Blessed To Be A Blessing Series

Last time together our key passage was:

Genesis 12:1-3

“Now the Lord said to Abram: Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation, I will bless you and make your name great, and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed”.

That’s a pretty big deal right there, isn’t it?

• “Blessed” first mention: Genesis 1:28

• As best I can tell, most blessings from God thereafter came with an “If, then” clause. “If you do this, then I will do that”.

• Read Genesis 12:1-3 again.

Then read v. 4 “So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went with him…”

• Abram knew there was too much at stake not to be obedient to the Lord.

o Have you ever had so much at stake that your only choice was to be obedient to God?

o Abram was obedient through his faith in the Lord.

• We see throughout scripture that blessings require obedience and faith.

BODY

Today we will be in part 2, of a three-part series called “Blessings”.

Our key passage is:

2 Corinthians 9:6-11 and we’ll eventually get there.

The title of todays’ message is “Blessed to be a blessing”.

One more note about the passage in Genesis 12:1-3

God tells Abram “because I have blessed you, you are to bless others”. Did you catch that?

Then He goes on to say, “I will bless those who bless you”.

I don’t want us to miss this church!

I’m convinced this continues today as recorded in Deuteronomy 28:1-2 (which we looked at last time also)

“Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments, which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. And all those blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God.

There’s that “if,then” clause again!

Have you ever awakened (or as my grandmother would say “waked up”)

Have you ever waked up on a Sunday morning and decided today was not the day you would attend church?

But somehow you mustered up the mental fortitude to go anyway?

And then, almost miraculously, that was one of your best days ever?

Like, something someone said to you absolutely made your day?

Or maybe someone said to you, I am so glad you came today, I needed a hug and you were just the right hug!

That’s the blessing we are admonished to receive in

Hebrews 10:25.

A couple of weeks ago Sean read that verse for us.

Let’s look at that verse again.

We’ll start in v. 24 Hebrews 10:24-25

“And let us consider one another, in order to stir up love and good works,

v 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting on another (exhortation is a spiritual gift, right) and so much the more as you see the Day approaching”. (The NKJV capitalizes the word Day.)

One way we bless others is to just show up. Show up to church y’all.

So, if you are going to church only for yourself, you may be missing out on blessing others, and thereby missing a blessing by blessing others!

You don’t have to go there,

but Acts 2:42 tells us

“and they continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine and fellowship, in breaking of bread, and in prayers” (Greek word for fellowship)

This is one huge way we bless each other. We gather in one accord, and we strengthen each other for the next battle!

How else can we bless others?

One of the visions of Cross Pointe Church is to be a giving church. (church vision?)

Giving: one of the ways we bless others is in our

giving.

Stand with me as we honor God while reading His word:

2 Corinthians 9:6-10 (read from my bible)

Key points:

o Sow stingy, reap stingy

o Sow bountifully, will reap bountifully

o Give from your heart, not grudgingly or of necessity

o Because God loves a cheerful giver

o God abounds us in grace

Verse 11 wraps up the previous 5 verses like this:

Read v. 11:

How do we bless others?

Are there people in your life, who whether you know intimately or on more of an acquaintance level, that you find hard to love?

Listen to what scripture tells us in

1 Peter 3:8-9

The NKJV has this as the heading for these verses: