“. . . .you shall be a blessing . . .”

                                                                                                               Genesis 12:2

Dearly beloved in Christ,

I greet you in the sweet name of the Lord Jesus Christ. To live a peaceful and happy life in this world, we do need the blessings of the Lord Jesus Christ. When we lack His blessings, we would be engulfed in sorrows, fear, lack and tears. We look for help from others. We remain confused and moan.

The Lord God called Abraham and told him to leave for the nation He would show him. He also assured him: “And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” (Gen. 12:2-3). Abraham obeyed Him and left the place and his relatives. The Lord blessed him in every way. Today if we want to be blessed, we should also be separated from others. In the land where we dwell, there are traditional practices, rites and rituals followed without questioning or reason simply because they are customs of the ancestors. Thus, we are enslaved to them and believe in them. Thus, to enter a relative’s house, we should step in with the right leg placing it on a grindstone. In weddings the maternal uncles are honoured and they garland the couples. When some important person arrives, a ritual of deliverance from evil eyes is performed. There are several such practices. Abraham was separated from the place and inhabitants of the place to be saved from those practices.

When you follow those traditional customs and practices, instead of blessings, only curses and trials follow. Once a woman teacher had lost her husband and questioned why she had to go through so much of trouble with her husband who was a drunkard. She devoutly prayed, and yet in the family there was no peace. The Lord revealed the reason. It was all because of the ritual of standing in a river after marriage. Shifting the faith from the Lord God to the faith in standing in a river was vain belief for blessings that brought about sufferings. To be really blessed, we should come out of these traditional customs and practices.

When we get separated from such traditions, we will be blessed and we would become a blessing to others as well.

1. Blessings Through You in Your Workplace

“And Laban said unto him, I pray thee, if I have found favour in thine eyes, tarry: for I have learned by experience that the Lord hath blessed me for thy sake.” Genesis 30:27

Jacob worked for Laban for the sake of his wives, Rachel and Leah. Because of Jacob, the Lord God blessed Laban and his belongings. Laban knew it and pleaded with Jacob to remain with him and not to return to his father’s place. He knew that his flock multiplied under the care of Jacob.

Dear Brother / Sister, God would bless the place of your work because of you. Once a father asked me to pray for his sons. He was a businessman. Whenever his eldest son was in the shop, there would be abundant sales and they would find it difficult to count the currency even at the end of the day. He was anointed and his presence in the shop made a great change in business.

2. Blessings Through You To Your Family

“And it came to pass from the time that he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the Lord blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; and the blessing of the Lord was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field.” Genesis 39:5

The place you dwell will be blessed.

Because Joseph shared his dreams with his brothers and father, he incurred their wrath. They hated him. Some dreams may be related to a distant future. What is given to us as a personal revelation should not be divulged to others. As he shared with others his dreams, he was hated. When he was sent by his father to enquire about his brothers’ wellbeing, the brothers wanted to kill him. Then he was sold to the Ishmaelites for 20 shekels of silver. He was taken by them to Egypt. They in turn sold him to Potiphar, captain of the guard, an Egyptian. The Lord was with him and he was successful in all that he did. His master made him overseer of his house. “And it came to pass from the time that he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the Lord blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; and the blessing of the Lord was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field.” (Gen. 39:5).

Dear child of God, for the sake of Joseph the house of the Egyptian was blessed. Similarly, you and your household will be blessed because of you. The place of your work and the place of your dwelling will be blessed.

3. Blessing to the Descendants

“And the Lord appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake.” Genesis 26:24

The descendants of Abraham were blessed because of him. His son, Isaac, sowed in that land, and reaped a hundredfold in the same year when there was famine in the land; and the Lord blessed him.  The man continued prospering until he became very prosperous. The Philistines envied him. They filled all the wells dug in the days of his father with earth. Abimelech king of the Philistines asked him to leave the place as he was much mightier than they were. So, he went from there to Gerar, and again dug wells which his father had dug. But the herdsmen of the place again quarrelled with his servants with regard to another well and then the next one too. He just moved to another place when the people of the place quarrelled. Then they dug another well. There no one quarrelled and therefore he named it Rehoboth as the Lord had made room for them. “And the Lord appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake.” (Gen. 26 :24).

