Heirs According To The Promise
Sermon
A Hope That Does Not Disappoint
Second Lesson Sermons For Sundays After Pentecost (First Third) Cycle C
As the lights in the movie theater dimmed, a young man loaded down with popcorn, cokes, and candy paced up and down the aisle, scanning the darkened rows. It was obvious he was looking for the person or persons with whom he had come. After three or four unsuccessful trips, he finally stopped and asked loudly, "Does anybody here recognize me?"
We all want to be recognized, don't we? We all want to belong. We all want to be known by others and to know that someone out there knows who we are and cares about us. We have a need to belong, to be in community together. That's why we join clubs, fraternities, sororities, civic organizations, sports teams, PTA, and even churches. We have a need to be in community with others just like us or close to being like us. That's part of how we are wired.
Belonging
Belonging is important because it's the way God created us. We are meant to be in community with one another. God created Adam and Eve together so they wouldn't be alone; so they would have support, nurture, and care. Even Jesus needed that support. The first thing he did when he began his ministry was to gather a small circle of friends. A group who would eventually become the leaders of the early Church. Yes, he needed to train them but Jesus also needed their support and their friendship. He even sought their counsel from time to time. At Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asked them who the crowds said he was. To show how important that relationship was to Jesus, at the Last Supper, he told them all. "I no longer call you servants ... now I call you friends" (John 15:15).
The disciples needed that assurance and that sense of belonging, too. In telling them that he was going away, Jesus reassured them that they would not be alone. Jesus said, "I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you" (John 14:18).
Belonging is important because it gives us a sense of self-worth and strengthens our own personal self-image.
A man I know grew up with two names. His mother divorced his father when he was nine months old. His real father chose to have nothing to do with him, so he didn't feel like he belonged to his father. His mother remarried and for the next fifteen years he went by his stepfather's name, not his father's name. He knew what his real name was. That was the name that appeared on his birth certificate and later on his driver's license, but he went by his stepfather's last name because that's what his mom and stepdad wanted.
But his stepfather never legally adopted him. The man never really figured out why. He thinks it was because they couldn't afford it. Consequently, he never really felt like he belonged to his stepfather, either. He didn't feel like he belonged to anyone. He had two names. He was both but neither. It wasn't until he enlisted in the military that he started using his real, legal last name. On that first day of boot camp they started calling roll and called out this young man's last name and no one answered. He wondered who that dim bulb was who didn't know his own name. Then he realized that he was that dim bulb. He suddenly took on a new identity. However, he was still both but neither.
He struggled with that dual identity until his mid-thirties. That was when he realized that neither of those names really mattered. By giving his life to Christ, his identity had totally and completely changed. It was no longer necessary to be either. It didn't matter which name he used because he was a new creation. He didn't need to feel rejected by a father who never wanted anything to do with him or a stepfather who didn't adopt him, for whatever reason.
The thing that made this happen were these words from Paul. They grabbed his attention. They jumped off the page and into his heart and soul and gave him new life. Suddenly it sank in. He was and is loved by our Heavenly Father. He was a child of God, a part of the family, and a part of the inheritance. Do you know how much power that promise has in it? Do you realize or know how freeing that is?
It's important that we know we have value. It's important that we know we belong.
We Are Heirs
This passage from Paul's letter to the Galatians shows us the value we have in God's eyes. Through our faith in Christ, we not only have value, but we are made heirs with Christ. "Heirs according to the promise." That is such a wonderful phrase. "Heirs according to the promise." Those are such powerful words; words of belonging and acceptance. Words of value.
Through our faith in Christ, we are made heirs with Christ. Heirs, not second class citizens. Heirs, not the ugly, unwanted stepchildren who begrudgingly have to be cared and provided for. Heirs, not orphans who are either left to fend for themselves or are thrown the scraps and leftovers, but heirs, joint heirs with Christ.
A Sunday school superintendent was registering the children in Sunday school and she asked two brothers their ages and birthdays. The bolder of the two boys said, "We're both seven. My birthday is April eighth and my brother's is April twentieth."
The superintendent was a little confused and said, "But that's impossible!"
The quiet brother answered, "No, it's not. One of us is adopted."
Before she was even aware that she had asked, the words were out, "Which one?"
