269-Expand Your Horizons, Inherit the Gifts from God 1#
269-Expand Your Horizons, Inherit the Gifts from God 1
(JP Text Group - Organized by the Little Prince of Heaven)
The topic we are sharing: Expand your horizons, inherit the gifts given by God.
Romans 4:13-16, 13 For the promise to Abraham and his descendants that he would inherit the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. 14 For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. 15 For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression. 16 That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all.
Let us pray together:
Heavenly Father! Thank You and praise You! A new week has begun, and we gather before You. Please You renew our thoughts and minds, focus our attention on You, and through Your words, help us to understand Your grace more. Thank You and praise You! In the name of Lord Jesus, we pray. Amen!
Let’s look at today’s text. Because God promised Abraham and his descendants that they would inherit the world, our theme this year is to expand your horizons and inherit the gifts given by God. How can we expand our horizons? We must believe: God has given promises to Abraham and his descendants.
Do you belong to the descendants of Abraham? Yes, are you a Jew? No, why are you a descendant of Abraham? Because of faith, we have become the descendants of Abraham. The promise given to Abraham's descendants is that they will inherit the world. What do you think it means to inherit the world? Is it that we all enter the kingdom of heaven?
If you are often sick or bedridden, can you inherit the world? No, you cannot enjoy it. If you are always bedridden, you cannot become a person who inherits the world. If you are always accomplishing nothing, having nothing, living like Lazarus at the rich man's gate, can you become a person who inherits the world? No.
Although you may not understand what it means to inherit the world, you must know that it includes God's blessings. Those who inherit the world have one characteristic: they have abundant supply both materially and spiritually. Abraham was a person who inherited the world; did Abraham only have spiritual blessings? No, he also had worldly blessings. Amen!
Many people often ask, especially some pastors under the law: “If you had to choose, would you choose the rich man or Lazarus?” There is a story in the Bible about a man named Lazarus, who was carried to the rich man's gate every day, hoping the rich man would give him a bite to eat. Meanwhile, the rich man lived in luxury every day, and in the end, both men died. Lazarus went to heaven, while the rich man suffered in hell.
Many people ask: “If you had to choose, which would you choose?” Some say: “I want to live like the rich man and die like Lazarus.” We all hope to have abundant blessings while we are alive. Thank You and praise the Lord! Since everyone thinks this way, we should also believe: you are a person who inherits the world. Now greet the person next to you and say: “You are a person who inherits the world.” You must believe you are a person who inherits the world; if you don’t believe it, then those blessings will not come upon you.
Today, a pastor communicated with me about this. He said: “Sovereignty is in God's hands; God can give you blessings, and He can also give you calamities. Why? Because if you always receive blessings, you will become proud, fall, and drift away from God. So God may give you sickness to bring you closer to Him. When you are sick, don’t you learn to pray? Even if you don’t pray, you have to pray.” Brothers and sisters, is this correct? No, where is it wrong?
God does not give people sickness; God does not force us. If others believe that, let them be. There is no need to argue about this. How we believe is how we live.
Don’t worry about how others believe; the key is whether you want to be that person who inherits the world, like Abraham? If you want to, that’s enough. If you say, “I am willing,” I want to tell you: God wants to give us not only spiritual blessings but also worldly blessings.
When Jesus lived in this world, He was rich, both spiritually and materially. A person who inherits a legacy has no lack, is always filled with joy and peace, has health, and often supplies others. And these material blessings actually come from the spiritual. Just as we see this world comes from the unseen world. First believe that God has already given it to you in the spiritual, and then believe that God will make the blessings in the spiritual visible to you. Hallelujah!
Ephesians 1:3, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! He has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.
Brothers and sisters, first you must believe: God has already given you every spiritual blessing in the spiritual. What do all spiritual blessings refer to?
If you are a teacher, what kind of talent does God give you that counts as a blessing? Does He let you drill for oil? He gives you eloquence and wisdom; this is a spiritual blessing. The meaning of “every kind” does not mean He gives you everything; God will not give you what you are not interested in. What you are interested in, God will give you, and He will give you more, and you will become more interested and willing to do this thing. This is what “every kind” means.
