The Blessing - Margaret's Notes for 28th January 2007

God made covenant with man
All Covenants contains blessings and curses.
God’s promise is that of we walk in the covenant we remain in him and we remain in the blessing
Jesus was adamant that his disciples needed to abide in him remain in communion with him. And so being in the blessing all boils down to us walking in love, walking like Jesus did releasing mercy and compassion. , and the blessing is upon us to do it
Blessing means imparting goodness to someone usually by speaking encouraging and up- building words
The power is in the blessing
Have faith in the blessing
The Holy Spirit is the agent of blessing. …he is our empowerment

The word blessing occurs on almost every page of the bible it is a book of blessing
God blessed everything that he made….
After He made it …He imparted a supernaturally empowered command that gave it purpose and direction
.. Blessing or cursing always involves speaking words over someone or something …Jesus did not say to the fig tree ‘I curse you’ he said ‘May you never bear fruit again
God did not say ‘ Adam I bless you’…he gave life giving commands
For example ….Gen 1. 28 God blessed them and said to them,
1. "Be fruitful and increase in number;
2. fill the earth and subdue it.
3. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground."
He gave them authority over His creation
Implicit in blessing and the results of it is
Doing well… increase…success… prosperity, greatness… favour….multiplication…
Adam was sent to create Eden all over the world
As believers… The command stands for us in the spiritual realm
Jesus gave us authority over the evil one and all his works
Mark 16 v 5And he said unto them, Go ye into the entire world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. We are to be a people of intimacy with God, who take dominion blessing and undo the works of the evil one
Through the blessing and the command We are called to a spiritual multiplication of the kingdom and our selves
We are given the keys of the kingdom…to trample over the powers of hell
Deliver us from evil means deliver us from the curse of sin upon man which has brought sickness and evil
Everything we say or do should be a blessing. ‘Let your speech be seasoned with salt.’ There is power in our words and actions to make everything prosper around us
Proverbs…Death and Life are in the power of the tongue, Prov. 18.21
We need to let God speak blessings through us to others constantly…
Wives… husbands …children …bosses.. Friends… You can choose if you build or destroy. if you live in a blessed environment or a cursed one …if you have blessed children or cursed children
Every day I spoke over my children Like Jesus they grow in wisdom and in stature and in favour with God and man…it’s true!!!They have
We are called to be a people of blessing
Genesis 9:1
Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth•

God means blessing to cover every area of our life
The most far reaching blessing is given in Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 28: 1-15 Every area of life BLESSED

In the bible …People blessed others at key moments of life

Genesis 24:60
and they (Rebecca’s family) blessed Rebekah before she left them and said to her, "Our sister, may you increase to thousands upon thousands; may your offspring possess the gates of their enemies." •

A .Men are to bless their sons The blessing is an inheritance for our children
The patriarch Jacob Blesses His Sons with prophetic words
All these were the twelve tribes of Israel, and when he blessed them, he gave each the blessing appropriate to him.
Remember the story of Esau and Jacob…Jacob stole Esau’s birthright which was his fathers blessing
Proverbs 20:7
The righteous man leads a blameless life; blessed are his children after him.

C> People will be blessed just because of our presence and the input we make into their lives and homes…’when you enter a house ‘WE ARE the blessing Look at Joseph !
Genesis 39:5
From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the LORD blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the LORD was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field. •

D> We can bless anyone… the heathen/unbeliever
Genesis 47:7
Then Joseph brought his father Jacob in and presented him before Pharaoh. After Jacob blessed Pharaoh,

E> Our own actions bring blessing… the blessing is a reward. It isn’t like it’s a star chart for good behaviors its just that all these things have an inherent blessing in them because they are the actions of God himself
Psalm 41:1 regard for the weak
James 1:12…we are blessed when we persevere
James 1 we are blessed when we pay attention to God’s word
Psalm 106:3maintain justice,

F> when we get into trouble because we do right we are blessed. This means happy!
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.

The story of Joseph tells us that the blessed life is not a trouble free life
But the blessing makes us like the bobbing cork in water cannot be kept down
We are happy whatever the circumstances because every command of Christ comes… with the full ability to perform it
Being blessed doesn’t mean everything always goes just as we want it
God’s friend Abraham found life uphill…he was so blessed but failed to have child when he wanted it he had to wait until his old age
God promised him
2. I will bless you. …he was blessed… Materially and spiritually …God consulted him before he destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah and answered his prayer to heal others
3. I will make your name great. His name is still great
4. You shall be a blessing. Good men are the blessings of their country.
5. I will bless those that bless you, and curse him that curses you. God will take care that none are losers, by any service done for his people.
6. In you shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
All the true blessedness the world has, is owing to Abraham and his posterity.
The Jews… Through them we have a Bible, a Saviour, and a gospel. They are the stock on which the Christian church is grafted
This has passed to us now too
.(look at the Jewish contribution and the Christian contribution to science etc)
How do I know ….
Galatians 3 13
Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangs on a tree; That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith
H> Abraham had spiritual clout with God but in the New Testament there is more spiritual power and spiritual dominion added to our blessing.
The gifts of the spirit, the power and anointing to heal, the ability to rule in the spirit realm
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.
He has chosen us
Predestined us
Redeemed us
Made known his will to us, gave us the mind of Christ
Given us an inheritance
Sealed us with his spirit
Given us eternal life
WHAT PRICELESS BLESSINGS
It’s Eden in our hearts
Matthew Henry: Spiritual and heavenly blessings are the best blessings; with which we cannot be miserable, and without which we cannot but be so.
God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing that heaven has to offer
So they are NOT Temporal? (earthly) Surely temporal and spiritual
God gives us all things richly to enjoy 1 Tim 6. 17
He has given us all things that pertain to LIFE AND godliness 2 Peter 1.3
We are spiritual billionaires
E> those that are blessed cannot be cursed, and if they are then we can neutralize the curse
Numbers 22:12
But God said to Balaam, "Do not go with them. You must not put a curse on those people, because they are blessed." •

Bless those who curse you pray for those who despitefully use you
Neutralize the curses and Turn every curse into a blessing
Giles was talking about over coming in a trial… everything can be turned into a blessing if we will bless and trust in the Lord
What does it mean for us? It means that …today we can bless others
Blessed to be a blessing
Blessing others maybe involves
Meaningful touch,
Positive affirmation
Speaking words that invoke the blessing and power of God..
We are going to take communion and give our offering in a minute I want you to remember in relation to our offering that

1. We are to give back to God according to the level of the blessing he has given us
2. Deuteronomy 16:17

Each of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the LORD your God has blessed you.)
The communion cup is called the cup of blessing ..1Cor 10 16