EPHESIANS 3:20-21
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Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,
to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
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OVERFLOWING BLESSINGS BEYOND OUR EXPECTATIONS
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OUTLINE
1. ANSWERED PRAYER
2. PROVISION
3. MERCY
4. JOY
5. GUIDANCE
6. FAMILY BLESSING
7. SPIRITUAL BLESSINGS
THE MESSAGE
OVERFLOWING BLESSINGS BEYOND OUR EXPECTATIONS
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1. ANSWERED PRAYER
The Lord wants to answer our prayers beyond our expectations. When Hannah prayed for a son, the Lord granted her more than
she expected and made her the mother of a great prophet. When we remember the cross of Calvary , He who gave His Son for us
will surely grant everything else that we need. The Lord encourages us to ask so that we can receive. Our heavenly Father
enjoys giving good gifts to His children. We must live in close fellowship and intimacy with God and our hearts must be in
tune with Him. Then the Lord will grant the desires of our heart.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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ROMANS 8:32
He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all
things?
MATTHEW 7:7-11
"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
"Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?
Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?
If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven
give good gifts to those who ask him!
PROVERBS 10:24
What the wicked dreads will overtake him; what the righteous desire will be granted.
JOHN 15:7
If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.
PSALM 37:4
Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.
1 JOHN 5:14
This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.
1 JOHN 3:21-22
Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God
and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him.
LUKE 18 : 1-8
Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.
He said: "In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men.
And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ’Grant me justice against my adversary.’
"For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ’Even though I don’t fear God or care about men,
yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually wear me out with
her coming!’ "
And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says.
And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off?
I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the
earth?"
1 SAMUEL 1:1-28
There was a certain man from Ramathaim, a Zuphite from the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah son of Jeroham,
the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite.
He had two wives; one was called Hannah and the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none.
Year after year this man went up from his town to worship and sacrifice to the LORD Almighty at Shiloh, where Hophni and
Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, were priests of the LORD.
Whenever the day came for Elkanah to sacrifice, he would give portions of the meat to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons
and daughters.
But to Hannah he gave a double portion because he loved her, and the LORD had closed her womb.
And because the LORD had closed her womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her.
This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the LORD, her rival provoked her till she wept and
would not eat.
Elkanah her husband would say to her, "Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don’t you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don’t I mean
more to you than ten sons?"
Once when they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah stood up. Now Eli the priest was sitting on a chair by the
doorpost of the LORD’s temple.
In bitterness of soul Hannah wept much and prayed to the LORD.
And she made a vow, saying, "O LORD Almighty, if you will only look upon your servant’s misery and remember me, and not
forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the LORD for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever
be used on his head."
As she kept on praying to the LORD, Eli observed her mouth.
Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk
and said to her, "How long will you keep on getting drunk? Get rid of your wine."
"Not so, my lord," Hannah replied, "I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring
out my soul to the LORD.
Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief."
Eli answered, "Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him."
She said, "May your servant find favor in your eyes." Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer
downcast.
Early the next morning they arose and worshiped before the LORD and then went back to their home at Ramah. Elkanah lay with
Hannah his wife, and the LORD remembered her.
So in the course of time Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, "Because I asked the LORD
for him."
When the man Elkanah went up with all his family to offer the annual sacrifice to the LORD and to fulfill his vow,
Hannah did not go. She said to her husband, "After the boy is weaned, I will take him and present him before the LORD, and he
will live there always."
"Do what seems best to you," Elkanah her husband told her. "Stay here until you have weaned him; only may the LORD make good
his word." So the woman stayed at home and nursed her son until she had weaned him.
After he was weaned, she took the boy with her, young as he was, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour and a
skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the LORD at Shiloh.
When they had slaughtered the bull, they brought the boy to Eli,
and she said to him, "As surely as you live, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the LORD.
I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him.
So now I give him to the LORD. For his whole life he will be given over to the LORD." And he worshiped the LORD there.
1 SAMUEL 2:1-11
Then Hannah prayed and said: "My heart rejoices in the LORD; in the LORD my horn is lifted high. My mouth boasts over my
enemies, for I delight in your deliverance.
"There is no one holy like the LORD; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.
"Do not keep talking so proudly or let your mouth speak such arrogance, for the LORD is a God who knows, and by him deeds are
weighed.
"The bows of the warriors are broken, but those who stumbled are armed with strength.
Those who were full hire themselves out for food, but those who were hungry hunger no more. She who was barren has borne
seven children, but she who has had many sons pines away.
