Title: You Have the Blessing
You have been blessed (Genesis 47:1-10)
<Praise your cross>
Joseph was a dreamer. A ‘dreamer’ may have a poor sense of reality, but Joseph was a dreamer and a wise man with a sense of reality. He was also excellent at reading the flow of the times, and he was also excellent at reading people's minds. So, when I invited my family to Egypt, I carefully studied and wisely coached them in advance on how to live well without conflicting or mixing with the Egyptians. So, when Pharaoh asks, “What is your occupation?”, the answer is, “We have been engaged in livestock farming since our ancestors.”
Hearing this, Pharaoh relieved his vigilance and gladly granted their request, and further made him take care of Pharaoh's animals. Looking at this scene, we can see that a life of hiding oneself is much more useful in giving external peace and inner peace than a life of self-expression. Saints are separate beings from the world, but you should not think of yourself as a special being. Saints should diligently reduce the 'life to be proud of' and increase the 'life to love' diligently.
The saints have only one thing to be proud of. That is the cross. Once upon a time, there was a time when TV shows search for separated families. Then, 40-50 years later, how do people who don't recognize each other recognize each other? If you watch the broadcast, there was a time when you said, "Aren't there any marks on your shoulder? Are there no traces of the scythe on the instep?” he asked. As such, when you stand before the Lord later, the Lord will see the traces of carrying the cross above all else.
A saint without the cross is not a saint, and a Christianity without the cross is not Christianity. Without the cross there is no remission of sins, no peace, no peace, no change, no blessings. The greatest failure for man is failure without the life of the cross. The biggest reason life is hard and difficult is because there is no sign of the cross. However, if there are traces of Jesus on our body, all the pain and troubles of life will disappear.
<The saints have the blessing>
After meeting Pharaoh and his brothers, Joseph led his father Jacob to stand before Pharaoh. What will happen then? Jacob blessed Pharaoh. After receiving the blessing, Pharaoh asked Jacob, “How old are you?” Then Jacob humbly answered Pharaoh. “I have lived for 130 years. I didn’t buy a lot, but I went through all kinds of storms.”
After that conversation, he said blessings to Pharaoh and came out in front of Pharaoh. The scene where Jacob blesses Pharaoh makes us think again about the authority of the saints. See a 130-year-old man who came to eat because he had nothing to eat, proudly congratulating the emperor of a country. How could you be so bold? It is because they believed that those who believe have the power of blessing.
A saint is a person who has the power to bless. Please say many words of blessing with that blessing. The tongue has the power to ruin and it has the power to make things happy. Blessings and curses can come together from the same mouth. Jesus said that all the good and the bad in life come out of the mouth. It is not the food that goes into the mouth that defiles a person, the words that come out of the mouth defile a person. Therefore, do not speak Satan's words or curse words, but speak the Lord's words and blessings a lot.
Words full of faith energize the faith of those who are weak in their faith and exercise their faith. In other words, when we boldly proclaim words that are in harmony with God's Word, creative power comes out, and that creative power also influences others so that they can exercise great faith. The tongue can kill us or let the life of God flow out of us. Death and life are in the power of the tongue.
Say lots of blessings. In particular, truly bless your spouse and children. That work is the most important thing. And please bless many people by broadening the breadth of blessings. The Bible says that blessing will eventually come back to you. An important secret to being a source of blessing is to bless as many as possible. Be a source of blessing, like Abraham, by rejoicing to bless so many.