CHRIST – LORD OF ALL?

 

 

529 -1 CHRIST – LORD OF ALL?

January 27, 1980

Henry F. Kulp

 

Here we have a very special passage that every believer should know and put into practice in his life.

1/  To start with, I’d like to ask you two questions. Two very important  questions.

a/  I want you to look at your life, and ask why are you living?

b/  Why did Christ die? 

These two questions may not seem be related but they are. They go together. To answer the first one, you have to answer the second one. I am sure many people think Christ died just to save them, to get them a place in Heaven. To spend eternity in Heaven with Jesus Christ. But that is not true.

2/  The book of Romans is a very basic book. When a believer comes to me and says, what book should I read? I usually tell them, read and study the book of Romans. Romans is a book of doctrine that every believer needs to understand.   

3/  Romans starts out by talking about all of humanity. Here we are given a very remarkable bit of information. Man discovers there is a barrier between Man and God. He discovers that all kinds of men are behind that  barrier. The immoral man, the moral man, the religious man, as a matter of fact all who are born into the world, are born behind that barrier, and we find that barrier has separated them from God.

 

4/  The immoral man recognizes himself for what he is. And the immoral man is easier to reach for salvation than the moral man or religious man, but all are in the same boat. All are behind this barrier.

5/  This barrier, of course, is sin. Not just personal sin, but the fact that man is a born sinner. He is born in Adam, and has inherited Adam’s sinful nature.

6/  Romans shows that the Lord Jesus Christ removed this barrier by His death on the cross of calvary, and that we are saved by grace plus nothing. We are saved by faith in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross of calvary.

7/  But now we come to the 14^th chapter and God is talking to the believer - one who has had this barrier removed by Jesus Christ’s death on the cross of Calvary, and there are two types of believers in this 14^th chapter – The weak believer and the strong believer. The weak believer is a legalist. The strong believer is a grace believer.

8/  The weak believer believes he is spiritual by what he does not eat, and then he thinks he is spiritual by esteeming certain days. The strong believer does not esteem special days, but he considers every day a day of the Lord. Every morning when he wakes up, he considers this as a day of the Lord, a special day, a day in which the One, the Lord Jesus Christ can use him.

9/  In verses 7 - 9 he shows the principal that will enable us to be strong in the Lord and will keep us from being legalist but will make us grace believers.

 

10/  To truly understand this verse, I want to read it to you as I would translate it from the Greek. NO ONE LIVES TO HIS OWN ADVANTAGE. This is an idiom. We do not live for our advantage. We do not live for our benefit. We are to live to glorify Him, the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Then we have another idiom, and this again in the Greek, WE DON’T DIE TO OUR ADVANTAGE, WE DIE TO HIS ADVANTAGE. So our present life is divided into two parts as we live on this earth. The living part, the dying part. Let us look at the dying part. How often we say, when we die we are absent from the body, present with the Lord, and how wonderful this is – and it is true, but let us show you another verse. 

Psalms 116: 15 Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saint. Why is this true? Because we die for the Lord’s  advantage. He loves us so much, He wants us to be with Him. And when our work on earth is over, He takes us to be with Him.

  

11/  Verse 8 Let us show how this should be translated. For it is an amplification of verse 7 It explains why verse 7 is true. IF WE LIVE, WE LIVE AS THE PERSONAL POSSESSION OF THE LORD. IF WE DIE , WE DIE AS THE PERSONAL POSSESSION OF THE LORD. 

Every believer is the personal possession of the Lord. No matter what kind of a believer he is – spiritual, carnal, legalistic, grace, mature or immature, he belongs to the Lord, and that is the point I want to drive home to your heart this morning. You are the possession of the Lord, whether you live or whether you die.

 

12/  I Corinthians 6: 19, 20 What, know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you and you are not your own for you have been bought with a price. 

God has purchased you with His blood, that is why you are His possession. So you are the personal possession of the Lord Jesus Christ.

13/  Vserse 9  The words, and rose, are not in the original, and it should read, to this end, Christ both died and revived. 

Notice the words, to this end, and it simply introduces a purpose clause. Why did Christ die? Christ died for a purpose. Not just to be your Saviour, not just to see that you get to Heaven, but to be the Lord both of the dead and living. The word, Lord, means TO BECOME SOVERIEGN. 

14/  The Lordship of Jesus Christ is the greatest possible subject with which our soul has to deal. I make no apology for preaching Jesus Christ as Lord. How few people recognize that He died for this  purpose.

