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Blessings On YouBy Greg Quinn June 13th, 2011 There are some things that are consistent upon all men. One of these is that we all want to be blessed. The problem is, most of us don’t understand what the “blessing” really is, and don’t know how to get it. So we live a life feeling alone, unloved, and most often not blessed by God. But that is not God’s fault. He has indicated in his scriptures, the Holy Bible, how to be blessed. There are numerous scriptures dealing with the blessing, and there are some good books out there on the subject. For brevity, I will focus on only one scripture that drives home the point; we all need to be blessed, and God’s blessing is available to all who love and trust Him. We will go to the Old Testament, to the book of Numbers. Most Christians do not read much of the Old Testament, and when you do, Numbers is not one of the more popular books. But Numbers, like all scripture, is God-inspired, God-breathed, and important for our lives. Numbers is part of our Christian history lesson, and it’s important to know from where you came in order to understand where you are going. Numbers starts where Exodus left off, and is the book of the wilderness wanderings of the redeemed people of Israel. Numbers derives its name from the fact that it records the enumeration of Israel. Every servant was numbered, every person knew their place in the family, and every one had their own assigned service or duty. Numbers is a book of service and walk. It completes the earlier scriptures. Genesis is the book of creation and fall, Exodus the book of redemption, Leviticus of worship and fellowship, and Numbers, of service and walk.
First, blessings come from God alone. Yes, we can accomplish things on our own. We can have successes apart from God. But true blessing can only come from God, our Creator, and architect of the universe. God is the only one that can bless. The world cannot truly bless you. You cannot bless yourself. The Devil cannot bless you. Blessings come only from the Lord. Second, you must have a blessing to give a blessing. As we see in this scripture, God told Moses what to tell Aaron to do. Moses was chosen by God to be the deliver of His people. When God called Moses, he did as most of us do; he gave excuses. He said that he couldn’t speak well, that he stuttered. God took away his excuse by giving Moses his brother Aaron who was a good speaker. So, God talked to His man, Moses, and Moses passed those commandments onto his brother who would speak them more eloquently to the people of Israel. God blessed Moses greatly, and chose him to be the deliverer of God’s people. God blessed Aaron and used Aaron to communicate to His people what He had told Moses. The blessing originated from God, passed through Moses, and went to Aaron and then to God’s chosen people, Israel. So, for Aaron to spout a blessing upon the children of Israel, the blessing had to originate from God, and the blessing had to be upon him first before he could pass it along. Third, a blessing is not something you give yourself.
Since blessings must come from God, it is only God who can bestow the
blessing. If blessings only come
from God, then you cannot give it to yourself.
It must come from God directly, or be passed from others that received it
from God. Fourth, a blessing is meant to be shared. When God blesses us, He expects us to share this blessing with others. Sometimes blessings are personal; even so, the change in our attitude and demeanor should positively impact those around us. Sometimes blessings are material (money, wealth, homes, possessions). Sometimes blessings are about relationships. Sometimes blessings are about health. Sometimes blessings are about service and being better equipped to serve others. But in every case, the one blessed by God is expected to share this blessing with others around him. That doesn’t mean you may be required to ask a homeless man to live in your nice new home with you, but it does mean that you are appreciative of what God has given you and that you gain a new appreciation when confronted with those less fortunate, and with this appreciation (only due to the grace of God) you can then help those less fortunate. Fifth, the blessing is meant to be verbally spoken. In the days of Israel in the Old Testament, the most important thing the father could do for the son was to pass on the blessing. There would come a time when the father would sit down with his children individually and pass onto them the blessing from God. The father would literally bless the child, passing onto them the favor that God had bestowed upon the father, and asking God to bless the child. This same holds true today. The blessing is meant to be verbally spoken to another. Now, with this in mind, let’s explore this scripture again. God told Moses to share this information with Aaron and his sons, and he did. Aaron and Aaron’s sons were the ministers (or pastors or priests) of that day. Verses 23-27 were what God told Moses to tell Aaron. Aaron, therefore, shared this same exact information with the people. God put the blessing on Moses, and Moses shared the blessing with Aaron in order for Aaron to share it with the people of Israel. Verse 23, “Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying unto them,” What God told Moses to get shared through Aaron and his sons to His people were as follows (as found in the following scriptures). “May the Lord bless thee, and keep thee.” Moses and Aaron were telling the people of Israel that God wanted to bless them, and keep them safe and happy and healthy. God is no respecter of persons; He wants the same of us today. “May the Lord make his face to shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee.” God wanted to spread his very face upon his people. Imagine how different you would be today if you realized that the very face of God was shining down upon you! And, God was telling his people that he wanted to pass along his grace to them. Grace and mercy, not justice. We do not need justice, we need grace. Grace is unmerited favor, favor that we do not deserve. