Guard Your Inheritance
By Pastor Jim May
What is the most valuable thing that you own in this world? I believe that you would agree with me I saying that the most valuable thing in your life is your salvation. This is our inheritance in the Lord and we should guard it at all costs.
Satan is ever trying to steal your soul. He desires to destroy you and cause you to lose your inheritance in Christ.
It has been said that the best things in life are free. What does it cost to love someone? Is it free? No, there is a price to be paid in true love. It is the price of lifelong commitment. A love that is true does not die; does not give up at the first sign of adversity; but stands strong against every wind that blows against it. God’s love is a part of your inheritance. Because God is Love, He enables us to love as well. Without God, love fades. Without God in the picture a marriage crumbles and falls apart because Satan destroys the love between a man and his wife through the cares and troubles of life.
What would you sell that love for? What price does the world have to offer before you will give your inheritance? On that same note; what price will you accept in exchange for your salvation? Is there anything that the world can offer that you desire more than the things of God? Rest assured, if you have a price for selling out, the enemy of your soul is willing to pay it.
In the 21st Chapter of the Book of I Kings we find that King Ahab and Queen Jezebel, rulers of the Northern Kingdom of Israel in the land of Samaria, are involved in one of their most underhanded tricks. This whole story smacks of conspiracy to commit murder and steal what they cannot obtain legally, but as king they also know how to cover their tracks so that it all appears legal.
In this story I want you to think of how the devil works in your life to get what he wants. The lying and deceiving ways of Satan, and the temptations of the world that cause us to compromise our faith are all at work.
1 Kings 21:1, "And it came to pass after these things, that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel, hard by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria."
Naboth was just one man, but he was a Child of God, a man who was included in the covenant that God had made with Abraham. His property was small, and it was all that he had in this world, but it was also prime property. It was a very fruitful and beautiful vineyard. Though he might have been just an ordinary man, he was extraordinarily blessed by God.
You and I are pictured in this man Naboth. God has given you a “fruitful vineyard”. Who among us can say that God has not blessed us far beyond what we deserve? If you know Jesus Christ as your Savior this morning, you are living in a “fruitful vineyard”. Like Naboth you might not have a lot of wealth according to this world’s standards, but the peace, joy and love that fill your life is far more valuable than gold.
There are a lot of people around you that are watching your life with envy. How can you seem so at peace when the whole world seems to be on the very brink of destruction? How can you remain faithful to your spouse with all of the temptations that come at your from every direction? How can you keep from falling to pieces at every emergency that arises? Even though there are lots of people around you who have much more of this world’s wealth, and they live a lifestyle that you could only dream of, they don’t have what you have. Your little vineyard is so much prettier.
What a Christian has learned, and must learn, is that we must take on the same attitude as the Apostle Paul who said in Philippians 4:11, "…I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content."
Paul also wrote these words in 1 Timothy 6:6, "…godliness with contentment is great gain." Paul understood that the contented life is much more desirable than the wealth of the world. He knew that the more of this world’s goods that we have, the less contentment we will have. Nothing of this world ever truly satisfies, and no matter how much of it we gain, it will never be “enough” to fulfill the desires of the heart. There will always more to get, more to have and greener grass on the other side of the fence. Satan uses the things of this world like a carrot on a stick to lead men ever farther from God until there is no turning back.
Too many Christians have become like the man who is described in the Parable of the Sower when the seed fell among thorns and was choked . Matthew 13:22 says it this way, "He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful."
The devil wants your inheritance and he will promise you something greater in return, but if what he offers is so great, why does he want yours? He always makes the grass look greener on the other side of the fence, but it’s not real.
Let’s look back at Ahab and Naboth. 1 Kings 21:2 says, “And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near unto my house: and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it; or, if it seem good to thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money.”
Just like Naboth’s vineyard was next to Ahab’s palace, we are all living for God right in the midst of the world. Just one step outside of the hedge that God has place around your life is the world of sin. All too often we step over that hedge and we are quick to find out that we can’t live out there and stay close to Jesus. Too many Christians live on the fence. They can’t enjoy living for the Lord because they love the things of this world too much; and they can’t enjoy the things of the world because they are afraid of losing their eternal soul. The life of an uncommitted, half-hearted, lukewarm Christian is the most miserable life that you can live. There’s no peace, no joy and no satisfaction anywhere because you are driven by every wind, tossed about by every wave and there’s no clear direction or meaning in your life. Every time you set a goal, or chase after a dream, you discover that it is fleeting, like a piece of paper being driven before you in the breeze, you’re always reaching, chasing it, but it always slips from your fingers.
