Day 34

We Are Totally Blessed,

Thus We Should Also Bless

Roger and Eileen Himes

www.ThePracticalGospel.com

The gospel of the finished work of Jesus is the greatest blessing this world knows. Yet, so many Christians go to their graves never really seeing it, — led by 10,000 instructors in Christ. They don’t see the BLESSING of the New Covenant gospel. They ‘tag the cross of Jesus,’ and live the rest of their lives by rules, laws, principles, systems and methodologies, in a vain attempt to be right with God.

In Romans 4 and 11 Paul says the Jews tried to attain righteousness by means of works and effort and never attained it. Gentiles just accepted righteousness by faith without really seeking it, and they entered into it. They lived in the light while the Jews were in darkness. This is the history lesson. Today, Satan leads most Christians to REPEAT the history of the Jews, not LEARN from it.

There is another aspect of history I’m going to try to revive today. This is regarding the blessing we are meant to receive and to give to others. We are told that after a church service, all the men went home — but DAVID returned home to BLESS his house (I Chron 16:43).

As we’ve seen, David knew the New Testament gospel, 1,000 years before the cross, better than we do today, 2,000 years after the cross — with perfect 20-20 hindsight vision. David saw things most of God’s people missed. The same is true today.

Under the law, the blessing was mixed with the curse. You couldn't have one without the other — they were like Siamese twins. At the cross, Jesus took the curse and nailed it to his cross (Gal 3:13—14). He left no curse at all, he bestowed upon us ALL spiritual blessings (Eph 1:3). We are told: as we have freely received, we should freely give. We’re told in mark 10:16 that Jesus took the children up in his arms and he blessed them. There’s another account of his blessing in Luke 24:50-51. This is also what David did in I Chronicles 16:43.

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GOSPEL TRUTH #67

In I Peter 3:8-9 we’re told to be of one mind, having compassion for others, — not living in evil ways or by insulting others, — but that we should instead BLESS others. It says we were CALLED by God for this purpose, so that we might inherit more blessing. I view blessing like a boomerang: you throw it out, and it comes back to you.

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How many folks have you intentionally ministered to by blessing them? (1) Could they be missing a blessing from God by your failure to do so? (2) Could you be missing the experience of additional manifold blessings from God by not doing so? The truth is our modern society doesn’t even comprehend blessing. It’s ancient history to us. But this doesn’t mean we shouldn’t utilize a biblical ancient world concept in our modern world.

We see lots of blessing in the Old Testament, in addition to David going home to bless his house (which means the PEOPLE in his house, not the wood and bricks). Abraham was blessed by God in Genesis 12. Melchizedek blessed Abraham in Genesis 14. In Genesis 24, Rebekah received a blessing from her family with regard to marrying Isaac. Ruth and Boaz were blessed before their marriage. Jacob not only blessed his 12 sons at the close of Genesis. And in Genesis 28, he also DEMANDED to be blessed by the angel, after wrestling with him (the angel was probably the incarnate Christ himself).

There’s other examples but this makes the point that maybe we should both DEMAND to be blessed, and also DEMAND to bless others, — in a spiritual, humble attitude of course.

We are told that, in the gospel, we are priests and kings. We have the authority, and the position to bless others. Of course, you can’t give away what you ain’t got. I haven’t been formally blessed in awhile, but I have been formally blessed on several occasions. Eileen and I came into revelation knowledge of this truth sometime around 1990, and were involved in many ’blessing ceremonies’ where we were both blessed, and we blessed others. Since then, I’ve formally ministered God’s blessing to others at various times, in both casual and in formal settings.

Blessing was common in ancient times, but it is almost non-existent today. We suffer from this! We lose!

Blessing seeks GOOD for someone else, however ‘good’ is defined. Matthew 5:3-10 is actually a series of blessings — that result in spiritual rewards. This is a good source of blessing to give anyone — from the lips of our Lord. In these passages, Jesus talks about:
(1) receiving the kingdom of heaven by being receptive,
(2) being comforted in mourning,
(3) inheriting the work because our meekness and compassion,
(4) being filled with righteousness when we seek it,
(5) receiving total mercy by being merciful,
(6) seeing God because we seek him and are pure in heart,
(7) being children of God by being peacemakers,
(8) receiving heaven because of persecution for righteousness sake — which partly I see as believing in the finished work of the cross.

