If you turn back with me in your
scriptures to Acts chapter 26 verse 18, I want to spend this
little time we have together looking at receiving the inheritance. You receive the forgiveness of
sins and you receive inheritance among them. Paul stood there
before these people. It's interesting, isn't it, to
think that John Bunyan spent 11 years in jail with his blind
daughter visiting him, bringing the makings of the shoelaces
that he'd make so that he'd be able to tinker in his jail cell.
And he said that when his blind daughter Mary left him, it was
like pulling the flesh from his bones. And the door was open
to the prison in a real sense. All John Bunyan had to do was
promise that he wouldn't preach the gospel and he could have
gone free. And Paul, our apostle to the Gentiles, is standing
there before This crowd that stands in judgment of him, and
in a real sense, the door was open to Paul, wasn't it? All
Paul had to do was go back to the Jewish religion, and all
the accusations against him would have been over, and they would
have welcomed him back into their fold as a trophy, a trophy of
their religious activities. Paul stands there in verse 26
verse 6 he says I stand here stand and I'm judged for the
hope of the promise he's talking about this inheritance the hope
of the promise made of God unto our fathers he says he's there
The next verse talking about the hope to come and for hope's
sake, for this hope's sake, for this inheritance, for a relationship
with this God and savior, for his honor and glory, I'm gonna
stand here. He has received. and inheritance,
the Lord has opened his eyes to see the glory of the Lord
Jesus Christ in a way which was burnt so deeply into his heart
and soul that nothing that this world could offer him would turn
him from it. Not any of the pleasures of this
world, not any of the esteem of this world. He'd had it all,
and he'd lost it all, and he'd lost absolutely nothing, and
he'd gained absolutely everything. All that he had lost, he says,
is just dung. It's just rubbish that I may
be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own. But then he's sent on this mission,
as all gospel preachers are sent on a mission, aren't they? To
open the eyes of the blind people, to do something impossible. To
turn people from darkness to light. No human man can ever
do that. To turn people... to God from
the power of Satan under God. God sent his apostle off on a
mission which is absolutely impossible for man and absolutely possible
only for God. And so the mission of the church
is to go and preach this gospel. It's the power of God under salvation. So receiving this inheritance
comes Firstly and foremost, according
to the previous verse in Acts 26, 17, he's being sent. Receiving
this inheritance comes from a man being sent on purpose, verse
16. You'll see, I've appeared unto thee for this purpose, to
make thee a minister and make thee a witness. He was just a
sinner like other men. In fact, he called himself the
chief of sinners. We've sinned, brothers and sisters.
Paul was the chief of sinners. He murdered Christians. He heard
testimony after testimony of the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. He heard Stephen's testimony
that he saw the Lord Jesus Christ standing there in heaven in all
of his glory. He saw Stephen with the face
of an angel. and nothing moved him. All of
what he saw and heard just turned him to even greater hatred. He's a picture, isn't he, of
what it is to be sent, but he's a picture of what it is to be
saved. He's a picture of what all gospel preachers and all
Christians are. They're trophies of the grace
of God. I love his description of himself. in Galatians chapter 1 of this
man sent on purpose by God. If you're going to receive this
inheritance, you're going to have a man sent by God speaking
to you. You see, he speaks of his life,
doesn't he? He says he didn't receive this
gospel. Verse 12 of Galatians chapter
1. He received it not of man, neither
I received it of man, neither was I taught it. but by the revelation
of Jesus Christ. When the Lord Jesus Christ reveals,
when those eyes are opened and you're turned from the power
of Satan and the darkness, and he's revealed himself to you
in the gospel, you've seen him. You've seen him. This is eternal
life, to know him. To know him. He didn't receive it by all of
his studies and all of his activities. He speaks then of all of the
the esteem he had in the eyes of the Jews, and he was exceedingly
zealous for the traditions of his fathers. Verse 15, his glory
is, but when it pleased God, that's when salvation comes along,
that's when eyes are open, when it pleased God, who separated
me from my mother's womb, he was separated from God from before
