Righteousness Brings Blessings
Salvation belongeth unto the LORD:
thy blessing is upon thy people. Selah…
King David
Our Heavenly Father brings us spiritually out
of the world, so that we can minister as prophets,
priests and kings from heaven. John the Baptist
said, "A man can receive nothing except
it be given him from heaven" (John 3:27).
We are blessed with the righteousness of Christ
so that we can speak blessings upon those around
us. Paul wrote, "And I am sure that, when
I come unto you, I shall come in the fullness
of the blessing of the gospel of Christ"
(Romans 15:29).
GOD OF ALL BLESSINGS
God blesses people by giving them life, riches,
fruitful-ness and plenty. "And God blessed
them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and
multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue
it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea,
and over the fowl of the air, and over every living
thing that moveth upon the earth" (Genesis
1:28).
After the flood, God confirmed His covenant for
all people with Noah (Genesis 9:1-17). Prior to
this, the Scriptures establish God's intent for
mankind: "…and the LORD said in his
heart, I will not again curse the ground any more
for man's sake… neither will I again smite
any more everything living, as I have done. While
the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and
cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day
and night shall not cease" (Genesis 8:21b,22).
The blessings of God come to all men; "…for
he [God, the Father] maketh his sun to rise on
the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on
the just and on the unjust" (Matthew
5:45b, emphasis added). Many unsaved indi-viduals
believe they are saved and righteous, due to the
temporal blessings of this world they have acquired.
King Solomon saw this and was perplexed: "There
is a vanity [futility] which is done upon the
earth; that there be just men, unto whom it happeneth
according to the work of the wicked; again, there
be wicked men, to whom it happeneth according
to the work of the righteous: I said that this
also is vanity" (Ecclesiastes 8:14, emphasis
added). Often, the difference between the saved
and unsaved is seen in this: Those saved by faith
in Jesus realize that all they have is from God,
and acknowledge His love with their prayers, alms
and tithes (Proverbs 3:5-10). Still, there are
special blessings, eternal blessings, promised
only to those who believe.
Our Creator appeared to Abraham, saying, "…I
will bless thee, and make thy name great; and
thou shalt be a blessing: I will bless them that
bless thee, and curse them that curseth thee:
and in thee shall all families of the earth be
blessed" (Genesis 12:2b,3).
His greatest blessing is turning believers from
evil. The blessings of Jesus came first to the
Jewish believers, then spread to everyone who
believed, as seen in the Acts of the Apostles.
Peter explained to the Jews, "Ye are the
children of the prophets, and of the covenant
with God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham,
And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the
earth be blessed. Unto you first God, having raised
up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning
away everyone of you from his iniquities"
(Acts 3:25,26). He has forgiven our sins, "Saying,
Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven,
and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man
to whom the Lord will not impute sin"
(Romans 4:7,8).
In Psalms, we often read of the blessings associated
with righteousness, "For thou, LORD, wilt
bless the righteous; with favour will thou compass
him as with a shield" (5:12). "He
shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and
righteousness from the God of his salvation"
(24:5). "…the righteous sheweth mercy,
and giveth. For such as be blessed of him shall
inherit the earth" (37:21b,22a). "I
have been young, and now am old; yet have I not
seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging
bread. He is ever merciful, and lendeth; and his
seed is blessed" (37:25,26). "Blessed
are they that keep judgment, and he that doeth
righteousness at all times" (106:3).
"Wealth and riches shall be in his house:
and his righteousness endureth for ever"
(112:3).
A blessing is an act of declaring favor and goodness
upon others. A Biblical blessing has the power
to bring about the reality of good words, from
the speaker to the recipient. The giving of a
blessing was common in the Old Testament. Jacob
called his sons together and blessed them in Genesis
49. Later, "…the LORD spake unto
Moses, saying, Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons,
saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children
of Israel, saying unto them, The LORD bless thee,
and keep thee: The LORD make his face shine upon
thee, and be gracious unto thee: The LORD lift
up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.
And they shall put my name upon the children of
Israel; and I will bless them" (Numbers
6:22-27). Here we see the prophet, priest and
king ministry of old, bringing forth God's blessings
of righteousness first upon His priesthood, and
then to His people.
ALL BLESSINGS ARE FROM JESUS CHRIST
Jesus came from our Heavenly Father to bless
us. He took our curse upon Himself to bless us
with the blessings of Abraham (Galatians 3:13,14).
