Living The Blessing
Numbers 6:24-27
I hope you are enjoying reading through the Word of God this year. I hope you are on track. Our journey this week has taken us through the book of Leviticus and we began the book of Numbers. It’s been my prayer that you have been able to stay strong and able to work through the census taken in the Desert of Sinai and being able to stay on track to complete the task. That is, being able to read through the Word this year.
In our reading we find a blessing. It comes at the end of Numbers chapter 6. God has made known to the priest to offer blessings upon His people. We see very early in the scriptures the first blessings, in Genesis 1. On the fifth day, God creates the creatures of the sea and He creates the fowl or birds of the air. In verse 22, God offers a blessing to that creation by saying, “Be fruitful and increase in numbers.” On the sixth day, God created the animal world and man. In verse 28, He blessed them by saying, “Be fruitful and increase in numbers.” So very early in scripture we begin to get a sense of God’s blessings in our lives. God wants to bless His creation.
We often associate the word blessing as coming from God. Even in the songs we sing, such as, ‘Count Your Many Blessings’ and ‘O Fount of Blessings’. But there are other variations we find in scripture. As a matter of fact, in Genesis 9:26, Noah blesses God when he says, “Blessed be the Lord the God of Shem”. We also find that there are blessings with which God blesses us. But He also blesses others. Remember the covenant that He made with Abraham in Genesis chapter 12? In that covenant God says, “I will bless you, Abraham. I will also bless those who bless you”. Not only do we see blessings coming from God but we see blessings coming from us to God. We also see blessings coming from God to those who bless us. So, we have blessings coming from others, from God to us, from us to God. There are also blessings being passed from us to others. 1Peter 3:9 says, “Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessings, because this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing”.
Our passage today offers up a great idea about living the blessing. There are blessings coming from God. There are blessings that we give to God. There are blessings that people give us. And there are blessings that we give to others. All the avenues are covered. The problem is that sometimes we choose not to live a life of blessings. We find ourselves on the opposite of blessings, which is a curse. Now, you choose this morning. Which would you rather live, a life of a curse or a life of blessings? That’s a ‘no-brainer’. Right? How do we actually live? Do we really live a life of blessings?
First of all, I want you to realize in this great blessing that God gives His people, how much it works in our lives because we chose to live a blessing through security. That’s our first thought this morning. Know that God wants to be with you and He wants you to be with Him forever. The security God gives us is, “to keep us.” “May the Lord bless you and keep you.” The Lord wants you in His presence. The psalmist David says, “Keep me as the apple of your eye. Hide me in the shadow of your wings from the wicked who assail me.” David thinks about God and who He is because there is all kinds of evil around him. So he comes to God and asks God, “Hide me in the shadow of your wings. I need Your protection. I need Your security.” God wants to bless you with that security.
Trust God and who He is. In John 14, remember when Jesus shared with is disciples that something was going to happen. They didn’t understand it all. He saw their faces. He tells them in verse 1, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me”. What He was saying was, something is going to happen and I’m going to leave this place but I’m going to prepare a place for you. That’s security, not only here in this life but a life to come. God wants to bless you with that security. Live that blessing!
But also, bring that security in other peoples lives. Paul, in Romans 15:13, offers a blessing to the people. “May the God of hope fill you with joy and peace as you trust in him.” In this blessing, he gives them joy and peace and he tells them the reason he is giving it to them, “So that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” We have a security in God. He brings us joy and peace. We should pass it on to others.
We live in a evil world. We have our security alarms and we have our passwords, and we have all these things that make us secure.. We can go online and feel secure when we see that little lock at the bottom that is in the locked position. Don’t you? But we live in a world where we are really not that secure. Why are we going to war with Iraq? Why is the world living in fear? Because, we really are not that secure. We talk about homeland security. But do we really feel secure? I don’t! If it can happen to the twin towers, it can happen anywhere in the world. But there is a security and it is in God. That’s the security that we need and have the desire to pass it on to others.
Think about the people in your life that live in fear. They’re always so negative. They’re always very frightened. Those who are alone, children that have been abused and others, whose lives have no security, need God’s blessings of security. You can just look at people and know that their life is not secure. It’s our place in receiving blessings from God to be able to offer that security to others, to bless them.
This weekend, Friday and Saturday, we participated in a family seminar. I taught the track on “Grandparenting.” Of all the things that were offered from husband’s roles, wives roles, parenting and how to deal with your children, and finances, the topic of grandparenting was the largest class. We led the grandparents into seeing their role in blessing their grandchildren. I was surprised by the looks when I began to talk about blessing others. Someone asked, “What’s a blessing?” The question was very serious. As I began to look at the audience, that generation or that age group really couldn’t grasp or comprehend blessing. Yes they know God blesses us. “But to bless my grandchild, what do I do?”
