SPEAKER_00 0:00

So this past month, we've been in a series talking about God's kingdom. We've been talking about the kingdom of God. And last week, Pastor Sean preached an incredible message. And if you have some time, I would highly encourage you and recommend that you go back and you listen to that message because that message sets us up where we are today. So last week we talked about kingdom priority. We talked about what it is that you prioritize. Jesus says this in Matthew 6, 33, he says, to seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. You see, we also talked about the fact that whatever rules your heart directs your life. What's first in your heart will dictate your life. We also touched on the idea that one man can only serve one king. Us as humans, as mankind, we can't have two masters. It says in the Bible. It says that one man cannot serve two masters. And so we talked about the fact that the kingdom of God simply cannot be a priority among many, but rather the priority that dictates everything else for us. And so that leads us to where we are today. But my question for us today is what actually happens when you and I put God first? What happens when I stop running after everything that this world tells me that I need? What happens when I lay down my own desires and my wants and my needs and I put God first? You see, Jesus tells us in that scripture that all these things will be given to you as well. In other words, think of it like this: the king that we serve cares about his people. The king that is over our kingdom cares about us. God cares for you today. Now, that does not mean for us that we're not gonna have a life without difficulty. It doesn't mean that we're not gonna suffer. It doesn't mean that we're gonna just get everything that we want all at once. But it means this: that a life inside of God's kingdom brings about his blessing. If you want a blessed life, raise your hand today in the house if you want a blessed life. You're saying, I want God to bless me. Amen. You do that by living in his kingdom. You see, a kingdom life and a blessed life go hand in hand. You can't have God's blessing without being in God's kingdom. And when you're in God's kingdom, you receive his blessing. And for us today, I want us to understand that biblical blessing is so much bigger than just getting what we want, or what I think Landon needs, or what I think we all need. No. Biblical blessing is this living under the rule of the king, where we experience his protection, his provision, and his purpose. And then what he blesses us with begins to flow through our lives and into the lives of others. That is biblical blessing. Last week we talked about seeking first the kingdom. And this week we're talking about when the king rules my life. When God rules my life, his blessing flows through my life. When you and I submit our lives to the King, we begin to experience the life of his kingdom. You see, that's why Jesus teaches us to pray this. He teaches us to pray, Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. You see, we're simply not just sitting back and waiting for heaven to come to us, but rather we're asking God to bring heaven down to the realities of where we live every day. In here as in heaven, the workplace, the schools, our communities, our house, wherever we might go, on earth as it is in heaven, and this weekend especially, our schools, here in our schools, as it is in heaven, here in our colleges, as it is in heaven. For students today, teachers, administrators, coaches, faculty, and school employees, hear me today. One of the primary places that God has positioned you is the school. And I know that for a lot of us, we'll be carrying lots of things into the school year. Students, my young adults over here going to college, YTH, I love you guys, good to see you guys. My YTH family, you guys will be carrying so much into this school year. Expectation, lesson plans, textbooks, lunches, teachers, you'll be carrying coffee, lessons plans, seating charts, detention slips, more coffee, some more coffee for my CCS family, a little more coffee, right? We're gonna be caffeined up for this school year. But hear me today. Regardless of what you bring into this school year, if you are a member of God's kingdom, you are bringing about God's blessing. God is sending you to school. God is sending you to work with his blessing. And here's the beautiful thing about the God that we serve. The God that we serve never, hear me, never sends you or I empty-handed. We serve a God that is a God on the move. He sends us. We're here to fulfill God's mission. We are outworking his mission, but he will never send you somewhere empty-handed. And that's why he sends you with his blessing. And you see, I want us to understand today that God doesn't merely bless you where you are. God is not just blessing you right now inside this church, but God is blessing you also for where you're going. God is blessing you where you are and where you're going. And we're going to talk about today that God's blessing was actually his plan from the very beginning. That leads me to my first point, which is this right here. That blessing has always been in the heart of God. Blessing is a part of God's nature, it's who he is. Listen to this. We're going to be talking about Abraham later today in the covenant between God and Abraham. But I want us to understand that that is not the beginning of blessing. But we see blessing in creation. Check this out. Genesis 1 27 says this. So God created mankind in his own image. In the image of God, he created them, male and female, he created them. And then look at this. Genesis 1.28. God blessed them. God blessed them and said to them, Be fruitful and increase in number, fill the earth and subdue it. But today I want you to notice that order. Notice how first God creates. Secondly, God blesses. Third, God sends or