15/  To understand the Lordship of Jesus Christ, to become a Sovereign, let us notice what Jesus Christ said in Luke 10: 1, 2  After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come. Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.

Here Jesus Christ declared Himself to be the Lord of nature. Commissioning the 70 and sending them forth, He said unto them, the harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few, and then He called Himself the Lord of the Harvest. 

This has a spiritual application, but it also has a literal interpretation. The Bible tells us that Jesus Christ is the Creator of all things John 1: 3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

Then Colossians 1: 16, 17 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:  And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

He is the Sustainer of the Universe. Things which we behold with our eyes did not just merely happen by chance or by some blind force. They came into being by a direct result of a creative act of Jesus Christ, and they continue by the fact that Jesus Christ sustains and holds everything together.

16/  Jesus Christ demonstrates His power over nature. Luke 8: 24  And they came to him, and awoke him, saying, Master, master, we perish. Then he arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water: and they ceased, and there was a calm.

When He rebuked the winds and the raging water, and they ceased and Scripture says there was a calm. Was it any wonder the  disciples beheld this manifestation of divine power, and they cried out What manner of man is this for He commandeth  even the winds and water and they obey Him. So nature all about us shows that Jesus Christ is the Master of creation, of nature. 

 

17/  The Lordship of Jesus Christ reaches out to the world of evil spirits, there in the realm of darkness, one might be inclined to think that His authority ceased at this point. But the Word of God teaches otherwise. Psalms 139: 7, 8 Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. 

There is no realm where His Lordship does not reach.

18/  Luke 8: 26, 27 And they arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, which is over against Galilee. And when he went forth to land, there met him out of the city a certain man, which had devils long time, and ware no clothes, neither abode in any house, but in the tombs. 

Here we have the story of the maniac of Gadare, who was possessed with a legion of demons or unclean spirits. Think of it – 6,000 demons in one man. No wonder he was a terror of the whole neighborhood, and all feared him. Verses 30 - 33 And Jesus asked him, saying, What is thy name? And he said, Legion: because many devils were entered into him. And they besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep. And there was there an herd of many swine feeding on the mountain: and they besought him that he would suffer them to enter into them. And he suffered them. Then went the devils out of the man, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the lake, and were choked. 

Jesus Christ uttered a word of His power, and out they came and entered into a herd of swine which preferred suicide rather than be possessed with this army of unclean spirits. The demons were no match for Jesus Christ and could not resist Him. Only His power could deliver this man from the power of demonism. 

   

19/  We need to realize there is no power in the universe, which is not subject to Jesus Christ in His Lordship.

20/  But to be Lord over the church, the Body of Christ, He had to die. To be able to say to the believer, both the dead, and living believers who are His possessions, He had to go to the cross of Calvary and there suffer and die and be resurrected from the grave.

21/  Now let us see how He is Lord both of the dead and the living. Acts 7: 59 And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.

Here we have Stephen standing before the Sanhedrin, delivering that tremendous message to the leaders of Israel, and the result was they stoned Him, stretched out upon the ground and being stoned to death, called upon God and saying, now notice, Lord, Jesus, receive my spirit. 

Undoubtedly, a few moments later, a great stone crushed his skull, and he was rushed into the presence of God. Absent from the body, present with the Lord, but in his dying statement, Stephen was bearing eloquent testimony to the Lordship of Jesus Christ over the realm of death. He did not expect to take a leap in the dark, nor to step into some vast unknown region. He knew the risen Christ was waiting to receive his spirit, and that he would be in the presence of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

 

 

22/  I am sure you are familiar with doubting Thomas. John 20: 25 - 28 The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe. And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.

He had said, except I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my fingers into the print of the nails and thrust my hand into His side, I will not believe, then the Lord Jesus Christ appeared unto them again with Thomas,  and He said to Thomas, Reach forward thy finger and behold my hands, reach thither thy hand and thrust it into My side. Notice what Thomas said, verse 28 My Lord and my God. Thomas recognized that Jesus Christ was Lord.

23/  It is important to see, He is not a lord as though there are thousands of others, and many other lords, but He is THE Lord. But many people brag about their self-mastery, rather than submit unto the mastery of Jesus Christ.

24/  I read the parable of the painted house, and it made a deep impression on me, so I would like to pass it along to you. I am going to paint the house, said the big can of paint, waiting, already mixed in the woodshed. No, I’m going to paint it, bristling with impatience. Oh, you are, are you, sneered the ladder lying against the wall – how far would either of you get without me? Or without me to pay the bills chimed in the check-book, in a voice muffled by the jacket of the house owner. Just then, the painter who had overheard the proud remarks, ventured to say in a word, perhaps I’d better take a holiday. I wonder if the house would be painted by the time I got back. Even the most efficient of us is only a tool in the hands of the infinite Worker.

 

25/  When we read verse 9 that Jesus Christ died to be Lord of the dead and the living, we can understand another Scripture, Hebrews 12: 2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. 

It talks about the joy of the cross. The joy of nails driven through His hands and feet, joy of being lifted up and being placed on a cross, a criminal’s cross. There being naked before a jeering crowd. How can there be joy in this? For a long time this passage was baffling to me, but I find the answer in the Old Testament prophecy.

26/  Isaiah 53: 3 - 6 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

This is one of the greatest chapters on the death of Christ in the Bible. He was despised and rejected by man. A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. Than we are told He opened not His mouth, like a lamb was led to the slaughter and like a sheep before its shearers is dumb, He was cut out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of His people Israel. How can there be any joy here? Then comes the answer.

Isaiah 53: 10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.  

It was the will of His Father to bruise Him, He had put Him to grief. Here you see the Father putting the Son to death then it says, when He shall see Himself an offering for sin, He shall see His offspring, He shall prolong His days, He shall see the fruit of His travail of His soul and be satisfied. 

Think of it – satisfaction, joy – the satisfaction, the joy of grief, sorrow, and suffering, Yes, a thousand times, yes, for what was the satisfaction of His travail – it was the joy of child-birth.

  

27/  Romans 14: 9 For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living.

Now we can understand this – the Lord, thy God is a jealous God. What? Jealousy in God?  Yes, in the best sense of the word. He wants to be our Lord because He knows what is best for us. Father and mother see their son enamored by a young girl who is unworthy of him. If he marries her she will wreck his life. They are concerned lest he make this mistaken and plunge into matrimony, they seek to show him the true nature of the girl, they grieve over him, they watch over him, they are jealous for him. Not for a moment are they jealous of him, nor are they jealous of the girl. Then the affair breaks up, he meets a girl who is suited to him and now the parents are joyful and welcome her as a daughter. 

This is the way God is jealous over us. He wants to be Lord over us, and He is jealous for us, because He knows what is best for us. We know not how to direct our own lives, we know not what is best for us, but He does. He created us for Himself.

AMEN

Ref: 01/27/1980  529-1 CHRIST—LORD OF ALL? / June 16, 2020

HOW TO GET RICH WITHOUT TRYING

288 - HOW TO GET RICH WITHOUT TRYING
February 28, 1965
Pastor Henry F Kulp

Romans 8: 14 - 17 In the 14th vs. we read, For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the Sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself bearers witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

How wonderful to know that we are the sons of God. How many say that we are the sons of God because God is the Father of everyone and we are all brothers, and therefore sons of God. 

Two men came to a preacher one night and they said--You admit, do you not, that we are all descended from Adam? Certainly, replied the preacher, and you admit that Adam was created by God? They continued. Again, the preacher agreed. Well, then, said these two men with an air of triumph, does that not prove that we are all the sons of God? The preacher pointed to a communion table that was in front of the church and said--Who made that communion table? They looked at it and replied--the carpenter—Well, do you call that table the son of the carpenter, or the child of the carpenter? Certainly not, they replied. So the preacher, said, Why not? Because it does not have the life of the carpenter in it, one of them replied. Then with great directness the preacher said, Do you have the life of God in you? And I am not talking about physical life, I am talking about the spiritual life of God. And, of course, they had no answer--the only way you can be a son of God, is to have the life of God in you. It is not just a matter that you have been created by God, and that God created Adam, and we have all descended from Adam--it is a matter to be the son of God, you must have the life of God in you.

1/  II Peter 1: 4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.  

He tells us that by these, speaking of what we are promised, ye might be partakers of His divine nature. We have a divine nature. We are the sons of God because we have the life of God in us.

2/  And now as sons of God we have received the spirit of adoption. We told you the word, adoption is not the word we normally think of, rather one who is an adult son--it is son-placing. We haven’t received the adoption as yet, but rather, we have received the Spirit of adoption. This is speaking of the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Godhead, Who comes to dwell in our bodies, and He is the One Who leads us, and then is the One who is the Spirit of Adoption. 

We told you last week that the Spirit of adoption was a Hebrew father when he had his son--he placed him as a youth under tutors and governors, he was under disciple, under restrictions until he became a man, and then he was declared to be a man, to be an adult, and one of these days this is going to happen to us at the rapture of the church--when the church is caught up to be with God, when our bodies are changed, we will then have the adoption, Vs. 23 tells us this very clearly, but we are assured that we will go through this time of son-placing. 

