Walking Through The Bible - Day 2

Ephesians 1:3

Redemption in Christ

   

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,

Paul made clear that:

#  Who - This implies that it is God who is the source of our blessings.

#  Who has - God has already blessed us, as this is in the past tense.

#  Who has blessed us - Blessings are not anything people work for, it is a provision from God. It is not something available for a chosen few but available for ALL, through Christ.

#  Blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ: This means that God has blessed us with EVERY spiritual blessing. The word every blessing indicates that nothing is missing - all the blessings of God are available for the saints.

#  Every Spiritual blessing - This implies that every blessing is available in spiritual currency and has to be received through the spirit of a man before they can manifest in the natural realm. This is why every promise has to be conceived in the human spirit, for it to manifest in the natural realm. This is why Paul said, “For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Romans 10:10.

Paul wanted every saint to understand that everything has to be believed in the heart, and confessed with the mouth. Thus, every natural status of a man is a reflection of his spiritual ability to conceive in the spiritual realm, where every blessing is located.

As children of God we are not striving to be blessed we only need to realize that it is already available. The blessings are always available in the heavenly places. Blessings are like money in your bank; though they are yours, you still need to go and withdraw them. God has already blessed you - it is your responsibility to appropriate the blessings.

NOTE:

Heavenly places in Christ - This means that all blessings are available in Christ.  None of God’s blessings can be available through any other way, other than in Christ. All the BLESSINGS that God has are all loaded in Christ. It is only in Christ that any individual can appropriate God’s blessings.

This means that God’s blessings are for the redeemed.  There is no blessing minus (without) the custodian, who is Christ.

• So your assignment is not to pursue the BLESSINGS but the BLESSOR - who is Christ!

Redeemption: Gateway To Our Blessings

Galatians 3:13-14

Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree” That the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. 

Paul made it clear that it is only through redemption that the curse of the law was broken over our lives. According to Paul, there are two lives:

• Blessed life
• Cursed life

What is the blessing of Abraham?

Genesis 12:2-2

I will make you a great nation;
I will bless you
and make your name great;
And you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;
and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

#  The blessing is a state of BEING

#  I will bless those who bless you - this means that when we are blessed it bounces back to those who bless us; likewise those who curse us receive back the curse. Those who the Lord has blessed cannot be cursed by anybody (Numbers 23:19-23). 

What blessings did Abraham enjoy?

Genesis 13:2

Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold.

#  Contrary to tradition teaching that godliness is synonymous with poverty and struggle, Abram was very rich with livestock, in silver, and in gold. 

#  To walk in the blessing of Abraham is to follow after his footsteps.

#  Abraham was a very rich man – this is what Christ paid for you, through redemption. 

How do we access God’s blessings?

Many individuals think they can get the blessings without following the instructions of God. Blessings 

are laid on a platform of following divine principles and instructions:

A. Obedience

Genesis 22:17-18

Blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies.  In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice. 

Abraham was blessed only after he obeyed divine instructions. Your blessings are tied to your obedience. Even today, every blessing is accessed through the platform of obedience. The blessing will help you possess the gate of the enemies and make you a possessor.

Blessed life is a choice

Deuteronomy 11:26-27

Behold, I set before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you today;

• A blessing is not anything God impose on any one; it is a choice people make, to receive. It is only by choosing to obey the commandments of the Lord (the word) that we receive the blessing.

Deuteronomy 28:2

And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the LORD your God

God promised that we will never pursue the blessings if obey Him. In today’s generation people are daily running after the blessings.  It is the blessings, which will come upon us and overtake us. Coming upon mean followed by. Overtake mean to go past. Therefore God want us to understand that His blessings will follow us and go past us. Our life will be marked by blessings, as they will go before us everywhere.

The fruits of obedience

Deuteronomy 7:12-14

“Then it shall come to pass, because you listen to these judgments, and keep and do them, that the LORD your God will keep with you the covenant and the mercy which He swore to your fathers. And He will love you and bless you and multiply you; He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your land, your grain and your new wine and your oil, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flock, in the land of which He swore to your fathers to give you. You shall be blessed above all peoples; there shall not be a male or female barren among you or among your livestock. And the LORD will take away from you all sickness, and will afflict you with none of the terrible diseases of Egypt which you have known, but will lay them on all those who hate you.

Summary of the fruits of obedience:

#  God’s love

#  Multiplication

#  Blessing on the fruit of the land

#  Increase of your cattle

#  Blessed above all people - no comparison

#  No barrenness - this means that any barrenness either in the fruit of the womb, financially, spiritually etc. is a result of a curse.

#  Taking way all sickness

#  No affliction of Egypt

#  All your sickness and affliction automatically laid on all your haters.


B. Serving God

Exodus 23:25

So you shall serve the LORD your God, and He will bless your bread and your water. And I will take sickness away from the midst of you.

Moses said to the Israelites that by serving God He will bless their bread and water.  This meant total supply. By blessing the bread and water it means that God will prosper and multiply the works of their hands. The blessing of serving comes with guaranteed health.

C. Tithing

Malachi 3:10-12

Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this,” Says the LORD of hosts, “ If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, so that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,” Says the LORD of hosts;   ¹² And all nations will call you blessed,  For you will be a delightful land,”  Says the LORD of hosts. 

Summary:

#  It is only in the principle of tithing that God has promised to pour a blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it. This is a status of more than enough, with overflowing blessings

#  Rebuke the devour on our behalf

#  No failure in the fruit of the field - guaranteed fruitfulness

#  All nations will call you blessed - this means that the blessing is a state of being.

#  You will be a delightful land – delightful means very pleasing, giving great enjoyment and pleasure, especially by being pleasant, good to look at, or amusing. That is who we will become through the blessing of tithing.

The blessing is the highway to all riches.

Proverbs 10:22

The blessing of the Lord makes one rich,
and He adds no sorrow with it.

Many people pursue the wrong things when going after riches. It is the blessing of the Lord that makes one rich.

From today make a decision to pursue the Lord, who is our blessor!

Amen. 



~ Apostle Dr. David Karanja. 


Apostle Dr. David Karanja is the visionary of Africa Transformation Mission, a ministry under Christ Harvesters Ministries.

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