Our Inheritance

[0:00] The Bible speaks about inheritance. It says in 1 Peter 1 verse 3, It's a birth, new life, you're born again.

[0:34] It's a hope, a living hope. And friends, God gives amazing grace, abundant mercy. He gives assurance, He gives hope, He gives precious promises. When we are born again we become the children of God.

[0:47] And Romans 8 verse 17 it says, If children, then heirs. God's sons and daughters are promised an eternal inheritance, it says. In Hebrews 9 verse 15, This inheritance is not our purchase, but is our Father's gift, as Matthew Henry put it.

[1:03] Our text speaks of a lively hope. We have a living hope, which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, sure and steadfast. Hebrews 6 verse 19.

[1:15] What kind of an inheritance does God's son or daughter have? That's the question. Number 1, it's an inheritance incorruptible. You have, as a believer, a heavenly inheritance that is incorruptible.

[1:29] And this inheritance that God promises for us, it cannot corrode, it cannot decay, it cannot perish. When we are saved we have everlasting life.

[1:41] Eternal life, forever life, never ending life. An inheritance it says incorruptible. Life that lasts forever. It's immortal. It's forever enduring.

[1:52] Our inheritance is from the Lord Jesus. It says in Ephesians 1 verse 11 through 14, In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, in whom also after that you believed, you were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance, until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of His glory.

[2:15] When we are saved the title deeds to our heavenly home are signed and sealed. Sealed, stamped, authorised. When you are saved you are sealed. God puts His seal of ownership on you.

[2:27] You are God's purchased possession. You belong unto Him. And the seal of God's Holy Spirit is applied. There's this mark that is set upon you. It says, you belong to God.

[2:40] It says, sold. Sold. You are not in the lay-by department. You are paid in full. A sold sticker is applied. It says, bought. Bought with a price.

[2:52] With His name on it. 1 Corinthians 6 verse 20. You are His. Incorruptible. Wow, what a word. It means it will never perish. Like Christ promised for us in John 10 verse 28.

[3:05] He says, and I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. What an assurance that is.

[3:16] What a joy. What a comfort. That you are held safe in His hand. By God's promise. By God's power. By God's Spirit. And your riches in heaven.

[3:27] Face no danger from moth or rust to corrupt or damage. Your eternal inheritance is incorruptible. Incorruptible. In other words, indestructible. It's immortal.

[3:38] Secondly, it says you have this inheritance that is an inheritance undefiled. This heavenly inheritance is undefiled. In other words, it's pure.

[3:50] It's perfect. It's holy. As heaven will be. Of heaven we are told that nothing that defiles can enter there. No dirt, no defilement, no stain, no sin.

[4:01] This inheritance is undefiled. What hope have we? The guiltless one has taken all our guilt.

[4:12] Thank God. Thank God. God fits us of ourselves such unworthy and imperfect ones for heaven. And it says of you who believe, you're washed.

[4:23] You're clean. Thank God. Salvation is all about what God has done, not about what a man does. How can defilement be removed?

[4:34] Not by works of righteousness, but by the blood of Jesus Christ, which cleanseth us from all sin. Friends, we must be crystal clear on this truth that salvation is the work of the Saviour.

[4:48] We cannot trust in our own works to save us at all. Christ is the author and He's the finisher of our faith. So we are possessors of a heavenly inheritance that is undefiled by the work of God, by the blood of Christ shed for us, by the holiness of Christ, by the grace of God.

[5:09] And He makes all things new. Revelation 21 verse 5. New, undefiled. Thirdly, this inheritance is an inheritance that fadeth not away.

[5:21] This heavenly inheritance fadeth not away. It will never fade, never decay, never wither away. It is forever new, fresh and lasting, not like some flower that loses its odour and droops and withers.

[5:35] This inheritance is certain. It is everlasting. In its value, in its sweetness, in its beauty. Unlike the enjoyments of this world, this heavenly inheritance fadeth not away.

[5:48] Eternal life is not like a fog that comes and goes, like fickle feelings. This life that God gives to us is never ending. This inheritance that we can receive, this life with Christ will never fade away.

[6:03] It will last forever. It is eternal. Fourthly of this inheritance, it says, it is an inheritance that is reserved in heaven for you.

[6:14] A believer has treasures in heaven. Reserved. It means a reservation. It's been held in store. It's kept. It's protected. It's guarded. It's locked away, as it were, in the vault, in the bank of heaven.

[6:28] And guarded under tight security by high level security guard. This inheritance is reserved in heaven. In other words, God keeps it safe for you.

[6:39] God gives you security. God gives you assurance. It says in 2 Corinthians 5 verse 1, For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

[6:59] When we are saved, we receive eternal life, present tense. We know that we have a house, eternal in the heavens.

[7:10] An eternal house is promised us, and we have it waiting for us now, if we are saved. John 14 verse 3, our Lord says, And if I go and prepare a place for you, He's speaking of His ascending to heaven, He says, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there ye may be also.

[7:33] Heaven's construction company is at work. Houses, mansions are being prepared right now, being built, being made ready in heaven, and it says they are reserved, waiting for you.

[7:47] We can have certainty and confidence because of the Saviour's promise. Have you one? Is one reserved for you? Do you know that? You have eternal life?

[7:59] Are you His son, His daughter? Then yes. Yes. Absolutely yes. One is reserved for you. Being prepared, out of reach of Satan, it's promised and it is certain.

[8:14] Paul was assured of it. He said, for me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. He knew a place was prepared for him. It is reserved in heaven for you.

[8:27] It cannot be destroyed, it cannot be stolen, it cannot be raided in heaven for you, forever for you. No burglars or bandits can break through where this inheritance is kept, because it's kept by God.

[8:41] Matthew 6, 19 through 21 it says, Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal.

[8:54] But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.

[9:05] For where your treasure is there, will your heart be also. Is your treasure laid up for you in heaven? The inheritance is reserved, it says.

[9:16] It's kept, it's guarded, as we are, by the power of God. Not by our own strength or morality. God is a shield for us. A shield, a shelter, a refuge, a rock.

[9:29] And we are kept. Kept by the Saviour, whom we can trust. He says, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. The picture is of a sentry, stationed at the city gates, keeping watch around the clock, guarding our lives, a continuous security.

[9:47] There is a continuous surveillance, a full-time security guard. We are constantly, 24 by 7, by 365, we're constantly being shielded by God's power.

[10:00] When we are saved, our name is written down in heaven, in the Lamb's Book of Life, recorded for time, recorded for time and forever.

[10:11] You become a son or daughter, an heir to an inheritance, incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you.

[10:23] Have you this inheritance? I pray that you will know the trust in Christ that makes that inheritance possible and promised.

[10:35] To be determined.