he was born, he had no idea of it, and called me by his grace. Listen to these next words. To
reveal his son, where? Look at it with me, brothers
and sisters. To reveal his son in me. That's what happens in
genuine conversion, isn't it? That God reveals himself, he
reveals his son to people, but he reveals himself, his son in
me. That I might preach him among
the heathen Immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood. He
didn't need more testimony from men. Neither went I up to Jerusalem. He called me by his grace. He's
going to be a preacher of the grace of God. He doesn't need
the approval of anyone. He doesn't even need the approval
of the apostles. They were very happy to give
him the right hand of fellowship. But he was a preacher made by
God, and that's what the Lord Jesus Christ said to him on the
Damascus Road. He's made him a witness because
he's actually seen him and heard him, and he's had him revealed
to him. Paul is just a sinner. He preached
him. I love that description. This
is all gospel preaching, isn't it, in verse 16, to reveal His
Son in me, that I might preach Him. Any sermon that doesn't
begin with the Lord Jesus Christ, isn't full of the Lord Jesus
Christ, and doesn't end with the Lord Jesus Christ, is not
preaching Him. If you walk out of here and you're
looking at your activities and what you have to do and how you
can put God under some obligation because of your obedience and
your more sanctified life and all the nonsense that goes on
in religion around this world, you haven't heard Him. You haven't
heard Him because if you hear Him, if He's preached, if He
the preacher is preached to you by a man sent, you'll see Him
and you'll hear Him. See, Paul was a sinner, just
like us. He was an exposed and humble
sinner before the Lord, but he was a witness. He was a witness. So faith, faith, accepting this
inheritance, receiving this inheritance, faith comes by hearing, by preaching
hymn. Someone has said that preaching
the gospel is like reading the will. of our elder brother. Our elder brother has died and
gone to glory and now we're reading his will. We're reading the will
and testament of the Lord Jesus Christ. That they may receive. You see, you don't earn an inheritance
just as you don't earn forgiveness of sins. And you don't have forgiveness
of sins in part. If your sins are forgiven, if
one of your sins are forgiven, you're all forgiven. And they're
not all forgiven, none are forgiven. Not in part. And it's not a cooperative
activity. God says, I did it. That's what
he said to those Jews that just laboured in the war fields of
that nation of Canaan for all those years. And God says, I
did it. I gave it to you. I did it all. All that happens
to the glory of God comes from him. And it's not a cooperative
activity. And because it's not a cooperative
activity, it can be never taken away from the children of God.
and inheritance among them, I love the word, and Lord willing we
might look at it next week, are sanctified. It's in the passive
perfect tense. You can't add anything to perfection.
You can't take anything away from perfection. It's perfect. What is it to receive? We have
to have the qualifications of the inheritors, like Paul. There's a pattern, isn't it?
First thing is you've got to be a sinner to be an inheritor.
You've got to be a sinner to whom God sends his word, his
witness. Someone who declares facts, not
opinions, declares a finished work, not a work that's in some
sense provisional. A sinner who receives this inheritance
is someone who hears God speaking with power. Men speak the words,
but when there is real salvation, God speaks. 1 Thessalonians,
Paul was thanking God for them, knowing, brethren, your beloved,
your election of God, because Our gospel came not unto you
in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Ghost, and in
much assurance, as you know what matter of men we were among you
for your sake. They heard the word of God, they
heard the word of man, but they actually hear God speaking. In verse 2, verse 13, he says,
For this cause also we thank God without ceasing, because
when you received the word of God, which you heard of us, you
received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the
word of God. which worketh, which effectually
worketh also in you that believe. This word of God is powerful
and active, like the saviour who sends it, and like the saviour
who it declares. It's a sinner who has received
grace. A sinner who has been turned
from darkness to light. See, everyone these days thinks
they're going to heaven. I've never heard of a funeral,
I've never heard of a death. in this country for all of my
life, I haven't heard of anyone dying who's not going to heaven.
