Be a Blessing

The GEMS have been focussing on the theme, Be a Blessing this year.

What are some ways that you’ve seen God’s blessings?

What are some ways you’ve been a blessing to others?

The Bible talks about blessings a lot! Scripture teaches us that a blessing is anything in your life that draws you closer to God.

Most of the time, when God blesses individuals, he also blesses many others through them. This morning, we’re going to look at four individuals: Abram, Jacob, Paul and Jesus. In each one, we see a pattern that we ought to follow.

Look up! Bless God by thanking him for our blessings. Reach out! Bless others by sharing God’s blessings.

The four people we’ll look at are: .

In each of them we’ll see how the theme verse, is lived out. “And God is able to make all grace about to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” So keep that verse in mind as we look at these four individuals.

God called Abram out of his home town, away from his family and friends and told him to go to a land he would show him. It’s hard to see how this would be a blessing, wouldn’t it? I know some of you have moved across the country, or moved from another country to this one. I know that it is hard to leave, it is hard to say goodbye to family and friends. It was hard for Abram too.

But Abram discovered something. By obeying God, by trusting God, he drew closer to God! He experienced God’s blessing—closeness to God! And God promised Abram that He would make Abram into a great nation. And he did. But here’s the confounding thing: Abram and his wife Sarai, couldn’t have children! But he trusted God, and to make a long story short, God gave them a son!

God promised to bless Abram (later he changed his name to Abraham), but not only Abraham, God would bless others through Abraham’s descendants! It’s true, his descendants also brought the truth and the closeness of God to many, many people, and they’re still doing it today—though now they’re spiritual descendants of Abraham!

Abraham looked up! He blessed God by thanking him for his blessings. He reached out! He blessed others by sharing God’s blessings!

One of Abraham’s grandsons was named Jacob.

Jacob and his brother Esau were twins. And like many siblings, they didn’t always get along. Jacob seemed to live up to his name, which can mean deceiver.

God had a plan for Jacob. That’s the cool thing about God, he chooses people we might not choose. From our perspective, Esau seemed like a better guy than Jacob. But in the end, we see that Jacob’s heart sought after God.

In , we read about Jacob’s encounter with God.

Jacob wrestled with God. All night long he wrestled with him, and wouldn’t give up. Finally, the Lord touched Jacob’s hip and wrenched it, so that Jacob would give up. And yet still he refused to let go until God blessed him.

Now, it seems strange, doesn’t it, that Jacob had to be injured in order to receive a blessing? But that event happened to test Jacob’s strength and determination. It was to see if Jacob would continue to persevere even in great difficulty. Jacob proved that no matter how great or how long the struggle, he would remain close to God!

God blessed him, and used him to bring more and more people close to him.

Jacob looked up! He blessed God by thanking him for his blessings. He reached out! And blessed others by sharing God’s blessings!

Now we speed up through history and we turn to one of Abraham’s far off descendants, Paul. He used to persecute the church. He thought Jesus was a fraud. He thought the church was corrupting the truth. He fought hard against it, arresting people, even having them put to death for believing in Jesus.

But God had a plan for him. One day, Jesus himself appeared to Saul asking him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” Did you notice that? Jesus asked, “Why are you persecuting me?” He didn’t ask, “Why are you persecuting my people.” What does this tell us? It tells us that what happens to us, happens to Jesus. That what happened to Jesus, happened to us. We are totally in Christ. Jesus is totally for us. He is our strength, our defender, our courage, our greatest blessing!

From that moment on, Saul became Paul, and instead of fighting against Jesus and the church, he fought for Jesus and the church! What Paul used to boast about, his training, his lineage, his ancestry, his zeal, his obedience to the law, he considered nothing. Instead, his whole life was about Jesus.

God gave Paul a gift, he allowed him to go to heaven—but while he was still alive! Can you imagine that? But God wouldn’t let Paul talk about it at all. And, knowing Paul’s heart and his potential to boast in himself, we read in , “to keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”

So Paul was given a great gift, but it came with a cost. He was tormented by an evil spirit! However, because of God’s gift, because of God’s all sufficient grace, because God’s power is made perfect in weakness, Paul rejoiced. Paul didn’t go around bragging about himself; instead, he bragged about his weaknesses, for the showed the power of Christ more clearly! Instead of an easy life, Paul received a hard one. And yet, God used Paul as one of, if not the greatest missionaries ever. He wrote most of the New Testament!

Paul looked up! He blessed God by thanking him for his blessings. He reached out! And blessed others by sharing God’s blessings!

Jesus. Jesus is God. He is the second person of the Trinity. He came to seek and to save the lost. Since the beginning, when humanity sinned against God, there’s been a separation, a distance. Nothing could get us from one side to the other, except Jesus.

Jesus is the bridge that brings us to the Father. Jesus brings all who trust in him, closer to God the Father. Jesus did this by dying on the cross, paying for your sin, for my sin. In exchange for taking away our sin, he gives us himself, he gives us his righteousness.

Jesus looked up! He blessed the Father by thanking him for his blessings. He reached out! And blessed others by sharing GOd’s blessings! By sharing himself!

There’s a powerful promise given to all who trust in Jesus. says, “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.”

For all who have trusted in God, in Jesus, Abram, Jacob, Paul, and you and me, we have already been blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

From Abram, from Jacob, from Paul, from Jesus himself we know that blessings don’t mean easy living. In fact, the blessings may be incredible hardship. But the true blessing is spiritual, it supersedes our circumstances. It gives us the power to get through every moment of every day!

Look up! Bless the father by thanking him for his blessings. Reach out! Bless others by sharing God’s blessings! Receive Jesus’ blessings, and be a blessing to everyone around you. “And God is able to make all grace about to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” Remember way at the beginning of this message, I asked how God has blessed you, and whom God has blessed through you? Think of one person, one friend, one family member you can be a blessing to! Pray about it. Trust the Holy Spirit to give you the words to say! Amen!

Amen.

Our Father in heaven, thank you for your blessings to us. May we in turn bless others! We trust in you, our blessed assurance, knowing that Jesus is ours! Amen.

Jesus. Jesus is our greatest blessing! 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 (). We are blessed in Christ so that all peoples will come to Him! This is God’s heart. His desire is for His children to be close to Him.