You Have an Inheritance, With 6000 Plus Benefits

No matter what's going on in your life right now, let me begin by expressing the importance of embracing God's plan and purpose for your life.

The truth is, WE ALL have an inner desire for a greater purpose. Something meaningful. Something that matters. God created winners, not losers. We can all win by successfully living God’s plan and purpose for our lives.

Despite your past or present season, God has created you and me on purpose ... with a purpose. You may have allowed your perception of what’s possible to shrink, and as a result many of your dreams have remained buried under a mountain of caution, doubt, and fear. The big dream seems too risky and unrealistic. How would you even begin? After all, your thoughts are of an earlier time, the foolishness of a fantasy, perhaps the same type of fantasy as winning the lotto. You might hope or dream, but you don’t believe.

My mission is to help you resurrect God’s purpose and plan for your life, not your plan. So who am I? I am a child of God, just like you. Aside from being a husband and a dad, I’m a business guy. A serial entrepreneur. A CEO. For the past 37 years, I’ve been in the trenches, helping people like you reach their goals.

Ask yourself this question: what would you set out to accomplish if you had all the resources and knew you COULD NOT fail? Only with God is this possible!

If you believe God actually exists, there’s also a good chance you believe God created every human being as part of His plan ... WITH a specific plan and purpose for each one.

Most believers will agree that God has a plan and purpose for each one of us, yet when asked what their specific plan and purpose is, regrettably ... they can’t tell you.

That’s because most people struggle to define what will make them happy -- the American dream, the ideal career, a relationship, a certain house, a car, a specific level of income or lifestyle. We all want to know “What will make me happy, and how will I know when I get there?”

When life has not worked out the way we imagined, it’s natural to ask, “Why am I on the planet? Is this all there is? There must be more, right?”

So what if God actually has a plan and purpose for your life? Wouldn’t you want to know what it is? The truth is, God will begin to meet the desires of your heart as you pursue His plan and purpose. Closely examine these three truths that will change your life forever:

Truth #1 – God has a master plan and purpose for your life.

Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV) – “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Truth #2 – God will reveal His plan (for you) to you.

Psalm 16:11 (NIV) – You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

Truth #3 – No person or thing can stop His plan for you ... Except You!

Psalm 33:11 (NIV) – But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of His heart through all generations.

Whether you are a believer, an unbeliever, churched, de-churched, or un-churched, God stands ready to prove to you that He exists, that He loves you, that He has a plan and purpose for your life, and that His plan will completely fulfill you. Furthermore, no person, event, or circumstance can stop you from fulfilling His plan, except you, SHOULD YOU CHOOSE not to identify it, pursue it, and fulfill it.

God does not promise us life on easy street, however. Life with or without God will have many struggles. Trust me on this one. I’ve been around the block a few times and life hasn’t been easy. Growing up was hard. I was raised in a home with an alcoholic dad. Life was messy. A constant embarrassment. Dad came home drunk most nights. There was always tension until he got home because we knew he’d be driving home drunk. He was a big tough truck driver, and sometimes he drove the eighteen-wheeler home. So we worried. Then when he came barging through our front door, drunk as a skunk, first we were always relieved that he made it, and then the evening’s fireworks began. Life wasn’t easy. But we all have our stories, right?

If you knew that God, who created not only you but this entire world, was offering to help you, would you let Him? God desires a relationship with you that will become stronger through your struggles. So will you accept God’s purpose and master plan for your life?

Together, we will explore a set of personal development stages you must go through as you identify and fulfill His master plan and purpose for your life. You might find yourself in more than one of these stages at a time. Each stage is a good stage, and every stage is a growth stage. The names I have given each stage are merely for clarity.

Some disclaimers: I'm only the messenger, not the message.

I am only providing you with the information to help you identify and fulfill God’s plan and purpose for you. None of this information is new. In fact, you do not even have to read this article to get the information. It’s all available in the Bible. That’s where I got it. I have only arranged it in what I hope is a logical manner to help you better understand the Bible’s message. The Bible is the authority here, not this article. As you understand the Bible, it becomes knowledge. Nothing will work until the information converts to knowledge.

Over the next 10 weeks, I'm going to walk you through ten stages on how to know God's plan and purpose for your life.