I haven't heard anyone speaking about someone who has died and
said, I'm going to see them soon. They're up there having a party,
they're up there having a barbecue, they're up there playing on their
skateboards, they're up there riding their motorbikes, they're
doing all this stuff, and I'm going to be with them soon. See,
Satan's religion in this world has gone from the pulpits where
it says God loves everyone and Jesus died for everyone and the
Holy Spirit wants to save everyone and you can come to the Lord
at the time of your choosing. He's blinded the minds. No wonder
God, if God loves everyone, no wonder people say that God loves
everyone. If he loves everyone, then he must love me. Everyone's
included. Preacher and all that are hearing
him. They're blind. They're blind to the true character
of God, a holy God, a just God, an electing God, a predestinating
God, a sovereign God. And they're blind. They're blind
as Paul was blind. They're blind to the forgiveness
of God. Paul thought that his religious
activities in some way helped him be more holy and helped him
get rid of his sin. He was blind to the forgiveness
of God. He was blind to the inheritance
of God, he thought he was earning an inheritance. He thought he
was, like most religious people these days, by their religious
activities, they're putting God under some obligation to bless
them, to bless them here and to give them extra rewards and
crowns in heaven. That's salvation by works, brothers
and sisters. There is no grace in that and
there is no glory for the Lord Jesus Christ in any of that religion.
They're blind to his sanctification. Paul thought his sanctification
was something that he was involved in, that he was sanctifying himself. You can read about their activities.
The Lord gives a great list of them at the end of Matthew's
Gospel, all of the things they do, all of the things that they
thought were their sanctification. Sanctification is the Lord Jesus
Christ. He is our sanctification. If
you have him, you have 100% sanctification. Holiness is an absolute. Either
you are perfectly, completely holy, or you can perfectly, completely
unholy. There are no ifs in salvation. There are no ifs in what God
does. There are no choices. So we receive. We will receive this as sinners
hearing the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. We hear this as
sinners for whom those glorious words of the Lord Jesus Christ,
it is finished, just resonate. And we rest. We rest like John
did on the breast of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's finished.
The debt is paid in full. We receive an inheritance as
sinners. We receive an inheritance through
the preaching and the hearing of the gospel when God brings
his word to the hearts of people with power. Keep coming and keep
hearing, keep listening. We don't know the day. All we
know is that today is the day of salvation. We receive an inheritance
also by our union with him. You have to, in normal circumstances,
you have to have some familial relationship to receive an inheritance. My children will receive an inheritance
from me because if the Lord takes me away soon enough before I
spend it all, there might be a few pennies left for them.
But they'll receive an inheritance because they're mine. I often
love relating the story of Lisa's grandfather who was dying before
any of his children were married. And in accordance with Proverbs
13, He set aside an inheritance for his children's children.
I have no idea what it is. It might be just a few dollars.
But anyway, he had no married children. He set aside an inheritance
for his grandchildren. Not knowing whether he's... I
think he knew Lisa's mum was going to be married. He didn't
know any of the others were going to be married. The three children
he had were going to be married. But he set aside that inheritance
for those children before they were born. Does there... Good behaviour add to their inheritance. Does their bad behaviour take
away from their inheritance? When that will's read, there
are 10 of them, all 10 of them get what? All 10 of them get
exactly the same. Get exactly the same. It's a
glorious picture, isn't it? All of God's children get exactly
the same. We get all the fullness of God.
