Blessed To Be A Blessing
Who is Jesus • Sermon • Submitted
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· 46 viewsJesus is the true Son of Abraham who fulfills God's promise to bless all the peoples on earth and invites us to take part in that blessing through trusting, obedient faith as we live out the Great Commission. We are blessed to be a blessing.
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Blessed To Be A Blessing
Blessed To Be A Blessing
I’m So Blessed… What Does That Mean?
I’m So Blessed… What Does That Mean?
We are blessed with Health, Wealth, and Happiness
We are blessed with Health, Wealth, and Happiness
Around Remembrance Day we are regularly reminded that we are blessed… and it’s true.
Contrast between sentimental blessings (health, wealth, happiness)
Are we blessed in war, conflict, grief, loneliness, poverty, or sickness?
Are we blessed in war, conflict, grief, loneliness, poverty, or sickness?
Contrast between sentimental blessings (health, wealth, happiness) and global/local realities (war, conflict, lonely veterans, grieving families, etc)
and global/local realities (war, conflict, lonely veterans, grieving families, etc)
What does it mean to be blessed?
What does it mean to be blessed?
Question… what does it mean to be blessed?
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Problem in the world Contrast between sentimental blessings (health, wealth, happiness) and global/local realities (war, conflict, lonely veterans, grieving families, etc)Question… what does it mean to be blessed?Problem in GenesisGod promised to bless Abram, but it seemed like God wasn’t keeping the promiseQuestion… what did God promise Abram?Tell the story… tell about the waitSolution in GenesisIsaac’s birth as beginning of the fulfillment Question… how did that bless the world?Tell of God’s people through the agesSolution in New TestamentMatthew 1:1-2Jesus is Abraham’s Son who blesses the worldBeliever are part of God’s family by faithQuestion… what does that mean for us?Solution in our WorldWe are blessed with peace/wholeness through eternal relationship with GodWe are blessed to be a blessing - to make disciples of all nations - to tell others about Jesus’ blessing, show them Jesus’ blessing (loving others, peacemaking, etc) and invite them into trusting, obedient faith-based relationship with God.
It didn’t look like God was blessing Abram
It didn’t look like God was blessing Abram
God called Abram
God called Abram
The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.
The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.
God promised to bless Abram with descendants and land
God promised to bless Abram with descendants and land
“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.
“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. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him.
Abram was blessed to be a blessing
Abram was blessed to be a blessing
“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. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
Abram didn’t receive children or land for years
Abram didn’t receive children or land for years
After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.” But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.” Then the word of the Lord came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.” He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness. He also said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it.” But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?”
On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates—
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Was God going to Bless Abram?
Was God going to Bless Abram?
And the only piece of land that Abram would ever own in the promised land was his tomb.
Was God going to Bless Abram?
Was God going to Bless Abram?
11 years went by before Ishmael was born - only to be told 13 years later that Ishmael wasn’t the promised son after all.
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless. Then I will make my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers.” Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.”
God also said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.” Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, “Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?” And Abraham said to God, “If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!” Then God said, “Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.
Tell the story… tell about the wait
Gen 17:15-
So Abraham still didn’t have the son God had promised. And the only piece of the promised land that Abraham would ever own was his own tomb.
And the only piece of land that Abraham would ever own in the promised land was his tomb.
So was Abraham blessed, or not?
Solution in Genesis
Solution in Genesis
God Keeps His Promises
God Keeps His Promises
God kept His promise about Abraham’s son (Isaac)
God kept His promise about Abraham’s son (Isaac)
Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what he had promised. Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him. Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son Sarah bore him. When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God commanded him. Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.
Genesis 21:1-3
God kept His promise about Abraham’s land (Israel)
God kept His promise about Abraham’s land (Israel)
God kept His promise about Abraham’s land (Israel)
Israel
Israel
Question… how did that bless the world?
Would God keep His promise to make Abraham a Blessing to the Nations?
Would God keep His promise to make Abraham a Blessing to the Nations?
Jesus is Abraham’s Son who blesses the world
Jesus is Abraham’s Son who blesses the world
Solution in New Testament
Solution in New Testament
Jesus Is Abraham’s Promised Son
Jesus Is Abraham’s Promised Son
Read a passage that we will come back to a number of times over the next month.
Read a passage that we will come back to a number of times over the next month.
Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, Ram the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife, Solomon the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asa, Asa the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram, Jehoram the father of Uzziah, Uzziah the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, Amon the father of Josiah, and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon. After the exile to Babylon: Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, Zerubbabel the father of Abihud, Abihud the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor, Azor the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Akim, Akim the father of Elihud, Elihud the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah.
This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham: Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,
Matthew 1:1-2Jesus is Abraham’s Son who blesses the worldBeliever are part of God’s family by faithQuestion… what does that mean for us?Solution in our WorldWe are blessed with peace/wholeness through eternal relationship with GodWe are blessed to be a blessing - to make disciples of all nations - to tell others about Jesus’ blessing, show them Jesus’ blessing (loving others, peacemaking, etc) and invite them into trusting, obedient faith-based relationship with God.
This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham:
The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. Scripture does not say “and to seeds,” meaning many people, but “and to your seed,” meaning one person, who is Christ.
Jesus is the true Son of Abraham who fulfills God's promise to bless all nations on earth
Jesus
Jesus
Jesus Blesses the World
Jesus Blesses the World
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.” He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.
Galatians 3:
Believers are part of God’s family by faith
Believers are part of God’s family by faith
Believers are part of God’s family by faith
Believers are part of God’s family by faith
The New International Version Chapter 3
7 Understand, then, that those who have faithf are children of Abraham.g 8 Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.”d h 9 So those who rely on faithi are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.j
Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
What does that mean for us?
What does that mean for us?
What does that mean for us?
What does that mean for us?
What It Means to Be Blessed
What It Means to Be Blessed
What does it mean to be blessed?
What does it mean to be blessed?
We are blessed when we experience a good relationship with God and we experience God’s goodness in our lives.
We are blessed when we experience a good relationship with God and we experience God’s goodness in our lives.
We are blessed when we experience a good relationship with God and we experience God’s goodness in our lives.
God blesses us by giving us a good relationship with him, made possible by the salvation we experience in Christ and experienced through the Holy Spirit living in us.
We are blessed with peace/wholeness through eternal relationship with God
And when we have that blessing we experience it in significant ways.
Sometimes God’s blessing looks like living in a time of peace, in a free country, with a family that loves us, enough money to provide for our needs, enough health to enjoy relationships, fulfilling work, enjoyable activities, and many other things that make us happy.
But sometimes God’s blessing isn’t quite so obvious.
When you are out of work, and there are too many bills, and the cupboards are empty, but your kids got a good breakfast from the volunteers at the public school.
When you are out of work, and there are too many bills, and the cupboards are empty, but your kids got a good breakfast from the volunteers at the public school.
When you have a friend or family member who will drive you to your cancer treatments.
When someone sits quietly with you after your spouse dies.
When someone sits quietly with you after your spouse dies.
When someone sits quietly with you after your spouse dies.
When you have experienced the horror of war, and the loss of friends, and the fear of the future, but you hear the words in your heart: I will never leave you or forsake you.
When someone sits quietly with you after your spouse dies.
When you are sitting in your wheelchair in a dark room in the nursing home, but you aren’t alone, because God is with you.
When you are standing at the cenotaph and you are missing Bob and Lloyd and and so many of our veterans, but you know that God has not forgotten them, and God will never forget.
Those aren’t the kind of blessings that you post to Facebook.
They might not be the kind of blessings that make you want to smile and tell everyone.
Jesus calls us to embrace the blessing through trusting, obedient faith
Jesus calls us to embrace the blessing through trusting, obedient faith
Jesus calls us to take part in blessing the nations as we make disciples
Jesus calls us to take part in blessing the nations as we make disciples
Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
We are blessed to be a blessing - to make disciples of all nations - to tell others about Jesus’ blessing, show them Jesus’ blessing (loving others, peacemaking, etc) and invite them into trusting, obedient faith-based relationship with God.
Blessed to be a Blessing
Blessed to be a Blessing
God promised to bless all the peoples on earth through Abraham and his descendants and called Abraham to take part in that through trusting, obedient faith.
Jesus is the true Son of Abraham who fulfills God's promise to bless all the peoples on earth and invites us to take part in that blessing through trusting, obedient faith as we live out the Great Commission.
Be a blessing by sharing that good news with others - a child, a neighbour, a friend… or some one going through a hard time who needs to be reminded that God has not abandoned them
You are blessed to be a blessing
You are blessed to be a blessing