Inheritance

 "The Lord is my Shepherd, I lack nothing." Psalm 23:1....."He is everything you need Him to be, but only what you allow Him to be in you." Chris Tiegreen

I believe the church is filled with those who are living far beneath their privilege in Christ. They have heard sermons, teachings, even seen demonstrations of who He is, what He does, and what He can be for them, yet they have experienced little or nothing of the reality of it all. Might you be one of them? We have also heard that when we have Him, we have everything we need, yet so many profess to have Him and yet feel overwhelmed by their needs. Are you one of these? How can we profess to know and walk with the One who is the Lord of all things and yet feel so empty, needy, and powerless?

I am now in my 41st year of ministry and one of the great heartaches of that ministry is witnessing so many of His people walking through life in exactly the place I speak of above. They profess to know a Lord who saves, heals, gives joy and peace, strength and hope, and one in whom we have all the riches of the Kingdom of God. A.W. Tozer said that he knew that one of the great regrets he will experience when he stands before his Lord is that he will see all the vast and infinite riches he had available to himself in Jesus Christ, and yet he lived out his life more as a pauper than as an heir of the Kingdom of God. I think his words are true to some degree for all of us. To what degree are they true for you?

The reason for all of this is found in the above quote from Chris Tiegreen. He really is everything we need Him to be in our lives, but He is only that to the level that we allow Him to be who He is for us. Healer, Restorer, giver of hope, joy, peace, and an abundant life. All of this is true. He will be these for each of us, but only to the degree we allow Him to be. To the degree we believe that He will be. The only limitations there are to the Lord Jesus Christ are the ones we have placed on Him.

This reminds me of another writing I saw in the wonderful devotional, Streams In The Desert. A man dreamed he was in heaven, and Jesus was revealing all its wonders to him. They came to a door and he asked the Lord what it led to. Jesus opened it to him and he saw within a room filled with wonderful and glorious blessings for his life on earth. They had been intended for him, but he had never received them because he had either not asked for them or believed he could have them. I wonder how large such a room would be for you and me?

I am not saying that we'll have a trouble free life of ease and happiness if we have entered into His Kingdom. Indeed, we will have a cross to bear, but we will also have been adopted as sons and daughters of Almighty God and heirs of that Kingdom. We are not orphans and we are not paupers, so let us cease living like we are. Lay hold of the riches we have in Him. Take title to our inheritance in Him. Freely He has given, let us freely receive. The riches of the Kingdom of God are ours.

Blessings,
Pastor O