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Understanding Your Inheritance
- Part 3
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will... - Ephesians 1:3-5, 9, 11
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We're going to begin Part 3 of this lesson entitled "Understanding Your Inheritance" dealing with the next benefit of our inheritance, which is redemption. The word redemption means "the purchase back of something that had been lost, by the payment of a ransom". The Greek word is apolutrosis, a word occurring nine times in Scripture, and always with the idea of a ransom or price paid. We were slaves under Satan's dominion, but now we have been made free by the blood of Jesus Christ. Hallelujah! Well, if redemption is part of our inheritance, then what are we redeemed from? Let's take a look.
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Christ hath REDEEMED us from THE CURSE OF THE LAW, being made a
curse for us: for it is written, cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree...
- Galatians 3:13
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As people of God we have been redeemed from the curse of the law. What is the curse of the law? In Deuteronomy chapter 28, verses 15-61, we see that the curse of the law includes poverty, sickness, and death. There is no curse that comes into the earth without a cause (Proverbs 26:2 / Romans 5:12). And all of these curses came into the earth as a result of sin. But thank God that we have been made free from the curse of sin (Romans 8:2). Now notice the result of being made free from the curse of law:
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That the BLESSING OF ABRAHAM might come on the GENTILES through Jesus
Christ; that we might receive THE PROMISE OF THE SPIRIT through FAITH.
- Galatians 3:14
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Notice that I highlighted the word "Gentiles". That's because the word "Gentiles" is referring to anyone outside of the Jewish nation of Israel; that includes you and me! It is important for us to understand the significance of that, because in Bible times the only people that had a covenant with God were the Jews; at least until Jesus died and rose again. That changed everything! As a result of being born again and becoming children of God, the blessings of God now belong to us as well, because Jesus has redeemed us from the curse! In Galatians 3:14 above, I highlighted two phrases which are synonymous with each other. They are "...the blessing of Abraham..." and "...the promise of the Spirit..." "The promise of the Spirit" is a reference to the prophetic words spoken by the prophets concerning the blessing of that covenant; that covenant is the blessing of Abraham. Please take notice of the fact that the blessing of Abraham has now come upon us as Gentiles. We are not only Gentiles, we are also the seed of Abraham through Jesus Christ (Romans 4:13, 16 / Galatians 3:7, 16, 29). In other words, everything that God blessed Abraham with, he has to bless us with as well. Let's look at a Scripture that every Christian should know by heart:
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1 Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
2 BLESS THE LORD, O MY SOUL, AND FORGET NOT ALL HIS BENEFITS:
3 WHO FORGIVETH ALL THINE INIQUITIES; WHO HEALETH ALL THY DISEASES;
4 WHO REDEEMETH THY LIFE FROM DESTRUCTION; WHO CROWNETH THEE WITH LOVINGKINDNESS AND TENDER MERCIES;
5 WHO SATISFIETH THY MOUTH WITH GOOD THINGS; SO THAT THY YOUTH IS RENEWED LIKE THE EAGLE'S.​
The first instruction in this verse is for you and me to "...bless the Lord..." Why? Because we have much to be thankful for. The second instruction is for you and I to "...forget not ALL HIS BENEFITS..." Why? Because it's the easiest thing to do as a child of God. It also expresses an attitude of ungratefulness. In addition to that, when you forget His benefits you won't release your faith for them. He then begins to enumerate the blessings. The first one is "...Who forgiveth ALL THINE INIQUITIES..." Listen, my friend, He doesn't just forgive some of your sins, He forgives ALL OF THEM! Glory to God! When you got born again, your slate was wiped clean, brother! That is why He was able to make you His righteousness. You were not only given the gift of righteousness (Romans 5:17), you were made righteous, and that right standing with God also made you a king and a priest unto God by the blood of Jesus. Now you have the power of God (as a king) and access into His presence (as a priest) Revelation 1:5-6.
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The second one is "...who healeth ALL THY DISEASES..." Again, when God redeemed you from the curse of the law He didn't only forgive your sins, but He healed you of ANY AND ALL SICKNESS! You have to be cautious what you allow yourself to hear, especially from the news and television. People will say things like "there is no cure for cancer" or "there is no cure for AIDS". Yeah, maybe in this natural world. But the Bible says in Mark 10:27 "...With men this is impossible; but WITH GOD ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE..." So you and I have to get our faith to the place where we believe that in order to receive it. The Bible says in Matthew 8:16 that when the multitudes came to Jesus that He "...healed ALL THEIR SICK..."
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The third thing that Psalm 103 says is that you are redeemed from is destruction. I believe this is referring to divine protection. If you read Psalm 91, the entire text is referring to divine protection. The Word of God is full of stories about God's protection in the lives of His people. The Bible also has much to say about the place that angels have in our lives and how we are to activate their protection for us by faith in God (Exodus 23:19-21 / Psalm 34:7 / Psalm 91:10-12 / Hebrews 1:13-14).
