The word “inheritance” should make us happy, not sad. How we feel when we hear this word depends a lot on how we feel when we hear the word “death.” The two are linked together. Intertwined.
Here’s good news. Jesus died so we could live.
Death is not always a bad thing. When Jesus died, we became heirs and received our inheritance. His death gave us eternal life.
His death gave us life.
The word “inherit” means to come into possession of or receive especially as a right or divine portion (source: Merriam-Webster). Note the words “come into possession of or receive.” We come into and receive. NOT because of anything we’ve done. We cannot earn or work for an inheritance.
It is freely given from the bestower.
Jesus freely gave us our eternal inheritance. Grab hold of it. Reach out and take what is yours. For a lot of us, this is an area of struggle. It’s hard to position ourselves to receive without giving in return. But it’s so very important for us to grasp this and to step into all that God wants to give us. To do so, we must have a clear understanding of our identity. We are HEIRS. We are entitled and have a right because of the work that Jesus did for us. And if we belong to Jesus, we are Abraham’s heirs.
And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Galatians 3:29
We are heirs according to the promises given to Abraham.
What does this mean? And what are these promises? Abundant life. Eternal life. Blessed life. Covenant people of God Almighty. A God who multiplies what is His. A God who blesses, protects, cherishes, loves and protects what is His! Do you want this? I know I do!!
Now the Lord had said to Abram:
“Get out of your country,
From your family
And from your father’s house,
To a land that I will show you.
2 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.”Genesis 12:1-3
And…
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. 2 And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.” 3 Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying: 4 “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. 5 No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations.
6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. 7 And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you. 8 Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”
Genesis 17:1-8
You and I have a rightful place in these promises.
Read these verses carefully and insert your name in place of Abraham (Abram). The Word of God tells us so in Galatians 3:29.
Are you walking in these promises? If not, start declaring them over yourself and your offspring daily. Speak life, not death.
Let’s look at an important aspect of stepping into our inheritance.
In Genesis 12 above, we see that Abraham was instructed to leave his family and land behind and head into new land. He didn’t know where he was going but he had faith to trust God. He believed God’s spoken words.
Do we believe God’s words?
In the Old Testament we see a shadow or pattern in the natural of what is to be in the spiritual. Abraham had to actually leave behind his family and everything he had ever known to step into the new land that God wanted to give him.
To advance spiritually in our walk with God, we must also be willing to do this. It may not involve physically leaving your family behind; but, it may involve cutting the spiritual connections. It will definitely involve cutting generational curses and wrong-thinking. In the verse below, Jesus tells us to leave behind all that is familiar to us to inherit eternal life.
And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life.
Matthew 19:29
God instructed Abraham to leave his family in the natural.
Abraham was a Chaldean and was called out from his land. The Chaldeans were idol-worshipers. God is telling Abraham to leave behind his many gods for the one true God. In Matthew, this is what Jesus is referring to as well. He is telling us to leave behind those things that we cling to in life that are comfortable and known to us. Those things could include mindsets, strongholds and beliefs that are based on the way we were raised and not based in truth found in God’s Word. We must step out of the old life and into our new life to claim our inheritance.
We will not advance forward if we are hanging onto our past.
What are you holding on to right now, today? Do you have loved ones who died that you can’t leave in the past? Do you have family members who may criticize and condemn your walk with God?
Not only can people be our hindrance to advancement but religion can be a major roadblock to our advancement in the Kingdom of God. Do we live by the Word of God alone as our measuring stick against the world? Or are we using what we’ve learned within our different denominations of Methodism, Catholicism, Baptist, Pentecostal, etc.?
Where are our doctrines and thoughts of God anchored?
If we cannot definitively answer this question with the very Word of God, then we may need to do some deep digging within. Religion can create strongholds and barriers within us that prohibit God from fully using us. Do we believe every Word printed in the Bible? Do we believe in healing miracles? How about the possibility of raising someone from the dead? Casting out demons? Or how about the existence of demons at all?
I hope these questions get you thinking and searching for answers.
Go to the Word of God and seek God Himself in prayer.
Ask Him to show you what you need to see in His Word. He will do so with love and patience. His Word is alive and breathing and has power to transform lives.
The Word of God will turn a caterpillar into a beautiful butterfly. Step into the FULL INHERITANCE Jesus died to give you. Don’t miss one single thing that He wants you to have.
Get hungry for more Jesus and for the Word of God (which is Jesus).
Stay in the Light and the Love always,
Eva
Leave a Reply