The Essence of God's Kingdom

Chapter One

GOD BLESSES HIS PEOPLE

The essential nature of God is to bless His people.

Because of His attribute of love God has many edifying gifts He delights in giving mankind. God is generous, merciful, and kind. In Second Corinthians 12:9 God tells the apostle Paul that His grace is sufficient in all conditions of life and His strength is made perfect in weakness. No matter a person’s station in life, God has the ability to meet every need and release prosperity and blessing.

In Numbers 6:22-27, God gives us a principle to release His blessings on His People:

“Then the Lord said to Moses. Tell Aaron and his sons to bless the people of Israel with this special blessing: ‘May the Lord bless you and protect you. May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord show you His favor and give you His peace.’ Whenever Aaron and his sons bless the people in My Name, I Myself will bless them.”

This passage of scripture has been the topic for many books on the subject of God’s Blessing. It has been the closing prayer for services throughout history. It has been the topic of sermons by thousands of pastors and teachers along with seminars and courses given. This passage is known as the Fountain Head of God’s blessing for his people.

This promise is the foundation for receiving God’s Protection, God’s Approval, God’s Kindness, God’s Favor, and God’s Peace. It has been decreed from generation to generation.

In all the proclamation of this promise, the Body of Christ has not consistently practiced this truth. Many wonder why they are not blessed and not able to breakthrough to victory. The church today is not effectively overcoming the world and standing in leadership in this dark time of history. The key to releasing the blessing of God is in our hands, and we neglect to use it to faithfully unlock the door and walk through to new levels of blessing.

God said, “Whenever Aaron and his sons bless the people of Israel in My Name, I Myself, will bless them.”

Here is the thesis of this article. When God’s people bless each other in His Name, God will release His blessings on the BLESSERS and those around them. This is an eternal principle or attribute of the nature of God which came with the creation of man. It is God’s nature and will to bless His people, but we, the people of God, block the flow of this blessing by our attitude and words toward those God has placed in our lives.

This principle still works today not only in the church as a body but in marriage, family, society, government, and our personal lives.

Many marriages are failing because this precept is not practiced. Families lack God’s blessing because parents are not blessing their children. If there are words of condemnation, resentment, revenge, hatred, jealousy, etc. they will block the flow of the blessing of God. Words of blessing, commendation, affirmation, and love will release God’s blessing flow from heaven. Proverbs 18:21 says,

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue and those who love it will eat its fruit (blessings or curses)” (NKJV).

Blessings or curses come from the power of the tongue. Jesus said in Matthew 12:34,

“…For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (NKJV).

Kind words breed warmth of relationship, trust and confidence, but harsh words breed tension, separation, doubt, and mistrust. Let me ask a question, “When was the last time you spoke a blessing over your spouse, your children, your neighbor, your boss, or someone in the church or fellowship you attend? We can change the atmospheres around us and release God’s blessing by simply edifying those in our lives, and not condemning or criticizing them.

It is God’s will to bless His people; but we hold the key to releasing His blessing when we guard what we say to those around us.

James Chapter Three is dedicated to illustrating the power of the tongue. James 3:2 says that we all make many mistakes. If we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way. He gives illustrations of a horse that can be turned by a bit in its mouth and a big ship being turned by a small rudder. He continues to say that the tongue is a small thing but can make grand speeches. The tongue is like a tiny spark that can set a great forest on fire. People can tame all kinds of animals, but no one can tame the tongue. It is like a world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself. Sometimes it praises the Lord and Father and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. So blessings and curses come out of the same mouth. This is not right. James says that this is not a part of nature: a spring of water does not bubble out both, fresh and bitter water, nor a grapevine produce figs, etc. James 1; 26 says,

“If you claim to be religious (spiritual), but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and our religion (spirituality) is worthless.”

The church and God’s people are contaminated by the mixture of words that they speak, and they are damming up the blessing of God and stopping His flow. If we are born again, we are citizens of the Kingdom of God.

Through the church and our individual lives we are ambassadors of His Kingdom in this world. His Kingdom is a Kingdom of blessing. The Kingdom of Heaven is the governmental force for life and security on earth. Those who seek this Kingdom will be blessed and reap all the benefits of eternal salvation. Those who choose to walk in the Kingdom will be given the keys to its resources and many doors of blessing will be opened to them as they use the keys by faith and obedience. Then why do the people of God corrupt all this privilege by condemning and defiling those whom God has given them to enjoy in fellowship and intimate relationship such as our companion in marriage, our children, friends, neighbors, and those in the family of God in His house? Again James addresses this question in James 4: 11,

“Don’t speak evil against each other, dear brothers and sisters. If you criticize and judge each other, then you are criticizing and judging God’s law. But your job is to obey the law, not to judge whether it applies to you. God alone, who gave the law, is the judge. He alone has the power to save or to destroy (bless or curse) So what right do you have to judge your neighbor?” Farther on in James five verse nine he makes this statement, “Don’t grumble about each other, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. For look--the judge is standing at the door.”

God sees our action and responds according to what we say, decree, and do. God gives us the authority to bless in His Name.

According the text of this article, God will release His blessing on us and those we bless. Even when we do not understand or approve the actions of others, we are to bless them in the Name of the Lord. It is God who judges their actions. Jesus speaks to this and says we are to go as far as to bless those who curse us, do good to those who hate us, pray for those who spitefully use us and persecute us. He goes on to say we must do this in order to be sons (and daughters) of our Heavenly Fathers, and we are to make this effort so we can be perfect just as our Heavenly Father is perfect (Matthew 5: 43-48). This act does not save us, but it makes us like our Heavenly Father.