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want God’s justice. If I got what I deserved, I would be a wretch that would be without blessing and would be bound for eternity in Hell. But only because of God’s grace do I survive today, am healthy, am blessed, and am bound for eternity with God in Heaven. “Through God’s grace are ye saved by faith, not of works, lest any man should boast.” I have inserted within the sidewalk of our home a marble stone engraved with the word Bethesda, which means “house of grace”. I want to realize every day, and all who enter my home to realize the same, that it is only by the grace and mercy and love of God that I exist and am blessed. “May the Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.” God was saying again that He wanted his very countenance to be upon the people of Israel. He wanted others to see God in them, and wanted their very faces to appear to be the face of God. He wanted their holiness in their actions and attitudes toward others and God. And, God wanted to give them peace. The world seeks peace but peace cannot be found. People pray for peace but do not do what is required to possess it. I’ve heard most of my life prayers for peace in the Middle East; there will be no peace in the Middle East until God’s return and new Heaven and new Earth. There is no peace because the people that are against God and His people (Israel) have their own plan, espoused by the Devil himself, to destroy Israel and therefore destroy God’s chosen people. But, if you think that plan will work, read the book of Revelation at the very end of the Bible. God will make his people victorious. But in the meantime, there will be no peace in the Middle East, until those against God turn from their wicked ways and come to God for forgiveness and salvation. Until then, however, we pray for peace. We all want peace. The enemy of peace is war, and right now the US is in the middle of wars. There are other wars around the world, and “pre-wars” that could flare up at any time. There were also wars in the day when God first spoke this to Moses. Even in that day, and even in this day, it is God’s desire that we have peace. “And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel; and I will
bless them.” God wanted Israel to
be identified with God himself. God
wanted Israel to be known as “God’s people”, the people bearing God’s
name. And God wanted to bless them
in all they did. God wants the same
for us today. Today, the name God
wants us to carry is “Christian”. God
sent his son Jesus Christ to pay the price for the penalty of sin (death) and to
restore our relationship to a Holy God. This
is the only way; there is no other. The
only way for a sinful man to be redeemed to a Holy God is through the sacrifice
of God’s own Holy Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus
paid the price for us. He died on a
cross for our sins, he carried with him the weight of the burden of sin on our
behalf, he arose from the dead, and today lives in Heaven with God the Father as
our intermediary, speaking on our behalf. Today,
all we must do to receive forgiveness from God is to ask for God’s
forgiveness, to accept the free gift that Jesus provided, and surrender our
lives to the service of Jesus. When
we do this, then we are saved, we are free, we are forgiven.
We then can carry the name of God, “Christian”, because we have
identified with ourselves the one who died on our behalf, God’s own son Jesus
the Christ (or redeemer). When God puts His Son’s name upon us, and we are saved and
redeemed and forgiven because of what Jesus did on our behalf, then God’s name
is upon us, and He will bless us. I am a blessed man. I have a good wife. I have a nice home. I have a good son of whom I am proud, and a good daughter-in-law. I have family who loves me. I am blessed with a good Mother that is still alive, and am blessed with raisings from a good Father. While Dad recently passed away, I am blessed with the memories that I will carry forever. I am blessed with many aunts and uncles and cousins and other relatives that love me in spite of my weaknesses. I am blessed that I have three good brothers, two of which I get to work with on Gunblast.com. I am blessed that over one million readers per month go to Gunblast.com, and that through this volume of people, the messages that God puts upon my heart can go out to help minister to those who care to listen. I am blessed with good health. I am blessed with favor from men, and favor from God. I am blessed that I am forgiven, that I accepted the free gift of salvation through Jesus some 41 years ago, and that while I have messed up countless times, God always forgives me when I ask. I am blessed that I live in a country where Christianity is freely expressed (at least for now), and that at an early age I was given the opportunity to know God. I am blessed with an understanding of the Bible, and the ability to share it. I am blessed that God saw fit to call me into His ministry, a great and mighty honor. I am blessed by the mercy and grace of God that I carry daily, and for which I am eternally grateful. I am blessed with the knowledge that when my time on earth is over, that Jesus himself is preparing a better place for me in Heaven, and when I leave here, the next moment I am with God in Heaven. God’s blessings flow upon me daily. And any day in which I feel frail and not blessed, God reminds me to look around at many others less fortunate, and then I am blessed again. I ask that you reflect right now at the blessings that God has given you. I bet you could count as many as I have, and perhaps more. Sometimes we must just open our eyes and see. I’m no Moses. I’m no Aaron. But I’m saved, and loved by the same God as are you. And God called me into his ministry just the same as He called Moses and Aaron, but for a different time and a different work. Therefore, the blessing that God told Moses to have Aaron tell His people in Israel, this same blessing God wants me to share with you today. As I write this, I am praying this blessing directly upon all who read this now, and in the future. “The Lord bless you, and keep you; The Lord make his face shine upon you, and be gracious unto you; The Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace. And may the name of the Lord be put upon you, and God will bless you.” Truly I say, God bless.
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