ကိုဗစ်-၁၉ကပ်ရောဂါနှင့်အပြည်ပြည်ဆိုင်ရာစာပို့လုပ်ငန်းဝန်ဆောင်မှုများပျက်ပြားခြင်းကြောင့်ကျွန်ုပ်တို့၏ 'အခမဲ့ပုံနှိပ်စာအုပ်ဝန်ဆောင်မှု' ကိုယာယီရပ်ဆိုင်းလိုက်သည်။
ဤအခြေအနေ၏အခြေအနေအရကျွန်ုပ်တို့သည်ယခုအချိန်တွင်သင့်အားစာအုပ်များမပို့နိုင်သေးပေ။
ဤကပ်ရောဂါသည်မကြာမီကုန်ဆုံးပြီးစာတိုက်လုပ်ငန်းပြန်လည်စတင်ရန်ဆုတောင်းပါ။
Subject 24 : Sermons for Those Who Have Become Our COWORKERS
[24-64] Who Are Blessed by God? (Genesis 28:10-19)
(Genesis 28:10-19)
“Now Jacob went out from Beersheba and went toward Haran. So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. And he took one of the stones of that place and put it at his head, and he lay down in that place to sleep. Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. And behold, the LORD stood above it and said: ‘I am the LORD God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants. Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.’ Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, ‘Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it.’ And he was afraid and said, ‘How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!’ Then Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put at his head, set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on top of it. And he called the name of that place Bethel; but the name of that city had been Luz previously.”
Today I would like to ruminate with you through the Word of God on the question, “Who the really blessed are?” Our God says clearly that He will not give the blessings of Heaven just because of some righteous act by man. Rather, one must realize that God gives these spiritual blessings from Heaven including earthly blessings only to those who eat the flesh of Jesus Christ and drink His blood by faith. Let’s then examine step by step how God gives His blessings to everyone, and exactly what faith one must have to receive them.
God Does Not Look at Our Outside Appearance or Acts
You must realize that God never gives any blessings on account of your outward piety or acts. He told us clearly that when He gives us blessings He gives them only to those who eat and drink the flesh and blood of His Son Jesus Christ.
In the passage of Scripture we have just read, we see that Jacob fled from his brother Esau and sought refuge in his uncle’s home. Who is this Jacob? He is the one who received all these blessings that should have been given to his brother Esau. When Isaac, the father of Jacob and Esau became old and frail losing his sight he called his son Esau and said to him, “Go out to the field and hunt game for me. Then, make the savory food that I love, and I will eat it and bless you.” Before he died, Isaac wanted to give one last benediction to his firstborn son who would carry on his family lineage.
By all accounts why did Isaac give this benediction when he became blind? The reason for this was because God the Father wanted to make it known to us through this event that it is not by our own merits or devotion to Him that we receive these blessings, but it is by believing in the flesh and blood of Jesus that we are blessed by God. He overlooks our merits and demerits because we humans must be cursed if He would call our conduct into question. Jacob received these blessings from God. But why did Isaac eat savory food and then blessed Jacob when he was blind? Here in this Scriptural account are hidden God’s will and providence, which He wants to reveal to us. This is why God recorded this particular event that occurred when Isaac became blind and eventually gave his blessings to Jacob.
What Else Does Today’s Scripture Passage Teach Us?
Jacob was blessed because he listened and obeyed his mother’s words. When Isaac was telling Esau that he was going to bless him, Rebekah was eavesdropping on their conversation. So Rebekah called Jacob whom she loved dearly and said to him, “Go to the flock and bring two kids of the goats. I will then kill them and quickly make the savory food that your father likes very much. So hurry up! Put on your brother’s cloths and cover your arms and neck with these goats’ skins. And go to your father and tell him that you are Esau. Get your father’s benediction in this way.”
When Jacob heard these words from his mother, he was actually very scared at first. He then replied, “It’s bad enough to lie; what am I going to do if my lies are exposed, and I end up being cursed by my father instead of being blessed?” But his mother assured him, “If you are cursed, may all your curses fall on me. Tell your father that I made you do this. He will then curse me instead of you.” Although Jacob was a cunning, wicked, and dishonest man, he had a weak heart. However, he was also someone who yearned for God’s blessings.
