“Bless Me” (Gen 27:1-33)

“Jacob said to his father, I am Esau your firstborn; I have done just as you told me; please arise, sit and eat of my game, that your soul may bless me” (vs19).

You will get the blessing, coming to God by faith, because it means more to you than anything else.

First, Jacob desired that a blessing, instead of a curse, would come his way, and he did everything to obtain it, even deceiving his father (vs11-12). He said, “Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall seem to be a deceiver to him; and I shall bring a curse on myself and not a blessing”. Jesus said, “the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force”, so that God reproved none of Jacob's actions and gave him the blessing (Matt 11:12). If you WANT Christ, want salvation, and want Him to bless you, then He will, no questions asked, so long as you believe.

The gospel is desired by all who have wisdom. We know the blessing is everything, and God gives it to us freely.

Secondly, we're blessed because God has blessed us (vs18-20). We read, “Isaac said to his son, How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son? And he said, Because the Lord your God brought it to me”. Paul says, “just as He chose us in [Christ] before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestinated us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will” (Eph 1:4-6). God's blessing begins before we were ever born, and we're ABLE to do what God says do because He has blessed us, even as Jacob confessed his ability to obey his father is through God's blessing alone.

Learn where your bread is buttered and who is good to you. Learn why you are saved, why you have power, and why you can do good. This knowledge humbles, makes us debtors to all, and produces love: I did NOTHING, and He saved me.

Thirdly, if we bless the One that God has blessed, the Lord Jesus, then we're blessed truly (vs26-29). Here, Jacob foreshadows Christ, “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” (vs29). The blessing of God comes by recognizing whom He's exalted, and by this, we're exalted too.

We don't have to make up for the past, only believe that Jesus did. We don't have to serve Him ourselves, only believe the power is yours because He gives. We don't have to impress or improve for God: only acknowledge who is Lord and honor Him by faith, and you do well.

Finally, Esau wanted the blessing conveniently, but not desperately (vs30-32). He said, when it was too late, “Let my father arise and eat of his son's game, that your soul may bless me” (vs31). Earlier, he easily gave away the right to the blessing, and now he wants it, but it is too late (Gen 25:29-34). We read of the Lord breaking off from the Vine those who don't bear fruit. He says, “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit” (John 15:2). He will do it to you. He will shut the door, and you will have no way to get back in. So, we are wise to run to Christ now, lest we be like Esau, squandering it all, even with tears.

“The Acceptable Year of the Lord” (Luke 4:16-30)

God’s acceptable time of salvation is now:

“So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.   And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:   "The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed;   To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD."  (vs16-20)

The Lord is the Savior of sinners, and if you’re a sinner, then you’ll be saved. The problem isn’t unwillingness in God but in men.  If you need help, then He’ll help.  But, if you deny sinfulness, then He will not help, and you’ll perish. If you don’t believe you need mercy, then you blaspheme and deny the Son, even as these people tried to throw Him over the cliff - “So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath,  and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff.  Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way” (vs28-30).

Christ is the sinner’s Savior by bearing their sins in His body on the tree. What we do deserves death, and what He paid enables God to bless us justly, freely giving the riches of grace.  The gospel is God doing GOOD STUFF to us eternally by the merit of His Son, and by faith, we’re released from guilt, sin, and the Satanic influence. We are liberated, enabled to see, free of debt, comforted, healed, saved, blessed, and happy.  The gospel changes the inner man until peace rules by REVEALING God’s GREAT peace toward you, how rich He is.

Yet, many hear the gospel and won’t believe because they are not sinners. They say, “Pastor, show me more.  Tell me something new.  Do something different. Impress, entertain, but DON’T think I’ll love that gospel and draw near” - “Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him.   And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."   So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, "Is this not Joseph’s son?"   He said to them, "You will surely say this proverb to Me, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country.’"  Then He said, "Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country” (vs20-24).

