Lesson 19 – Blessed in God’s Ways

Proverbs 8:32 (NIV)
"Now then, my sons, listen to me; blessed are those who keep my ways."

While the "me" in this passage refers directly to wisdom, many see wisdom as an analogy of the leadership of Jesus Christ or even the Holy Spirit. Wisdom calls for us to listen, as if wisdom has a voice, promising a blessing if we go wisdom's way.

Some have trouble with proverbs, especially when looking at specific circumstances. While this proverb promises blessing to those who keep God's ways, what about those who are close to God, following after the Lord's wisdom, only to find themselves in dire straights? What about a believer who worships God with all their heart, only to find themselves suffering from cancer at an early age?

These are difficult questions, and a ripe field from which Satan would have us question the truth of God's wisdom and even his love!

But instead of seeing a proverb's exception as proof that God's word can't be trusted, I think it better to view them as the door which opens the possibility of God's blessings. If we keep God's ways, then God is freed to bless us, if that be his will. Conversely, when we err from following after wisdom, there is no real opportunity for God to bless us.

Another way to look at any proverb is to view it as a general rule for life, even while acknowledging there are exceptions all around. Still, when we follow the wisdom of God's proverbs, we can generally expect things to turn out the way God normally ordains, and when they don't we can rejoice that God is working a new plan for our lives.

When it comes to embracing wisdom, following God's ways is the path which leads to blessing.

Lesson 18 – Blessed with Life and Favor

Proverbs 8:33-35 (NIV)
"List to my (wisdom's) instruction and be wise; do not ignore it. Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway. For whoever finds me finds life and receives favor from the Lord."

Life and favor flow from God's wisdom, and not just in the general blessings which come to anyone who seeks to function in life according to God's ways. With God, wisdom gives life and favor to the undeserving; that being, you and I. Those who shouldn't receive life and favor find ourselves as recipients of God's love.

The Father's love never ceases to amazes me, especially when I can't come up with any concrete reason for God to give us favor and life. Simply put, I can't explain the Father's love. This is probably because it's not a love which comes naturally to any of us.

Outside of our immediate families, instead of love, we go through life seeking justice. We want fair prices. We want to be paid a fair wage. We want those things which are ours to remain ours. We want criminals to be caught and punished. We want our elected officials to have our best interests at heart. But when it comes to life and favor, we're surely relieved our Father looked beyond justice to embrace the wisdom of mercy.

And while justice for sin was served by Christ on the cross, the whole plan began with mercy. According to God's wisdom, humanity would get more than justice. We would get an undeserved second chance.

Now that's a blessing for which we should all rejoice!

Lesson 17 – Blessed with Forgiveness

Psalm 32:1-2 (NIV)
"Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit."

Surely this is the definition of the love of Jesus Christ in a nutshell. Whereas we are all sinners, through submission to the Lordship of Christ, our guilt is forgiven and our shortcomings caught up in the Lord's sacrifice. Whereas our sin haunts us, God no longer counts these sins to our account, declaring our spirits as no longer deceitful.

Doctrinally, this is a description of both justification and sanctification in the heart of the believer. Under justification, we are made right with God, just as if we had not sinned. As those who are sanctified, we've been set apart and made clean unto the Lord.

Here's the key to embracing this verse as our own. We have to set aside our feelings and live by faith. We won't always feel like one made right with God, totally forgiven of all our sins. Nor will we always feel as if we're free from the stain of our sins, for they always seem to accuse us.

What God wants us to do is set aside these feelings and accept it in faith that God has done all of what he said he would do for those who come to Jesus Christ. He blesses those who believe with salvation, bringing about justification and sanctification.

Sanctification always seems to bother us, for while we have been sanctified in Christ, there is also the sense that sanctification continues throughout this life, for we continue to battle our sinful tendencies and strive to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. But know for sure that every believer is already blessed by our Lord. Our salvation is made secure in Christ. Sanctification has already occurred, and it is still occurring in our lives.

Satan would love to immobilize the church by convincing us to live by sight and not by faith. When we do, we read this verse and wonder in our hearts if we've really been blessed by God. We look at the sins which we still battle and come to the conclusion we're not worthy of the blessing, for we seem to still be lost in our unholiness.

But this is a false picture of who we are in Christ. When we come to faith, we receive the blessing of justification and sanctification, not matter what Satan may say!

Lesson 16 – Blessed with the Father’s Inheritance

Matthew 25:34-36 (NIV)
"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

The church is made up of those who are blessed by the Father with an inheritance, the right to belong to the kingdom of God. So real is our adoption and citizenship into this kingdom, God gives us the rights of sonship, making us joint-heirs with Jesus.