Trusting in his mother’s words, Jacob did her bidding went to the flock, slaughtering two kids of the goat, skinned them and cut the carcasses into pieces, and then gave them to his mother. And with this meat, Rebekah made a meal that her husband loved. We don’t know exactly what kind of dish Isaac liked, but as his wife Rebekah must have known his taste very well. So she made a savory dish that Isaac liked the most and gave it to her beloved son Jacob. And having wrapped Jacob’s body with the skins of the goats and put his brother’s cloths on him, she said to Jacob, “Here, take this special food to your father and tell him that you are Esau.”
All that Jacob had to do now was just do what his mother told him to do. His mother had guaranteed him, saying, “You just do what I am telling you. If your father finds out, turn all that blame to me. Tell your father that I made you do it. If you are cursed, I will receive all your curses in your place.” Jacob only had to approach his father trusting in his mother’s words. If something went wrong, his mother would bear all his curses, but if the plan worked out he would receive great blessings.
Jacob was a man who had hardly any hair on his body, and he was a weakling. After putting goat skins on his body and clothed himself with Esau’s cloths, Jacob went to his father with the savory food his mother made for him. He said his father, “Father, your son Esau is back. Enjoy this savory food and bless me to your heart’s content.” Although Esau was a good hunter, Isaac knew that he would not return from the hunt that fast, and so he asked, “How is it that you’ve finished hunting so quickly? And how were you able to cook the meat so fast?” Jacob having disguised as Esau then said to his father, “Because the Lord your God brought it to me.” Still doubtful, Isaac asked him again, “Are you my firstborn son, Esau?” Jacob’s heart sank. He was terrified that though his father was bind, he might still recognize him, but despite this fear, he went ahead trusting in his mother.
“Come near me,” said Isaac, and he then touched Jacob’s neck and felt his hair. Jacob was a smooth-skinned man, while Esau the firstborn was a very hairy man. When Isaac touched Jacob’s neck, he felt how it was all hairy, and so he came to believe that the man standing before him was his firstborn son. Convinced that it was Esau, Isaac said, “Your voice is that of Jacob’s, but now that I’ve touched you, I see that you are indeed Esau. Bring that savory food to me.” Isaac then ate the savory food Jacob had brought. And after enjoying this meal he blessed Jacob, who was disguised as his brother.
It’s written in Genesis 27:25-29: “So he brought it near to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank. Then his father Isaac said to him, ‘Come near now and kiss me, my son.’ And he came near and kissed him; and he smelled the smell of his clothing, and blessed him and said:
‘Surely, the smell of my son
Is like the smell of a field
Which the LORD has blessed.
Therefore may God give you
Of the dew of heaven,
Of the fatness of the earth,
And plenty of grain and wine.
Let peoples serve you,
And nations bow down to you.
Be master over your brethren,
And let your mother’s sons bow down to you.
Cursed be everyone who curses you,
And blessed be those who bless you!’”
Having approached his father as instructed, Jacob had at last received his father’s blessings instead of his brother.
As soon as Jacob left his father after receiving this benediction, his brother Esau returned home. And Esau went to his father and said to him, “Father, this is your firstborn son Esau. I have returned.” Isaac then said, “Who are you? Just a short while ago Esau was here. He brought savory food and wine to me, and I’ve blessed him after eating it.”
“No, I am the real Esau.”
“Then who is the one that was here with me a moment ago?”
“He was Jacob that cunning guy.”
“But even so, it is finished. Even though he is your younger brother and has deceived me, I cannot recall the blessings that I’ve already given.”
“Father, then please give me at least a few blessings that remain.”
“It’s all over now. By your sword you shall live the rest of your life, and you shall serve your brother. Remember this. If you don’t listen to your brother, his yoke will not be taken off until you die, and you will live all your life trusting in your sword.” Like this, although Esau asked his father to bless him, his father instead cursed him, saying, “Behold, your dwelling shall be of the fatness of the earth,
And of the dew of heaven from above.
By your sword you shall live,
And you shall serve your brother;
And it shall come to pass, when you become restless,
That you shall break his yoke from your neck.”
Because of this curse, Esau’s descendants are living by the sword even to this day. But those who are blessed by God once will live forever being the blessed. So we can imagine just how angry Esau must have been for losing these blessings which was meant for him.
