Heirs of Promises, Prisoners of Hope​ - 250409

Speaker A Hello, I'm Mike Browning. Welcome to Let God Speak. The vision of the promised land. It inspires us all. You think of valuable, fertile land gifted to us without a lifetime of struggling to pay off a mortgage. Does it sound too good to be true? Well, that was God's promise to Israel and to God's children in our time as well. In our study today, we'll see how God plans to do. Folks, on our panel today, we have Gayl Fong and we have Rod Butler. Hello. We appreciate your input today. Thank you for joining us. And we'd invite everyone to join us in prayer before we open the scripture. Father in heaven, we just thank you so much for your promise to be with us always. No time when we're alone. And today, by your Holy Spirit, we pray that you'll guide us in our discussion and our study of the scripture. Please. We pray in Jesus name. Amen. Now, Gayl, why do we find the thought. I know this is an obvious kind of question, but why do we find the thought of a promised land so appealing? Speaker B Well, this life is very transitory. And there's many complications, there's many sad things that happen in this life, in this world. And just to purchase a piece of land is quite. It's hard work. And not everybody gets that opportunity. So to own a piece of this planet, you have to work very hard to do that. Speaker A You do. You do, don't you, Rod? Did God intended it to be this tough to get a piece of the earth? Speaker C No, he didn't, thankfully. And we should go back and look at Genesis to see what God did intend. If I go back to Genesis chapter two, and I pick up from verse eight, it says, and the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden. And there he put the man whom he had formed. Verse 9. And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. And the tree of life, also in the midst of the garden. And. And the tree of knowledge of good and evil. And if I just go down to verse 15, and the Lord took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. So God had a piece of earth set aside for man, and it was a beautiful paradise, a garden. Speaker A Oh, wow. So who was the owner of the land at this point, Gayle? Speaker B Well, God retained ownership, and he laid down strict guidelines, as we read in verse 16 and 17, how they were to use the land. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, of every tree of the garden, you may freely eat but of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it, you shall surely die. So the instructions were clear, how they were to care for the garden. Speaker A Yes, that verse 17, which puts a prohibition on the tree of good and evil. But they could have every other one, of course, and that was very important. But that sort of reveals something about their tenure on the Earth, doesn't it? The fact that he put these restrictions there, Rod? Speaker C Yeah, the tenure, the gift of life, the gift of Eden, was based upon their faithfulness and their trust in the Lord. And they were to maintain that trusting relationship. And while they did, that was their home. The Garden of Eden was their home. Speaker A Yeah, that's really interesting. Unfortunately, of course, this is the sad part of the story. God did give them everything they needed, but of course, they didn't stick with the arrangement that they had made with God. In chapter three and verse six of Genesis, it makes this statement. It tells us that when the woman saw the tree was good for food, this is the one of the knowledge of good and evil. It was pleasant to the eyes, a tree desirable to make one wise. She took of its fruit and she ate, and gave to her husband with her, and he ate. So they flat out disobeyed God here. So what was the result of that disobedience? Speaker B Well, the result of their disobedience is their relationship with God was broken. And we read in Genesis 3, verse 8, it says, and they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day. And Adam and his wife, they hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. So they're now hiding from God. They're not able to face him. Because now instead of meeting with God in love and open friendship and relationship, now they're hiding. They're fearful because they have disobeyed God's instructions. Speaker A Absolutely thrown their relationship. Speaker B They've got a broken relationship with their Creator. Speaker A Yeah, that's really. It was pretty sad. Indeed, Indeed. Indeed. There were other consequences too, Rod. Weren't there for them having done this thing? Speaker C There were. And you wonder where they thought of these things. But as we said earlier, the tenure of the Lamb was based upon their faithfulness and trust and obedience with God. And when they didn't trust God by following the serpent, they lost their relationship to the land. And this comes out in Genesis 3, and we read verses 23 and 24, and it says, therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the man and he placed at the east of the Garden of Eden cherubims and a flaming sword which turned every way to keep the way of the tree of life. So the consequences were they lost their Eden home, their Garden of Eden, and they were sent out where it wasn't so lovely and they had to till the ground. It was hard work. Speaker A Yes. Okay. So things changed. Speaker C Their relationship changed and the home changed. Speaker A Their home change. Well, it must have been a tragic feeling leaving your home that you loved, you know, so well. It was a terrible, A terrible consequence if ever there was one. And years later, God called another man. This is Abraham. And it's very interesting. He had a special role on the earth and he was a man who did have a very personal relationship with God, which is so interesting. So God made promises to Abraham, didn't he? So what, what were these specific promises he made to him? Speaker B Yes, it shouldn't come as a surprise to us, but God did establish with Abraham that same creation model. And he in the, in the Scriptures, In Genesis, chapter 13, verses 14 and 15, the Bible reads, and