And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the first-fruits of the Spirit, even ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

3/  Then notice another thing in Vs. 15. Ye have not received the Spirit of bondage again to fear, but ye have received the Spirit of adoption whereby we cry “Abba, Father.” 

The word, Abba, is an interesting word--it is a word of real intimacy. It is a term of affection. Let us notice it as it is used elsewhere in the Bible. Mark 14: 36 And He said, Abba Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt. 

This must be a very remarkable word, and deep in meaning for Jesus Christ to use it in the Garden of Gethsemane. I believe the Garden of Gethsemane is a place that we really don’t understand. Jesus Christ was there at His wit’s end, as a Man. He went through terrible agony as He faced being made sin. Great sweat-drops of blood came out of His body in agony. He trembled--notice the 33rd Vs. And he taketh with him Peter and James and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy; He was sore amazed--He was affrighted. He was petrified with fear, so at this very moment, He uses the word, Abba--a word of affection, and a word of intimacy.

4/  Then notice, Galatians 4: 6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son Into our hearts crying, Abba, Father. 

These are the only three mentions in the New Testament of this word. And so it is a word of affection, a word of intimacy, and it is like saying, Precious Lord, or Dear Lord.

5/  Ephesians 1: 5 tells us, Having predestined us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 

There again is that same word, adoption, and it should be adult sons--or son placing —  and this tells us about predestination the meaning of it — having predestined us. Beforehand ordained from all eternity, that we would one day be grown sons in the family and at the same time, able to say, Abba Father, as His only Son prayed. So predestination is that we right now have the Spirit of adoption which guarantees us that we will one day be counted as full-grown sons and have bodies like the body of the Lord Jesus Christ. And also, that we are able to cry, “Abba, Father”. 

Then notice, Romans 8: 16 The Spirit Himself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 

So many people ask me, Do I really have to know — is it important that I know for sure that I am a child of God? Yes, God says so — He believes it is important for you to know. How does His witness bear witness with our spirit that we are the children of God — the answer is not hard to find — I John 5: 9 - 13 If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: (notice) for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son. It is the same thing we have in Romans 8: 16. He has testified of His Son. 

Notice, if you don’t believe that you are saved after trusting Christ, then actually, you don’t believe God. Look at the 11th vs. And this is the record that God has given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 

So you see, it is the will of God that you know that you are saved. As a matter of fact you can’t do any personal work until you know that you are saved. How can you go up and ask someone, are you saved? If you don’t know whether you are — Don’t make God a liar.

6/  Let us notice in I John 5: 9 If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater, for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son. 

We pick up the telephone and call the airport, and we ask what time there will be a plane for Philadelphia, and we receive an answer and begin to make our plans according to the information we have just been given. But do we know the person who has given us the information on this plane? No? Perhaps we have never seen him nor head his voice before. Yet, we believe him and act upon his word. We can multiply this incident a thousand times a month. 

We believe notices that we read in the newspaper. A certain market says that they are going to sell meat at so much a pound, and we go out and buy on the strength of that notice. We believe labels on bottles, and many women follow receipts on packages. All this in spite of the fact that every once in a while we have been given wrong information. But we continue to trust the information that is given to us. Remember, the airport employee could have made a mistake. He could have been confused for a second and given us the time of an evening plane instead of a morning plane. Or he could have given the information on a plane that was not going to Philadelphia at all. Or, there might be a printer’s error in the newspaper announcement. Nevertheless we are going on, continuing to believe men and acting on the information they give us. 

The witness of God is greater. Why will we believe those whose throat is an open sepulchre and not believe God Who cannot lie? This continues to be an age-old mystery. Man will believe strangers, radio announcers, newspaper reports, printed labels, and at the same time he rejects the clear Word of God.

7/  The witness of the Holy Spirit is that which draws us to the Word of God…believing God and not calling Him a liar.

8/  Notice something else in this verse. The Holy Spirit does not bear witness to our spirits that we are the children of God, but He bears witness with our spirit. We must accept His witness that our spirit with the Holy Spirit comes to the conclusion that we are saved. We have passed from death unto life.

9/  Notice the 17th vs. And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. 

It follows that we are heirs of God. If we are children, then it follows that we are heirs of God. The inheritance is by grace, so we have titled our message—"How to Get Rich without Trying”. 

