TITLE: Living In The Blessing
Text: Number 6:24-27
Theme: New Years, blessing
P.S.
INTRODUCTION:
I do not think that there is anyone who does not like receiving a Blessing from the Lord.
Over and over we read how that God has blessed us, and longs to bless us with even more blessing. In fact did you know that the word “bless, blessing, and blessed are used over 500 times in both the Old and New Testaments?
What did it mean to say, “The Lord bless you”?
In its simplest form, to bless or blessing means ‘to Kneel (BArak Heb.)
The Hebrew word literally means “on bended knee”. It describes a servant kneeling out of respect for his master or a lover kneeling to ask his beloved for her hand in marriage.
It signifies to celebrate with praises. This is what we do when we praise God in worship. We are ascribing blessing to the Lord, acknowledging His goodness, with a desire that He be glorified in and through our lives.
Blessing is used in four different manners in the Bible.
a. Starting in Genesis, God blesses His creation, mankind, the Sabbath, nations and men.
b. Psalm 103:3 encourages worshippers to bless God through praise, adoration and worship.
1(A)Bless the LORD, O my soul,
And all that is within me, bless His (B)holy name.
2Bless the LORD, O my soul,
And (C)forget none of His benefits;
3Who (D)pardons all your iniquities,
Who (E)heals all your diseases;
c. Godly men by words and actions can bestow blessing on each other.
8To sum up, (A)all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, (B)brotherly, (C)kindhearted, and (D)humble in spirit;
9(E)not returning evil for evil or (F)insult for insult, but giving a (G)blessing instead; for (H)you were called for the very purpose that you might (I)inherit a blessing.
(1 Peter 1:8-9)
d. In Bible times, godly men under inspiration spoke prophetic blessing on their children. For example, Noah blessed Japheth and Shem; Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau; Jacob later spoke blessing upon the entire twelve tribes of Isreal.
I think it is obvious that God wants to bless His kids.
In fact, Ephesians 1:3-14 says that God has “…blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing…”
Could this really be true? Many wonder where is this blessing? How can God be blessing me? . Look at the world… not much blessing, …
As we all look towards a new year, we naturally wander what it will bring. Many of us would like to write 2005 off. After all between hurricanes, Tsunamis, political corruption, we understandably want to lift our hands in the air and say, “ENOUGH ALL READY”
But from the very beginning God’s intention was to bless humanity.
Genesis 1:26 “Then God said: ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness….’ (27) So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created them, male and female he created them. (28) God BLESSED them and said to them, Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it…’ (31) God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.” (NIV)
What was God’s original intention? To bless humanity, it is not? We are the only thing created that is blessed with His image. That gives purpose dignity. We are made to be blessed, not cursed, spat on, ridiculed, or to exist with fear.
God’s heart - filled with joy when He created humanity as He blessed them….Strong’s concordance
So what of 2006? I belive that as we look forward in faith we can expect God’s blessing upon us. Got your Bibles ready? Turn to Numbers 6:23-27 (read)
The Aaronic Blessing: What is this blessing anyhow? What does it mean to me and my family? How can I live in this blessing?
This particular blessing is called the Aaronic Blessing or the Priestly Blessing. The blessing was one way of asking for God’s Divine favor to rest upon others. This ancient blessing in these verses helps us understand what a blessing was supposed to do.
We learn from Leviticus that the priests were to say these words with their hands held up above their heads. This was to signify that the words weren’t just being uttered by the priests, but were coming from God Himself to the people. The priest was the mediator, not the initiator. When the people gathered for worship, the priest would offer the sacrifices to establish them in fellowship with God, then he would raise his arms and pronounce the blessing.
It’s five parts conveyed hope that God would (1) Bless and keep them – favor and protect; (2) Make His face shine upon them- Be Pleased; (3) Be gracious- merciful and compassionate; (4) turn his face toward THEM- GIVE hiS APPORVAL; (5) Give peace.
When you ask God to bless others or yourself, you are asking Him to do these five things. The blessing you offer will not only help the one receving it,m it will also demonstrate love, encouragement to others, and provide a model of caring to others
Let’s take a close look at this blessing: This blessing coveys hope that God will,
1. GOD bless you and keep you,- Favor and Protection:
God is able to keep us from falling, present us faultless before His presence
God will protect…
24And now, all glory to God, who is ABLE TO KEEP you from stumbling, and who will bring you into his glorious presence innocent of sin and with great joy.
From Full Life Bible Commentary: This doxology shows us how the Christian can be assured of his or her salvation. It is God who keeps us from falling. Indeed, God is to be praised for His ability to keep us from falling and to present us before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy. With this knowledge we ascribe to God our saviour, ‘glory, power and authority.’ IN this light let us continue to serve Him until He returns.
