Title: The Secret to Blessing
Contents
Text: Genesis 22:1-19
I wish you all the blessings of heaven and earth that God gives you in the new year. Therefore, I hope that your soul will prosper, that all things will go well, and that your body will be healthy as well.
“Blessing” is (Greek) μακ ριο , which means more than “psychological happiness”. As can be seen from the fact that this word describes the state of the gods, it refers to happiness that cannot be compared or replaced with anything in the world. In other words, it means the best state of happiness that can be tasted in heaven, which is beyond human imagination.
There are material blessings and spiritual blessings. Material blessings are blessings enjoyed in this world, and spiritual blessings are blessings shared both in this world and in heaven. These spiritual blessings are called spiritual blessings. Material blessings come to believers and non-believers in a variety of ways, but spiritual and spiritual blessings are only those who believe well. Ephesians 1:3 “Blessed be our Heavenly Father, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.”
God is the giver of both spiritual and material blessings. So God is the source of blessing. Since life is a spiritual being with a physical body, it needs both spiritual and material blessings. However, the blessings that people seek are not spiritual blessings, but only those of this world. For example material, health, honor, etc. However, you should know that even the devil can intervene with these blessings. When the devil, the king of the world (John 16:11), tempted Jesus in Matthew 4, he tempted him by “showing him all the glory of all the kingdoms under the heavens”. “All these things I will give you, if you worship me.” Today, there are people who fall here and are slaves to the devil and live well, but this is the devil's candy, so we shouldn't be envious. Like a fishing hook, the devil seems to prosper at first, but only hell is prepared (Matthew 25:41).
Believers must not only receive spiritual blessings, but also enjoy the blessings God has given them in terms of material, health, and honor while living in this world. From now on, I will tell you the secret of receiving blessings from God.
1. Blessings come according to the thoughts of the heart.
In other words, it is said that ‘blessings come only when you have dreams’. There must be gratitude, positive and positive thinking, and thorough self-effort in the thoughts of the heart. Negative and lazy thoughts frustrate you. Blessings come only when you live a positive life that you want to do something. Joseph had a dream, so even if he was sold as a slave, he gave thanks instead of resentment, and instead of frustration, he did his best to receive the approval of his master.
2. Blessings come as you sow.
Romans 2:7 You will be rewarded according to your deeds. Gal 6:7 Whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. “Rockefeller” is said to be the richest man ever, and his mother left a will when he passed away early.
① When you go to church, sit in the front seat
② Serve your servant as the Lord
③ Be sure to tithe. At first, he gave tithes during the difficult times, but he received great blessings as the best tithe payer in the world. The word about tithing is found in Mal 3:10, “Offer your full tithe, saith the LORD of hosts, that there may be food in my house, and with it you will test me, and I will open the gates of heaven and find a place where you will be blessed See, I do not pour it out so that it may not be.” Here, I think about the phrase, “Look, you do not pour out so that there is no room for blessings.
How did God bless the three important elements of human life: ‘Righteousness, Food, and the Lord’?
① Look at the clothes. Our nation, who used to dye their old military uniforms so that they were all separated, is now so blessed with so many clothes that their closets are overflowing and they are easily thrown away.
②How about food? People who used to say, “Have you eaten?” when they met when they were hungry, now have 8 trillion won in food waste a year, 400 billion won in disposal costs, and 4,048,000 tons of food waste, which is more than the stock consumption of 22.17 million people in North Korea. God also blessed us with abundant food.
③In the same way as for housing, it is said that the number of unsold houses is increasing because we, who used to live in a crowded house, now have a lot of lower houses. We see God pouring out so that there is no place to build even in houses.
3. Giving thanks for what you give is the secret to being blessed.
Abraham, the unnamed shepherd of Ur of the Chaldeans, served God well.
① He built an altar to God and became the father of faith (Genesis 12),
② He became the father of blessings by paying tithes (Genesis 14),
③ Through obedience by giving even his son, he became the ancestor of a nation (Genesis 22).
As the word “Jehovah Jireh” in Genesis 22:14 says, we must receive what God provides. In fact, the real blessing is given and given like Abraham, and God gives