Blessing

[0:00] A Pastor's Reflections Blessing Genesis 49-28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is it that their Father spake unto them, and blessed them.

[0:13] Every one according to his blessing, he blessed them. Psalm 1, 1-2 Blessed is the man that walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful.

[0:26] But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law does he meditate day and night. Galatians 3-9 So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.

[0:41] To have a blessing is to have the opposite of a curse. A curse cannot exist in the environment of blessing. As God brings his blessing of redemption into our lives, the curse of sin is no longer able to have dominion over us.

[0:55] We are now under blessing. To receive God's blessing is to receive that which only enhances and edifies a life. Proverbs 10-22 The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and he adds no sorrow with it.

[1:13] In Genesis 49, Jacob is passing on a blessing to his sons. By birth, each of his twelve sons have a part in that blessing. However, even though each son has the entirety of that blessing, they do not each have the same capacity to receive that blessing.

[1:30] A five-gallon bucket and a one-cup measuring cup may each receive fullness from the same source, but the bucket has a greater capacity to contain that fullness.

[1:44] Ephesians 3-19 God's desire for you and I is that we have the blessing of being filled to capacity with the fullness of God.

[2:03] However, our capacity to contain God's fullness is directly related to how much of that fullness we will experience. God's blessing in our lives is never dependent upon us, but it is dependent upon us as to how much of that blessing we will receive, experience, and enjoy.

[2:23] Colossians 2-9 For in him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. Jesus is not only the fullness of God, but he is also the one who gives us the capacity to experience that fullness.

[2:37] John 17-21 That they all may be one, as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us. When we begin to understand the reality of God's blessing in our lives, we begin to live under the influence of that blessing and no longer under the influences of sin.

[2:58] Today, you and I not only have the opportunity to receive God's blessing, but in Christ, to also have the capacity to contain God's blessing. Jesus, thank you for making the blessing of the fullness of God available to us today.

[3:17] Enlarge our capacity to contain and then to distribute that blessing. Amen.