What Does Your Inheritance Look Like?

Edited by Steve Fountain.  From a sermon preached on September 23, 2012. 

Most Christians probably fail to realize the magnitude of the inheritance that they already have in Jesus Christ.

Perhaps due to a lack of teaching or spiritual awareness, I’ve not had a real understanding of the biblical teaching regarding our Spiritual Inheritance throughout my Christian experience.

After witnessing the entering the land (1-4) and the taking of the land (5-12), we are going to witness the possessing of the land.  Inheritance is what chapters 13-21 are all about.  The word “inheritance” appears 52 times in Joshua 13-21. 

To avoid blog blackout, let's bypass the chapter-by-chapter approach in favor of a fly over at 30,000 feet. As we look down upon the regions of the Promised Land, my desire is to trace the infinite value of a believer’s inheritance. Given the current election season, perhaps our ears are more alert for wild promises. But, unlike a candidate, God always keeps his promises.

“Not one word of all the good promises that the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass,” is found in Joshua 21:45. This verse comes at the end of Chapter 21 and is in stark contrast the seemingly wild promise God makes to start Chapter 13.

Area in green is what is left to be conquered 

As we open Chapter 13, we find an aged Joshua. The major fortresses have been conquered, but the Philistine corridor in the southwest of Canaan, and in the north, a swath of territory about 50 miles wide which extends about 50 miles north of Damascus still need to be defeated.  With Joshua near death, what will happen next?

God, in his wisdom, intended the 12 tribes to spread out and conquer the remaining areas.  In Joshua 13:6, God says: “I myself will drive them out from before the people of Israel.” 

Doesn’t God’s promise looks a bit wild in light of the task ahead?

But, God’s promises are only as wild as our disbelief. 

As you flip through the coming chapters, there is the allotment of the physical inheritance for all the tribes of Israel.  The allocation of the inheritance took place in two stages. 

The first division comes on Chapters 13-17 and concerns the two and a half tribes, Judah (from which Jesus descended), and the two sons of Joseph (Ephraim and the other half-tribe of Manasseh). 

The second division of the land takes place in Shiloh.  Toward the end of this period of conquest, Israel’s camp was moved from Gilgal to Shiloh in the high country.  A survey was done throughout the land and there is a careful record of the property lines, which we won’t read this morning.  The remaining tribes, Benjamin (18:11-28), Simeon (19:1-9), Zebulun (19:10-16), Issachar (19:17-23), Asher (19:24-31), Naphtali (19:32-39), and Dan (19:40-48) were then given their land by the casting of lots. 

However, the Tribe of Levi receives no land inheritance.

“To the tribe of Levi alone Moses gave no inheritance.  The offerings by fire to the Lord God of Israel are their inheritance.” ( Joshua 13:14)

We read this again in verse 33.  “But to the tribe of Levi Moses gave no inheritance; the Lord God of Israel is their inheritance.”

The Levites were exceptional, but any believing Israelite could have adopted this Levitical perspective.  If they would only realize that above all else, the Lord himself was their inheritance.  Even if the land should be taken away, God could still be God— their God.  I began the message talking about inheritance and God's “wild” promises. 

Did you know that we often struggle with fear, sin, and anger right now because we do not believe the wild promises of God?  Perhaps we don’t realize that somehow, the Spirit is with us, in us, and changing us.

When Christ was sitting with his disciples at the last supper, he told the disciples this wild promise: “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.  Yet a little while and the world will see me know more, but you will see me.  Because I live, you also will live” (John 14:18-19).  That is an incredible and wild promise.

And so, we can live with hope, holiness, and love because we see the Spirit dwelling within us.  This is our spiritual inheritance and the seal of an even greater to come.  Our spiritual inheritance is based upon the wild promises of God.

Review of DeYoung's The Hole In Our Holiness

The Hole in Our Holiness: Filling the Gap between Gospel Passion and the Pursuit of Godliness by Kevin DeYoung

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Having grown up in a movement stereotyped as over-concerned for the Holiness of God, I found this book to be a breath of fresh air. Written by a man from the "Young, Reformed, and Restless" generation, I appreciate the humility and boldness to challenge our generation with the Gospel mandate to pursue holiness. Thankfully, holiness according to DeYoung is not an end in itself; rather, at its core, the main motivation for holiness is the pleasure of God (pg. 74). In other words, there is joy in what God values and we experience this joy through obedience.

The central theological point of this book is the often neglected doctrine of Union with Christ (and according to DeYoung, most neglected in the doctrine of salvation, see page 95). Those who are dispensational should not be alarmed, but need to appreciate where DeYoung is coming from. When God made the covenant with Christ, before the foundation of the world to redeem a bride, our union with Christ was sealed.

"Every blessing is received in Christ (Eph. 1:3). No aspect of our salvation can be excluded from our union with him. This is the foundation and basis for all his gifts. So while it's appropriate for theologians to talk about an 'order of salvation' (ordo solutes), repentance, justified, adopted, sanctified, preserved, and glorified, we must never separate these benefits from the Benefactor. Every blessing in the order of salvation flows from our union of Christ" (p. 94).

