Blessed from the beginning. Genesis 1:21–22 (NLT) 21 So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that scurries and swarms in the water, and every sort of bird—each producing offspring of the same kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 Then God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply. Let the fish fill the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth."
Genesis 1:27–28 (NLT) 27 So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. 28 Then God blessed them and said, "Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it.
What is the blessing? BRK Barak: To bless, to praise. "Blessing is a signature of God's approval." A. Favor: The enjoyment of God.
To be blessed means that we are partaking in the goodness of God.
B. Fulfillment: Peace and contentment in God's goodness.
C. Fellowship- Rejoicing Connectedness.
5 Realities of Blessing: 1. God's Blessing serves a purpose. -Blessings are not just for our enjoyment but for our empowerment. -We are blessed to be a blessing! -When you see blessing as a resource, you can stop being bashful when God blesses you.
2. There are levels of God's blessing. Common blessing / Direct Blessing.
3. Blessings are passed down. Impartation
Honoring up positions us ourselves in God's creative order for blessing.
4. Blessings have boundaries Genesis 2:15–17 (NLT) 15 The Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it. 16 But the Lord God warned him, "You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden—17 except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die."
"You don't get God's blessing doing things your way!"
Deuteronomy 30:19–20 (NLT) 19 "Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! 20 You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This is the key to your life. And if you love and obey the Lord, you will live long in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob."
5. Blessings can break When things get out of God's order, they get out of His blessing.
Genesis 3:17–23 (NLT) 17 And to the man he said, "Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat, the ground is cursed because of you. All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it. 18 It will grow thorns and thistles for you, though you will eat of its grains. 19 By the sweat of your brow will you have food to eat until you return to the ground from which you were made. For you were made from dust, and to dust you will return."…23 So the Lord God banished them from the Garden of Eden…
God repairs what's broken. Genesis 3:15 (NLT) I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel." 1 John 3:8 (NLT) The Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil.
Christ restored the blessing. He reversed the curse! Romans 5:16–21 (NLT) 16The result of God's gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man's sin. For Adam's sin led to condemnation, but God's free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins. 17 For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God's wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ. 18 Yes, Adam's one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ's one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone. 19 Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous.
Jesus restored the order. 1. Favor- Right Standing 2. Fulfillment 3. Fellowship- Connectedness
Ephesians 1:3–5, 11 (NLT) 3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. 4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure…11 Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan.
