(Note:
The following message is a companion article to a message
which originally aired on Autism One Radio. To hear
the broadcast at any time, please go to:
http://autismone.org/radio/?archive=5825&bg=&FromA1
and click on the arrow above “Listen to Jack and
Rebecca Sytsema.”)
POSSESSING
YOUR INHERITANCE
He
allots their portions; his hand distributes them by
measure. They will possess it forever and dwell there
from generation to generation. (Isaiah 34:17, NIV)
I RECENTLY HEARD A PREACHER say that one of the worst
sins he could commit is teaching you to believe in God
without teaching that God believes in you. I couldn’t
agree more! He has created you and your family to be
successful members of His Kingdom. There is an inheritance
and a future for you to possess, and God has a plan
to help you. But like anything worth having, securing
our inheritance is something that needs to be worked
for. To help us understand the process, here are nine
keys to help you advance into your future:
1.
KNOW THAT YOU HAVE A FUTURE.
It is easy to get so wrapped up in the struggles of
the day that we become convinced we have no future,
or that one mistake will cause all our plans to go awry.
Regardless of your circumstances, you have a latter
end—a future—that is meant to be greater
than your past.
In
the Bible, there came a time when the sinful Israelites
were sent into captivity in Babylon. During that time,
the prophet Jeremiah told them to settle down in Babylon
and build for their future despite their captivity.
He said to plant gardens, have children, give their
sons and daughters to marriage, and have grandchildren.
It was during that admonishment that Jeremiah wrote
what has become a favorite Bible verse of many: “‘For
I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the
LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you,
plans to give you hope and a future’” (Jeremiah
29:11).
Often
times when we feel that we are in a period of captivity
and feel as if we are in our own form of Babylon, it
is easy to feel abandoned and to feel great condemnation.
But it was out of this captivity that God eventually
established the Israelites in their own land. Commit
to the Lord today where you are—new and fresh—and
watch your future unfurl before your eyes.
2.
WORSHIP TO GAIN REVELATION.
Worship opens our path straight into the throne room
of God. The Spirit of God lives in the praises of His
people. Psalm 100:4 says, “Enter his gates with
thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks
to him and praise his name.” When we worship Him,
we enter His gates. We come into a level of communion
that we would otherwise have no access to.
From
that place of deep communion with God, we are able to
hear God’s voice speak strategy and revelation
to us for our next step. In Paul’s letter to Ephesus,
he prays for them to know the Lord intimately, so they
may know the hope of their calling (see Eph. 1:18).
We will never fully possess all God has for us until
we know Him intimately, and to do that, we must be willing
to worship Him.
3.
LEARN TO HEAR GOD’S VOICE.
Many Christians wonder if God speaks today and, if so,
why doesn’t He speak to them? Simply put, God
does speak today and chances are every Christian has
heard His voice at one point or other, but have not
recognized it as the voice of God. If you would like
to study how to hear the voice of God, we encourage
you to go the radio/written message in our archives
entitled “Hearing
the Voice of God.” In that message we give
five reasons it is difficult to hear God’s voice,
as well as eight ways in which He speaks.
4.
EMBRACE GOD’S DIRECTIVES TO YOU AND ACTIVATE THEM
IN YOUR LIFE.
When we come into that intimate place of worship and
revelation and have learned to listen to God’s
voice, we need to be sure that we are ready to obey
any directives He may give us. All through the Bible
we find examples of how the Lord would speak, either
directly or through a prophet, and the strategy for
victory would be made clear. When we feel the Lord has
given us our next step but fail to embrace what He is
saying, we can encounter desolation or failure. But,
as we embrace God’s directives in our lives, we
will see great advancement.
5.
FREQUENTLY REVIEW AND EVALUATE YOUR VISION.
Many hear God speak to them for their situation, but
in the daily struggles they face, they can lose sight
of what He spoke to them. The vision and direction that
was initially so clear can grow foggy and obscure over
time. But without a vision, we are not reaching forward
and can actually begin to diminish as people. That is
why it is a good idea to keep a journal of how the Lord
is leading us. It helps us not only review how we gotten
to the place we are, but helps to remind us of the direction
in which God is leading us.