He told the Pharisees, "…Before Abraham
was, I am" (John 8:58). God [Father, Son
and Holy Spirit] eternally existed before the
foundation of the world. Jesus Christ has interacted
with us since the creation as the source of all
blessings. The Apostle Paul wrote, "For
by him [Jesus] were all things created, that are
in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and
invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions,
or principalities, or powers: all things were
created by him, and for him: And he is before
all things, and by him all things consist. And
he is the head of the body, the church"
(Colossians 1:16-18a, emphasis added).
Jesus Christ is the "…high priest
for ever after the order of Melchisedec. For this
Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most
high God, who met Abraham… and blessed him…
first by interpretation King of righteousness,
and after that also King of Salem, which is, King
of peace; Without father, without mother, without
descent, having neither beginning of days nor
end of life; but made like unto the Son of God;
abideth a priest continually" (Hebrews
6:20b-7:3).
Jesus is our High Priest, speaking His blessings
upon us. In His Sermon on the Mount, He said,
"Blessed are they which do hunger and
thirst after righteousness: for they shall be
filled" (Matthew 5:6). "Blessed
are they which are persecuted for righteousness
sake: for their's is the kingdom of heaven"
(Matthew 5:10). "…seek ye first the
kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all
these things [blessings] shall be added unto you"
(Matthew 6:33, emphasis added).
In the heavenly throne room where we sit, from
God's perspective, it is all about the blessings
of Christ: "Saying with a loud voice,
Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power,
and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour,
and glory, and blessing. And every creature which
is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the
earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that
are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour,
and glory, and power be unto him that sitteth
upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and
ever" (Revelation 5:12,13). Again, "Saying,
Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving,
and honour, and power, and might, be unto our
God for ever and ever. Amen" (Revelation
7:12).
Our lives are laid prostrate before our King
of kings, and Lord of lords. He alone is worthy
to receive blessings, honor, glory and power.
In our hearts, we gather together around the throne
of God rejoicing in the blood of the Lamb. He
is our joy and thanksgiving for making us right
with the Lord God Almighty. We bless the Lord
before the throne, saying, "Thou art worthy,
O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power:
for thou hast created all things, and for thy
pleasure they are and were created" (Revelation
4:11). We worship without ceasing, blessing God
continually, solely because of Who He is! As prophets,
priests and kings, we overflow with the Spirit
to be a blessing to those around us.
THE CHURCH IS TO BLESS
Jesus Christ came from God with His Gospel [Good
News] to build a church [the called out ones].
In the Gospel of Matthew, He told the Apostles,
"…freely ye have received, freely
give" (10:8); "…upon this
rock I [Jesus] will build my church"
(18:18, emphasis added); "…I will
give unto thee the keys [authority] of the kingdom
of heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth
shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou
shalt loose on earth shalt be loosed in heaven"
(18:19, emphasis added). Then He commissioned
us to "Go ye therefore, and teach all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Teaching
them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded
you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto
the end of the world. Amen" (28:19,20).
He has sent us forth to manifest His name. In
His prayer as High Priest, He said to His Father,
"I have manifested thy name unto the men
which thou gavest me out of the world"
(John 17:6). The name of Jesus is the doorway
to the blessing of all the names of God. In the
Acts of the Apostles, He said, "But ye
shall receive power [ability] after that the Holy
Spirit is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses
unto me both in Jerusalem… and the uttermost
part of the earth" (1:8, emphasis added).
When we lay hands on the sick and pray in the
name of Jesus, it is as if Jesus is laying hands
on the sick to bring healing. While Peter and
John were walking into the temple, they met a
lame man asking for alms, and Peter said: "Silver
and gold have I none; but such as I have give
I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth
rise up and walk" (3:6). Later Peter
said to a paralytic, named Aeneas, "Jesus
Christ maketh thee whole: arise, and maketh thy
bed. And he arose immediately" (9:34).