Let’s think of this matter of being an heir of God. How much does God have? If all the gold of earth were gathered together and presented to God, would He be any richer than He is now? Would He have any more than He has now? Gold, that is what men set their hearts on here? But would it make God any richer? Of course, not. He has everything and I’m an heir of God.

10/  But let’s notice what the Bible really says. It doesn’t just say that we are heirs of God, we are joint-heirs of Christ. 

In law there is a difference between an heir and a joint-heir. The distinction can be explained as follows: A man dies leaving a large farm to four heirs. The estate is divided evenly, and each heir received 25% of the whole. But if a man leaves a farm to four of his sons as joint-heirs, then each son owns the whole farm. Each one can say, the house is mine, the barns are mine, those fields are mine. In the human race, a division like this, or a procedure like this might be undesirable, because it is more than likely there would be disputes between the four sons. But in God’s providence, it is perfect for we shall be like the Lord Jesus Christ, and each will be seeking the good of others before his own good.

11/  Thus, when God tells us we are heirs of God, and joint heirs with Jesus Christ, we are being informed that everything the Father has given to the Lord Jesus Christ has been given to us also. We share in all that is His.

12/  There is a wonderful verse I Corinthians 3: 21. Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours; 

Let me ask you--how much is yours? All things are yours. In the 23rd vs. Paul tells you why this is true. But notice the 22nd vs.  Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; 

As a joint-heir of Jesus Christ, notice how wealthy you are. You are rich beyond your wildest dreams. He says Paul or Apollos or Cephas — these are the ministers of the Word of God. They were becoming enslaved by false and faulty admiration of human leaders failing to see that it was God Who provided the leaders for their profit and blessing, and instead they were enslaving themselves to a fanatical loyalty, and they missed the point that these men are for their blessing. 

Notice, the spiritual gifts that God has for the church right now. Ephesians 4: 11, 12 He gave some, apostles; some, prophets; some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. The building up of the body of Christ--they are for our benefit. They are ours.

13/  Or the world. Is the world mine? Yes, that is what God says. Then take the matter of life. When does life begin? It begins at Calvary, and we possess this life, it is ours right now. And death is ours as well. You say, death is yours? Yes, death can’t touch you unless God permits it, and then it is only for the better. 

Philippians 1: 21, 23 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not.

Death, which is the wages of sin, is gone as far as we are concerned. We know it is absent from the body and present with the Lord. Then it says, things present. Everything present belongs to us. Don’t ask me to explain it, it is far beyond any use of the English language. I can’t comprehend it, but God says it is true, and I believe Him. Then He says, things to come, that is all of the future. So, we are joint-heirs with Christ. As a matter of fact, it staggers the imagination.

14/  Now, let’s take the matter of being joint-heirs with Christ. This is a very glorious thing, because the Lord Jesus Christ isn’t going to parcel out things to us. There are those who try to mix up the kingdom and the church, the Jew and the body of Christ. 

A while back we preached on the fact of the dividing of the Kingdom, for there are many people who like to take the parable, Luke 19: 11-19 And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear. He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come. But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us. And it came to pass, when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded thee servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds. And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities. And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds. And he said likewise to him, Be thou also over five cities.

That can’t be for the church - this isn’t what God has promised us. We are joint-heirs with Jesus Christ. He is not just going to have us as heirs, and parcel out five cities, ten cities, one city. Positively not. That belongs to Israel. Our inheritance with Christ will never be divided. We are joint-heirs with Him. Whatever is His is ours, and we hold it with Him. Remember, you have an inheritance in Christ, and it is sure, it is wonderful, it is definite, but it will only be held with Him. The Lord Jesus Christ, will never say - this is your inheritance, now you go and enjoy it. Oh, no, the Lord will say, this is ours, let us enjoy it - you enjoy it with Me. Remember, a joint-heirship can never be divided. Oh, that you might recognize this fact and appreciate it.

15/  Just on Friday, I read an article on which Cassius Clay, who is now the heavy-weight champion of the world, said, "As a black muslim, I am happy because Christianity keeps the black man down, and promises him things in the hereafter. That is a fairy tale. I don’t want to wait for any hereafter. I want it now--that is, right here."

There are many folks who have this same opinion. They want things right now--not tomorrow, not next week, but now. But praise God, in Christianity we know we have a future, and when we receive this adoption, we are going to be joint-heirs with the Lord Jesus Christ.

AMEN

Ref: 02/28/1965 / 288 - HOW TO GET RICH WITHOUT TRYING / June 15, 2020