFE -
Is acquired - by the Blood of Holy Man (the God-Man Jesus Christ) - His life LAID DOWN - He Himself - being TRUTH!
18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”
Jesus laid down His life - WILLINGLY!
HIS blood - shed for the forgiveness of sins!
Naboth’s BLOOD - couldn’t save ANYONE.... EVEN Naboth!
And so - EVEN THOUGH Naboth was a victim in this...
He was still a SINNER.
SLIDE:
When we try to get to God our own way, we perish, as sinners, under the wrath of God.
Either we can embrace the work of Christ on the cross - and therefore receive the RIGHTEOUSNESS of Christ...
OR...
We will receive an eternal punishment from God - for our sin.
And the REASON we pay for it ourselves - APART from Christ - is because...
Back to revelation...
27 But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
BUT because Christ IS CLEAN - HOLY and PURE...
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
We ONLY come to God - through Jesus Christ...
Which means - the MERCY of God - only flows through - Jesus Christ!
See SIN has an impact in this world....an ETERNAL impact...
2 but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.
36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.
When it comes to a HOLY God -
SIN must be dealt with.
Either - PAID for - by Christ on the cross...
OR - paid for BY US! - eternally apart from God - in Hell!
And think about it - How did this proposal from Ahab begin today?
2 And after this Ahab said to Naboth, “Give me your vineyard, that I may have it for a vegetable garden, because it is near my house, and I will give you a better vineyard for it; or, if it seems good to you, I will give you its value in money.”
Ahab said - I want your inheritance - and I’ll either...
GIVE YOU something - - BETTER
OR
I’ll PAY FOR IT with money.
We need to know...
SLIDE:
When we try to get to God our own way, we try to do what only Christ can do
Ahab tried to BUY the inheritance.
Well what did that imply?
It implied that Ahab believed he could PAY the requirement for the exchange.
OR he said - I’ll trade you another vineyard for it!
IMPLYING - that the VALUE of the inheritance (Naboth’s) - wasn’t UNIQUE!
That it was - JUST ANOTHER vineyard…!
What God has established as OUR INHERITANCE - IN CHRIST… remember...
SLIDE: Our Inheritance: Imperishable, Undefiled, Unfading, Kept
Our Inheritance
Our Inheritance
And BECAUSE this is TRUE...
We must know that - the inheritance that comes from God - to His people...
Is ONLY attained - by faith alone - in Christ alone!
And that’s the best news.
SUMMARY
SLIDE:
When we try to get to God our own way, we demonstrate our desire to acquire His blessings without His Lordship.
SLIDE:
When we try to get to God our own way, we perish, as sinners, under the wrath of God.
SLIDE:
When we try to get to God our own way, we try to do what only Christ can do
And so - by FAITH ALONE in Christ alone...
We acquire the Inheritance that awaits us...
And that inheritance is...
SLIDE: Our Inheritance: Imperishable, Undefiled, Unfading, Kept
Our Inheritance
Our Inheritance
Amen!
And so Let’s SING today - to close - as our prayer!
Praise God from whom all blessings flow
Praise Him all creatures here below
Praise Him above ye heavenly host
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost
Amen