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Finally, Psalm 103 says in verse four that He crowns us with LOVINGKINDNESS and TENDER MERCIES!
I believe this is a reference to our covenant with God. According to Isaiah 54, God is no longer angry with us. When the Bible says in Psalm 7:11 that "...God is angry with the wicked every day...", it is talking about the condition of a sinner before He gets saved. Now that we are born again we have a covenant of peace with God that crowns us with loving kindness and tender mercies. However, there is one very important detail we cannot ignore: the blessing has to be received by faith! Faith is the key that unlocks the door to the blessing.
Psalm 103 goes on to say in verse five that God "...SATISFIETH THY MOUTH WITH GOOD THINGS; SO THAT THY YOUTH IS RENEWED LIKE THE EAGLE'S..." Remember, the second instruction God gives us in Psalm 103? It said in verse two that we are to "...FORGET NOT all his benefits..." God is so good, He not only redeemed us from the curse of the law and gave us all of these benefits, but then He showed us how not to forget them! He gave us His Word so that we could put it in our mouths and speak the blessing of the benefits over our lives! That's how faith comes; by hearing the Word of God!
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I remember years ago there was a game show that came on television called "Let's Make A Deal". Each show ended with a game called "The Big Deal". The game involved three doors famously known as "Door #1, Door #2, and Door #3". Behind each one of these doors were prizes to be won by the contestants. My friend, I want you to know that was just a game. But the kingdom of God is not a game! It's the real "Big Deal". And God not only has a Door #1, He has a Door #2, a Door #3, a Door #4, etc., etc! And all of these doors open with one key: the key of faith. It's the Master Key to God's blessings!
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Unfortunately, for many Christians, they've stopped at Door #1. What's behind Door #1? Salvation. Beloved, thank God for the blood of Jesus that has washed our sins away and made us the righteousness of God in Christ. But there's more to being born again than knowing you're going to heaven. Jesus said so in John 10:10. He said "...I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." Notice that Jesus came to bring life, but not just any 'ol life. He came to bring abundant life. My friend, if you're not living abundant life, you're not living!
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The reason why many Christians are not living the abundant life is because John 10:10 says Jesus came that they might have it. He didn't say that they shall have it. He didn't say that they will have it. He said that they might. Why? Why didn't Jesus say they shall, or they will? The answer is found in Galatians 3:14 where it says "...that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through FAITH." God has already bought and paid for your redemption, which includes all of the blessings of the Abrahamic covenant. But in order for you to receive them you must appropriate them by faith! (Galatians 3:7-9, 11, 26)
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The Bible says in Psalm 107:2 "Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy." In other words, if you've been redeemed from the hand of the enemy, then say so! Why? That is how you activate the law of faith. You believe in your heart, and confess with your mouth (Romans 10:10). You can't have one without the other. The law doesn't work that way. If you believe it, you have to speak it (2 Corinthians 4:13).
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Jesus said in Mark 11:24 that "...whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them and you will have them." (NKJV) How do you believe that you receive? In the previous verse, Jesus said "For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says." Notice that in order for you to operate in the God kind of faith (Mark 11:22) you must believe in your heart and you must say with your mouth the things which you desire to come to pass.
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You need to realize that when God desired to create the universe, the earth, and mankind, He used His faith by speaking words (Colossians 1:15-16 / Hebrews 11:3). It's a shame for someone to be the beneficiary of an inheritance and not be able to enjoy it simply because they won't receive it. The very act of not receiving something that someone gives is an act of rejection. How would you feel if you gave someone a gift that you thought was special, and their response was "Nah, I don't want it!" Exactly. Your heart would be broken. Well, that's how God feels. He has blessed us with ALL spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, and we treat them like "the plague". Speaking in tongues is not a curse! Healing is not a curse! Miracles are not a curse! They are all BLESSINGS!!! Let's start believing that we receive them and we shall have them.
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CONFESSION OF FAITH:
Heavenly Father, I thank You that I am the redeemed of the Lord and I say so. Thank You for the blood of Jesus which has redeemed me from the curse of the law and purchased my salvation. By the blood of Jesus my sins have been washed away and I have been made the righteousness of God in Christ. Today I declare my freedom from sin, sickness, poverty, and death. I am no longer bound by these things and they no longer have dominion over me. I thank you for forgiving all my sins, healing all my diseases, redeeming my life from destruction, crowning me with loving kindness and tender mercies, and renewing my youth like the eagle's. As the seed of Abraham, I declare that I am the head and not the tail, I am above and not beneath. I am blessed coming in and going out. The blessings of Abraham have come upon me and are overtaking me. Thank You for loading me with benefits today as the God of my salvation. I rejoice in your goodness and in Your favor! Hallelujah!