According to Eph 1:11, when you were saved, you obtained an inheritance from the Lord.  The simplest way to put it is that you inherited eternal life.  This is what the rich, young ruler was after.  He asked Jesus what he must do “to inherit eternal life.”

You can look at eternal life as an inheritance that you received as a gift from your Father, God.  Like receiving an earthly inheritance, you didn’t have to work for eternal life; you simply received it just like a child receives from his father an inheritance for which he didn’t work.  It is gifted to him in his father’s will.

This inheritance is wonderful and guarantees, regardless of what you do, that you will spend eternity with Jesus Christ in heaven. Of course, such a valuable inheritance can be squandered if you’re not careful.  So, tonight we are going to consider some Biblical advice concerning your inheritance.  You are advised that:

You must not be hasty – Prov 20:21 – “An inheritance may be gotten hastily at the beginning; but the end thereof shall not be blessed.”  You didn’t work to get eternal life so, you have less appreciation for its value.  Your inheritance cost Jesus Christ his life.  That’s why Jesus doesn’t give all your inheritance to you at once.  He wants you to fully appreciate what you have been given.

Remember that inheriting eternal life is not the total sum of your inheritance.  Following the judgment seat of Christ, there is still much more to be gained.  But for these you must work and you cannot be hasty.  You must be diligent to obtain the crowns, the gold silver, precious stones, and the authority over millennial cities.  Prov 13:11 says, “wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished.”  In Col 3:25 the reward of your inheritance can be lost. The prodigal son spent his inheritance up.  He eventually came home but his inheritance was gone.  “He that gathereth by labour shall increase.”  In Col 3:24, you can serve the Lord and gain the reward of the inheritance.  So, serve the Lord.  Pastor Andrew Poole commented about their church’s youth ministry.  They teach the youth about serving.  We had some young men who were serving here who aren’t serving today.  They’ve forgotten about the inheritance that cannot be obtained hastily.  Unless they change quickly, their end will not be blessed.

You must invest in eternity – 1 Pet 1:4 – your inheritance is on the other side.  It’s in heaven.  It is much too easy to be consumed in your younger years with making a living, starting a family, building your wealth, becoming successful, and so forth.  These are all temporal aspirations.  They cannot be neglected but they have nothing to do with your inheritance.  Your inheritance is in the future, up above your head.  We had some young men who lost sight of this and have been consumed with earthly treasure.  They are not on track yet.

You must work with wisdom – Ecc 7:11; Ecc 2:18-21 – young men and women who grow up in church don’t realize all that was sacrificed to give them what they have in their local church.  They don’t know the labour, the don’t know the giving, they don’t know the spiritual battles, they don’t know the praying, they don’t see the hand of the Lord.  All they know is that they are in a good place.  

If young men and women don’t participate in the work, and gain wisdom about the work, they have less of an investment in what they will obtain.  The youth must have wisdom about our local church. You must understand that this is not the work of men; it is the work of God working through men.  You must understand that for this to continue you must pick up the work, roll up your sleeves, and let the Lord work through you like he did through the men that he used to give this to you.  

We have some young men who had it all handed to them and in foolishness have left off working in their inheritance.  They aren’t providing for the grandchildren of this ministry.  Prov 13:22 says, “a good man leaveth and inheritance to his children’s children.”  The best way for us to do that is for our children to pick up this inheritance with wisdom and make it profitable for the next generation.

Conclusion: young men and women, tonight you have heard some sound advice about your inheritance.  You must go home tonight and let your parents remind you of what you have heard.  These must become guiding principles in your life.  You cannot forget these three things.