God Bless you
Prayer-
Introduction- When we say God bless you to someone, what are we saying to them?
Old tradition that goes almost to the first century is when you say God bless you, you are saying because they believed that you could sneeze your soul out that you don’t wish that to happen and that in that vulnerable state no evil spirit would come into your body.
Today, I think that we usually would mean that God would bless you even if we do not know the person that is sneezing.
This morning I want to talk about blessings!
Try to make it less dramatic. Ok?
That should peak everyone’s attention.
We all should want a blessing. But does it have the same meaning for each of us?
When we say we want a blessing… are you saying that you desire a blessing from God?
Are you saying that you want a break? To get what we deserve? You want luck to go your way?
Because there is a big difference between the two.
There is not a day that goes by that a person does not come up to me and ask that I pray for them that God would bless them. The needs are different and range from deliverance to some financial blessing or to meet an immediate need. Some ask for relational healing and some need to be healed from depression and everything in between. It is endless the needs that we have and when we have nowhere to turn, we ask God to bless us.
Do you want God to bless you or are you just looking for a blessing? You want a bailout or a lifestyle change?
There are certain blessings from God that you can only receive by being a child of God.
You cannot have them while you are in rebellion of God.
The Bible does tell us that God at His choosing can rain blessing on the just and unjust. It is His choice.
If you are going to live in the blessing of God, it is a lifestyle and it is based on relationship with God.
Those outside of God may receive blessing but it is temporary and not eternal.
True blessings from God are not only for today but a storing up of treasures in heaven that cannot be stolen or destroyed by the things of this world.
Do you have your mind on all the blessings being right now or are you storing up, thinking of others, and building eternal blessings that cannot be taken away.
I have done a bit of a study on the blessings of God in scripture.
What I found is that most of God’s richest blessings- those are not just based on our immediate needs, are conditional.
If you want the blessing of eternal life with Jesus Christ and make heaven, you have one way to receive that and it is through Jesus Christ. If you do not want Christ, you will not receive eternal life in heaven.
The Bible tells us that He (Jesus) will not leave us nor forsake us. It is conditional, that is a promise for a child of God. He says that as a child of God, He will not leave us or forget about us in our time of need.
It does not mean that nothing bad would ever happen to us because we live in a fallen world, but means that we do not have to do it alone. If we are not under the blessing of being a child of God, we do not have that assurance.
Andrew Womack is a pastor and makes a broad statement that I agree with.
He says that God’s preference is not to meet your needs through a miracle. He defines a miracle as the suspension of natural law. A miracle is something that you yourself could not do. He says that he believes in miracles, that God still does miracles and still uses them to draw people to Himself.
Here is his quote-
“Would you rather receive a miracle of healing or live with the blessing of good health? Would you rather have the Lord perform a miracle to pull you out of bankruptcy or be so blessed financially that He would not have too?” End quote.
What I am saying to you this morning, depending on what you are looking for… God’s blessing or a bailout will determine what happens in your life.
It is always better to live in God’s blessing than be asking God to bail you out by a miracle.
If you are living miracle to miracle, you are probably living from crisis to crisis and some can be avoided by living under the blessing of God.
Which one of these can you make your life verse?
Psalm 1:1-3
“Blessed is the one that does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither- Whatever they do prospers.”
Psalm 138:7
“Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life. You stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes; with your right hand you save me.”
Psalm 23:1-4
“The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”
Isaiah 41:10
“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.”
These are promises of God for the children of God. They become blessings as we receive them and stand on them.
Some of us don’t receive the blessings of God because you do not ask anything of God except when we are in a hard spot.
Some do not receive a blessing from God because there God is too small- you have put God in a box of your design and you don’t think He can do anything outside that box of yours.
Some of you are living outside of God’s blessing because you are outside of God’s hand of protection and that is a scary place to be.
Let me remind you of something (Write this down)
When you get something from God that you did not deserve, it is GRACE. (God’s riches at Christ expense)
When you do not get something that you deserve, that is MERCY.
To experience God’s hand on your life is a BLESSING
They absolutely can work hand in hand if we are drawing close to the Lord.
Some miss the blessing of God because they are only looking for material blessing. God’s blessings are not only money and stuff!
World idea of blessing
Success
Fame
Money
Material things
Popularity
Position
All these things are not bad, but if God is not in your idea of blessing, you are missing the biggest blessing.
God’s idea of blessing
Lack of fear because of circumstances
Peace and assurance of who we are in Christ.
Being right with God
True happiness
Experiencing the joy of being in the will of God
The prayer of Jabez- preachers have preached this to death. Listen to his prayer to His God.
“Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain- and God granted his request.”
This was not a selfish prayer. God…that you would bless me and expand my territory.
God, bless me and expand my area of influence. May I be more like you!
Keep me from harm and pain- keep me God from the pain of doing things the hard way, my way instead of your way.
God granted his request! Amen. Amen.
God has redeemed us
God has forgiven us
God provides His will for us
God has an inheritance for us
Those in Christ will give glory to God by serving God and God who has a big shovel of blessing will bless His children in this life and in the next life of eternity with Him.
Some talk of predestination- meaning God predestines some to be saved and some won’t. I don’t believe that! Especially in the USA and especially because of the age of technology, I believe that God will give opportunity and some will take it and some won’t.
Illustration-
There is a ship wreck and a man is floating in the middle of the ocean when a ship sees the doomed man and throws the man a life preserver. Without the life preserver is certain death, the man turns it down and says I’ll be okay on my own.”
That is how silly we look when we turn down the blessing and promises of God.
To tell a doctor that you will not take the medicine that could save your life because you don’t believe it.
The truth is the truth and once you know the truth, disagreeing with it does not change the fact.
Closing,
What does it really mean to be blessed of God?
World’s idea of blessing is to provide everything needed and not allow anything bad to happen. No matter where God is in our life, even If we neglect Him, He is still to bless our lives.
God’s idea of blessing is to be in a right relationship with Him so that He may pour out the promises and blessing He desires to give to His children.
We know that it does not come perfect and without any trials.
We know that because of our sinful nature if God did not allow us to go through some things that we would think that we ourselves are doing it and would pull away from God and not need Him.
We know that God does not get pleasure in our pain and suffering, but will use that time to draw us closer to Him.
Romans 8:28-
“We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
God’s idea of blessing is for us to remember
GRACE
MERCY
So that He can pour out His BLESSING.
Amen.