2. Make His face shine upon them- Be Pleased. Eugene Peterson in the Message, adds this light, “25GOD smile on you..’
Why is God smiling? Because he is filled with joy for His children. When He looks upon us, HE smiles with His favor and Joy. Look at Jude 24 again,
God is welcoming us with joy! See Jude 24,25 again… not only present us faultless but also present us before God with exceeding joy…
Do you want to know how to make God’s heart glad? Would you like to make Him joyously happy over you?
Simply by living like Him and enjoying the Life He has provided for you. If we really believe that Jesus is coming again, we will live for Christ and obey His word. If we want to bring Joy to the Fathers heart then we will live in joyful anticipation for His return.
1 John 3:3 says it plainly, ‘Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure
3. Be gracious- merciful and compassionate :
The Amplified Bible says, ‘25The Lord make His face to shine upon and enlighten you and be gracious (kind, merciful, and giving favor) to you;
The Message adds the thought of God giving a gift.
God is giving us grace not what we deserve for our sins. Eph. 2:8,9
Saving is all his idea, and ALL HIS WORK. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It’s GOD’S GIFT from start to finish! 9We don’t play the major role. If we did, we’d probably go around bragging that we’d done the whole thing! (MSG)
God is willing to bless us – it is more than we can dream or hope for, He is the driving force, the initiator, the gift-giver and question is “do we trust Him to do it?”
4. Turn his face toward THEM- GIVE His Approval:
The Amplified again says, 26The Lord lift up His [approving] countenance upon you.
The expression “lift up His countenance” in v. 26 is similar to the English “smile.” - WA Criswell- this is what God wants to say to us!
Have you ever been looking for someone in a crowd? Perhaps you’ve been to pick someone up at the airport, or been met yourself when you’ve gone to visit someone you haven’t seen for a long time. Think of the moment when you finally make eye contact with the person you are looking for. Suddenly, out of all the people gathered in that place at that time you make a personal connection with someone that you know and who knows you! You run up to them and embrace them. Any doubts – would they be there? Would they know you? – all such questions disappear as they turn their face towards you.
That’s what the Aaronic blessing asks for between us and God. When God turns His face towards you, it is a moment of recognition that you matter to Him and are special to Him. The one who turns His face towards you also opens His arms wide to embrace you as you meet. You are at peace in that embrace, you are secure in the knowledge that your relationship with God is real; you know that He knows you and that your relationship with Him cannot be shaken.
Is that not a wonderful thought?! It is not just a thought – it is our reality as Christians.
5. Give Peace: Or as the Amplified offers this meaning, give you peace (tranquility of heart and life continually).
Phil 4:6-7 (NLT) says:
6Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
You have heard me preach on this before. This means that God’s peace will stand onj guard protecting us from unwanted fears, anxieties, or distractions Satan might use to steer us away from God’s blessing.
Conclusion:
So what does all this mean to me? In his message, “The Prayer of Blessing”, Paul Fritz offers 15 guidelines to show us how to pray blessing on others.
In conclusion let me leave you with four or five:
a. 1. RECEIVE BLESSINGS - God created us to receive His blessings. It is a thrilling realization to think that God wants to favor us with His supernatural blessings. Paul wrote, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessings in Christ." (Eph. 1:3)
b. 2. BLESS GOD - God knows that unless we are blessed we will not be able to fully praise, worship and reverence Him. We cannot offer God anything of worth unless He gives us something first. We love because He first loved us. (I John 4:10)
c. OBEY GOD - It is a command that the Lord gave to Moses, "Tell Aaron ’this is how you are to bless the Israelities." We are ordered to bless other people and not to criticize or correct them first.
d. BE A CHANNEL OF BLESSING - God told Abraham that he would be blessed but also that He would be a blessing to the nations. (Gen. 12:1-15) The Lord wants us to be a conduit of His blessings to all the 24,000 people groups of the world, not just to those in our immediate family or neighborhood or workplace.
e. GOD WANTS HIS BLESSINGS SPOKEN - Do not hesistate to encourage, bless and pray for one another out loud. OUt of the abundance of our heart the mouth speaks. It is the Lord’s blessings that people want to hear. Memorize and meditate on scripture. As you sow that will you also reap. Be a channel of the blessings from His word as you speak to one another in song and hymn and spiritual songs.
f. BE AROUND PEOPLE WHO BLESS OTHERS - Ask the Lord to help you to associate with people who are blessings instead of cynical, abusive or angry individuals. God multiplies people who are channels of blessings because they best portray His power, purpose and plentiful mercy. Do not be critical or ready to be obejctional. Stop thinking you always have to look at the part of the glass that is empty instead of the part that is full. You will become like the people you associate yourself with. Praise God that He tells us pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love and peace with those who call upon the Lord from a pure heart. (2 Tim. 2:22-24)
Sources:
Strong’s Concordance
Vines Dictionary of NT Words
NIV Study Bible notes
Full Gospel Commentry OF THE New Testament
Wiersbe Commentary
Internet Sources
Blue Letter Bible
Sermon central
A Prayer of Blessing by Paul Fritz
Triple Gods Blessing for You, Andrew Chan
