The Blessing

Welcome to PowerPoint with Jack Graham. Children who are blessed. and receive the blessing of their parents. Most often experience genuine happiness. Unfortunately, many who do not receive the blessing of their families often spend their years.

struggling. On today's PowerPoint, Dr. Graham brings a message about the blessing every parent can give their children.

Now, here's Dr. Graham with his message. The blessing. Every person longs. for acceptance.

Approval. An affirmation. Particularly from their parents. In the Bible, This is called the blessing. Children who are blessed.

and received the blessing of their parents. Most often experience genuine happiness and authentic faith in their lives. Unfortunately, many who do not receive the blessing of their family, the blessing of faith. The blessing of love and approval and acceptance often spend their years. Struggling.

Now, just in case you think that I'm about to treat you with a good dose of psychobabel. Let me remind you that the idea of the blessing goes all the way back. to the beginning, all the way back to the book of Genesis. Because Abraham was called out by God. and blessed.

By God the Father? And in the blessing, he received all of the benefits and the bounty. Of the hand of God. And then Abraham blessed his son, his miracle son, Isaac. And then in turn, Isaac.

Who had two sons, Jacob. And Esau blessed his sons. Verse 25. Genesis 27. He said, Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son's game, so that my soul may bless you.

So he brought it near him, and he ate, and he brought him wine, and he drank. And then his father 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. And cursed be everyone who curses you, and blessed be those who bless you. And then if you'll just turn the page to the 28th. Chapter Verse 1 says, Isaac called Jacob and blessed him and charged him. And he charged him with the words recorded in verses 3 and 4: May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, that you may be an assembly of peoples and give you the blessing of Abraham to you and your descendants with you, that you may inherit the land in which you are a stranger, which God gave.

to Abraham. Isaac blessed his boy, Jacob. And as a result of the blessing, this man, this young man, now 40 years of age. receives all the benefits and the birthrights. of his family.

Now Jesus blessed people also, and particularly he blessed children. Do you remember that occasion in the first chapter of the Gospel of Mark when the children were coming to Jesus, all the parents were bringing their little children to him, and the disciples were in a hurry? And they wanted to rush things along, and Jesus rebuked them. And he said, let the little children come to me. Can't you imagine the little children crawling on the lap of our Lord and our Lord embracing them?

Welcoming them into his presence. And the Bible says that Jesus. Blessed. them.

So the blessing is not only an Old Testament principle, but it is a New Testament principle. Therefore, it is a life principle.

Now, what is this blessing? But if I could define it for you, the blessing is a formula of words. That expresses fondness for, confidence in, and recognition of a specific person.

Now, let me say that again, in case you want to write it down. The blessing Is a formula of words that expresses fondness for, confidence in, and recognition of. A specific person. In the Bible, a blessing was given to pronounce favor. And faith and yes, financial prosperity on those who received it.

The blessing gives spiritual and material benefit to the recipient. But most of all, the blessing, when one is blessed. That one senses security. Significance. Belonging and faith, acceptance.

With it is the prayer and with it is the promise. And through the generations, these boys and girls who've grown up in the Jewish tradition have been blessed by their Jewish fathers and mothers. And to this very day, Orthodox Jews pronounce blessings upon their children. And this biblical principle of the blessing. is applicable.

to each one of us today.

Some of you are thinking, you know, I never got that. I never got that from my family. I never got that sense of blessing, of well-being, of affirmation and acceptance in my own family. And I long for that.

Well, first of all, let me tell you that the new life in Jesus Christ means a brand new beginning. And maybe you did not receive, maybe you didn't grow up in a family of faith or in a family where approval and acceptance was freely given. But you. Brand new in Christ can change the pattern in your own family. With your own children and your own grandchildren.

It starts with you. What an opportunity God has given each one of us. And those of you who don't have children, Or maybe your children are no longer at home. you can still make a difference in a child's life. As a model, as a mentor, to be a blessing, to extend the love and the grace of God in a boy's life, a girl's life, a teenager's life.

There are so many children around today who need. Believers. to bless them. You can make a difference.

So how can we? How do we? Give. The blessing. Let me mention a few ways that we can practically bless our children.

One, meaningful touch.

Now look in your Bibles in Genesis 27, 26 and 27 once again. His father Isaac said to him, Come now here and kiss me, my son. And he came near and he kissed him, indicating that he kissed him repeatedly.