the Lord said to Abram after Lot had separated from him, lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are, northward, southward, eastward and westward. For all the land which you see, I give to you and your descendants forever. So right here, God gifts the land of promise to Abraham and his descendants. But it's a land flowing with milk and honey. It's going to be a prosperous land full of abundance, of good things. It's like the Eden of the time past. Speaker A Yeah, that's really interesting, isn't it? It was the best available, really, and it was fantastic. But it was called the Promised land. Rod, why was it called the Promised land? Speaker C God promised it. That's one of the reasons it was called the Promised Land. But it wasn't promised to them immediately. And this is an important point. It was promised to Abraham, but it wasn't to go to him directly or his descendants. There was to be a period of time and the Bible records exactly what that time was. So if we go to Exodus 12 and verse 41 and it says, and it came to pass at the end of the 430 years, even the self same day, it came to pass that all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt. So from the time that the promise was given to Abraham, when he was 75, 430 years later, they went into, they left Egypt to go into the promised land. So whilst the promise was given to Abraham, it wasn't given to him to do straight away in faith. He had to accept that there was a time period and it wasn't to go to him or his descendants until. Speaker A That time period was up. Speaker C Until that time period was up, yeah. Speaker A Now that was really interesting. Do you suppose this was quite a trial to Abraham and of course, his son Isaac and his son Jacob. I mean, they all had to anticipate it as being in the future. Do you think that they found this hard? Speaker B It may have been, but through it all, they trusted God and to fulfill his promise. And the Bible in the book of Hebrews, chapter 11 and verse 13 shares with us, this says, these all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. So we see here that by faith they were looking forward to that promise. Speaker A Okay, so it's a bit. It is very much like us, isn't it? We know we've got to have faith in the promised land as well. And we'll talk some more about that. I'm going to read from the next couple of verses, actually from verse 14 down to 16 in Hebrews 11. And it says, those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. That's interesting statement on its own. And truly, if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. But now they desire a better, that is a heavenly country. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. So what is this saying to us here, Gayl? Speaker B Well, there is a real promised land offered to God's people. The Bible calls it a country, but it calls it a heavenly country. And I like that. It's a real place for real people. And Eden will be restored to the human race just as it was in the very beginning, only probably much more beautiful because it'll be a place where there'll be no more sin, no more sickness, no more death, no more suffering. Speaker A It's a better place. We promised Israel. We need some specific promises, actually, as we, as we face a very uncertain future in the world that we're living in today, we need some very specific promises. There are some, Rod, aren't there? There's a lot, in fact, but share some with us. Speaker C Well, there is one important promise, and I just want to refer to Galatians chapter 3 in verse 28, and it says there is neither Jew nor Greek. There is neither bond nor free. There is neither male nor female, for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. So the same promises made to Abraham apply to us today. And it doesn't matter. There's no partiality with God. We can be whatever nationality, whatever, as long as we believe in the Lord and believe in Christ, then we can have the promises that he's given to us. We can hang onto that. Speaker A It's fantastic, isn't it? I'm so impressed by this, Rod. I'm going to read Romans chapter 8 and verse 16 and 17. And this is what it says. The Spirit himself bears witness with our Spirit, that we are children of God. And then look what comes next. And if we are children, then we are heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with him, that we may also be glorified together. So what do you make of that? What's his message to us here? Speaker C This is an amazing promise, isn't it? Because all Jesus is the second member of the Godhead is God and all the things that he is heir to. We are now included in that. We are part of that inheritance, which is amazing. Speaker A It is amazing. Speaker C And you know, I think this includes a new Eden for us, a new home that we don't have to pay for. And you know, when I think of Matthew 5, 5, Jesus said, Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Speaker A Yes. Speaker C And that's a very powerful promise because they will inherit the earth. They're part of this inheritance, this promise. And we can hang onto that. Another promise we can hang on to joiners with Christ. Speaker A So in actual fact, it wouldn't matter if you never owned, you know, a blade of grass on this planet, you're going to be getting an inheritance in the earth made new. I just think it's a wonderful promise. And that's a. It's. It's the creation promise restored, basically. Something to look forward to, that's for sure. Look, going back to Israel now, Gayl, and their entry into the promised Land, was this to be a permanent gift to Israel? That's the point. Speaker B Well, clearly not. It was an unearned gift of grace and it was not an entitlement. But God remained the owner. And so their tenor in the land depended on their faithfulness to their covenant relationship with God. And just as Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, so long as they were in that covenant relationship with God and faithful to God, Eden was their home. So just reading in First Kings, chapter nine and verses six and seven, the Bible