A Father’s Blessing

How a Dad Can Bless His Home

Genesis 48:8-20

 

20 Feb, 2011  PM

Pastor Craig Ledbetter

Bible Baptist Church, Ballincollig, Cork, Ireland

www.biblebc.com

 

I.       Introduction (Prov 20:7). The just man walketh in his integrity: his children are blessed after him.

 

A.    A Man is to be a Blesser in his home.

 

1.      Everyone should be a blessing, a helper in the home, but there is a special place that a Dad has.

2.      He is supposed to be someone who does special things for the people in his life. Someone who is the strength and the stability of the home

 

a.       Someone who doesn’t just give flowers

b.      Or holds the door

c.       Or treats everyone to dinner sometimes

d.      But someone who just IS a blessing

e.       And actually puts a blessing upon his family

f.       A man’s blessing is something that almost does not exist today

 

B.     What does it mean to bless?

 

1.      Pass on spiritual treasures, the promises of God, your faith and confidence in God to your children (Gen 17:7)

2.      If you are a child of God, you have a priceless treasure to pass on to your children – your faith in Christ! Your experiences walking with Jesus!

3.      Pass on the word of God – its stories and wonder – from your heart to their heart

4.      Pass on the promises of God

5.      Pass on the love of God to your children

6.      That is what it means to bless them, and help them enjoy God

 

C.    People need a blessing, desperately:

 

1.      Jabez (1Chron 4:10)

2.      Jacob (Gen 32:26-29)

3.      So do you, and so does your family! Haven’t you ever been there and done that?

4.      To have a blessing from God, and a blessing from your family

 

D.    But, MEN themselves need to be a blessing – and it is not easy!

 

1.      We were not trained to be a blessing, or a contributor – we are selfish, self-serving creatures.

2.      We are usually too busy to be a blessing

3.      And when we do try and do something nice, we fail:

 

a.       We give money instead of our time.

b.      We give cards instead of our attention.

c.       We give token efforts instead of giving ourselves

 

4.      God the Father shows us fathers how and why to become Blessers, and not Wreckers

 

a.       How to encourage instead of pull down

b.      How to inspire instead of impede

c.       How to enable instead of ruin

 

5.      This Bible shows us clearly how to help our families

6.      It is not the job of the pastor, or priests, but of DADs!

7.      Let’s learn how to bless our homes

 

E.     There are some examples of fathers, husbands, being a blessing to their families

                                                                                               

1.      Isaac blessed his son Jacob and encouraged him (Heb 11:20; Gen 27:4-40)

2.      Jacob blessed his son Joseph and his grandsons (Heb 11:21; Gen 48:9-20)

3.      David blessed his whole household – it was a regular thing with him (1Chron 16:43)

4.      Solomon blessed his son Rehoboam, by writing the entire book of Proverbs to him!

5.      Unfortunately, not every father in the Bible blessed his children – many forgot to, or neglected to, were too busy to

6.      Don’t join with that crowd. Don’t neglect to bless your children

 

II.    Background

 

A.    Jacob knew about the value of being blessed

 

1.      First by his father

2.      He also knew the value of being blessed by God!

 

B.     Of all people, Jacob was a wrecker, who became a great blesser in his home

 

1.      Jacob had been a messer, a life wrecker

2.      But through the grace of God, he had been changed

3.      But that didn’t mean his life didn’t have troubles still

 

C.     20 years earlier, one of his sons, his favourite son Joseph was ripped away from his life, and sold into slavery in Egypt. All Jacob knew was that Joseph was dead!

D.    And now, here was Joseph standing before his father, not only alive and well, but the prince of Egypt

E.     And Joseph has a wife, and two sons

F.      It was then that Jacob, whose own life had been transformed by God’s grace, decided it was time to bless his children, and even his grandchildren!

 

III. Message

 

A.    See the Blessing (48:8,9)

 

1.      Israel/Jacob SAW the blessing that was standing in front of him

 

a.       The son whom he thought had been killed was standing there!

b.      AND his grandchildren that he didn’t know he had

c.       Joseph saw his two children as blessings – yes he was almost blind, but he could see the blessings better now!!!

d.      No mention of all the pain and heartache of the past 20 years!!!

e.       What a way to look at the past! Through the eyes of blessing!

 

2.      God blesses us, doesn’t He ? Daily loading us down with blessing (Ps 68:19)

 

a.       Have you counted your blessings lately?

 

1)      Has God’s well gone dry?

2)      Has His riches in glory gone broke?