And such is the omnipotence and such is the glory of our God
is that he can give us all of his fullness and still have all
the fullness left over, can't he? That's what it is for him
to be infinite and omnipotent and omniscient, isn't it? He
can give to one of his children all of his love and still have
all of his love left over. Infinity isn't diminished by
giving. We weigh it over our heads when
we talk about those things, but it's infinite and eternal. And
such is the union of the Lord's people with them that we are,
in the words of the scriptures, we are one with Him. We have
an inheritance and we receive an inheritance because of our
union with Him. We are one with Him. Hebrews
2 speaks of it. He says, for it became him, verse
10 of Hebrews 2, for whom are all things and by whom are all
things, in bringing many sons unto glory to make the captain
of their salvation perfect through his suffering, for both he that
sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one. For which cause he's not ashamed
to call them brethren. We're not just close to him,
we're one with him. There's a union, an eternal union,
a covenant union, a union of grace and peace and love, an
unchangeable union. That's why Joshua would say,
me and my house, the Lord Jesus would say, me and my house, we
will serve the Lord, we will worship God. Romans 8. 17 declares that we
are heirs and joint heirs with Christ. Whatever he receives, we receive. I love that verse in Galatians
chapter four, verse six. I can still remember the Lord
writing it powerfully on my heart many, many years ago. It's speaking about the redemption
of the Jews and then speaking to the Gentiles, he says, and
because you are sons, Hebrews 4, Galatians 4, 6, and because
you are sons, because you are sons now, you have always been
sons, God has sent forth the spirit of his son into your hearts,
crying, Abba, Father. So you don't become sons by some
activity of yours, and you don't become sons by something you
do. You become, you are sons, is what he says. And because
you are sons, God sends forth the spirit of his son into your
heart, crying, Abba Father. You know the pictures in Ephesians
chapter five, it speaks of that union between the Lord Jesus
Christ and his people. We are members, verse 30, we
are members of his body, of his flesh and of his bones. For this
cause a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined
unto his wife and they too shall be one flesh. This is a great
mystery but I speak concerning Christ and the church. That's
how close we are. There is an inheritance by union. It's an intimate union. We receive
an inheritance because of the finished work of the Lord Jesus
Christ. I love the petitions that he made in that upper room
before he went to Calvary's cross. I love the petitions that he
prayed. You might recall in the Psalm
chapter two, he says, ask of me and I'll give you the heathen
for thine inheritance. We are his inheritance, brothers
and sisters, and he's ours. I'll give you the heathen for
your inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth for your possession. Ask of me." In John 17, the Lord
Jesus Christ asked. He asked. He went to Calvary's
tree. with these petitions. He says
in verse four, I have glorified thee on the earth, I have finished
the work thou gavest me to do, and now, O Father, glorify thou
me with thine own self, with the glory which I had with thee
before the world was. He's praying for us, isn't he?
He's praying for his inheritance in that upper room. He said,
I'm not praying for the world. Isn't it extraordinary? The religious
world wants to tell everyone that God loves everyone these
days. On the night before he died he wouldn't be bothered
to pray for them. And yet somehow he loves them
and the next day he was dying for them and he wants to save
them all. May God expunge such blasphemies from our hearts.
He says, now, he says, I pray not to the world, but
for them which thou hast given me, for they are thine. All mine are thine, and thine
are mine, and I am glorified in them. It's remarkable, isn't
it, to think that he's glorified in us. How is he glorified in
us? By taking away our sins, by making
us as holy and as spotless and righteous as he is, presenting
us before his father, a glorious bride. And then he says in verse
11, and now I'm no more in the world, but these are in the world,
and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine
own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one
as we are one. So we're kept for that inheritance,
that inheritance is kept in heaven for us. The son asked, He says, I pray not, verse 15,
that you should take them out of the world, but that thou should
keep them from the evil, from the evil one. They're kept, aren't
they? In the time of his love, they'll
be taken out of the kingdom of Satan and transferred into the
kingdom of his son. Satan has no power to keep the
Lord's goods. He says in verse 17, sanctify
them through thy truth. Thy word is truth. All of them
will find his truth delightful. He says in verse 20, I pray not
for these alone, the apostles that he was speaking to, but
for them also which shall believe on me through their word, that
they all may be one. As thou, Father, art in me, and
I in thee, that they also may be one in us, that the world
may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou
gavest me, I have given them, that they may be one, even as
we are one. See, it's not just close. It's not just close fellowship
and relationship. It's oneness that the scriptures
speak of. Listen to as he goes on, our
dear saviour on that night. I in them and thou in me, this
is closeness. Why do we receive this inheritance?
Because we are sons. I in them and thou in me, that
they may be made perfect in one, that the world may know that
thou hast sent me and hast loved them as thou hast loved me. Talk about an inheritance, brothers
and sisters. Talk about a gift of God. What pains he went through to
ensure that this inheritance was kept and given to them. Verse
24, Father, I will that they also whom thou hast given me
be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory which thou
hast given me, for thou lovest me before the foundation of the
world, O righteous Father. The world has not known thee,
but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent
me, and I have declared unto them thy name, and I will declare
it, and he's declaring it today, that the love wherewith thou
hast loved me may be in them, and I in them. Do you see why we're receiving
an inheritance, brothers and sisters? Do you see why in this
glorious union we are heirs and joint heirs with the Lord Jesus
Christ? He has access to the Father.