The boys looked at each other and smiled. Then the bolder one said, "We asked Dad that question once, but he just said he loved us both so much that he couldn't remember any more which one was adopted."
Through our faith in Christ we are made heirs with Christ. That means that we have equal access to God. We are seen as equal heirs with Christ. There is no longer any distinction between us and Christ. We are brothers and sisters with Christ Jesus. God just loves us and can't remember any more which ones of us are adopted.
That's what faith in Christ does for us. We can hold our head high because we belong. We belong to God's family. We know our value, we know our worth, not by worldly standards but by God's standards.
The Promise
We are created in God's image, and through our faith in Christ we are made heirs of God's Kingdom, heirs according to the promise. And what is that promise? Well, it's actually more than one. It is all the promises of the Bible. We are heirs of all the promises God made with God's people. Promises like:
Exodus 6:7: "I will take you as my people, and I will be your God."
Joshua 1:5: "I will never leave you nor forsake you."
Matthew 28:20: "Remember, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
Matthew 7:7: "Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you."
Matthew 11:28: "Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest."
John 14:18: "I will not leave you orphaned."
John 3:36: "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life."
There are hundreds of other promises as well. There are promises that we can and should claim. There are promises that are ours because we are heirs with Christ and they are part of our inheritance.
We are reminded of these promises through the power of God's Holy Spirit. Like a parent holding and rocking one's baby, whispering all of the dreams and possibilities for that baby's future, the Holy Spirit whispers God's love song of faith in our ear. Like a parent encouraging one's child through some time of crisis or cheering them on in some time of joy, the Holy Spirit speaks those same words of encouragement to us.
Sometimes we listen and grow in the faith. Sometimes, just like our children listening to us, we ignore them or get distracted by the glitter of the world. But always God continues to tell us we are heirs with Christ. Heirs according to the promise. We may fail but God never does.
There may be times when we forget the promises or fail to listen to the promptings of God's Holy Spirit. There may be times in our lives when we get lost in the darkness of the world and cry out like the man in the theater: "Does anybody here recognize me?" That's when a hand goes up and God says, "Yes! You belong to me."
So remember: You have value. You are of infinite worth to God who created you in God's own image. And if that's not enough, then remember this: God sent Jesus just for you. Through your faith in Christ, you are an "heir according to the promise," a joint heir with Christ. That is the Good News. What better news could there be? Make it your own.
We all want to be recognized, don't we? We all want to belong. We all want to be known by others and to know that someone out there knows who we are and cares about us. We have a need to belong, to be in community together. That's why we join clubs, fraternities, sororities, civic organizations, sports teams, PTA, and even churches. We have a need to be in community with others just like us or close to being like us. That's part of how we are wired.
Belonging
Belonging is important because it's the way God created us. We are meant to be in community with one another. God created Adam and Eve together so they wouldn't be alone; so they would have support, nurture, and care. Even Jesus needed that support. The first thing he did when he began his ministry was to gather a small circle of friends. A group who would eventually become the leaders of the early Church. Yes, he needed to train them but Jesus also needed their support and their friendship. He even sought their counsel from time to time. At Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asked them who the crowds said he was. To show how important that relationship was to Jesus, at the Last Supper, he told them all. "I no longer call you servants ... now I call you friends" (John 15:15).
The disciples needed that assurance and that sense of belonging, too. In telling them that he was going away, Jesus reassured them that they would not be alone. Jesus said, "I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you" (John 14:18).
Belonging is important because it gives us a sense of self-worth and strengthens our own personal self-image.
A man I know grew up with two names. His mother divorced his father when he was nine months old. His real father chose to have nothing to do with him, so he didn't feel like he belonged to his father. His mother remarried and for the next fifteen years he went by his stepfather's name, not his father's name. He knew what his real name was. That was the name that appeared on his birth certificate and later on his driver's license, but he went by his stepfather's last name because that's what his mom and stepdad wanted.
But his stepfather never legally adopted him. The man never really figured out why. He thinks it was because they couldn't afford it. Consequently, he never really felt like he belonged to his stepfather, either. He didn't feel like he belonged to anyone. He had two names. He was both but neither. It wasn't until he enlisted in the military that he started using his real, legal last name. On that first day of boot camp they started calling roll and called out this young man's last name and no one answered. He wondered who that dim bulb was who didn't know his own name. Then he realized that he was that dim bulb. He suddenly took on a new identity. However, he was still both but neither.