Although God has everything, what you focus on will only be certain aspects. So in the area where you want to develop, you should ask: “Lord! Bless me in this area.” If you are in business: “Lord! Bless me so that the products I make are liked by customers.” Isn’t this every spiritual blessing? And it is very direct to apply; these are prepared by God in heaven as every spiritual blessing.
If God has not prepared it, you cannot ask for it. If you insist on asking: “Lord! Strike him dead with lightning; I find him too unpleasant.” You can ask, but God may not answer. Because God gives you every spiritual blessing, since it is every spiritual blessing, then we must see where this blessing is. In Christ.
Why is it in Christ? We have been talking about some people relying on themselves, while some rely on what God gives. What is the difference? If after believing in Jesus, you still live relying on yourself, you are actually part of the law; what does the grace part refer to?
In Christ, God gives you every spiritual blessing; in Christ, everything is not earned by your efforts; it is given by God in the spiritual, and you just need to find it out.
Let me give you the simplest example. There are many treasures in the mountains of the world, a lot of gold, and many rare metals. When you go to dig them out, you say: “This is really great.” Did you earn these by your efforts? No, God has already stored these things there; you just dig them out. Isn’t it like this?
How to face your life? It is to use this way, whether you are working or interacting with others, you should believe: God has already given blessings in the spiritual, and I, through work and business, am bringing the blessings that God has prepared. These are already given to us by God in Christ. When Jesus was hung on the cross, He shed blood for our sins; He gave us all His blessings, all the blessings in the kingdom of heaven; you only need to focus on the part you need. Hallelujah!
You must understand why the devil fiercely attacks the true gospel, such as the truth of justification by faith. If you preach a half-dead gospel, telling you: “You are saved; God likes you.” Then after a while, saying: “You have sinned; God does not want you; you still have to go to hell.” For such a “gospel,” the devil does not attack it.
Some pastors chat with me and say: “I have preached the gospel for decades and have never received a bit of attack.” Think about it, if you have preached the gospel for a lifetime and the devil has not given you any attack, it shows that your “gospel” does not have much lethality to him. If what you preach is the truth, rest assured, the devil in the spiritual will definitely not let it go easily.
When Jesus preached the gospel, how many attackers were behind Him? When Paul preached the gospel, how many attackers were behind him? Why is that? Because the devil knows that once people understand the true gospel, they will be free; he hopes you will always live in bondage.
You can receive God’s blessings and inherit the world, absolutely not relying on the law. Why mention the law? The law has a characteristic, which is always relying on oneself, while we rely on what God gives us. He has already given us every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ; what is given? Freely given. Look at the character “give”: a treasure, next to it is easy. Putting these two characters together tells you: the best treasure is particularly easy to obtain.
It seems different from what the world says; the world says that the harder it is to obtain, the more valuable it is. But in God’s world, the best is the easiest to obtain, so God calls it giving, freely given to you. Because of this, many people find it hard to accept, because this gospel is really too good and too easy to obtain, so many people cannot bear it.
Share the first point: Inherit the legacy by faith.
Why does the New Testament repeatedly mention not to rely on the law but to rely on faith? Is it bad to rely on the law? Under Moses' law, there is a very obvious characteristic, which is relying on oneself. If you rely on your good behavior or achievements, can you obtain God’s righteousness? No, can you be accepted by God based on your good behavior? No, why not? It is obvious that your transgressions are more, your failures are more, and your sins are more. Looking back, in our lifetime, have we done more good or more evil? Do you think more about good things or evil things? It is obvious, so relying on our own efforts, it is impossible to obtain God’s righteousness.
The Israelites tried to obtain God’s inheritance through the law and good deeds. But inheriting the legacy relies on the promise, which is the righteousness obtained by faith. When the Israelites entered Canaan, were their behaviors good? No, when they inherited those inheritances, was it because they did many good deeds? No, it was given to them freely by God.
