The Lord is Our Inheritance

Before we open up God's word together, I do have an announcement I'd like to make. If you remember, if you remember back in April, I let you know that we we put under contract part of the Old Trinity Hospital or Montclair Baptist Hospital site. We got we're able to get a portion of that under contract for us to move and build a new facility there And I kept saying, I will update you. I will update you. And for the last six months, I keep saying, it's coming.

Finally, I get to update you. So and and what's gotta be one of the most complicated real estate deals in history concerning multiple lots, multiple parties. We now actually have under contract the whole site where the Trinity Hospital used to be all 24 acres and I think we have it up here and so you can see right here, there's the there's some of the parking decks, the buildings, and that entire huge lot behind there of open now green space and some of the woods all the way around. We now have under contract, which means that we are not just thinking about possibly a new building, but an entire campus. And and we just I cannot thank the Lord enough for his provision.

We did not think it was a possibility to pursue that six months ago. It actually wasn't. They would not be willing to sell. But the Lord just kept opening doors, opening doors to where finally we were able to get this. Having that undeveloped green space there means that we can move there more quickly, we can build things cheaper, and we can build what we want.

We also get 1,200 parking spaces, people. So so and I promise you, we'll we'll have more toilets as well. Now, early next year, we'll begin actually having a capital campaign, and we'll show you plans for the site. We'll begin raising funds for this. But I do wanna say, if any of you wanna go ahead and give towards the purchase of this property this year, you are more than welcome to.

Once again, we only have this under contract. We do not close on it until December. So, if this is something that you want to go ahead and give towards, come talk to me after the service and I will point you in the direction of somebody who's on our facility committee and you can talk with them. As I've been thinking about this, you know, this this site that where the lord has been leading us and what the next year or two or two are going to look like. It's actually caused me to think a lot about this place here, this church that used to be called South Avondale Baptist Church.

This church began or this they began construction of this sanctuary in 1914. They did not complete it until two and a half years later. And during that time, they actually met in a tent. They met in a tent right there where the gas station is as they built this. It took two and a half years for them to build it because they simply lacked the funds to do so.

I read that if you were to pull in the money from all the members within a 10 block radius of this church, it would not have been enough to buy a new car. And yet they committed themselves to building this sanctuary. The pastor at the this time, his name was reverend John Isner. He actually, he wrote about the construction of the church. There's a book about it.

And he, he wrote a letter that we have in our time capsule. Right outside here in the cornerstone of the church, there's a time capsule. We opened it up a few years ago, and I read you this little letter that John Enzer wrote, and I wanna read this again. He said, with great faith in God our father, this church has thus far moved forward with joy and rejoicing in this task. In the midst of a great war that is touching the whole world and its blighting influence, we have not stopped.

We do not expect to stop until this building is finished and dedicated to our God and his son, our savior, even Jesus Christ, the righteous. So be it known that it is through faith in his name that we now patiently wait our translation from this life to the eternal kingdom of God. Not a great I love that that's in the cornerstone of this church. And that and we have benefited from the sacrifices that those people made over a hundred years ago. They sacrificed for generations to come, and I'm really excited that we now get to join in and to sacrifice for generations to come.

So I've done something cheesy, but, up at that site there, if you ever wanna go up there and pray, I would love for you to do it. And I have up there the driveway at the at the top. I put a pallet there, and it just says redeemer rocks on it. Not because, like, we rock. It's just where I want you to bring a rock.

If you go up to that site and you pray over the site that the Lord would continue to provide and pray for a future there, bring with you a rock. Put it in there. I actually, I love to to do some masonry work. I like to build rock walls, and I'm going to do something with those rocks. I'll probably build it into one of the walls of the church there so we could be built on the prayers of the people just as a tangible reminder of of god's faithfulness to hear our cries.

So, if you want to do that, I encourage you to go up there. Currently, it's just my rock. So, it's lonely. I I I would like I would like for y'all. If you have your Bibles, turn to Joshua 13.

It's the sixth book in your Bible. It's also there in your worship guide. We've just finished Isaiah. We're about to begin Jeremiah. We're we're going to spend eight weeks in Jeremiah.

