Grace in Galatians (Part 76): The Numbers Don't Lie - Why Heirs Live Like Orphans
Today, we continue our series entitled “Living the Grace Life,” where we will learn to embrace and walk in God’s unmerited, unearned, and often undeserved favor throughout 2025.
As part of this series, I am teaching a verse-by-verse exposition of the book of Galatians.
Key scriptures for this year:
(2 Corinthians 9:8 TPT)
"Yes, God is more than ready to overwhelm you with every form of grace, so that you will have more than enough of everything—every moment and in every way. He will make you overflow with abundance in every good thing you do."
(Galatians 5:4 TPT)
"If you want to be made right with God by fulfilling the obligations of the law, you have cut off more than your flesh—you have cut yourselves off from Christ and have fallen away from the revelation of grace!"
(Romans 6:14 ERV)
"Sin will not be your master, because you are not under law. You now live under God's grace."
(1 Corinthians 15:10 CEV)
"But God treated me with undeserved grace! He made me what I am, and his grace wasn't wasted. I worked much harder than any of the other apostles, although it was really God's grace at work and not me."
Scripture we will study today:
(Galatians 3:29 NIV)
“If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”
(Galatians 3:7 NIV)
“Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham.”
(Genesis 12:2-3 NIV)
“I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
(Romans 8:17 NIV)
“Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.”
Setting the Stage:
After spending the last few weeks celebrating that we’re blessed WITH Abraham and understanding the contrast between the blessing of faith and the curse of the Law, I am led to address something most preachers avoid. If Christians are truly Abraham’s heirs, why don’t we live like it?
Let me share some numbers that should make every believer stop and think. The Jewish population globally is approximately 15.8 million people; that’s just 0.2% of the world’s population. In America, there are about 7.7 million Jews, representing only 2.3% of the U.S. population. Meanwhile, Christians number approximately 2.6 billion globally (28.8% of the world) and 210 million in the United States (63% of Americans).
Yet despite being 144 times larger globally and 27 times larger in America, Christians don’t have anywhere near the economic influence, business leadership, or generational wealth of the Jewish community. Jewish people are disproportionately represented in Fortune 500 boardrooms, top universities, medical and legal professions, and wealth indexes. Some estimates suggest 10-20% of billionaires are Jewish, despite being 0.2% of the population!
So here’s my question: If we’re Abraham’s seed through Christ, if we’re heirs according to the promise, and if we have the same blessing Abraham had, then why are we living like spiritual orphans instead of covenant heirs?
So, what does this mean for you today? A few things.
1. You May Have an Identity Crisis, Not an Inheritance Problem.
Paul makes it crystal clear: “If you belong to Christ, then you ARE Abraham’s seed.” Not might be. Not could be. You ARE! This means you have the same covenant rights, the same blessing, the same promises. The inheritance isn’t the problem; your identity is!
How this applies to you:
— You’ve been taught to think like a servant when you’re actually a son! Many Christians approach God like employees hoping for a bonus rather than children who own the family business. Heirs don’t beg for what’s already theirs; they learn to manage it!
— You can’t live out what you don’t believe about yourself! I have told you many times that your legs will never take you where your soul has never been. So, what you believe about yourself is paramount.
— If you see yourself as “just a sinner saved by grace” instead of “an heir of God and co-heir with Christ,” you’ll live beneath your inheritance. Your behavior will always align with your beliefs about your identity! This is why I have told you that right believing leads to right living.
— Orphans think lack; heirs think legacy! An orphan worries about having enough for today. An heir thinks about building for generations. Which mindset dominates your thinking? Your answer reveals whether you’re living from your true identity!
— I can testify that when Isabella and I got married, we had a poverty mentality. I was raised on welfare, and she was raised dirt poor. When we got married, we were Christians, we loved God, we even tithed, but we never believed we had a right to an earthly inheritance, nor did we believe it was God’s will for us to prosper. We just wanted to live a comfortable life, do good things, and make it to heaven. I believe many Christians today have the same mindset.
— The numbers don’t lie. Christians have an inheritance, but live like they don’t! We sing “I’m a child of the King” on Sunday, but live like spiritual paupers on Monday. The gap between our confession and our condition exposes our identity crisis!
