Running To Win

Narrator: Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith. Think life's tough? Just wait. Think you've always gotten the short end of life's stick? Just wait. As a member of the body of Christ, your inheritance is earning interest right now in the Bank of Heaven. And one day, you'll make a withdrawal.

Dave McAllister: From the Moody Church in Chicago, this is Running to Win with Dr. Erwin Lutzer, whose clear teaching helps us make it across the finish line. Pastor Lutzer, what do you mean when you say in today's message that we will sit next to the King?

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: First of all, Dave, I want to commend you for the way in which you described it. Someday, yes, we will make a withdrawal, and we'll finally enter into our inheritance and do so fully.

Now, in answer to your question, what does it mean to sit next to the King? Jesus said that if we are faithful, we will sit with Him on His throne, even as He overcame and sat on His Father's throne. How big is the throne of Jesus? We don't know, but apparently it's big enough for all believers who are overcomers.

I'm holding in my hands a book I'd like you to have, and the reason is because it will help you even as we navigate the sin that is in this world, temptation, and all of the things that want to distract us from God. It is entitled The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges.

I sure hope that you have a pen or pencil handy because I'm going to be giving you this contact info. And by the way, this is the last week we're making it available for you. Here's what you do. Go to RTWOffer.com. That's RTWOffer.com or pick up the phone and call us at 1-888-218-9337.

The title of the book, The Pursuit of Holiness. You'll discover that holiness brings about the ultimate fulfillment that all of us are seeking. Go to RTWOffer.com. For now, let us listen.

So, what Paul is talking about is here is the fact that God adopts us and He accepts us as sons and as daughters of His, with all rights, privileges, joys and happiness associated with those privileges and with that honor.

We receive the Father's name. We receive the Father's friendship. We receive the Father's wealth. You remember that song that we used to sing when we were younger? My Father is rich in houses and land. He holdeth the wealth of the world in His hands, of rubies and diamonds, of silver and gold. He has wealth untold. I'm a child of the King. We, we really do inherit everything that God has. I'm not making this up. I'll give you some verses in a moment that will show you that this is true.

And we inherit, of course, also the Father's sense of security. It says when we get to the holy city, behold the tabernacle of God is with man and He will dwell with them and walk with them and God Himself shall be their God. And they shall dwell with Him forever and ever.

We know a little bit about that on Earth, but our relationship with God is oftentimes clouded. It's often unclear. Sin gets in the mix. Just imagine the total clarity, the complete clarity of our consciences and our hearts, purified by God in His presence, enjoying Him.

So, what we really have is the Father who adopts us, who says to us, "You are mine. You are mine." New identity, new obligations.

So, notice that the Holy Spirit is involved. The Spirit leads us. It is the Father who adopts us. And then, as if that isn't enough, the Son crowns us. Crowns us. I have to look at this again. This, of course, is right there in the middle of verse 14.

I'll begin, though, with 15. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba, Father." The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. And if children, then heirs. Heirs of God, fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with Him in order that we may be glorified with Him. Heirs of God, joint heirs, fellow heirs with Jesus Christ, sitting on His throne, as we'll see in just a moment.

When it says that we are heirs of God, what does that mean? Well, as I already emphasized, that could mean that we get to own everything that God owns. You remember in the story of the prodigal son, the boy who stayed home, the elder brother, who, by the way, is really the point of the whole story.

You remember how angry he was because he didn't have an animal to make fun and merry with his friends. And you remember what the father says, "Son, why are you thinking of me, that I am so stingy? All that I have is thine. If you want to have a calf that you might have a party with your friends, don't you understand? Look at all those calves. You know, they are yours. Enjoy them." And by the way, that's a picture of us.

We keep throwing up to God. God, would you bless here? Would you bless here? Bless here. All the angels in Heaven are sorting our prayers and they've got wastebaskets filled with them. All kinds of blessings that God says, "I've given you."