And I was gonna begin this week, but I felt the Lord steering me away from that. And instead to look at a text that I actually, I preached on the very first month that we were a church. So seventeen years ago, I I preached on this text from Joshua 13 and and maybe with all of this stirring around in my mind, I just kinda wanted to go back there. So as you're turning there, and you can also put a finger in Luke chapter 12 if you want. Let me tell you about a one of our Christmas breaks that we had as a church or not as a church, as as a family, sorry.

Luke 12 · chapter mention

We were at my mom's house. My mom had gathered us all together for Christmas and I don't know how your family rolls during the the holidays but what we did is we decided it was a great time to look at the will. So my mom, she gathered us all around the table and she said, I made a will and I'm gonna tell you about it. And, so she she says, you you all will receive an inheritance. We knew it wouldn't be much because my dad had passed away years earlier.

My my mom, she had gone back to work as a school teacher and was just really sacrificing to to provide for us. So she said this, she goes to my oldest brother, my older brother, he said, David, you get the first pick of all the furniture, which is pretty good. There's some antique pieces there. And then told my my older sister, Cheryl, said, Cheryl, you get the first pick of all the jewelry, which I don't care about. But there's some good, you know, jewelry there.

And then my mom looked at me and she said, Joel, to you, you get the first pick of everything electronic. Anything you want electronic. And and my my my brother and my sister, they tried tried to suppress a laugh, but they couldn't. They finally just burst out laughing because at the time, the the nicest electronic thing my mom had was a small TV with like the the DVD player built in. And my brother, he just looked at me and goes, man, you got gypped.

You got gypped. Now, my mom is listening to this or watching this. And so, mom, you know, I've already said that you've given me the the best inheritance I could ever have. I really am thankful. You raised me up in a family household that loves the Lord.

You taught me everything about gospel hospitality. Our home was always filled with people, and you were showing them that. I inherited that from you. But I do wanna say, you know, they make a lot better and more electric cars now. And there is a Ford electric Ford f one fifty that is available.

And if you were to get that, I would not complain because that would be my first pick. So what I want us to do this morning is just look at inheritance. As Christians, we're part of the family of God. God has promised an inheritance. Are you going to get gypped?

Joshua 13. Read 32 through 33. These are the inheritances that Moses distributed in the Plains Of Moab beyond the Jordan, East Of Jericho. But to the tribe of Levi, Moses gave no inheritance. The Lord, the God of Israel is their inheritance, just as he said to them.

This is the word of the Lord. You would pray with me. Father, I pray right now that through your spirit, you would show us the worth of Jesus, the beauty and the glory of Jesus, and that would consume all of our thoughts, all of our heart. For this to happen, I pray that my words would now fall to the ground, blow away. But, Lord, your words would remain, and you'd use them to change us.

And we pray this in the strong name of Jesus. Amen. So, can you imagine the scene that is actually being described in Joshua there? It's it's the scene where there's all the leaders from the 12 tribes of Israel. They've gathered around to hear their land allotments.

They've been waiting forty years for this. The the last few years has been just battle after battle after battle as they have taken over the land of Canaan. God had promised them this land four hundred years earlier. He promised it to Abraham and now it's finally going to be theirs and so Joshua, he's he's gathered these tribal leaders together and he's reading off their land allotments. I didn't read, take time to read through all of those land allotments because they're about as exciting as a dictionary or a genealogy.

But he went to each tribal leader. He he said, Reuben, you know, you get all the land from the Arnon Gorge to the River Of Jordan. You've you've essentially, you know, today, say, you know, got Oak Mountain all the way to the Gehaba River. It's it's all yours. Gad, you get the towns of Gilead.

You get half of the towns of of Jer. Half of the amount of Ammonite country, the East Side Of The Jordan. Hueytown to Homewood, yours. Manasseh, you get the whole Kingdom Of Og. You get 60 additional towns next to it in the East.

You get trust filled to Fultondale. Judah, you you know, you get you get Gardendale to to Coleman. He's just he's just he's going off. He's giving off all of these land allotments. On and on he goes.

