Austin Gardner | 5 Biblical Ways to Speak Life Over Your World

0:00Welcome to followed by mercy with Austin Gardner. This is where we talk about God's grace and mercy that meets us and follows us even in our lowest moments and lifts us to hope again. No matter what's been broken, here's love still heals. So let's move from pain to praise together because surely goodness and mercy does follow me and pursue me all the days of my life. There are five biblical forms of blessing. So I just, you know, we've been talking about blessings and I want you to work through how blessings work and the Bible with me, if you would. When we read the Bible carefully, we notice something fascinating. Blessing does not appear in only one form. God has worked it out and spent it through the Bible and showed us what it's like. There are several different types of blessings and there's blessing language. It is true that in all forms, God is communicating a life and favor to His people.

1:00I think it's wonderful. I think it's just not something I was used to hearing. I didn't. I don't know. It was always more like what to not be doing or what I ought to be doing. In fact, it is we had, you know, we had sins and we did wrong, committed sins, and there was even a word for sins that we didn't commit. You know, but we didn't do the right thing. I'll come up with that in just a minute. That's 71 years of age. It's just hit me pretty hard right there, trying to consider what that word was. And you're probably already thinking of it because you're smart and young and you're still listening. But let's go through the types of blessings right quick. There's the calling on God to bless someone in the Bible. That's the most recognized form of blessing. It's the one that I'd love. It is the one that we found in number 624. The Lord bless thee. Now, I do need to remind you that it was God who told his people. I want that prayed. I want that said. It was God who was making it clear.

2:01I want my people to be blessed. And I want you to communicate not your blessing, but my blessing. And that word, blessing there means speaking favor. It means invoking divine goodness. And it originated with God. It was never just a polite phrase. It's not just something that you say. It's not how you're doing. I'm fine. How about you? It wasn't at all. It was a genuine heartfelt from God, believing that God heard it. It was a calling from heaven. And calling on heaven's favor into someone else's life. And Jewish homes today, parents still bless their children on Friday, even. It's just before Sabbath. The father of places hands on his child and speak priestly blessings. For thousands of years, families have continued this biblical tradition. It's not very common among us Gentiles, but the Jews still do it. So it is a prayer spoken out loud over someone else's life.

3:05And what I love about number six is it was commanded by God to the priests. You pray that prayer. I'm going to bless them. Just go ahead and pray the prayer. And then there's another kind of blessing where it's a declarative. It's where God says these are the people who are blessed. Like in Psalm 11, which we've already seen. He said, blessed is the man that walks on the couch of the ungodly. You're not asking for God's blessing there, but he's just telling you that this is the kind of life that that man leads it. He's a happy life. It's a good life. It's talking about deeply happy flourishing. Under God's blessing. It's a life of God's favor, God working in their life. And so it's described right there in that Psalm as a tree planted by the rivers of water. It's roots near life giving water. We are rooted in the love of Christ. We are rooted in God. And God made us for Himself. And our hearts are restless, until they find rest in Him. That was stated by St. Augustine or Augustine.

4:08As I was calling. But he's our brother and Christ, if he trusted Christ. And then there's covenant blessings in the Bible. God promises through covenant relationships. Know my blog on wosigarder.com. I have a whole series. You should really go. I think it's seven articles. I bet it's 10,000 words. And it's going to be coming out in a free ebook that you can download. But you should understand the covenants a little more. I didn't understand covenants. In Deuteronomy chapter 28 verse two, it says, All these blessings shall come on thee and overtake thee if thou shalt harken into the voice of the Lord. So the blessings were related to our relationship with our father and our obedience. And now covenant. We don't really know what a covenant is in our day and time. We are very familiar with contracts. We just don't do much with covenants. The closest maybe is a marriage covenant where we say, I take you for good or bad in our today's society. You did you off. My wife and I have been married 52 years. But today marriage covenant isn't kept very much.

5:10But those promises then shape the relationship. Imagine what Betty has gone through. She took that promise. And she's loved me. And now I got all this can't try. I take all this medicine. And she's doing all that to help me. And God's blessings over us. Don't ebb and flow. He just continues on loving us. They are rich. They are sure. They are beyond measure. That's what God's doing for us. Then there were kingdom blessings. When Jesus began his ministry. He started out by saying blessed are. Blessed are. Blessed are. Blessed are. And what we call the be attitudes. And it's about being spiritually. Feel fulfilled. Favored by God. Living in divine joy. Jesus showed us that true happiness. True blessing comes through humility and righteousness and mercy. Not what we work to get. It's what that produces in us. The world says blessed are the powerful. And Jesus said blessed are the humble. The kingdom of God is not something that comes later. It's something already among us.

6:11That's what Dietrich Bonhoeffer said. So as we are in our churches and in your family. I just want to challenge you to consider. Let's be speaking words of blessing. And there's a there's a power of life and death in our tongue. So bless God's people. Bless your children. Don't bless them. According to what they've done. Bless them. According to who you are. That's what God has done in our lives. The second Corinthians 13, 14. The Bible said the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God. And the communion of the Holy Ghost. Be with you all. Amen. Those blessings come at the end of the letters. And they come in gatherings. And they come in prayers. And you're sending out God's people strengthened by God's presence. I don't know that we're doing it today. I want to challenge you to think about it. For 2000 years, Christian services ended with a benediction. We have a close in prayer nowadays. But the benediction was God's blessing over the people. We're preaching Jesus.

7:12We're preaching him to them. They can know how to be saved. They can go out and enjoy life. We are to remind people that Jesus is going with them wherever they go. I just want you to take it to heart right here just a moment. That we live in the day of blessing. God is a blessing God. And so I want to challenge you to consider that and bring that to play. God bless you wherever you are. Whatever you do. And God loves you. And he wants his blessings to clear it on you. And you let the world suck you into the stuff that God's not blessing. That's not true. So live in his blessings today. Know that the Holy Spirit of God has moved into you and taking a presence. You're never alone. He never forgets you. He always hears you. He loves you. He is there for you. Thank you very much. God bless you. Tell us. Somebody else about this podcast. If you would. Thanks for listening to followed by mercy with also garter. If today's message spoke to your heart, share it with someone who needs to know.

8:13God hasn't given up on them. Remember, your pain isn't the end of your story. In Jesus, it can become praise. Thank you.