In the past, whenever I came across the phrase “yea, I have a goodly heritage,” it had a dual meaning for me personally. The first meaning concerned my heavenly heritage. I am the King’s kid, born of God into His Family: an heir of God and a joint heir with Christ Jesus. That is my first and principal portion.
I have also been very lucky, or privileged, in terms of natural birth. My grandfather, who actually brought me up and whom I thought to be my natural dad while in infancy, was a man of God among a people with a heritage of idolatry. He and two other men were the first to convert to Christianity in a village where everyone worshipped the gods of thunder, the gods of iron, and other gods passed down by their ancestors. Not only did he commit an abominable offense in their eyes by converting to Christianity, but he also had the guts to evangelize and start the first church in the village.
I will not attempt to describe the cruel opposition and satanic attacks he went through; it suffices to say that he was and is an overcomer. As you can tell, I am proud of him and inspired and energized by his faith. I will be pleased if I can be half as true and a third as courageous as he was in my calling. This is why I feel encouragement and inspiration when I hear or sing the song “Faith of Our Fathers”:
Faith of our fathers, living still,
In spite of dungeon, fire, and sword;
Oh, how our hearts beat high with joy
Whene’er we hear that glorious Word!
Chorus:
Faith of our fathers, holy faith!
We will be true to thee till death.
Whenever I hear this verse from Psalm 16 read, quoted, or preached, it instantly brings to mind this dual heritage. The first heritage is the most substantial one. As the King’s kid, I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth to trample upon serpents and scorpions and over all the powers of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt me. My early understanding of this heritage formed the crux of my Christian life. Getting a revelation of this heritage also physically saved my life; I would have been a goner otherwise, because in my teenage days, I publicly opposed and mocked idol worshippers in my neighborhood and desecrated their shrine.
My biggest life-saving revelation came from the fifty-fourth chapter of the prophecy of Isaiah, a verse that was burnt into my spirit during one of the first prayer and fasting crusades that I attended in 1973 while in middle school. I got the living word into my heart on the inside! The Holy Ghost said to me:
“No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD” (Isa 54:17).
That evening, I inadvertently desecrated a little shed housing a satanic altar with animal blood on it, consecrated to an idol worshipped by the clan not too far from our house. One of those in charge, an elderly woman with demonic powers, angrily told me in a sarcastic vernacular language that “I would live to repeat what I just said,” meaning that I would be sorry as long as I lived for what I had done. I had to without doubt know my heritage as a child of the LORD; otherwise, that would have spelled doom for me and I would probably not be here today to tell it. Blessed be God, that was around thirty-eight years ago. Yes! His word is true, and this is our heritage as children of the Lord.
“His Mark 16 is true!” This phrase is among the words that still ring in my heart all these years later, in the same vein as Isaiah 54:17 and Matthew 28:18. I must have read it in a pamphlet written by either Gordon Lindsay or T.L. Osborn; it ministered to me and left an indelible impression on my heart. It’s based on Mark 16:16-17, where the Lord said:
“He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
“And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
“They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover” (Mar 16:16-17).
By the strength of the revelation of these verses, and in obedience to the Master’s command in Matthew 28:18-19, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore … lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world,” we went out preaching, praying for people to get healed, casting out demons, getting idol worshippers to declare Christ Jesus as their savior, and burning their idol fetishes in the marketplace.
We intuitively knew in those days that this was part of our heritage as children of God. We learned much about “the authority of the believer” in those days.
Now, let’s go back and properly start from the beginning. Let’s ask ourselves these questions: What does “heritage” really mean? What does Scripture mean when it talks about the heritage of the servants of God?
For this meditation, we will proceed to the next chapter.
But before we step into Chapter 2, let’s pause and meditate on a few of the promises of God in fine print. Let’s meditate on these promises, made by God to us, until they mix with faith in our hearts and we begin to experience them. Personalize these blessings and appropriate them for yourselves; for unto us, children of God, belong the Covenant, and the Blessings, and the Adoption, and the Promises.
“And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God”( Deut 28:2).
“Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases” (Ps 103:2-3).
“And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee” (Exo 15:26).
“But to you that fear my name, shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings” (Mal 4:2).
“Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed (1 Pet 2:24).
“When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses” (Matt 8:16,17).
“For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the LORD; because they called thee an Outcast, saying, This is Zion, whom no man seeketh after” (Jer 30:17).
“My son, attend to my words; incline thy ear to my sayings. Let them not depart from thy eyes; keep them in the midst of thy heart. For they are life to those that find them, and health to all their flesh” (Prov 4:20-22).
But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you (Rom 8:11).
“For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring” (Act 17:28 ).
“Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgression, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed” (Isa 53:4,5)
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“But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Phi 4:19).
“Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s” (Psa 103:5).
“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over” (Psa 23:1,2,5).
“Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah” (Psa 68:19).
“And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work” (2 Cor 9:8)
“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you” (Mat 7:7):
“Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart” (Psa 37:4).
“For your shame ye shall have double; and for confusion they shall rejoice in their portion: therefore in their land they shall possess the double: everlasting joy shall be unto them” (Isa 61:7).
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“For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him” (2 Chro 16:9).
“He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint” (Isa 40:29-31).
“And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Phi 4:7).
“The LORD will give strength unto his people; the LORD will bless his people with peace” (Psa 29:11).
“The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing” (Zep 3:17).
There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God” (Heb 4:9)
“For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father” (Rom 8:15).
“Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb 4:16).
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Forever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven” (Psa 119:89).
“God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?” (Num 23:19).
“For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it” (Isa 55:10,11).
“For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us” (2 Cor 1:20).
“For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring” (Isa 44:3).
“And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit” (Joel 2:28,29).
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“For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith” (1 Jn 5:4).
“And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives to the death” (Rev 12:11).
Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Eph 2:,6).
“Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church” (Eph 1:20-22).
“Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you” (Luk 10:19).
“And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover” (Mark 16:16-18).
“All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen” (Matt 28:18-20).
“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Tim 1:7).
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“For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end” (Jer 29:11).
“Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philip 4:6,7).
“To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing” (Isa 28:12). “There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God” (Heb 4:9).
“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness” (Isa 41:10).
“For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the LORD that hath mercy on thee” (Isa 54:10).
“Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not” (Jer 33:3).
“When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee” (Isa 43:2).
“And even to your old age I am he; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you” (Isa 46:4).
“Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling; For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone” (Psa 91:9-12).
“The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them” (Psa 34:7).
I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the
noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee” (Psa 91:2-7).
“It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness” (Lam 3:22, 23). “And be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Heb 13:5b).
“He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation” (Psa 91:15,16).
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Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession” (Psa 2:8).
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psa 46:1). “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psa 27:1).
The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe” (Prov 18:10). “Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah” (Psa 32:7).
“The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms” (Deut 33:27). “But thou, O LORD, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head” (Psa 3:3).
“In the fear of the LORD is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge” (Prov 14:26). “I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety” (Psa 4:8).
“The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace” (Exo 14:14).
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“Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me” (Isa 49:16). And “the very hairs of your head are all numbered” (Matt 10:30).
“And therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the LORD is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him” (Isa 30:18).
“For thus saith the LORD of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye” (Zec 2:8).
“No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD” (Isa 54:17).
“What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?” (Rom 8:31).
“The LORD hear thee in the day of trouble; the name of the God of Jacob defend thee; Send thee help from the sanctuary, and strengthen thee out of Zion” (Psa 20:1,2).
“The LORD bless thee, and keep thee:
The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:
The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace” (Num 6:24).
“He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand.
The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.
The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.
The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore” (Psa 121:3-8).
“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever” (Psa 23:6).