And finally, he gets to the Levites. One simple sentence. To the Levites, the Lord your God is your inheritance. And then you wait for more, but nothing more comes. That's it.

Now, there's a part of me, I I have to confess and it's still here. There's a part of me that when I hear that, I just wanna say, guys, you got gypped. I mean, you just you just completely got gypped in comparison to what everyone else got. I mean, come on. What does that even mean?

The Lord is your inheritance. You mean the reward for all of your hard labor, all of your sacrifices, the fighting for the promised land is that now you actually do not get a single acre to call your own. I mean, reward, if you will, is that you get to remain a priest. You get to keep making sacrifices day after day after day to the Lord. So there's still a part of me, even to this day when I read this, I think you guys you got gypped.

I think that because the the really the difficult part of this passage is that all of these other tribes, they got all of that stuff and they still got the Lord. It's not like they were being denied the Lord. I mean, they couldn't go and and perform the sacrifices like the Levites did. They couldn't work in the temple, but they still got to go to the temple. They still got to offer up their sacrifices.

They still got to pray. They still got to worship to the Lord. They still got to do all those things. And in addition, they also got all of this land which they could get wealthy off of. Do you feel, you know, this coming Christmas?

Your parents as you're, you know, you're gathered around the tree, and your parents say to your brother, hey, your present's out there in the driveway. And you go out there and sure enough, new Lexus with the bow around it. Always wanted to see one of those. Your brother's beside himself. Go back in and then it's sister.

Well, it's not in the driveway, but we got you this little envelope. I'm like, okay. She opens it up. It's airplane tickets for her and her whole family, all expenses, vacation paid to Europe. And then your parents look at you and say, you, best for last.

You get our love. And you're waiting. And that love will express itself how? That's it. You get our love.

Do you feel the love in that moment? Or do you feel like you just got gypped? 11 tribes got the land and the Lord, one tribe just got the Lord. Let me ask you who got more. How you answer that question is gonna affect every area of your life.

It's actually gonna affect how you view life itself. It's gonna affect the things you pursue, the things that you buy, the friendships you have, the careers that you pursue, how you spend your time. Which is worth more to you? The Lord plus something or just the Lord? At first, it seems like a no brainer, doesn't it?

I mean, come on. I mean, would you like to have a relationship with your creator and get all of this other stuff or just a relationship with your creator? Well, not so fast. Turn to Luke 12 It's there in the worship guide. It's a familiar passage of scripture.

It's one in which Jesus is actually teaching his disciples that he alone is worth more than him plus something else. We're just going to read down to verse 32. And he said to his disciples, therefore, I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. For life is more than food and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens.

They neither sow nor reap. They have neither storehouse nor barn and yet god feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to a span of life? If then you were not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest?

Consider the lilies, how they grow. They neither toil nor spin. Yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass which is alive in the field today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you? Oh, you of little faith.

And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink nor be worried. For all the nations of the world seek after these things and your father knows that you need them. Instead, seek his kingdom and these things will be added to you. Stop there. I've thought numerous times about actually starting a another ministry just called consider the lilies ministry.

In that ministry, I would just take people on walks. That would be it. I take people on those stressed out people, full of anxiety. I just take em on a walk and we would just look around at god's beauty and his provision. Jesus, when he says consider the lilies, that wasn't a suggestion.

It was a command. Consider them. So, if you're feeling a little stressed or anxious, if your life right now can be summed up and you just driving kids as fast as they you can from one place to another while throwing chicken nuggets at them in the back seat, or if you're just like always just scrolling on your phone, reading the latest horror story that comes across the media page. Maybe you should put the phone down and you should consider the lilies. Jesus, you know, he didn't need a second coat.

He didn't need an extra pair of sandals. He didn't need those things because he was too busy just looking around soaking in god's beauty and his provision. In this passage here, Jesus, he lists all the energies that we we spend our we spend out on and he says, don't waste your your energy there. Don't waste your time pursuing those things. They don't really matter.