Now Jacob is a man 40 years of age. And yet he's still kissing his daddy. His daddy is still welcoming him. A child is blessed. When he or she is showered.

With love. and affection. And yes, that includes meaningful touch. Hugs. Kisses.

Hands-on. In the New Testament, in particular, as well as the Old Testament, when People were set aside and blessed. Hands were laid upon them. It was a sign of favor. It was a sign of faith and blessing.

Now much has been written regarding the healing and nurturing power, the affirming power of touch. For example, did you know that people who experience meaningful touch in their life, their blood pressure is significantly lower than those who do not?

So if you want to live longer, Give lots of hugs and kisses away and receive them as well. Studies also indicate that Touching our children, boys and girls, kissing them, hugging them, holding them. protects them from seeking intimacy in illegitimate ways. If they know the sense of love at home from their father in particular. There's a sense of security and significance that is offered.

Meaningful trust translates into caring relationships. And there is no excuse, ladies and gentlemen, for withholding. Your touch. Your love from your children. You say, well, I sort of love my children just with my actions.

I'm not good with We're not a real you know, touchy-feely family.

So tell me, how is the child really supposed to figure this out? If you don't really show them. If you don't touch them, if you don't hold them, if you don't embrace them, are they supposed to simply figure it out? A small child, does he love me? Does he love me not?

Does she love me? Does she love me not?

Sometimes I think, no, maybe, yes, no. There should be no doubt. That your children know that they are deeply loved. Love is to be lavish and extravagant in its affection and in its expression. And this goes not only for these beautiful little babies and precious little toddlers, but it goes for your teenagers and adult children as well.

Even when they don't want to hug, go, mom, cut it out. Dead. My friends. You show your love.

Well, it makes me feel a little bit uncomfortable.

Well, get over it. Get over it. It may be. It may be that you're uncomfortable in touching And really, this is a problem for people. I don't minimize or trivialize.

Some people have never been warmly embraced in their life by their own parents. And it may be that you're just carrying on bad habits. to your own children and grandchildren and you need to break that habit. You need to ask God to give you love poured out in your heart by the Holy Spirit and to help you to show it.

So, meaningful touch. When you touch your children. When you kiss them. When you hold them and hug them. You give them a blessing.

Favor. the significance and identity and security. I've been long here. I'm blessed. You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message.

The blessing. We are excited to share that we have a new way to connect with us. It's our texting service designed to keep you connected with everything happening here at PowerPoint. You'll be the first to know about upcoming events, special announcements, and truly enriching content. To join, start a new text conversation by texting the word CONNECT to 59-789.

Again, text CONNECT to 59-789. Every gift given to PowerPoint Ministries before June 30th will be doubled through a $200,000 matching grant. This is a crucial moment as we close out the financial year. Because your support helps ensure that the truth of Jesus continues reaching people who are searching for something real they can trust. And as our thanks for your gift, we'll send you the Jesus Discoveries by Dr.

Jeremiah Johnston, a resource designed to strengthen your confidence in the truth of the gospel. To give your gift and request your copy, text June to 59-789. That's June to 59-789. and thank you for helping share the truth of Jesus with a searching world.

Now let's get back to today's message. The blessing. Secondly, spoken words. Express. The blessing.

A blessing is not a blessing unless it's spoken. There is so much power in human speech. It is one of the greatest gifts that God has given. And Proverbs 18 and verse 21 says, Death and life are in the power of the tongue. Death and life are in the power of the tongue.

The tongue, our speech. has an incredible capacity either to build our children up or to tear our children down. Unfortunately, so many children today and teenagers grow up and they are exasperated. and confused because they live in an environment of harsh, cruel, unloving, and destructive words. They're told all their life, you're dumb, you're stupid.

You're unlovable. You're lazy. And before you know it, these kids start conforming to the image. My friend Bill Glass. in his prison ministry says that as he's visited with prisoners all over the nation.

That over and over and over again, prisoners tell him, My parents said, one of these days you're going to jail. You're worthless. You're lazy. You're never going to make it in life. You're going to jail.

And sure enough. Many of them, Mr. Glass says. They go to jail. But the tongue also has the power to enrich and encourage.