Readers will appreciate the fact that DeYoung has not tried to make a list of what is and what isn't acceptable to God. In his chapter called Piety's Pattern, he gives a backward glance at what holiness is not. He assures us that it is not mere rule keeping, generational imitation, generic spirituality, "finding yourself," nor the way of the world. So not to spoil things for you, I will let you discover what he says holiness looks like. I will share one of his definitions as it affected me directly. DeYoung candidly illustrates with his own short-comings how holiness is seen practically in a clean conscience.

In spite of DeYoung's refusal to quote the 'traditional list' of 'do's and don'ts,' DeYoung does not hesitate to call down the contemporary church for its casualness with sexual immorality. I was deeply blessed by this book, and would recommend it for those who are in church leadership, who have spiritual oversight of a flock. The nature of the book will not necessarily 'convince' the gainsayer, but it will provide help for those who realize the importance of holiness and need help articulating this biblical truth.

The Joy of Walking by Faith

Edited by Steve Fountain from a Message on September 2, 2012

We are pushed out of necessity to make decisions every day — many of which we feel not fully informed to make — and we can fear the outcome.  You might be tempted to ask, “Can there be joy as we walk by faith?” Walking by faith feels like we are in a haunted house and we are at the mercy of what we cannot see.   So how is it possible to walk by faith joyfully?

Walking by faith is less scary, if we know with whom we walk.  Knowing God is so crucial because two other elements or our walk rest upon this truth.  If we know God well, then we will take the time to pray.  If we know God well, then we will lean wholly upon His grace. 

But what does it mean to know God well? 

In Proverbs 1:7, Solomon writes, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” A growing relationship with God will not stop there. 

Proverbs 3:5 also says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.”  Solomon keenly sees a connection between trust and love.   You cannot  love the Lord with all your heart if you do not trust him, and you cannot trust him with all your heart if you do not love him.  Love and trust are inseparable. 

In Joshua 10 we find Joshua courageously and joyfully walking by faith because he knew his God.

1.  God is faithful.

In verses 1-5 five cities in the south mobilize and attack Gibeon.  Their confederacy was orchestrated in a way to make sure they put a stop to the Israelite advance. Gibeon dispatches a message to Joshua not to ‘relax their hand’ (v. 6) in a pivotal moment.  In other words, they were asking Joshua to keep his word and keep the alliance.   The awareness of the faithfulness of God is actually what moved Joshua to honor a covenant with Gibeon.  Joshua learned from his previous sin, and now he was ready to walk by faith.

In Joshua 10:7 we have a remarkable response from Joshua.  We read, “So Joshua went up…” In other words, Joshua — providing a great example of Proverbs 3:5 —   kept his word.

Because Joshua believed that God would have him to honor the covenant, he mobilized his troops, marching through the night to surprise the enemy.

2.  God is a warrior.

Our God as a warrior may not appear to be a warm and cozy truth at first glance.  Please note the promise given to Joshua in verse 8. “Do not fear them, for I have given them into your hands.  Not a man of them shall stand before you.”  When God says, I have given them into your hands he is saying that he will fight the battle for you.  God moves even when we cannot see him moving. Notice commentary at the end of verse 11.  “There were more who died because of the hailstones than the sons of Israel killed with the sword.”

We should notice that as God is fighting for Israel, he is also doing it through their sword.  We are tempted to only look at the miracle of the hailstones, and forget that God works in the circumstances, too.  Jesus is the warrior-king who defeated the greatest enemy that we face.  Jesus defeated sin and death.  If Christ died to save you, he ever lives to keep and protect you. If you are ever tempted to fear, then your God is too small.  And if you are prone to fear, when a moment of insecurity takes over, take a look at your redeemer. He died for you and loves you with an everlasting love, and Jesus is the warrior who fights for your good.  Jesus Christ is the warrior-lamb who will finally bring justice upon the earth, who will bring death and sin to its predetermined conclusion.  All of His enemies — from Satan to all who refuse to bend the knee to Jesus Christ — will face the day when every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

3.  God Listens.

We might be stunned by the miracle of the sun and moon standing still, but the narrator is actually more amazed by the fact that God listened to man.  

Listen to the commentary in verse 14, “There has been no day like it before or since, when the Lord obeyed the voice of man, for the Lord fought for Israel.”

Now, is this a normal occurrence with us?  Could we go out this morning and ask for a cloud to appear in the sky or the sun to stop shining, and God would grant it?  No. But we have this confidence that God hears us because he loves us.  Walking by faith does not have to be scary.  It does not have to feel like a haunted house. Because nothing can separate us from the love of Christ, and therefore, God listens to us.  This is the greatest of miracles—that God would listen to little people like us.

The truth is, we cannot walk by faith if we don’t know God who we walk with.  We don’t want to just know “statistics” about God; we want to know His heart as we see him move through the pages of Scripture and in our Steps of Faith.  This is real joy!