gives purpose. He creates, he blesses, he gives purpose. You see, I want us to understand today that before sin came into the world, we had God's blessing. Before the curse happened, there was God's blessing. Blessing has always been in the heart of God towards his creation. You see, God desires to bless his people. God wants to bless you. He desires to bless you. He wants to bless your children, your families, your communities, our schools. He wants to bless the generations. But we have to understand what biblical blessing actually means. Because God's blessing isn't, like I said earlier, everything going my way or nothing bad ever happening to me. No. It's not having more stuff than everybody else, but it's this the presence and the favor of God being upon my life so that the purposes of God can be accomplished through my life. And that becomes important for us today when we get to the topic of Abraham. My second point is this the covenant of blessing, the blessing that we see, the promises that God makes to Abraham, this conversation between Abraham and God will be in Genesis 12, 1 through 3. And it says this says, The Lord had said to Abram, Go from your country, your people, and your father's household to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will what? I will bless you. I will make your name great, and you will be a what a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you, I will curse, and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you. See, this conversation for us today is one of the great turning points in Scripture. We see that God establishes a covenant with Abraham, and right in the middle of that conversation is a huge promise. God says, I will bless you. But he doesn't stop there. He says, and you will be a blessing. Don't miss the difference today. If God stopped at Abraham, I will bless you. And then the scripture just kept going on. We could sit here today and talk about the Bible and how it's just all about me and what I want and what I need and what I desire, but no. And hear me today. God cares about you. God cares about your desires. He cares about your plans. He cares about your needs in the house today. But God blesses you so that you can be a blessing. I want us to understand today that God's blessing has a destination. God's blessing has a destination. You see, God wasn't simply creating a blessed man. He wasn't just blessing Abraham. Yes, he did bless Abraham, but he was also creating a blessed people through whom he could bless nations. It says that all peoples on earth will be blessed through you. That's the missiode. For us today, that is the mission of God. And ultimately, this promise points us back to Jesus. We see this in Galatians 3.14, it says that he redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus. You see, Jesus is at the center of the kingdom blessing. Every blessing that we ever have is tied back to Jesus. And what Christ has done for us has allowed you and I back into relationship with the Father and into the covenant purposes of God. You see, the blessing that was promised through Abraham ultimately comes to the nations through Christ Jesus. And through Christ, we, you and I, become a part of God's mission in the world. Which leads me to this blessed people become a blessing. Blessed people become a blessing. If you have been blessed by God, which let me tell you, if you got clothes on your back, food in your belly, you went to bed last night, you have water, you woke up, you came here to church, you have been blessed by God, therefore you should be a blessing to others. Blessed people become a blessing. Here's a kingdom principle for us today. We are not blessed just to consume, but we are blessed by God to contribute. We are not blessed simply to consume, but we are blessed to contribute. I want you to think of two different things today when it comes to God's blessing in our lives. On one hand, we have a reservoir, we have a storage container, something that holds water, a reservoir of water. Its whole job, its sole purpose is just to contain what's in it. That's a reservoir. And then we have a river. The whole purpose of a river is to take whatever it has, take whatever it's been given, the water that it has, to benefit from it. Right? We see that rivers have plants, have life, have lots of water, have fish, have animals, but the water keeps going. The water doesn't stop where it's at, it benefits from that water, and then it keeps pushing it down. And that is the same thing that God calls us to do with his blessing. Not to hold it back. It's not about landing how much blessing could you hold, which I think, you know, I could probably hold a lot, but that's not the point. It's not to sit here and just hold back, but it's about to release. It's about to keep the blessing moving forward. Hear me today. God pours something into you because he wants to move something through you. God pours into you so it will move through you. Some of us today have been asking God to pour more into our lives. God, give me more. I don't have enough. Help me. When the question should be, what am I doing with what God has already given me? Because you see, kingdom blessing, y'all, is not about accumulation, it's about distribution. And we'll get more into this later, but I want to just give some practical examples of God's blessing in our lives. We have hope. How many of you have hope today? Raise your hand if you got some hope in the house today. What about this? Mercy, joy, generosity, forgiveness, love. Those are just a few. But hear me today. If God has given you hope, which He has, hope ought to leak out of you guys. If God has given you joy, who's got the joy of the Lord in the house this morning? Who is just thankful to be in God's house? We can sing, we can dance, we love that worship. We have God's joy all within us. You should share that joy. Don't hold that joy to