Our words can bless our children by building them up in faith and hope and love. What kind of words bless our children and build our children up?

Well, words of affection. Over and over and over and over and over again. Our children need to hear the words, I love you, I love you, I love you, and I love you. That goes for the entire family, by the way. Husband to wives, wives to husbands.

Don't be like that man who... Was in marriage counseling because they were having problems. He said, I told that woman on the day we got married that I loved her, and if anything changes, I'll let her know. No, from husbands to wives, wives to husbands. Parents to children.

and children to parents. Give words. of affection. and also offer words of forgiveness.

Now the last time I checked There were no perfect people. on planet Earth. We all live in a world and live lives of imperfection, and that includes parents and it includes your children. And guess why it includes your children? They start acting like you.

But there are nine words that, if these words are a part of the vocabulary of your life and your family, if these nine words are in your home, it will change everything. Here they are. I am sorry. I was wrong. Please forgive me.

Now that's pretty easy, isn't it? I am sorry. I was wrong. Please. Forgive me.

We're all flawed. And that includes our children and parents who place unreasonable demands and expectations and just nail their kids every time they make a mistake or mess up. and never offer words of forgiveness and healing. You know, Jesus told a parable about forgiveness. It's known as the parable of the prodigal son.

It's really the parable of the prodigal father. The lavish love of the father that he just, like a prodigal, poured out his love for his son. And remember, How this father forgave his boy. First of all, he gave him the freedom to make choices even when he knew his boy was making a dumb decision. And then he waited for his boy.

I don't know how many days the boy was gone living in the far country, wasting his life, but no doubt that daddy was on the front porch looking for him every day. And then when the boy did finally come home in rags, wasted. Limping down the road. That father didn't wait for that boy to come home and to ask to be a slave, but rather the father ran to the boy. Met him down the road and he embraced him.

And he loved him and he showered him with kisses. And then, not only that, he didn't make him start over at home, but he returned him to the seat of honor. He said, You're not a slave. You are my honored son. You're my son that was lost and is found.

Take the seat of honor, kill the fatted calf, put on the robe. And the ring of sonship. That's God the Father. Who loves and forgives us, and he is the ultimate and eternal parent. We bless our children when they know that no matter what they do.

that your forgiveness as a parent is available, even as the forgiveness of God. is available. Third way that we express our words are words of hope. We should offer words of hope and promise to our children. Parents ought to be cheerleaders for their kids and help them to realize their potential.

And you bless your children when you say things like, You're the greatest. You're going to make a difference with your life. God has a great plan for your future. You're something else. You're a gift from God to us.

Abraham Lincoln wrote. A child is a person who's going to carry on what you've started. He's going to sit where you're sitting, and where you are, and when you are gone, attend to those things which you think are important. He will assume control of your cities, states, and nations. He's going to move in and take over your churches, your schools, and your corporations.

The fate of humanity. is in a child's hands. And I might add the fate of your children. is in your hands, parents. and grandparents.

So, give them words of hope. Speak to them of their promise and of their potential. Infuse into the hearts and lives of your children of all ages words of hope and then words of security. Children need to know that They are blessed with the security and a source of strength and safety in their lives. And this can really only be given.

by parents. Children are blessed when they hear words of security. Spoken lovingly. And honestly. Of course, communication speech takes time like this.

And we must not waste our opportunities to bless our children and our grandchildren. Speak to your children often words of love and affection, faith, hope, and forgiveness. Thirdly, Affirmation expresses the blessing. Every parent should seek to give approval and affirmation. Look in Genesis 27 and verse 27 again.

Now, this is very interesting. He came near and he kissed him, and he smelled the smell of his clothing, and he blessed him, and he said, Surely the smell of my son is like the smell of a field. He was speaking in a word picture here. And you can read the rest of the blessing and you know it's true. He said, man, I smell you and I like what I smell.

You're a man of the field. He was expressing the uniqueness. And the distinctiveness of this boy.

Now, never mind at this point that he thinks it's Esau his other son. We'll get to that in another message. But this dad is presenting the idea that. When you're near, when you come near and I get close to you and I smell you. I smell the dew of heaven.

And the sky is brighter and life is better. Because of you. You see, it's a word picture. Isaac is expressing the uniqueness of his son. And when we do that, of course, that produces a sense of identity and acceptance and blessing on the life of a child.

