Inheritance sermon #4: Appropriating and Defending our Inheritance
Intro:
It is wonderful to know about our inheritance from God, but knowing about it isn’t all there is to it. There are certain things we need to do with our inheritance in order to make it really ours. Imagine someone inheriting a fortune and then never doing anything with it, or perhaps worse, losing it through neglect or mismanagement. We will study what the New Testament teaches about appropriating and guarding our inheritance.
1. Appropriating our Inheritance by Faith
Key Scripture: Matthew 7:7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
Our inheritance from God is based on his promises, but we have a task before us of appropriating those promises by faith. We know that by faith we not only believe that God exists but we also believe that he is the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6). Jesus taught that those who ask shall be given; those who seek shall find, and those who knock will have the door opened unto them (Matthew 7:7). In each example there is an action on our part and a corresponding action by God. If we diligently seek God, He rewards us. If we ask, God gives. If we seek, God sees to it that we find. If we knock, God opens the door. The appropriation of God’s power through our faith involves our part and God’s part. Both are necessary.
The Apostle Paul instructs us to “be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power” (Ephesians 6:10). Here we notice a command to stand in the power of Christ. The Lord is not grudging in his promises. We don’t need to squeeze power out of a reluctant deity who is too stingy to share His resources with his children. God is more than willing to give His strength to His redeemed. Your job as a child of God is not to endlessly plead for power, but to begin acting in His power. Faith goes beyond asking to acting. By faith you act on the fact that “His mighty power” is yours through Christ.
It is also true that if you are in Christ, all the victorious dynamic of his resurrection belongs to you. Christ’s triumph over Satan becomes your triumph as well. You can appropriate that victory by faith and make it real in your own life.
A. The Meaning of Appropriation
Appropriation involves setting aside something to a special purpose, or taking possession of something we have a right to own. Through faith we are able to appropriate God’s power and promises, thereby experiencing God’s provision as our own possession. We are not talking about occultic magic arts. This is not “abra cadabra” talk. It is a matter of appropriating the realities of our glorious inheritance.
The dictionary gives various definitions for “appropriate”. In this context, appropriation is taking something for one’s exclusive use, or setting something aside for a specific use by a person, group, or organization. The term “appropriation” is often used in the context of the work of government. Perhaps you may have heard of the “House and Senate Appropriations Committee.” These committees of the Congress are the ones who make decisions to set aside money for specific purposes. When Congress makes the proper appropriations through these committees, the money is set aside for the exclusive use of the departments to which funds were appropriated. If, for example, the Congress were to set aside 800 billion dollars for the Defense Department, then the Pentagon knows it has permission to spend that amount of money for defense purposes in the year in which it is appropriated. Every department knows that if they don’t actually spend all the money that has been appropriated to them, they run the very real risk of losing that appropriation the next year. This is why it’s common practice in most governmental departments to go on a spending spree at the end of the fiscal year, in an attempt to use every last appropriated dollar.
There are always two actions in any appropriation. The provider does something to set aside funds for the use of the receiver. Then the receiver must take action to make use of that which has been appropriated. If the provider fails to appropriate, then, there is nothing available to use. If the receiver fails to appropriate, then the appropriation does them no good whatsoever. Failure to act on either part nullifies the appropriation.
In spiritual terms, the believer must first seek to learn what God has appropriated to him. Then, by faith, he must make use of that which has been appropriated. We can appropriate by faith anything God has appropriated by His promises. Our faith in any promise of God is demonstrated when we appropriate that promise. In 2 Peter 1:4 we read, “Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.”
We cannot appropriate what God has not promised, but God’s promises are more than sufficient for every need. Our task is to make use of God’s appropriation. Faith is our daily appropriation of God’s eternal appropriation.
God’s promises are available for every believer in Christ. But they will not automatically benefit every Christian. The promises must be called into experiential reality by daily faith. Faith is what transforms promises into performance. Faith in the promise, and trust in the maker of the promise, is what brings life into the promise, and brings the promise to life. By faith we show that we truly believe that God keeps his word. Without faith we are calling God a liar. When we doubt God’s word we are saying, “God may have said it, but he will not do it for me.”
B. Speaking our faith
Jesus said something remarkable in Matthew 21:21-22; 17:20, (NIV) “If you have faith, and do not doubt, you can say to a mountain, ‘Remove yourself!’ and it will move, Nothing shall be impossible for you.” Notice here, that the invitation is to say, not pray. There will be times when what you say is as important as what you pray. Sometimes we need to go beyond just praying about our mountains and begin boldly speaking to them, with the authority of faith, based on God’s precious promises, and commanding them to be moved. The promise of Christ is unequivocal. He stated bluntly: tell the mountain to shift out of the way, and it will shift, as long as you speak in faith. Barriers can be removed through the appropriated authority of exercised faith.
We see an example of this by looking at Moses standing at the banks of the Red Sea. The Egyptians are behind him, and his own people are terrified by the only two visible options, death by drowning or slaughter by Egyptians. Moses stood praying to God, and God responded with a rather surprising reprimand. In Exodus 14:15-16 we read, “Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground…” The very thing Moses was praying to receive was what God has already appropriated to him. In that moment, Moses needed to stop praying and start appropriating. God told him to raise his staff and tell the people to move on. What God had already given, Moses simply needed to receive by faith and get on with the business at hand.
