Inheritors and Gods Inheritance in The Saints

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Inheritors and Gods Inheritance in The Saints

• Vancouver, May 4-6 2007

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The History and His Kind Intention
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Inheritance according to the Psalmists

• The psalmists expressed the heart of Gods people
  toward God in the purest way. They wrote when
  they
• were filled with love and adoration toward Him
• had tears and joys in life
• pleaded for deliverance in the midst of fears and
  despairs
• pondered on the history of their people
• saw the heart and mind of God toward them
• The Lord is the portion of my inheritance
  (David, 165)
• Davids treasure, his most precious possession
• more precious than life (1Sam 2619)
• His people Jacob, His inheritance Israel
  (Asaph, 7811)
• The name Israel carried something higher than
  Jacob a purpose and expectation is given by
  God.
• In their eyes the inheritance is not a thing it
  is a Person, and a people bounded together with
  Him by love and by purpose, inseparable.

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The Map
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Those who had seen the inheritance

• Canaan in the eyes of
• Abraham
• His calling (Acts 72-5), his alters, his tent,
  his conversations with the Lord, a small piece of
  land for Saras burial (Gen 2312-20), a vow
  concerning his sons marriage (Gen 245-8)
• Jacob
• His fleeing, the God of Bethel and Jacobs vow
  (Gen 2813-21, 3113), his return, his journey to
  Egypt, a vow to be buried in Hebron (Gen 4729,
  4929-32)
• Joseph
• Sold to Egypt but God was with him (Acts 79),
  for God sent me here before you to preserve
  life (Gen 455), a vow concerning his bones (Gen
  5024-25)

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Those who had seen the inheritance (cont.)

• Canaan in the eyes of (cont.)
• Moses
• Esteeming the approach of Christ greater riches
  than the treasure of Egypt (Heb 1126), his call
  to deliver (Exodus 3), his plea to enter (Deu
  323-28)
• Caleb and Joshua
• Their pleas for the whole Israel to enter (Num
  144-10), another spirit wholly following the
  Lord (Num 1424, 3212)
• The 2.5 tribes
• who did not care (Num 325, 31)

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Hebron in the eyes of Caleb

• An exceeding good land - when he saw it the
  first time at 40
• The land is an exceeding good land.
• If the LORD delight in us, then he will bring us
  into this land, and give it us
• Only rebel not ye against the LORD, neither fear
  ye the people of the land the LORD is with us
  fear them not. (Num 147-9)
• Now therefore give me this mountain when he
  saw it again at 85
• I am this day eighty-five years old. I am still
  this day strong, as in the day that Moses sent
  me as my strength was then, even so is my
  strength now (Joshua 146-12)
• Caleb saw Hebron at 40, and his life was never
  the same
• Why was Hebron so valuable and so captivating to
  Caleb?
• where God proved to be so faithful to generations
  of his ancestors, and where their hearts
  responded with an abiding love
• Is there anything so valuable, so captivating to
  you and to me?

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It pleases God to reveal His Son in us

• Our inheritance is Christ, the riches in Christ,
  as Canaan represented (Eph 13)
• Our inheritance is also Christ Himself,
  especially a fellowship in real life with Him, as
  Hebron represented
• Those who appreciate the inheritance have an
  everlasting bound with God in Christ, precious
  and inseparable
• Caleb saw it. And it is Gods will for each of us
  to also see it.
• If you or I miss it, we would regret for life.
• If a man would give all the riches of his house
  for love, it would be utterly despised. (Song
  87)

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The glory of His Inheritance in the Saints

• The prayer in Eph 1 that God may grant you the
  spirit of wisdom and revelationthat the eyes of
  your hearts be opened to know
• The hope of our calling
• So many witnesses
• The riches of the glory of His inheritance in the
  saints
• Insignificant as we are, He expects us (His
  church) to manifest this glory. He has not
  entrusted it to another.
• The surpassing greatness of His power toward us
• He who calls you is faithful, who will also
  perform it. (1The 524)

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Joshua the Inheritor

• Possessing the possession
• Moses died
• The charge of the Lord
• The crossing of Jordan
• A man with a drawn sword
• The battles
• Dividing the land
• Son of Nun, attendant of Moses, servant of the
  Lord
• As Jehovah had commanded Moses his servant, so
  did Moses command Joshua, and so did Joshua he
  let nothing fail of all that Jehovah had
  commanded Moses. (v.1115)

