All throughout the Bible the word “Blessing” is used numerous times.
Proverbs 10:22 says, “The Blessing of the Lord maketh rich, and He adds No Sorrow with it.”
The Hebrew word for Blessing in this context is: Beraka, and it means Blessing/Prosperity, and is used 64 times in the OT, including Psalms and Proverbs.
The Hebrew word for “rich” in this context is: Ashar, which means, to be or become rich; to gain wealth.
Many within the church have desired to partake of these “Blessings” from the Lord. And they are Promised. But, these Promises, based on the Word of God become a Reality, IF we Do what the Lord says. They do not come just because we “desire” them, they come as a result of hearing what the Lord says and Doing what He says. They come by Choosing to Obey Him.
For example: I have heard many believers over the years speak and declare some of these promises over their lives, but they have yet to “see” these Promises manifest in their Life.
Is it because God doesn’t Love them? Or is it because He Blesses some and not others? No. The Word of God says that He is Not a respecter of persons; He does Not show favoritism, Acts 10:34.
Even though He Freely gave His Son Jesus Christ for All humanity, we partake of His Great Love by Choosing to Believe what Jesus did on the Cross for us, and obey what He says.
John 3:16 says, For God so Loved the World (All Humanity) that He gave His One and only Son, that whosoever believes in Him, will not perish, but have Everlasting (eternal) Life.
This is a Promise of God, for everyone, but there are conditions to benefiting from His Promise—The Word of God says we must Believe and Confess, as in Romans 10:8, But what saith it? The Word is nigh thee, in thy mouth and in thy heart: that is the Word of Faith which we preach; 9 That if thou shall confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in thine heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved. 10 For with the heart man (people, person) believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto Salvation.”
Here we see two important things must take place: One, a person must believe with their heart, and two, that person must also confess with their mouth. And in John 3:36, we’re given the meaning of the Word “Believe,” “And anyone who Believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t “obey” the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment.”
So, we see clearly that Salvation comes to “Anyone” who Believes in Jesus with their heart/ Confesses with their Mouth that God has raised Him from the dead, and Obeys His Words, are true followers of Jesus. These are the conditions. Why? Because God created human beings with a Freewill, a Choice to Believe and Obey. The Promise is given, the Work has been done on the Cross, but that Promise benefits no one, UNLESS we do what God says as in Romans 10 and John 3:36.
Every Promise of God has conditions: we Believe, Speak and Obey, including the “Blessings” Promised by God.
2 Corinthians 1:20 says, “For ALL the Promises of God are Yes and Amen.” But again, we are required to Believe His Word, Speak His Word (see 2 Corinthians 4:13) and Do what He says, in order to partake of those promises.
James 1:22-26 says,
22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:
24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.
25 But whoever looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a Doer of the work, this person shall be Blessed in his deed.
As I mentioned in the beginning of this post, the Blessing of the Lord that maketh rich, and adds no sorrow with it, also has conditions.
We see this in Deuteronomy 28:1-14,
28 “Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. 2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God:
3 “Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country.
4 “Blessed shall be the [a]fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks.
5 “Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.
6 “Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.
7 “The Lord will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways.
8 “The Lord will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and He will bless you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
9 “The Lord will establish you as a holy people to Himself, just as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in His ways. 10 Then all peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they shall be afraid of you. 11 And the Lord will grant you plenty of goods, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your ground, in the land of which the Lord swore to your fathers to give you. 12 The Lord will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. 13 And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, and are careful to observe them. 14 So you shall not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right or the left, to go after other gods to serve them.
Open the Windows of Heaven and Pour out a Blessing… Malachi 3:6-12,
6For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.
7Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return?
8Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. 9Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. 10Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. 11And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts. 12And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the LORD of hosts.
There are some who believe the Tithe (Tithe in Hebrew and Greek means Tenth; 10%) is not for today. Recently while reading Matthew 23:23, Jesus said that the Tithe is indeed for today and He Never said to not do it, for He says, ““What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. YOU SHOULD TITHE, YES, but do not neglect the more important things. (KJV says the weightier matters which means mercy (giving) also to the poor; orphans, widows, also see Matthew 25:31-46.)
Bless Your Household:
The best of all the firstfruits and of all your special gifts will belong to the priests. You are to give them the first portion of your ground meal so that a Blessing may rest on Your Household. Ezekiel 44:30
Harvest of Blessing:
Galatians 6:6-10,
6 Those who are taught the word of God should provide for their teachers, sharing all good things with them.
7 Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. 8 Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit (that’s pleasing to Jesus who is the Holy Spirit) will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit.
9 So let’s Not get tired of doing what is good. (Don’t get tired of Giving)
At just the Right time “we Will reap a Harvest of Blessing” if we don’t give up.
10 Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do Good to everyone—especially to those in the family of Faith.
The Lord has been speaking to me very recently regarding the importance of why He tells us in His Word to be Generous and be a Cheerful Giver, (specifically as said in Galatians 6:6-10) to those who “teach” us the Word of God,) is because there are Many promises of Blessing that He has promised to His people, but we Must Do what He says, and when we do God Promises to look over His Word to “perform” them.
Look at it this way, many of you who have children reward them for doing their share of help in the home with cleaning their room or unloading the dishwasher, by giving them an allowance. By doing this, what are we teaching them? That there’s a Blessing coming to them if they Obey. We are also teaching them that if they do their part, we will do our part and reward them.
God is our Heavenly Father, and He says, If we Do what He says, He will Do what He’s promised. When we obey Him and Give, He will ensure that we partake of His Blessings; windows of Heaven Blessings.
Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back. Luke 6:38
Thank you Lord!
