From Orphan to Heir

Orphans see God as a Master they must appease,

1. pray more,
2. read more,
3. work harder,
4. and do more to earn favor.

“I feel guilty. There must be more I can do.”

Heirs see their Father as a loving Father who accepts them unconditionally. A love never based on condition or performance (performance orientation PO), but based on the purity of the one giving it.

1. No striving,
2. no performing a certain way, PO
3. nothing to earn. “

“He loves me anyway, fully and completely, just as I am.”

Orphans are independent and self-reliant.

1. talents,
2. gifts,
3. intellect,
4. and even anointing.

“If anything is going to be done right, I have to do it myself.”

Heirs are interdependent (not independent). We need a Community of Love that God and the body of Christ offer. This is the Church.

1. Be open and ready for the flow of this Love;
2. through others to me,
3. through me to others,
4. and from our Father (remember, we are not orphans).

Orphans live by the love of law. Like the Pharisees’

1. law
2. principles,
3. rules
4. relationships

Heirs, however, live by the Law of Love,

1. truth,
2. the absolutes,
3. able to receive the Father’s love,
4. able to give away the Father’s love.

Understand that Love is the fulfillment of the law.

Orphans are insecure and are adept at covering it. They strive to act right to please God and earn His blessings.

1. Rarely experience inner peace and rest,
2. Life is filled with uncertainty,
3. fears of trusting abandonment,
4. little or no intimacy

Heirs are at peace and rest in the Father’s embrace.

1. Security does not depend on behavior
2. Security depends on grace.
3. Security also depends on the work Jesus did on the Cross

Orphans are addicted to and strive for praise, approval, and acceptance of people. This leads to:

1. fear of failure
2. rejection
3. never being satisfied
4. counterfeit behavior
5. pulls one further from the Father

Heirs are totally accepted in the Father’s love and justified by His grace.

1. There is no striving for approval
2. in Christ; they already have it.

Orphans need personal achievement and try to impress their Father and others.

1. They become hyper-religious
2. Often become cynical and tired,
3. lose motivation, and
4. Often wind up in total apathy
5. They expect something from others and God

Heirs are driven by a motivation of deep gratitude.

1. For His acceptance
2. for His love
3. and become joyful
4. they have no expectations but are giving-oriented

Orphans often practice Christian disciplines very well and are sincerely

1. reading the Bible
2. memorizing verses
3. fasting,
4. praying for hours

These orphans are like the Pharisees, missing the love and intimacy of God because their motive is wrong. They want to impress others and God.

Heirs find His discipline a delight

1. I want to read the Word
2. I find joy in studying
3. I see answers to prayer and try to never put it off, but to do it now.

A new motivation of love takes over the old motivation of duty, obligation, and fear: bringing life where duty and the letter of the law bring death.

Orphans believe they have to be Holy to be accepted. They must be pure to win His favor and avoid His wrath.

1. They fail
2. live in shame,
3. are disappointed in themselves,
4. consider themselves failures are depressed.

Heirs recognize that the Father’s unconditional love is a greater motivation for purity than fear and intimidation.

1. They know you cannot be Holy, it comes from the Father’s,
2. they want to be just like “Dad”
3. They want nothing to hinder an intimate relationship.

Orphans have a low self-image and an attitude of self-rejection

1. They compare themselves to others
2. They always get the “short end of the stick”
3. Others are always more blessed
4. Others are more loved
5. Others get all the breaks.

Heirs are positive and know how valuable they are to their Father.

1. They know the Father will always love them, no matter how many times they mess up
2. They pick themselves up and move forward again
3. They feel secure in His love
4. They know they can do anything with Him

Orphans seek comfort and counterfeit affection outside of the love of the Father.

1. Addictions
2. compulsions
3. escapism
4. busyness
5. hyper-religious activity
6. false comfort from their own good works

Heirs find comfort in:

1. resting in the Father’s presence and love
2. Everything else that the world offers pales
3. Basking in the unconditional love of the Father offers all the comfort they need.

Orphans often relate through

1. competition
2. rivalry
3. jealousy
4. retorts
5. They want the last word

All these are vain and false.

Heirs see a pear relationship through

1. humility
2. unity
3. honor
4. rejoicing in another’s blessings
5. rejoicing in another’s success

Heirs are secure in who they are and in whose they are.

Orphans often resort to accusations and exposing others’ faults while denying or hiding their own. They build themselves up by tearing down others.

1. By a lack of respect
2. cover up a fault
3. deceive to hide
4. lack of honor
5. criticality
6. possessiveness
7. wanting control

Heirs are relationship-oriented 

1. They love
2. they cover (not hide) others’ faults
3. seek to restore relationships
4. protect others from humiliation and destructive exposure
5. resolve conflicts

Orphans see authority as a source of pain (often because of their own abuse).

1. They are suspicious of all
2. are not teachable
3. they turn from any form of submission
4. fear suggestions

Heirs look at authority differently.

1. They honor and respect legitimate authority
2. See authority figures as ministers of God
3. They are teachable
4. invite suggestions

Orphans have difficulty receiving admonition

1. have difficulty admitting they are wrong
2. are offended and feel rejected when corrected
3. blame others for their shortcomings.

Heirs receive admonition as a blessing.

1. They are anxious to correct their faults and weaknesses
2. . Correction is an opportunity for growth
3. without growth, there is no maturity, and without maturity, there is no inheritance.

Orphans are guarded and conditional in their expressions of love.

1. Love is often based on feelings
2. They don’t know how to receive unconditioned love
3. They don’t know how to give unconditional love
4. is based on selfishness.
5. is based on “What can you do for me?”

With heirs, love is open, transparent, and affectionate.

1. Meeting the needs of others
2. will lay down their own agenda to do so is selfless
3. is based on “What can I do for you?”
4. they love because others need it’
5. will love their enemies

For Orphans, God’s presence, if felt at all, is conditional and often distant.

1. If they have appeased the Master, then they may feel His presence.
2. Hearts are closed to intimacy
3. Question that God loves them or even knows them.

Heirs enjoy and often feel the intimate presence of God.

1. They know that it doesn’t depend on their behavior
2. they know God is at the center of their heart
3. they know He will always Love them and never forsake them

Orphans are in bondage

1. slaves to their fear
2. mistrust
3. independence of self-reliance
4. self-righteousness
5. self- justification
6. loneliness

Heirs live in liberty

1. free from fear
2. shame
3. humiliation
4. guilt 
5. the need to prove themselves
6. free to become anything the Father wants them to be

Orphans do not have a home.

1. They feel like slaves 
2. Their spirits are unsettled
3. They are numb in the middle of a sea of fear
4. nothing is permanent
5. nothing is home.

Heirs are at rest and at peace.

1. They have a family,
2. they have a home, 
3. the winds may blow, but inside there is peace.

Orphans are fired by spiritual ambitions; 

1. They want some spiritual satisfaction and are willing to pay or work for it.
2. They want to be counted among the mature

Heirs do not have to prove themselves or strive for position, power or prestige

1. They are the Father’s representatives of His love to family and others
2. intimacy precedes fruitfulness

For Orphans, the future is uncertain.

1. Fight for everything you can get.
2. There is no inheritance,
3. no “Last Will and Testament”
4. They are only interested in what benefits them right now.

Heirs are willing to wait for their inheritance.

1. Their future is as bright as it is certain.
2. They cannot lose
3. . They are willing to suffer a little, knowing what lies ahead