He has acceptance with the Father. The Father is satisfied with
him. The Father looks on his son with
the most glorious delight. and he looks on all of his people
exactly the same way. We do love quoting 1 John 4,
17. As he is, so are we in this world. Ask of me, and the Lord
Jesus Christ asked, and he received. See, we receive the forgiveness
of sins because we're one with him and all of our sins were
laid on him All of the sins, the extraordinary depth and height
and breadth and horror of all of the sins of all of God's elect
people were laid on the Lord Jesus Christ and they were laid
there by a holy God and the infinite wrath of a holy God was poured
out on those sins and poured out on us in Him because of our
union with Him. We're crucified with Christ.
We're crucified with Christ. And now in him is no sin. Now in all of his people there
is no sin. Not partial forgiveness of sins,
not forgiveness of sins if you do your little bit. We have an
inheritance among those sanctified by the faith that's in me. We
have an inheritance by death. A death of our substitute. We
have an inheritance by family union. We have an inheritance
by receiving what someone else has earned. We have an inheritance
by receiving what has been promised and written in testimony. We
are receiving an inheritance legally. We receive an inheritance
righteously, rightfully. We receive an inheritance independent of our activities
because it's all of grace and it's all of him. We receive an
inheritance because we have the one who died living and reigning
and ruling forever. Hebrews 7 declares that he lives
as that priest according to the order of Melchizedek by the power
of an endless life. He ever lives to intercede for
us. We are one with him. one with
Him. We receive the promises by faith. We receive the promises as the
covenant of grace is fulfilled. We receive the promises not because
of any law that is kept by us. We receive the promises because
the promised one has kept that law perfectly for us. Let's just
turn briefly to Galatians chapter three and we'll Close. He said, now, verse 16, and now
to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not
unto seeds as of many, but as of one, and to thy seed, which
is Christ. We've been reading the promises
that the Father and the Son made to each other. In this I say
that the covenant that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the
law, which was 430 years after, cannot disannul that it should
make the promise of none in effect. For if the inheritance be of
the law, if the inheritance be of anything you do, it is no
more of promise But God gave it to Abraham by promise. Abraham is the father of all
the faithful. Abraham went because of a powerful
word of God into that land. And I love quoting what Hebrews
11 said of Abraham when he saw that land. He was looking, he was looking for a city whose builder and
maker was God. The promise comes not by law
and not by law obedience because love is the mark of receiving
this inheritance. And you can't love God and be
a law keeper at the same time. Because all you'll ever be doing
is looking to your law obedience, the things that you do to put
God under some obligation. So love is the mark of this union
with Christ. Love is the mark of this meeting
with Christ. Love is the mark of forgiveness
of sins, as the Lord said to that lady in Luke chapter seven,
your sins have forgiven you. Go in peace. You've been made
whole. You've been made complete. You
go in peace. I have more to say, but we've run
out of time, brothers and sisters, but may the Lord cause us to
contemplate the wonders of our inheritance by contemplating
the wonders of he who is guaranteed the inheritance and reigns in
heaven now to make sure that everyone for whom it is desired
that it comes to will in the time of love have the Lord come
and the great inheritance will be knowing him and seeing him
and on that day they'll be rejoicing in heaven. Let's pray. Our Heavenly
Father, we pray that we might be made of you, because we are
sons, to cry out to you, Abba, Father, to declare the depth
of our relationship and our union with you that's been revealed
to us by the blessed Holy Spirit and sealed to our hearts by the
perfect finished work of your dear and precious Son. Oh, our
Father, make us to long for and delight in the pleasures which
are ours in heaven, but make us, Heavenly Father, to walk
in this world and walk now by faith in the fact that those
promises are now yea and amen in our Lord Jesus Christ. Bless
your word of promise to our hearts, Heavenly Father, that we might
walk in this world, resting upon our Saviour and trusting His
perfect and finished work on our behalf. And rejoicing, Heavenly
Father, that no matter what the trials of this world bring to
us, You are our shield and our defender and our exceeding great
reward. Bless Your word to the hearts
of Your people, for we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.