— To make a bad situation worse, when Christians finally start to expereince God’s best in this world, their mindset makes them feel guilty about it, and they feel like they have to apologize for how they are living. Stop apologizing for the blessing that’s your birthright! Jewish business leaders don’t apologize for success; they expect it as part of their covenant. Why do Christians feel guilty for prospering when God says it’s part of our inheritance?
— Many of you we raised, like Isabella and me, with a poverty mindset. It’s like we must be RE-PARENTED by the Word to think like an heir! Many of us were raised with orphan mindsets, even in Christian homes. We need the Word to reprogram our thinking from lack to abundance, from fear to faith, from surviving to thriving!
— We need to learn that it is okay to be blessed in this world. And what is crazy is that we claim to live by the Bible, and the Bible is full of examples where God made people rich in this world. Even just me referencing the word “rich” connected to us irritates Christians. It’s like a trigger, but I have to use it because it is a Bible word. God called Abraham in Genesis 12. By Genesis 13, the Bible says, “And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold” (Genesis 13:2, KJV). The Bible also says, “
“The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it” (Prov 10:22 KJV). So, if these scriptures irritate you, it is time to renew your mind.
2. Religious Teaching Has Robbed You of Your Economic Inheritance.
Here’s a hard truth: Much of Christian teaching has actually worked AGAINST believers walking in Abraham’s blessing! We’ve spiritualized the blessing until it has no earthly good. We’ve made poverty a virtue and wealth a vice. We’ve taught people to look to Heaven for their reward while neglecting their mandate for earthly influence!
How this applies to you:
— The doctrine of escapism (I will teach more about this tomorrow) taught people to endure earth while waiting for Heaven! Songs like “This world is not my home, I’m just passing through” created a mindset that says, “Don’t build here, don’t invest here, don’t expect to prosper here.” But Jesus said, “Occupy until I come,” not “Survive until I come!“
— Many Christians still believe poverty equals holiness! This comes from centuries of religious tradition, particularly from doctrines that emphasized vows of poverty and detachment from material things.
— We’ve created a false dichotomy between spiritual and material blessing! But Abraham’s blessing included both! God promised to make his name great (influence), make him a great nation (legacy), and bless him materially (resources). Why do we think we’re more spiritual than Abraham by rejecting what God included in the blessing?
— The same churches that teach against prosperity are often struggling financially! They can’t fund their mission, can’t bless their communities, can’t support missionaries adequately. Poverty in the church isn’t spiritual; it’s poor stewardship of our inheritance!
— Religious people create an environment where you feel guilty for wanting more! But God is El Shaddai. That means He is the “God of MORE THAN ENOUGH!” He is “THE ALL SUFFICIENT ONE!” God is not El Cheapo! Read the Bible. Our God is not the God of just enough. He is the God of overflow, abundance, and increase!
— We’ve been taught to pray for just enough when God wants to give us more than enough! When God led the Israelites into the Promised Land, part of the Promise was for them to have storehouses that were overflowing! Read how The Blessing is described in Deuteronomy 28 when you have a chance.
— False humility has kept more Christians in poverty than any economic system! Thinking small isn’t humility; it’s insulting to a God who owns cattle on a thousand hills! True humility acknowledges God as the source while boldly accessing what He’s provided!
— When you say, “All I want is enough for me and my familiy,” while it sounds holy, it is actually selfish. Because you are not considering the type of impact God wants to make beyond your family, the more you have, the more you have to manage, and some Christians don’t want the headache. Others just think it is holy to just live a humble life and focus on themselves. The Bible teaches us that we are part of a Kingdom that is supposed to EXPAND and ADVANCE through us!
3. The Jewish Model Reveals What Covenant Thinking Produces.
I want to be clear: This isn’t about becoming Jewish or copying Jewish culture. This is about learning from Abraham’s natural seed what it looks like to actually believe and live like you’re blessed! They’ve maintained covenant consciousness for 4,000 years while many Christians lost it in one generation!
How this applies to you:
— Jewish families expect to prosper because they see it as part of their covenant with God! It’s not arrogance; it’s agreement with what God said! Meanwhile, Christians expect to struggle and call it “taking up their cross.” Your expectation determines your experience!
