God bless you!
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Opening Video: God bless you! 1:45
“Christ’s blessings or “Be blessed” are my “go to” expressions in emails, texts or words as we part from one another. When I say it it is intended to be a shorter version of this,
“The Lord Bless you and Keep you, the Lord make has face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord look upon you with His favor, and give you His peace.“ When I use it to end of a text, email, or letter or even verbally as we separate, it is my prayerful request to the Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit to give you His blessings.
But what does that mean to be Blessed by God? It means, to be the recipient of divine favor, a positive disposition or kind action(s).
to bless (favor) v. — to invoke (or enact) divine favor, often implying a positive disposition or kind actions toward the recipient.
In the first chapter of the bible, God blesses the creatures He has made. We hear it a second time a few verses later, when God blesses Adam and Eve in Genesis 1:28,
28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
When the LORD finishes creating, He blesses the seventh day, to give a day of rest to Adam and Eve so they can enjoy living in the Lord’s very good creation.
3 And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
When Noah and His family step off The Ark after the flood, the Lord commands and blesses Noah’s sons with the same blessing He gave to Adam and Eve on the sixth day of creation.
1 Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth.
9 That is why it was called Babel—because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.
After the Tower of Babel, when the Lord Confused their languages and dispersed man over the face of the earth, the Lord calls Abram and blesses him. Genesis 12.
1 The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.
2 “I will make you into a great nation
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.”
You might ask: Did the LORD bless Abram? Have you heard of the nation of Israel? Today, they are 9.2 million people. A nation. A great nation.
Do you remember Job?
1 In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil.
He was a man blessed by the LORD. Job feared the Lord and was blameless before the LORD God. Then,
6 One day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them. 7 The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?”
Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming through the earth and going to and fro in it.”
8 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no-one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.”
You can hear the joy as the Lord as he speaks of His “SERVANT JOB. Then Satan, a.k.a.
10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:
“Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God,
and the authority of his Christ.
For the accuser of our brothers,
who accuses them before our God day and night,
has been hurled down.
“the accuser of our brothers” Revelation 12:9, who accuses them day and night before our God, He accuses the LORD of favoring or “blessing” Job.
9 “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. 10 “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land.
Satan challenges the Lord,
11 But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.”
12 The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.”
Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.
NOW, let’s see how Job responds to GOD! The LORD agrees. He set limits upon Satan. Satan brings on his worst – the loss property, children, and possessions. Job’s response is nothing short of inspiring.
20 Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. 21 And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”
22 In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.
Job believed that the LORD, the author, and owner of all things, including Job’s very life, He, God, has the right to do whatever He pleases. If the Lord gives, Job will thank Him. If the LORD takes way, Job will praise His Holy name. BLESSED BE THE NAME OF THE LORD. That is genuine faith and trust in God. Here how Job’s life ended.
12 The Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the first. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys.
16 After this, Job lived a hundred and forty years; he saw his children and their children to the fourth generation. 17 And so he died, old and full of years.
Job 42:12, 16-17 (ESV) — 12 And the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning. 16 And after this Job lived 140 years, and saw his sons, and his sons’ sons, four generations. 17 And Job died, an old man, and full of days.
Job’s life ended with the blessing of the LORD God upon Him.
Having the LORD’S blessing on our lives isn’t important, it’s EVERYTHING. The Lord’s blessing on our life means LIFE. So let’s take a moment ask and answer a few important questions regarding the blessing of the Lord.
First, Whom does the LORD bless?
Psalm 2:12 (NIVUK84)
Blessed are all who take refuge in him.
Think of God as a fortress. But instead of being a place, He is the ONE you go to for the safety of your soul and life. You run to Him for refuge from your sins, from your fears, from death.
The LORD blesses?
The LORD blesses?
1 Blessed is the one
who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers,
2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
and who meditates on his law day and night.
3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
whatever they do prospers.
1 Blessed are all who fear the Lord,
who walk in his ways.
The Lord blesses the man, woman or child who delights the Lord’s Laws who walk or live according to His Commandments.
The LORD blesses?
The LORD blesses?
4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house;
they are ever praising you.
Selah
He blesses.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
He blesses worship him and sing his praises.” He blesses those who remember the Sabbath Day to keep it Holy!
Let’s change the question.
How does the LORD bless us?
How does the LORD bless us?
First, He blesses us with the gift of creation – this world and universe, with all of its beauty, bounty, and variety, including our very lives, made in the image of God.
BUT, IF the blessings from the Creator, God, the Holy Trinity, weren’t enough, Romans 5,
Romans 5:5–6 (NIVUK84)
God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.
8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
God rained down from heaven His blessings and love when He sent Christ into the flesh to be like us, to be with us, and to live for us and for our salvaton. And it is through Christ alone that God’s redeeming blessings come to us, blessings that starts with Sins forgiven.
1 Blessed is he
whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered.
2 Blessed is the man
whose sin the Lord does not count against him
and in whose spirit is no deceit.
Like Job, the Lord blesses and keeps us in our trials and troubles,
12 Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
He blesses us and keeps us and in the end, places upon us the crown of life for Christ’s Sake.
But there’s more. Before we reach eternal life, He sets a table with,
16 Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ?
In spite of our willful and daily sinning, the LORD blesses us with cup of blessing and body of Christ, in, with and under, the bread and wine to reassure our believing hearts that our sins are forgiven for Christ’s sake. Christ bless you!
Let’s invert the question: Instead of asking “how does God bless us?” let’s ask, “How do we bless God?”
How do we bless God?
How do we bless God?
We...
1 Praise the Lord, O my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
We bless God every time we step into His house to confess our sins, to sing His praises, to receive His Gifts of forgiveness, life, and salvation.
We bless God by living according to His word.
1 Blessed are they whose ways are blameless,
who walk according to the law of the Lord.
2 Blessed are they who keep his statutes
and seek him with all their heart.
We bless God when we strive to live under His grace and mercy, to live a life that is pleasing to Him and loving toward our neighbors.
Colossians 1:10 (NIVUK84)
“...that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,
And as we strive to live lives of faith, hope, and love blessing God and others, then, like Job, God’s blessing return to us.
22 The Lord said to Moses, 23 “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them:
24 “ ‘ “The Lord bless you
and keep you;
25 the Lord make his face shine upon you
and be gracious to you;
26 the Lord turn his face towards you
and give you peace.” ’
27 “So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.”
So, God bless you in Jesus’ name.