How To Experience The "blessed" Life Series

A few years ago, I got on an elevator at a children’s museum in Indianapolis and as I crowded into the elevator, I noticed that the reason why it was crowded was because the lady that was on the elevator had brought her 18 grandkids to the museum that day.

As I sardined into the elevator, I smiled, realizing that grandmother had supersized her day with the responsibility of caring for so many grandkids at one time. As I looked at her, I simply said: “How are you?” With sweat on her forehead she smiled back, almost laughing, and said: “Brother, I am blessed.”

Ever since then, I have wondered what that meant. What does it really mean to "be blessed?"

What does it mean when people say: “God bless you?” For some it is just something that we say after someone sneezes. Right?

The reason why we say “God bless you” to one another when we sneeze is because you cannot breathe and sneeze at the same time. If you continually sneezed you could not live because you could not breathe. Therefore, people say: “God bless you.”

We also say, “God bless America.” It’s part of our national narrative isn’t it? We want our nation to be blessed because the Bible tells us: “Blessed is the nation who’s God is the Lord.”

It is also interesting to see that we can bless other people. In today’s passage, twice we are told that Jacob blessed Pharaoh In verse 7 we read: “...and Jacob blessed Pharaoh” then we read it again in verse 10.

What is this all about? The Bible mentions “blessing” 67 times and covers a ton of Biblical real estate when it comes to this call of blessing.

Jacob knew a little about blessing because God promised his grandfather saying: “And through you all the nations of the earth will be blessed.” Genesis 12:3

The first mention of God blessing in the Bible is found in Genesis 1:22 where we read that God blesses the birds and creatures that move on the earth as we read: “God blessed them saying, Be fruitful and multiply...”

Jesus even talked about blessing because in Matthew 5-7 we read a sermon that Jesus preached and in every segment of His message began with the word: “Blessed.” In these three chapters he talked over and over about the conditions necessary to be blessed by God.

Transitional Sentence: From Jacob’s life we learn what it means to experience “the blessed life.” Let’s ask a few questions about “being blessed.”

I. What Does it Mean to “be Blessed?”

vs. 7- “Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh...”

vs. 10- “The Jacob blessed Pharaoh..”

Explanation:

Most people think that “being blessed” means that you live a happy life. Yet, the blessed life is something more. It is a lifestyle that God wants to give you.

The word “blessed” in Hebrew and Greek means one simple thing. It means: “A life filled with God’s favor.”

Life had not always been happy for Jacob. He told the Pharaoh: “The years of my sojourning are one hundred and thirty; few and unpleasant have been the years of my life, nor have they attained the years that my fathers lived during the days of their sojourning.” vs 9

That does not sound like his life was blessed does it? It sounds more like it was cursed than blessed. It was full of fear more than favor. It was full of pain more than God’s promises. It was full of more struggles than victories.

Yet, on the heel of making such a statement, we are surprised to read the words: “And Jacob blessed Pharaoh.” (vs. 7, 10)

I don’t know what Pharaoh was thinking at the moment, but with today’s definition and what most people think “being blessed” is; if I would have been Pharaoh I might would have said: “Jacob, no thank you. I’d prefer to pass on the blessings of your God. I’d rather just move on. I’d prefer to enjoy what I’ve already got.”

Yet, being blessed is much more than fun; it favor. It’s favor with God. Let me ask you, are there any of you who’ve got problems but still know you’re blessed?

Are there any of you who struggle that still know you’re blessed? Are there any of you in the middle of heartache; but your heart is full of God’s blessing?

The word “blessed” has something to do with what is going on the inside; not what is going on outside. Blessing doesn’t mean there won’t be unpleasant days; but it does mean that you will sense the presence of God in all your days.

Jacob blessed Pharaoh and in doing so he was pointing Pharaoh to something that he didn’t have. You see, Pharaoh had the stuff. He had the grain everybody else needed. He had the palace, everybody wanted. He had country that everybody envied. He had all the stuff; but He didn’t have what really satisfies; He didn’t have God. He was not “blessed.”