"The LORD brings death and makes alive; he brings down to the grave and raises up.
The LORD sends poverty and wealth; he humbles and he exalts.
He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them with princes and has them inherit a
throne of honor. "For the foundations of the earth are the LORD’s; upon them he has set the world.
He will guard the feet of his saints, but the wicked will be silenced in darkness. "It is not by strength that one prevails;
those who oppose the LORD will be shattered. He will thunder against them from heaven; the LORD will judge the ends of the
earth. "He will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed."
Then Elkanah went home to Ramah, but the boy ministered before the LORD under Eli the priest.
1SAMUEL 3:19-21
The LORD was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of his words fall to the ground.
And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba recognized that Samuel was attested as a prophet of the LORD.
The LORD continued to appear at Shiloh, and there he revealed himself to Samuel through his word.
2. PROVISION
The Lord wants to meet our needs abundantly. He wants us to overflow with His blessings so that not only our needs are met
but we can also help others who are in need. When we honour the Lord by giving generously to His Kingdom , He has promised to
bless us to an overflowing level. When Jesus fed the five thousand and the four thousand by multiplying bread , they had
plenty left over even after everyone ate and were full. When the widow shared her last meal with Elijah , she and her son
were fed miraculously throughout the famine. When Peter let the Lord Jesus use his boat, The Lord blessed him with an
overflowing catch of fishes. The Lord blesses us beyond our expectation. When Samaria was under the seige of the enemy and
was starving without food , four lepers decided to go to the enemy’s camp to search for food. But the Lord granted them more
than what they expected by giving them enough food for the whole city. When Jesus was invited to the wedding at Cana , the
people were blessed beyond their expectation because Jesus performed his first miracle there by turning water into wine.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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DEUTERONOMY 28:11-13
The LORD will grant you abundant prosperity—in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your
ground—in the land he swore to your forefathers to give you.
The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work
of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none.
The LORD will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the LORD your God that I give you this
day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom.
DEUTERONOMY 30:9
Then the LORD your God will make you most prosperous in all the work of your hands and in the fruit of your womb, the young
of your livestock and the crops of your land. The LORD will again delight in you and make you prosperous, just as he
delighted in your fathers,
ISAIAH 30:23
He will also send you rain for the seed you sow in the ground, and the food that comes from the land will be rich and
plentiful. In that day your cattle will graze in broad meadows.
GENESIS 27:28-29
May God give you of heaven’s dew and of earth’s richness— an abundance of grain and new wine.
May nations serve you and peoples bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to
you. May those who curse you be cursed and those who bless you be blessed."
DEUTERONOMY 8:7-9
For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land—a land with streams and pools of water, with springs flowing in the
valleys and hills;
a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey;
a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out
of the hills.
JOEL 2:23-29
Be glad, O people of Zion,rejoice in the LORD your God, for he has given you the autumn rains in righteousness. He sends you
abundant showers, both autumn and spring rains, as before.
The threshing floors will be filled with grain; the vats will overflow with new wine and oil.
"I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten— the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the
locust swarm — my great army that I sent among you.
You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and you will praise the name of the LORD your God, who has worked wonders
for you; never again will my people be shamed.
Then you will know that I am in Israel, that I am the LORD your God, and that there is no other; never again will my people
be shamed.
"And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream
dreams, your young men will see visions.
Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.
PSALM 144:9-15
I will sing a new song to you, O God; on the ten-stringed lyre I will make music to you,
to the One who gives victory to kings, who delivers his servant David from the deadly sword.
Deliver me and rescue me from the hands of foreigners whose mouths are full of lies, whose right hands are deceitful.
Then our sons in their youth will be like well-nurtured plants, and our daughters will be like pillars carved to adorn a
palace.
Our barns will be filled with every kind of provision. Our sheep will increase by thousands, by tens of thousands in our
fields;
our oxen will draw heavy loads.There will be no breaching of walls, no going into captivity, no cry of distress in our
streets.
Blessed are the people of whom this is true; blessed are the people whose God is the LORD.
LUKE 6:38
Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your
lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."
MALACHI 3:10
Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and
see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for
it.
PROVERBS 3:9-10
Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops;
then your barns will be filled to overflowing,and your vats will brim over with new wine.
MATTHEW 14:14-21
When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, "This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the
crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food."
Jesus replied, "They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat."
"We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish," they answered.
"Bring them here to me," he said.
And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he
gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.
They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.
The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.
MATTHEW 15:30-38
Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet;
and he healed them.
The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And
they praised the God of Israel.
