THE POWER OF A BLESSING

 

SOMETHING OF SIGNIFICANCE:

 

 THE POWER OF A BLESSING!                

 

“And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying:  Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain.  So, God granted him what he requested.”  2 Chron. 4:9-10

Jabez asked God for quite a few blessings in this prayer and, you know what, it says God gave him EXACTLY what he requested!

God loves to answer prayers and faith declarations!

Jabez had a pretty rough start and lived for many years with the “identity” that had landed on him from family and friends until one day he got sick and tired of being sick and tired and boldly prayed asked for God’s blessings!

If Jabez had not “asked for God’s blessings, he probably would have stayed in the vicious cycle of defeat; but when he finally did ask, can’t you just imagine the joy it brought to God’s heart to bless a man that He thought so highly of instead of seeing him living without the blessing He had desired for him all of the time!

It says in this Scripture, that “Jabez was more honorable than his brothers….” Those were God’s thoughts of him!

So many people today have a false image of God and how much He wants to bless them!

“It is the blessing of the LORD that makes rich, and He adds no sorrow with it.”  Proverbs 10:22

Where did the BLESSING first begin?

“So, God created human beings in his image.  In the image of God, he created them.  God BLESSED them and said:  Be fruitful and multiply…Gen 1:27-28

Fruitfulness and multiplication, increase and blessings are God’s ideas!

The Apostle Paul said: “BLESSED be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has BLESSED US (past tense) with every spiritual BLESSING in the heavenly places in Christ…”

Some of the BLESSINGS Jesus paid for us to receive by faith are in Deuteronomy 28

The Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth and   ALL these BLESSINGS will come upon you and overtake you…!

BLESSED shall you be in the city and BLESSED shall you be in the Country

BLESSED shall be the fruit of your body….

BLESSED shall you be when you come in and BLESSED shall you

Be you go out.

The Lord will cause your enemies who rise against you to be                                                                                  defeated before your face, they shall come out against you one way   and flee seven ways.

The Lord will command THE BLESSING on you in your storehouses and in ALL to which you set your hand and He will BLESS you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you!

How can we know these powerful blessings apply to us today as New Testament believers?

Galatians 3:14 He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to 

Abraham might come upon the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, SO THAT, by faith, we might receive the promise of the Spirit.”

God wants us to put our faith in him and his Word and claim all these promises not just for us but so that we can be his outstretched arms to others!

God told Abraham, “I will BLESS you and you will be a BLESSING.” Gen 12:2-3

2 Cor. 1:20 says, “ALL of God’s promises (BLESSINGS) are YES and AMEN!”

After Jesus resurrection, He said something very interesting to Thomas which also pertains to us today.  

It went like this: The disciples had told Thomas they had seen the Lord and his comments were:  “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” A short time later the disciples and Thomas were together and Jesus came and stood among them and said: “Peace be with you!”

Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here.  See my hands.  Reach out your hand and put it into my side.  STOP DOUBTING and BELIEVE.”

Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed, BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO HAVE NOT SEEN AND YET HAVE BELIEVED!”

The important thing to note is:  BLESSINGS are activated by our faith!

We are in the category of people that Jesus was talking about.  His promise to us is that if we believe the promises and words in the

Scriptures that have been spoken without “seeing” Him, we will be BLESSED because we believe!

In Luke 1:45 Elizabeth said to Mary, “You are BLESSED because you believed that the Lord would do what he said.”

Psalms 103: 1-5 “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me. Bless his holy Name! 

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits (BLESSINGS)

Who forgives all thine iniquities

Who heals all thy diseases

Who redeems thy life from destruction

Who crowns thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies

Who satisfies thy mouth with good things, SO THAT thy youth is renewed like the eagles

Who executes righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed…

David told his soul to BLESS the Lord by remembering ALL of His benefits….

Again, it sounds like God gets great joy when we know his benefits and claim the promises!

“BLESSED be the Lord, who daily loads us with benefits, even the God of our salvation.”  Ps 68:19 

Final Thought:

There is so much power in understanding that God has BLESSING his people on his mind every day in every way!

Understanding His heart’s intention is like having tools in our spiritual tool kit!

We’ve learned He wants us to be fruitful and multiply!

He wants us to be blessed going in and coming out!

He has got so many blessings for us they will find us and overtake us!

He has blessing our children on his mind!

He said He would heal all diseases…so He has wholeness on his mind!

He has forgiveness on his mind and that is why he sent Jesus!

He has protection from destruction on his mind!

He has our youth being renewed on his mind!

These are powerful BLESSINGS that belong to us when we use our faith and say: YES and AMEN for the glory of God!

Diana M Sykes