I'll take care of you. And then also out of the blue, says, do not fear. That comment said, not fear, actually seems a little out of place in what he's been talking. Because the disciples in this moment had to be thinking, afraid, we're not afraid. I mean, yes, we might be a little anxious, we might be a little worried about things.

You know Peter, he Yes. He changed outfits three times before that party. He was concerned about how he was gonna look. But, we're not scared. I mean, if things didn't work out, Peter could just go back to fishing, can he?

James and John could go back and join him. Matthew, well, he could just go back to tax collecting, not a big deal. It's it's not like we're gonna starve. It's not like we're gonna go without clothing. So yes, maybe we think about those things a little too much.

Maybe we're a little too anxious, little worried at times, but we're not fearful. Unless there's something we need to be fearful about. Are you not telling us something? Is is there a reason you're telling us not to fear? Have you ever noticed that the command not to fear does the exact opposite?

I mean, if you're in a plane and everything is smooth sailing, pilot gets on the intercom, just says, hey, I need to tell you all something. But first off, I want you all to know there is nothing for you to be scared of. Did that comfort you in that moment? Are you now, you are certain you're about to plunge to your imminent death? But instantly, you know, you you produces this fear.

Maybe the disciples felt this way. Perhaps like everyone else in life, they had some general financial concerns about their future. You know, could you afford the clothes you wanted or or the food you wanted to eat? Some general concerns about that but they weren't scared and then Jesus says, don't fear. Right after he tells him not to fear, in verse 32, he he calls him his little flock and he says, that the father is delighted to give to them the kingdom.

Let that sink in. Jesus, he tells his disciples, god's going to give you the kingdom. The kingdom That makes the Roman Empire look like nothing. The kingdom of God, that's that's the whole earth. That's that's every mansion.

It's every lake house, every every cabin out there, every beach front property, every mountain, every river, every valley, every plain. It's the entire world. And Jesus just says, oh, my father's delighted to give this to you. It's incredible news. So as he's telling them this, can tell you that fear is the last thing on their minds.

They're just soaking this in. And if the passage has stopped right there, I'd have been a little confused. But then you get to verse 33. Sell your possessions and give to the needy. Well, there's a reason to fear Disciples are like, oh oh, so you so you don't want me just kind of be generous.

You actually want me to sell what I have and give it away. That's a little extreme. Don't you think Jesus? When I hear Jesus's words here, I read other passages of scripture in a different light. Scripture like Psalm 73, whom have I in heaven but you?

And on earth, I desire nothing but you. For Jesus is teaching on the kingdom of god when he he says it's it's the pearl of such great price. You sell everything you have in order to buy it. Or the kingdom's a treasure hidden in a field and so you sell everything you have in order to go and purchase that field. Jesus is telling his disciples here, I am the treasure.

I'm it. Now, I am not telling you to sell everything. I wanna be clear about that. Jesus might, I'm not. Jesus might, he might not.

But I am gonna ask you the question, is Jesus that type of treasure to you, Your only treasure. Can your heart actually agree with the psalmist when he says there's nothing on earth I desire but you? Notice he did not say there's nothing on earth I desire more than you. He said, there's nothing I desire on Earth but you. God is his only desire and what he realizes that if I have god, what more do I need?

I would have loved I would have loved to see the expression of those disciples as Jesus is telling them all this. I mean, they're shouting amens. God's gonna take care of you. He's gonna give you clothes. He's gonna give you amen.

Amen. I mean, you get to like, it's my father's delight. He's going to give you the kingdom. They are like, preach, Jesus. Bring it.

Sell. Sell it off. Give to the poor. And man, I bet you could just hear the crickets chirping. So do you see the similarities here between what Jesus is trying to teach his disciples and what God is teaching those Levites.

God wants it to be the Levite's sole possession. Jesus wants to be the disciple's sole possession. He wants to be yours as well. And he's not gonna rest until he becomes your only desire. And this is not because he wants you to have some kind of joyless life, it's the opposite.

It's because he knows all the other things are a distraction. Joy flows from his presence. So what he's offering you is like, I want you to have the most joy filled life you could have. And that comes by having me alone. I tell you fear has been probably the biggest hindrance when I look back at my Christian walk.