Unsaved man, it has been said, can see EVERYTHING in the gospel but the glory or the beauty of God. But, when we’re SINFUL and wicked, enslaved and guilty, then we don’t hear the gospel as a nuisance but as the message of how so GREAT a God could be good to me. This is good news from a far country; it is cool water that refreshes the soul (Prov 25:25).

The Lord isn’t stopped by unbelief. He will find a sinner, and He illustrates it by the widow woman and Naaman the leper. These two were Gentiles, despised by the Jews. Yet, they obtained mercy, not because they deserved it or sought God, but because God can’t be stopped in saving sinners, and He saves by revealing that we are evil, unworthy, and helpless.  The problem isn’t sin; the problem is unwillingness to be cleansed.  The leper and the widow manifest God’s grace to sinners so low they’re disdained, and thereby God is disdained, by the religious crowd.  Men refuse mercy at the cost of their souls - “"But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; "but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.  "And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian."  (vs25-27)

Beware. The gospel isn’t a trifle. If you play with it and rebel, then you’ll lose eternal peace and have hell to show for it.  If you won’t receive Him as Savior, then you throw Him over the cliff in your heart, hating Him.  People say, “I don’t hate the Son”, but do you obey Him? He said, “If you love me, keep my commandments”, and His command is to BELIEVE on the Son, receiving the riches of grace that He has earned, confessing that He chose to save you by His blood unto the GOOD works of the Spirit.

Anything less than faith and love is rebellion, rejection of Christ, and despising the mercy of God.  If you want to be saved, be the sinner, and He’ll help you.  Don’t be the sinner, and He’ll meet you in hells fury. You will always regret that fact that He was in your midst in mercy, you despised Him, and He passed by you to someone else.

“The Company of Two Armies” (Song 6:13)

"Return, return, O Shulamite; return, return, that we may look upon you. What will you see in the Shulamite? As it were the company of two armies", or a host of armies (vs13) 

Because we’ve conquered with God, the Lord sees us mighty, having “power with God and with men, and has prevailed” through prayer (Gen 32:28).

If I can get God to do what I want, get God to hear my prayer, and get God to give me the BLESSING that every soul will covet, then I’m mighty - “he had power with God: yes, he had power over the angel, and prevailed: he wept, and made supplication unto him: he found him in Bethel, and there he spoke with us“ (Hos 12:3-4). For a sinner to plead the blood and be saved, for a hell-deserving beast to obtain mercy, and for God to say, “Be it unto you, even as you will”, is the mercy given to believers (Matt 15:28). We persuade and move Him. We get God to give us what we need, because we look no other place and believe Him for it.

This is what Christ sees in us: He sees us prevailing against God, and commanding Him to keep His own promises, as He has commanded us, “Thus says the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, Ask me of things to come concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands command you me” (Is 45:11).  God has made promises, and we OBTAIN them.  We subdue kingdoms, work righteousness, overcome sins, etc.  He gives us GRACE to obey and to serve Him in a world of sin. He enables us to defeat the flesh, resist the devil, kill sin, and mortify the deeds of the body (Rom 8:13). He enables us to overcome, and we conquer for real, repenting and receiving the promised blessing, fleeing from the danger to Christ.

Be strong, O child of God, and know what you have in Christ. Know that you have POWER with God and you can be gentle, loving, and kind in your conduct among men. You are not ruled by the flesh, but even when He’s absent, He gives you grace to subdue wickedness and bring Him near. He is constrained by you (Luke 24:29). The faith He gives you is enough to bring Him near, and the obedience you render catches His eye and moves His heart - “Or ever I was aware, my soul made me like the chariots of [my willing people]” (Song 6:12).  He is made willing by our willingness, the gift of God.

“A Virtuous Woman” (Ruth 3:10-11)

“And he said, Blessed be you of the Lord, my daughter: for you have showed more kindness in the latter end than at the beginning, inasmuch as you follow not young men, whether poor or rich. And now, my daughter, fear not; I will do to you all that you require: for all the city of my people does know that you are a virtuous woman” (vs10-11).

