In short, it’s a really bad idea. We shouldn’t strive for our inheritance now, here on this earth. Our Father is not like the unjust judge. He has promised us an inheritance to be given after Jesus returns. The problem is this: many, if not most branches of Christianity urge us to strive in our prayers and daily walks of faith towards perfect health, prosperity, and overwhelming joy – basically Heaven on earth before the Day of the Lord has come. So much of Christianity today would have us believe that God has given us this life for our enjoyment, that He has given us this life in hope that we would break into our own Promised land so to speak, that we would rid our inheritance of giants and take it for our own, whether our giants be fear, sickness, poverty, etc.. They would have us believe that if we are not living it up, we are squandering our life – that we are “living without faith in the abundance of God’s riches and kindness”.
I have another version of Christianity. It’s an older version. Unfortunately for the kind of Christianity described above, the older version – as written in the Bible – is completely contradictory to it. Let’s take a look at something. I’m not going to use modernized or philosophical allegory here. I’m not going to write a parable. I’m not going to expound on a life experience I’ve had to make my point. I’m not going to use Christianese. I’m not going to paraphrase. I’m not going to interject my take on the following verses.I’m not going to use prophetic, abstract, intangible language , which may allow you to interpret these verses to your liking. I’m simply putting them here for you and Holy Spirit to talk about. If you find yourself shaken inside by what you read here, I implore you to consider which gospel has taken your heart. Ultimately, there are only two gospels; the gospel of ‘Jesus Christ and Him crucified’ and ‘Everything Else – the anti-Christ gospel’.
Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’[ He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it. – Jesus, Matthew 10:34-39
But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. – Jesus, Matthew 6:20-21
No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. – Jesus, Matthew 6:24
So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple. – Jesus, Luke 14:33
Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.– Jesus, John 12:24-25
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. – John, 1 John 2:16-17
You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. 4 Adulterers and[b] adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. – James, James 4:3-4
Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.” – John, Revelation 12:10-11
We cannot stand on the verses we like and ignore the ones we don’t. Or if one chooses to upend these words of Jesus, they must also practice a sort of damage control by excluding or re-interpreting (upending) every other verse in the Bible that correlates with them. That’s called bad doctrine – heresy. No, friends. Our faith cannot be not put together like Frankenstein’s monster. Or, if you prefer, one should not build a house on a weak foundation of sand. One should build his foundation on rock. Both structures will surely stand, but only one will withstand the storms.
Now, it would be remiss of me to imply that the world has nothing to offer. On the contrary. The world is full – full – of pleasure. You and I can literally have almost anything we set our minds to. We can even do these things in the name or spirit of Christianity. I am not questioning the power of a few Biblical principles. I am not challenging any spiritual laws. I am not suggesting you can’t find happiness here. I am asking a very simple yet enormous question – a question with eternal implications: where is your heart? What is your foundation? Is it difficult to put into words, to make it practical? Let me rephrase. When you read the Word, are you searching for a verse that helps you become self-sufficient or are you searching for passages, chapters, cross references – context that helps you become self-sacrificial for God’s glory? Is the Word your go-to source for how to be successful, influential, and powerful in life? Or is it your guide to an everlasting relationship in God’s presence? Where is your heart? On whom or what have you set your desire? Why do you read the Word? Why do you pray? The answers to these questions will help reveal where your treasure is. We might all say our desire is to go to Heaven, that our hearts are set on Heaven – of course. But when we look deeper than the surface, beyond the learned and rehearsed responses, what do we see? How much of our time and energy in our walks of faith are spent on things we hope for in this world? What do our actions prove about our hearts?
What should we expect in this life?
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. – Jesus, Matthew 6:33-34
Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils and scourge you in their synagogues.– Jesus, Matthew 10:16-17
Now brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved. – Jesus, Matthew 10:21-22
These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. – Jesus, John 16:33
By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward. – Hebrews 11:24-26
Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. 8 You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. – James, James 5:7-8
My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience. 11 Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful. – James, James 5:10-11
When should we expect our inheritance?
Salvation, eternity with Jesus, joy, riches – it’s plainly written throughout. We must not simply strive for our promised inheritance as spoiled children do. We must not simply acknowledge what we have been promised. We must be willing to acknowledge when these things have been promised. Emphasis added in regards to timing.
But you, go your way till the end; for you shall rest, and will arise to your inheritance at the end of the days. Daniel 12:13
All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. – Jesus, Matthew 25:33-34
But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just. – Jesus, Luke 14:13-14
For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise: “For yet a little while, And He who is coming will come and will not tarry.” – Hebrews 10:36-37
Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. – Peter, 2 Peter 3:13
Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” – John, Revelation 21:1-4
And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” – John, Revelation 21:6-8
Why does this matter?
Timing, friends. Timing. The resurrection has not yet taken place. Therefore, the promises we have, which come after the resurrection, are in waiting for those who are just. Choosing to believe otherwise could overthrow your faith! What if you could rest your weary soul? What if the constant striving, fighting, claiming, and prophetic declarations were replaced with, “Hello, Holy Spirit. How are you? What is on Your mind? What would you like to do today?” What if? If you have not tried it, I highly recommend it. It’s called surrendering.
Where’s the Good News?
The good news is that we can be saved from ourselves. We can have eternal life in friendship with God through Jesus. We really can make our way through this life on the Narrow Path, the difficult way. We can walk in humility, in dependence on God alone for everything. This is what Jesus promised us now. Friends, I urge you to reread James. Read it every day for one month. Try it. It’s an easy, quick read. After one month, re-evaluate your position on the purpose of your life and the reasons why we’ve been given faith. Holy Spirit is the sign of our promise of salvation on the Day of the Lord. Do not neglect a relationship today with God’s Spirit for the chance of prosperity, promotion, or influence tomorrow. This not your purpose. You will not find what you seek through those things. Pray a simple prayer of surrender.
If you’d like to read more on this subject, I recommend this post.
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