Because God made a promise to Abraham: I will bring you into the beautiful land of Canaan and give that land to you as an inheritance. So they believed and received this. God’s promise is like this. However, many people do not receive it; many indeed died in the wilderness, which is quite regrettable.
We must firmly remember this truth: you do not strive to obtain righteousness; righteousness is given to you by God, and blessings are also not obtained by striving. The world relies on their own efforts to obtain blessings, just like buying a lottery ticket, striving to buy, sometimes winning a little, and sometimes winning nothing at all.
Especially in business, it is really hard to find a channel to be blessed, so when others have a little blessing, they immediately do the same. If any of you have watched the third season of “A Bite of China,” you should know that there is a cast iron pot made in Zhangqiao, Shandong. After that segment aired, thousands of pots sold out in seconds. After selling out, everyone in the village stopped doing other things, and many people from outside came to start making pots. Why did this happen? Because this is profitable; they really cannot find another way to make money. This is too profitable; thousands of pots sold out in seconds, so it is better to do this, and everyone rushed to do one thing, and in the end, it was over.
Because the world really cannot find a channel to be blessed. But you are different; you have already received God’s blessings, so when you do any legitimate business, God can bless you.
Let’s talk about something that is practically related to our bodies. When we are sick, we do not strive to obtain healing. Many people always ask: “I have prayed for a long time, taken communion, attended meetings, fasted... why have I not received healing? What else do I need to do?” Their focus is on doing something.
I want to ask: “What can you do to receive healing?” Whatever you do cannot exchange for the healing that God gives you; you only need to declare: In Jesus Christ, I am God’s righteousness; I have a sanctified life; I believe that by the stripes Jesus received, I have already been healed. If you believe this, healing will appear.
The Bible says that this promise is not fulfilled through the law but is given to us by faith. Therefore, when the devil sees this verse, he will definitely raise many people under the law to belittle justification by faith or attack those who preach justification by faith. Why? Because the promises God gave to Abraham and his descendants are all given freely.
What you fear is that once you understand this truth, the devil will have no way to go. If you rely on your own efforts, the devil is the happiest; you go ahead and try! You will definitely fail more often; the more we try, the more we fail, and in the end, we start to doubt God. I want to tell everyone: you are justified by faith and have become the descendants of Abraham.
In the previous verse 14, it says that if it is the adherents of the law who are to be heirs, faith is null and the promise is void.
Why does God tell us this way? If we become God’s descendants by relying on the law, striving with your good behavior to become God’s descendants, then faith is a lie. Because these two are completely opposite; one relies on self-effort, while the other receives by believing.
In God’s world, He expects you to believe that He gives you freely. If we become heirs by earning or by our merits, then faith is void, and we will lose our status as Abraham’s descendants. If you ask some Christians: “Why doesn’t God heal you? Why is He far from you? Why doesn’t He listen to your prayers? Why doesn’t He bless your business?” They will definitely answer: “I have sinned; I have recently drifted away from God; my behavior is not good…”
Is that the answer? When you ask them to find the problem, they will definitely find similar issues. Of course, we oppose Christians sinning, but their answers do not align with the Bible.
The Bible says that if it is the adherents of the law who are to be heirs, faith is void, and the promise is void. This explains why some devout Christians still struggle in sin because they do not recognize God’s promises. Many Christians are very devout, and their behavior is much better than other Christians and even better than the world, yet they do not receive the blessings God has for them. Over time, they begin to doubt God: What else do I need to do? The reason is that they do not recognize God’s promises.
The reason they are like this is that they do not know that they can inherit these legacies by faith. When Jesus preached on earth, many who were healed were not necessarily good in their behavior, or did they pay a lot for Jesus to receive? They were all sinners; this is a fact. You can read the four gospels; all those whom Jesus healed were sinners. On the contrary, those hypocrites, those who behaved better, and those who considered themselves devout Pharisees did not receive; those sinners received because they simply believed in the grace of Jesus Christ. Isn’t it simple?
