Ephesians 1:3-14 NIV (Emphasis added)
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put in effect when the times reach their fulfillment to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ. In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. And you also were included in Christ when your heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with zeal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession - to the praise of his glory."
How many of us know that we have an inheritance? One of the most important thing in life is to lay down a legacy for those who come after you. The wealthy spend hours carefully crafting their will. Why, because someone must represent and care for all that they have done. As you read this, you represent those who came before you. Our lives are their legacies, our faith represents their faithfulness. Someone paved the way, someone laid the foundation, so that you are here today. Somebody prayed for you, and those prayers are now manifest in your life. They left an inheritance in you!
But this inheritance is not an inheritance of material, temporal, earthly things. Our inheritance is not of this world. As Abraham blessed Isaac, and Isaac blessed Jacob, who is Israel, and Jacob blessed his sons, they left a legacy of faith for all Israel. This faith is not in one self, but a faith in God that we might receive the promise, the covenant that God has made with all of us.
Paul preached to the Ephesians that the god they worshipped was not God. Paul preached that they too are children of the almighty God, and they have a claim to His promises. In Ephesus Paul preached, and many left the worship of Artemis and worshipped the one true God. It is in Ephesus that Paul preached that you have something better than this, you have an Inheritance through Jesus Christ, our Savior. In Ephesus, Paul preached, and yet some still rejected their inheritance, but it is available to all who would receive it. It's in Ephesus that Paul preached, and many claimed their inheritance and were saved. You also have an Inheritance, claim it.
So how do you claim your inheritance?
In order to claim your inheritance you have to be part of the family. God has adopted you and made you His own. God has adopted you and made you a promise. You have been adopted and made part of His family. You have been adopted, and you are an heir to His inheritance.
He adopted you because you were lost, without a family. If you were not lost, without a family, He would not need to adopt you. If your family situation is stable, there is no need for adoption. If you are not found wanting, He would not need to adopt you. He not only adopted you, he predestined you for adoption. He set aside your inheritance before you knew who you were and before you knew who He was. He has adopted you and predestined you to be saved. And because He adopted you, you are now part of the family of God. No longer lost. This is your inheritance.
Secondly, God wants to re-unite all things in Heaven and on Earth. He wants to bring the family back together again. So He has made provisions, through the Glory of His will that we can be with Him. We are estranged from our heavenly family. We are estranged but not lost. "We are pressed on every side, but not crushed, perplexed but not in despair: persecuted but not abandoned, struck down, but not destroyed." 2 Cor. 4:8-9. We have in us the family genes. No matter how far we may stray, "we always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may be also revealed in our body." 2 Cor. 4:10. We are family, we have an Inheritance in Him.
Finally, God guarantees our inheritance. A guarantee is a promise that everything will be as He says it will be. In construction, when a project is complete, we give the owner a one-year warranty. If something breaks, it will be fixed. When you buy a car, you get a five-year warranty, if something breaks, it will be fixed.
God has made us a guarantee. Yes, we are broken, yet He has made a guarantee of our repair. At the cross, the repairman came. At the cross, He came to make things whole again. This guarantee is for all God's children. Why? Because he paid the price for all. When you pay the price for something, the guarantee is yours to claim.
But here is the thing. If you have a guarantee, and your car breaks, and you don't take it back to the repairman, you cannot claim it. You have to come to Him with arms open, saying help! The guarantee of your inheritance is available to you, but you have to claim it. Your name is written in the lamb's book of life, it is written in His will, but you have to claim it. You have a special home in Glory, but you have to claim it. God is calling all His children home today, but you have to claim it.
Claim your inheritance, it is yours!
Claim your inheritance, it is God ordained!
Claim your inheritance it is Guaranteed!
Claim your inheritance, It is His will!
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