INTRODUCTION
I need your help.
You see, every day I come across people, and every night I see a world of people on the news, who have no good fortune. Nothing seems to go their way. There are so many. Perhaps you’ve met one or two. The frustrated, the depressed, the unfulfilled. The unemployed, the unloved. The starving, the oppressed. The suicidal and the drug dependent. The godless. As a child of God I have an obligation to bring a blessing of hope to others. That’s where you come in.
I need your help because, although God’s blessing is large enough to share around, I just don’t have the divine capacity to do it alone (no surprises there). And God doesn’t want me to do it alone. He knows that all his people are different, and you can bring a blessing to a person whom I may never connect with - you know, psychologically, let alone to meet or interact with.
But first we need to know little bit about blessings. So let’s turn to Psalm 67 and see what we can find out.
PSALM 67
1. The source of God’s blessing (v1).
God is the source of all blessing. That’s easy to say, but it’s another thing to believe it with all your heart - just ask anyone who bought a ticket in this weeks 20 million dollar Power-ball Jackpot. Even still, it’s a conviction that is essential to the Christian life and how we live it.
a. Essential because blessing brings joy.
It’s an essential conviction because God’s blessing is what makes life on earth not only possible, but actually enjoyable. The Psalmist writes, May God be gracious to us and bless us. That means may God find pleasure and satisfaction in us by bestowing power for success, prosperity and fruitfulness upon us. Now that sounds like an enjoyable kind of life. Not only does God bless us with the essentials of life - food, clothing, shelter - but the power to develop these things further and enjoy the process of successful living in every season of life whether good or bad.
Jesus made this clear when he spoke about blessings. He said,
MT 5:3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
MT 5:4 Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
MT 5:5 Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
MT 5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
MT 5:7 Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
MT 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
MT 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.
MT 5:10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
MT 5:11 "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
b. Essential because blessing brings life.
Notice that happiness rests on more than just a worldly definition of success. That’s true because happiness rests on more than just experiencing God’s generosity with regard to ‘things.’ The greatest blessing of all life is a spiritual one. Spiritual in the sense that Christians experience the removal of the curse and judgment that have become a part of the world since the time of Adam. Romans 8:20-21 says,
For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.
The greatest blessing of the Christian life is that we have received from the hand of God, - creation (ie the world and us included), liberated from its bondage to decay. The Christian has been set free from destruction. It is the greatest blessing because knowing God is humanities greatest need.
That’s why God is central in this first verse. For God to look favourably upon us, ie to shine his face upon us and be kind and merciful toward us, is more important than attaining any level of recognition in this lifetime. The fact that God has turned his attention to those who know him is more important than any fame or fortune. Surely God’s face has shone down upon those who know him no matter who they are.
God is the source of all blessing. Every believer knows it. They know it because of the experience of knowing him; having his face shine upon them; and feeling a personal consciousness of having been singled out by God for special attention. But it would be wrong to let our understanding end there.
2. The sequence and spirit of God’s blessing (vv2-5).
V2 encourages us to share our blessings; to include the world in our prayers and visions. A pattern emerges in this Psalm that indicates a sequence to God’s blessing (OHP).
PRAYER = “Bless us” (v1)
DESIRED OUTCOME = “So that all might know…” (v2)
PRAYER = “Bless us” (v7a)
DESIRED OUTCOME = “So that all might know…” (v7b)
a. Blessed to bless others
The pattern is intentional. It shows us that the purpose of God’s blessing is not the selfish enjoyment of his love by his people. Instead it shows us that blessings are first and foremost, evidence of God’s presence among and favour towards his chosen people. This blessing is designed to enlighten a darkened world in the ways of God, particularly his way of salvation.
(Illustration) It strikes me that the Christian church is like glass prism. In one side of the prism God shines his light, the blessing which is his message of salvation. Out of the other side comes the diverse hues of the colour spectrum (Red orange yellow green blue). These colours represent the varied ways in which individual Christians communicate this blessing of salvation in their own unique way. It’s all the same message, it’s just that now it is seen and understood in many different ways.
Don’t misunderstand me here. I’m not saying that there are many ways to access God. There is only one way to do that and that’s through his Son. I’m simply making the point that we are each unique and uniquely blessed. We will tell the gospel in our own way and that that is in fact how it should be.
What are some of the blessings God has given you? If God has blessed you in any one particular way, chances are that he wants you to bless others with that blessing. One of the ways God has blessed me is with the ability to play music. I would like to think that I could use that for his Kingdom. Everyone of us has been blessed with a particular personality type - our uniqueness can be used to bless those whom other personality types cannot connect with. What are your interests? Can you bring the blessing of salvation to others you meet through a similar interest?
b. The greatest blessing
One specific way every Christian has been blessed is in the fact that God has made us the bearers of his message of salvation - we are custodians of the bible. How well do you know yours? Blessings are like rain that falls in the hills and then run down into the valleys. In the same way the blessing, which is God’s message of salvation, comes first to the Church and then flows on to the world.
Sometimes I feel guilty simply because I’m saved! Even when life isn’t going so well for me I still have that inner joy and hope; that light at the end of the tunnel which is my eternal life with Jesus. Maybe, like me, you often wonder how people get through without the blessing of that hope. The sad truth so often they don’t. Just last week another of my school mate gassed himself in the family car. He left a wife and four children and a pile of business debts. Even before that he had tried to escape and dull the pain by turning to drugs.