And when I when I look back at my Christian life, I think what are the things I've been really hindering me in my walk? It hasn't been the things like, I can't think of a certain sin that's like, that's been the big thing. I've sinned plenty, trust me. I mean, I I I've sinned a whole lot, still do. But that hasn't been my biggest hindrance.

It hasn't been a, you know, a lack of prayer or like a bible study. Once again, I I don't do those things to the extent I should, but I don't think that's been my biggest hindrance. My biggest hindrance has been fear. It's the fear of letting God have all of me. I think all of us are really comfortable saying, God, you got 75% of me.

Maybe after a really good night of worship, you bump it up to 90%. But all of me? Man, I've known some people who've given all of their life to the Lord. They scare me. So fear has been what's crippled me.

Many years back when I was a student at University of Georgia, I was confronted with this fear. I was a junior. It was 11:00 in the morning. I was walking through the the plaza outside the Tate Student Center. Some of you know where that is.

And there in the middle of it, they have a raised platform that says the free speech platform. Great idea on a college campus to have that right there in the middle. No one ever used it. No students ever used it. But occasionally, some outside people would come in and they would use it and and as I was walking across the the plaza that day, sure enough, somebody had come there and they had come there with a bullhorn and they were a preacher.

And this preacher was just screaming at everyone who went by, calling the women whores as they went by saying hell awaits you, it's imminent. I mean, I'm not making this up, would say the great things like rock and roll will kill your soul. You're like, really? Oh, I mean, my gosh. And just like, it made me so angry.

Because that's what the people now were thinking of Christianity. That's what they were thinking of the gospel. Was what this this this crap that this preacher there was just yelling out at everybody. And so I'm walking and I was like, man, I hate that. And I heard clear as a bell, Jesus say, well, why don't you just get up and preach?

Like, that's not gonna happen. I laughed. Spirit didn't laugh back. Terror gripped my body at this moment. I mean, because I knew he wasn't joking.

I was like, oh, woah. You know, that's when you know it's really the spirit is when you're just sort of terrified. I was like, oh, I mean, I mean, I've I've never preached before in my life. I wouldn't know what to say. It's like get up there and preach.

Tell them the truth. So, I began, you know, making every excuse under the sun. I mean, I I it was like a two year old arguing with her dad. No, I mean, I'm not gifted in this way. Who do think is a good gifts?

Who do you think is going to lead you? Oh, it's just gonna be so embarrassing. I mean, I I'll lose like my friends' respect, the people laugh at me, and like I give all these excuses and I remember finally, was like, Lord, I just don't want to. That was my excuse. I just don't want to.

Get up there. Preach. Can I tell you that in that moment, as I'm wrestling with this, it was not a fear of rejection that I was struggling with? There's actually no such thing as a fear of rejection. My fear was that when I was rejected, the acceptance of God would not be enough for me.

That was the fear. That he wouldn't be sufficient. That that when I was rejected, that having Jesus alone, he would not be enough to meet my every need that I had. That was the fear underneath there. My fear was that Jesus really wasn't enough.

I wanted Jesus plus something. I wanted him plus acceptance. I wanted Jesus plus respect. I wanted him plus a good career. I wanted him plus the house, the picket fence, every creature comfort.

I wanted him plus a spouse, plus a family. I wanted Jesus plus something. I I did not think that having Jesus alone was gonna be enough for me. I didn't know it at the time, but I was actually wrestling with a a very deep question in the core of my being is this unresolved question. And it was this, Jesus, will you be enough for me when I don't have anything else?

That's what has held me back over the years. It's likely what has held back many of you over the years. That's the fear that keeps you back as a Christian. That's the fear that keeps you from knowing and experiencing the full joy that comes from being in His presence. That's the fear that keeps you from experiencing His kingdom here on earth.

Hear me, the fear of taking a risk and sharing your faith with that coworker or that colleague, that's not a real fear. The fear is if that person rejects you or mocks you, having a smile of God will not be enough to carry you. The fear of getting old, getting sick, losing your health, that's not a real fear. The fear is that when your body fails, you feel like Jesus might fail you. That you won't find him to be enough to nourish you in those moments.