In these cases, the name of Jesus was manifested
as "Jehovah Rapha," meaning, "the
LORD our Healer." However, throughout the
church age, His disciples have manifested His
righteousness [Tseed-Kay-Noo], sanctification
[M'kad-desh], peace [Shalom], presence [Shammah],
victory [Nissi], guidance [Raah], and provision
[Jireh]. Our vision is the redemptive revelation
of Jesus Christ. We bless by witnessing the redemptive
Names of God, through our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Apostle Paul took the church into the Gentile
world in the Name of Jesus Christ (Acts 10). He
wrote a letter back to the first church he established,
saying, "Grace be unto you, and peace
from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ"
(1 Thessalonians 1:1). Throughout his ministry,
he greeted and closed out his letters to the churches
with a blessing. In his letters, he taught us
about the redemptive Name of Jesus Christ; who
we are, what we have and what we can do as a result
of the power given in His Name. Paul says, "This
is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation,
that Christ Jesus came into the world to save
sinners; of whom I am chief" (1 Timothy
1:15).
Our prophetic voice brings forth blessings in
the Name of Jesus Christ. As the body of Christ,
we are commissioned with a royal priesthood, "…that
ye should shew forth the praises [blessings] of
him who hath called you out of darkness into his
marvelous light" (1 Peter 2:9, emphasis
added). The King of kings, YHVH [Yehshua/ The
Lord of Salvation/Jesus] brings forth His powerful
character of salvation. Our voices flow with the
blessings in agreement with His Name, which is
above every name. We are His vessels of silver
and gold bringing forth a ministry of honor in
these last days.
We meditate, pray and speak God's Word over our
lives. We speak blessings of salvation upon our
family and children, upon the household of faith
and upon those who do not yet know Christ. The
prophet Isaiah said, "So shall my word
be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall
not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish
that which I please, and it shall prosper in the
thing whereto I sent it. For ye shall go out with
joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains
and the hills shall break forth before you into
singing, and all the trees of the field shall
clap their hands" (Isaiah 55:11,12).
We are His trees of righteous-ness, rejoicing
because of such a great salvation. It is time
to break out of our shells. Let us clap our hands
and give the Lord God Almighty a standing ovation
in the Name of Jesus Christ.
WHO IS GOD?
God is our Provider, "Jehovah-Jireh."
This name means "The-LORD-Will-Provide,"
because of the provision of the ram [a male lamb]
in place of Isaac for Abraham's sacrifice (Genesis
22:14). Paul wrote, "But my God shall
supply all your need according to his riches in
glory in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:19).
God is the source of all blessings. He is the
power behind the prophetic voice of priestly blessings,
enabling us to minister, anointed by the power
of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus Christ is our Passover Lamb (Exodus 12),
slain to free us from the bondage of the flesh,
and the curse of sin and death, by His blood and
the Spirit of life. He took our cup [the curse]
of suffering and wrath upon Himself (Matthew 26:39),
and He gave us His cup of blessings, so we can
bless in His Name as priests. Paul said, "The
cup of blessings which we bless, is it not the
communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which
we break, is it not the communion of the body
of Christ?" (1 Corinthians 10:16). As
a devout Jew, Paul knew the cup of blessing was
the third cup of wine drunk during the Jewish
Passover Seder [dinner]. It was used by Paul to
describe the Lord's Supper as depicting the true
Passover Lamb slain for the sins of mankind.
Today, you have the privilege of communion with
God, a fellowship or partnership with the Father
and the Son. The Apostle John said it like this,
"That which we have seen and heard declare
we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship
with us: and truly our fellowship is with the
Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. And these
things write we unto you, that your joy may be
full. This then is the message which we have heard
of him, and declare unto you, that God is light,
and in him is no darkness at all… if we walk
in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship
one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ
cleanseth us from all sin" (1 John 1:3-5,7).
As we receive Him, we all sing together with
the psalmist, "The LORD is my light and
my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the
strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?"
(Psalm 27:1). The love of God has cast out all
fear. As believers, we have the blessed hope of
His soon appearing.
"Behold, what manner of love the Father
hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called
the sons of God: therefore, the world knoweth
us not, because it new him not" (1 John
3:1). You will know Him as He is when He comes!
Your lamp will be full of the Holy Spirit when
the cry is made, "Behold, the bridegroom
cometh; go ye out to meet him" (Matthew
25:6)!
Our prayer is that you will not be foolish, but
receive your bridegroom, before it is too late.
His prophetic voice is speaking to you, asking
if you will receive the priestly blessing, so
you can be anointed as a king in the kingdom of
God. This is God's plan, established before the
foundation of the world, "…who hath
blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly
places in Christ" (Ephesians 1:3b). Be
blessed-receive Him today!
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