For his part Jacob was terrified of any retribution since he had lied and deceived his father to receive all the blessings that his brother should have received. It was guaranteed that his brother would beat him to death for this. His mother Rebekah realized that unless she handled this critical situation, she might lose both her sons at once. So she said to Jacob, “Leave here and go to my brother. Go to the land where my father used to live. Stay there for a while, and after a while you will be able to return home again.” So Jacob left his home thinking that he would come back when the situation normalized. But Jacob ended up staying with his uncle for much longer than he anticipated, and did not return until well after he had got married.
Jacob Left Beersheba and Went to His Mother’s Brother
While on his way to his uncle, the sun had set, and Jacob lay down and fell asleep. He put a stone under his head as a pillow and went to sleep.
Let’s look at what the Bible says of this event: “Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. And behold, the LORD stood above it and said: ‘I am the LORD God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants. Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you’” (Genesis 28:12-15).
Having awoken from this dream Jacob was astounded. He then said, “The place where I lay and slept is the house of God. It is the entrance to His Kingdom.” He had seen something so mysterious that he was overwhelmed with fear. God told Jacob in his dream, “I will be with you always wherever you go. Wherever you go, I will guide you back to the land where you used to live. And I will spread your descendants wide and far, to the west and the east, to the north and the south. I am the God of your forefathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and your God.” Countless angels, small and big, ascended and descended before his eyes. And at the top of the ladder stood God saying to him, “I am your God, the God of Isaac and the God of Abraham. The land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and they will spread aboard to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth will be blessed. I will bring you back to this land without fail, and I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.”
Whom did God bless? Here we need to have a firm grasp of exactly whom God blessed. Jacob received the benediction from his father Isaac in his brother’s place, and for this reason he had left his home fleeing from his brother and was heading to his uncle’s house. But on his way he fell asleep and saw God in his dream, and he heard the blessed Word of God promising him that He will surely be with him and protect him. We must realize clearly here that it’s Jacob whom God truly blessed.
Indeed, it’s Jacob not Esau whom God blessed. What explains this? It’s because Jacob received from his father the blessed benediction that his heart had yearned for and because he inherited these blessings that Abraham and Isaac had received from God the Father. The same goes for you and me as well. In other words, it’s none other than you and I who have inherited these blessings of Jacob. That we have received from God the same blessings that Jacob received can be seen clearly from today’s Scripture passage.
The Bible says that Jacob’s father ate the savory food brought by him and he then blessed him. What is the spiritual meaning conveyed by this passage? Here we can see that our Lord blesses those who eat His flesh and drink His blood by faith. Put differently, those who believe in the baptism that Jesus Christ received in the flesh, and those who believe in His crucifixion are the very ones who are blessed by God just like Jacob. They are the people who bring savory food to God. Spiritually speaking, this savory food is the faith of the water and the blood brought before God.
Who are the ones who God always accompanies, is protected by Him, is helped by Him, and blessed by Him? It’s not because Jacob had done something on his own that he was blessed. Rather, he received the blessings that God gave through Isaac because he put on his brother’s clothes as his mother had instructed him to, took the savory food which she gave him, and then approached his father in the name of his brother Esau.
The same goes for you and me also. When we approach God in the name of Jesus Christ by faith, according to the instructions of God’s Church, believing that Jesus Christ has saved us through His water and blood, we are able to receive every blessing. Spiritually speaking, that Jacob clothed himself in goats hair and skin refers to the fact that he believed in the righteous act of God that our Lord fulfilled to save us when He came to this earth. Although the motivation of Isaac in blessing Jacob partly lay in the savory food, Jacob was able to receive these blessings because he had approached his father in the name of Esau wearing his cloths.
Those Who Believe in the Gospel of the Water and the Spirit of Jesus Can Receive the Spiritual Blessings of Heaven
As those who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit we are clearly able to receive all the blessings God gives. On account of our faith in the righteousness of Jesus, and by believing in His righteous act of salvation that has delivered us from sin, we have already received all blessings. In other words, we who believe in the righteous work that Jesus Christ fulfilled by taking upon all our sins through His baptism and His crucifixion have already been blessed by God. Just as Jacob approached his father and was blessed in the name of Esau, so we also approach God the Father and receive blessings by believing in the righteousness of Jesus, who saved us from all our sins. In other words, when we come before God the Father with the righteousness of Jesus, by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and asking Him for His blessing, God the Father surely blesses us abundantly.