Then Abimelech came to him from Gerar with the commander of his army. They said, “We have certainly seen that the Lord is with you . . . You are now the blessed of the Lord.’ Then they made a covenant with him that he should do no harm to them.

Today we find many persons accumulating wealth and properties for their descendants, but these things spoil the fellowship and love in the family as they quarrel over these properties. True blessings lie in leading a separated life unto the Lord God who alone is the source of blessings. Abraham was thus a blessing to his descendants. Proverbs 10:22 says: “The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.” This was fulfilled in the life of Isaac.

HOW TO APPROPRIATE THE BLESSINGS OF THE LORD?

1. Obey the Word of the Lord

And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.” Genesis 22:18

What the Lord expects from us is obedience. Disobedience is a sin that leads to curse and sufferings and the consequent death sentence. The Lord detested the disobedience of Adam. Disobedience is disregarding Him and dishonouring the Lord, instead of glorifying Him. The Lord blessed Abraham who was childless. In his hundredth year, he had a son and named him Isaac. The Lord asked him go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains there. Abraham obeyed the Lord and took his son Isaac to the said place and got ready to offer him as a sacrifice. Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood.  And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the Lord stopped him saying, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” There behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So, Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. “And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, in the mount of the Lord it shall be seen.” (Gen. 22:14). It is said that the Lord God blessed Abraham in everything as he obeyed him.

2. Walk in the Way of the Lord with Fear

“Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord; that walketh in his ways.”

“For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee.”

“Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the Lord.” Psalm 128:1-2,4

Today we need the fear of the Lord. Some fear the law of the land. Proverbs 8:13 says, “The fear of the Lord is to hate evil. . .” But many do evil things dauntingly and knowingly for certain gain. They do adulteration. A certain man wanted to import Palm oil for business. He made enquiries and found that as he had to pay the tax, he had to adulterate it with crude oil to fetch good gain. As it was an evil thing, he gave up that idea. In a similar way there is adulteration in black gram, rice and dhal. Eating such adulterated food produces terrible diseases like cancer.

If we have the real fear of the Lord, we would not indulge in such evil practices. Shunning such practices, we are blessed by the Lord to experience His exaltation.

3. Be Faithful To the Lord

“A faithful man shall abound with blessings...” Proverbs 28:20

Today it is very difficult to find faithful people in our society. It is common to settle marriages telling lies. Lies become the basis for selling goods and houses. Seeking jobs with false certificates and mark sheets has become common. People even produce counterfeit documents of properties. But the Lord is righteous and hates falsehood. Proverbs 12:22 says, “Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, But those who deal truthfully are His delight.” As Satan fell from lofty pedestal, these people will also have their fall. Satan is said to be the father of lies. Let us be truthful and righteous and the Lord would exalt us.

Daniel was faithful and the Lord exalted him above others. Lord Jesus Christ said, ‘Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.’ (Matt. 25:21). Let us commit to be faithful.  The Lord says, “Not so with My servant Moses; He is faithful in all My house.” The Lord used him to deliver His people from Egyptian slavery working miracles through him. Let us be faithful to the Lord in all that we do, acknowledging Him, thanking and glorifying Him. We are sure to be blessed.

4. Glorify the Lord

“An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee.” Exodus 20:24

It is our duty to proclaim and glorify the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul says, “For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!” (1 Cor. 9:16). We are called to proclaim His name with burden. The harvest is plentiful but the harvesters are few. Paul exhorts us: “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine.” (2 Tim. 4:2). Isaiah heard the voice of the Lord when his sin was purged, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.” (Isaiah 6:8). David declares in Psalm 9:1, “I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works.” Every day a great multitude of people are becoming worthy of hell punishment. If we are careless about these perishing souls, on the day of judgement our position will be precarious. Shall we commit today to do this ministry of winning souls through the gospel? In the place where you glorify Him, He will come and bless you.

