I received this message in March when studying the book of Jeremiah The subject of the study had to do with revisiting or redoing what God had instructed. What caught my attention to God’s instructions to Jeremiah was the pain stacking effort to redo what He had originally done In Jeremiah 36; God gave Jeremiah special instructions that need to be written and presented to king. Jeremiah needed writer, Baruch to do write since he Jeremiah was in hiding. You should note that in those days, writing was not easy, there were laptops or recording devices. Writing involved dipping a pen in ink and writing one word at a time, so the process was long and tedious. Despite this, Jeremiah and Baruch completed the task and the message was read the to king, who in response burned each page parchment. God nonetheless instructed Jeremiah to rewrite the instructions; they had to redo the pain stacking process.
Isaac the son of Abraham was another one who stayed persistent with what He knew belonged to Him. In Genesis 26, we see Isaac digging the wells, despite opposition until the enemy could no longer fight over the last one which He named Rehoboth
My encouragement to you this week is never get discouraged when the devil destroys or frustrates what God has told you to do on first attempt- you do it again Pick it up again! There are two aspects of these two stories that I would like to encourage you with. The first one is Jeremiah’s – If you have anything you had put aside that you are sure God had told you, pick it up again. This quarantine time is a good time to revisit and refresh your plans about it. This is the best time to pray or fast and petition the issue to God. It is the best time to ask God for strategies and blueprints for that vision. It is the best time to research and reinvent yourself in a new way. Consider reviewing the prior instructions God has given you, see what needs adjusting and what need implement. You may start small, but then keep at it, just pick it up again. Do not allow that idea to lay dormant
The second example is Isaac’s Isaac new his inheritance – He knew what belonged to him, wells that and be covered by the enemy, that remained dormant, but active. Genesis 26: 17-18 says that Isaac moved away from there and encamped in the Valley of Gerar, where he settled. Isaac reopened the wells that had been dug in the time of his father Abraham, which the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham died, and he gave them the same names his father had given them. Verses 19-25 shows that though the wells had been dormant, once dug, they produced fresh water
I want to encourage you that you have a spiritual inheritance and a generation inheritance that is in your bloodline. Your inheritance is in your personal opportunities and untapped generational inheritance.
Personal Opportunities: -One of the ways God uses to advance is by giving you an idea or an instruction. Ephesians 1:3-4 says that we are already blessed with spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus. It says Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. 2 Peter 1: 3 By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence.
As I reflected on this issue, I questioned myself as how may, ideas and instructions God had given me and I laid them down out of frustration, intimidation, fear or lack, discouragement, betrayal, disappointment, passivity, laziness, or procrastination. Let us repent of this negligence and pick up from where we left. So we already have spiritual inheritance and our role is to tap into that, acclaim, and possess them. I believe spiritual inheritance call be classified into, our new identity, (who we are and whose we are, our position in Christ, our authority and power, the tools we have to execute God’s kingdom on earth, the word of God/promises, our eternal promise. Most of this comes through intimacy with God, and communing with God, seeking wisdom, and understanding of our inheritance and how to fully walk in them. Also by faith, boldness, and persistence, these blessings can and must be accessed with an overcomer’s attitude- Faith in God- Led by the Spirit- Persistent determination.
Untapped Generational Treasures- You have generational blessings waiting for you to dig up! Pick them up! This have to do with positive family traits and blessings that belong to you. Since most skills and gifts are passed on from parents and from genealogies, I questioned what my paternal and maternal ancestors laid down. I also questioned what my parents did not pursue. Those things are still there where they were left and we need to reclaim them, pick them up and work on the them. We need to do it again- this time leaning on the wisdom, knowledge and understanding of God to guide us. Whatever treasure, idea, instruction, skill, opportunity that was meant to advance us, these are our inheritance we need to pick them up again
It is often good to probe to find out about more about your family and what rightfully belongs to you. Isaac knew what belonged to him and took it upon himself to go after it. There is inheritance in your bloodline that you can still tap into, and maybe they are laying down somewhere waiting to be discovered. This may involve probing- the goal is to maximize on what your bloodline left unfinished. You could learn that your parents wanted to do something-but they could not finish because of one things or another. May be you are the one to pick up from where they left and improve on what they had. If you parents had certain skills, it is most likely that you have those skills in you given your DNA- they are your heritage.
This may sound farfetched, but just probing your curiosity a little – are there blessings in your family, skills, talents, opportunities that were not maximized that are waiting for you to? Normally we get excited at this Scripture – Proverbs 13:22-A good person leaves an inheritance for their children’s children, but a sinner’s wealth is stored up for the righteous. What if an unjust cause, led to the dormancy of this inheritance? – do you know that you can stand in the gap of your bloodline and petition the justice of God to release it to you.
There are a few lessons and Scriptures that I would like to end with in relations to picking up our inheritance
Lessons
- It may be pain stacking like with Jeremiah having to rewrite the scroll, keep pursuing it
- You may face opposition like Nehemiah did while building the wall- but arm yourself and still pursue your inheritance
- The enemy may have suppressed the inheritance like with Isaac, but know that whatever is yours is still fresh and active, just waiting for you to rediscover it
- Another advantage of knowing your inheritance is that it helps you pray strategically, both offensively and defensive to release your inheritance
Scriptures
- Exodus 20:5-6 The Lord pushes the wicked up to the 4th generation, but shows love up to a thousand generations- you have pending blessings that you need to claim for you and for your future generations
- Joshua 1:9 -Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”- pursue your inheritance with boldness and determination
- Genesis 26: 24-24 That night the Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham- God will be with you as long as you depend on Him to guide and direct you .
This is the season and NOW is the time to obtain and possess what belongs to you. You are in your promise land. Isaiah 60:1, Isaiah 52:1-2- Awake, Arise, put on your splendor which is strength, the Lord has risen upon you, the glory is upon you, free yourself from all captivity, fear, and apathy, Go after your inheritance!