God the Father does not bless us because we have done something good and virtuous, or did not lie, or we were brave. No, He blesses us only when we believe in the righteousness of Jesus Christ alone, when we believe that Jesus Christ is God Himself, when we believe that Jesus Christ is the Savior of sinners, and when we believe in the Word of the water and the blood that has saved mankind from its sin.
Isaac Smelled the Odor of Esau from Jacob and Blessed Him
When Isaac blessed Jacob, he told him to come near him to kiss him. And when Jacob did this he smelled his odour. Since Jacob was wearing goats’ skin, he probably stunk. As you know, a goat is bound to stink no matter how clean it is. Esau normally had a smelly body odour, and so there was a stench around when he was around, and so Isaac thought, “This smell is clearly the smell of Esau.” Such a smell can never come from Jacob. Convinced that the son standing before him was Esau, Isaac then blessed him in the name of the Lord God. This is because what Isaac smelled was the odour of Esau as is recorded in Genesis 27:27-28,
“Surely, the smell of my son
Is like the smell of a field
Which the LORD has blessed.
Therefore may God give you
Of the dew of heaven,
Of the fatness of the earth,
And plenty of grain and wine.”
This is how Isaac blessed Jacob, saying, “The smell of my son is like the smell of a field which the LORD has blessed.” This is another mystery the Bible has hidden from us. Everyone wants to be blessed by God, but it is impossible for everyone to be blessed if they don’t emit the aroma of having accepted Jesus Christ properly. The Bible declares, “For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing” (2 Corinthians 2:15). Do you have the fragrance of Christ? Yes, we do. In other words, we have faith in the righteousness of Jesus Christ. If you give out the aroma of faith that is emitted from the righteousness of God, God the Father will bless you, but if this aroma of faith is missing then God will not bless you. Even if you emit the famous French perfume ‘Chanel,’ you cannot be blessed by the God of righteousness. You must therefore clearly emit the aroma of Jesus Christ the Son of God.
Indeed, the Lord God blesses us after smelling the aroma of our faith that believes in His righteousness wholeheartedly. Whether God blesses us or not depends on whether our aroma is the aroma of faith, one that’s placed in the baptism Jesus received from John and the blood He shed on the Cross. Therefore, if you and I really want to be blessed by God, then we must infallibly be saved from all our sins by believing in the righteousness of our Lord so that we can give out the aroma of true faith. When we believe in the righteousness of God wholeheartedly, the God who appeared before Jacob becomes our own God, and the blessings that were given to Jacob are also given to us.
Jacob was blessed abundantly. How was he blessed? He was blessed by obeying his mother’s instructions to the letter. He borrowed his brother’s clothes and name, he borrowed goats, and he borrowed his mother’s cooking skills. Like this, he did everything by borrowing, nothing was his own.
The same goes for you and me as well. What must we do to become God’s children and be blessed by Him? We must first of all be saved by believing in what Jesus did on this earth to save us from sin with His water and blood. This is how the blessings of Heaven are received. We will never receive from God if we do something on our own or because of our own merits. We must realize clearly that we are blessed only by believing in the righteousness of Jesus Christ.
We must recognize this fact clearly. We must believe that only those who have spiritual faith in the flesh of Jesus Christ and His blood are blessed by God. We must therefore believe that we ourselves have received all the blessings from God. These blessings are not received by any other condition. It is not on account of our own merits but only by the merit of Jesus Christ that these blessings are received and enjoyed, like Jacob receiving his father’s benediction in the name of Esau and wearing Esau’s clothes.
When Jacob woke up after seeing God in his dream, he set up a pillar of stone, poured oil on it, and called that place Bethel which had been Luz previously, and said, “This is the house of God. Lord if You protect me and safely get me home, I will give a tenth to You. And I will build Your house. If You allow me to return home safely, You will be my God.” In short, Jacob offered a prayer of pledge towards God. Did God become his God only after He heard Jacob’s pledge? No, God declared to be his God unilaterally, having nothing to do with Jacob’s pledge or prayer.
