Stepping into our Inheritance

Wow! I am so excited

about what God has been doing recently and am so glad that he never stops working in me! I went through the Land of Promise seminar last weekend, and it was amazing! I feel like I received so much confirmation and blessing, and like God is revealing things to me that need healing. But I also feel like He is helping me, through others, to know who I really am and why I process things, feel things, and think about things the way I do. I received so much that I almost feel like I'm on overload and like its going to take a couple of weeks to process everything:)
 The main topic of the weekend was on our inheritance and how to step into it. It was very interesting and challenging. Our life journey was compared to the Israelite's journey to the Promised Land , which was their inheritance. Egypt is comparable to our world today. When we stay in Egypt too long, we start thinking we belong there; we get a 'slave-forever' mentality. God is not OK with that. We 'leave Egypt' when we get saved.
 Baptism is very important: it is a public declaration of our identity. Satan hates baptism because it reminds him of his great defeat. He cringes when he sees you 'buried' in baptism, because he knows a resurrection is coming! Baptism signifies leaving Egypt behind and experiencing God's glory and power in our life. It is a dividing point, a place that demands a decision. Going through it seals your identity as a child of God and severs any remaining ties with Egypt. It can be considered our red-sea experience. Baptism is such a beautiful thing!
 The wilderness was not supposed to be our destination. God will make a way out for us. But if we don't trust God, and we complain about everything, God will allow us to wander around until we are ready to submit to him.
 One of the most outstanding things to me was the session about the Promised Land...I never before thought about the fact that the Promised Land isn't Heaven, but that it's supposed to be right here on earth. Most of the battles that the Israelites fought were in the Promised Land. In Heaven, there won't be any wars to fight or enemies to chase out. So God meant for us to live in the promises Land Now. In that Promised Land is where each of us receive our inheritance. And we are going to have to fight for it. The enemy is going to do everything he can to keep us from receiving it and living out of it, but God has given us everything we need to  claim our inheritance and stake our ground, we don't need to allow Satan to take it away. But remember:  we aren't fighting for victory. Jesus has already won! We are fighting from victory. Steve Stutzman gave a beautiful illustration/story of our inheritance. I'm going to re-tell it as well as I can. (I can't use the facial expressions or the voice intonation that he did, but I'll try to make it as interesting as he did:)

 There once was a king who wanted to ride through his kingdom and check up on his land and people. He, along with two of his noble men, boarded his carriage pulled by his four perfect horses. As they were journeying along, they passed a magnificent estate. 'Halt!'  He told his nobles. The land was beautiful. The house was like a mansion, and the lawn and landscaping was perfectly manicured. 'Whose property is this?'
 His nobles replied, 'one of your faithful servants, master,  who is living out of the inheritance you gave him.'
 As they continued,  they passed another property. But this one was a disgrace. The fence was badly broken, the cottage old, and the roof falling in. The shrubs and lawn were over grown. 'And who owns this land?' The king asked.
 'Your honor, this was another of your servant's inheritance, but he was ashamed of it and walked away.'
 'Take me back to my faithful servant,' The king ordered. 'And bring him out to me.'
 As the man bowed low before him, the king said, 'Because you have been faithful with the inheritance I gave you, I will take back the inheritance I had given to the unfaithful, and give it to you. Manage it as you have your own.'
 The king continued on his way and the faithful servant did as the king asked. He tore down the old house and built a new one. He trimmed the trees and mowed the lawn. When he was through, it was just as beautiful as his first inheritance.
 Once he was finished, he went to the marketplace. As he was walking, he heard heartbroken sobs. After investigating, he found a syrophonecian woman weeping on her face. 'What is wrong?' He asked her.
 'I have seen what your king does and the love he has shown to his servants. I want to serve him, but how can I when I am no one and I have nothing?'
 The faithful servant took her to his inheritance and he and his neighbors set apart a small plot of land for her, built a small cottage, and helped her settle in. She planted flowers along her lane and kept her land beautiful.
 Later the king again rode through his kingdom, and passed the woman's land. 'Who is living on this land?' He asked.
 'Your faithful servant found this woman in the marketplace and brought her here and gave her a part of his inheritance.' was his answer.
 'Take me to him!' The king ordered.
  When the man was before him, the king said, 'you brought a stranger into my land?!'
 'Yes sir.' The servant replied. 'She had nothing.'
 'And you gave her a part of your inheritance?'.
  'She wanted to serve you, king.' Was the reply.
 'You are giving away your inheritance and wasting  it on nobodies!' The king said. 'If you continue doing this, you will run out of your inheritance. Therefore, I will give you five times as much. Continue being my faithful servant!'

 The king is God, and we are the servants. What are we going to do with the inheritance God has given to us? Are we going to be ashamed, and walk away from it? Or are we going to embrace and use it and extend it to those who have nothing? I am determined to use it to reach out to those around me.