SCRIPTURE READING: Genesis 12-15.

Have you ever looked in your Bible to see what the reward of the saved is? Is it heaven? Or is it the kingdom of God? 1. The apostle Paul, while addressing the gentile-born converts in Galatia, was inspired to write: "Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, "And to seeds," as of many, but as of one, "And to your Seed," who is Christ." .... {29} "And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise" (Galatians 3:16, 29 NKJV)

In this scripture did the apostle Paul say that the Christian is an "heir" according to the promise of God?

Comment: If a person is a converted Christian, a "new-man" (Eph. 4:24) who has repented of his sins and been raised from the waters of baptism and has received God’s Holy Spirt (Acts 2:38), then he is one of Abraham’s children, spiritually speaking, and an "heir" of the promise made by God to Abraham.

2. What is the "heir" to inherit? Isn’t it what was promised to Abraham? (Galatians 3:29).

3. What did God promise Abraham? (Genesis 12:2-3, 5-7; Psalms 105:11).

Comment: God’s promise to Abraham and his descendants, was the "land of Canaan".

4. What did Abraham do when there was a famine in the land? (Genesis 12:10). After the famine did God repeat His promise to Abraham when he returned to land of Canaan? (Genesis 13:1,12, 14-15).

5. What was the boundaries of this land? (Genesis 15:18).

Comment: The boundary of this property was from the Nile River (some commentaries say the Sichor River at the border of Egypt) and extended to the Euphrates River. This land of Canaan was promised to Abraham and his descendants. This is why it was called the "Promised Land."

6. How long did God promise that Abraham and his descendants would possess this land? (Genesis 13:14-15).

7. Was this promise expanded to ultimately include the whole earth? (Romans 4:13).

Comment: We see that all true Christians who are spiritual descendants of Abraham are promised the earth.

8. Did Abraham have a promise from God that all nations or families of the earth would be blessed through his Seed? (Genesis 12:3, 22:18). Who is Abraham’s Seed? (Galatians 3:16).

Comment: Jesus was the seed or descendant of Abraham (Mat. 1:1, Luke 3:34). All of the world is blessed through Jesus Christ, who was crucified and shed His blood for all mankind (Luke 22:20) so that men could be redeemed and have eternal life (John 3:16).

9. How does a person become an "heir" to the promises made to Abraham? (Galatians 3:27-29).

Comment: The apostle Paul showed the gentiles in Galatia that the only way to become an heir of the promises made to Abraham was to become children of Abraham through Christ. We must put on Christ through baptism.

10. Were Abraham, Isaac and Jacob sojourners in the land that God promised them? (Hebrews 11:8-9,13).

11. Has Abraham and his descen-dants received their inheritance and the promises? (Acts 7:2-5; Hebrews 11:13, 39-40). Did all of these people of faith listed in Hebrews 11 die in the faith not having received the promises? (Hebrews 11:39). Is David in this list of Hebrews 11 of those not receiving the promises? (Hebrews 11:32).

12. Was David a man after God’s own heart? (Acts 13:22 ). Did David die? (1 Chr 29:26-28). Was he dead and buried in his tomb in the days of the apostles? (Acts 2:29). Or, did he die and go to heaven? (Acts 2:34).

Comment: The apostle Peter in his Pentecost sermon specifically said that David did not ascend to heaven.

13. What was the gospel message that Jesus proclaimed? (Mark 1:1, 14). Was it the gospel of the kingdom of God? (Matthew 9:35).

Comment: Jesus Christ proclaimed the gospel of the kingdom of God. This gospel message of the kingdom is the good news that Jesus is going to return to this earth and set up the kingdom of God. He will rule here on earth as King of kings and Lord of lords (Rev. 19:16).

14. Will the faithful men of old, including Abraham, be in the kingdom of God? (Luke 13:28, Matthew 8:11). Comment: Matthew primarily wrote to the Jews. He did not want to offend them so he used the term "Kingdom of Heaven" in lieu of the phrase "Kingdom of God." The phrase "kingdom of heaven" refers to God, whose throne and dwelling place is in heaven.

15. What should a Christian seek to enter? (Matthew 6:33, 7:21).

16. What did Jesus say the "meek" shall inherit? (Matthew 5:5).

17. In the model prayer , commonly called the Lord’s Prayer, did Jesus tell His disciples to pray for God’s kingdom to come? (Matthew 6:10).