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Preparation of the inheritor

• A different victory , a personal experience
• Victory is of the Lord (Exodus 178-11)
• An attendant to Moses
• Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is
  the kingdom of heaven (Matt 53)
• Would not leave the tent (Exodus 3311)
• Abide in me and I in you.bears much fruit
  (John 154-5)
• Corrected, and corrected again (Exodus 3218, Num
  1128-29)
• Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the
  Earth (Matt 55)
• Kedesh-Barnea (Num 141-10)
• Another spirit wholly following the Lord (Caleb
  and Joshua)
• 38 years in the wilderness
• Israel was humbled to know that man live not by
  bread alone (Deut 83)
• The sorrow of his generation the waiting with
  the new generation
• He that dwells in the secret place of the most
  high ..(Psalm 911)

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Final testimony of Joshua the inheritor

• Joshuas testimony of Israels history
  (v.242-13)
• As to our forefathers
• As to all our enemies and battles
• As to our land, our cities
• As to our vineyards and olive groves
• As to all the promises of the Lord (v.2314)
• You may choose for yourselves (v.15)
• As for me and my house we will serve the Lord
  (v.15)
• Did he regret over his own life?
• What did he see in the future of his children?
  Was he hopeful?
• How could he be so sure?
• What would Joshua say to you and to me today?

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The Time Line
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Ruth Her Time

• Israel was spiritually desolate, morally corrupt
• They did not know the Lord nor the works which
  He had done for Israel. (Judges 211)
• There was no king in Israel. Every one did what
  was right in his own eyes. (Judges 176, 2125)
• The land of Canaan was under the shadow of shame
  and tragedy
• including Bethlehem of Judah
• There was a farm outside the city of Bethlehem
  the field of Boaz
• an oasis of life in the midst of desolation
• a light of hope shining in the darkness

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Ruth the Moabitess, a widow

• Naomis misery
• The call to return to Canaan
• Ruth must choose
• Naomi could offer nothing of this world except
  poverty
• No hope in claiming her late husbands
  inheritance
• Moabites not admitted in the meetings of Israel
• Turn, my daughters, go your way, Return after
  your sister-in-law
• On the other hand, Moab had much to offer her
  own kindred, own people, own gods, marriage,
  prosperity, etc.

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Ruths choice

• Naomi, her people, her God, her eternity
  (v.116-17)
• Where you go I will go
• Where you lodge I will lodge
• Your people my people
• Your God my God
• Where you die, will I die and be buried
• Why would Ruth choose Naomis God?
• What if Naomi had despised the name of the Lord
  at home?
• What if Ruth chose the promise of the world?

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What Ruth saw at Boazs farm

• The name of the Lord honored
• Abundance of wheat
• The servants were blessed, the owner respected
• Lively, orderly, joyful
• Feast daily at the owners table

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What Ruth saw at Boazs farm (cont.)

• Grace shown to a stranger, a widow (v.28-12)
• Accepted
• Hear, My daughter, go not to glean in another
  field, neither go from here, but abide here
  closely by my maids.
• Protected
• I have charged the young men not to touch you.
  When you are thirsty drink the water they draw.
• Appreciated
• It has been fully shown me all that you have
  done to your mother-in-law.. and let your reward
  be full from the Lord God of Israel, under whose
  wings you have come to take refuge.
• A place at the table
• At meal time come and eatShe sat beside the
  reapers.
• and wheat to bring home
• Let her glean.. and rebuke her not.

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What Ruth wanted for the rest of her life

• Spread your wings (as in v.211) over me, for
  you have the right of redemption (v.39)
• that she might possess the inheritance the Lord
  had given to the children of Israel
• Boaz was willing
• Your have shown more kindness in the latter end
  than at the beginning, for you followed not young
  men, poor or rich.(v.310)
• A union and a beginning
• Boaz begot Obed, and Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse
  begot David (v.422)

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Precious gifts Ruths story left us

• A single-minded quest for the inheritance of God
  despite obstacles
• Her eyes were opened to the glory and virtue of
  the God of Israel
• ..the Lord, who has called us by His glory and
  virtue (2Pet 13)
• She followed Naomi with love and obedience
• ...who walk not after the flesh, but after the
  Spirit. (Romans 84)
• She refused to be attracted (or distracted) by
  the lust of the world
• The world passes away, and the lust thereof, but
  he that does the will of God abides forever.
  (1John 216)
• The surpassing love of Boaz and the riches of his
  grace shown in his field
• Where can we find this today?