Jesus called his disciples to him and said, "I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days
and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way."
His disciples answered, "Where could we get enough bread in this remote place to feed such a crowd?"
"How many loaves do you have?" Jesus asked. "Seven," they replied, "and a few small fish."
He told the crowd to sit down on the ground.
Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, and when he had given thanks, he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and
they in turn to the people.
They all ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.
The number of those who ate was four thousand, besides women and children.
LUKE 5:1-7
One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret,with the people crowding around him and listening to the word of God,
he saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets.
He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and
taught the people from the boat.
When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch."
Simon answered, "Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the
nets."
When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break.
So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that
they began to sink.
1 KINGS 17:8-16
Then the word of the LORD came to him:
"Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food."
So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked,
"Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?"
As she was going to get it, he called, "And bring me, please, a piece of bread."
"As surely as the LORD your God lives," she replied, "I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little
oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die."
Elijah said to her, "Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small cake of bread for me from what
you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son.
For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ’The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry
until the day the LORD gives rain on the land.’ "
She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family.
For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the LORD spoken by
Elijah.
2 KINGS 7:1-20
Elisha said, "Hear the word of the LORD. This is what the LORD says: About this time tomorrow, a seah of flour will sell for
a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria."
The officer on whose arm the king was leaning said to the man of God, "Look, even if the LORD should open the floodgates of
the heavens, could this happen?" "You will see it with your own eyes," answered Elisha, "but you will not eat any of it!"
Now there were four men with leprosy at the entrance of the city gate. They said to each other, "Why stay here until we die?
If we say, ’We’ll go into the city’-the famine is there, and we will die. And if we stay here, we will die. So let’s go over
to the camp of the Arameans and surrender. If they spare us, we live; if they kill us, then we die."
At dusk they got up and went to the camp of the Arameans. When they reached the edge of the camp, not a man was there,
for the Lord had caused the Arameans to hear the sound of chariots and horses and a great army, so that they said to one
another, "Look, the king of Israel has hired the Hittite and Egyptian kings to attack us!"
So they got up and fled in the dusk and abandoned their tents and their horses and donkeys. They left the camp as it was and
ran for their lives.
The men who had leprosy reached the edge of the camp and entered one of the tents. They ate and drank, and carried away
silver, gold and clothes, and went off and hid them. They returned and entered another tent and took some things from it and
hid them also.
Then they said to each other, "We’re not doing right. This is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves. If we
wait until daylight, punishment will overtake us. Let’s go at once and report this to the royal palace."
So they went and called out to the city gatekeepers and told them, "We went into the Aramean camp and not a man was there—not
a sound of anyone—only tethered horses and donkeys, and the tents left just as they were."
The gatekeepers shouted the news, and it was reported within the palace.
The king got up in the night and said to his officers, "I will tell you what the Arameans have done to us. They know we are
starving; so they have left the camp to hide in the countryside, thinking, ’They will surely come out, and then we will take
them alive and get into the city.’ "
One of his officers answered, "Have some men take five of the horses that are left in the city. Their plight will be like
that of all the Israelites left here—yes, they will only be like all these Israelites who are doomed. So let us send them to
find out what happened."
So they selected two chariots with their horses, and the king sent them after the Aramean army. He commanded the drivers, "Go
and find out what has happened."
They followed them as far as the Jordan, and they found the whole road strewn with the clothing and equipment the Arameans
had thrown away in their headlong flight. So the messengers returned and reported to the king.
Then the people went out and plundered the camp of the Arameans. So a seah of flour sold for a shekel, and two seahs of
barley sold for a shekel, as the LORD had said.
Now the king had put the officer on whose arm he leaned in charge of the gate, and the people trampled him in the gateway,
and he died, just as the man of God had foretold when the king came down to his house.
It happened as the man of God had said to the king: "About this time tomorrow, a seah of flour will sell for a shekel and two
seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria."
The officer had said to the man of God, "Look, even if the LORD should open the floodgates of the heavens, could this
happen?" The man of God had replied, "You will see it with your own eyes, but you will not eat any of it!"
And that is exactly what happened to him, for the people trampled him in the gateway, and he died.
JOHN 2:1-11
On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there,
and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding.
When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, "They have no more wine."
"Dear woman, why do you involve me?" Jesus replied, "My time has not yet come."
His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you."
Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty
gallons.
Jesus said to the servants, "Fill the jars with water"; so they filled them to the brim.
Then he told them, "Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet." They did so,
and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from,
though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside
and said, "Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink;
but you have saved the best till now."