The key is whether you can believe: Lord! You have already given it; I receive it, no matter what my eyes see or my ears hear, I do not believe those, I only believe Your promises. Can you do this? So how can we renew our thoughts and minds? Continuously look up to God’s promises; in Christ, He has already given you every spiritual blessing, and you must believe this.
If even sinners can receive healing, how much more can we, as children of God, not receive? Perhaps it is because you know too much, cannot receive the seven steps to healing, or the ten methods to receive healing… it is because you know too much that you cannot receive.
Many people start to examine themselves, observe themselves, and focus on themselves; these things make your faith become void, and the promise is abandoned. We should focus on the promises of Jesus Christ, just like those sinners who do not focus on themselves but focus on Christ, and as a result, they received healing. And you must believe that healing is one of the inheritances you are to receive. If all Christians believed in Jesus and started lying in bed, those who are sick would not be able to get up; how could they glorify the Lord? So healing must be part of the inheritance that God gives us.
Galatians 4:21-25,
21 Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman. 23 But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise. 24 Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar. 25 Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children.
Paul used a spiritual interpretation to explain the Old Testament. Abraham had two sons, referring to Ishmael and Isaac, representing two different lives. How did Ishmael come about? When there was no hope for himself, his wife had a clever idea, letting Abraham have a child with her slave woman, thinking that would fulfill God’s promise. Isn’t that a human method? The world can think of such methods, so this does not count as a blessing given by God.
How did Isaac come about? This son was born when Abraham was one hundred years old. From any angle of analysis, do they have any merit in this? No matter how hard they tried, they both failed, right? Hagar represents the covenant of the law; these are two covenants. Hagar represents the covenant of the law, which is the fruit of human strength, while Sarah represents the fruit born of God’s promise. Although both have fruit, one is born of human will, and the other is born of God.
What is born of human will will definitely rely on its own strength to seize everything; isn’t that how the world is? It is obtained by one’s own efforts; the more effort put in, the less willing they are to give away because the cost is too high. In the past, our parents lived frugally, having gone through many hardships, eating tree bark. Now when asked to spend money, they are very cautious and unwilling to spend more. Why is that? They have experienced those hard days, so their thinking is completely different from that of the younger generation. They even think that the younger generation is wasting resources, a group of people who have fallen. They believe that all of this is what they have saved through hard work. If they understood that all of this is given by God, their behavior would change.
Although this analogy may not be perfect, I hope you understand. Now, the post-90s generation, whose parents have worked hard to save money for a lifetime, finally give it to their children, but the children keep squandering it. The parents feel heartbroken and say every day: “Stop it, okay?” But can the child understand?
The older generation often says: “You don’t know how much hardship we went through in our time.” “Don’t tell me that; my ears are getting calloused…” Because this is given freely, they give it away like this, possibly even giving a hundred to a beggar on the street. If their family is there, how heartbroken would they be?
Now I want to tell you about spiritual matters. If you know that everything, your life, and your abundant life are given by God, you will not feel heartbroken when you give. Because you will believe that God will give you more.
What is born of human will will seize everything by its strength. What is born of God never relies on itself to compete; it inherits all the legacy. Those who have read this passage should understand that when Hagar was pregnant, why did she look down on her mistress? Because she thought: You are old and soon will be sidelined; all of Abraham’s possessions will belong to me and my child. In the end, Isaac was born, and Ishmael mocked Isaac, meaning: You are just a little one; I could easily kill you… He has always relied on human will to do things, but in the end, you find that he did not inherit; in the end, this child was cast out.
Let’s look at Galatians 4:28-31,
28 Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. 29 But just as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so also it is now. 30 But what does the Scripture say? “Cast out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son of the free woman.” 31 So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman.
It is very clear here, brothers, what are we children by? By the covenant of grace, the new covenant established by Jesus on the cross for us. Always remember: you are under the new covenant, not under the old covenant of Moses' law. Just like Isaac, how did Isaac inherit his father’s legacy? He never fought for it; when Isaac inherited the legacy, his father had already sent all the other children away.