Our prayer should be much more sprinkled with thanksgiving and praise and faith than simply asking, asking, asking, asking. So, one of the meanings of to be an heir of God is to receive all that God has.

But it's even getting gooder than that. Are you ready for this? I don't know if you are. You're so silent. I hope it's because all of this truth is just being absorbed into your soul. Are you listening, Pastor Hertzberg? I just want to check. His Bible's open. His wife's beside him, and his eyes are on me. That's a good, good example for everyone.

There's another way that the Greek text could be interpreted. It is not just that we inherit all that God has, but that we inherit God Himself. We inherit God Himself. Heirs of God, we get God. And I don't think that we have to choose between those two interpretations. Because I think obviously, scripturally, both of them are true.

Psalm 16, "The Lord is the portion of my inheritance. He is the portion of my inheritance." "I get God." What does it say in Psalm 73? "Whom have I in Heaven but Thee, and there is none upon the Earth that I desire beside Thee." "My flesh and my heart faileth, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion, my portion forever."

You read the Psalms and you discover that God is our portion. God, not just everything that He owns and everything that He created. And you know what's interesting, when you have to share an inheritance with somebody, you have to split it up. Let's suppose, for example, that somebody died and you were Bertie's relative that I began speaking about and you've got a million bucks, and usually if there are a million bucks, there are 2 million relatives, by the way, that, that's just out there somewhere.

But let us suppose that there was a million dollars and it needed to be divided among four children or four nephews and nieces, whatever. Well, you know, each of them, you then would get $250,000. You'd have to split it up.

I believe that when it comes to our spiritual inheritance, we don't have to split it up. You get all of Heaven. You get all of God. And the other believer who's trusted Christ, he or she also gets all of God. You don't have to get one 100 millionth of Heaven. You get the whole thing. Isn't that wonderful?

So, the Bible says that the Son crowns us because of our inheritance. Notice, we become heirs of God and joint heirs or fellow heirs with Jesus. Now, I want you to visualize this. Jesus is opening up the last will and testament of the universe. He's opening it up and there it is. In fact, the Book of Revelation says that He's the only one who can open the book, which is really the whole history and the testament of the universe, and He opens it and your name appears.

You know, the Bible says that there is a book of life and your name, if you're a believer, was in it from before the foundation of the world. Wow. So, anyway, your name is there next to Jesus, and then Jesus says, "Not only that, but you get to sit on My throne also."

You say, "Well, now you are making it up." No, I am not. Thank you for that vote of confidence. Revelation 3:21, "He who overcomes, to him shall I grant to sit with Me on My throne, even as I overcame and sat on My Father's throne." If you're following it, we get to sit on the throne of God.

And if you aren't blessed by that, you are walking in disobedient or you've never known the Father. You can't say, "Abba, Father." That ought to cause us such pause that we ought to just stop here and say, "Let me think about that for a while."

He who overcomes, I will grant to sit with Me on My throne as I overcame. Now, you've heard me say before, I've never yet met a Christian who didn't want to be an overcomer. But I've met tons of Christians who want absolutely nothing to overcome. The minute God gives them something to overcome, they complain. And they keep saying, "God, get it out of the way. Get it out of the way. Get it out of the way." And God says, "Don't you want to be an overcomer? I'm going to give you a thorn in the flesh. I'm going to give you a problem. I'm going to give you something that's going to be difficult to overcome because I want you to be an overcomer."

We say, "Oh, God, please, let me sit on the throne, but please, isn't there an easier way that I can get there?" So, Jesus gives us His name. He gives us His throne. And here, are you ready for this? Right, sitting up here, there's a couple here with their Bibles open. They are as eager as anyone can possibly be. Thank you for coming here today. Are you that eager to hear the next thing I'm going to say?

You ready? His name, praise God. His name, His throne, and His glory. His glory. It's hinted at here. It says, "Provided that we suffer with Him." Because the assumption is that if you really walk with God, you are going to suffer. I'm in verse 17. In order that we may be glorified with Him. And what did Jesus say in John 17? Unbelievable.