says, but if you or your sons at all turn from following me and do not keep my commandments and my statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut off Israel from the land which I have given them, and this house which I have consecrated for my name, I will cast out of my sight. Israel will be a proverb and a byword among all peoples. So it really did depend on the people's faithfulness to God. Speaker A Yes, and this was a fair warning God was giving them that they should be aware of this and that there are conditions attached to these gifts that God has given them. So did God ever exercise his right to relieve Israel of their occupancy of the promised land? Speaker C Well, sadly for the Israelites, yes. God went out of his way to remind the Israelites to be faithful. He sent prophets to them. And over centuries, they ignored the prophets and they kept apostasizing. They particularly ignored the prophet Jeremiah. And ultimately God then had to act. And God said, well, okay, you're not listening to me. Then you've lost your right to the land. And they went into exile. The Babylonians came in as instruments of judgment to take them prisoner for a period of time. And that's what they lost their tenure to. Land. Speaker A So much like the Eden story, isn't it? And Adam and Eve having to be banned from the Garden of Eden. It's just incredible. Speaker C They had no excuse, Mike. They knew that there was a promised land that was based on their faithfulness. And they kept following other gods. They kept looking at the nations around. Speaker A Them, the vagaries of human nature, sinful human nature. Okay, that's true. So what about it? Was that it for Israel then? Were they to be forever a nation without a homeland at that point? Speaker B Well, God told them through the prophet Jeremiah that their captivity would be 70 years. So 70 years later, we see the mercy of God. In Jeremiah, chapter 29, verse 10 and 11, the Bible says, For thus says the Lord, after 70 years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform my good word toward you and cause you to return to this place. For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. I think that's a great comfort, that's a great promise, to remember those words as they go into exile as a nation for their disobedience and rebellion to God. And here we find that in Babylon too, they repented. There was those that repented and renewed their covenant with God. And God restored them to the promised land as he promised. Seventy years later, they were called out of Babylon to go back and restore. Interesting. Speaker A God is merciful and he keeps his promises. That is such a powerful thing when you think about it, isn't it? Look, I want to go back now to Israel, actually going into the promised land after the exodus from Egypt. We can learn some very powerful insights, I think, into the way God actually gave them the land and how the land was divided up. And I think that's very interesting. It wasn't just a case of the strongest got the best piece of land, was it now? Speaker C No, it wasn't. In fact, the process was done very carefully and very wisely. And if you contrast what we're about to talk about here with what we see today, today we see land deals where it's who you know, and cronyism and nepotism and all sorts of backroom deals and unfairness. That's not how God acted here. If we go to Numbers, chapter 34, and I'm going to read verse 13, numbers 34, and verse 13, it says. And this is. This is at the point where they're dividing up the land. Sorry, they're not dividing up the land. This is how he said it was to be divided up. And Moses commanded the children of Israel, saying, this is the land which ye shall inherit by lot, which the Lord commanded to give unto the nine tribes and half tribe. Well, by lot. This was the land was given by casting lot, so your number could come up, you could get the best land, you could be the smallest tribe or whatever. It wasn't based on merit, it was based on the lot. This was an even playing field for everybody. It was totally. No unfairness here. Very specifically, if you go down to verse 17 and 18, now it's interesting too, because it says, these are the names of the men which will divide the land unto you. Eliezer the priest, he was the high priest. And Joshua the son of nun. And ye shall take one prince of every tribe to divide the land by inheritance. And so not only was it done by lot to be fair, but also the trusted rulers, these are trusted men of the highest integrity, are overseeing the process. So there's no corruption or backroom dlc. This is a fair process. And everyone could be confident that what's allocated then was how God wanted it to be. Speaker A Okay? And that was so important, wasn't it? Thank you for that. Over time, of course, inevitably, some people will thrive financially better than others. And we all know about land grabs that you've just mentioned there. And what did God do to contain that, prevent some from basically taking over larger portions? Speaker B Well, God made marvelous provision in the year of jubilee, year of celebration, it was the 50th year, was set apart as holy a time to proclaim freedom throughout the land for all who lived there. And just reading In Leviticus, chapter 25, verses 9, 10 and 23, the Bible says, then you shall cause the trumpet of the jubilee to sound on the 10th day of the seventh month, on the day of atonement, you shall make the trumpet to sound throughout all your land, and you shall consecrate the 50th year and proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you. And each of you shall return to his possession, and each of you shall return to his family. So there was no generation was to be landless. And just reading on in verse 23 of the same chapter, the land shall not be sold permanently, for the land is mine, for you are strangers and sojourners with me. So you could really only lease your land, and you could only lease it according to how many years left until you came to the next jubilee, according to the price. So this way the people could not exploit one