6.
SURROUND YOURSELF WITH THE RIGHT CONNECTIONS AND ASSOCIATIONS.
Parents of teenagers can tell you that a major concern
is that their child not fall into the “wrong crowd.”
The reasoning is simple. They tend to follow the behaviors
and expectations of their friends. The views of their
friends become ingrained and they begin to become like
those with whom they are spending their time.
It’s
not just teenagers who are susceptible to this. We all
are. Therefore, if we are spending our time with those
who have no faith in God’s ability, or have negative
views of life, or who gossip and are critical, we eventually
find ourselves thinking the same way. Proverbs 24:1
says, “Do not envy wicked men, do not desire their
company.” Wrong associations can delay or thwart
what God has in store.
But
in the same way that we can be negatively influenced
by those around us, we can also be positively influenced
by godly associations. Key connections form a net that
works! Ask God to break bad associations and establish
ones that will move you forward in His plan.
7.
BE WILLING TO OBEY THE LORD, EVEN IF IT’S SOMETHING
UNUSUAL.
When Israel was under siege and about to be overtaken
by Babylonian forces, the Lord spoke to the prophet
Jeremiah to buy a piece of land and bury the deed in
a clay jar. By all logic, that was a terrible decision.
With Babylon about to conquer and take over the land,
such a deed would be worthless. Jeremiah 32:25-27 says,
“And though the city will be handed over to the
Babylonians, you, O Sovereign LORD, say to me, ‘Buy
the field with silver and have the transaction witnessed.’
Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: ‘I
am the LORD, the God of all mankind. Is anything too
hard for me?’”
The
Lord was actually saying to Jeremiah, “Secure
your inheritance now during desolate times and when
it’s time for Me to flourish this area again,
that which you have done will be a blessing to the next
generation.” Sure enough, when the Babylonian
captivity of Israel ended 70 years later, Jeremiah’s
descendants found the deed to the property he had purchased,
and were able to possess it as part of their inheritance.
Is
there anything in your situation that is too hard for
the Lord? If you will obey Him now, you will not only
possess your inheritance, but will secure inheritance
for your children as well.
8.
DON’T LET OBSTACLES STOP YOU FROM REACHING YOUR
DESTINATION.
Obstacles can bring such discouragement into our lives.
They cause many to wonder if the path they are on is
the right one. Obstacles cause others to give up before
reaching their destination. But the Lord wants to release
new joy in the midst of our discouragement. Joy produces
strength. Strength causes us to be able to complete
our assignment in the fact of obstacles. Ask the Lord
to put the obstacle you are facing into His perspective
for you, and then allow Him to release joy and a new
wind of strength into your journey.
9.
ESTABLISH A “WATCH” FOR YOUR INHERITANCE.
When God created the human race, He called them to tend
or “watch over” the garden in which he had
place them. You have a garden. You have an inheritance.
You have a future. But to possess it and to maintain
it takes a commitment. To “watch” means
to look after. We often fall into presumption, expecting
the Lord to do something that is conditional upon our
obedience. We often forget that God has called us to
be stewards of that which He has given us.
As
a result, we fall into passivity and our gardens become
overrun because they have not been tended to. What God
meant for us to possess cannot flourish. When that happens,
the future God intended for us must wait for another
generation who will clean the garden and restore the
field. If we will establish our strategy for watching
in the days ahead (which includes prayer and obedience
to God), our inheritance will be secured.
Wherever
you are, whatever your circumstances, you have a future
and a hope. We hope that these nine keys will help you
to rise up and possess your inheritance for yourself
and for generations to come.
With
blessings,
Jack and Rebecca Sytsema
©2008,
Children of Destiny. All rights reserved.
(This
article has been adapted from the book, Possessing Your
Inheritance, by Chuck D. Pierce and Rebecca Wagner Sytsema,
published by Renew Books, 1999).
___________________________________
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a list of radio programs and companion article archives,
click here.
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