Live The Blessing

Living The Blessing

Numbers 6:24-27

I hope you are enjoying reading through the Word of God this year. I hope you are on track. Our journey this week has taken us through the book of Leviticus and we began the book of Numbers. It’s been my prayer that you have been able to stay strong and able to work through the census taken in the Desert of Sinai and being able to stay on track to complete the task. That is, being able to read through the Word this year.

In our reading we find a blessing. It comes at the end of Numbers chapter 6. God has made known to the priest to offer blessings upon His people. We see very early in the scriptures the first blessings, in Genesis 1. On the fifth day, God creates the creatures of the sea and He creates the fowl or birds of the air. In verse 22, God offers a blessing to that creation by saying, “Be fruitful and increase in numbers.” On the sixth day, God created the animal world and man. In verse 28, He blessed them by saying, “Be fruitful and increase in numbers.” So very early in scripture we begin to get a sense of God’s blessings in our lives. God wants to bless His creation.

We often associate the word blessing as coming from God. Even in the songs we sing, such as, ‘Count Your Many Blessings’ and ‘O Fount of Blessings’. But there are other variations we find in scripture. As a matter of fact, in Genesis 9:26, Noah blesses God when he says, “Blessed be the Lord the God of Shem”. We also find that there are blessings with which God blesses us. But He also blesses others. Remember the covenant that He made with Abraham in Genesis chapter 12? In that covenant God says, “I will bless you, Abraham. I will also bless those who bless you”. Not only do we see blessings coming from God but we see blessings coming from us to God. We also see blessings coming from God to those who bless us. So, we have blessings coming from others, from God to us, from us to God. There are also blessings being passed from us to others. 1Peter 3:9 says, “Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessings, because this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing”.

Our passage today offers up a great idea about living the blessing. There are blessings coming from God. There are blessings that we give to God. There are blessings that people give us. And there are blessings that we give to others. All the avenues are covered. The problem is that sometimes we choose not to live a life of blessings. We find ourselves on the opposite of blessings, which is a curse. Now, you choose this morning. Which would you rather live, a life of a curse or a life of blessings? That’s a ‘no-brainer’. Right? How do we actually live? Do we really live a life of blessings?

First of all, I want you to realize in this great blessing that God gives His people, how much it works in our lives because we chose to live a blessing through security. That’s our first thought this morning. Know that God wants to be with you and He wants you to be with Him forever. The security God gives us is, “to keep us.” “May the Lord bless you and keep you.” The Lord wants you in His presence. The psalmist David says, “Keep me as the apple of your eye. Hide me in the shadow of your wings from the wicked who assail me.” David thinks about God and who He is because there is all kinds of evil around him. So he comes to God and asks God, “Hide me in the shadow of your wings. I need Your protection. I need Your security.” God wants to bless you with that security.

Trust God and who He is. In John 14, remember when Jesus shared with is disciples that something was going to happen. They didn’t understand it all. He saw their faces. He tells them in verse 1, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me”. What He was saying was, something is going to happen and I’m going to leave this place but I’m going to prepare a place for you. That’s security, not only here in this life but a life to come. God wants to bless you with that security. Live that blessing!

But also, bring that security in other peoples lives. Paul, in Romans 15:13, offers a blessing to the people. “May the God of hope fill you with joy and peace as you trust in him.” In this blessing, he gives them joy and peace and he tells them the reason he is giving it to them, “So that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” We have a security in God. He brings us joy and peace. We should pass it on to others.