The first 6 stages will help you set a solid foundation for your journey. Without these foundational principles under your feet, you are likely to fail. Stages 7 and 8 will help you get started identifying God’s master plan and purpose for your life. Stages 9 and 10 deal with God’s ability to provide everything you need to accomplish that goal. Wow! God thought of everything!

Expect the Holy Spirit to be your personal mentor as you read these articles, helping you convert the information into knowledge you can use to fulfill God’s plan and purpose for your life. God has put six words on my heart for you as you begin this amazing journey.

FEAR NOT. BELIEVE ONLY. GET READY.         

Like most people, I didn’t come from privilege. But I knew there were many who were worse off than we were. If we were poor, we just didn’t know it. We were the lower middle class. I grew up in a Hispanic neighborhood of hard-working people struggling to hold on to the little they had. We weren’t poor poor, but we always struggled to pay our bills. Ironically, I grew up around privilege, and I liked it. I just wasn’t part of it; I was just an outsider looking in.

As a kid, I went to a Christian school operated by our neighborhood church, Community Grace Brethren Church in Whittier, California. While the school was located in a rough part of town, it attracted what we in the neighborhood referred to as “the rich kids.” The privileged. They had family benefits we didn’t have. Back then the church preached that people of privilege couldn’t be Godly with all that money, but they seemed pretty happy to me. One particular family seemed to have it all, the Gemmils. Their son Curt was one of my best friends. They had money. They had privilege. Mr. Gemmil was a successful lawyer, drove around in a limousine, lived in a country club neighborhood, and had a vacation beach house ... life was grand. I benefited greatly from my relationship with him and his family. They treated me wonderfully, I enjoyed the perks of being friends with them, but I was still on the outside looking in. They had family benefits, and I felt fortunate to be their friend.

What I didn’t know at the time was that as a child of God, I also had family benefits. In fact, being a Christian kid seemed more of a liability than a privilege. We were taught lots of rules, just not about the family benefits. I’m guessing the religious stiffs running the joint where I served time as a kid (the Christian school), also had no idea that our Father in Heaven was loaded, that we had some family benefits and no one bothered to tell us! Call it a lack of knowledge. We didn’t know about the Will or the Inheritance, so we lived beneath our privilege. Way beneath. But if Jesus came so we would HAVE life, ENJOY life, and have it in ABUNDANCE through Him, then why are so many people, including Christians, so miserable?

Why is there so much lack instead of abundance?

For too many Americans, life simply hasn’t worked out the way they planned. The American Dream no longer seems possible. Too many Americans are either underemployed or unemployed. Many good people have lost their jobs and can’t find new ones. Millions have faced foreclosure and some have even faced homelessness. We Americans, along with the rest of the world, are buried deep in debt, living month to month, and for too many, retirement seems unattainable.

While working Americans may feel fortunate to have jobs, remarkably, 70 percent of Americans hate them. In other words, they’re glad they are employed, yet they can’t stand what they do for a living. They have a job, not a career. They are unfulfilled and feel they were meant to do something greater than what they are presently doing.

But the fact is, the average American will spend more than 100,000 hours working in unfulfilling jobs, trying to reach a dream many believe is no longer possible because they see their careers as avenues to their dreams.

Some blame the government, the President, Congress, Wall Street, the rich, the Democrats, the Republicans, the Jews, the Muslims, the blacks, the whites ... the illegal immigrants, and many are simply angry with GOD for their misfortune.

Do you want to know what is more troubling than the doom and gloom of our present circumstances? Even though 92 percent of Americans believe in God, most Americans (including Christians) do not realize He never intended us to live this way.

The truth is ... GOD CREATED EARTH TO BE A PARADISE FOR MAN.

Though Adam and Eve sinned, bringing the curse of sin to planet earth, when Jesus died on the cross for our sins, He paid the full price so you and I no longer have to live under the curse. We are redeemed from the curse!

Galatians 3:13-14 (NIV) – Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.” He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.

Jesus says that Satan came to kill, steal, and destroy, but He came so we could have a full and abundant life:

John 10:10 (AMP) – The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows).

What so many people (especially Christians) miss out on is that once we become members of God’s family (when we repent for our sins and invite Jesus to become Lord of our lives), we become His heirs, heirs to an inheritance left to us by God Himself. This inheritance is news to many, including those Christians who think of being born-again as a life insurance policy to gain entry into heaven. But they completely miss out on the fact that God has an incredible plan and purpose for each one of us here on earth.

