View source for '''BE A BLESSING '''

==BE A BLESSING==

'Get thee out of they country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto the land that I will show thee; and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee; and be thou a blessing.' -- Gen. 12:1,2 </p>
In these first words that God spake to Abraham, we have the short summary of all that God has to say to him and to us as His children. We see what the goal is to which God calls us, what the power that carries us to that goal, and what the place where the power is found. Be a blessing: that is the goal for which God separates Abraham and every believing child of His. <br>
<br>God would have him and us made to understand that, when he blesses us, this is certainly not simply to make us happy, but that we should still further communicate His blessing. (Matt. 5:34,35; 10:8; 18:33)
<ul>
  <li>Mt 5:34 But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne:
  <li>Mt 5:35 Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. <br>
        <br>
  <li>Mt 10:8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give. <br>
        <br>
  <li>Mt 18:33 Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? </li>
</ul>
God Himself is love, and therefore He blesses. Love seeketh not itself: when the love of God comes to us, it will seek others through us. (Isa. 43:10,11; 1 Cor. 13:5; 1 John 4:11)
<ul>
  <li>Isa 43:10 Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.
  <li>Isa 43:11 I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour. <br>
        <br>
  <li>1Co 13:5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; <br>
        <br>
  <li>1Jo 4:11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. </li>
</ul>
The young Christian must from the beginning understand that he has received grace with the definite aim of becoming a blessing to others. Pray, keep not for yourself what the Lord gives to you for others. Offer yourself expressly and completely to the Lord, to be used by Him for others: that is the way to be blessed oveflowingly yourself. (Ps. 112:5,9; Prov. 11:24,25; Matt. 25:40; 1 Cor. 15;58; 2 Cor. 9:6; Heb. 6:10)
<ul>
  <li>Ps 112:5 A good man sheweth favour, and lendeth: he will guide his affairs with discretion.
  <li>Ps 112:9 He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor; his righteousness endureth for ever; his horn shall be exalted with honour. <br>
        <br>
  <li>Pr 11:24 There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.
  <li>Pr 11:25 The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself. <br>
        <br>
  <li>Mt 25:40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. <br>
        <br>
  <li>1Co 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. <br>
        <br>
  <li>2Co 9:6 But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. <br>
        <br>
  <li>Heb 6:10 For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister. </li>
</ul>
The power for this work will be given. 'Be a blessing': 'I will bless thee,' says the Lord. You are to be personally blessed yourself, personally sanctified and filled with the Spirit, and peace, and power of the Lord: then you have power to bless. (Luke 24:49; John 7:38; 14:12)
<ul>
  <li>Lu 24:49 And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high. <br>
      <br>
  <li>Joh 7:38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. <br>
      <br>
  <li>Joh 14:12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. </li>
</ul>
In Christ God has 'blessed us with all spiritual things': let Jesus fill you with these blessings, and you shall certainly be a blessing: you need not doubt or fear. The blessing of God includes in it the power of life for multiplication, for expansion, for communication. See in the Scriptures how blessing and multiplication go together. (Gen. 1:22,28; 9:1; 22:17; 26:24)
<ul>
  <li>Ge 1:22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.
  <li>Ge 1:28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. <br>
        <br>
  <li>Ge 9:1 And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. <br>
        <br>
  <li>Ge 22:17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; <br>
        <br>
  <li>Ge 26:24 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. </li>
</ul>
<br>
Blessing always includes the power to bless others. Only give the word of the Almighty God, 'I will bless Thee,' time to sink into your spirit. Wait upon God, that He Himself may say to you, 'I will bless thee.' Let your faith cleave fast to this. God will make it truth to you above all asking and thinking. (2 Cor. 9:8,11; Eph. 1:3; Heb. 6:14)
<ul>
  <li>2Co 9:8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:
  <li>2Co 9:11 Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God. <br>
        <br>
  <li>Eph 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: <br>
        <br>
  <li>Heb 6:14 Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. </li>
</ul>
But for this end you must also betake yourself to the place of blessing: the land of promise, the simple life of faith in the promises. 'Get thee out thy land and thy father's house,' says the Lord. Departure, separation from the life of nature and the flesh, in which we were born of our father Adam, is what God would have. The offering up of what is most precious to man is the way to the blessing of God. (Luke 8:29,30; John 12:24,25; 2 Cor. 6:17,18)
<ul>
  <li>Lu 8:29 (For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For oftentimes it had caught him: and he was kept bound with chains and in fetters; and he brake the bands, and was driven of the devil into the wilderness.)
  <li>Lu 8:30 And Jesus asked him, saying, What is thy name? And he said, Legion: because many devils were entered into him. <br>
        <br>
  <li>Joh 12:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
  <li>Joh 12:25 He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. <br>
        <br>
  <li>2Co 6:17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
  <li>2Co 6:18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. </li>
</ul>
'Get thee to a land that I will show thee,' says the Lord, out of the old life to a new life, where I alone am your guide; that is, a life where God can have me wholly for Himself alone, where I walk only on the promises of God -- a life of faith. Christian, God will in a Divine fashion fulfil to you His promise, 'I will bless thee.' O go, pray, out of your land and your father's house, out of the life of nature and the flesh, out of intercourse with the flesh and this world, to the New Life, the life of the Spirit, the life in fellowship with God to which He will lead you. There you become receptive of His blessing; there your heart becomes open to full faith in His word, 'I will bless thee'; there He can fulfil that word to you, and make you full of His blessing and power to be a blessing to others. Live with God, separated from the world: then shall you hear the voice of God speak with power: 'I will bless thee'; 'Be thou a blessing.' 
<br>
<em>O my Father, show me the way to that promised land where Thou bringest Thy people to have them wholly for Thyself. I will abandon everything to follow Thee, to hold converse with Thee alone, in order that Thou mayest fill me with Thy blessing. Lord, let Thy word, 'I will bless thee,' live in my heart as a word of God: then shall I give myself wholly to live for others and to be a blessing. Amen. </em><br>
<br>
1. God is the great, the only Fountain of blessing: as much of God as I have in me, so much blessing can I bring. I can work much for others without blessing. Actually to be a blessing, I must begin with that word, 'I will bless thee': then the other, 'Be a blessing' becomes easy. <br><br>
2. In order to become a blessing, begin on a small scale: yield yourself up for others. Live to make others happy. Believe that the love of God dwells in you by the Spirit, and give yourself wholly to be a blessing and a joy to those who are round about you. Pray God to shed abroad His love in you still further by the Spirit. And believe very firmly that God can make you a greater blessing than you can think, if you surrender yourself to Him for this end. <br><br>
3. But this surrender must have time in solitary prayer, that God may obtain possession of your spirit. This is for you the departure from your father's house: separate yourself from men that God may speak with you. <br>
<br>4. What think you? Was Abraham ever filled with regret that he placed himself so entirely under the leading of God? Then do you likewise<br><br>
5. Do you now know the two words which are the source of all promises and all commands to the children of believing Abraham? The promise is: 'I will bless thee.' The command is: 'Be a blessing.' Pray, take them both firmly for yourself. <br>
<br>6. And do you now understand where these two words to Abraham are fulfilled? In separation from his father's house -- in the walk in fellowship with God. <br>
  
<br><br>'''Back to [[Words of God for Young Disciples of Christ]]'''