Your Inheritance From God

Here’s the tragedy of the American Church today. Every Christian is given an inheritance that is rarely understood and almost never enjoyed. This explains why 70% of all Christians are living in fear, almost never sharing their faith, and our world is in chaos.

Sharing your faith and having absolute faith are inseparable. You can’t share what you don’t understand, but when you do understand, no one can stop you! This truth will ignite your life for the rest of your life!

Your inheritance from God is yours to enjoy immediately! This is the truth that will set you free and turn every day into an adventure. God’s not a part-time God and you’re not a part-time believer. Enjoying anything without God is sinking sand. When you’re living your inheritance, everything in your life becomes Spiritual.

Everything you do and say is known, if not directed, by God. You can break God’s heart, or you can allow Him to add His Blessings to everything you do. The Apostle Paul knew that being God’s bondservant ignited his life, filled him with joy, and made him fearless.

There’s nothing that compares with knowing you’re exactly where God wants you to be, doing what He wants you to do, surrounded by His Guardian Angels, powered by His Holy Spirit, impacting the lives of everyone around you…and earning your Rewards in Heaven. This is what real freedom looks like!

You could say that Barry Meguiar is enjoying the inheritance of his family business.  In the briefest of terms, Meguiar’s was founded by his grandfather, Frank Meguiar Jr., in 1901. Then it transitioned to Frank’s three sons and then ultimately down to his grandson Barry.  End of story?  Not exactly!

Frank Meguiar had 12 kids, with dozens of grandkids, and all the dysfunctions and in-fighting of a large family growing into adulthood…that carried into the family business. Too many battles to count!  After the passing of Barry’s father and older uncle, Barry was left with his remaining uncle and sons as his partners.

But they had no passion for cars, waxing their cars, or selling their products to Car Guys who do wax their cars.  It was bizarre. They wanted to stay focused on the professional car dealer and body shop markets.  In revolt, they eventually sold their 50% of the company to a Joint Venture Company which was even more out of step.

Beginning in his grade school years, Barry immersed himself in every facet of the business, from working in the lab with his dad, making the products, and working on the production line.  Eventually, he created the marketing persona and wrote all the copy that separated Meguiar’s from all of their competitors.  He was also the face of Meguiar’s on Car Crazy TV which ran for 18 years and aired on Discovery Networks globally. In the truest sense, Barry embodied the entirety of Meguiar’s. He lived and represented his inheritance!

Always Listen for God’s Voice

In spite of exploding sales, Barry often pleaded with God for an exit plan from the problems, if not the business. The family was continually sabotaging him. But he never lost his joy and those on the outside never knew what he was facing on the inside.  The only reason he stayed on course was God’s voice telling him to keep on keeping on.

Even Karen, who was always at his side with a scripture and a word of encouragement, once asked why he was working so hard when no one appreciated him.  His answer was, “God does.”

Honor God With Your Entire Life

Looking back, Frank Meguiar Jr. had a dream that all his kids and grandkids would end up in the family business. All of them were “predestined” with equal opportunity!  But family strife, distractions, wrong motives, and bad decisions took their toll, ever since Frank Meguiar passed away in 1950.

The end of the story is that Barry is the only Meguiar still enjoying the inheritance of what his grandfather began in 1901.   Not because he was better or smarter, but because He was fully committed and consistently honored God with his life and his business.

It was 1976 when Barry asked God to tell him if he should stay in his business or go into full-time ministry. That’s when God sent the stranger into his office to tell him, “Your business is your pulpit!”   This was the turning point that changed everything in Barry’s life!

In response to His mother’s question, Jesus said, “I must be about My Father’s Business!”  Jesus knew full well, as should we, that the reason God placed Him on earth was to reach the lost. Being about your Father’s Business compels you to look after your Heavenly Father’s interests.  And God’s only interest on earth is reaching the lost through us and making us Joint Heirs with Christ!   This is unfathomable! God wants to make you a Joint Heir with the Eternal Son of God, who made you and everything that exists (Col. 1:16).  Can you grasp the enormity of what this means and what lies ahead of you for receiving, living, and sharing your inheritance from God?

Power and Posessions are a Jail Cell

In the movie, God is Not Dead, a powerfully successful son is chiding his old mother lost in dementia about being a Christian.  Then God gives her a lucid moment to say, “Your power and possessions are a jail cell, with the door left open but you won’t leave. But the door will soon be shut, and you’ll have no escape.”  The most tragic of all tragedies is that most of the world’s population (Matthew 7:13) are about to have the door shut on them.

Ephesians 1:5 tells us: God decided in advance to adopt you into His Own Family.  He predestined all of us (Romans 8:16) to be a Joint Heir with Christ, giving you the same inheritance as His Son!  But He ALSO gave you the free choice to reject Him AND your inheritance and spend Eternity in Hell!!!

It’s important to understand that God doesn’t send anyone to Hell!  It’s the antithesis of everything God wants for you. He made Hell the most horrible place possible to make sure you choose Heaven.  Everyone in Hell will know that by rejecting their inheritance (their gift from God they could not earn) they sent themselves to Hell.

Amidst all the concerns and distractions of this world, populating Heaven is God’s continuum from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21.  Your inheritance began at the moment you were saved, to keep you focused on God and not on this world.  Isaiah 43:10 explains that God created you as His Spokesman so that you will believe. Sharing your faith is living your inheritance!

You Have Marching Orders!

Wherever he goes, Barry’s earthly inheritance is displayed by his love for creating perfect show car paint finishes. But of far greater importance, Barry’s Eternal Inheritance is displayed by his love for moving everyone, every day, closer to Jesus.

Paul said: “What gives us hope and joy and what will be our proud Reward and Crown as we stand before our Lord Jesus when He Returns?  It is you!”  This changes the entire subject of sharing your faith! As you actively share your inheritance with your world, those you lead to the Lord will be your reward in Heaven for Eternity!   Who doesn’t want that?

God’s Business is Your Inheritance! 

Barry spent his entire lifetime representing his earthly inheritance inside his Eternal Inheritance. And God wants you to do the same. This is what it means for Jesus Christ to be the Lord of your (entire) life.

If you’re a believer, this is YOUR “Family Business!”  This is pivotal and gigantic for you to hear and understand!  When His mother, Mary, was looking for Him, Jesus replied:  I must be about My Father’s Business (Luke 2:49). He knew, as should you, God’s business and your work is getting people into Heaven.