Do you understand when you read the Bible? Only Isaac was left; he did not need to fight for anything; others did not even have the opportunity to fight because his father settled everything. And the fleshly ones? They will definitely persecute the spiritual ones because the fleshly ones always rely on themselves to strive, and it is natural to persecute others, always wanting to take what belongs to others and make it their own. But the spiritual ones are willing to give; isn’t Isaac that kind of person?
When Abimelech came to seize his wells, Isaac just gave them to him: You seize it, I give it to you; seize the second one, I also give it to you; for the third well, you don’t seize it, it is mine. Who has such generosity? At that time, digging a well cost a lot of money; now digging a deep water well costs several tens of thousands. At that time, digging a well was not less than that amount; it was in a desert area, and digging a well there was very hard work. Otherwise, why would they seize wells? Once dug, water would come out, and others would not need to seize it; it was too precious. Such a precious resource, Isaac actually gave it away.
This child inherited the legacy like this from a young age, so he was willing to give. If you understand God’s grace, you will also be generous. Amen! As we said earlier, the fleshly ones will persecute the spiritual ones; the one born according to the flesh, Ishmael, persecuted the one born according to the Spirit, Isaac, and it is still like this now.
It has always been the children of the law persecuting the children of grace; it has never been the children of grace persecuting the children of the law. You should realize through your perspective who is under the law and who lives under grace. A person who truly lives under grace gives; if you don’t want it, I will give it to you. But a person living under the law always wants to seize others’ things through tricks and means, even lying; such people have the same patterns.
But those under grace will supply others, forgive others, and love others because this is the fruit of being under grace. Such people have already inherited spiritual blessings; you will find that there seems to always be a religious hatred directed at the teachings of grace, and all that you see is because the truth you understand is different from others. Long-time friends treat us like enemies, even intimidate us, condemn us; the reason is that they live under the law.
We should not use fear and threats to control our brothers and sisters; this is useless. Some may say: “My original intention is good; I don’t want them to fall into heresy, I don’t want them to do bad things; I hope they rely on God.” But don’t forget, what truly changes Christians is absolutely not fear or intimidation; it is the constraint of the love of Jesus Christ. This is a permanent constraint; intimidation is only a temporary constraint. If you stop intimidating, they will forget; if you intimidate for a long time, they will get used to it. So the love of Jesus Christ will attract people to come before God.
Look at what Jesus said: When I am lifted up, I will draw all people to myself. What does the devil do? The devil took Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple and said: “Jump down, for your Lord has said He will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.” Why did he want Jesus to do this? Where is Jesus standing now?
If He jumps down from the temple and does not die, the people below will say nothing and completely believe that Jesus is God, relying only on human means. But Jesus did not use this way; He did not use intimidation. At that time, Jesus had such great authority; if He said: “Whoever does not believe in me, I will let you die!”
Someone might say: “I don’t believe in you.” After saying that, that person immediately dies; would others dare to say they don’t believe? The world hopes to use such intimidation to make others listen to them, but Jesus used the way of being lifted up; this love attracts us to follow Him. Hallelujah!
If you understand the love of Jesus Christ, you can inherit His abundant blessings. What does the scripture say? Cast out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son of the free woman. Why do Christians still attack each other? Because some are filled with the law, have become judges themselves, and the hidden hand behind it is the devil; he is using them.
In our church, such people cannot stand because there is no breeding space. Once someone tries to control others, God will definitely clear them away; it is not us who drive them out. Were Hagar and Ishmael driven out by Isaac? They were driven out by Abraham. Those Christians living under the law, if they do not listen and like to live under the law, they will definitely leave those under grace because it is impossible to live together. Unconsciously, they will separate because they keep persecuting you; you forgive them… Later, you find that it doesn’t work, and one day they will still leave you.