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The Reality of Inheritance
the fact gt
the thoughts gt
the question gt
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Israel when Samuel was born

• A nation in spiritual desolation for centuries
• In their hearts the Lord was not king
• Eli the Judge was spiritually old, weak and dim
• The sacrifice and worship are an abomination to
  God
• Sacrifices were but outward formality
• The priests were corrupt
• Gods words were few, His revelation rare
• Israel dominated by the Philistines for decades
  in the central and southern part of Canaan
• They could not freely gather
• No ironsmiths allowed

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Samuels early years

• His unusual birth
• His mother asked for a son and dedicated it to
  the Lord. (1Sam 111)
• His childhood and growing-up
• Protected from the evil hands of Elis sons (1Sam
  212-19)
• Abiding, depending, asking, hearing, and praying
• Child Samuel grew up in favor of God and men
  (1Sam 226)
• His training
• Diligence (1Sam 315)
• Speak, Thy servant hears (1Sam 38-10)
• When he grew up, the Lord was with him
• and let none of his words fall to the ground
  (1Sam 319-21)
• The whole Israel knew that God had raised Samuel
  as His prophet.

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A nation Returned, Repented, Restored(1Sam 7)

• Samuel told Israel to abandon the idols and
  return to the Lord, serving Him only,
• 20 years after Elis death
• They repented for having sinned against the Lord
• They poured water on the ground and fasted
• Pray to the Lord to deliver us from the hands of
  the Philistines
• Through Samuels prayer, and with Israel in
  unity, the Lord broke the power of the
  Philistines once for all
• and restored all the cities occupied for 4 decades

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Obedience better than sacrifice

• Samuel rebuked Saul in both the beginning and in
  the end of his reign, on the issue of obedience
• Saul was gifted and brave, but he did not like
  the Lords commands had no heart to truly and
  gladly obey.
• Samuel uttered a most profound truth on
  sacrifice, the only sacrifice pleasing to God
• Obedience is better than sacrifice attention
  better than the fat of the rams (1Sam 1522)

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Spiritual Reality Restored in Samuels lifetime

• In his long life of 90 some years
• The word of the Lord returned to Israel.
• The hearts of the whole house of Israel restored
  to God
• He taught them to return, to repent, and to pray
• The yoke of the Philistines was broken once for
  all
• through prayer and in unity
• He restored spiritual reality, instead of outward
  appearance, as true worship to God

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Learning from Samuels life

• How should we grow up?
• Abide in the Lord in all circumstances
• The vine and the branches (John 15)
• How can our inheritance be real?
• Return to spiritual reality
• The time has come, and now is, he who worship
  the Father shall worship in spirit and in truth
  (John 423)
• I came to bear witness to the truth, (John
  1837)
• Obedience better than sacrifice
• Have a life of prayer
• Pray for His kingdom
• That we would fear the Lord and serve Him with
  sincerity
• That we be a people after Gods heart

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I have found David....a man after My own heart
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David the Young Man

• Private time with the Lord
• The Lord is my shepherd (psalm 23)
• Bear and lion
• What he said to Goliath
• The name of the Lord
• The testimony of the Lord
• Another young man said the Lord is with him
  (1Sam 1618)
• Skilled in playing harp (later quieting Sauls
  spirit)
• Valiant (fearless because of the Lord)
• Prudent in speech (fellowship with the Lord
  later in his psalms)
• Handsome
• The Lord looks at the heart. (1Sam 167)
• We are made according to Gods image. (Gen 126)

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David the Fugitive (from 20 to 30)

• From hero to fugitive trusting that the Lord
  judges between righteousness and iniquity (1Sam
  18-19, Psalm 592-3),
• Deliver me from those who do iniquity,Fierce
  men launched an attack against me, not for my
  transgression nor for my sin, O Lord
• Answer me when I call, O God of my
  righteousness (Psalm 41)
• But as for me, I shall sing of Thy strength
  (Psalm 5916)

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David the fugitive (cont.)

