God has great respect for the words of blessing of a father over his children.
Therefore, today, I want to share on “THE FATHER’S BLESSING?” Our Text for today is taken from Genesis 27:22-29, 33-37.
First of all, what is the blessing? The blessing is the invisible power that rests on the recipient to give him the capacity to be successful, to be productive and to be prosperous in life.
Secondly, who is a father? There are two types of fathers: 1) Biological father, and 2) Spiritual father.
Who is your biological father? Your biological father is the one through whom God gave you life. Proverbs 23:22 says, “Listen to your father, who gave you life…” (NLT).
Who is a spiritual father? He is the one that led you to Christ or the one that takes care of your spiritual matters.
You can only have one spiritual father. Apostle Paul said that he has begotten Timothy in the faith (1 Tim. 1:2).
What does it mean to be blessed? To be blessed means to be empowered to succeed in life.
For instance, we can see that Esau valued the blessing of the father more than he valued his birthright. He said, “Jacob took my birthright. Now he has also taken my blessing” (Gen 27:36).
When it was time for birthright, Esau easily gave that over. But when it was time for the blessing, he did not want to let that go. The truth is that the blessing was meant to go with the birthright.
Esau did not know that when he trivialized his birthright, he also disqualified himself from getting the blessing.
Can you imagine that a grown-up man like Esau was weeping bitterly just because his father did not pronounce some words of blessing on him. This shows how important the father’s blessing is.
What then is the blessing of the father? A father's blessing is an empowerment to prosper/succeed in life.
Why is the father’s blessing so important? The child who receives the blessing of his father feels loved as he is, has confidence in himself, and can confront life with courage and audacity, can take risks and make decisions.
For instance, the prodigal son, left the house without the blessing of the father (Lk. 15:11-32). Any son that leaves the house without the blessing of the father, activates the spirit of lack and poverty in his life. Your father’s blessing will shape your future (Heb. 11:20-21, NLT).
How can a father bless his children? A godly father can bless his children (and wife) by the Words of blessing, spoken aloud to those he loves.
As a Father, God likes to bless His children because there is power in the blessing of a father. He has also transferred some of that power to fathers on earth. This means that when your earthly father blesses you, it is as though God has blessed you; it is irreversible.
The first thing God did when He created man (Adam and Eve) was to empower them to prosper and to have dominion.
In Genesis 1:26-28 God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea…28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.”
Psalm 1:1-3 gives us the secret of the blessed man. “Blessed (happy, fortunate, prosperous, enviable) the man who walks and lives not in the counsel of the wicked (ungodly)….” (Ps 1:1, AMP).
When you are blessed, you are happy. When you are blessed, you are fortunate. Things happen in your favour. When you are blessed, you are prosperous. When you are blessed, you are enviable. You become the envy of your enemies.
God has also transferred some of that power to fathers on earth. This means that when your earthly father blesses you, it is as though God has blessed you; it is irreversible.
A blessing is conferred on a person through pronouncement. So, when you carry the blessing, especially as a father, you have to learn to speak positive words over your children, wife, and congregation.
The blessing is transferable: For instance, 1) God blessed Abraham, 2) Abraham blessed Isaac, 3) Isaac blessed Jacob, 4) Jacob blessed Joseph.
The blesser is greater than the one being blessed. Hebrew 7:7 says, “And without question, the person who has the power to give a blessing is greater than the one who is blessed” (NLT).
Now Jacob had twelve sons but the most blessed of all of them was Judah who was neither the first, second or third.
Jacob pronounced a blessing on Judah saying, “Judah, your brothers shall praise you; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father's sons shall bow down before you” (Gen. 49:8).
Judah’s blessing even included a line saying his brothers (including the ones senior to him) would bow and sing his praises.
The genealogy of Jesus shows one striking detail, that Jesus Christ is a descendant of the line of Judah.
Jacob also pronounced a blessing on Joseph saying, “May the blessings of your father surpass the blessings of the ancient mountains, reaching to the heights of the eternal hills. May these blessings rest on the head of Joseph, who is a prince among his brothers” (Gen. 49:26).
In all of these, one can see that there is a need for parents to impart blessings into the life of their children. Do not use nasty words on your children no matter how bad they hurt your feelings by their childish ways. Keep blessing them, keep calling them good names.
As a father we have the capacity to transmit the blessing. “And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed” (Gen. 28:14).
God did not design us to horde the blessing. He designed us to distribute the blessing. You therefore, need to accept the responsibility to be a distributor of God’s blessing.
How can one get the blessing? Since a blessing is conferred through a pronouncement, locate the one who has the blessing already, and have him speak some blessings over your life. It gives you the capacity to produce the same results.
For instance, Elisha located Elijah and collected the blessing from him. Elisha went after Elijah, served him faithfully, and asked for a double portion of his anointing.
Nothing good comes cheap, the father’s blessing is costly too, especially when it is from the heart. For instance, when Isaac wanted to bless Esau, he asked for something he loved from Esau. When you make your father happy, he will bless you from his heart.
For example, A certain man of God had just arrived at the Heathrow airport and he was carrying two big bags. There were two of his children-in-the-Lord there. One of them just greeted him while the other one ran to take his bags. He told the latter “God bless you.”
The other one then said “Daddy, you did not say “God bless you” to me. I asked him, “What did you do to warrant me blessing you?”
When you make your father happy, he will bless you from his heart. For instance, Archbishop Benson Idahosa blessed Dankote and he became the richest man in Africa.
Now I am ready to bless my children: From today you shall not know sorrow, IJN. Though your beginning was small but your later end shall greatly increase. “God will give you of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine: Let people serve you, and nations bow down to you: Be lord over your brethren, and let your mother's sons bow down to you: Cursed be everyone that curses you, and blessed be anyone that blesses you” (Gen. 27:28-29).
“Your brethren shall praise you: your hand shall be in the neck of your enemies; your father's children shall bow down before you” (Gen. 49:8). “God shall help you; the Almighty, shall bless you with the blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb.” God will make a way for you where men say there is no way.
“No weapon fashioned against you shall prosper.” I decree that your blessing is irreversible. And so shall it be, IJN.
Watchout for the next edition of the Good News from the Pulpit.
- Your friend, I. I. Madubunyi 05.11.2023
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