God's Job Description For Us

BLESSED TO BE A BLESSING

As we continue in our series - God’s Wonderful World - we look this week at God’s Job Description for us. Now as you heard the passage you may have thought I was going to major on the notion of stewardship - looking after the planet - which is quite right and proper - but I am taking a different angle on what I see as God’s plan for us …………

You know Adam and Eve never struggled to have anything they needed while in the Garden of Eden. They enjoyed God’s blessing. What is the secret? Hopefully as study God’s word we shall come to understand this morning ………

One thing people pray for and seek in life - is blessing. Every man, woman, boy and girl wants blessing.

I remember when I first came to know the Lord Jesus and went forward to receive a blessing from our pastor at the rail whilst everyone else took Communion ………

I loved that prayer of blessing being spoken over me - and not just a quick ‘bless you’ and move on - but a prayerful, powerful and prophetic utterance was spoken over me from God through the man of God.

In fact when I was confirmed and then began taking bread and wine - there was a part of me that wished I could still receive that same kind of blessing, that heavenly utterance spoken over my life.

I do not think there is anyone in life that does not have the desire to be blessed. Yet despite the desire and the drive for blessings, not many people really enjoy such blessings. Why?

Well, there are secrets or perhaps mysteries to all good things in life and hopefully we can discover today the secret about having blessings in our life.

The secret to enjoying ceaseless flow of blessings in life is to have ‘the blessing’. There is ‘the blessing’ and there are ‘blessings’.

Blessings are the visible things we feel or see; money, houses, cars, good health, children - they’re all blessings. But on the other hand, ‘the blessing’ is not visible, not touchable even sometimes not feel-able.

Proverbs 10:22 - The blessing of the LORD makes a person rich, and he adds no sorrow with it. (NLT).

Note from the passage that what God gives is ‘the blessing’ but it, in turn, draws riches or blessings. True prosperity flows from God’s presence. ‘The blessing’ is a spirit, a word that is delivered and has life and power in it. Not just empty or hollow words - but prophetic utterances.

The blessing dwells or follows the Blessed and attracts blessings. Success lives with the one upon whom the blessing resides. Those who have received ‘the blessing’ don’t struggle to breakthrough or succeed.

Look at Isaac; Gen. 26:1-6, 12-13. Where there was famine, he became exceptionally successful just because he had ‘the blessing’.

Please understand - not all possessions are blessings. It’s only those achievements, possessions that add no tears or pains that are a true blessing.

Some will scheme their way to the top, that is not a blessing. There are people who make covenants with the devil, demons, witches and other dark spiritual powers to get their breakthrough; that is never a blessing.

The only true blessing is that which God Himself gives a man and it comes through ‘the blessing’. There are a lot of people that are rich but are not blessed.

So who can give the blessing? Let’s return to our passage and go back just one verse reading from Genesis 1:27-28 cf 5:2.

Blessing means to release favour and benefit to be fruitful to bear fruit to be abundant to multiply to enlarge excel increase.

As we study our Bible you should be aware of the principle of first mention – God blessed man and spoke good over them.

The first time man heard the voice of God was in God blessing him. This sums up the heart of God to us all. He wants to bless us all.

Adam, Noah, the patriarchs, Moses - are all blessed by God.

Moses, in turn pronounces a parting blessing on the Twelve Tribes (Deut. 33:1 ff).

The idea of "blessing" was also closely related to the question of inheritance, passing blessing from father to son. Jacob blessed Joseph in Gen. 48:15, and Joseph’s two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh. Jacob put his right hand on Ephraim’s head, although he was the younger.

The Hebrew word (baw-rahk) connotes with Blessing, meaning "to kneel", was used one way or another hundreds of times to convey the meaning of respect or adoration. You would kneel before a king in respect, or to offer thanks for something. Of course, you would kneel to God in adoration, praise, thanksgiving, supplication.