God became Jacob’s God without any human works. He blessed Jacob. And He said to him, “I will lead you back to this land without fail.” God become Jacob’s God just because he believed in Him and in His Truth. We have already been blessed by God. God has already become your God and my God. It is not through our own acts that we are blessed by God. We have already been blessed just because of our faith in God. And by believing in this, we should continue to receive and enjoy all these blessings. My fellow believers know and believe that you have been blessed.
Jacob Was Able to Inherit His Father’s Faith
It’s because of Jacob’s faith in his mother’s words that he was able to inherit his father’s faith and be blessed from God. It’s on account of this that Jacob received all these blessings from God. Put differently, this did not come about because of Jacob himself.
In his flesh, Jacob was actually a cunning and unscrupulous person. He had no merit at all. If God were to bless Jacob solely based on his character, then this would not have been possible. But God did not look at Jacob’s character or his integrity. In other words, Jacob was blessed because he approached God with the kind of faith that was fitting to His promise of blessings. God blesses after having savory food without fail. And Jacob brought this savory food to his father. Regardless of the fact that his mother made this savory food for him, what matters most is that he brought it. Moreover, he clearly approached his father in the name of his brother Esau. He came clothed in Esau’s clothes. And he came with the sacrifice of the goats. In short, even though Jacob had nothing of his own, he still came before God with all the prerequisites that qualified him to be blessed. This is why Jacob was able to receive blessings without trouble. He was blessed precisely because he met all the preconditions to receiving these blessings.
After being blessed by God, he turned into a fugitive. Because he had been blessed in the place of his brother he became his brother’s enemy. Having turned into a fugitive and being pursued by his brother, Jacob left his home, but God appeared to him in a dream. In this dream he saw a ladder reaching Heaven from earth, and angels were ascending and descending on this ladder. And above this ladder, a voice came, saying, “I am your God, the God of your grandfather Abraham and the Lord God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your descendants, and I will bless all your descendants so that they will abound. I will bring you back to this land without fail. Though you are now fleeing, I will be with you wherever you go, I will watch over you and protect you, and I will bring you back to this land for sure. I will be with you and bless you until all these blessings that I give you are fulfilled thoroughly.”
Just as God blessed and promised Jacob like this He indeed brought Jacob back to Bethel later on. After this Jacob begot twelve sons, and from these sons came millions and tens of millions of descendants. God also gave Jacob the whole land of Israel. He fulfilled all His Word exactly as He had blessed Jacob. God was indeed a faithful God.
The Blessings of God That Come Down like the Dew
You and I must realize that we ourselves have been blessed by God. We must be clearly cognizant of this. It’s extremely important for you to know and believe that you have been blessed.
Do you realize that you have been blessed? Do you understand that you have received God’s blessings on account of your faith rather than your acts, by believing in the name of Jesus Christ and His work of salvation? The God of abundant love has blessed us. He has blessed you and me. He has blessed you with the dew of Heaven and the fatness of the earth. These blessings of God do not pour down abruptly like a cataract. Let’s turn to Genesis 27:28 here:
“Therefore may God give you
Of the dew of heaven,
Of the fatness of the earth,
And plenty of grain and wine.”
God has already given us all these subtle blessings like the dew. And He has promised that these blessings will continue to last. Have you ever seen the earth and plants being wetted by the morning dew? The dew moistens the whole earth even as it is hardly visible. Every plant is renewed and nurtured by this dew. The Bible says that God’s blessings are just like this dew. Indeed, God blesses us furtively. This is how God bestows His blessings.
Like this, Jacob received these dew-like blessings from God, and as a result of this he became immediately a spiritual enemy of his brother Esau. The same goes for you and me as well. When someone is blessed by God, it is natural for the people of this world to immediately become his enemy and adversary. What should we be doing before these adversaries? We must fight them by our spiritual faith, just as Jacob had to fight against Esau with the truth even though they were blood brothers. We must also fight against our enemies without fail, even if they are our own blood family. If anyone does not believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit even though Jesus our Lord has given us His flesh and blood clearly, then this person is my enemy and God’s enemy as well. An enemy should be treated as an enemy. Such people do not accept the gospel Word of the water and the Spirit even though we preach it to them continuously, saying, “How can anyone have sin when they believe in Jesus? All our sins were passed onto Jesus thoroughly when He was baptized by John the Baptist.” These people then become our enemies because they immediately reject this truth. Our relationship with them is over. And they will heap only curses upon their hairy heads until they die. Think about it seriously. How can anyone who has not even accepted the Word of God call on the name of the Lord and claim to be doing good deeds evangelizing and serving God? Such efforts are all human works and they are all in vain.