Ahab wanted Naboth’s little vineyard. It was a beautiful piece of land, well kept, fruitful and a wonderful place to have a garden. Ahab had so much already. After all he was the king and he probably had lands and property all over Samaria. But that wasn’t enough. He was filled with envy and jealousy and he wanted Naboth’s property.
When you look at what he offered Naboth you might think that he was really offering him a fair deal. Ahab offered another vineyard that would be bigger and better. He even offered a fair market price. It all seems so innocent.
What we must remember is that when God brought the Children of Israel into the Promised Land He laid down a lot of laws concerning how the land could be divided and used. It was part of God’s covenant that every family should have it’s own personal piece of property. In Leviticus 25:23 God said, “The land shall not be sold forever: for the land is mine; for ye are strangers and sojourners with me. “ God also made provision in the Law that said if the land was sold, it was to revert back to its original owner at the Year of Jubilee which occurred every 50 years.
That’s a picture of how God feels about your eternal soul and the life that He has given to each of us. Your life came from God. He breathed life into you and you became a living soul, part of God’s eternal soul if you will. Your life, and your soul, still belong to God. They are on loan to you, but they still belongs to Him. You are a traveler through time and eternity with the eternal God, and at some point in time, your life and your soul are going back to face God. There you will be judged by what you did with the life that God allowed you to have for a time. For those who have been good stewards and have invested their lives in the things of God and have been faithful in serving Him, this will be a Year of Jubilee like none before, and your life will be forever yours. But for those who have not been faithful to God, it will not be a time of Jubilee, but a time eternal death, cast from the presence of God, to be forever tormented and separated from your Creator.
Naboth could not, and would not, sell his inheritance at any price. The fact that it was his inheritance according to God’s Covenant with His people was important to Naboth. It’s value to him was far above the price of rubies and there wasn’t enough gold in the land to pay its worth to him. No other property would truly be his for at the Year of Jubilee the original owner of that land would get it back and where would that leave Naboth? He may never even live to see that time come. He guarded his inheritance. It was precious to him.
1 Kings 21:3, “ And Naboth said to Ahab, The LORD forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee.”
I wish I could say that this was the end of the story, but the devil doesn’t give up that easily. If he can’t get you to compromise the easy way, then he will begin to form a conspiracy to bring you down.
None of us would be willing to give up our relationship with Jesus if we were confronted with a blatant temptation. The devil knows that you won’t rob a bank, murder your neighbor or steal your neighbors possessions. He’s tried all that by putting the thought into your head at some point in time to do something that you quickly cast out of your mind because you knew it was absolutely wrong. So the devil finds another way to get to you. He comes in ways that you won’t see him coming.
In the Song of Solomon 2:15 we see that is, "… the little foxes, that spoil the vines…" it’s the little tricks that Satan pulls on us that causes us to fall. Little by little he nibbles away at our vineyard, offering us this or that; things that appear so small and insignificant; so innocent; but soon they add up and we are still drawn away from God. You have really be on guard all of the time to protect your inheritance in the Lord.
1 Kings 21:4 say that, “… Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased … And he laid him down upon his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no bread.
Ahab went back to his palace mad, sad and down in the dumps. He was having a pity party all by himself and started pouting because he couldn’t have his way. He wouldn’t eat and he couldn’t sleep. All he could think about was how mad he was at Naboth and how much he wanted that vineyard.
Jezebel came to him and asked why he was pouting and didn’t want to eat his dinner and he began to cry on her shoulder and tell her the whole story like a little child would speak to his mother. What a whiny king this Ahab was. Ahab was a wicked king but he was the most powerful man in the kingdom. He was used to having his way but when he couldn’t have what he wanted he was reduced to sniveling child.
Jezebel felt sorry for her “little kingy” so she devised a plan to get Ahab the vineyard that he wanted. She was the power behind the throne. By her word, much of Samaria was ruled. If Ahab wouldn’t take care of business, she would do it.
That kind of reminds me of a lot of families in our world today. Men, who are supposed to be the leaders of the house, have become whining babies, pouting if they can’t have their way, sniveling like little kids when they get the slightest cold, and acting like children when things go against them. Meanwhile the women have had to step up to take charge. I know that all of your have heard of “hen-pecked husbands” and “domineering wives”. There might even be a few in our midst right now. That’s not the way God designed things to be, but if a man won’t be a man, he leaves his wife little choice but to wear the pants in the family. Our world has turned upside down. That’s just one more result of selling our inheritance to the devil. The more we compromise with him, the less God’s law will be in effect in our lives. It didn’t happen overnight, but little by little men stopped being men and we have come to where we are today.