"And the glory which Thou hast given Me, I have given them." You say, "Well, the New Agers then must be right. We are really God." No. Nothing could be more heretical, more untrue, more unrealistic, and more silly.

I tell you, God, you have to get a different concept of God. God has this absolute delight in taking people who give Him evil, and He found a way to do it. He found a way to take people who give Him evil and do them good. It's called grace.

And God loves to take people from the pit and say, "Come with Me to the palace." He loves to take people out of the mud and say, "Walk with Me on marble." He loves to do that. That's grace. Sometimes He can't find people to do it for because they are so self-absorbed, thinking that they have to earn it, thinking that they are fine the way they are. It is all absolutely undeserved grace, grace, grace, grace, a free gift. And that, I think, is going to motivate our fuel for worship for all of eternity. And if you're doing the math, that is a long time.

So, Jesus then makes us heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ. Couple of observations here. First of all, God forgives us to honor us. He forgives us to honor us. Don't ever think that, "Well, you know, you come to Jesus, you have your sins forgiven, and then you get a little bit of help along the way." And basically, it's over with. You know, you've made your commitment or your decision for Jesus. No, no, no, no, no, no.

You come to Jesus to have your sins forgiven so that the decks can be legally cleared so that God can begin to do a work in your life and to honor you, but it isn't because He wants to honor you as having an identity of your own. It's because He's honoring Himself by showing His undisputed grace to people who don't deserve it. And that honors God. So, God says, "Hey, I'm choosing some really wicked sinners."

And if the truth were known, if your history were written up, we'd find out things about you that might surprise us. God says, "I'll take somebody like that and I will exalt that person and display My grace." It says in the Book of Ephesians that for all of eternity, we might see the surpassing grace of God toward sinners. But God's intention is not to leave you after your sins are forgiven. God's intention is for you to grow into Christ-likeness, to bring many sons into glory, to use the Scripture that is used in the Book of Hebrews. And in the process, the discipline that is needed and the resources that are needed to bring you and me along to where God wants us to be as His children, as His adopted sons and daughters. That's what it's really all about.

Don't ever think, "Oh, he's a Christian," you know, the button. "I'm not perfect, I'm just forgiven." Well, thank God. Thank God that you're forgiven. But if that's all you are, you're pretty hopeless.

So, number one, God forgives us to honor us. Secondly, our certain future, not uncertain, but our certain future gives hope to our uncertain present. The certain future, the assurance of the future gives hope to our uncertain present. And the present is uncertain, isn't it? No matter how much money the government pumps into our economy, things continue to come apart. Just that and a hundred other uncertainties in life. The contingencies are overwhelming.

But notice it says, "This is why Paul put it there in verse 18. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy comparing with the glory to be revealed in us." Take heart. You're going through a trial. Hey, did you listen to this message? The glory that is going to be revealed in us is going to be so much greater, it's even beyond all possibility of comparison.

John Newton who lived in a different era, in a different century, gave this illustration. He said, "Let us suppose that somebody is going to New York City to receive an inheritance." And that inheritance involves gardens and food and people to serve him and and it involves health and strength and everything that the human mind could imagine. And he's on his way, and on his way his carriage breaks down one mile from New York City.

Does he walk the last mile complaining? You know, that's the problem with carriages. You know, the wheels come off. And look at that horse. Look at that. Everybody seems to forsake me. The horse doesn't want me anymore. The carriage is in the ditch. Life is so hard. Is that the way, of course not.

He says, "Of course I'm walking. In fact, I'm walking with a limp. I'm in pain, but I only have a mile to go." And at the end of the mile, that's where my inheritance is, and that's why he's encouraged and he keeps on going. The suffering of this present world is not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us. Glory is just around the corner. It's a heartbeat away.

