"How To Receive God's Blessings" - Iii

“How To Receive God’s Blessings” – III

INTRODUCTION: We CONTINUE in our series. Last time, we traveled through the Psalms and found 5 ways that God will “bless” you:

1.- If You TRUST Him - Psalm 2:12 – “Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.”

2.- If You ASK HIS FORGIVENESS - Psalm 32:1-2 – “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. [2] Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.”

3.- If You MAKE HIM YOUR LORD - Psalm 33:12 – “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord: and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.”

4.- If You Are BENEVOLENT - Psalm 41:1 – “Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble.”

5.- If You ATTEND GOD’S HOUSE - Psalm 65:4 – “Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple.”

Let’s CONTINUE through the Psalms, and see the CONDITIONS for God’s blessings.

1.- LOOK TO GOD FOR STRENGTH – Ps. 84:5

God won’t BLESS you … IF … you look to find your strength in yourself. WHY? BECAUSE … you don’t have it. If you expect to live for Christ, you have to look to His strength.

ACTUALLY, your weaknesses, are your greatest strength! HOW? As long as you THINK you’re strong, you won’t ever ask for help. As long as you think you can do it yourself, you won’t look to anyone else. BUT … when you see your weakness, you will turn to the Lord. SOMETIMES, that’s why God has to put us flat on our backs … to make us turn to Him. We’ve come to the end of our rope. Who do you think we’ll find at the other end? The Lord Jesus!

TURN to 2 Cor. 12:7-10, and listen to the Apostle Paul. NOW … look at 13:4 to see where Paul’s strength came from.

When the writer of Hebrews talked about the “Heroes of the Faith”, he not only talked about their STRENGTHS, but also about their WEAKNESSES. Hebrews 11:32-34 – ribbon.

2 Cor. 3:5 – “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;”

SOMETIMES, we look inside and try to tap into that “inner strength”. We promise ourselves that we’ll try harder …reform … never do it again … do better next time. What usually happens? If we look to ourselves … our own “inner strength” … we’re going to FAIL … AGAIN! BUT … if we look within ourselves to the strength of God who lives within us … we will find His strength to be all-sufficient.

God will BLESS you, when you rely on Him … not on yourself. That’s how He receives the glory! When you can say, “I did it my way!” … THEN … you get the glory. BUT … when you can say, “I can do all things through Christ, who strengtheneth me” … THEN … He gets the glory.

The Bible is filled with Scriptures that show us the way to His BLESSINGS, is through His strength, not our own. 1 Cor. 1:26-31 – all turn.

HOW DO YOU GET GOD TO BLESS YOU? Look to Him for your strength!

2.- APPRECIATE HIS DISCIPLINE – Ps. 94:12

ACTUALLY, it’s a GOOD THING for a CHRISTIAN to be chastened by the Lord. Sounds a little STRANGE, doesn’t it? TURN to Hebrews 12:5-8. Chastening by God, PROVES that we are His child. Who spanked you when you were a child? Your father … or somebody else’s father? My father wouldn’t have allowed anybody else to spank me (unless it was the Principal!). He told me that if I got a spanking at school, I would get another one when I got home!

When my father paddled me, it PROVED that he was my dad. Nobody else had this right … except HIM … and whoever he gave that right to (teacher or Principal).

Did I LIKE getting paddled? NO WAY! Look at Hebrews 12:11. Listen to how the NLT puts it – “No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening – it is painful! But afterward there will be a quiet harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.”

Am I a better person because my father disciplined me? You betcha! Did I appreciate it at the time? Not on your life! BUT … my life has been BLESSED because my father disciplined me.