Blessing Our Children

Blessing Our Children

Hebrews 11:21

6-15-03

Richard Tow

Grace Chapel Foursquare Church

Springfield, MO

www.gracechapelchurch.org

Intro: Since this is Father’s Day I want to share with you the

Ten most commonly used phrases by dads as they are raising their kids.

10. This is going to hurt you more than it hurts me.

(As kid, I’m thinking- then let’s just not do it.)

9. Don’t forget to bring back the change.

8. Get off that before you kill yourself—on second thought, go ahead.

7. I don’t know. Ask your mother.

6. Be quiet. I’m trying to watch the game.

5. Why? Because I said so, that why!

4. Shut up, before I give you something to cry about.

3. Just wait until you have kids

2. You are going. And you’re going to have fun.

1. When I was your age I walked 5 miles to and from school

everyday-and it was uphill both ways.[1]

Raising kids can be challenging at times. But it is also one of the greatest privileges a person could ever experience. How can we make the most of that awesome opportunity?

This morning I want to talk about:

How we can bring blessing upon our children and grandchildren.

I. It Begins by Receiving Blessing from God.

We can’t give something have not received. But God has much to give us.

“…it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Luke 12:32 NKJV

And He know how to give good gifts to His children. Before we can pass on a blessing we must receive blessing from the Lord.

In Gen. 12 God called Abraham to pilgrimage—a life of faith and obedience. We know two things from that story. First, we know Abraham obeyed. His obedience was not flawless. (He went down to Egypt and he lied about Sarah being his wife.) However, the overall tenor of Abraham’s life was one of faith and obedience. The second thing we know is that God blessed, not only Abraham and Sarah, but also their posterity as well.

In Genesis 17:5-8 God said to Abraham, “No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations. 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. 7 And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you. 8 Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God." NKJV

Notice something very significant. Abraham’s interaction with God did not just affect Abraham and Sarah. It held profound implications for his descendants as well.

Years later after Moses led Israel out of Egypt, the children of Israel fell into grievous sin. Numbers 25 describes severe judgment that had come upon Israel in the form of a plague. Thousands were dying as the flagrant idolatry and corruption continued.

Then one of Aaron’s grandsons, named Phinehas, rose up in defense of God’s honor.

Because of his courageous obedience God stopped the judgment against His people.

Now listen to what God said to Phinehas in Num. 25:10-13,

“The LORD said to Moses, 11 "Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, has turned my anger away from the Israelites; for he was as zealous as I am for my honor among them, so that in my zeal I did not put an end to them. 12 Therefore tell him I am making my covenant of peace with him. 13 He and his descendants will have a covenant of a lasting priesthood, because he was zealous for the honor of his God and made atonement for the Israelites." NIV

In verse 11notice what God commends in this man. He was zealous for the honor of God. One characteristic of our age is the lack of regard for God’s honor. We are careful to protect human rights and we should. People are even zealous for animal rights. But what about the rights of Almighty God? May we, like Phinehas, be a people who care about God receiving appropriate respect and honor.

In verse 13 God says about Phinehas that sounds a lot like what He said to Abraham.

“He and his descendants will have a covenant of a lasting priesthood…” God not only blesses Phinehas but extends that blessing to his descendants.

Many other examples could be given from scripture to demonstrate how a life lived in obedience to God can bring blessing not only upon an individual but upon his or her children as well. Prov 20:7 “The righteous man walks in his integrity;His children are blessed after him” NKJV