Inheritance is a Reward not a Right

Only those who love Christ will have an inheritance from Him. Those who have trusted Christ have an amazing inheritance.

Remember His example as we are growing old. The earthly goods we accumulated over the years should go to those who respected and honored us, not to those who spurned, rejected and abandoned us.

Galatians 5:19-21
"Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God."

If our love was not enough in life, our care for them when they were young and our teaching about Christ was spurned all through our lives, what makes us think that will change just because in our death they received our stuff?

Giving material possessions and money to a contemptuous adult child does not change their heart toward us or toward God.

The greatest blessing we can leave rebellious adult children is the Bible and our written testimony to what we knew was important. Salvation through Christ is the example we leave, no material gifts or money will match that gift.

If a child becomes hateful because we didn't leave them everything they wanted, then their heart had no love for us in it nor have they any concern about a life with Christ.

We live in an age when adult children are not satisfied with honoring us or the wisdom we have gained, they just want our stuff. If this is the mentality then it is better to withhold the material goods and allow their hidden attitude of the heart to emerge for all to see.

Our "stuff" will not save our children from hell, it may only leave them gleeful that there were no consequences for their disrespect and dishonor.

Proverbs 13:22
"A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children, but the sinner's wealth is laid up for the righteous."

Proverbs 20:21
"An inheritance gained hastily in the beginning will not be blessed in the end."

Colossians 3:23-24
"Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ."

God does not bless rebellion and neither should we, let life teach those who expect to get what they want just because they want it. Let the rebellious learn their ways do not gain them anything.

The Rebellious Hate Authority

1 The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel:

2 To know wisdom and instruction,
To discern the sayings of understanding,

3 To receive instruction in wise behavior,
Righteousness, justice and equity;

4 To give prudence to the [a]naive,
To the youth knowledge and discretion,

5 A wise man will hear and increase in learning,
And a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel,

6 To understand a proverb and a figure,
The words of the wise and their riddles.

7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;
Fools despise wisdom and instruction.
The Enticement of Sinners

8 Hear, my son, your father’s instruction
And do not forsake your mother’s teaching;

9 Indeed, they are a graceful wreath to your head
And [b]ornaments about your neck.

10 My son, if sinners entice you,
Do not consent.

11 If they say, “Come with us,
Let us lie in wait for blood,
Let us ambush the innocent without cause;

12 Let us swallow them alive like Sheol,
Even whole, as those who go down to the pit;

13 We will find all kinds of precious wealth,
We will fill our houses with spoil;

14 Throw in your lot [c]with us,
We shall all have one purse,”

15 My son, do not walk in the way with them.
Keep your feet from their path,

16 For their feet run to evil
And they hasten to shed blood.

17 Indeed, it is [d]useless to spread the baited net
In the sight of any [e]bird;

18 But they lie in wait for their own blood;
They ambush their own lives.

19 So are the ways of everyone who gains by violence;
It takes away the life of its possessors.

Roaches Scatter When the Light goes On

I just heard an interesting analogy from a Christian sister, comparing narcissists to roaches, it was appropriate in my estimation.

"Roaches scatter when the light is turned on."

While they are among other roaches they are in a colony feeding with one another in the darkness, but when that light goes on and they are discovered, they scatter every which direction to get away from the light.

John 3:19-21 "…19 And this is the verdict: The Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness more than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come into the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever practices the truth comes into the Light, so that it may be clearly seen that what he has done has been accomplished in God.”…"

If you feel left out of things among family members who are not born again and have no interest in you because you belong to God, remember it isn't you they are afraid of, but rather it is Christ in you that makes them scatter.

End Times Traits

The most prominent trait I am seeing in these end times that stand out boldly in our culture is that of "insolent pride" as described in the Bible.

Proverbs 21:24 "24"Proud," "Haughty," "Scoffer," are his names, Who acts with insolent pride."

The secular word for this trait is "narcissism", taken from Greek mythology describing a young man named "Narcissus", who looked into a pool of water, seeing his reflection, he fell in love with himself. While I do not look to Greek mythology to justify a belief in something, in this case it describes the heart of the secular man without Christ, with the same traits God presents in the Bible.

2 Timothy 3:1-5
"3 But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come.
2 For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy,
3 unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good,
4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
5 holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these."

Back in the 1970's I had arguments with narcissists who were deeply invested in the teaching of "self esteem", and sadly these self esteem advocates were those who referred to themselves as "Evangelical Christians."

I was a new believer back then, reading my Bible as though my life depended on it, and so it did. It was the Bible that taught me that love of self was a problem not a virtue. So the question arises, "why did so many Evangelicals believe self esteem was important." Perhaps the answer lies in their own attitude, perhaps they wanted to love themselves above others. Personal promotion was a dominant trait among those I had contact with often. The "Evangelicals" wanted to fit in with what the schools were teaching, so they ignored the Bible they were reading to follow after man's wisdom. The Catholic church did this many times down through the centuries, incorporating paganism into their dogma to be inclusive. Somehow I think this same thing happened to the "Evangelicals", and they don't know it.

1 Corinthians 1:25 "25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength."

1 Corinthians 3:19 "19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness.”

It wasn't until years later I realized what was going on, that is that, most Christians back in the day were never born again, deeply involved in loving themselves, interested only in appearing superior to others, they brought a false gospel of self love to the Evangelical church. We can no longer trust "Evagelicalism", it has become synonymous with self exaltation.

Now we have a full blown epidemic of self love permeating the church gatherings, causing false doctrine to become the norm while the truth of the gospel is spurned as mean spirited because of it's tendency to make people feel convicted and sad.

I heard in past years, a phrase that came out of the Bible colleges and seminaries, which is "we must say things in a way that they will be received." If this were true then Christ and the apostles must have done something wrong, they were all persecuted by those who refused to hear. This is the very thinking that has destroyed the gospel in the churches. We do not do things so people will like us, we know the Word of God and speak as led by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit has been left out of things in the "Evangelical" church in favor of man's devices.

We do not say and do things so people will like us, we say and do things as led by the Spirit of God and leave the results to Him. If someone rages at us, they are raging at Christ in us. Their rebellion against Him is their problem. Whether or not they like us is irrelevant.

1 Corinthians 3:5-7 "…5 What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? They are servants through whom you believed, as the Lord has assigned to each his role. 6 I planted the seed and Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. 7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.…"

If our goal is to be liked by the world then we are a part of the world. If our goal is to be appreciated and elevated by others, then we will water down the gospel to please the hearer, it will not be the gospel at all but a false gospel.

Mark 13:12-13 "…12 Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rise against their parents and have them put to death. 13 You will be hated by everyone on account of My name, but the one who perseveres to the end will be saved."

John 15:18-20 "18 If the world hates you, understand that it hated Me first. 19 If you were of the world, it would love you as its own. Instead, the world hates you, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. 20 Remember the word that I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you as well; if they kept My word, they will keep yours as well.…"

Let me tell you, the gospel is suppose to make people sad, if they do not become saddened over their own sin, so much so that they want to be changed by Christ into a new creation, then they will and most have become Christians in title only.

It is only brokenness over our sinfulness that will cause God to save us from ourselves and hell. Without that brokenness and confession of sin, joining a Christian gathering only serves to bring arrogance and pride to the soul of the unregenerate, causing self promotion and personal aggrandizement.

Those who join a gathering when they have not been changed into a new creation, intensify their pride and self righteousness. I have seen more of this in my lifetime than I have seen genuine love for Christ and for the brethren.

It is common for narcissists to become proud of themselves for "not doing" or "not being" something, when the reality is that they are the things they claim they are not. They are committed to saying they are the very thing they are not. They are also committed to saying they are not the very thing they are. Words, in their mind are enough, the actual living out of what they say does not have to happen as long as they can convince others through words.

John 7:24 "24 Stop judging by outward appearances, and start judging justly.”"

We know these people well when they are challenged, even in the mildest forms, to evaluate something about themselves, they argue and rage to defend themselves. This is not the response of a godly humble believer. A person who loves the Lord more than life itself, will evaluate a challenge, respond to it in gentleness and even admit openly and honestly their own failings.

I have been blessed to have known a few tried and true genuine born again believers since my transformation in the 70's, but sadly, few. It breaks my heart as I watch those around me glory in their own self exaltation in order to appear on the outside, something that does not exist on the inside.

If there is no brokenness over sin there is no salvation, it's just that simple. We know when there has been brokenness because of the fruit of the Spirit that will be present continually, not a coming and going or display of righteousness from time to time, there will be a steady living out of the fruit continually. If there is a slight that others bring to their attention, the born again believer feels badly and apologizes. The full blown narcissist can never do this. If a born again believer is falsely accused, they speak the truth to correct the problem and remain steady and calm.

Those who are given to rage and arguing are demonstrating their guilty conscience, if not over the thing they have been challenged about, at least something else in their lives.

Galatians 5:22-23
"22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."

There are many people who would tell you themselves that they possess this fruit, but at closer inspection, they are not present in their lives.

Narcissists have a tendency to claim bad things about others they they themselves possess. The devil is the one behind this, in order to demolish the soul of the one who loves Christ, He will use the narcissist to cause doubt in the believer, removing their boldness, diminishing the godly traits by causing the target to become more like the narcissist out of frustration. We must resist all attempts on the part of the narc to cause us to falter in our faith.

1 Peter 5:7-9 "…7 Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. 8 Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in your faith and in the knowledge that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering.…"

Another trait present in the lives of born again believers is a deep love of the brethren. There can not be this love when there is brutal and constant demonstration of competition to appear holier than others. Often this manifests itself in the form of demeaning others who do not elevate the narcissist and who do not adhere to their humanistic rules. Many people in the church pridefully make rules for others to follow that Christ never commanded, thinking this appearance of self righteousness is enough, actual righteousness in Christ is not very important, as long as these self appointed judges appear to be outwardly righteous.