Comment: Jesus instructed His disciples to pray for God’s kingdom to come. In essence we are praying for Jesus to return to the earth and set up God’s kingdom and rule for 1,000 years.

18. Who will rule with Christ in this millennial kingdom age? (Revelation 5:8-10). Where will the saints rule with Christ at? (Same verses).

In Conclusion: What is the reward of the saved? When Jesus returns to the earth, the saints will be resurrected to eternal life and will rule with Him over all of the earth. This is our promise and our inheritance from God.

Golden Text: (Gal 3:29 NKJV) "And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."

1.) (Gal 3:16 NKJV) "Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, "And to seeds," as of many, but as of one, "And to your Seed," who is Christ."

(Eph 4:24 NKJV) "and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness."

(Acts 2:38 NKJV) "Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."

3.) (Gen 12:2-3 NKJV) "I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. {3} I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.""

(Gen 12:5-7 NKJV) "Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother's son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they departed to go to the land of Canaan. So they came to the land of Canaan. {6} Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, as far as the terebinth tree of Moreh. And the Canaanites were then in the land. {7} Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your descendants I will give this land." And there he built an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him."

(Psa 105:11 NKJV) "Saying, "To you I will give the land of Canaan As the allotment of your inheritance,""

4.) (Gen 12:10 NKJV) "Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to dwell there, for the famine was severe in the land."

(Gen 13:1 NKJV) "Then Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, to the South."

(Gen 13:12 NKJV) "Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent even as far as Sodom."

(Gen 13:14-15 NKJV) "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; {15} "for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever."

5.) (Gen 15:18 NKJV) "On the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying: "To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates;"

6.) (Gen 13:14-15 NKJV) "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; {15} "for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever."

7.) (Rom 4:13 NKJV) "For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith."

8.) (Gen 12:3 NKJV) "I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.""

(Gen 22:18 NKJV) ""In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.""

(Gal 3:16 NKJV) "Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, "And to seeds," as of many, but as of one, "And to your Seed," who is Christ."

(Mat 1:1 NKJV) "The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham:"

(Luke 3:34 NKJV) "the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor,"

(Luke 22:20 NKJV) "Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you."

(John 3:16 NKJV) ""For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."

9.) (Gal 3:27-29 NKJV) "For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. {28} There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. {29} And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."

10.) (Heb 11:8-9 NKJV) "By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. {9} By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise;"

(Heb 11:13 NKJV) "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."

11.) (Acts 7:2-5 NKJV) "And he said, "Brethren and fathers, listen: The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Haran, {3} "and said to him, 'Get out of your country and from your relatives, and come to a land that I will show you.' {4} "Then he came out of the land of the Chaldeans and dwelt in Haran. And from there, when his father was dead, He moved him to this land in which you now dwell. {5} "And God gave him no inheritance in it, not even enough to set his foot on. But even when Abraham had no child, He promised to give it to him for a possession, and to his descendants after him."

(Heb 11:13 NKJV) "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."

(Heb 11:39-40 NKJV) "And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, {40} God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us."

(Heb 11:32 NKJV) "And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets:"

12.) (Acts 13:22 NKJV) ""And when He had removed him, He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, 'I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.'"

(1 Chr 29:26-28 NKJV) "Thus David the son of Jesse reigned over all Israel. {27} And the period that he reigned over Israel was forty years; seven years he reigned in Hebron, and thirty-three years he reigned in Jerusalem. {28} So he died in a good old age, full of days and riches and honor; and Solomon his son reigned in his place."

(Acts 2:29 NKJV) ""Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day."

(Acts 2:34 NKJV) ""For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself: 'The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand,"

13.) (Mark 1:1 NKJV) "The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God."

(Mark 1:14 NKJV) "Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,"

(Mat 9:35 NKJV) "Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people."

(Rev 19:16 NKJV) "And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS."

14.) (Mat 8:11 NKJV) ""And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven."

(Luke 13:28 NKJV) ""There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out."

15.) (Mat 6:33 NKJV) ""But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you."

(Mat 7:21 NKJV) ""Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven."

16.) (Mat 5:5 NKJV) "Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth."

17.) (Mat 6:10 NKJV) "Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven."

18.) (Rev 5:8-10 NKJV) "Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. {9} And they sang a new song, saying: "You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, {10} And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth.""