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Sunday Worship 23 January 2022 : “They shall inherit the earth”

Text: Psalm 37:9, 11, 18, 22, 29
23 January 2022

INTRODUCTION

1. A number of dictators who tried to inherit the earth

a) Attila the Hun’s campaigns (434-453)
“Where I have passed the grass will never grow again” Attila the Hun
b) Genghis Khan’s campaigns (1206-1227)
Central Asia and China
c) Joseph Stalin’s campaigns (1922-1953)
Russia
e) Adolf Hitler’s campaigns (1933-1945)
11 Million slaughtered
ALL have failed miserably!

2. Is there a Theology about Inheriting the Earth?

a) This would be good and important to know
b) This Theology would help us interpret the subject of inheriting the earth

REFERENCES TO INHERITING THE EARTH IN PSALM 37

1. For evildoers shall be cut off;
But those who wait on the LORD,
They shall inherit the earth.   (Psalm 37:9)

2. But the meek shall inherit the earth,
And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.   (Psalm 37:11)

3. The LORD knows the days of the upright,
And their inheritance shall be forever.   (Psalm 37:18)

4. For those blessed by Him shall inherit the earth,
But those cursed by Him shall be cut off.   (Psalm 37:22)

5. The righteous shall inherit the land,
And dwell in it forever.   (Psalm 37:29)

BACKGROUND ABOUT INHERITANCE OF ISRAEL

“For ask now concerning the days that are past, which were before you, since the day that God created man on the earth, and ask from one end of heaven to the other, whether any great thing like this has happened, or anything like it has been heard. Did any people ever hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and live? Or did God ever try to go and take for Himself a nation from the midst of another nation, by trials, by signs, by wonders, by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? To you it was shown, that you might know that the LORD Himself is God; there is none other besides Him. Out of heaven He let you hear His voice, that He might instruct you; on earth He showed you His great fire, and you heard His words out of the midst of the fire. And because He loved your fathers, therefore He chose their descendants after them; and He brought you out of Egypt with His Presence, with His mighty power, driving out from before you nations greater and mightier than you, to bring you in, to give you their land as an inheritance, as it is this day. Therefore know this day, and consider it in your heart, that the LORD Himself is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other. You shall therefore keep His statutes and His commandments which I command you today, that it may go well with you and with your children after you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which the LORD your God is giving you for all time.”   Deuteronomy 4:32-40

1. It is God who gave the land of Canaan to Israel

2. It was because of His Love

3. The Land of Israel would be their inheritance

CAN GOD DISINHERIT THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL?

“And she conceived again and bore a daughter. Then God said to him:
“Call her name Lo-Ruhamah,
For I will no longer have mercy on the house of Israel,
But I will utterly take them away.
Yet I will have mercy on the house of Judah,
Will save them by the LORD their God,
And will not save them by bow,
Nor by sword or battle,
By horses or horsemen.”
Now when she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah, she conceived and bore a son.
Then God said:
“Call his name Lo-Ammi,
For you are not My people,
And I will not be your God.”   Hosea 1:6-9

1. God withdrew His mercy (Lo-Ruhammah)

2. He said to Israel that they were not His people (Lo-Ammi)

INHERITANCE OF THE EARTH

1. It is not to be taken for granted

2. There are spiritual principles that must be practised

PRINCIPLES TO BE PRACTISED

1. The Practice of Waiting Upon God

“For evildoers shall be cut off;
But those who wait on the LORD,
They shall inherit the earth.”   Psalm 37:9
a) Waiting on the LORD
b) No Evil to be practised

2. The Practice of Meekness

“But the meek shall inherit the earth,
And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.”   Psalm 37:11
a) Meekness is the 3rd Beatitude   (Matthew 5:5)
b) The Meek also delight in the practice of peace

3. The Practice of Uprightness

“The LORD knows the days of the upright,
And their inheritance shall be forever.”   Psalm 37:18
a) The Upright are known to the LORD
b) To the Upright He gives an inheritance

4. Those Blessed by the LORD

“For those blessed by Him shall inherit the earth,
But those cursed by Him shall be cut off.”   Psalm 37:22
a) The Blessed of the LORD will inherit the earth
b) In contrast, the Cursed shall be cut off

5. The Practice of Righteousness

“The righteous shall inherit the land,
And dwell in it forever.”   Psalm 37:29
a) The Righteous shall inherit the land (the earth)
b) They can dwell in it forever

INHERITANCE IN THE NEW TESTAMENT

1. Believers are heirs of God

“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba,[e] Father.” The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.”   Romans 8:14-17
a) Sons of God
b) Children of God
c) Heirs of God
d) Joint-Heirs with Christ

2. A spiritual Inheritance

“In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.
Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16 do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power”   Ephesians 1:13-19
a) The Holy Spirit as our Guarantee of our inheritance
b) Wisdom is needed to know the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints

CONCLUSION

1. The Promise of Inheritance

a) It needs to be fathomed
b) Prayer for wisdom is needed

2. The Promise of God

a) It will be fulfilled
b) Our challenge is to meet the Conditions that God has stipulated