And if the glory is still a few years away, that's all right. The time is going to pass. What God has done for us is beyond all the imagination that we can have. And so, what we do is we keep going. We keep going when times are tough because glory is just ahead.

Poor Bertie. She died of malnutrition with over a million dollars in the bank. Open your lock box and say, "God, in light of what You've given me, Father, I'm running the race for You, Daddy."

Let's pray. Our Father, Daddy, we do acknowledge that You are an awesome God. And to think that we belong to You forever is more than we've been able to comprehend. We've only said the words, but the Holy Spirit needs to show us the truth. I pray that all who are discouraged today may take heart.

And for those who are here who have never trusted Christ as Savior, we pray that right now they will say, "I will believe in Him." Father, create faith in their hearts because they came here today without any. Some people listening on the internet or by radio, they, they don't have faith in their hearts right now. Would You create that, Lord? Because it has to come from You. And do in us that which is well pleasing in Your sight.

Now, if you have to pray right now, you pray. I'm going to give you a few moments to pray. If you've never trusted Christ as Savior, tell Him right now you're going to believe on Him and receive His death on the cross for yourself. If you know Him, why don't you give that carriage to God and keep walking toward your inheritance?

Father, receive our prayers and receive our devotion, and may we run the race for our Father. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Dave McAllister: And you know, my friend, the Bible says this, "Pursue holiness without which no man shall see the Lord." I remember when I picked up the book by Jerry Bridges entitled The Pursuit of Holiness. I did it with some reluctance. After all, holiness often times has a very bad connotation. We think to ourselves, somebody who is holy would never possibly enjoy life.

I'll tell you, we are very wrong about our understanding of holiness. A book that will help you immensely is entitled The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges. Here's what you can do. Go to RTWOffer.com. That's RTWOffer.com. Of course, RTWOffer is all one word. RTWOffer.com or pick up the phone and call us at 1-888-218-9337. Holiness is for every Christian, but we have to understand it and we have to recognize its beauty and why it is that it leads to a life of fulfillment. Right now, go to RTWOffer.com.

Dave McAllister: It's time now for another chance for you to ask Pastor Lutzer a question about the Bible or the Christian life. Running to Win is proud that our listeners are among the most sharp-eyed readers of the Bible you'll ever find. They come up with really interesting questions, like this one from Desmond, who asks.

Desmond: After Jesus is resurrected in Matthew, it's recorded that some people who were dead were also resurrected. My question is, what happened to those people?

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: Well, Desmond, your guess is as good as mine. The Bible doesn't tell us what happened to these people. All that we can do is to assume that which is reasonable, namely, that they died again. And if you think that that is very unusual, it is, but it did happen to Lazarus. He was resurrected by Christ and then, of course, I'm sure that he died after that.

Now, if you ask the question, why these strange resurrections? We can't answer that either. It's something that God simply chose to do as kind of further proof of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. But in the end, they also had to die and someday they will be permanently resurrected with their permanent bodies, which they do not yet have, and they shall be resurrected along with the rest of us to everlasting life.

Dave McAllister: Thank you, Desmond, for that sharp-eyed question. And thank you, Pastor Lutzer. If you'd like to hear your question answered, you can by going to our website at RTWOffer.com and clicking on Ask Pastor Lutzer. Or you can call us at 1-888-218-9337. That's 1-888-218-9337.

You can write to us at Running to Win, 1635 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois, 60614. Running to Win is all about helping you find God's road map for your race of life.

When life gets tough, some people try to grin and bear it. Others crack under the pressure. But Christians can have a different perspective, looking toward a future glory that makes our present suffering infinitesimal in comparison. Next time on Running to Win, we'll be reminded that we're not exempt from the trials of life just because we're Christians, but we will have a glorious future that makes it all worthwhile. Thanks for listening. For Pastor Erwin Lutzer, this is Dave McAllister. Running to Win is sponsored by The Moody Church.