Untitled Sermon (24)

When I prepare a little devotional for one of these videos I am thinking, “keep it simple!” But the Bible does not always cooperate. God reminded me as I prepared that He is the one who decides what will be simple and what will take some thinking. Lean in, this will take a little brain power, but it’s from God and trust you’ll find it worth it.

Our verse says, ”but in these last days he has spoken to us by His Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things” (). Let me read that one more time, and notice the words, Son, appointed, and heir. ”but in these last days he has spoken to us by His Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things” ().

Let’s start thinking about what is to be an heir. An heir is someone who will receive an inheritance. Some of you listening will receive nothing from your parents, either God has not blessed them with an inheritance to pass down, or they have squandered what they could have given. Others here will receive a modest inheritance, some a great inheritance, a family home, or family land, family finances. If you are an heir you will receive an inheritance. A royal heir is someone who receives, not only possessions, but title and authority. Prince Charles will someday get Buckingham Palace, but he will also get a title of authority. King of England. Prince William will some day inherit the throne from his Father. Prince Harry it seems has walked away from any chance of receiving a royal inheritance and moved to Canada. Again, an heir is someone who receives possessions (house, land, money) and a royal air receives that and title authority. In Christ’s case he will receive both. He is (according to our verse) the heir, we are told here, of all things, all land, all money, all houses, castles, cattle, industries, Incan ruins, gold mines, forests, clouds, angels, wildebeests, tulips, heavens, oceans, titles, in fact he King of Kings and Lord of Lords, all things in existence will someday soon belong to Him. The Son has become the heir of all things.

And they will not be given to Him simply because He is God. God owns all things, but something more than that is being said here. And there are two clues that tell us that Jesus is not just the heir of all things because He is God. The first clue comes from the Word Son, the second from the Word appointed. When Jesus is called the Son, that can mean that He is the second person of the Trinity, but it can also emphasize that he is the royal Son, the Son of David the King of Israel. In when God is giving promises to David, the key promise is that God will give David an offspring and of that offspring God says, “I will be to him a father, and he will be to me a son.” David would have a child who would be called the Son of God. And this Son would be the heir. The other hint that Jesus is going to be heir, not just because He is God, but because He is David’s Son, is found in this word appointed. No one appoints God the heir of anything. God appoints men to particular places, positions, privileges. And in Hebrews, the writer of Hebrews takes a resurrection verse, a resurrection verse from and says this about Jesus. He says, Jesus, was “appointed by him who said to Jesus, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you.” This is speaking of when, at his resurrection, Jesus received the royal title, Son of God. It was not something from all eternity, but something that happened on a particular day.

So this verse is saying that at the resurrection, with death defeated, Jesus was appointed heir of all things, the one who would own and rule all things. Of course, it should not surprise you that when he rose from the dead in the gospel of Matthew he was quick to say, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. So get people from all over the world to follow me.” I am heir, go bring in my subjects. If you are listening and you are not a believer, let me tell you that everything you have is on loan, it is all his, your life and your lands, all his, and the most important thing you can do is to make sure you are right with Him. You can be right with him by turning from your sins and trusting in him who loved sinners and died for them.

Christian I want to leave you with a challenge and an encouragement. Jesus is gathering a people to live as his loyal subjects on this earth he is inheriting. Times like this are ripe times to go and get them. One of our Pastors was telling a story of non-Christian he has kept with over the years, they’ve hung out, gospel comments, and small conversations have been had, but since the corona virus took over the circumstances of our lives he got to go deep. Maybe in this season God would help you go deep with an unbelieving friend, and Jesus the Son, the one who spoke to you, the one who will take everything to himself, would take this friend of yours to Himself as well.

Christian, I want to leave you with this encouragement. We are suffering the loss of many things in these days (or the threat of loss at least). Loss of time with friends. Loss of time with extended family. Some of our international friends may lose their time in America (the Reimers had to head home early to Canada in this time), Loss of work. Loss of income. Loss of savings. Loss. But listen Bible says about you. It says in that Christian are “heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ.” What your family will pass down to you I do not know, but what you inherit in Christ is all things. You are in the Son, the one who is heir of all things, and you will inherit houses, lands, glory, riches, honor, in a world of holiness and love all with and because of Him.