We are the people who inherit God’s legacy; this inheritance has nothing to do with your behavior or merits. If you have only one only son, and that son behaves poorly, to whom will you give your inheritance when you die? Would you say to your son: “Let’s make a contract; in three years, I will die. In these three years, you must improve your behavior so that I can be assured, and then I will give you the inheritance.” Is there such a thing?
Even if the son is terrible, you will still give him the inheritance just because he is your son. We emphasize blood relations very much. At the same time, we must believe that we are all a group of people redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ. Is there a blood relationship? Yes, it is better than the blood relationship of the world. All who belong to Jesus Christ are bought back by the blood of Jesus, so in the eyes of our Heavenly Father, you are my children, and I am willing to give you all my inheritance.
What you fear is that you do not believe at all, saying: “While you were alive, you never said a good word to me; I don’t believe you will give me your inheritance after you die.” Lawyers say: “You signed this contract; you can inherit it.” But if you burn the contract and say: “I don’t believe you will give me anything.” You do not believe, so you do not receive; do you all understand?
We have a contract with God; this contract is established by the blood of Jesus. God has already said: “I will give you all the blessings of my son, just as I blessed Abraham and his descendants; I give it all to you.” Can you believe this? That is the question. You must believe that you are the one qualified to inherit God’s legacy. Hallelujah! In this inheritance, there is the Holy Spirit and His power to help you, guiding you to live a holy life. What you need to do is continuously look up to God’s promises and believe that this is what God has given you.
In this matter, our Sister Sun has done very well; she believes: what God has given me, no one can take away. If you can encounter any environment without doubt, you may have weak faith, but you do not doubt: I believe what God has given me… Then God can give you and let you see with your own eyes. Hallelujah! In this way, you will unknowingly live a holy life, and the blessings God gives you (in material aspects) will also gradually increase.
In terms of money, the more God gives you, the more generous you become. If you do business honestly, not like others who cheat, because you know that God will definitely bless you. In the end, in this era, cheating cannot deceive people anymore. For example, now the micro-businesses advertise: “We have conducted experiments; the products do not contain fluorescent agents.” Is it worth promoting that it does not contain fluorescent agents? It should not contain it in the first place, but now it is advertised as such, which shows that people’s hearts have become deceitful.
If you had been honest in business from the beginning, your business might have grown very large. Now, the morning fried dough sticks are labeled as “non-alum fried dough sticks.” These things should not exist in the first place; shouldn’t they use peanut oil instead of gutter oil? People have become deceitful from the beginning, and after being exposed, they find it does not work, and eventually, they return to the original principles; this is God’s way.
Share the second point: Your inheritance is given to you by God because He delights in you.
Please remember: God gives you these because He delights in you. Psalm 44:1-3,
1 O God, we have heard with our ears; our fathers have told us what deeds you performed in their days, in the days of old. 2 You with your own hand drove out the nations, but them you planted; you afflicted the peoples, but them you set free. 3 For not by their own sword did they win the land, nor did their own arm save them, but your right hand and your arm, and the light of your face, for you delighted in them.
This passage speaks of the Israelites. If viewed from a human perspective, how were these people? Complaining, doubting, not believing in God; these things kept happening to them. If treated according to their behavior, they would all die in the wilderness. But what did God do?
You have heard with our ears what deeds you performed in their days, in the days of old; our fathers have told us. You drove out the nations with your hand; did God drive out the nations because of their good behavior? No, the third verse here is very clear: because they did not rely on their own sword to win the land, nor on their own arm to be victorious, but because God delighted in them and gave them blessings. When they went to battle, all the enemies were terrified; it was an asymmetric war. The people of Jericho were like this; they had not even fought, and the people in the city were already terrified; no one dared to pick up a weapon to fight against these people; this was a guaranteed victory.
If those enemies said: “We can definitely eliminate the Israelites,” then the enemies were destined to fail because God was helping the Israelites. So you must believe: God has given you every spiritual blessing in the spiritual; as long as you believe, God will bless what you do. Others may try to seize it with tricks, but they cannot take it away.
