It will be the same when we define the inheritance is that Jesus has left for us – you will begin to find the same things….
1) It's something that comes to us by inheritance - the death of Jesus Christ makes it possible for us to receive something, if we are connected to God, through faith in Christ. So when you give your life to Christ, you become joined to Jesus Christ, and therefore you become an heir of everything He took hold of. Everything given to Him, becomes part of the inheritance you and I can receive. Jesus obtained for us an inheritance, as a representative of humanity, and in Him we are entitled to it.
2) God gives it to us, but you can't just sit around hoping good things are going to come. You have to make a decision to believe, and arise, and take hold of what Jesus purchased for us, and left for us.
Nothing in the kingdom of God comes and just drops in your lap. It's given, but a response is required. God will do His part, and He's done His part; everything you and I have need of, for life, is now provided for us. We are not beggars; we are rich in Christ. However, much of the church as a whole lives as a beggar, and do not appreciate, or take hold of, the treasures of the inheritance available.
So Jesus wants us to stir up and possess. I want to have a look in John 14…
What is this inheritance He's given us? The more I looked into it, the bigger it got; so I'm going to take one part of it, which is the important part, and if we will take hold of this part of it: treasure, possess and use what we have been given - then you'll get everything else.
John 14:16. Jesus' come to the end of His ministry. Jesus has been filled with the Holy Spirit, and He has lived out three years of His life, demonstrating what God is like. Jesus said: if you've seen Me, you've seen what God is like. Look at My life. If you want to know what God is like, don't keep praying that God will reveal Himself. He already revealed Himself in Jesus Christ - do some work; get into the Bible - read what Jesus is like, and you'll begin to see what God is like; and choose to believe that applies to you as well.
So in John 14:16 He says: “I will pray the Father”. He said: “I'm about to leave you”, and He says: “it's a good thing I leave you”. Here's why it's a good deal: because I'm going to go to My Father. I'm going to obtain an inheritance - and you'll get what I've got. I'll buy it all for you.
He says He's going give. He said: “I will pray, and the Father will give you another Helper, or comforter, who will abide with you forever. You'll never lose this. The Spirit of truth”. He identifies it's the Holy Spirit, whom the world can't receive.
Here's one of the key purposes that Jesus came into this world. I know we focus on the cross - Jesus came in and died on the cross; and when He died on the cross, it was actually to remove something, that's a problem to us getting something. It's the getting something that really counts.
Imagine if you had a block to receiving something; getting rid of the block is not the big deal. That's to prepare you to get something - but what a tragedy if you didn't get it see?
Jesus came, He died on the cross, to deal with the issue of sin. He arose from the dead, showing the power of God over sin, that sin's power's broken. He ascended into heaven, so we now have a representative, our representative in the very throne room.
He went there, and He had this in mind: that He would send His Holy Spirit to you, “…that where I am, you will be there also”.