CPAC sermon 07-12-2008 “Heart Checkup”
Numbers 6:22-27; Eph 1:3-11
Last time : My parting words to you were to encourage you to meditate on 1 Peter 3:8-12….
· Pay back people with a blessing…
· The Curse principle versus the Blessing principle > I illustrated this by asking James what make of car he drives!...
· Curse people: insult leads to injury which stirs anger (consciously or unconsciously) resulting in a refusal to forgive which breeds resentment & bitterness or even hate which produces a curse on a person’s life where the curse does physical, emotional, social and/or spiritual harm.
Illustration: Angelina Jolie’s household help reported that she throws knives in the house, when she gets upset! … .. that’s a helpful metaphor for the nature and symbolism of a curse – it’s like throwing emotionally/spiritually damaging “daggers” into someone’s back – daggers of resentment, bitterness and hate cause serious wounds… the thrower of the daggers is not immune from the ill-effects either
Blessing pple: insult > injury > stirs anger > brings us to a decision – to forgive or not? Choosing to forgive, which an act of one’s will, releases a “supernatural love from God” that extends acceptance and love that result in blessings. The supernatural love acts as a healing balm or ointment for your wounded soul and also releases the blessing factor in the other person’s life.
The key is to forgive AND THEN to add your blessing > 1 Peter 3:9 says “pay them back with a blessing (not with injury)…”
Martin shared a testimony how he did that with a work colleague recently – anyone else like to share a little later…?
This morning I want to focus on
WHY we should bless others
HOW a blessing works
And then use just two words from 1 Peter 3:8 “be tenderhearted” to offer you a very practical application of getting yourself in the right space each and every day so that you can pay back people with a multitude of blessings.
My encouragement to you is to let your life be a life full of blessings for both you, and other people,
That life always begins with YOU doing the blessing – in so doing, God’s power is released/mobilised.
Firstly, WHY should you bless others?
Two reasons:
1 to convey God’s love to someone. Eg. a simple illustration of this is a parent’s blessing on their children.
2 to fulfil your calling – 1 Peter 3:9 “pay them back with a blessing. This is what God has called you to do, and He will bless YOU for it”.
Secondly, HOW does a blessing work?
Using Numbers 6:24-26 as a basis for our understanding – a blessing works like this:
A blessing does 4 things:
Firstly, a blessing imparts God’s protection – “May the Lord bless you and protect you”
Other versions may say “May the Lord keep you”.
“Keep you from all harm” the Psalmist says.
Secondly, a blessing releases God’s special favour upon a person’s life – “May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you”
Or, “make His face to shine upon you”, or, “lift up His countenance upon you”
You are not merely one of six and a half billion people in the world – God knows you and calls you by name (see Isaiah 45:3)
Thirdly, a blessing releases God’s power and peace upon a person’s life – “May the Lord show you His favour and give you His peace”
Luke 24 and John 20 give us a picture of the significance of God’s peace and power.
They go hand in hand.
In John 20:19–22 Jesus said, “Peace be with you”, and then in the next breath, literally, John tells us, “Jesus breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit”.
The significance and power of the Holy Spirit is restated in 1 Peter 3:18 which says “Christ suffered physical death but He was raised to life in the Spirit”.
The Holy Spirit has power over death itself.
So when you bless you release a supernatural peace and a power found only in the Holy Spirit.
Fourthly, a blessing embodies or manifests God’s presence.
Numbers 6 says that whenever Aaron & his sons bless the people of Israel IN MY NAME, then I MYSELF will bless the people.
Psalm 133 reinforces this picture of blessing where God says,
“Where my people are gathered in unity there I will command my blessing.”
Other translations say, “.I will command my presence”
When we bless someone we connect or unite ourselves to them in spirit.
So unity is a sign of God’s blessing which manifests God’s presence.
So in summary, HOW does a blessing work?
1 It imparts God’s protection
2 It releases God’s special favour
3 It releases God’s power and peace
4 It embodies or manifests God’s presence
Now using a scripture passage from Luke let’s link these concepts of blessing back to “being tenderhearted”.
So here’s a scriptural link between the heart and God’s blessing:
It’s Luke 2:78
“Because of God’s tender mercy, the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death and to guide us to the path of peace.”
Tender mercy is a heart condition.
It refers to the condition of one’s heart.
David cried out to God to give him a right spirit and create in him a new heart.
God implores us to love Him with all our mind, soul, strength and HEART.
Our heart is extremely significant in the overall scheme of things.
For a start it gives us physical life!
Eg. Mabel’s testimony last Sunday about prayer for a new heart – God gave her a new heart, literally, clear of the cholesterol problems she was having.
Having a regular physical heart check up is vital especially as the years pass by.
Sometimes we may think “I feel fine. No worries”… then for whatever reason we get a check up and the doctors discover a major blockage that could have been fatal if we had left it any longer.
It happens!
Same thing for our spiritual heart.
What if there was a procedure that could evaluate the condition of your spiritual heart, our heart for God, our heart for ministry?
You could be so in tune with your spiritual heart that when friends ask “How you doing?” you could say,
“Well my heart isn’t working quite right”… and explain what you mean – your spiritual heart… = this may present an opportunity to witness
Consider your well being by the condition of your spiritual heart.
How? Here are some clues:
A healthy heart feels emotion deeply and for the right reasons.
An unhealthy heart is numb.
We bless people out of the condition of our heart.
I haven’t got time to elaborate on these now, but rate yourself in these 5 areas to test the condition of your spiritual heart:
1 Your Emotions – have you cried lately? Or laughed deeply? A healthy heart is fully aware of deep emotion and you can name those emotions.
2 Your Moments – are you present for people, or preoccupied? Ask your spouse, children, friends if you’re “all there” when you’re with them, or are you at times 100 miles away? Building relationships depends on you “being there” with, and for the person, at every opportune moment.
3 Fun – do have fun in your life? And do you set aside regular time for active sports, reading, arts, crafts, etc. When was the last time you really had fun? Do you have a sense of humour? Can you laugh at yourself? Can you laugh with, not at, other people?
4 People – do you resent phone calls and people seeking you out? Or do you see them as opportunities for building relationship and for ministry? If you’re running for cover to avoid or dodge people, the condition of your heart may be numb.
5 Whispers – How long has it been since you heard the still, quiet whisper or small voice of God? Recall - Pete & I worked through the book of Hebrews recently considering how we hear the voice of God. One of the first signs of a hardening heart is a deafened ear to the quiet promptings and stirrings of God.
So in brief, that’s the test for the spiritual condition of your heart….
Remember, we bless people out of the condition of our heart.
Be a person that is always seeking to bless others… such behaviour has a boomerang effect….
Most importantly though, always remember to bless the Blessor, the Giver of our blessings!
Being blessed to be a blessing is a life we all seek.
Perhaps it’s best summed up in some of the words of a great hymn written by H. G. Spafford..... "When peace, like a river, attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea billows roll; Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say, It is well, it is well, with my soul."
Amen.