The fear of not finding a spouse, It's not a real fear. The fear is that if you're alone and all you have is the warm embrace of your savior, that won't be enough for you. You're gonna want more. The fear of your career not working out or of your business failing, that's not a real fear. The fear is that if those things were to happen and you were to lose that as your identity, having an identity based on Jesus alone, that can't support me.

The fear of giving away your finances, that's not a real fear. The fear is when you give away those things, don't think your heavenly father's gonna provide for you. That's the fear. On and on, we could think like there's this surface level fear, and then there's the real fear underneath it. The foundational fear underneath all of the other fears is a question.

God, when it's all gone, will you really be sufficient for me? Are you really everything you've promised? Are you really, are you really living water? Really the bread of life? Does joy really flow from your presence?

Or when it's all said and done, am I going to get gypped? Really? That's it? That's all you're gonna give me? So let me ask you again.

Is the lord really worth more to you alone than the Lord plus everything else? Let me tell you, He is. He's worth more than at all. He really is the bread of life, and He does sustain you. He really is living water.

He'll satisfy that thirsty soul. Joy really does flow from His presence. He really is the resurrection and the life, meaning death cannot take those things away from you forever. You know, we've been studying the prophets for a while here as a church, and you've heard the prophets over and over keep saying this, you've been trying everything else, people. How's that working out for you?

Still thirsty? Still hungry? Still left wanting? Return to God. Jesus over and over in scripture, he said that whatever is your problem, I'm the answer.

Come to me. Over and over, wherever you are, just come to me. Paul tells us in Ephesians one that our inheritance is glorious, but he also prays that our eyes will be opened by the spirit to actually see just how glorious this inheritance is. Spirit now, would would you just would you would you open our eyes to see this? Before we close, I'm gonna tell you just one final thing about an inheritance.

This glorious inheritance that we have, it's freely given. It can never be bought. An inheritance is never earned. We all know how you receive an inheritance. Someone has to die in order for you to receive all the benefits that that that person has secured over their life.

It's through their death, it becomes yours. Our heavenly inheritance is no different. All the benefits that Jesus secured over his life by living that righteous, godly life, perfect in obedience to father, all of that is now given to us through his death. So our inheritance comes to us by grace and grace alone. And please hear me, church.

That grace is being offered to you today. I'll finish the the story about me at the Tate Center just because I know some of you will ask. First sermon I ever preached. Next week, you get to hear about the second sermon I've ever preached. But I did.

I I I I got up there, and I gave the worst sermon you've ever heard in your entire life. It was horrible. I've never done anything like that before. I couldn't believe I mean, I got up there, I'm standing, and I was like, hey, everybody. Packed.

I mean, it's just huge plat. Hey. I just like to tell you all about Jesus. And the best I could, I just told everybody about Jesus. And they kinda looked at me and then someone like, what?

And they just walked off. Revival didn't happen. I know you go to Georgia today like revival had to happen there, but no. I don't think anybody was saved, anything like that. I But got up there and just to the best I could, I just I just proclaimed the gospel.

And do you know what? I have never felt such freedom or joy. Because in that moment, you know what I had? Only Jesus. Like, mean, I couldn't I didn't have the respect to people.

I mean, are like, oh my gosh. What the heck is he doing? Like, I I felt like in that moment, Jesus, you're all that I have. And he was enough. And I look back in my life, the times I've not experienced that joy or that freedom in my life over the years is because I've given in fear.

And I haven't believed the promises of Jesus that I should come to him and receive life. Don't make those mistakes. Come to him now. Let's pray. Jesus, you are more than enough.

More than enough. More than enough. Spirit, would you open the eyes of our hearts where we can actually believe that what you have given us is glorious because we cannot make ourselves believe. And Lord, I pray that you would just cast out any spirit of fear we have in this church, that you are not sufficient to meet our every longing and need. Jesus, thank you for securing for us a glorious inheritance to your life giving it to us through your death, and us being able to experience and enjoy it forever more because of your resurrection.

And we pray this in the sweet name of Jesus, our present and our future king. Amen.