yourself. That joy was for you, but it's not just for you. It's for other people. If God has shown you mercy, if he's been generous to you, how many of y'all think God has been generous to us today? We serve a good and a faithful and a generous God. Amen, amen, amen. If God has been generous to you, you should be generous to others. How about this one? If God has forgiven you. I don't even have to talk. If God has forgiven you, we should forgive others. And if God has loved you and does love you, He does, we should love others. You see, the evidence that I've been blessed by God is not simply what I have, but it's what I release. I can tell if someone's been blessed by God, not about what they have, but about what they give. It's not about what you have, it's about what flows through you. Listen to this, Matthew 5, 14 through 16. It says, You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on a stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. Hear me today, Calvary Church, wherever kingdom people go, wherever you and I go, kingdom influence should follow. Wherever you and I go, whether it's the marketplace, the school, the gym, the hospital, wherever it's at, the kingdom of God should follow us and be represented wherever we're at. So, students, hear me today. Your school needs you. YA, YTH, your colleges, your high schools, your junior highs, they need you. They need kingdom influence where you're going. Teachers, your classroom needs you. Your classroom needs a godly kingdom influence. For some kids that might not have that at home or might not see that a lot, what you do matters. You're not just teaching a class, but you're bringing the kingdom to your classroom. What you do matters, teachers. Coaches, your team needs you. Administrators, faculty, staff, your children need you. Parents, hear me today. Just because it's back to school weekend does not mean that you guys are any more less involved. And you guys know that. But parents, hear me today. Your kids need you. You cannot leave it up to the school, even up to the church, to create a godly environment for your kids. But that happens at the house. Here at Calvary Church, we love serving your kids. We believe that every child deserves to know God and His plan for their life. But we only get to talk to your kids for about an hour, hour and a half a week, which we love it. But you see your kids every day. Parents, during this school year, I challenge you and encourage you to bring about a kingdom influence at your house. Bring about a kingdom influence at the dinner table, in the bedroom, during bathtime, whenever they're getting ready in the car ride in the morning. Bring about, in the pickup line, bring about a kingdom influence. This year, we're praying for kingdom students to bring the blessing of heaven into the schools. Kingdom teachers to bring the character of Jesus into the class. Kingdom coaches and administrators to bring good godly values into the schools. What if this year you and I began to pray on earth as it is in heaven? In my college as it is in heaven, in the teacher's lounge as it is in heaven, in the lunchroom as it is in heaven, at the pickup and drop-off line as it is in heaven, at recess as it is in heaven, everywhere I go. God, let it be here as it is in heaven. And if we are blessed today, which as I mentioned earlier, we are. You have been blessed by God if you're hearing my voice. You should not be able to contain what God has done in your life. You should not be able to hold that blessing back to yourself. That blessing ought to be getting released through you into other people. Why? Because I, we are blessed to be a blessing. Calvary Church, I know that's a commonly used phrase, but don't miss what it means. We are blessed to be a blessing. And so this morning we've been talking about God's blessing, but what does God's blessing actually look like? And for today's conversation, there are three dimensions of God's blessing that I want us praying over our students and our educators this year. The first one being this God's blessing brings protection. God's blessing brings about protection. Listen to this, Psalm 121, 7 through 8. It says this. Protection physically, spiritually, emotionally, relationally. God, guard their hearts, give them wisdom and discernment, guard their relationships, guard their decisions, watch over their coming and their going. But I want us to understand something today. Students, teachers, faculty. Just because we're protected by God does not mean that we won't encounter difficulty. That's not what that means. But here's this check this out. Daniel was blessed in Babylon. Joseph was blessed by God in Egypt. Esther was blessed by God in Persia. You see, God's protection doesn't always just remove us from difficult environments. But hear me today, God's protection sustains us through every environment, good or bad. God is with us wherever we go. Look at this. John 16 33 says this in this world you will have trouble. But take heart. I have overcome the world. Heart, for I have overcome the world. I just want to encourage you today, students, teachers, young adults going to college. If you're worrying about fear or you're suffering from worry or depression or anxiety about the school year, I get it. But don't focus so much on what you're afraid of. But rather focus and remind yourself of who's with you in the fire. Remind you who your fourth man is. Remind you who the same guy that delivered the head of Goliath, the giant to the people of Israel, is the same guy that walks with you wherever you go, the classroom, the teacher's lounge, the hallway, the locker room. God is with you. Hear me today, students. You are never by yourself. No matter what the enemy tries to tell you, no matter what he tries to plant in your head, you are not alone. If you hear my voice, you have purpose. God loves you, He sees you, He cares for