3)      Maybe we were counting and noticing only the material things, and now we are being forced to notice the SPIRITUAL blessings!

 

b.      Our families ARE God’s blessing to us – not curses

c.       Our health is a blessing

d.      Our salvation from hell is a great blessing!

e.       Our church family is a blessing!

f.       Our jobs, our minds, our cars, our tools that we use – all are blessings

g.      Every good thing in your life is a blessing from God (James 1:17)

h.      Every tough time and struggle was a blessing as well, whether you want to admit it or not

 

3.      Before you ever will be a blessing gentlemen, you need to see just how much God has blessed you, and just start praising God, and thanking God, and enjoying the blessings that he has so bountifully given you!

 

B.     Touch your children (Gen 48:10,13)

 

1.      Jacob grabbed those two boys

 

a.       And kissed them

b.      And embraced them

c.       He then laid his hands on both of them

 

2.      He was doing it for a reason – with purpose

3.      You cannot bless without a touch!

4.      People need to be touched (Mk 8:22)

5.      Children need to be held, and touched, and blessed (Mk 10:13) – not just by their mothers but by their fathers!

6.      Jesus touched every thing and every one He could (Mt 8:3; 8:15; 9:29; 17:7; 20:34) – even a coffin (Lk 7:14)

7.      It is such a blessing for someone to come up beside us and touch us!

 

a.       Let’s hold hands a whole lot more

b.      Let’s tickle a lot more

c.       Let’s hug our families all the more

 

8.      We live in a time when people touch all the wrong things (2Cor 6:17; 1Cor 7:1,2)

9.      Let’s show our children how to touch and hold each other in a blessed way

10.  Bless your children by touching them, and holding onto them!

 

C.     Pray for your children (Gen 48:15-19; Ps 95:6)

 

1.      Probably THE most neglected part of a father’s blessing is praying

 

a.       Pray with your wife

b.      Pray with your children

c.       Pray as a family

 

2.      Not set, or prepared prayers – but real words, from the heart

3.      Pray about everything – show them how to pray for everyone you know

4.      Pray for their future, and for their future mates

5.      Pray for their willingness to follow Christ and do his will!

6.      Even if it is just the two of you, pray in the company of angels

7.      Grab each other’s hand, and kneel, and come before the Lord God

 

a.       Thank God for His work in your life - “God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day”

b.      Thank God for saving you and delivering you from so much sin and trouble - “The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads”

c.       Ask God to bless them - “let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.”

 

8.      Ask God to teach you how to pray for your children

 

a.       Jacob knew what he was doing (48:17-19)

b.      You need to know how to pray for your children

 

9.      Then, believe God is going to do wondrous things with your children and grandchildren

10.  Oh that we all believed God still answered prayer!

                                                                                               

D.    Put God’s Name on Your Children (Gen 48:16; Num 6:27)

 

1.      “and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac”

2.      Teach them His name – not everyone knows His name (Ex 6:3)

3.      Show them the power of that name (Dt 28:10)

 

a.       In answered prayer

b.      In salvation – your own testimony

 

4.      Show them the protection of that name (Pr 18:10)

 

a.       Always trusting only Jesus

b.      Living in obedience to God’s word – there is safety in doing things God’s way

 

E.     Believe God will honour your Blessing (Gen 48:20)

 

1.      That people will look up to your children

2.      And will want to follow in their footsteps

3.      And will be surprised at how God does differently than we expect

 

IV. Final Thoughts

 

A.    Men need to be a blessing

 

1.      Godly Men bless their children (Pr 20:7)

2.      Godly Men bless their wives (Pr 31:28; 1Pet 3:7)

3.      When we refuse to work with Christ, and bless our families, it makes us actually scatterers (Mt 12:30), and are partly responsible for the ruin of our homes!

 

B.     Start today.

 

1.      Bless your children and wife before it is too late!

2.      Write them notes, and hug them close, and get rid of any bitterness against anyone in your home (Col 3:19)

 

C.     Humble yourself and be the blesser, the benefactor, the giver of good things in your home

 

1.      If you are having a hard time being a blessing, start by letting your heavenly Father Bless You, change you, help you!

2.      It takes a changed man, a humbled man to become a blesser

3.      Arrogant men don’t bless

 

D.    Bless when it is hard to do so (1Cor 4:11,12)

E.     Above all things, like Jacob in his later years, let’s bless our homes!

 

 

 

 

Craig Ledbetter |  Pastor  |  Bible Baptist Church  |  021-4871234  +353-21-4871234  |  biblebc@gmail.com  www.biblebc.com