He struggled with that dual identity until his mid-thirties. That was when he realized that neither of those names really mattered. By giving his life to Christ, his identity had totally and completely changed. It was no longer necessary to be either. It didn't matter which name he used because he was a new creation. He didn't need to feel rejected by a father who never wanted anything to do with him or a stepfather who didn't adopt him, for whatever reason.
The thing that made this happen were these words from Paul. They grabbed his attention. They jumped off the page and into his heart and soul and gave him new life. Suddenly it sank in. He was and is loved by our Heavenly Father. He was a child of God, a part of the family, and a part of the inheritance. Do you know how much power that promise has in it? Do you realize or know how freeing that is?
It's important that we know we have value. It's important that we know we belong.
We Are Heirs
This passage from Paul's letter to the Galatians shows us the value we have in God's eyes. Through our faith in Christ, we not only have value, but we are made heirs with Christ. "Heirs according to the promise." That is such a wonderful phrase. "Heirs according to the promise." Those are such powerful words; words of belonging and acceptance. Words of value.
Through our faith in Christ, we are made heirs with Christ. Heirs, not second class citizens. Heirs, not the ugly, unwanted stepchildren who begrudgingly have to be cared and provided for. Heirs, not orphans who are either left to fend for themselves or are thrown the scraps and leftovers, but heirs, joint heirs with Christ.
A Sunday school superintendent was registering the children in Sunday school and she asked two brothers their ages and birthdays. The bolder of the two boys said, "We're both seven. My birthday is April eighth and my brother's is April twentieth."
The superintendent was a little confused and said, "But that's impossible!"
The quiet brother answered, "No, it's not. One of us is adopted."
Before she was even aware that she had asked, the words were out, "Which one?"
The boys looked at each other and smiled. Then the bolder one said, "We asked Dad that question once, but he just said he loved us both so much that he couldn't remember any more which one was adopted."
Through our faith in Christ we are made heirs with Christ. That means that we have equal access to God. We are seen as equal heirs with Christ. There is no longer any distinction between us and Christ. We are brothers and sisters with Christ Jesus. God just loves us and can't remember any more which ones of us are adopted.
That's what faith in Christ does for us. We can hold our head high because we belong. We belong to God's family. We know our value, we know our worth, not by worldly standards but by God's standards.
The Promise
We are created in God's image, and through our faith in Christ we are made heirs of God's Kingdom, heirs according to the promise. And what is that promise? Well, it's actually more than one. It is all the promises of the Bible. We are heirs of all the promises God made with God's people. Promises like:
Exodus 6:7: "I will take you as my people, and I will be your God."
Joshua 1:5: "I will never leave you nor forsake you."
Matthew 28:20: "Remember, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
Matthew 7:7: "Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you."
Matthew 11:28: "Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest."
John 14:18: "I will not leave you orphaned."
John 3:36: "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life."
There are hundreds of other promises as well. There are promises that we can and should claim. There are promises that are ours because we are heirs with Christ and they are part of our inheritance.
We are reminded of these promises through the power of God's Holy Spirit. Like a parent holding and rocking one's baby, whispering all of the dreams and possibilities for that baby's future, the Holy Spirit whispers God's love song of faith in our ear. Like a parent encouraging one's child through some time of crisis or cheering them on in some time of joy, the Holy Spirit speaks those same words of encouragement to us.
Sometimes we listen and grow in the faith. Sometimes, just like our children listening to us, we ignore them or get distracted by the glitter of the world. But always God continues to tell us we are heirs with Christ. Heirs according to the promise. We may fail but God never does.
There may be times when we forget the promises or fail to listen to the promptings of God's Holy Spirit. There may be times in our lives when we get lost in the darkness of the world and cry out like the man in the theater: "Does anybody here recognize me?" That's when a hand goes up and God says, "Yes! You belong to me."
So remember: You have value. You are of infinite worth to God who created you in God's own image. And if that's not enough, then remember this: God sent Jesus just for you. Through your faith in Christ, you are an "heir according to the promise," a joint heir with Christ. That is the Good News. What better news could there be? Make it your own.