The fact is, most of us are just too busy struggling along in life to read about our inheritance in the Bible. If someone like Bill Gates, one of the richest people in America, included you in his will, making you his heir, would you not read the will? There is a word for a person who is simply too busy to take the time to read the will. Take a look at what Galatians says about this:

Galatians 4:1-7 (NIV) – What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. He is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. So also, when we were children, we were in slavery under the basic principles of the world. But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.

Again, when you accept Jesus as your personal savior, you become a member of God’s family. YOU instantly become an heir. Through Jesus Christ, YOU have access to ALL He has made available to His family.

The Bible is God’s Word to us. It lays out His literal will (what He wants us to do) and His covenant will, which details His inheritance for us here on earth and in heaven.

But if you don’t make time to read His Word, you’ll wind up living beneath your privilege. To accept and receive the full benefits of this inheritance, you must first read “The Will” (the Bible) to understand what God promises us, along with His conditions and instructions for gaining access to our inheritance.

Before we move forward, let’s agree on four basics:

1. God is our Creator.
2. The Bible is God’s Word.
3. God’s Word (The Bible) is His will.
4. God’s will NEVER conflicts with His Word.

If you are struggling with these four basics, go to God in prayer and study the Word. I am 100 percent confident that God will reveal these truths to you in a way only He can.

Galatians 1:11-12 (NIV) – I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.

Some do not believe God’s Word is 100 percent accurate and true. They believe “in” God, yet they really don’t believe Him or His Word. Some believe only parts of the Word are for us, but this thinking limits God’s message to us. It’s true, for example, that 1 Thessalonians was written to the Church of Thessalonica, not specifically “to” Gerald Duran. The entire Bible, however, was specifically written “for” Gerald Duran.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 (AMP) – Every Scripture is God-breathed (given by His inspiration) and profitable for instruction, for reproof and conviction of sin, for correction of error and discipline in obedience, [and] for training in righteousness (in holy living, in conformity to God's will in thought, purpose, and action), So that the man of God may be complete and proficient, well fitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work.

As you go deeper into learning from God’s Word, you will find that it is your personal guide for navigating your journey, that it will always work, that God always keeps His promises, and that God’s Word is forever.

Psalm 119:105 (AMP) – Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

Isaiah 55:11 (AMP) – So shall My word be that goes forth out of My mouth: it shall not return to Me void [without producing any effect, useless], but it shall accomplish that which I please and purpose, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

Numbers 23:19 (AMP) – God is not a man, that He should tell or act a lie, neither the son of man, that He should feel repentance or compunction [for what He has promised]. Has He said and shall He not do it? Or has He spoken and shall He not make it good?

Matthew 24:35 (AMP) – Sky and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.

Isaiah 40:8 (AMP) – The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.

If you are not a member of God’s family but you want to be, this would be a great time to join it. Here are some simple steps to salvation so you can begin your journey to identify and fulfill God’s plans and purpose for your life:

Repent – Ask God for forgiveness for your sins.

Romans 3:23 (NIV) – For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Acts 3:19 (NIV) – Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.

Believe – Receive the free gift of salvation.

Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV) – For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.

John 3:16 (NIV) – For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Simply pray the following prayer in faith, and Jesus will be your Lord!

“God, I repent of my sins and ask for your forgiveness as you promise in Acts 3:19. I believe that you sent your son Jesus to the cross to die for my sins. I also believe that Jesus has risen from the dead. I receive your free gift of salvation and I commit my life to following Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior.”

If you have prayed this prayer, welcome to the family of God. Whether you are a new Christian or a seasoned pro, you are ready to begin your journey to discovering God’s plan and purpose for your life. The point of this article is for us to realize how easy it is for us to live beneath our privilege because we’ve missed what Christ won for us at the cross. Your understanding of this inheritance will begin to make more sense as you invest more time in God's Word.

Before we move on, I want to give you one example of a biblical promise that is part of our inheritance package. Throughout the Bible, God instructs us not to worry or be in fear. These are not His suggestions; they are His commands to us and He expects us to obey them. This is one that we will all struggle with. But know this, God will never ask us to do something He has not empowered us to do through His Word. What would you give to be free from worry and fear? Actually, there is not anything you can give to be free from worry and fear. But God has made a way for us to have victory over worry and fear through the power of His Word.

