A. INTRODUCTION
1. Definition of blessing, “Adding value, or prospering.”
DOES NOT MEAN
1. Not transforming or making new. It means, “making better.”
2. Not knowing God intimately. It means improving your life and services.
3. Not divine intervention. It means lifting your life to a higher level.
2. Your challenge: to add value to another.
B. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE ADD VALUE (BLESS) OTHERS.
1. You add strength to them, usually helping them do what they are unable to do. Aaron and Hur helped Moses by lifting up his arms. Ex. 17:8-16. Are you someone’s prayer partner?
2. You identify opportunities for them to grow and serve. Paul told Timothy, “Stir up the gift of God that is in you” (II Tim. 1:6).
a. Paul saw Timothy’s strength.
b. Paul encouraged him to ministry.
c. Paul challenged what God could do with him.
3. You intensify commitment to one another. “And she (Naomi) said go my daughter” (Ruth 2:2). “Naomi said unto Ruth, it is good to go . . .” (Ruth 2:22).
a. Naomi supported decisions.
b. Naomi encouraged faithfulness.
c. Naomi shared her wisdom.
4. You purify your emotions. When you bless/lift another, you are not fulfilling your own agenda.
a. Are you living to win, or to help another win?
b. It’s amazing what you can do in life if you don’t care who gets the credit.
c. You are not in it for yourself, you’re in it for others.
5. You solidify relationships. One person cannot make a team successful, but one person can be a crucial ingredient to making everyone around him better. “The main ingredient of stardom is the rest of the team” John Whooten. “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the one who falls and has no one to help him up” (Ecc. 4:9,10).
a. Husbands/wives bless your spouse, don’t criticize.
b. Brother/sister bless your sibling, don’t destroy.
c. Friendships are not built on sarcasm.
6. You get things from God. “If two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done of them of my father in heaven” (Matt. 18:19).
WHO REJECTS YOUR BLESSING?
1. Those not in fellowship with you.
2. Those not in fellowship with God.
3. Those not in fellowship with the Church.
7. You multiply the potential of ministry. You release the other to the work and will of God. “When Saul came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were afraid of him . . . But Barnabas took him and brought him to the Apostles” (Acts 9:26, NIV). “Then Barnabas . . . looked for Saul . . . he brought him to Antioch . . . and (they) taught great numbers of people” (Acts 11:25-26, NIV).
8. You clarify your mission and their mission in life. “God told Moses, ‘But Joshua . . . shall go in thither (the Promise Land); encouraging him, for he shall cause Israel to inherit it” (Deut. 1:38).
9. You magnify the best in you and them. “Blessed be . . . the God of all encouragement, who encourages us in our trouble, so that we can encourage those in trouble, with the same encouragement we got from God” (II Cor. 1:3-5).
a. You will bless others with the blessing you get from God.
b. Others bless you to lift them to your level.
10. You testify to the world that you belong to the community of other believers.
a. To give up petty feelings for the Great Commission.
b. To bless another, strengthen the body.
c. To reflect unity to the unsaved. “I pray . . . that they may be one, as we are – I in them, and you in me, all being perfected into one. Then the world will know that you sent me, and that you love them” (John 17:22-23, LB).
C. WHAT TO TAKE AWAY
1. Look for opportunities to encourage.
2. Look for actions to complement.
3. Look for people to motivate.
4. Look for relationships to strengthen.
5. Look for alienated people to lift up.
If you have never really accepted Jesus as your personal Savior, would you do it right now? Do not delay or put it off. If you would like to receive Christ by faith, pray this simple prayer in your heart:
Dear Lord, I acknowledge that I am a sinner. I believe Jesus died for my sins on the cross, and rose again the third day. I repent of my sins. By faith I receive the Lord Jesus as my Savior. You promised to save me, and I believe You, because You are God and cannot lie. I believe right now that the Lord Jesus is my personal Savior, and that all my sins are forgiven through His precious blood. I thank You, dear Lord, for saving me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
If you prayed that prayer, God heard you and saved you. I personally want to welcome you to the family of God. Please contact me at eltowns@liberty.edu and tell us about your salvation experience so that we can rejoice with you.
