| (Copyright 01-23-2025) by Dwight Fleming (Oroville, California) |
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| As Christians, what is our inheritance? What was the inheritance or birthright of the firstborn? Can we lose our inheritance? We all know the story of Esau and Jacob. They were twins but Esau was the firstborn which gave him the birthright blessings of the firstborn. Yet Esau despised his birthright inheritance and sold it for a bowl of lentil stew to his brother Jacob. Not a smart move on Esau’s part. He gave up God’s promises to his grandfather Abraham to satisfy his physical need. The Bible warns us not to be like Esau (Hebrews 12:15-17). In the book of Exodus, we learn of the final plague where God would kill all the firstborn in Egypt. To redeem the firstborn of the children of Israel, they were told to slay an unblemished lamb and put its blood upon the lintel and doorposts of their dwellings. This caused the death angel to “passover” their dwellings and spare the lives of their firstborn. I found an outstanding video by The Greater Church of God on the birthright of the firstborn and how it relates to us today who are waiting to be in the first resurrection. The video does not provide the name of the pastor and speaker. If anyone knows his name, please let me know. His voice and speaking skill are superb. You may want to skip past the church singing to the actual message on the firstborn. He shows how the firstborn are also firstfruits which relates to Pentecost. Yet, he still holds to the WCG belief that the resurrection will occur at Trumpets rather than on a future Pentecost. Other than that slight difference, I agree with everything else. Overall, I found his teaching very edifying. The second video, linked below, is by Gary Keesee and also deals with our inheritance. Gary has a different perspective than you may have ever previously heard. It will cause you to look at scripture and see things that you may have never noticed before. This is part one of a series. I suggest that you listen to it more than once and perhaps watch the other videos in this series on inheritance. As Pastor Gary reveals, we are sons and daughters of God and co-heirs with Christ. We are not beggars. Yet we often think that begging is the only way that God will hear our prayers. Gary explains how God views us as sons and daughters and not as slaves. Just as the children of Israel who left Egypt still had a slave mentality, we also may still be trapped in a slave mentality in our worship of God. These two videos complement each other. Let them provide a good way to spend the Sabbath if you aren’t able to attend a local church group. Our inheritance as Christians is greater than we can ever imagine. Don’t despise it or let it slip. “Hold fast to what you have, so that no one can take your crown!” (Revelation 3:11). Video links: Firstborn Teaching: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlO1VVAamrU Inheritance, part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlafuLw_CKU ———————————————————————————————————- See Dwight Fleming’s other articles at: Fleming, Dwight – Church of God, Bismarck (church-of-god-bismarck.org) ———————————————————————————————————- |
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