We used a lot of illustrations of offering blessings in the sense of security. Praying for your grandchild or your child parents, to keep them safe. This world is wicked. The devil is out to devour them! (Speaking to the young people) Satan is trying to eat you alive. Guess whose job it is to secure your life? Your parents! If you’re in danger and there is something threatening your salvation, your virginity, your life, it is your parent’s job to protect you! They are not trying to keep you from things just to make you unhappy. They are trying to offer a blessing to keep you safe and secure in God. So what is wrong for a parent or grandparent to take a child and wrap their arms around a child and offer a blessing? “Lord, I pray that this young lady will be able to see You more clearly in her life. Father, I know that she is a blessing to those around her. Father, I know that right now, she struggles. I know that the things around her school and cheerleading and just different things that the world may offer may interfere with her life. I pray Your security and Your protection around her. Bless her life. In Jesus name, Amen.” Why not bring security to a single person that lives alone or an older person that may be lonesome? Why not offer the hope and security that you have in Jesus Christ to others? Why not pass it to someone else?
There is also another thought that we find in the scriptures. “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you.” We find not only security in God but His grace. The psalmist said in Psalms 67:1 “May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine upon us”. God loved us so much that He gave His only begotten Son that we might live with him. His grace comes into our lives and abounds in us in order to bring us to Him. Without His grace, we can’t be saved. Paul says in Ephesians 2:8 “For it is by grace you have been saved”. We’re saved by grace through faith. God is blessing us. He wants us to live with Him. He brings His Son into the world and He offers something that we can’t do for ourselves as in Titus 3:5, “He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,” It’s God’s grace and His mercy that brings us to the point of having a relationship with Him.
Why not share that salvation? Even in Psalms we see evangelism. In Psalms 67:2 it says that in having that grace “that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations”. How are the nations going to know that we are blessed with salvation unless we share it and begin to bless others with it? Why not a prayer of blessing for our children and their salvation? Why not a prayer for our grandchildren? Why not a prayer for a friend? Why not a prayer for an associate? That God would move us to offer that blessing of salvation.
Tomorrow night begins our Christ Ambassadors class and there are many excited about being able to bring the message of Jesus to others. I’m excited because they are excited! Whenever you get a group of people together, no matter what the number may be, it’s great to know that the grace of God has entered into their lives and they want to share it with others. One thing that’s exciting about this class, is a lot of our young people have signed up for it. Passing the blessing of grace to those who are around them.
The third point is a blessing of peace that God wants to bring into our lives. That He may lift up His countenance upon us and to give us peace. In Leviticus 26:3 and 6 God decrees , “If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands…I will grant peace in the land”. What an amazing promise! If I follow God, He is going to bring peace into my life! Jesus, in John 14:27 said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I will give you”. So the promise not only comes from God but also from Jesus. He blesses us with peace. When we associate with others, think of how important it is to share this peace with others. Jesus, in Mark 9:50 says “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves and be at peace with each other”. When the influence of salt is missing, it’s not good. But when it is present, then peace is with others. With salt in yourselves, be at peace with each other. Live the blessing of peace in your life and give that same kind peace to others.
I was very anxious Saturday morning while waiting to do three classes, two of which were 1 hour and 15 minutes long. But do you know what happened? The next morning I was ready to get started, as I am on Sunday morning. I just can’t wait. Something inside me just says ‘I’ve got to preach. I’ve got to share God’. I was very anxious. So my family, my daughter and her husband, my middle grandson, and my friend Eugene, put me in the middle of the living room and they surrounded me. My son-in-law begins to offer a blessing of calmness and security and power that God would use me to share with others. That brought calmness upon me. But then what happened next brought tears to my eyes. My middle grandson began to pray, “Dear God, be with papa”. That was it. I was ready. But then my friend, Eugene, offered a blessing as well.
Over and over we see the things that can happen in our lives when we see the blessings of God and share with others. I don’t know about you but this blessing “thing” hasn’t always been in my life. I’m finding more and more ways to bless. I saw a young lady this morning at the copier, trying to get things ready for Bible class. I have watched her and her husband in ministry and everything they put into teaching our young children, especially in the Sunshine worship. It just hit me. So, I walked over, put my arm around her, and prayed, “Lord, I see anxiety in this lady. I pray that You would bless her and her husband and the work that they do. I pray, Father, that as they share with our children they will see You and who You are and the joy that can come into their lives. But I pray right now, Father, that You bless this couple and others who work with our children. In Jesus name, Amen.”
The power of blessing comes when we realize our God Blesses. It is solidified when I’m receiving His blessings and then turn to those around me and offer those same blessings.
Will you choose to live the blessing?
