In God we Trust
Text: 1 Peter 1:17-23
Title: In God We Trust
Thesis: We can live by hope because God promises us an eternal inheritance.
Time: Easter, 3 Sun, A
I’ve already read some from 1 Peter this morning. Now, I want to back up a few verses and read from 1 Peter 1:3-5. The apostle Peter writes this: “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.”
In reading the newspaper and watching the evening news, I am constantly amazed at the lengths some people go to to get their hands on the family inheritance. It’s an age-old story, even in our Bibles we’ve got the story of the prodigal son who prematurely takes his inheritance and wastes it all on partying. We’ve all shook our heads in disgust at the stupidity of such behavior, saying, “I would never do that.”
But yet, there are still people who do that kind of thing. Some 2000 years after Jesus told his disciples the story of a spoiled inheritance, we continue to hear stories of misspent inheritances. Some of the tales that go around about children and grandchildren stealing from their parents and undermining their siblings for the family inheritance are almost unbelievable. When I lived in Little Rock I had a funeral home that routinely called me to perform funerals for people who didn’t have a pastor. On more than one occasion, there were family members who would not even talk to one another at the funeral because they were fighting over the family inheritance.
Unlike what we sometimes encounter, the biblical idea is that inheritances should be a good thing and a blessing. The writer of Proverbs 13 says that “a good man leaves and inheritance for his children’s children.” But as great as being the benefactor of some earthly inheritance may be, the Bible talks about an even greater inheritance, an eternal inheritance.
The piece of advice I would give to you this morning is simple: if you are planning on living for eternity look for an inheritance that will last as long as you do. Simply put, if you are planning on living for eternity look for an inheritance that will last as long as you do. Colossians 3:23-24 words what I just said this way: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”
In order for you to get an inheritance there are three things that absolutely must exist: a gift, a giver, and a need.
First, there exists for us a gift, a gift of an eternal inheritance. Notice that Paul says in Colossians 3, “…you know that you will receive an inheritance…” Even if I were lucky enough to get chosen to be a contestant on “Deal or No Deal” the most I would possibly win is one million dollars and from that I would have to take out taxes. In earthly terms there is no such thing as an eternal inheritance. But as goes what God offers there does exist such an inheritance. Remember what 1 Peter 1:3-4 says, “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.”
What God has to offer you this morning is a gift, a gift that will never perish, spoil or fade. It’s a gift that will last as long as you do. It’s an inheritance that is kept in a trust, and if you accept this gift you will be given this inheritance as soon as you enter heaven. In the Gospel of John chapter 14, Jesus describes this inheritance in earthly terms, referring to it as a house or a mansion filled with rooms prepared for us. The Apostle Paul speaks of a “crown of righteousness” to be given in 2 Timothy 4. But our inheritance is about much more than just “stuff.” Remember, Peter said we had an inheritance “that can never perish, spoil or fade…” Who here today would not want such an inheritance?
Several years ago, I recall driving down the interstate and passing a slow moving RV. The bumper sticker on it read, “We’re out spending our children’s inheritance.” As unbelievable as an eternal, never ending never perishing inheritance may sound, it is made real because of the person who offers it. The only one who has such large and vast resources that we could have an eternal, never ending inheritance is God. The Bible tells us that it is totally in God’s character to provide for us out of his vast resources. In Matthew 7 Jesus asks the question, “Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him?”
Consider the most generous person you have ever known in your life. I’ve known some very generous people in my life. I’ve been blessed with the love and provisions generous people have given to me. But as I consider all the generosity of the most generous of people, they don’t hold a candle to God. Now, just as much as we want to receive an eternal inheritance, God wants just as much to give us an eternal inheritance. Our need to receive is more than matched by God’s desire to give.
But there is a third part to this equation of our desire to receive and God’s willingness to give. And that third part is our need. If you want to be on the receiving end of God’s giving, there has to be some record that you really deserve it.
Here’s the thing: There is a gift God has intended for you to have from the very beginning of your life. It’s the gift of an eternal inheritance in heaven. All you have to do to receive this gift is to be listed in the will. Without that, you’ll never get your inheritance.
When someone leaves a will here on earth, that person’s estate goes through probate, which is the process to ensure the person’s property is distributed according to their wishes. If your name was found in a will, at some point the court will look at that will and acknowledge your name and give you what you’re entitled to.
We read about the list of names God keeps in Revelation 3:5-6, “He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels.” I imagine that many of us here this morning would say, “Yes, I fully deserve my eternal inheritance because I have asked God to forgive my sins and I am living as a disciple of Jesus Christ. I am one of those who have overcome being limited by earthly desires and inheritances.” But if you are here today and you are unsure that you will be the recipient of such an eternal inheritance, before you leave here today you can know without a doubt. At the end of the service, as we sing the hymn of invitation I would invite you to come forward and talk and pray with me.
For some, you may have lost your perspective on life, living more for the things of this earth than working for your eternal inheritance. All of us can choose to focus on this life and the small and fading inheritances it may have to offer. Today, right now you can look forward to your eternal inheritance, held in trust for you. It’s an inheritance “that can never perish, spoil or fade – kept in heaven for you.”