Everyone must believe in these God-given blessings with the heart. Is there anything more evil than to refuse to accept the Lord’s work into the heart by denying it? If we love someone who does not believe in the righteousness of God, then it is the same as if we ourselves are also standing against God. Of course, we have compassion on them in our hearts, but if they carry on refusing to accept God to the end, then all of them cannot be anything but our enemies.
My fellow believers, it is only natural and axiomatic that once we receive the remission of sins into our hearts and are blessed by God, many enemies will arise against us in the spiritual realm. If we know clearly who our enemies are then we must fight them whenever they attack us with the Truth we believe in. Even now, when we look at the current situation of the people of Israel and their surrounding nations, we can see that the blessings bestowed upon Jacob and the curses heaped on Esau have continued on intact up to this very day. Jacob’s descendants and Esau’s descendants are still at each others throats, waging war against each other to this very day. The descendents of Ishmael and the descendents of Esau all believe in Allah. But all Jacob’s descendants, the people of Israel, believe in the God of Jacob and the God of Abraham. Even though they both descended from the same father, they are completely different.
Blessed Are We the Believers in the Gospel of the Water and the Spirit!
By chance, are you unaware of the fact that you yourself have been blessed by God? If this is the case then nothing can be more tragic. Will God bless us in compensation for our acts? No, this will never happen. But God has already blessed us. It’s because we have already been blessed by God like this that we are serving our God, we believe in Him and follow Him, we live our lives according to His desire, and we are devoting our whole life to Him. It’s because we have already received all blessings from God that we can offer our tithes to God, pray to Him, and preach His Word so that our descendants will also be blessed. We must have this faith without fail.
Indeed, you and I must believe wholeheartedly that we ourselves are the blessed people before God. Only when we have this faith can we enjoy God’s blessings, share them with others, and defeat the enemies who stand against our faith. Only when we believe that we have been blessed can we receive and enjoy the blessings of the fatness of the earth and the dew from Heaven that God is raining down subtly on us, share these blessings with others, fight our enemies, and pass these blessings onto the descendants of our faith. We must have this faith. Do you believe in this?
I for one believe without a doubt that I am a blessed man. My fellow believers, God said to Abraham, “I will curse those who curse you, and I will bless those who bless you.” He also said to Jacob, “I will curse those who curse you, and I will bless those who bless you.” This means that both Abraham and Jacob were blessed by God on account of their faith. They are the ones who received God’s faith and inherited His blessings. The same also goes for you and me. We have also inherited this faith. This is what we must believe in. It’s by this faith that we must live. Even if the world is in commotion and the heavens and the earth are shaken, we must still live by this faith unwaveringly. God said, “If you want to be cursed, live according to your own wishes; if you want to be blessed, live by faith.” God blessed those who blessed Abraham, and He cursed those who hated Abraham.
I’ve actually had many tormentors, and thinking about it, one particular man comes to my mind. When I was newlywed, this man who was an evangelist back in those days, told me that I had to have the initiative over my bride as soon as possible. So I tried to tower over my wife as soon as I got married, but I suffered so much down the road because of this. By the way, after I believed in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, I met this person again. So I shared the gospel with him, but he started to stand against me. He had caused so much trouble in the past with his bad advice, and now he refused to hear my words. I know God will surely curse him.
We must realize clearly that we ourselves have been blessed by God. We must live by this faith. In today’s Scripture passage, Jacob’s mother Rebekah refers to God’s Church. Just as Jacob received all blessings by trusting in the advice of his mother, so do we also believe in the instruction of the Church 100%, we have united ourselves with the Church, and we approach God by our faith in the flesh and blood of Jesus. If we live like this, we will receive all the blessings given by God the Father. We will be truly blessed. We will receive each and every blessing from God. I admonish you all to believe in this.
God blessed Jacob. This God has blessed us also. We have thus become His blessed people. To God the Father and Jesus Christ, I give all my thanks!
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