I don’t blame Jezebel as much as I blame the weak, sniveling King Ahab. If he would have been a real man and just accepted the fact that he can’t have everything he wants and went on about his business ruling Samaria, Jezebel would never done what she eventually did to satisfy Ahab.
Jezebel formed a conspiracy against Naboth. She used the seal of Ahab, forging letters and sent out the word to call a fast among the people. This was to be a gathering of the people to fast and pray and seek the face of God because of some grave danger that threatened the land of Samaria. Of course the danger was false, and the fast was a pretense, but the object was to get the people together to see if someone in their midst could be guilty of sin and be the cause of the danger coming against the land.
She had Naboth put in a place of honor where he would not suspect what was about to happen. He was seated in a place above the people and he thought that is was really great until the real conspiracy began to unfold. As he sat in the place of honor suddenly false witnesses, two men who were hired by Jezebel, began to accuse him of blasphemy against both God and the king. This was a crime punishable by death.
Naboth was dragged out of the city and stoned to death. Then Jezebel gave Ahab Naboth’s vineyard as present.
Here we see the same story repeated throughout history how that Satan comes against the people of God and how many are martyred for their belief in God. Naboth had done nothing wrong, except that he had held true to God’s Law, but he paid for his faithfulness with his life. Around the world today, the same thing is happening. Christians have been fed to the lions, burned at the stake and died in horrible ways just because they would not deny Christ. Satan is ever conspiring to destroy every Christian that he can. I don’t pretend to understand why God will allow His people to be killed at the hands of the devil and his henchmen, but it happens. After all, they killed Jesus, and the world hates those who follow Jesus just as much as it hated Him.
You cannot be a friend of this world and a friend of God at the same time. There must be a clear choice to serve God. Any other choice is a choice to be His enemy.
Ahab had his vineyard. He had his way and now he was happy again. He went out of the palace to go down and take possession. It seemed that he had won. He and Jezebel had gotten away with conspiracy and murder and no one would ever know how they did it.
So many people today think that they are getting away with sin too. Just because judgment doesn’t fall on us right away doesn’t mean that God has forgotten. There will come a reckoning day. Everything might be good right now. You are enjoying what you have gotten of this world. There is pleasure in sin for a season, but there is also a heavy price to pay at the end of the road.
As Ahab was going down to take possession of Naboth’s vineyard, God was getting ready to confront him with his sin.
1 Kings 21:17-18, “ And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,
Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, which is in Samaria: behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, whither he is gone down to possess it.”
1 Kings 21:19, “ And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Hast thou killed, and also taken possession? And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the LORD, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine.”
In Numbers 32:23 Moses spoke to some of the rebellious Children of Israel and said, "… behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out."
Look at what happened when the Prophet of God confronted King Ahab.
1 Kings 21:20 And Ahab said to Elijah, Hast thou found me, O mine enemy? And he answered, I have found thee: because thou hast sold thyself to work evil in the sight of the LORD.
The conspiracy and murder was not hidden from God’s eyes. He revealed the truth of the whole affair to Elijah and then sent him to confront Ahab. The man of God, who should have been a true friend to Ahab, was counted as his enemy. Does the Word of God offend you? Does the man of God become as your enemy because we speak the truth? It is not God’s fault that he is your enemy; it’s yours. Unrepentant sin makes you and enemy of God.
Be sure that your sin will find you out too. You may get away with it for a little while. You may not even have to answer for your sin in this life. But rest assured the time is coming when you will have to answer to God who know all things.
Ahab did repent for a while but soon backslid again and eventually died a sinner’s death. Jezebel died when she fell out of a window and was devoured by wild dogs as her body laid in the street. Some say that it was the same window from which she had watched Naboth die.
The point of this whole message is that we need to guard our inheritance. There’s always another Ahab or Jezebel who are willing to allow the devil to use them to draw us away from God.
Let us draw near unto the Lord. Stay close to Him. One day soon we will get our permanent inheritance but we must remain faithful to the end. Don’t become a victim of Satan’s conspiracies against you. Surrender your heart and life to Jesus and live for Him. God’s reward is more valuable than anything that this world has to offer so guard your inheritance.