you, He's with you. When your back is against the wall, you're not alone. When you think there's no other option, there's always another option. And his name is Jesus. Why? Because God's blessing brings you protection. God's blessing brings about protection. Wherever I go, the king goes with me. Not just with me, but he goes before me. How about this? God's blessing is provision. God's blessing brings about provision. Luke 2.52 says, and Jesus grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and with man. Hear this today. Jesus grew up. He grew. He learned. He developed. He matured. You see, blessing, although it can be sometimes a miraculous moment, we know God is more than capable of anything. But sometimes blessing in our life is not a miraculous, instantaneous moment. Sometimes in our life, blessing is a pathway. Blessing is a pathway which God allows us to walk through. Students, you having the ability to go to school and learn is a blessing, it's a pathway. Teachers, the ability to teach and give godly influence in the classroom, that's a pathway. Sometimes the blessing isn't instantaneous, but rather it's an opportunity for growth that God gives us. So this year, we're praying that we grow in wisdom, give them curiosity, understanding, discipline, discernment, allow them to grow in their stature. God give them physical healing and strength, grow in favor with God, develop their spiritual lives. Hear me today, students. God knows your need before you even think of it. God knows what you need long before you thought about it. Listen to this. James 1:5 says, if any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, and it will be given to you. Students, hear me today. There's gonna be a moment in your life, this upcoming school year, you're gonna be faced with decisions you don't know what to do. And that's okay. You're not supposed to know everything. Ask God for wisdom. It just said it. If the Bible's true, which it is, it says that God grants wisdom to those who ask for it. Teachers, there's gonna be moments this year you don't know what to do. Ask God. Parents, there's gonna be a lot of moments where you guys don't know what to do. Your kids are growing up, they're going through different things, they have all these questions about life and school and other things. It's okay to not have the answer. But ask God for wisdom. See, you and I, we understand as kingdom followers, as believers, that our provision does not come from ourself, but it comes from the king. True kingdom provision comes from God, and we are simply just stewards. It says in the Bible, your heavenly father knows that you need, knows what you need. And kingdom provision for us is when we stop seeing ourselves as the source. Kingdom provision is when I stop leaning on land and to get everything done. If I do that, not a lot's gonna get done. And same with you guys. If we lean on ourselves, we're not gonna go very far. But if we lean on the provision of the one and true God, he will sustain us wherever he sends us. God's blessing brings provision. Lastly, this God's blessing brings about purpose. God's blessing brings purpose. And this might just be the most important part for us today. God told Abraham that I will bless you and you will be a blessing. You see, God's blessing always connects us back to God's mission. Students, teachers, faculty, wherever you go, you walk in purpose. Students, you have purpose. You have purpose right now, looking at me on this stage, sitting here in this room, you have a purpose. God has a plan and a purpose for your life. You don't have to wait till you turn 18 or go to the University of Illinois or Northwestern or wherever you're going to begin your purpose. God has a plan for you now. Teachers, God has a plan for you. Don't forget about that. I know you're teaching and you're in the grind of it. Don't forget about that. God has placed all of us to be a blessing to those around us. Students, you might be with someone that needs to hear the love of God, that needs to be encouraged. Teachers, you might have a fellow teacher that's just going through it at home with their wives or their husbands or their families. You don't know. Parents, you might have other parents in your circle that are just going through it. God has sent you to be a blessing. And I want us to understand that when God blesses you, He says this. He says, I have blessed you. Now go and be a blessing. And I want us to understand this. You can live on your mission right now. Right now, you can live on mission. And that brings me to a close with this last thought right here to tie this all together. Blessing from God requires alignment. In order to receive God's blessing, it requires alignment with God's plan for your life. We talked about the fact that a kingdom life is a blessed life. We talk about how blessing has always been in the heart of God. From the beginning, he blessed creation. Then he calls Abraham and says, This, I will bless you and you will be a blessing. And ultimately, the blessing of God comes to us through Jesus Christ. But we've learned today that biblical blessing is more just about what's in it for us or what I receive, but it's about his presence and his favor upon my life so that his purposes can be accomplished through my life. And his blessing brings us protection, brings us provision, and brings us purpose. And I want you guys to walk out of here today. If you didn't listen at all, you're just now listening, I want you to hear just this one thing. You are blessed. If you hear my voice today, do not forget about what God has done in your life, what he's doing in your life, what he's going to continue to do in your life. If you are sitting in this room today, you have been blessed by God. In Calvary Church, my challenge for us is this. We just talked about it. You have been blessed by God. Now go about and be a blessing to others.