In this passage, Jesus explains that the Father will one day separate those of the kingdom from those who are not, moving some to his right side and some to his left. And how will God make this separation? He will look at our works. Those who do the Lord's work are identified as of the kingdom, and those who do not are declared to be outside.

Of course, no believer is at work to somehow merit God's love, but we work for Jesus Christ because we are grateful for the cross and desire to give God glory in our lives. Still, it is this work which identifies the church as worthy of the Father's inheritance.

I'm always stunned by the simple tasks which identify those of the kingdom. God didn't say that our work was some monumental task, like personally convicting the world of sin, or traveling the world as a missionary, or the building a large congregation. He doesn't even point to work within the church, tough we know these tasks are important.

Instead, Jesus teaches that the Lord's work comes in caring for the least of those in this world. These are those who are hungry, thirst, friendless, poor, ill and imprisoned. These are those for whom our Lord yearns to give his love, so these are those to whom we go in the name of the Father.

In his life, Jesus identifies with these people with his very existence. He lived with many of them, sought them out as he traveled, and healed their diseases. Whereas the church ignored them, Jesus went to them. Likewise, Jesus taught that when care for these people, we are caring for him.

Surely this is impetus for the church of every age--to be socially active in our world, going to those in need and bringing the love of Christ is real and tangible ways.

Lesson 15 – Blessed in the Lord’s Fortress

Psalm 28:8-9 (NIV)
"The Lord is the strength of his people, a fortress of salvation for his anointed one. Save your people and bless your inheritance; be their shepherd and carry them forever."

From our years of ministering to the soldiers of the U.S. Army, we've come to learn the names of some Army installations, and can even identify some of the states where these installations reside. For an Air Force guy, this is a big accomplishment!

While Army installations are called posts, kasernes, or barracks in Europe, within the United States, they are referred to as forts. As a child, I was fascinated by forts and built many with Lincoln Logs. And as you know, while safely within the fort, the good guys always win.

Within the church, we are blessed by the fortress which is our Lord's anointing. We are the ones covered in the shed blood of Jesus Christ, thus protected from Satan's accusations and the Father's righteous judgment. With the Lord's fortress, we are blessed by the removal of our sin and guilt by the Lord's work on the cross of Calvary.

Just as a fort has an officer in charge, one who cares for the needs of its inhabitants and directs the fort's defenses, so it is likewise within the fortress which is given as our blessing. Of course, our officer in charge is not a military man, but a shepherd. Jesus Christ, the Great Shepherd, is the one who anoints and directs the church within his fortress.

You may have noticed there are many wooden forts left in America, for they simply couldn't stand up to the test of time. Rain, dry rot, insects, fires, and the relentless pace of progress have destroyed them, so that we're pretty much left to drawings and our imaginations to envision these forts.

But notice our blessing. The fortress which is Jesus Christ stands forever. It will not be defeated. The church is secure in the Lord. Our Shepherd leads us forever.

 

 

Lesson 14 - Blessed by the Lord’s Name

Exodus 20:24 (NIV)
"Make an altar of earth for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, your sheep and goats and your cattle. Wherever I cause my name to be honored, I will come to you and bless you."

What a promise. Wherever and whenever the name of the Lord Jesus Christ is lifted up by the church in worship, God will come and bring blessing. Never underestimate the importance of worship, for God meets his people when we come with open hearts before his throne.

As with Israel in their wilderness wanderings, existing without a home, there is no place we may go where God will not meet those who call upon his name. Whereas life may be for you somewhat unsettled, God's presence is the blessing that can always be counted on.

While most of us are not nomadic, we face enough challenges in life to recognize we need a God big enough to be there no matter what. We need a God who is always there when we call upon his name. We need a God who will not abandon his people and leave them to struggle in a time of need. I'm not talking about a God who serves as our own personal genie, but a God who is above all the chaos of this world, bringing stability where none is to be found.

Notice that this blessing comes with a condition. God presents himself and blesses only when we come before him in true, evidenced when we bring an offering for our sins and our desire for fellowship. While there remains no sacrifice for New Testament believers, with Christ presenting his own body for sin, once for all, the principle of coming with a sacrifice on our lips still remains, for our Lord desires the right heart attitude when we call upon his name, that of grateful humility.

I don't think this is one of those promises for Israel alone, but a blessing which still rings true for the church today. Wherever the name of the Lord is proclaimed, Jesus meets us there. In our lives, we need to be a people where the Lord's name is honored, and if we will do so, the Lord will bless us with his abiding presence.

