The language of Scripture makes it clear that there are parts of our inheritance in the Lord that God wants us to get a hold of now.  In this life, not when we die and go to heaven, but there are parts of our inheritance that God wants us to enjoy now! 

If someone came to you and said they had inherited ten million dollars as an inheritance, you’d be really thrilled for them.  Then, upon further investigation you find out that they haven’t picked up this money yet, that it was too much of a hassle to go and get it.

If you told me that I’d think you were crazy.  Wouldn’t you think that of me?  If I had a 10 million dollar inheritance to claim I’d do everything I could to get it.  And yet, we have an inheritance that God wants us to get right now that is a far greater value than all the gold in Fort Knox and it’s dying.  That inheritance the Lord has for us are the souls of men and women. 

Ephesians 1:11 says, “In Him (Jesus) we have obtained an inheritance (past tense), being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will…” (emphasis added). 

The Lord also says that we are to receive parts of our inheritance right now.  Look at Matthew 19:29.  “Everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name’s sake will receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life.”

That’s here and now!  How do we know that we’ve already inherited eternal life? Because Jesus said in His prayer in John 17:3, “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”

In the command of God through Paul to Timothy in 1 Timothy 6:12, he charges him to “fight the good fight of faith lay hold on eternal life to which you were called.”  God wouldn’t command us to do something that we couldn’t do.  That means we can lay hold of that part of our inheritance right now.

Jesus said we have already passed from death to life.  We’ve already received eternal life.  We haven’t come into the fullness of it; that comes when we’re in heaven but we have it now!

It’s important because there is a part of our inheritance that’s linked to the harvest and its for us to claim right now.

We have an inheritance that the Lord promised to His Son that is easy to get.  It’s ours for the taking and yet the enemy has deceived us into thinking that it’s hard to get.  The Lord shows us this in an object lesson when Israel was getting ready to inherit the land.

Let’s look at Deuteronomy 6:10-12.  Here’s Moses preparing the children of Israel to enter into the land.

“So it shall be, when the Lord your God brings you into the land of which He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give you large and beautiful cities which you did not build, houses full of all good things, which you did not fill, hewn-out wells which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant…”

God has already done the work to prepare an inheritance for you.  You don’t have to do anything to labor for it!  He has already prepared for us cities, homes already furnished, a harvest of food and provision that we don’t have to labor for.

There is an inheritance that God has promised His Son.  And as joint-heirs with Christ we can lay hold of it to present it to Him.

Psalm 2:7 and 8: “I will declare the decree: the Lord has said to Me (Jesus), You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.  Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations for your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession.”

The nations of the world, the souls of men and women are the inheritance of God’s Messiah.  God has promised it to Him. 

Our mandate in this hour is to gather the harvest in for Him.  It’s His inheritance and we are joint heirs with Him.

And yet, the devil throws up a lying smoke screen to make us believe that it’s too hard to get. But it’s ours!

Jesus spoke of this inheritance in John 4:34-35.  “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.  Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest?  Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!”

The inheritance of the Lord is ripe, it’s waiting to be brought in or it will die on the vine.  The enemy will try to oppose us and certainly he’ll try to make it look hard but Jesus said it’s ready and easy to get.

The harvest is ours for the taking.  It’s ripe and God wants us to have it!

To purchase this message in its entirety contact us and request the Tape for Sunday, March 16, 2003.  

To subscribe or unsubscribe to this weekly message by electronic mail please send an e-mail to church@fathersheartnyc.com.  Permission required to re-use contents or images in print or electronic form.  Other messages are available in our Message Archive.

www.fathersheartnyc.com/church