(While I've shared this story in an earlier post, I think it makes sense to share it again.)

Until 1996, I battled worry and fear with my personal will power. As an entrepreneur, every week was a battle. I accepted this stress as part of being a CEO. Just tough it out, right? I was in my mid-thirties and had just sold my company and entered a partnership with a competitor to build one of the fastest-growing companies in America. Until that point, the Bible was just a book of rules, a list of dos and don’ts. We went to church. We prayed. God was a helper, but in my mind, I did most of the heavy lifting. My wife Leslie was pregnant with our second child Alec.

It was easy-street with our first son Brandon. Such a good boy. Almost perfect. With great anticipation, we looked forward to Alec to complete our little happy family unit. I had dropped my wife off for a doctor’s visit and drove to my office to get a few things done. I wasn’t there long before I received a frantic call from the nurse instructing me to get back to the doctor’s office immediately. My wife had been given some bad news and I needed to be there. That day we found out that Alec was a child with Down Syndrome, that he had a major heart defect, that he might not make it, that his life would not be ideal, and that he wouldn’t be the perfect son we had hoped for. Who hopes for anything less than perfect, right? No one hopes for Down Syndrome. No one hopes for heart defects. 

The doctors let us know we could terminate the pregnancy. Though we were upset, not knowing anything about kids with Down Syndrome or heart problems, we knew immediately that Alec was God’s gift to us and that we were about to begin a new journey, perhaps a wild ride. So with great fanfare, Alec was welcomed into the world and into our family. Our life changed dramatically; we entered a season of spending much time in and out of Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City. It seemed as if we lived there. Alec went through many heart surgeries. We never knew whether he was going to live or die. Our thoughts constantly teetered between life and death.

Balancing life was hard. Leslie and I juggled our jobs, both sons, along with home and hospital life. We were exhausted and very very stressed. I can remember being at a breaking point and pleading with God, letting Him know that I was at my wits end, that I couldn’t handle all the stress of this season ... and then I heard His voice. That faint voice in my heart stated very clearly, “Then give it to me.” That week I searched the scriptures for every verse I could find on stress and how to get God’s peace. To my surprise, there were many. I read them and it was clear. I didn’t have to carry the burden; I could surrender it to God and find peace that passes all understanding.

John 16:33. John 14:27. 2 Thessalonians 3:16. Romans 15:13. Phi- Philippians 4:6-7. Isaiah 26:3. I found the scriptures. I read them. Now the question was, did I really believe them? Sure I believed in God. But did I have the faith to actually believe His promises? Make no mistake; these ARE promises. Not sometimes He does, sometimes He doesn’t. No maybes. Through His Word, God was offering a promise – to me! He wasn’t going to force it on me. They were mine to accept, just like I had accepted Him as my Savior at a young age. So I decided to JUST BELIEVE. And for the first time in a long time, my wife and I had peace. The trouble was not gone, but the stress, worry, and fear were gone. Many times we’d take the burden back, finding ourselves back to square one, only to surrender it back to God and receive our peace once again.

What I realized was the Bible wasn’t just a book of rules. It was a book of promises. God’s promises to us. These promises were part of our family benefits package, part of our inheritance. Turns out, there are about 6,000 promises in there for us, a promise for every challenge and obstacle we’ll ever face. Moving forward, I decided to no longer rely on my personal will power; instead, I was committed to Word power.

This is part of the inheritance God has made available to us. Ephesians refers to this as putting on the armor of God. This is not available to nonfamily members. Are you starting to see what I mean by inheritance?

Here's The Big Idea

The inheritance is our family benefits package that instantly becomes available to us when we become members of God’s family. It consists of 6,000-plus biblical promises and truths that we as believers now have access to. I refer to this as The Will. No matter what we go through on our journey, there are scriptures and promises detailing how we can have victory over any and all circumstances that we might face in life.

1. You get saved. You get an inheritance. Galatians 3:13-14
2. You either know your inheritance or live like a slave. Galatians 4
3. Whatever your circumstances are in life, see what the Word says about your situation. Psalm 119:105
4. Learn the Word’s conditions and instructions for gaining access to your inheritance, God’s promises for believers. 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:4

In a future post, I’ll address how to have victory over worry and fear, but for now I want to whet your appetite for more of these great benefits God has made available for our journey here on earth.

-Gerald