This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed in Cana of Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples
put their faith in him.
3. MERCY
The Lord wants to grant us His mercy beyond our expectations. He wants to forgive our sins and iniquities and be merciful to
our transgressions because of His great love towards us. When we repent of our sins and turn to the Lord , the blood of Jesus
cleanses us from all sins. The prodigal son received mercy beyond his expectations when he returned to his father. Zacheus
received mercy beyond his expectations when he met Jesus and his whole life was transformed. The labourers in the vineyard
who could not find employment until the last hour , received mercy beyond their expectations when the master gave them the
same payment as those who found work in the morning itself. The thief on the cross received mercy beyond his expectation
when Jesus promised him that he would with Him in paradise.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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PSALM 103:8-13
The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.
He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever;
he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;
1 JOHN 1:7-9
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son,
purifies us from all sin.
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
LUKE 15:11-32
Jesus continued: "There was a man who had two sons.
The younger one said to his father, ’Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.
"Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth
in wild living.
After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need.
So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs.
He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
"When he came to his senses, he said, ’How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death!
I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.
I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.’
So he got up and went to his father."But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion
for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
"The son said to him, ’Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
"But the father said to his servants, ’Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on
his feet.
Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate.
For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.
"Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing.
So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on.
’Your brother has come,’ he replied, ’and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’
"The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him.
But he answered his father, ’Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never
gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends.
But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’
" ’My son,’ the father said, ’you are always with me, and everything I have is yours.
But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ "
LUKE 19:1-10
Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through.
A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy.
He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd.
So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.
When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house
today."
So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.
All the people saw this and began to mutter, "He has gone to be the guest of a ’sinner.’ "
But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I
have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount."
Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.
For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."
MATTHEW 20:1-16
"For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard.
He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.
"About the third hour he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing.
He told them, ’You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’
So they went. "He went out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did the same thing.
About the eleventh hour he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ’Why have you been standing here
all day long doing nothing?’
" ’Because no one has hired us,’ they answered. "He said to them, ’You also go and work in my vineyard.’
"When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ’Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with
the last ones hired and going on to the first.’
"The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a denarius.
So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius.
When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner.
’These men who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ’and you have made them equal to us who have borne the
burden of the work and the heat of the day.’
"But he answered one of them, ’Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius?
Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you.
Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’
"So the last will be first, and the first will be last."
LUKE 23:42-43
Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."
Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."
4. JOY
The Lord wants to grant us joy to the fullest. He wants us to live our life , not with just a little joy , but a joy that is
complete. The joy of the Lord is our strength. The Lord wants to turn our sorrows into joy. He wants to fill us with joy by
turning your captivity and delivering us from our enemies. He wants us to enjoy the joy of experiencing victory in all our
battles.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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JOHN 15:11
I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
JOHN 16:24
Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.
PSALM 16:11
You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right
hand.
PHILIPPIANS 4:4
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
2 JOHN 12
I have much to write to you, but I do not want to use paper and ink. Instead, I hope to visit you and talk with you face to
face, so that our joy may be complete.
NEHEMIAH 8:10
Nehemiah said, "Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is
sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength."
JOHN 16:20
I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.
ISAIAH 61:3
and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead
of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of
the LORD for the display of his splendor.
PSALM 126:1-6
When the LORD brought back the captives to Zion, we were like men who dreamed.
Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, "The LORD has done
great things for them."
The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.
Restore our fortunes, O LORD, like streams in the Negev.
Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy.
He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him.
PSALM 23:5
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
ISAIAH 41:10-13
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold
you with my righteous right hand.
"All who rage against you will surely be ashamed and disgraced; those who oppose you will be as nothing and perish.
Though you search for your enemies, you will not find them. Those who wage war against you will be as nothing at all.
For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.
ISAIAH 54:17
no weapon forged against you will prevail,and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the
servants of the LORD, and this is their vindication from me," declares the LORD.
DEUTERONOMY 28:7
The LORD will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one
direction but flee from you in seven.
5. GUIDANCE
The Lord wants to grant us guidance and wisdom liberally.The Lord was pleased when King Solomon asked for wisdom and granted
him more than he asked by adding riches and honour in addition to wisdom. The Lord wants to guide us in taking the best
decisions for our life. His thoughts and ways are infinitely higher than ours. We must rely on the Lord and trust in Him to
lead us and guide us. The Holy Spirit is available to lead us into all truth.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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JAMES 1:5
If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to
him.
1 KINGS 3:11-13
The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this.
So God said to him, "Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death
of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice,
I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like
you, nor will there ever be.
Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for—both riches and honor—so that in your lifetime you will have no equal
among kings.
ISAIAH 55:8-9
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD.
"As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
PSALM 32:8
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.
ISAIAH 48:17
This is what the LORD says— your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: "I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is best for
you,who directs you in the way you should go.
ISAIAH 42:16
I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into
light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.
PROVERBS 3:5-7
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him,and he will make your paths straight.
Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil.
ISAIAH 30:21
Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."
JOHN 16:13
But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only
what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.
6. FAMILY BLESSING
The Lord wants to bless our families beyond our lifetime. He keeps His covenant of love to a thousand generations of those
who love him and obey Him. King David received such a blessing for his descendants. Abraham received such a promise for his
family and future generations. Timothy enjoyed such a blessing of faith in his family for three generations.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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DEUTERONOMY 7:9
Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations
of those who love him and keep his commands.
PSALM 103: 17-18
But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s
children-
with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.
2 SAMUEL 7:12-19
When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from
your own body, and I will establish his kingdom.
He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with the rod of men, with floggings
inflicted by men.
But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you.
Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me ; your throne will be established forever.’ "
Nathan reported to David all the words of this entire revelation.
Then King David went in and sat before the LORD, and he said: "Who am I, O Sovereign LORD, and what is my family, that you
have brought me this far?
And as if this were not enough in your sight, O Sovereign LORD, you have also spoken about the future of the house of your
servant. Is this your usual way of dealing with man, O Sovereign LORD ?
GENESIS 22:1-18
Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied.
Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a
burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about."
Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he
had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about.
On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance.
He said to his servants, "Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come
back to you."
Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife.
As the two of them went on together,
Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, "Father?" "Yes, my son?" Abraham replied. "The fire and wood are here," Isaac
said, "but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?"
Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." And the two of them went on together.
When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his
son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.
Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.
But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied.
"Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not
withheld from me your son, your only son."
Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as
a burnt offering instead of his son.
So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, "On the mountain of the LORD it will be
provided."
The angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time
and said, "I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only
son,
I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your
descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies,
and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me."
2 TIMOTHY 1:5
I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am
persuaded, now lives in you also.
ISAIAH 59:21
"As for me, this is my covenant with them," says the LORD. "My Spirit, who is on you, and my words that I have put in your
mouth will not depart from your mouth, or from the mouths of your children, or from the mouths of their descendants from this
time on and forever," says the LORD.
3 JOHN 4
I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.
7. SPIRITUAL BLESSINGS
The Lord wants to bless us with all spiritual blessings. These blessings are eternal and are more important than all our
earthly blessings. The Lord gives us His Holy Spirit who empowers us to be witnesses of the Lord Jesus. He works in our
hearts to develop the divine nature in our lives and produce the fruit of the Spirit such as love , joy , peace , kindness ,
goodness , faithfulness , gentleness and self-control. He gives us the gifts of the Spirit to help us minister to a needy
world and bring healing and deliverance. The Lord wants us to grow into spiritual maturity and receive a deep revelation of
the love of God and the plans and the purposes of God. If we neglect the spiritual blessings , we will find that all the
worldy benefits are ultimately in vain . We would end up in an eternity of agony without God.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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EPHESIANS 1 :3
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual
blessing in Christ.
3 JOHN 2
Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along
well.
1 CORINTHIANS 2:9
However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love
him"—
ACTS 1:8
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and
Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
GALATIANS 5:22-23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
1 CORINTHIANS 12:7-11
Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.
To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same
Spirit,
to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit,
to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in
different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.
All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.
EPHESIANS 3:14-19
For this reason I kneel before the Father,
from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name.
I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,
so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love,
may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,
and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
COLOSSIANS 1:9-12
For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the
knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding.
And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every
good work, growing in the knowledge of God,
being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and
joyfully
giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.
MARK 8:36-37
What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? 37Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?
1 CORINTHIANS 15:19
If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.
LUKE 12:16-21
And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop.
He thought to himself, ’What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’
"Then he said, ’This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain
and my goods.
And I’ll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." ’
"But God said to him, ’You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have
prepared for yourself?’
"This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God."
LUKE 16:19-31
"There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day.
At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores
and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
"The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried.
In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side.
So he called to him, ’Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my
tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’
"But Abraham replied, ’Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things,
but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.
And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot,
nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’
"He answered, ’Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father’s house,
for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’
"Abraham replied, ’They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’
" ’No, father Abraham,’ he said, ’but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
"He said to him, ’If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the
dead.’ "
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