FOOD FOR TEENS: THE INHERITANCE

Dear Teens, Welcome to 2023, I pray that in this year, the will of God will be done in your life as it is Heaven in Jesus name. One very important information I would like you to equip yourself with this year is about THE INHERITANCE.

Under the old testament, you will observe closely that God's blessing were externalized, they could only be quantified by their outward manifestation, no wonder when you read how the blessing was described in the old testament, you will notice that emphasis were more on how external forces would respond to them because of the blessing than the true substance i.e. the Blessing/Inheritance Himself e.g see the blessing or inheritance under the law; Deuteronomy 28:3-5, “Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store...”

It was always focused on the effects of the blessing more than on the actual substance and this was because they had limited revelation on what the inheritance really was. For them the inheritance usually entails corn and wine but if you study the Patriarchs closely they knew that the Inheritance was more spiritual than physical that's why they were very careful how they transferred it, that was why the transfer of inheritance from generation to generation was not about the material substance but something more. Hebrews 11:20, “By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.” Even so what these people enjoyed under the old testament was a shadow of the Blessing which is why Hebrews 11:39, “And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise.” But when Jesus came into the scene we started getting a clearer picture of what the Inheritance really is. Did you observe that there was only one promise Jesus always made to people we would preach the gospel to and it was the promise of the SPIRIT or ETERNAL LIFE:

Example 1: John 3:15, “That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.”

Example 2: John 4:10, “Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.”

Example 3: John 6:35, “And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.”

Example 4: John 7:37-39, “In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given ; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)”

In all these examples, the topic of discussion was always on human needs, He wasn't just talking in parables but assuring the listeners what they would gain if they believed on Him simple and every time He promised them THE SPIRIT. No believer on earth can live a successful life here on earth without the the Holy SPIRIT. What Jesus came to do was make fit to partake of this inheritance by His death, burial and resurrection. Colossians 1:12-14, “Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:” As soon as we were redeemed through the perfect blood of Jesus and we received into us, we became fit i.e eligible for the blessing. No wonder Galatians 3:13-14, “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: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” This blessing was described in Proverbs 10:22, “The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.”

To better understand all these let's take a look at Ephesians 1:3, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.” Apostle Paul described the it as spiritual blessings, now let's jump to verse 13 and 14 of this same chapter Ephesians 1:13-14, “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.” Plainly speaking Apostle just explained to us that the we have been sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise and that SPIRIT is the earnest of our inheritance; THE phrase "earnest of our inheritance" means THE FIRST PART PAYMENT OR DOWN PAYMENT OF OUR INHERITANCE. 2nd Corinthians 1:21-22, “Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.”

Do you know why when a man succeeds in secular world people say to him "oil dey your head"? They adopted it from the church. The true blessing is by the Holy Spirit which you carry in you. There's so much to write on this topic but space will not permit but lastly let's look at Revelation 22:1-2, “And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.” The above scripture summarizes all I have tried to explain so far; The pure river of water of life is the Holy Ghost that proceeds out of the throne of our heavenly father and the Son and guess what? If He dwells in you, He will make your life like heaven on earth but you must stir up this gift always; 2nd Timothy 1:6-7, “Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

This is how you activate the power of God in your life, through consistent prayer and fellowship with the father. The devil has succeeded in creating the impression in the church that the effort of prayer far exceeds the solution we seek therefore has cheated us of the benefits released every time we come into the throne of grace. This is the true blessing, this is your Inheritance, this is how you partake of God divine nature, make up your mind that this year you will enjoy His presence because that is where He commands the blessing.

God bless you and have a fruitful 2023.