Once we were led by the Holy Spirit to minister in the Chittoor region. We were taken to a place where the people were considered to be downtrodden. These people were scavengers by profession. The Holy Spirit led us to conduct meetings on two days. A person asked us to stay in one of the cottages there. There was no toilet facility and we were given sacks to sleep on. As we were fasting, there was no need of toilets. We conducted the first day meeting in the street. Many came forward for prayer. They were poor and illiterate. The meeting ended only at 2 pm. The Lord worked miracles healing, and delivering people and peace came upon them. The next day I approached the Presbyter of the local CSI Church for conducting the meeting in the church. He refused but gave permission to conduct the meeting in the ground in front of the church. There was no facility for current supply. But the operator of the public address system said that he would make arrangements if we gave him money. He somehow arranged by taking it from overhead wires directly. As he was making arrangements on the stage, a number of children were running about here and there. There came all of a sudden, a mob of about 300 persons with sticks. They complained that a twelve-year old boy was attacked by someone and that he had lost his consciousness. They took him to the stage. I took the parents apart and prayed. In a few minutes he regained his consciousness and opened his eyes and talked. The parents became very much happy. I told them that I should againpray for him. But they should accept my counsel in the meeting. They listened to the message in that crowd of 300 persons. As the Lord came and blessed them, many accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord.

We are thus blessed by our obedience to the Word of God, by living with the fear of the Lord, by being faithful, by giving and by doing ministry.

THE RESULTS OF HIS BLESSINGS

1. LIFE OF NO DEBT

For the Lord thy God blesseth thee, as he promised thee: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, but thou shalt not borrow; and thou shalt reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over thee.” Deuteronomy 15:6

Many live under the burden of debt. They are worried when this debt would be settled. Some lose hope and the thought of suicide haunts them. But when we are blessed by the Lord, the situation completely changes. The Lord who calls those things that do not exist as if they exist is living. He blessed the five loaves of bread and two fish and fed more than 5000 people. They were fully satisfied and the leftover was collected in twelve baskets. When the Lord blesses your income, there would be excess and you would have the leftover. Thus, you would have no debt or worry.

2. YOU WILL PROSPER IN WHAT YOU DO

“Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the Lord blessed him.” Genesis 26:12

When the Lord blesses all that we do, we would have manifold gain. There would be no loss or damages. We would enjoy plenty and it would be beyond our thinking. In my life, I committed to proclaim Jesus Christ and then the blessings multiplied. Gas cylinder that supplied gas for 35 to 40 days began to last for 65 to 70 days. The person who supplied gas began to doubt whether we had subscribed gas with some other agency. By the blessings of the Lord, all that we do will be blessed.

3. NO SICKNESS IN YOUR BOUNDARY

“And ye shall serve the Lord your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee.” (Exodus 23:25).

Medical expenses keep bouncing day by day. The number of medical stores also keeps increasing. When the Lord blesses our bread and water, there would be no sickness in the family. The testimony of a fifty-year old lecturer in an Engineering College was astonishing. He was doing part time ministry. He was never affected by any disease. By the blessings of the Lord, we would have a life of wellness.

4. FAMILY IS BLESSED

“Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table. Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the Lord.” Psalm 128:3-4

Blessings in the family is very much necessary. Many families remain divided. Some dread even getting married. The life of wife drastically changes from the way she lived before her marriage. They do not depend on husbands. Those who earn spend it to fulfil their own desires. They do not share their money with their husbands. They do not submit to what Psalm 45:10 teaches. They even share with others about their husbands’ weakness and faults. Thus, they do irreparable damage to their family life. In the life of a person the Lord blesses, the wife loves her husband and is dependent on him. Their children will be around their table. They would not seek the food of hotels but would be contented with what is in the family. The children would be like olive trees. Olive is symbolical of beauty, health, and riches. Thus, the life of the children will be blessed in Christ.

May the Lord bless us!

In the service of Christ Jesus,

Bro. C. Ebenezer Paul.