THE GENERATIONAL BLESSINGS

Transcription

1 THE GENERATIONAL BLESSINGS 1

2 1. DEFINITION(S): A generation blessing is a blessing that is transferred from one generation to another. 2. TEXT: Genesis 12: TYPES OF BLESSINGS Inherent blessing: This is a blessing that has been acquired by virtue of inheriting the blessing which has previously been possessed or achieved by the forerunners An acquired blessing: This is a blessing that is achieved in the present by an individual for the future generation Seasonal blessing: This is a blessing that comes for a specific period of time and then vanishes away. 4. BIBLICAL CHARACTERS WHO UPHOLD THE GENERATIONAL BLESSINGS 4.1 Isaac Gen 26:12-13 Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the LORD blessed him. 13 The man became rich, and his wealth continued to grow until he became very wealthy. 4.2 Jacob Gen.28:10-15 Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran. 11 When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. 12 He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 There above it stood the LORD, and he said: "I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. 14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. 15 I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." 4.3 Israel as a Nation - Psa.105:37 (NKJV) He also brought them out with silver and gold, and there was none feeble among His tribes 2

3 Psa.37:25 I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. Blessings are Generational Genesis 18:17-19 NASB - "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, since Abraham will surely become a great and mighty nation, and in him all the nations of the earth will be blessed? For I have chosen him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice; in order that the Lord may bring upon Abraham what He has spoken about him." Reality Checks on Abraham For the blessing to come Abraham was to teach and train his children in the ways of the Lord. As the children learned to walk in God s ways, the Lord would bring the promise of blessing upon the next generation. The blessing of the Lord would grow, and have a powerful impact. The world has been influencing people to value their careers, status in society, and materialism, at the expense of their children. God, on the other hand, places a very high priority on children. Their upbringing is of crucial importance. Freedom from curses of many Generation Blessing nullifies curses of many Generation Prayer of Moses for tribe of Reuben Deuteronomy 33:6 Let Reuben live, and not die; and let not his men be few. Heb.2:14 - Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil. 2 Cor.5:17 - "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. Generational sin is broken when someone turns from sin, and receives Christ as Lord & Saviour Note - Israel is the natural seed of Abraham & the Christians/church are the spiritual seed. - If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham s descendant, heir according to promise. Gal 3:29 - If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. The Promise of Blessing is for ALL God promised the blessing to Abraham and his descendants. We also are entitled to these blessings:- Galatians 3:8-9; And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. 9So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: 14That 3

4 the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. 5. INTRODUCING JESUS AS A RICH MINISTER The Lord Jesus Christ has been portrayed by people as a poor person, whereas scriptures are very much plain that while on earth doing His Ministry, had been a rich Minister starting from His birth until His departure to heaven. 5.1 Significance of the Lord Jesus Christ as a rich Minister At His Birth When Jesus was born, he was laid in a manger because there was no room for them in the Inn, Luke 2:7. He was wrapped in swaddling cloths, Luke 2:7, 12. His birth was announced by the Angels, Luke 2:8-11. And the three wise Men were directed to get to the destination where the Lord Jesus was by the Star. Matthew 2:2,9 When the three wise Men arrived to the place where the Lord Jesus had been laid, they opened their treasures, they presented to him three kinds of gifts, and these where: gold, frankincense, and myrrh Matthew 2: GOD S DIVINE PROMISE FOR THE GENERATIONAL BLESSINGS 6.1 Isa.44:3 - "For I will pour out water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants." 6.2 Acts 2:17-18, 39 in the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. 18 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. 39 For the promise is for you and your children 6.3 Isa.61:9 - "Then their offspring will be known among the nations, and their descendants in the midst of the peoples. All who see them will recognize them because they are the offspring whom the Lord has blessed." 6.4 Psa.112:3 (MSG) - Hallelujah! Blessed man, blessed woman, who fear God, Who cherish and relish his commandments, their children robust on the earth, 4

5 and the homes of the upright how blessed! Their houses brim with wealth and a generosity that never runs dry. 6.5 Psa.115: The LORD hath been mindful of us: he will bless us; he will bless the house of Israel; he will bless the house of Aaron. He will bless them that fear the LORD, both small and great. The LORD shall increase you more and more, you and your children. 7. The Five Offerings of Leviticus 1-7 In these five offerings we have a most wonderful presentation in typical language of types and shadows of the Person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ, the true "Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). All these offerings taken together give us a full view of Christ and His great sacrificial work on the cross of Calvary. They are like so many mirrors arranged around the Lord and the cross so that each one reflects a special view of His Person and work. 1. The Burnt Offering Leviticus 1:1-5 Here we have the highest aspect of the work of Christ where He is seen offering Himself up entirely to God to do His will even unto death. The whole offering, except the skin of the animal, was burnt upon the altar and all went up to God as a sweet savour. It pictures Christ who gave Himself as "a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savour" (Eph. 5:2). Christ is not seen here as bearing our sins, but as accomplishing the Father's will, glorifying Him and vindicating the holiness and majesty of His throne. This theme is especially prominent in John's Gospel and in Psalm The Meal Offering This offering typifies Christ as the perfect and sinless Man and presents to us His wonderful Person and His spotless life which was ever an offering of a sweet savour unto God. There was no shedding of blood in this offering so it speaks of the perfections of Christ's Person and life rather than of His death. The fine flour pictures His sinless humanity with its evenness of moral 5

6 qualities, the oil pictures the grace and power of the Holy Spirit which characterized His life, while the frankincense is emblematic of the sweetness and fragrance of His Person and life. 3. The Peace Offering This was also an offering of a sweet savour to God. The blood, the fat and the kidneys of the offering were put upon the altar as "the food of the offering made by fire unto the Lord" (Lev. 3:11). This was God's part. Then the breast was given to Aaron and his sons and the right shoulder to the offering priest. This was man's part. Thus God and man both fed on the same offering which speaks of communion and fellowship and typifies the communion which the believer in Christ enjoys with God on the ground of the work of Christ at the cross and His blood shed there for our sins. We are at peace with God through the work of the cross and can feed upon Christ in fellowship with the Father. Luke's Gospel and Psalm 85 especially present this theme. 4. The Sin Offering We come now to the non-sweet savour offerings. The special feature of this offering is in the whole bullock being burnt upon the ground outside the camp of Israel after the blood and fat were put upon the altar for God. This offering was for sin and pictures to us Christ who was made sin for us (2 Cor. 5:21) and endured the judgment and wrath of God against sin in our stead as our substitute. The holiness of God and the awfulness of sin are brought out in the bullock being entirely burnt up outside the camp. It pictures Christ, forsaken of God, as our Sin-bearer as given in Psalm 22 and Mark's Gospel. 5. The Trespass Offering Here sin is looked at as a trespass against the government of God. Amends had to be made for the wrong done and the fifth part added to it. Atonement was made by the blood of the offering, and the trespasser was forgiven. This offering presents Christ who died for our sins and trespasses on the cross restoring that which He took not away (Ps. 69:4). He has not only answered to God for our sins and paid our debt by His shed blood, but has added the fifth part, as it were, bringing more glory to God and more blessings to man than were had before sin was committed. This is the first view the sinner gets of the Cross of Christ. Psalm 69 and Matthew's Gospel present this aspect of the offering of Christ. 6