• Ahimelech the priest and his family were slain by
  Saul because of him he felt helpless and guilty
  (1Sam 21, Psalm 521,8)
• I trust in the loving kindness of the Lord
  forever
• At Gath he must pretend to be a lunatic to
  escape no light on his face (1Sam 2113, Psalm
  342,5)
• My soul shall make its boast in the Lord...The
  humble shall hear and rejoiceThey look to Him
  and were radiant, and their faces shall never be
  ashamed.

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David the fugitive (cont.)

• Cutting off a corner of Sauls robe (1Sam
  245-6)
• Davids heart smote him.
• The Lord forbid that I should do this thing unto
  my master, the Lords anointed.
• Sparing Sauls life again, he pleaded (1Sam
  2619-20)
• Dead dog, flea, partridge,
• Inheritance, Israel, Jehovah

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A Refuge for the 400

• In distress, in debt, or discontented (1Sam
  221-2)
• David, a fugitive hiding in the desert, had
  nothing of the world to offer them
• Why did they come to David?
• Was it because of his bravery? Or his prudence?
  Or something else?
• And why did you and I come to Jesus?

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From the Wilderness to the Throne

• What did the fugitive years do to David?
• What kind of person would he become if he were a
  hero in the kings court in these years instead
  of a fugitive?
• Could he have served the 400?
• What does the way-of-the-cross mean to us?
• To be stripped, to learn not depend on the flesh
  (Phi 33)
• To learn obedience through suffering (Heb 58)
• To be encouraged in tribulation, that we may be
  able to encourage others who are in any
  tribulation (2Cor 13)
• Death works in us, and life in you (2Cor 412)
• To learn the way of the Master

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The Servant King

• Sauls house
• According to the kindness and righteousness of
  the Lord
• Jerusalem
• Where the name of the Lord must reside
• The Ark
• I will not give sleep to my eyes until I found..
  (Psalm 1324-6)
• The House of the Lord (2Sam 7)
• I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God
  dwells in a tent. (v.2)
• The Lord must rule, then my house can be
  established
• Let this be known The Lord of hosts is the God
  over Israel, and let the house of Thy servant
  David be established before Thee (v. 726)

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A Broken and a Contrite Heart (Psalm 51)

• Have mercy upon me, O God
• Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse
  me from my sin
• My sin is ever before me
• Create in me a clean heart, O God
• Do not cast me away from Your presence
• Do not take Your Holy Spirit from me
• You do not desire sacrifice, or else I will give
  it
• The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit
• A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will
  not despise

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Disciplined and Restored

• Now, therefore, the sword shall never depart
  from your house
• because you have despised Me, and have taken the
  wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife
• Psalm 51 a true repentance, a cry for
  restoration
• God disciplined him for about 15 years, ending
  with the rebellion of his favored son against him
• During this time David walked before the Lord
  with a contrite heart
• In old age, people called him The lamp of
  Israel

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Davids Lord Gods eternal King on the Throne

• The Lord said to my Lord (Psalm 110)
• sit at my right hand until I make your enemies
  as footstool at your feet (v.1)
• You are priest forever after the order of
  Melchisedeck (v.4)
• I have set the Lord continually before me (Psa
  168-10)
• because He is at my right hand I will not be
  shaken
• Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoice,
  my flesh also will dwell in hope..For Thou will
  not leave my soul to Sheol, neither will Thou
  allow thy Holy One to see corruption.
• David lived and served with that eternal King in
  view

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Although my house is not so

• Davids last words concerning Gods eternal
  ruler (2Sam 232-5)
• The Spirit of the Lord spoke by me.The ruler
  among men shall be just, ruing in the fear of
  And as the light of the morningthe rising of
  the suna morning without cloudsfrom sunshine
  after the rain the green grass springs from the
  earth Although my house is not so before God,
  yet He has made with me an everlasting
  covenant..
• In Israels history David was actually an
  exemplary king
• loved by Israel,
• admired by the nations,
• a standard the Lord use to measure later kings

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A man after My heart

• I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after
  my heart, who shall do all my will. (Acts 1322)
• David indeed, having served the will of the Lord
  in his own generation, fell asleep. (Acts 1336)
• Or David served his own generation according to
  the will of God.
• He died at the age of 70. In latter scriptures,
  God calls him My servant David