another and the land would be returned to the family that it was once belonged to. Speaker A Yes, I think it was a fantastic arrangement. You think of the positives that this provision made for the Israelites as a culture, as a nation. Speaker C Well, it stopped the rich getting richer, the powerful getting more powerful. It meant that land allocated always stayed within the tribe. So it guaranteed a classless society. Speaker A Yes, you think about the value of that. Speaker C Everyone was on the same footing. There was no elites, no poor. It was all level. So there was equality in the society. Now, I know that this whole jubilee system has been studied by modern economists today as a way of debt forgiveness and trying to reset things. So even modern secular people recognize that this was a genius methodology of running a society. And it would be a class of society, a fair society. Speaker A Yeah, fantastic. Fantastic. Thank you for that. So what does this tell us today, Gayl? How does it affect us today? Speaker B Well, the major purpose of Jesus Gospel is to remove distinction between rich and poor, privileged and underprivileged. Because we're all brothers, we're all considered his children. He's our Creator, he's this one God over all. So we're brothers and sisters of one family. And we see that how Jesus lived his life, how he treated everyone equally with respect, and gave time and Attention to everyone that called upon him. Speaker A That's right. Speaker B Of all classes. Speaker A He was a leader, but he was a servant leader. What a beautiful model that was. Sensing the equality that was to exist amongst human. So, Rod, what is God's overall plan for humanity now? What is the big picture that we get from what we've been reading? Speaker C Well, the big picture is God's plan is for Eden to be restored and for man to be put into his original setting that he planned from the beginning. And the whole Bible is based on, you know, Eden lost, Eden restored. If we go to Revelation and look at verse chapter 21, these are beautiful verses that says, reading from verse one, and I'm going to read down to verse three, it says, and I saw a new heaven and a new earth, and the first heaven and the first earth were passed away and there was no more sea. And I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for a husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, behold, the tabernacle of God is with men and he will dwell with them. And they shall be his people and God and God himself shall be with them and be their God. So here we have God wanting to dwell amongst his people. Only the setting is the earth made new and new Jerusalem. This is fantastic. This is back in paradise. Speaker A It is. It's a lovely picture. Speaker C That's the big picture for us. Speaker A And you can see the flow from paradise lost to paradise restored. And I'm sure, well, that is obviously how God wants us to see that and therefore to anticipate it. Eternity is our home. So the question that remains is, Gayl, how do we get to be amongst this sinless humanity in an earth made new? Speaker B We need to receive Jesus now. Receive him as our wonderful Lord and Savior. Allow him to be Lord of our lives because he's bridged that gap. He's paid the price for our sins. He took our sins upon Himself when He died upon Calvary's cross so that he could offer to all humanity salvation. It's there, free, if we will only accept it by faith. Because he wants us to be there in his kingdom. He wants to offer us that kingdom, that heavenly country where we can be heirs with him for all eternity. Speaker A Yes. We've got so much to look forward to. Speaker C Have we really have not only heirs with him, but it's heirs with our loved ones? Speaker B Amen. Speaker A That's right. Speaker C And that's very important too, because some of our loved ones have passed away. We are reunited and we spend eternity with them. It's a marvellous promise. Speaker A It's incredible. It's the promise. Look, we've got a few moments. I'm just going to go to Psalm 37 for a moment. This happens to be my favourite psalm personally. And one of the reasons, if not the reason, is because no less than six times it talks about the people of God inheriting the earth. And I'm just going to read a couple of verses here in the few moments remaining. Psalm 37,9 to start with, it says, evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait on the Lord, they shall inherit the earth. Just in case you didn't get the point down in verse 11. But the meek shall inherit the earth. And by. By the way, Jesus quoted from that one that you mentioned earlier, rod, in Matthew 5:5. Yeah. And he goes on verse 18. The Lord knows the days of the upright and their inheritance shall be forever. It goes on forever. And then verse 22 for those blessed by him shall inherit the earth. Those cursed by him shall be cut off. That's the point is that first part. We have a Savior. Those blessed by him shall inherit the earth. What a fantastic picture we have here. Speaker B Wonderful. Speaker A And I haven't finished yet. It goes on verse 29. The righteous shall inherit the land and dwell in it forever. Speaker C Amen. Speaker A So he wants us to look forward to this. You know, how clear could you get it? This is to be our home. So folks, this earth has always been central to of the human family. It's our home. God gave the earth to humanity in the beginning and he will give it to us again at the end of time. And God wants us to look forward to the new earth as our eternal home. You may be just a sojourner now, but your eternal home friends is coming. Well, we're glad you joined us today on Let God Speak. Remember, all our past programs plus teachers notes are available on our website 3abnaustralia.org.au. You can email us if you prefer. Join us again next time. God bless. SPEAKER B You have been listening to let God speak, a production of 3ABN Australia television. To catch up on past programmes, please visit 3abnaustralia.org.au. Call us in Australia on 02 4973 3456. Or email [email protected]. we'd love to hear from you.