INHERITING THE PROMISES (part 3)
“Inheriting the Promises Like Us”
SERIES TEXT – Hebrews 6:12
TEXT – Hebrews 4:1-2
Hebrews 4
4:1
Let US therefore fear, lest, a promise being left US of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.
4:2
For unto US was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word F9 preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.
There are two types of people in every congregation, every workplace, every home, and every community. In every group there are two types of people; us and them. You can take two students who are the same age from the same classroom with the same teacher and one can pass while the other fail. Us and them. You can take two siblings from the same house with the same parents under the same rules and they go in totally opposite directions in life. Us and Them. In every group, some go up while some go down, some go forward in life while some go backward, some do well while others do poorly. Some do, some don’t, some will, some won’t! What’s the difference? Us and Them. You can have two people in the same congregation, under the same preacher, hearing the same gospel and only one of them profit from the word being preached. Us and Them. Hebrews 6:12 says we should follow them who through faith and patience inherit the promises of God. You need to follow some Us. You need to start hanging around Us. You ought to want to be one of Us. You ought want to go forward! You ought to want to go upward! You ought to want to do well! You ought to want to better! You ought to want to be one of Us. Why would anyone want to go backward when they can go forward? The writer of the book of Hebrews was asking this question of 2nd generation Hebrew Christians who were contemplating returning to Judaism. He asked why go back when what you have is far better. The way of a Christian is to do better (Psalm 4:18). The way of a Christian is to move forward and upward, upward and forward. He explained that Christ is better than the angels. He’s better than Moses. He’s better than Levitical Priesthood. He’s better than Melchezdek. He’s better than the law. He’s better than the temple. Jesus Christ is far better. He’s better than the world. He’s better than alcohol. He’s better than marijuana. He’s better than crack cocaine. Jesus Christ is far better. I’m going to follow Jesus. I’m going to follow people who follow Jesus and get what Jesus has for them because I want what Jesus has for me. I want to be an Us. In order to be an Us:
1. You have to want what God says.
I want the peace. I want the joy. I want the healing. I want the provision. I want the protection. I want the prosperity. I want to be an Us. Some people don’t want to do better. Some people don’t even try! Some people don’t try because of the fear of failure. However, those of us who are us know that failure is never final as long as I get back up again. Some people don’t try because of the fear of success. If they do better, then that becomes the standard. If they do better then people will expect it of them all time. Some people want an excuse. Some people want the crutch. Some people don’t want to do better. Some people don’t want to be us. You gotta want to be an Us.
2. You have to believe what God says.
There are two reports that you can believe. You can believe what God says or you can believe what they say. That’s the difference between an Us and a Them. The Them’s believe what they say. They say what they say because they believe what they see. I don’t have to believe what I see. I know what I see is real so I don’t have to believe it, because I can see it. But if I believe what God says then faith can take me above my circumstances. If I walk by faith and not by sight, then faith can take me above my situation. Yes, what I see is real but so is what I can’t see. As a matter of fact, what I can’t see is more real than what I can see. The things I can see are temporary. The things I can’t see are eternal. The things I can see can change. The things I can’t see don’t change. If I believe what God says instead of what I see, then that which I can’t see will change what I can see. Your problems can change. Your job situation can change. Your money situation can change. Your home situation can change. Your child support situation can change. Your parole situation can change. You gotta believe what God says in order for things to change.
3. You have to say what God says. If you believe it you’ll say it (2 Cor 4:13). If you believe it and say it you’ll have it. Jesus called it “the keys to the kingdom of heaven.” The kingdom of heaven is a storage place where God has your blessings in storage for you. Malachi 3:10 tell us that there are blessings stored up for us and God will open the window and pour your out a blessing too big for you to receive it. I can gain access to what is stored up for me in heaven if I just use the keys. If I believe it and say it I’ll have it. (Matthew 21:21)(Mk 11:22-24)(Proverbs 18:21). It’s called a confession of faith. You gotta say it. It’s also called a confession unto faith because faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Every time you say it, you hear it again. The way faith comes out of your heart is by saying it. The faith comes into you heart is by saying it. You gotta say it.
4. You have to do what God says. If you believe it and say it, you’ll do it. The woman with the issue of blood said “If I can just touch the hem of His garment, I’ll be made whole.” The reason she did it is because she said it. If you believe it and say it, you ‘ll do it. Jairus said to Jesus “If you lay your hands upon my daughter, she shall be made whole. The reason He went to Jesus, took Jesus across town through the crowd to where his daughter was (even after receiving the report that his daughter was dead) was because he said it. When the report came that his daughter was dead, Jesus told him don’t say anything, just keep believing what you already said. If you believe it and say it, you can do it! You can make it! You can be it! You can have it! The promises of God are Yea and Amen. The promises of God are Yes and It’s already done. God has already said “Yes, you can” so all have to do is say “Yes, I can. The promises of God are already done do all you have to do is do what He says. If you believe it, and say it, and do it, you can have it. That’s all you have to do to be an Us. Believe it, say it, do it , so you can have. You determine how you will live. You determine your outcome. In Jn 10:10, Jesus said He came that we might have life, and have it more abundantly. You determine which side of the comma you want to live on. All you have to do is want it, believe it, say it, and do it, and then you can have it. This is how we inherit the promises of God. This how we become an "us" instead of a "them".
