During this Pentecost season Pastor Bill has been teaching us about the coming and work of the Holy Spirit among us and in us. He challenged us two weeks ago with Living by the Spirit who gives us our identity and reminds us that our bodies are the Temple of the Holy Spirit. Last week he shared about the wonderful gifts of the Spirit. And in Acts 1:8, Jesus’ last words before ascending into Heaven was both a promise and a blessing:”But ye shall power after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”

So today, I believe The Spirit will enlarge our opportunities to witness if we can be open to blessing people around us. I’m calling this being a “Blessing” Activists! What do blessings do, you ask? Speaking a blessing on someone funnels God’s grace and love immediately into their lives! “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, be fruitful, and multiply , and replenish the earth…”(Genesis 1:27-28 KJV). Created–then Blessed!

Twelve chapters later, God calls Abraham to leave his parents home and set out on an unknown journey. He probably had similar apprehension as we did when we first left our homes, too. But how did God prepare Abraham to do it? By blessing him, verses 2-3: “And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee; and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.”

To bless or blessings is mentioned around 700 times in the Bible; Heaven mentioned around 270 times! Some examples from Genesis is chapter 14 when the priest Melchizedek said to Abram, “Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth”. We find Issac-old nearly blind, blessing Jacob instead of Esau in chapter 27. Listen to Esau when he realized that his younger brother had gotten the blessing, v.34 “…he cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry, and said unto his father, Bless me even me also, O my father”. Now, on to chapter 48 when Jacob now called Israel, is old and nearly blind himself, and laying his hands on their heads,
v. 15 “and he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day, The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow unto a multitude in the midst of the earth.”

And once spoken, the Hebrews believed that the speaker could not retract it. Once spoken, it has a life of its own! Words have power and influence. Couldn’t be an Indian Giver!

Back in Proverbs 18:21 Soloman wrote, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.”

The Apostle James (3:9-10 KJV) wrote “Therefore bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing, My brethren, these things ought not so to be.”

We find basically four types of blessings: the first like that to Abraham–blessing from God to people promising His favor. Then, there is the blessing spoken by people to God, like David is Psalm 103:2, “Bless the Lord oh my soul, and forget not His benefits.” The third type is the blessing from God or people over things, like Jesus blessings the loaves and fishes (Matthew 1:19-21); but today, I want to focus on the fourth type of blessing where a person blesses another person, often in the name of God, who is he source of all blessing Genesis 27:27-28.

Get it?
God blessesPeople.
People Bless God.
God and people bless things.
People bless people!

You might ask, why should I go around blessing people? I’m glad you asked! Because around us people are lonely, anxious, perhaps confused, maybe depressed or hurting, fearful of national or world events, family or financial concerns–the list is long and they need someone to speak a blessing over them to bring Gods’ favor and power to work in their lives. And we can do better than just saying “God bless you” after they sneeze! Just as Abraham was called to be a blessing; as His witnesses we are delegated the role of conveying His love and grace to others and a blessing can do this by our spoken words!

Yes, there is power in the spoken word, and speaking a blessing over someone gives the Holy Spirit an opportunity to change that person as well as you being blessed too! For years, our old MYF blessing was Numbers 6:24-26. Listen carefully how it could touch someone’s life: “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his Face shine upon you and be gracious unto you. The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.”

Now, when the Spirit connects you with that person, personalize God’s blessing by putting their name in the blessing. Like this, The Lord bless you, _Rachel , and keep you. He Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you; The Lord lift us His countenance upon you, and give you peace.” Certainly, this act of blessing would be done sincerely and warranted.

Solomon said speaking such “a word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver” (Proverbs 25:11 KJV). The Message puts it this way: “The right word at the right time is like a custom-made piece of jewelry.”

How about Blessing OPK’s? No, not just other preacher’s kids, who need them, too! But other people’s kids! Haven’t you heard that saying that we may be the only Bible some people ever read? Dare we pass up an opportunity to bless OPK’s? Jesus’ example in Mark 10:16 when “Jesus took the children in his arms, placed His hand on their head and blessed them” –this was probably typical of Jesus. He was probably often surrounded by children because they felt comfortable with Him and they knew they would get a blessing!

So, where do we start? It’s never too late to begin being a Blesser! Maybe, if you are a little timid, bless a new born baby cause they can’t speak back! And bless the Mommy and Daddy while you’re doing it. King David’s life is ever before us; but God touched him and more than 70 blessings are listed in Psalms! And in Acts 13:22, God said David was “a man after mine own heart”! Don’t worry about doing it right; the Holy Spirit will guide you in the opportunities He opens for you. Use one from Scripture or make up your own.

Don’t be afraid to practice! When Doctors start in business they open a medical “practice”. Lawyers open a legal “practice”. We young preachers “practiced on you”–we just didn’t tell you! So start today. It carries with it rich rewards that begin to accrue immediately to all involved. Paul wrote that “The Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow…” I Corinthians 3:5-8

I want to close by reading I Peter 3:8-12 from the Message: “Summing up: Be agreeable, be sympathetic, be loving, be compassionate, be humble. That goes for all of you, no exceptions. No retaliation. No sharp-tongue sarcasm. Instead bless–that’s your job, to bless. You’ll be a blessing and also get a blessing.
Whoever wants to embrace life,
and see the day fill up with good, Here’s what you do:
say nothing evil or hurtful; Snub evil and cultivate good;
run after peace for all you’re worth.
God looks on all this with approval,
listening and responding well to what He’s asked;
But He turns his back
on those who do evil things.”