Be Blessed to be Blessing Nations!
Genesis 12:1-3
1.Go from your country and your kindred and your father¡¯s house to the land that I will show you.
2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed
For Christians, being blessed is not an option, but it¡¯s our destiny. Once God called us thru His Son, Jesus Christ, God set up a special plan to bless His people. We already shared about His divine grand plan last year in Genesis 12 : 1-3.
¡°The Bible actually begins with the theme of missions in the book of Genesis and maintains that driving passion throughout the entire Old Testament and on into the New Testament. If an Old Testament ¡°Great Commission¡± must be identified, then it will be Genesis 12:3 . ¡°¡¦all the peoples of the earth will be blessed through you [Abraham].¡±
This is the earliest statement of the fact that it will be God¡¯s purpose and plan to see that the message of his grace and blessing comes to every person on the planet earth.¡±
When God called Abraham, God had a grand plan to bless all Nations through Abraham's seeds. Many people thought God chose Israelits only for themselves, but God chose them to be the channel of God's Blessing for all Nations. So we need to see God's Grand Plan for All Nations. Then we will be able to live according to HIs will.
In Genesis 12:1-3
God Makes Astounding Promises to Abraham and Sarah as follows;
Now the Lord said to Abram,
¡°Go from your country and your kindred and your father¡¯s house to the land that I will show you.
2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.
¡°Out of all the nations,
God chose one nation,
to reach the rest of the nations.¡±
Now we can explore God¡¯s intention and plan by looking at 2 imperatives as follows;
Imperative #1:
¡°Go from your country¡±
1. Abraham was given three promises if he leaves Ur:
a. Abraham will be a great nation
b. God will personally bless him
c. Abraham will have a great name
2. Abraham¡¯s leaving Ur sets up God¡¯s global purpose (¡°so that¡± vs 2) in using Abraham to be a blessing.
Imperative #2:
¡°Be a blessing¡±
1. Three promises of God to Abraham if he obeys in being a blessing:
a. God will bless those who bless Abraham
b. God will curse those who curse Abraham
c. God will bless the families of the earth through Abraham (Galatians 3:8,16; Acts 3:25-26; cf. Romans 9:5)
¡°families of the earth¡± = all the peoples, all the tribes or nations, a people group
Then we can see the definition of Blessing in the Bible.
When we hear on Blessing in the Bible, it refers to God¡¯s gracious favor and power bestowed on those who respond to Him by faith (Genesis 15:6; Psalm 67).
The blessing of His favor draws us into relationship with Himself, resulting in peace, well being and salvation. The blessing of His power affects the practical realities of life, resulting in good harvests, long life, wealth, children and miraculous works.
Thus, blessing is both a relational term, and a power term.¡±
Final purpose clause: the breadth of the promise is for all people
(people groups to be blessed through God blessing Abraham.)
As we close out worship service, let us remember that God blesses His people so that His people will a Blessing to all the families of the earth (nations). You are the Channel of God¡¯s Blessing for All the Families of the Earth !