(experience God’s blessings by watching the full message – click play below)
What does it mean to be blessed by God?
In 2 Corinthians 9:8, Paul says, “God can bless you with everything you need, and you will always have more than enough to do all kinds of good things for others.” Interestingly enough, when you know the historical framework and foundation of the text, Paul was actually trying to gather funds from the church at Corinth to combine with the funds that he had gathered from the churches in Macedonia. He wanted to send this collective gift to the church in Jerusalem which was going through a devastating time.
Paul said to them, God can bless you with everything you need, and you will always have more than enough to do all kinds of good things for others. What the Corinthians discovered, as did the Macedonians, is when God blesses you, it makes up for all kinds of lack in your life.
You need a divine blessing in your life.
You need God to really visit you.
What does the word blessing mean?
It’s a noun that means happiness produced by some experience of God’s favor. Blessing means the experiencing of divine kindness, mercy, or goodness. In other words, God wants to bless you.
Paul says in Ephesians 1:3-4, “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 He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight.”
Paul is distinguishing between spiritual blessings and material blessings. But don’t let material blessings be the only perspective you hold that says that’s the blessing. No, it’s more encompassing than that. God doesn’t limit His blessings to material things alone.
We serve a God that’s so amazing that nothing is beyond His ability or his power. I don’t know what you’re struggling with today, but I do know we serve a God that’s not alienated or divorced from your struggle. He’s very sympathetic to where you are and He wants to not only comfort you but bless you.
Not only does salvation prompt blessings, but service produces blessings. In the wisdom of God, he tied our ability to get blessed based on our actions towards others.
Do you remember the famous sermon of Jesus called the Sermon on the Mount? Jesus actually climbed the mountainside and all of these people climbed along with Him, and they’re there listening. In Matthew 5:6-7, the Scripture says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.”
Jesus is letting us know that when you are walking in righteousness and have an orientation of justice, equity and fairness towards people that are experiencing a plight, there will be a blessing. When you recognize that people are in need of a hand up and not a handout, and you act towards them with compassion expecting nothing in return, there will be a blessing.
The act of service not only does something inside of you where there’s this feeling of goodness and satisfaction, but it also creates this sense of awareness in the recipient because they know you took time out to help them.
Jesus underscored the idea that service produces blessings.
In Matthew 5:9-10, Jesus says, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” When you work hard at peacemaking, maybe in your school, job, church, community or family, and you are that liaison and reconciler, you will see the Lord’s blessings.
Salvation prompts blessing.
Service produces blessings.
People pronounce blessings.
This is why it’s so important that we allow a spiritual community to form around us.
The Bible tells us in the Book of Numbers 6:22-27, “The Lord commanded Moses to tell Aaron and his sons to use the following words in blessing the people of Israel: ‘May the Lord bless you and take care of you; May the Lord be kind and gracious to you; May the Lord look on you with favor and give you peace.’ And the Lord said, ‘If they pronounce my name as a blessing upon the people of Israel, I will bless them.’ ”
Do you see how clear that is? It wasn’t a prayer that they were praying over the people of God. It was a pronouncement that they were making over the people of God. They were declaring it.
It was on God’s heart. It was on His heart to say to Moses, tell Aaron, the priest, and his sons who are also priests. Make sure you pronounce a blessing on my people. In fact, God says, use these words. Say this over my people. Let them hear these words come from your mouth. They’re my words coming out of lips of clay. But it’s not earthly human words or earthly human blessings. It is a divine blessing that I’m speaking over my people through human individuals.
Even in the New Testament, we are shown that people pronounce blessings. Hebrews 7:7 says, “And without doubt, the lesser is blessed by the greater.” You may say, who’s the lesser? Who’s the greater? The greater is the one who’s pronouncing the blessing. The lesser is the one who is the recipient of the blessing. And you can be the greater and you can be the lesser in many relationships and many instances.
Today God wants you to understand that salvation brings blessing. He wants you to experience His blessings as you serve others. And He wants to pour out His blessings through the words and declarations you make.
Receive His blessing and give thanks!