You know, my dad had a good way of doing this, and a lot of you do the same with your children. My dad gave me nicknames. And They were Some of them are okay, some of them not so okay, but nicknames, and I knew they were words of affection. You say, What were they? None of your business.

Some of them had to do with certain physical characteristics, and others just, you know, love words. But every time my dad would use one of these names, you know, I said, you know. My dad really likes me. We're butts. And he's my dad.

And when you use words like calling your children champ or or angel or precious or bud or whatever your words may be. I believe it expresses in word pictures even like this the beauty of the blessing. Children need to be praised. And that's what Isaac is doing here. One other thing, very quickly, and that is impart in the blessing spiritual vision for your child.

Look again in chapter 27 and verse 28. Let's look at those words. Therefore, may God give you the dew of heaven and the fatness of the earth and plenty of grain and wine. You see, this was a prayer, a blessing for abundance, in particular spiritual abundance. And then in verse 29, let people serve you and nations bow down to you and master over your brethren.

May God bless you with good things. That's good. Jesus promised us good things as his children. He said, I've come that you might have life and have it more abundantly. And certainly parents.

Families pray that their children will experience abundance in their lives, knowing, according to James 1.17, that every good and perfect gift comes from God. The blessing you see is not only parental, it is spiritual. We need to pray for the blessing of God upon the lives of our children. That our children would have a relationship with God personally through Jesus Christ, that it would be dynamic and authentic and life-changing. And the blessing imparts a spiritual vision.

We need to be praying for our children, for their spiritual vision. We want them to know God and to make Him known. We want them to discover their place in the Sun, S-O-N, and to live life to the fullest. We don't want our children just to barely get by, do we? We want our children, like the Apostle Paul said in Romans 8, to be more than conquerors through Jesus Christ.

We want them to win in life. Therefore, when we bless them, And they receive that blessing. They learn how to live successfully. You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message. The blessing.

When you support PowerPoint ministries, you help share God's word with people around the world through programs just like this one. And as a thank you for your gift this month, we'll send you the Jesus Discoveries by Dr. Jeremiah Johnston as our thanks. This powerful resource walks through real historical evidence that points directly to Jesus, helping strengthen your faith and giving you confidence in the truth of God's Word. And right now, every gift given before June 30th will be doubled through a $200,000 matching grant.

This is a crucial moment as we close out the financial year. because your support helps ensure that PowerPoint Ministries continues reaching people with the gospel in the months ahead. To give your gift and request your copy, text June to 59789. That's June to 59789. We are excited to share that we have a new way to connect with us.

It's our texting service designed to keep you connected with everything happening here at PowerPoint. You'll be the first to know about upcoming events, special announcements, and truly enriching content. To join, start a new text conversation by texting the word CONNECT to 59789. Again, text CONNECT to 59789. Pastor, what is your PowerPoint for today?

Um We often think that it takes a whole lot of people to accomplish great things. But as we're learning from the book of Genesis, all it really takes is one person and God. One person who believes he or she can make a difference and then, in obedience to God, just goes out and changes things in the power of his Spirit. God is looking for those kinds of people today as well. And yet, so many Christians don't think they matter.

They don't think they can be used of God to do great things. You know what they need? They need God's blessing. They need your blessing. In Ephesians chapter 2, Paul gives us one of the great blessings of all time.

and it's really a blessing for every follower of Jesus. Here it is, Ephesians 2, 8-10. For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, and created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them.

The Apostle Paul says that if you have believed in Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, then you are God's workmanship. That means you are God's masterpiece. The God who made you has now remade you in Christ, and you are His masterwork. That means you are incredibly valuable. You carry in you the Spirit of the Living God, and you can make a difference in your world.

And as one who has been blessed by God, you should be a blessing to others, especially your family. Let them know of God's blessing. Let them know you love them, that you're proud of them, and most of all, let them know that loving Christ and living for Him is the greatest blessing of all. And that is today's PowerPoint. Remember, when you give a gift to PowerPoint, we'll send you Dr.

Jeremiah Johnston's book, The Jesus Discoveries. Just text June to 59-789. And join us again next time as Dr. Graham brings a message about being victorious even in the face of tough times. That's next time on PowerPoint with Jack Graham.

PowerPoint with Jack Graham is sponsored by PowerPoint Ministries.