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GOSPEL TRUTH #68

This is just a hint of a starting place to begin. There are many such concepts in the Bible by which we can bless others. A formal passage about blessing is in Numbers 6:24-26. Moses was commanded by God to teach Aaron and his sons to bless the Israeli people — much like I’m teaching blessing here. The blessing Moses was told to teach Aaron was expected to convey God’s blessings on the people:

The Lord bless you, and keep you.
The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you.
The Lord lift up his countenance on you and give you peace.

If we speak God’s blessing on others, we speak for God himself!

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We could spend the next three pages talking about the magnitude of these words, not to mention the words of Jesus in Matthew 5. But the action of blessing others is more important than trying to understand all the theology behind it. One thing that is important is that the person being blessed must WANT to be blessed. We see the story of Esau, who despised his blessing, and the results. You can’t force deliverance on a person who doesn’t believe in it or want it, and neither you can’t force blessing on a person — and be successful in ministering it.

If you talk to any religious Jew who practices his orthodox religion, you’ll learn a lot about the blessing, and HOW to impart it — the exact words to say — the stance you should take — the expression of the face — which hand to use — the prayer that should follow — etc. Like everything else religious, in the power of the New Covenant gospel, I think we can get so lost in the religion of the exercise that we can lose the spirit and truth of the experience of the event.

What are the GOOD things you want to bless someone with? Just bless them with those good things. Put your hand on them, look into their eyes, smile at them like Jesus would, and bless them. There’s no magic words. The words of Matthew 5 and Numbers 6 is just a good place to start. I’ve used Numbers 6 a lot, and then have MINISTERED it by elaborating on what the words mean practically.

I’ve ministered Psalm 37:1-7 during blessing. If the person was really mature, and a seasoned minister, I’ve ministered the words of Jesus in Luke 4:18 to them — in the form of what their increased ministry should perhaps be. I’ve personally never used the words concerning Paul’s ministry in Acts 26:18, but this would also be good..

The point is that imparting his blessing to someone should not be a memorized religious quote. It should be personalized — from the heart to the heart. It should of course be verbal, and the person’s name should be used, probably more than once. Speak in authority. After all, you are speaking for GOD: “Thus says the Lord . . .” The blessing was delegated by him to us.

Personally, before I minister to anyone, I listen to them long before I speak. This is just something counselors are taught from the very first class in counseling. How can you minister to someone you don’t know?

In even a brief five minute conversation, you can learn a lot about the person if you just ask a few questions. What are their needs? What are their fears or guilt? Do you detect any wrong beliefs? Depending on the level of rapport, what is their relationship with their parents like? Have they been abused, molested or neglected? Especially if the person trusts you, and knows you are preparing to minister to them, you’d be surprised how open and transparent they usually are. If they are not, then they often don’t want ministry.

A short talk can give you many ideas for ministering blessing. And, simply ask them: “Is there some area of your life you would want to be specifically blessed in?” Like anything else, if it is done from the heart, blessing is easy. If it’s done from the head only, it can be scary and complicated. Ministering a blessing is a part of being ‘a father of the gospel.’

We should especially begin in our homes with our spouse and kids. Our children NEED to be blessed. They need to experience their parents’ love, compassing and caring. It’s an experience they want, even if they wouldn’t know how to vocalize it to you. At the very least, if not before, you should minister the blessing to them if you are dying.

Hebrews 11:20-21 says, “By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come. By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph, and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff.” His staff was the symbol of his authority.

I personally feel that grandparents should be given permission, by their children, to bless their grandchildren. But I also feel grandparents should not usurp this authority and responsibility from their parents. It is not something that should be done without the parents’ permission and knowledge.

Let me close by simply saying that blessing should be a way of life. Peter says we were CALLED for this purpose. It should be a mindset in us everyday. I don’t often have occasion to bless someone formally, but I do so casually frequently — simply by looking at them, putting my hand on their shoulder, and speaking a blessing on their day, their family, their work, or anything else I feel led to bless.

Also, blessing can be in private, when we are alone with God. “Where two or more are gathered together…” I don’t believe that ONLY means human beings, even though it does include other people. God and I are a majority. We can put 10,000 to flight. During a quiet time with the Lord, I often speak blessing on Eileen, my daughters Lisa and Shawn, and others I feel led to bless. I especially speak blessing to anyone I have any contention, conflict or disagreement with. “Bless them who persecute you; bless, and do not curse” (Rom 12:14).