Blessed to be a Blessing

Jesus died for you, and when He died and rose from the dead He accomplished so many things, like redemption from sins, healing, establishing His church, so many things that I couldn’t cover them in a minute.  But listen to this, Galatians 3:14 He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles.  So according to this the blessing that God gave Abraham is now available to anyone who receives Christ.  So what is that blessing?  Genesis 12:2 (now put your name in here) “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.”  God is making us into a powerful people, and he wants to make your name great.  Why?  Because if your name is great, then you have influence to point others to God.  And He will bless you and you will be a blessing.  You see He’s not blessing you just so you can have 40 plasma TVs, He wants you to be a blessing!  Like King David who God blessed with great wealth, and David gave that wealth to help his son build the temple for God.  In I Chronicles 14 it says he gave 3,750 tons of gold to the Lord, that is over 112 billion dollars in gold.  EEEE.  That’s a lot of TVs.  David said “I am seeking wealth for the sake of the House of the Lord.”  It’s never about the money; it’s about becoming a blessing to others.

Hearing the Word of God

Jude 1:20 says “build yourselves up in your most holy faith, and pray in the Holy Spirit” Why build yourself up in faith?  Well it is by faith that we receive the promises of God, starting with that first step you took when you decided to receive Christ.  That was a step of faith, it was believing in a truth that you had not personally seen for yourself.  And it secures for you life forever.  Yeah…. When Jesus disciples were struggling he would tell them to have faith in God.  Hebrews 11:11 explains that it was by faith that Abraham received his son Isaac that had been promised to him by God.  By faith, in Mark 11:24 Jesus says “whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours”  The believing that you have received it, that is Faith, believing God that His word is true.  So it’s not enough just to pray it, we have to believe it!  The world says that seeing is believing, but God is saying, believe before you see!  Now how do we build ourselves up in faith?  Romans 10:17 says “Faith comes through hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.”  And just above that it says, “And how can they hear without someone preaching to them.”  So faith comes by hearing the Word of God preached to us.  And where are you going to hear that?  Well daaaa, that’s church.

Working for God

Colossians 3:22 says “Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything.  And do it with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord.”  Well now God doesn’t want us to be slaves, Jesus came to set the captives free!  But he is telling us that we may find our selves in a position we don’t like.  Being required to do something we don’t enjoy.  Joseph started out his incredibly successful life as a slave.  But Joseph didn’t see himself as a slave, he saw himself as someone who works for God.  So what is God saying here?  In everything we do we should do it as though we are working for the Lord.  Joseph worked for God.  So we don’t have to change what we do, but we are changing why we do it.  So whether you find yourself slaving over the stove at In N Out burger, or mopping floors at Wal-Mart, or pitching for the Yankees, or whatever you are doing, make God your reason for doing it.  Our God will promote you to new heights.  If you can be great doing something you don’t enjoy, then you can be great at anything.  Now I’m not saying not to strive to find a better position, or to better yourself through education, I am saying that if you make whatever you are doing about God, He will promote you.  Like Joseph, who went from slave to being second in command of all of Egypt. 

The Most High Does Not Dwell In Houses Made By Men

Acts 7:48 says “However the most high does not live in houses made by men..  Heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool, what kind of house will you build for me?”  In the first covenant Moses built a tabernacle and then Solomon a temple for God to live in, but this was not a permanent dwelling.  God needed something that wasn’t man made.  Well if it isn’t man made then it must be something God made.  And so he explains in I Corinthians 3:16 “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?”  How can God live in man, we are a mess right?  But two important things have taken place that makes you the dwelling of the Lord.  First, you were created by God.   Second, Jesus died and when you choose to believe and receive Christ, your body is washed clean by the blood of Jesus, so God can live in your mess, because your mess is now clean.  Well this is the new covenant, Jesus said In John 15, remain in me and I will remain in you.  Christ is in us, and we are in him, so the relationship is what’s His is ours and what’s ours is his.  We need him, and God wants us.  Why?  Well God put talents and abilities in you to help you change this world and as you step in to becoming a doer in your life He will give you the supernatural God power to help you win.  He’s in you, he’s your partner, but you are partner too, so you gotta get out their and start tearing it up for God.  Yes?