Covenant of Blessing. Genesis 22:17,18
Blessing could be described as follows:
a. It is a divine or supernatural aid or reward.
b. A pronouncement invoking divine aid.
c. It is a good fortune.
d. It is an act of declaring or bestowing favour or approval.
e. It is a thing that makes you glad.
f. It is grace.
All other covenants are about God's blessing. Covenant of fruitfulness, increase (multiplication),long life, and peace. At the end of every divine worship, there is a declaration of God's blessings on the congregation. That declaration is called BENEDICTION.
MASTER KEY TO OPEN DOOR OF BLESSING.
The master key that unlocks the door of blessings lies within the covenant of blessing. Bearing in mind that there are two parties to every covenant, we know that the covenant of blessing is between God and man (us) me and you, and knowing that God is a covenant keeping God (Isaiah 54:10). Now I ask you, does man always keep his part of the covenant? Man is always living in disobedience. It leads to a break in the covenant. When a man breaks the covenant, he is cut off and cursed (Jeremiah 34:17-20)
But when we are obedient to the word of God. When we obey the principles of God, we PROVOKE GOD TO ACTION. He will bless you in your marriage, your family, your business, your children, your going out and coming in. He will bless everything about you. (Genesis 22:16-17)
Abrahams act of giving his own son Isaac in obedience was a symbol of what God did when He gave his son Jesus to die on the cross for our sin, so that we can be salvaged.(John 3:16). There are steps that must be taken to provoke God’s blessing in our lives. These steps are found in the beatitudes in the fifth chapter of the Gospel according to St. Mathew. 7 of the blessing are open to you or anyone who serves both God and your fellow man. But the 8th blessing is for those who suffer for the sake of Christ. The Beatitudes tell you that God’s blessings provide great rewards for the right attitudes he thought you in the Bible.
1. Humble yourself. ‘’ Blessed are the poor in spirit , for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven’’ (Mathew 5:3)
2. Repent of your sins, be sorry and be willing to change for better. ‘’ blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted’’ (Mathew 5:4)
3. Be unassuming and non-egotistical. ‘’Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth’’ (Mathew 5:5)
4. Seek right ways with an appetite for good. ‘’Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied’’ You need to make righteous choices for your own sake. It makes life easier. (Mathew 5:6)
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5. Show mercy. ‘’Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy’’ (Mathew 5:7). Show compassion, love one another. There is no love amongst us. It is lacking seriously in this church and it is a big problem. My prayer is that God will have mercy upon us and release to us the Spirit of divine love and compassion. Let me state without fear of contradiction, that there is no love in most of us in this church. There are so many children in this church who want to go to school but simply cannot because there is no body to finance them. Meanwhile we have parishioners who throttle round the globe without sweat. They go to Disney land and others holiday resorts at will. Of what value is all that visits to holiday resorts when there is a much better need to attend to? There are members of this Church who are not on talking terms. They carry on with their enmity even till death and still leave their children to continue their contrived battles. The type of love we share here is the selfish and devilish kind of love that leads to orgy, adultery and fornication. What we need is agape love, the type that made Christ to die on the cross for us. The kind that forgives in love, the kind that is compassionate and kind.
6. Be pure through faith. ‘’Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God’’ (Mathew 5:8) Purity is found by concentrating on and dedicating to and seeking to right what is wrong by God’s will and purpose.
7. Be a peace maker be especially blessed. ‘’blessed are the peace makers for they shall be called the children of God (Mathew 5:9) Peace is a nice idea as long as you get your way, but it’s more than that. It starts at home. Love your wife and children and have personal peace and love in Jesus.
8. Accept persecution. ‘’Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Mathew 5:10)
9. Accept persecution meant for God. ‘’ Bless are you , when men shall revile you and persecute you and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake’’ (Mathew 5:11)
10. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. (Mathew 5:12) So rejoice through your troubles and through your weakness, for in Christ you are made strong. That is another blessing and you have a greater reward in Heaven.
It is important that you put your blessing to good use. If you obey, then:
1. Our blessings, your blessing, should and must flow to others. You bless others by serving a need, whether it is physical or emotional support, financial help or practical advice.