1 John 3:13-15 "…13 So do not be surprised, brothers, if the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. The one who does not love remains in death. 15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that eternal life does not reside in a murderer.…"

Those who are deeply controlled by insolent pride, do not love the brethren, they merely want to be elevated by the brethren. When the brethren does not elevate their status to "special", then those who do not, will be demeaned, dismissed, ignored and even gossiped about to destroy them. There are many narcissists in the pulpits of America, they love the control, the adulation and adoration of their underlings so much so that they are resistant to any form of correction or discipline on the part of those whom they see as beneath them.

So often when this verse in John 7 is used, it is used to describe those who judge clothing, but in fact it has to do with the outward displays of righteousness that are not present in the inner soul of a man. As believers we need to stop judging others as wonderful and righteous simply because they do all the right things we think they should do, or the things they say, but watch their life overall. There must also be the ceasing of judging others merely because they "appear" to lack something we think they should have", that is not even mentioned in the Word.

If everything is evaluated by the Word of God, there will not be this competition to be better than others.

We love all the brethren, we treat with honor and respect all of the brethren, but no one is more special than someone else. Everyone has the gifts given to them by Christ, the glory goes to Christ not the person to whom He gave them.

Romans 3:10-11 "10 As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; 11 There is no one who understands; no one who seeks God.…"

A true born again believer will be uncomfortable with "special" status or superficial praise. A true born again believer is satisfied with fellowship with others around the Word of God and agreement on the principles of Christ. Not only is there no need to be seen as special, there is an aversion to it.

Never be embarrassed to speak the principles of Christ openly, no matter who is present or what you believe the response might be. If the Holy Spirit moves us to say or do something, then He alone is the One we are accountable to, no other.

Let us keep in mind that all this narcissism in the church is from the father of lies, who is controlling the hearts and minds of pretenders in the church today. Many pretenders are in the pulpits, loving their elevated status, even willing to defend it to the harm of those in the body. These types are Pharisees amongst us.

James 4:7
"7 Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you."

Parents are God's Appointment

Our attitudes toward our parents, one or both parents, is a reflection or our attitude toward God.

We cannot honor God we cannot see when we practice dishonor toward our parents whom we can see.

Christ's Love For Mankind

This is just how much Christ loved mankind and each and every person.

I understand this, because, even though our children may have rejected us as an authority and object of their love in their lives, we still love them, we still grieve over their rejection of us. Christ is like this too, He grieves over those He has to send to hell, those He knows would have a wonderful eternity if they would only trust in Him.

Christ removes His help and His love when someone rejects Him. He remains available until a person dies, but once the choice has been made against Him, it is over, their fate is sealed and they find themselves in the lake of fire one day.

Christ extended His love to all mankind, but many, even most, will reject His love in favor of following their own foolishness.

1 Timothy 2:3-5 "…3 This is good and pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,…"

I am convinced that every person's name is in the book of life because Christ wanted all to be saved, but those who reject Christ have their names "blotted out." God does not say he writes the new names of believers, He says he blots out of the book of life those who reject Him. So...I believe all names are in there from the beginning and the ones who reject Christ are erased.

That's just how much Christ wanted everyone to be saved, His plan that all mankind would be, so He put their names in, until they extend the final rejection.

Psalm 69:28 "…27 Add iniquity to their iniquity, And may they not come into Your righteousness. 28 May they be blotted out of the book of life And may they not be recorded with the righteous."

Revelation 3:4-6 "…4 But you do have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments, and because they are worthy, they will walk with Me in white. 5 Like them, the one who is victorious will be clothed in white garments. And I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but I will confess his name before My Father and His angels. 6 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.…"

Contempt for Parents Shows Lack of Salvation

God shows us just how serious it is to dishonor parents on any level. When in law children dishonor their in law parents, it is the same as dishonoring their own parents, they will be judged for their rebellion.

To dishonor in law parents is refusing to acknowledge the love of a spouse for his/her own parents. To dishonor the parents of our spouse is to show an absence of love for that spouse.

Many in law children are turning their spouses away from their parents, simply out of spiteful drama, to dominate their spouse. This is evil and worthy of God's wrath.

When we marry we are expected by God to honor the parents of our spouse the same way we should honor our own parents. God told us to leave and cleave in forming our own families, but He never removed His command to continue to honor parents in their old age.

When children show contempt for their parents or the parents of their spouse, they are showing their contempt for God. It is strong if not conclusive evidence that the grown children do not belong to Christ, they are most likely have never been born again.

Leviticus 20:9
"For anyone who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death; he has cursed his father or his mother; his blood is upon him."

Colossians 3:20
"Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord."

Deuteronomy 21:18-21
“If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and, though they discipline him, will not listen to them, then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city at the gate of the place where he lives, and they shall say to the elders of his city, ‘This our son is stubborn and rebellious; he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard.’ Then all the men of the city shall stone him to death with stones. So you shall purge the evil from your midst, and all Israel shall hear, and fear."

Exodus 21:15
“Whoever strikes his father or his mother shall be put to death."

Ephesians 6:1
"Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right."

Proverbs 30:17
"The eye that mocks a father and scorns to obey a mother will be picked out by the ravens of the valley and eaten by the vultures."