Lesson 13 – Blessed with a Right Standing

Psalm 24:3-6 (NIV)
"Who may ascend the hill of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false. He will receive blessing from the Lord and vindication from God his Savior. Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, O God of Jacob."

Followers of Jesus Christ are the ones blessed with a right standing. We are the ones made worthy to come humbly before the throne of the Lord in worship. We are the ones who stand before the Lord without suffering God's wrath. The New Testament teaches that this right standing is given freely by God only through faith in Jesus Christ.

David asks a very important question, one which haunts every person. "Who may ascend the hill of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place?" He answers, "He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false."

Of course, there's a big problem with David's response. Since everyone sins, how will we know we've cleaned ourselves up enough to rightly come before the Lord? How can we know if God will accept us? Truthfully, the matter becomes painfully clear. No matter how hard we try, we can't ever be clean and pure enough on our own to have a right standing before God.

We need the blessing of God upon us. We need God's holiness to overshadow our lives, to be covered in his righteousness and not our own. Through faith in Jesus, God promises to change our sinful natures, with the result being that God declares us clean and holy.

This is the blessing of a right standing before God--a way to come into his presence through the power of the cross to atone for sins.

And it all begins by seeking the Lord's face. God wants to be found, so when we seek him, he gives his blessing!

Lesson 12 – Blessed with Joy Eternal

Psalm 21:6-7 (NIV)
"Sure you have granted him eternal blessings and made him glad with the joy of your presence. For the king trusts in the Lord; through the unfailing love of the Most High he will not be shaken."

I certainly hesitate to write of joy, since I've never been a particularly joyful person, at least not since childhood. For some reason, joy doesn't seem to flow through my veins, and when I see promises of joy in the Bible, I have to wonder if somehow I've missed the boat.

Still, the Bible's promise for believers to know joy is clear for all to see, and if we are to embrace the truth of God's word, we need to believe in faith that joy is given to us—without exception. Maybe we just need to find it!

In Psalm 21, David embraces the blessings God gave him as king—victories over Israel's enemies in battle, filling the desires of his heart, giving him a lasting kingship, and bestowing on him a long life. Finally, David declares the blessing of joy which comes from God's eternal presence.

While few of us will be able to rightfully declare these same blessings in life, David shows us that one of the keys to embracing joy is listing the blessings God has already given us. By making the effort to open our eyes and thank the Lord for the good things in our lives, we can't help but know joy.

As the old hymn says, we need to count our blessings and name them one by one. And whether we see our blessings as great or small, we can know they are given directly from God, showing us his love.

In these specific verses, David describes God's blessings as having no end, being for all of life, and then into eternity--not that David's kingdom wouldn't have trouble, for they certainly came upon Israel even during his day--but that when people embrace God's presence, they will know a joy that has no end. God's presence is unfailing.

For those who love Jesus Christ, this blessing of God's presence is eternal. We just need to open our hearts to it, embracing this blessing in our life.

This will surely bring us joy.

Lesson 11 - Blessed in Revelation

Matthew 16:15-18 (NIV)"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.
Every believer enjoys this same blessing, the one given that pivotal day when Peter confessed Jesus as the Christ, the one anointed of God to be the Savior of the world. As believers, we are those to whom Christ has been revealed by the Father's call upon our lives.
Everyone who confesses Christ is blessed to be the church. To us, there is has been a revealing.
Revelation is described as God making his nature more fully known to humanity. Without his revelation, we are limited, and can only somewhat know him and his glory.
The Bible tells us God reveals himself through his creation, declaring his glories both day and night. God has also revealed himself through the voice of his prophets, teaching the world his unchangeable standards for morality. Through the Holy Spirit, God reveals himself most intimately, interacting personally with the souls of humanity. And finally, God fully revealed his loving nature, face to face, in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the one who will come again to reveal to the entire world God's justice.
This blessing comes when we realize the fullness of God's revelation. Unfortunately, many chose to go down every other path of life except the one made available through God's revelation. By embracing evolution, they can deny God's revelation given in creation. By declaring that truth is subjective, they can deny God's revelation through Scriptures. By viewing Jesus as just another prophet, they can reject God's love given on the cross. By denying the very real power of sin over their lives, they can turn away from salvation without a guilty conscious.
But blessed is the man or woman who turns fully to Jesus Christ, declaring him to be the Christ, the Lord and savior of their lives. This is the blessing of the church. This is the blessing God offers to those would worship his name.