C. Undergoing or Overcoming
Some people appear to be consistent “under-goers”. They are constantly undergoing various problems, temptations, bad habits, psychosomatic symptoms, bad attitudes, failures, defeats, etc. When you ask how they are doing they sigh and say, “I’m doing the best I can under the circumstances.” This is the crux of the problem. As believers, we have no need to live “under the circumstances”. A believer with a defeatist attitude has, in essence, called God a liar. Because of this lack of faith, the glorious inheritance God has appropriated for them does them absolutely no good in daily experience.
Others live the lives of “overcomers”. By faith, the appropriate the promised power to live above their circumstances. They apply faith in God’s promises to their circumstances and that makes all the difference. By faith they speak to their mountains, and the mountains move. They believe and they receive what has already been set aside for their use. They experience the abundant supply of heaven’s resources in the realm of daily life. God calls you to appropriate today, by faith, what He has appropriated for your use. By faith, you can claim this glorious inheritance.
2. Defend your Inheritance!
When Hebrews gives some closing admonitions for Christian endurance, an example is given of a man who gave up his inheritance for a bowl of beans. Hebrews 12 gives this advice: 14 Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. 15 See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. 16 See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. 17 Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. He could bring about no change of mind, though he sought the blessing with tears.
A. Esau sold his birthright:
We are told in Genesis 25:34 that Esau despised his birthright. Imagine that! To give up your rights as first-born son is no minor thing. The firstborn son would generally receive a double portion of the father’s estate since he would become the patriarch of the family after his father passed away. The firstborn would become the executor of the father’s estate, and the one to take care of any remaining relatives. For this reason, he would receive a double portion of the inheritance. Esau gave up that right without so much as a second thought because his stomach was growling, and his younger twin, Jacob offered him a bargain: a bowl of red-bean soup for the rights of the firstborn. Esau’s flippant response was, “I am about to die (with hunger) so of what use then is the birthright to me?” Esau traded his inheritance for a bowl of beans!
I wonder how many Christians today have made similar bargains. Too many are ignorant of their inheritance from God, or worse, devil-may-care about the blessings God has promised. It is a tragedy to ignore or perhaps trade away a valuable inheritance. We can easily see the foolishness of doing that kind of thing in the physical realm, but many of us carelessly bypass the full measure of our glorious inheritance.
B. Naboth defended his inheritance:
In 1 Kings 21, we final an example of a person willing to go to his death defending his rightful inheritance. The man’s name is Naboth the Jezreelite, and his inheritance was a vineyard which happened to be located beside the palace of King Ahab of Samaria. King Ahab wanted the vineyard for himself. He offered to switch out properties with Naboth, giving him another piece of land. Then he generously offered to pay for the vineyard in cash. Here was Naboth’s response. “The Lord forbid me that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers. (vs.3)”
The true value for Naboth was not just the value of the land itself. If that had been the case, he would have agreed to a trade with the king. This was an inheritance that had likely been in the family for generations. This land brought to mind the memories of many ancestors. Naboth did not want to treat an inheritance as just another piece of real estate. He likely wanted to pass it on down to his own heirs. Therefore, he disappointed the powerful king of Samaria. And as we can see in the ending of this story, it was dangerous to disappoint Ahab. Naboth lost his life when Ahab’s wicked and conniving wife, Jezebel, hatched a plot to have Naboth killed. The King then seized the vineyard next door.
When we see the way this story turned out, we might shake our heads at a man who forfeits his life to defend his inheritance. We wonder, “Why not take the deal and save your skin?” But Jews of that day would understand. Inheritance, especially of family land, was no small matter. People in Israel would do whatever it took to preserve the family farm and pass it on to the next generation. The estate was bound with the identity and the honor of the family.
What does it take to defend your inheritance? In Naboth’s case it meant refusing to sell his land at any price to anyone. His dedication to his inheritance cost him his life, but he would not sell out. When it comes to physical assets, some say that everyone has a price. Everyone will sell out for the right financial deal. Naboth was an exception to that rule. He understood the value of his inheritance and held on to it with everything he had.
Our spiritual inheritance is much more valuable than any a physical asset. It is a treasure to be valued and preserved. We hold on to our inheritance for our own benefit and we hold on to it so we can pass it on. Telling others about our inheritance enables those around us to share in that blessing as well.
Holding on to our inheritance involves such things as “abiding in Christ” (John 15:4-9), and “walking in the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25). By continuing in the way of Christ, we are able to “make our calling and election sure” (2 Peter 1:10). This is the way we guard our inheritance. Hebrews 2:1-3 admonishes, “1 We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. 2 For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, 3 how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? …” Let us, therefore, pay attention to the wonderful inheritance we have received from our Great God.
After hearing about our glorious inheritance in Christ, how would you rate your own attitude? Would your attitude about the divine inheritance match up closer to that of Naboth or Esau? Are you able to appreciate the value of the inheritance God has provided for you? Will you preserve and defend your inheritance? Are you willing to take inventory of the riches you have inherited because of the mercy and grace of God? Is your faith more than just fire insurance against a bad eternal outcome? Will you appropriate for yourself today what God has appropriated in your behalf in time past? Will you broadcast the blessing to others so they can become joint heirs along with you and Christ?
What do you now understand about your spiritual inheritance, and what will you do about it?
Conclusion:
We end where we began, with the prayer of Paul to the Ephesians, “17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe…” (Eph. 1:17-19)
