1Kings 8:14-21 Excited to go to Church Part 3: The Blessing

SCENE 1: The.  (14-21)  – to confer or invoke divine favor upon, to speak words of goodness or kindness.

1.      The of the blessing. 

o   LORD God of Israel.

But Moses asked God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and that I should bring the Israelites out of Egypt? ” He answered, “I will certainly be with you, and this will be the sign to you that I am the one who sent you: when you bring the people out of Egypt, you will all worship God at this mountain.” Then Moses asked God, “If I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name? ’ what should I tell them? ” God replied to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you.” God also said to Moses, “Say this to the Israelites: The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is my name forever; this is how I am to be remembered in every generation. — Exodus 3:11-15 (CSB)

Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavens in Christ. — Ephesians 1:3 (CSB)

2.      The of the blessing.

o   Fulfillment of His promises.

God is not a man, that he might lie, or a son of man, that he might change his mind. Does he speak and not act, or promise and not fulfill?  — Numbers 23:19 (CSB)

As God is faithful, our message to you is not “Yes and no.” For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you ​— ​Silvanus, Timothy, and I ​— ​did not become “Yes and no.” On the contrary, in him it is always “Yes.” For every one of God’s promises is “Yes” in him. Therefore, through him we also say “Amen” to the glory of God.  — 2 Corinthians 1:18-20 (CSB)

The Lord does not delay his promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.  — 2 Peter 3:9 (CSB)

“Every promise of Scripture is a writing of God, which may be pleaded before Him with this reasonable request, ‘Do as Thou hast said.’ The Heavenly Father will not break His Word to His own child.  
― Charles H. Spurgeon

o   Learning to thrive in the self-sufficiency of God alone is learning to believe and trust His promises will be a reality. 

For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. Now if I live on in the flesh, this means fruitful work for me; and I don’t know which one I should choose.  I am torn between the two. I long to depart and be with Christ ​— ​which is far better ​— ​but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for your sake. Since I am persuaded of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, so that, because of my coming to you again, your boasting in Christ Jesus may abound. — Philippians 1:21-26 (CSB)

I heard, and I trembled within; my lips quivered at the sound. Rottenness entered my bones; I trembled where I stood. Now I must quietly wait for the day of distress to come against the people invading us. Though the fig tree does not bud and there is no fruit on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though the flocks disappear from the pen and there are no herds in the stalls, yet I will celebrate in the Lord; I will rejoice in the God of my salvation!  The Lord my Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like those of a deer and enables me to walk on mountain heights! — Habakkuk 3:16-19 (CSB)

o   What enabled Habakkuk to write this as the Babylonians surrounded the city?  How was Paul able to write, “to die is gain”?

o   For the Christian, our joy, peace, and our entire essence is void of our circumstances; but centered on our future, our hope, and our purpose anchored to the promises of God. 

3.      The of the blessing.

o   The significance and importance of, “the name of the LORD” is central in Biblical history.

o   The first occurrence is in Genesis 4:26.

A son was born to Seth also, and he named him Enosh. At that time people began to call on the name of the Lord.  — Genesis 4:26 (CSB)

o   The concept of a “name” coveys’ personhood and character.

o   When you hear the names, Jezebel, Judas Iscariot, Paul, Peter, John, not only a person comes to mind but also the character and behavior associated with them. 

o   God takes His very seriously. 

Whoever blasphemes the name of the Lord must be put to death; the whole community is to stone him. If he blasphemes the Name, he is to be put to death, whether the resident alien or the native. — Leviticus 24:16 (CSB)

The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, while the house of Israel lived in their land, they defiled it with their conduct and actions. Their behavior before me was like menstrual impurity. So I poured out my wrath on them because of the blood they had shed on the land, and because they had defiled it with their idols. I dispersed them among the nations, and they were scattered among the countries. I judged them according to their conduct and actions. When they came to the nations where they went, they profaned my holy name, because it was said about them, ‘These are the people of the Lord, yet they had to leave his land in exile.’ Then I had concern for my holy name, which the house of Israel profaned among the nations where they went. — Ezekiel 36:16-21 (CSB)

o   Calling upon the “name of the LORD” is central to . 

Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved, for there will be an escape for those on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, as the Lord promised, among the survivors the Lord calls. — Joel 2:32 (CSB)

This is the message of faith that we proclaim:  If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation.  For the Scripture says, Everyone who believes on him will not be put to shame, since there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, because the same Lord of all richly blesses all who call on him.  For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.  — Romans 10:8-13 (CSB)

o   In these last days we have been given a name. 

Then Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit and said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders: If we are being examined today about a good deed done to a disabled man, by what means he was healed, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified and whom God raised from the dead ​— ​by him this man is standing here before you healthy. This Jesus is the stone rejected by you builders, which has become the cornerstone. There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people by which we must be saved.” — Acts 4:8-12 (CSB)

EMERALD CITY:

1.      Just because we do not see God’s promises today, does not mean that they are not coming.  (Story of Jospeh)

The sons of Israel were among those who came to buy grain, for the famine was in the land of Canaan. Joseph was in charge of the country; he sold grain to all its people. His brothers came and bowed down before him with their faces to the ground. — Genesis 42:5-6 (CSB) 35 years

2.      What is our response to the blessings of God?  (Philippians 2)

3.      God has a new name waiting for us. 

“Let anyone who has ears to hear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name is inscribed that no one knows except the one who receives it. — Revelation 2:17 (CSB)