Wayne's World...(20Apr09)

Inheritance of Peace

Wayne Duncan

This is how an inheritance works…

One person lives…this person has something or acquires something during their lifetime. That acquisition is then passed down to who ever that person selects upon death.

The person who now receives the inheritance…the beneficiary, receives the inheritance freely according to the conditions set down by the inheritance giver.

Some characteristics of inheritance…

The inheritance comes available freely regardless of the condition of the beneficiary at the time.

No one can change the details and conditions of the inheritance will.

The inheritance giver can only give away what is his to give.

There must be death.

The beneficiary must receive the inheritance in order to take possession of it.

The beneficiary is now the legal owner of the inheritance.

There is a legal certainty.

The awesome news is that for every believer in Jesus, there is an inheritance from the father through the finished work and death of Jesus, and guaranteed by the Holy Spirits presence, and work in us.

Ephesians 1:11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,

In Him we've received the inheritance. Not maybe, but in Him. How do we know we are in Him?

We have the Holy Spirit.

I John 4:13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.

This is how we know we are in Him…There are those who are in Him and those who are not in Him. Those who have believed in Jesus sacrifice are in Him.

1 John 5:11 And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. 13I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.

What happens is that we are born dead.

All of us were born into the first Adam and born in sin…

Jesus the came and undid what Adam did in the garden by becoming a sin sacrifice, a complete and perfect offering that turned away the wrath of God, completely forgiving the sins of the world.

Now those who believe in Jesus will receive eternal life, "to know God", and the complete inheritance.

Belief in Jesus sacrifice is the door to inheritance. There is no inheritance outside of belief in Jesus.

"For God so loved the world that whoever believes in Jesus will receive eternal life"

"if you confess with your mouth Jesus is lord and believe in your heart Christ was raise from the dead, you will be saved"

"all who call on the name of the lord will be saved"

I want to briefly speak about what happens to us when we are born again. What takes place in the moment of salvation. What happens to us?

Our spirits are made alive to God.

The bible clearly speaks about us being dead in our sins. The bible says we are raised to life when we believe in Jesus, this is called being born again. It happens by grace and through faith.

The process of our spirits coming alive is spoken about in many ways..

1 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.(Or creature)  The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

Condition…if we are in Christ..

Promise…the old passes away, we become a new creation.

This new creation so incredibly glorious. I believe that this new creation is the most underestimated creation in all creation. We radically underestimate the power that was at work in us at the moment of conversion. It is the most significant event that can ever take place in a believers life.

Bill J says "we radically underestimate what happened to us at the point of conversion"

The power and glory that raised Christ from the dead filled our spirits and we were raised to life. Our old sinful nature died, and a new nature was placed in us. A nature sensitive to God, and alive to God. Within this new creation was placed our total and full inheritance as legitimate son of God. This new life releases power and fruit.

Theologians speak about regeneration…

Wayne Grudem defines regeneration as follows  "regeneration is the secret act of god in which he imparts new spiritual life to us."

Regeneration is the power of God and the ministry of the Holy Spirit working together to literally produce a new creation.

Now it stands to reason that when a person is changed in such a dramatic way there are resulting effects and changes.

Over time patterns of behavior will change…

Other desires are born too, fresh desires consistent with who we now are..

The results usually include things like…

A heartfelt trusting in Jesus for salvation, an assurance of sins forgiven, a healthy unforced desire to read the bible and pray and a sense that these are meaningful activities, a delight in worship, a desire for Christian fellowship, a desire to be obedient to God and a desire to tell others about Christ. These feelings are birthed with the new creation, and flow naturally from us for this is who we are. Resisting these natural desires now feels strange for the essence of who we are, has been changed.

Were raised to a new life, and this new life has natural expressions of life.

These desires within are also a proof that the Holy Spirit has indeed come to live inside of us. We don't do these things to prove it. It's in us, and that's the proof.

Legalism focuses on the results, without understanding about the event. Life flows from understanding the event, seeing who we are, and understanding the results that follow. Legalism in its extream can be achieved without regeneration!

Without this event of regeneration, there is no altered spirit, and no life imparted. There is no new creation, and no being born again. With regeneration comes faith and believe and a resulting resurrection to a new life and a new creation.

It's this new creation that is qualified for the inheritance of God. Every believers inheritance promised to us, by a promise from God.

Friends if we could only see clearly who we are as a result of who he has changed us into!

If you believe in Jesus…

You are powerful, you have glory in you, you have the fruit of righteousness in you. You have love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, self control and goodness at the very core of your being, the new you created in Christ Jesus to do good things…

You have been powerfully transformed. When we see this, we position ourselves to live true to who we are. Right believing always comes before right living. See who you are, and you'll be who you are, you are raised to a new life, as a new creation. All through believing the good news that Jesus died, we died with Him, he was raised, we were raised with Him. The glorious fact that we are new creations is part of our inheritance.