— Jewish parents teach their children to think in terms of building and creating! They ask, “What will you build? What will you create? How will you contribute?” Christian parents often just hope their kids “stay out of trouble” and “make it to Heaven.” One produces world-changers; the other produces pew-warmers!
— We have to grow to the point where we see money as a tool for influence, not an idol to worship or a demon to fear! Christians often have an unhealthy relationship with money to the point where they are either chasing it or running from it. Mature covenant thinking sees resources as tools for Kingdom impact! Money is a poor master, but it does make for an excellent servant.
— The Jewish community practices aggressive generosity because they understand the blessing is for others! They don’t just tithe; they build hospitals, fund education, and support causes. When you know you’re blessed to be a blessing, generosity becomes your lifestyle!
4. You Can’t Give What You Don’t Have or Fund What You Won’t Build.
Here’s where the rubber meets the road: The Kingdom of God needs resources to advance on earth! You can’t fund missions without money. You can’t build churches without resources. You can’t feed the hungry with good intentions alone. Poverty isn’t just a personal problem; it’s a Kingdom limitation!
How this applies to you:
— Your poverty doesn’t help the poor; your prosperity does! You can’t give what you don’t have. You can’t be a blessing if you’re always in need of a blessing. God prospers you not just for you but for others through you!
— The wealth of the wicked is stored up for the righteous, but the righteous keep rejecting it! While God is trying to transfer resources for Kingdom purposes, many Christians are too “spiritual” to receive them. If this is you, your false humility is hindering Kingdom advancement!
— Every Christian should be thinking about creating wealth, not just consuming it! We should be job creators, not just job seekers. Business owners, not just employees. Lenders, not just borrowers. The head and not the tail means leadership in every sphere, including economics!
— If every Christian lived like an heir of Abraham, we could fund every missionary, feed every hungry person, and educate every child! The resources are available; it’s the mindset that’s missing. The harvest is plentiful, and not only are the laborers few, but the majority of the laborers we have think like orphans instead of heirs!
— God is looking for channels of blessing, not reservoirs of hoarding! He wants to flow resources through you to impact nations. But if you won’t believe for it, receive it, and release it, He’ll find someone who will. Don’t let your poverty mindset disqualify you from being God’s distribution center!
5. Ancient Wisdom Reveals Modern Blindness.
There’s an ancient Jewish understanding that business and spirituality are not separate but integrated. They see the Hebrew word “avodah” meaning both work and worship. Meanwhile, many Christians have created an artificial separation between sacred and secular, Sunday and Monday, faith and finances. This division isn’t biblical; it’s dysfunction!
How this applies to you:
— Your business IS your ministry if you’re called to it! The marketplace is just as sacred as the sanctuary when you’re operating in your divine purpose. Stop relegating God to Sunday and excluding Him from Monday through Friday!
— Jewish wisdom teaches that ethical wealth creation is a form of partnership with God! When you create jobs, solve problems, and serve humanity through business, you’re participating in God’s creative work. Your entrepreneurship can be an act of worship!
— They understand that relationships are the true currency of success! While Christians often pursue transactions, Jewish business culture prioritizes relationships that last generations. Kingdom business is built on covenant relationships, not just contracts!
— Excellence honors God and opens doors. Mediocrity dishonors your Creator and limits your influence. If you believe you are working for God, then the quality of your work is a reflection of your worship!
— Lastly, the Jewish culture celebrates success while maintaining humility through gratitude! You can be both wealthy and worshipful, successful and submitted! And if you are, then not only will you be able to lay hands on the sick and cast out demons, but you can fund Kingdom projects all over the world, too! So, please stop thinking like an orphan and start thinking like an heir!
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I thank You that I AM Abraham’s seed and an heir according to the promise!
I reject orphan thinking and embrace my identity as Your heir!
I refuse to apologize for the blessing that’s my birthright in Christ!
I break free from religious traditions that have robbed me of economic influence!
I declare that poverty is not holiness and lack is not humility!
I will think like an heir, build like an heir, and give like an heir!
I embrace wealth as part of my covenant with You and generosity as part of my worship!
Giving is my mandate! My prosperity will fund Kingdom advancement and bless nations!
I am Living #TheGraceLife and GREATER IS COMING FOR ME!
I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
Comments