In
1918 Irving Berlin wrote
a prayer in the form of a song, “God Bless America” a song which
is popular as the “Star Spangled Banner” our national anthem. This morning Cheryl sang
a song, “God Bless the USA” first published in 1984 which has become
overwhelming popular after the 9/11 bombing.
If there
is ever a prayer that should be prayed, it is that God would bless
our nation! We should pray for our president, our congress, and our
judges! We should pray for our military,
our economy, our state and local governments, our schools, and all
the men and women who are involved in these entities! We need to pray, “God bless the USA!”
But
as I think of asking
for God’s blessings I ask, “Who does God
bless?” Scripture reveals there are some whom
God
blesses, and there are some whom God opposes! While
looking through the Scripture I came to this
conclusion:
God
blesses those whom He has chosen to
bless. God has always made choices determined
by His will alone.
God chose to bless Adam and Eve
Gen 1:28 God blessed them; and
God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply…
God
chose to bless Noah and his
family
Gen 9:1 God blessed Noah and
his sons …
God chose to bless Abram and his
descendents
Gen 12:2 And I will make you
a great nation, and I will bless you, And make your name great; And
so you shall be a blessing;
3 And I will bless
those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will
curse. And in you all the families of the earth will
be blessed."
God
chose to bless Samson
Judges 13:24 Then the woman gave
birth to a son and named him Samson; and the child grew up and the
LORD blessed him.
And God chose to bless You and Me!
1 Peter 2:9 But you
are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own
special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called
you
out of darkness into His marvelous light;
10 who once were not
a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy
but now have obtained mercy.
Just
as Adam and Eve, Abraham, and Samson was chosen by the will of God, not
because
of what they had done, so we too have been chosen! God
has a divine purpose in His
choosing! There is a specific plan and destiny
for every person chosen by God!
God
blesses those whom He has chosen and
God also blesses
those who are a blessing
to others.
God
promised to bless those who bless the
descendents of Abraham.
Gen 12:3 And I will
bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will
curse. And in you all the families of the earth will
be blessed."
God’s
blessing is evident in Abraham’s
descendents.
Gen 30:27 And
Laban said to (Jacob), "Please stay, if I have found favor in your
eyes, for I have learned by experience that the LORD has blessed me
for
your sake."
God
blesses those who bless the prophet,
the righteous, and the children.
Matt
10:41 "He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's
reward; and he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall
receive a righteous man's reward.
42 "And whoever in
the name of a disciple gives to one of these little ones even a cup
of cold water to drink, truly I say to you, he shall not lose his
reward."
God
blesses those who have a
generous heart in giving.
2 Corinthians 9:6
Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and
he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
10 He who supplies
seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your
seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness;
11 you will be enriched
in everything for all liberality, which through us is producing thanksgiving
to God.
God
blesses those whom He has chosen
God also blesses
those who are a blessing and
God blesses
those who are obedient to His Word.
God
promised blessings to Israel for
obeying the Law.
Deut 28:1 Now it shall
be, if you diligently obey the LORD your God, being careful to do all
His commandments which I command you today, the LORD your God will
set you high above all the nations of the earth.
2 "All these blessings
will come upon you and overtake you …
God blessed Job for being faithful in times
of distress.
Job 42:12 The LORD
blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; and he had
14,000 sheep and 6,000 camels and 1,000 yoke of oxen and 1,000 female
donkeys. 13
He had seven sons and three daughters.
God
blesses those
who in doing the Word!
James 1:25 But one
who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides
by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer,
this man will be blessed in what he does.
God
has always looked for those who will obey His Word! In
the Old Testament and in the New Testament … the obedient are blessed
by God! Whether it was Moses or Paul … the
greater obedience received the
greater blessing!
God
blesses those whom He has chosen
God
also blesses those who are a blessing
God blesses
those who are obedient to His Word and
God
blesses those
who honor His Presence.
God
blessed Moses. Moses built the Ark
of the Covenant under God’s direction, and it was here that God said He would
meet with Moses and talk with Him!
Ex
25:21-22 …I will speak to you …
God
blessed the keeper of the Ark of the
Covenant.
2 Sam 6:10 And David
was unwilling to move the ark of the LORD into the city of David with
him; but David took it aside to the house of Obed-edom the
Gittite.
11 Thus the ark of
the LORD remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite three months,
and the LORD blessed Obed-edom and all his household.
In
the New Testament we do not have a special place such as an Ark of the Covenant
where we must come to in order to meet God. We
can meet with Him anywhere and at anytime. Precious
are the moments that we are aware of
His Presence! It is the design of a worship service
that we would meet with Him here! Sometimes we meet
with Him at home, sometimes while we are driving, frequently while we are singing,
and usually when we are
praying. But He is present all of the
time! When we interact with others, when we let thoughts
fleet across our mind, when we are watching television and downloading information
on the computer! What He wants is for us to honor
Him in all of these times
and places.
Paul
writes to us about being careful how we live and how we talk:
God’s
blessings are upon those who honor
His presence!
Eph
4:30
30 Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for
the day of
redemption.
Our
goal as individuals … and our goal as a nation … should be much more
than to
pray for God’s blessings upon us, but our prayer should be, “Lord show me
how
to live in the blessings of God!” Then let us be
reminded that:
God
blesses those whom He has chosen.
God
also blesses those who are a blessing.
God blesses those
who are obedient to His Word.
God blesses those
who honor His Presence.
Our
prayer then is that we who are chosen would be a blessing to others,
be obedient to
His Word, and be sensitive to His presence at all times! We
need government leaders like this too! So pray the
same prayer for them.
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