Who can take away what God wants to give you? Just as the Bible says, the Lord is my helper; who can stand against me? If God wants to bless you, who can resist? No one. So they did not rely on their own arm; the arm represents strength, and God’s right hand represents victory and glory. The Bible often mentions that our Lord Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father; you are victorious because God delights in you.
Exodus 23:25-30,
25 You shall serve the Lord your God, and he will bless your bread and your water, and I will take sickness away from among you. 26 None shall miscarry or be barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days. 27 I will send my terror before you and will throw into confusion all the people against whom you shall come, and I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you. 28 I will send hornets before you, which shall drive out the Hivites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites from before you. 29 I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the wild beasts multiply against you. 30 Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased and possess the land.
Our God is very practical; many people are always greedy. When God gave manna in the wilderness, wasn’t it a day’s worth? If kept until the next day, it would breed worms and stink. But we think: “Lord! Give me a ton at once; even if I can’t eat it all, it looks good.” This is our thinking: “Lord! Let my bank account have nine digits, eleven digits; it looks good.”
Many people indeed have that amount in the bank; they cannot eat it, cannot use it, and lying in bed sick all day long is of no use. The blessings God wants you to receive are given by Him, and you will have no lack. What does this mean? You shall serve the Lord your God; He will bless your bread and your water. Did God bless them with food and water when they entered Canaan? Why does it mention these again? They have already been blessed.
How good was the land of Canaan at that time? Two men carried a cluster of grapes; wasn’t that already a huge blessing? Why does God still say, “I will bless your food”? It is to cultivate the habit of blessing.
If the food is already good, why does God still want to bless your food? It shows that in everything, you need to bless them in the name of God. In this way, doesn’t it explain why we pray before meals? The food is already good; can we bless this food in the name of the Lord Jesus? God blesses it, and He will bless it again.
If you continuously bless in small matters, you will see God’s provision in every matter; otherwise, we will forget. Many Christians have become so lazy that they forget to pray and do not know how to pray. Before eating: “Thank the Lord! Let’s eat.” The laziness has lasted long enough that they no longer feel that it is God’s grace, nor do they feel it is God’s blessing. So God says: “I will bless your food and your water, and I will take sickness away from among you.”
Brothers and sisters, can you make a blessing prayer for yourself before you sleep? “In the name of the Lord Jesus, I will sleep well tonight.” This is not a formula; it is from your heart: “Lord! I am about to sleep; although my body is sleeping, my spirit is always communicating with You.”
Last night, I don’t know if everyone has been listening to the teachings about faith recently; when I went to sleep, I actually preached a whole night, and I remember the title: faith. I preached all night; I thought I should be very tired, but when I woke up in the morning, I was not tired at all. This is a spiritual matter. Now I want to tell everyone that in every matter, learn to bless in the name of Jesus.
Although this matter seems very bad, you should also bless it in the name of the Lord Jesus, allowing you to experience God’s blessings in every matter. When you bless in this way, you will definitely see the difference; you must cultivate the habit of blessing.
Many people say that when they encounter problems, they pray to God; they have not cultivated the habit of prayer in normal times, so when problems arise, you will definitely forget to pray. In every small matter of life, learn to bless in the name of Jesus; in big matters, you will naturally cultivate the habit of blessing because God has already given blessings, so you are receiving God’s blessings and declaring them, allowing you to inherit God’s blessings.
Every time you take this step of faith and declare, “In Christ, I am righteous,” you are gradually inheriting God’s legacy. You must speak by faith: “I have received all of God’s inheritance; God has given me this land.” God uses a term here called gradually; why use gradually? Many times we are particularly anxious: “Lord! Quickly drop a big blessing on me!” But God says gradually…
The previous scripture says, I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the wild beasts multiply against you. Because if the land has no one to cultivate it, the wild beasts will come to harm you.