2. When we bless others, God takes care of our needs. There is almost nothing God will not do for a person who really want to help others. God guarantees these blessings. When you care for others, God assumes responsibility for all your problems.
3. Our blessing to others will come back to us one way or the other. (Luke 6:38)
4. The more we are blessed by God, the more God expects us to bless others.
To whom much is given, much is expected (Luke 12:48)
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BLESSINGS IN THE NEW COVENANT
In Christ we can participate in all of the blessings God promised to Abraham (Gal 3:14, 29). We also get all of the blessings promised under the law covenant and none of the curses (Gal 3:13).
This is pretty amazing when you think about the blessings God offered in the Old Testament:
To Abraham and his descendants God promised greatness, fruitfulness, great reward, world-reaching blessing, and more (see Gen 12:2-3, 15:1, 17:4-8, 22:18).
To those who kept the law God promised long life, fruitfulness, abundant prosperity, protection, and
more (Deut 5:33, 28:3-13).
In addition to these wonderful promises, there are at least 12 awesome blessings God promises to His people exclusively under His new covenant of grace. Here they are in no particular order:
1. God forgives all our sins (Matt 26:28, Acts 13:38). Our sins are not merely covered by the blood of bulls and goats, they are paid for and taken away by the Lamb of God (Jn 1:29). At the cross, justice was satisfied. His forgiveness is perfectly complete.
2. God remembers our sins no more (Heb 8:12, 10:17; Jer 31:34). In terms of justification it’s as if we never did them.
3. God promises never to be angry with us again (Is 54:7-10). Unlike the obsolete covenant of law, the new covenant is an everlasting covenant of love and peace (Is 54:10, 55:3). God will never stop doing good to us (Jer 32:40).
4. God qualifies us (Col 1:12). It’s no longer a case of what we do (under the law covenant) or who we’re related to (under the Abrahamic covenant). It’s who we trust.
5. Jesus takes hold of us and never lets go (Php 3:12, Ju 24). Nothing can separate us from the love of God (Rms 8:39). Consequently we can speak of our hope as a “firm and secure” anchor for the soul (Heb 6:19).
6. God credits us with the perfect righteousness of Jesus (2 Cor 5:21). Righteousness is not earned, it is received (Rms 5:17). Because of Jesus’ sacrifice our status before God is “perfect forever” (Heb 10:14).
7. God gives us the Holy Spirit to teach us (Jn 14:26), empower us (Acts 1:8) and remind us of our righteousness (Jn 16:10). We no longer need priests to mediate for us, for now we can all know the Lord (Jer 31:34). We are His royal priests (1 Pet 2:9).
8. God is for us (Rms 8:31)! God justifies us and there is no more condemnation (Rms 8:1). When we sin, Jesus doesn’t judge us, He defends us (1 Jn 2:1). His grace enables us to overcome sin (Tit 2:12). He abundantly supplies all our needs (Ph 4:19) that we might enjoy life to the full (Jn 10:10). God’s favor is unearned and unmerited.
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9. God is with us (Ez 37:27)! Because of Jesus the door to the throne room is always open (Heb 4:16). We can approach Him with freedom and confidence (Eph 3:12).
10. God empowers us to overcome the enemy (1 Jn 5:4). We have His delegated authority over demons and disease (Mk 16:17). We live under His divine protection (Lk 10:19). We are destined to “reign in life” (Rms 5:17).
11. God offers us His rest (Heb 4:10-11). Under the old covenant it was do, do, do. Under the new covenant it’s done, done, done (Jn 19:30). We are seated with Christ in heavenly places (Eph 2:6).
12. God gives us eternal life (Rms 6:23).
What must we do to inherit these promises? Trust in Jesus. Bet your life on Him. Take the crown off your head and lay it at His feet. Choose to believe what the Bible says about Him, that He died for the sins of the world – including yours – and rose victorious from the dead. Let others know that He is your Redeemer and King. Ask Him to fill you with His Spirit that you might know Him more.
If you’ve not done any of that before, how about right now?
Take a good look around you. You must find a need or someone in dare need. Give a helping hand, be an angel of mercy. May God grant us the grace to be partakers of His covenants.
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