30 Days of Blessing (2 of 5) The Power of a Blessing
October 14,2010 Chester FBC Chester, IL Dr. Mike Fogerson, Speaker
A If you have ever went to a funeral or memorial service, you have heard a eulogy.
1 Eulogy is from two greek words: “eu” meaning well and “logos” meaning word. (Good word.)
a I can never remember a bad word spoken about any person at a funeral.
b I’ve known them (I’ve preached them!) . . . became super saints between the day they died and their funeral.
aa At funerals we chose to speak well, kind of people (appropriate).
bb Unfortunately the deceased is not around to hear their eulogy!
2 It’s become common practices to wait until someone dies before we shower them with blessing.
a 3 Mary then took a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. John 12:3 (NASB)
aa Some people criticized her for anointing/blessing Jesus (What a waste! Inappropriate to do that to someone who is alive.)
bb If Jesus was dead, her actions would have been accepted, approved, admired.
b We still save our best flowers/compliments for a person’s funeral.
B Blessings are powerful when they are spoken to us.
1 They meet some of our basic needs that we were given by our Creator.
a By the way, God created you to be blessed.
aa Original sin (Arguments, division)
bb Original blessing! (God sent His Son to restore the blessing that sin cursed)
b God made you to be blessed & to be a blessing to others.
aa When He created you He left an imprint of His heart on yours.
bb IMAGE: Echocardiogram image of human heart looks like the Hebrew letter “Shin”. (Pg. 39, Dr. Garr)
cc Shaddai (pg. 54, Dr. Garr), on Mezzuzah
c We have a physical imprint of God on our hearts.
aa hears are deceitful/wicked and only known by God (Jer. 17.9).
9 "The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it? Jer 17:9 (NASB)
bb We still maintain that spark to be a blessing to others through faith (Prov. 20.27).
2 He created us with needs (He didn’t have too, but He did!)
a If He gave us needs, He’s also given us the means to legitimately meet the need.
aa Temptation is when we are enticed to meet the legitimate need in an illegitimate way.
bb fulfill a God given need in a God forbidden way.
3 The Christian life is walked on two legs: God-image & Self-image.
a God-image is what we think of God, what He’s like, what He approves/disapproves.
b Self-image is what we believe God/others think of us.
aa If either is seriously damaged/false . . . our spirit is affected & we limp through life.
bb What about humility? Rom. 12.3, for ever person that does think of himself/herself too highly there is a hundred that think too little of themselves. (Believe they are horrible people)
3 For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. Romans 12:3 (NASB)
C Are there certain needs only God can satisfy? Yes.
1 He disigned some needs in our lives to be satisfied by other people in our lives (Esp. those close to us.)
a When people are close to us their words/what they say can greatly affect us.
b Their words are seeds that are planted in our lives.
aa If they are received, cultivated, it brings forth a harvest.
bb If it’s not received, cultivated, put into practice . . . soon forgotten.
cc Whoever says these words to us can either be a blessing/curse.
2 God created us to need physical food & soul food.
a Soul food is provided to us by God’s Word (Gen. 2.18)
18 Then the Lord God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him." Gen 2:18 (NASB)
b Wasn’t God enough for Adam? (He designed Adam to need something only another human could give him.)
c Words feed our souls.
aa Like regular food, they can be good or bad words.
bb Good (healthy) food builds us up, stronger; Bad (Spoiled) food can knock us out/devastate us/sideline us.
D 4 But He answered and said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.' " Matt 4:4 (NASB)
1 God’s word can come directly from the Bible or indirectly through men & women.
a God has made you to speak greatness on His behalf into people.
b Speak God into people.
aa You chose good/bad words.
bb Seven “A’s”: Appreciation, Acceptance, Approval, Affection, Affirmation, Admiration.
2 Everybody needs a word of praise/blessing.
a 17 and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased." Matt 3:17 (NASB)
How do you think that must have our Savior feel?
b When was the last time you deliberately praised/blessed another person with your words.
aa People who need praise/blessing the most are most often the people to whom it is most difficult to give it too.
bb Faults are huge, flawed . . . still seek to bless them.
c In Scripture there are some commands that are reciprocal (Give & receive what we crave.)
aa 13 But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called "Today," so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. Heb 3:13 (NASB)
bb You want these good words too, right?
d It’s not just the star athlete, politicians, billionaires who crave attention.
aa Single mom behind the counter, Convenience store clerk.
bb Tiger Woods (but what about the grounds keeper that made the course beautiful?); Janitor @ the school needs praise/blessing as much as the principle does.
E If positive feedback is not given, the negative will automatically be assumed.
1 You tell your wife you love her, but she doesn’t respond, you automatically assume something is wrong. (Have I done something wrong? Offended her?)
a Nobody compliments your supper you assume it isn’t any good.
b We assume the worst, not the best.
2 “You’ve got to accent-tu-ate the positive, eliminate the negative . . . don’t mess with Mr. In-Between.”
a APPRECIATION: The simple act of recognizing the good in others and acknowledging it.
aa Simple thank-you.
bb The number one most common complaint among American workers is not pay, benefits, but the lack of appreciation from their employers.
cc None given the worker questions their worth/ question if their work is valued.
b ACCEPTANCE: Let others know that you accept and admire them.
aa We spend a lot of time seeking acceptance.
bb Dress, talk, act a certain way; go to certain places/events to be accepted.
cc Let other’s know you know they are there, if you don’t you assume you are being rejected.
c APPROVAL: We all need to know we are valued by others.
aa Different from “acceptance”: Approval goes a step beyond.
bb Children want approval from Mom/Dad, as we grow older the need of approval tends not to wain.
cc Approval is what makes a teenager receive approval from the wrong crowd soon become followers of that crowd.
d AFFECTION
e ATTENTION
f AFFIRMATION
g ADMIRATION
Conclusion:
Notice to Sermon Central Users:
My name is Mike Fogerson, and I pastor a Southern Baptist Church in Chester, Illinois. I have been a long-time user of Sermon Central and truly appreciate its content and contributors. Some of the best sermons I’ve ever preached have been reworked material from this website. As you use the material from my sermon bank, understand that it is work that has been done from not just myself, but from hundreds of other pastors as well. If you see part of your message, or a bunch of your message with my name on it and this upsets you, please email me and I will quickly respond and cite you as the main source. My intent is not to claim someone’s work as my own. I am disclaiming up front that I use the resources from Sermon Central and appreciate the tool. I simply want all those who use my work to know that some of these messages were inspired by the Holy Spirit working through other pastors. Because I do use the messages of other pastors I waive all claims of originality or origin of creativity for the messages posted under my messages. I pray God blesses your preaching ministry for the glory of His Kingdom.
Respectfully,
Mike Fogerson