This is God’s way of blessing; I will gradually drive them out from before you until your numbers increase and you possess the land. So I want to give you a piece of advice: You know that God wants to bless you; this must be in your daily life. Don’t think about getting rich overnight; if you do, you will definitely fall. If ten billion suddenly appears in your account today, tomorrow you will start to fall; no matter what God is, you will quickly forget who you are.
Gradually means that in your every day, God gives blessings; you receive blessings, inherit this blessing, and enjoy it every day. Hallelujah! Perhaps it is your work, your family, your business; in short, you should see God’s blessings here, blessing what you do in the name of Jesus. Amen!
So God says gradually; do not feel discouraged; the territory you possess is too much; this is what you should know, a very large inheritance; God is waiting for you to become strong. Do you all understand? Your child is five years old this year; if you buy him a BMW and leave it there, it is useless; he cannot drive it now. You must wait for him to grow up; he is only five years old; by the time he is eighteen, the car will no longer be in good condition. Why give it to him at this time?
He cannot bear this blessing; at five years old, let him play with toy cars, and wait for him to gradually grow strong. So God is also waiting for us to grow strong; you must focus on building your life. As long as your life is strong enough, God will give you greater blessings; otherwise, it will be troublesome.
For example, if we do not understand God’s word and pursue gifts, we will mostly become fortune tellers. Or you go to pursue such people, saying: “Pray for me; see if God has said anything to you; my business is not doing well; pray for me to see what the problem is…” Those who can do such things mostly do not understand God’s word and do not know God’s promises.
So God hopes that your life will gradually grow; God wants to give you more blessings, and you will increase. Thank You and praise the Lord! Many people do not understand this, so after they are blessed, they forget God, do not come to church, and do not want to get close to God; their increase stops.
Some say this is not the way of the law, right? No, this is not the law. God originally hoped you would draw near to Him every day, experience Him, and continuously grow. When one day you no longer draw near to Him, you have interrupted this yourself. What should you do then? Restore this relationship. Many people no longer come to church, no longer draw near to God; you will definitely live with the world’s ways. Even the strongest person, if they do not gather for a month, will become very weak; people unconsciously enter into self-effort under the law.
This is why we need to continuously gather to listen to teachings and share, so that our lives gradually grow, and your inheritance also gradually increases, continuously increasing.
Finally, let’s look at a passage of scripture; you can also meditate on Titus 3:6-8,
6 Whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. 8 The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people.
The Holy Spirit dwells in our hearts, richly pouring God’s grace upon us, allowing us to be justified by His grace and also to become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. What is said after the hope of eternal life? It is to inherit eternal life through hope. I have told everyone before, eternal life refers to the blessing of abundant life. What do you inherit eternal life by? By the eternal hope; you believe that Jesus blesses you in this way, so you inherit eternal life through this hope. Amen!
Verse 8 says, this saying is trustworthy. I also want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works.
Many extreme sects do not work; they stay at home all day with their bank cards, rubbing oil, saying in the name of the Lord Jesus, “Come in ten thousand.” This is not to say that this method is bad; indeed, some people have received, but I want to tell you that the meaning of the Bible is, you must be careful to do good works. These are excellent things, firstly for you, and secondly for others; you must have it to bless others. Don’t just act like a fortune teller: “In the name of the Lord Jesus, come in a thousand…”
What if there is none? So we must be careful to do good works; as long as it complies with our national laws, you can do it. Don’t say Christians cannot do this or that…
Do well in accordance with national laws, and God will definitely bless what you do. In this way, it is beneficial to you and beneficial to others because you will have more and be able to bless others. Hallelujah!
Let us pray together:
Heavenly Father! We thank and praise You! Thank You for helping us with such words, renewing our thoughts and minds. We are Your children, loved by You. May You expand my horizons, allowing me to continuously recognize that I am indeed a person who inherits God’s legacy, for I am also a descendant of Abraham, and I will surely inherit the world, not because of my behavior, but because of the blessings of Jesus Christ. I also believe that Your promises will surely be fulfilled in my life. Please You bless all that I do. Thank You and praise You! All glory belongs to You! In the name of Lord Jesus, we pray. Amen!