When we consider Australia’s appalling suicide rate, marriage and relationship dysfunction and drug epidemic - how can we sit back and not share the blessing that is the hope of salvation and eternal bliss? Many people in Australia are not blessed with a sense of hope in the future. This is what is driving people to despair. I bet there’s not one person sitting here today whose life has not been touched by someone who has divorced, taken their own life or got into substance abuse. I’d be very surprised if you knew of no-one. This lack of hope then is a street level problem, and it has a street level solution - you and the blessing of hope you carry.
Christians carry the greatest blessing of all time - the message of hope for change - a hope for a new life - hope for restoration. It’s a genuine blessing - no false hopes here. And it’s a powerful blessing.
It’s a blessing that sees God as the giver of justice - placing everyone on an equal footing. It’s a blessing that sees God, not corrupt government, guide our nations. It’s a blessing that has the power to transform lives, marriages, businesses, bodies, Churches and even the earth itself. Take a look at v6.
When will the earth yield its harvest? When all people have an attitude of praise towards God. When will this happen? When all people who have received the blessing of salvation praise God.
This brings us to the scheme of God’s blessing. Ie the method by which God blesses his creation (OHP).
3. The scheme of God’s blessing (v6-7).
This Psalm talks about a time when justice will be restored, when the earth will become productive again, a time when God will bless us and when all the ends of the earth will fear him. Clearly this time has not yet come in full - it’s obvious to us that all the ends of the earth don’t yet fear the Lord. It’s talking about the return of Jesus Christ. This will be a time when all un-godliness will be destroyed and that which is left (ie “all the ends of the earth”), will fear God.
a. The scheme then
Although he dreamed of a day when God would be known intimately, the author of this Psalm didn’t fully know how God’s scheme to bless his creation, would work out. The author of this Psalm is envisioning a time when Jews and non-Jews alike would come into and share the presence of God. In part he is envisioning our age, an age when this vision has become a reality.
In Christ this prayer has been answered. The world has been blessed because Christ has lived and walked among us and made God known - he’s still making God known through the scriptures and through his Holy Spirit. And because Christ lived and walked among us the actualization of God’s Kingdom is inevitable.
The times we live in now - between the Psalmist and the return of Jesus Christ - these are times of patience. On the day when Christ returns all who know him in part now will be blessed with an intimate, unencumbered relationship with God. 1 Corinthians 13:12 explains this when it says,
Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
b. The scheme now.
That part of God’s scheme to bless the world that we can know now is the way to salvation. If we are to spread the blessing of hope, then we ought to be fully conversant with God’s scheme of salvation. A confused message can hardly bring us hope. We need to have our understanding of God’s method of salvation absolutely clear. We know that God does bless people with new life, but do we know how God does this? If you’re unsure, try explaining it to someone and see how you go.
Perhaps you could begin with the blessing of hope that these closing verses bring. When the entire world comes before God in an attitude of joyful praise, (i.e. when Christ returns), the land will be transformed, God will bless his people in full - God will settle accounts with all his people and they will be fully transformed, and this will be evident because all the earth will be bowed before him in humble fear and praise.
The earth and its harvest can be taken here to mean that there is a promise of better things to come - there is a promise of hope for the future. Even for the church there is an expectation of better things to come. Jesus said,
Do you not say, `Four months more and then the harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest (John 4:35).
This Psalm then, encourages us to pray that God will bring such blessing that, in their turn, his people may become the blessing of the world.
CONCLUSION
So how about it? Will you help me?
God’s blessing is large enough to share around, and together under Christ’s leadership, we have the capacity to do it. God wants to bless you and use all your uniqueness to bring a blessing to a person who does not yet know him. Will you do it? Do you know your the only ones who can? Only believers, the truly blessed, know the authentic source of blessing - God the Father. Only believers, the truly blessed, are the prism through whom God wants to shine the light of his blessing. Only believers, the truly blessed, have seen and understood the scheme by which God will bring about his greatest blessing - i.e. the salvation of creation and the actualization of his kingdom.
Let me conclude with an account from history which illustrates the power of a blessing. In Acts 2 we read the account of the first church.
AC 2:1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place (There was a gathering of about 120). 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled [or ‘blessed’] with the Holy Spirit.
This little gathering of 120 disciples who met together in those early days of the Christian church, could have had no idea about the size and impact of the movement of which they were co-founders. But they received a blessing - the blessing of God’s salvation as evidenced in the presence of the Holy Spirit. This blessing was so rich and significant that within 300 years, the paganism of the Roman Empire was overthrown and Christianity was established as the official religion of the known world. If you follow Jesus Christ as Lord you have been blessed with that very same Spirit – that very same potential!!
You have been blessed, now go and be a blessing.
Let’s pray.
Psalm 67
For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A psalm. A song.
PS 67:1 May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face shine upon us,
Selah
PS 67:2 that your ways may be known on earth,
your salvation among all nations.
PS 67:3 May the peoples praise you, O God;
may all the peoples praise you.
PS 67:4 May the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you rule the peoples justly
and guide the nations of the earth.
Selah
PS 67:5 May the peoples praise you, O God;
may all the peoples praise you.
PS 67:6 Then the land will yield its harvest,
and God, our God, will bless us.
PS 67:7 God will bless us,
and all the ends of the earth will fear him.