If we come to God in the gospel, then He’ll give Himself FREELY unto us.  Coming to God is rewarded for all that come by faith, which glorifies God, saying that what God’s promised, though I’m evil, He will surely do (Rom 4:20-22). This will bring us joy, peace, power, and every blessing of faith. He will help us indeed, even as He helped Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to serve and honor God in the flame. He will ensure that we are not hurt, but we are LIBERATED by the flame that we endure, so that this trial of faith will do nothing but LIBERATE us to know and enjoy God forever in Jesus Christ. God puts us in positions TOO HARD for us, so that we can glorify His grace, being MIRACULOUSLY saved by God.

Trust Him for holiness of conduct, and He’ll GIVE it to you (Ex 12:8-9). Trust Him for obedience, and you have it. Just deal with Him in the FREENESS and delight of grace, whereby God is PLEASED to do us good by Jesus Christ and the GRACE that He righteously earned, so that God is HOLY and gracious both, by Christ, and you‘ll have your petition. We can‘t have a million things, but we CAN have God, so seek Him in the freeness and sovereignty of grace.  He’ll give Himself to you.

God answers prayer, hears the call of sinners, and saves His people by grace. Learn the word “grace” and know it is free, mighty, and glorious: it subdues and eases the heart, it works SALVATION on God’s terms, God’s way, unto God’s glory in Jesus Christ, causing us to do His will.

We don’t come to Him able; we come by faith, and He enables us. We don’t come STRONG; we come by faith, and He puts might in us to obey (Eph 3:16-17). We don’t even come PRAISING God with our joy; we come EMPTY and He saves us to the praise of His glory, which we see.

Of all things in this world you can’t have (fame, honor, worship, etc), you and I may have God who is above all.

Men mock at God, and yet He is patient and REWARDS all that BELIEVE: He will not cast you off, if you come trusting Him to do you good for Jesus’ sake.  Amen.

“Find Grace” (Ruth 2:1-2)

"And Naomi had a kinsman of her husband's, a mighty man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech; and his name was Boaz. And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi, Let me now go to the field and clean ears of corn after him in whose sight I shall find grace. And she said unto her, Go, my daughter" (vs1-2)

We shall find SURPRISING mercy, if we believe the gospel of Jesus Christ. We shall see God MORE gracious to us than we imagined, and He brings us down to see the hope.

I think, “God”, but in small letters, I say, “and me, too, somehow, at least”. And then, God makes you see yourself as someone who would be in hell, unless He stopped you, someone that would sin that grace might abound, or just depart from Christ COMPLETELY, and He brings you back by grace, shutting down your attempts to depart and compromise, and making Christ your eternal joy. He shows you the beauty of Christ saving SINNERS, and you glorify Him (Ps 50:15).  But, the grace that God gives doesn’t leave us in the outskirts, as we’d expect; it brings us to God, so that we can be saved by Him and ENJOY Him forever. There is a thrill in Christ Jesus, and it is the music and dancing that He gives to returning sinners (Luke 15:23).  He said, “They return, but not to the most High”, but when we do come to God in Christ, we find a God able to save, able to subdue sinful habits, and ABLE to give pleasure that we COULD NOT experience in the world [Hosea 7:16]. Yes, He gives JOY unspeakable and full of glory. He gives PEACE that passes understanding, as God fills us, instead of things (John 14:21).  A wife, a job, a car, etc, can only make you and I thankful, if we see Christ. But, seeing Christ is fullness without these other things, so that I don’t need anything else. And, when God is revealing Himself in saving love, the love that DESTROYED your attempts to destroy yourself and others, then we see God’s beauty, and it is BETTER than the best woman, the best house, and the best of everything. Give me God in His glory, and my heart is full of joy that I cannot describe, but it is real, and it must be felt.

You see people laughing, dancing, and PRAISING God, but this is the fruit of God being seen by us.  Now, seek after this beauty in Christ Jesus.

First, you and I must believe in grace, that it is ours, that it is free, that God has DONE and does EVERYTHING to save us because He loves us, even telling us “no” for our good, only (Heb 12:6).

Then, you must believe this God, in love, is yours. He is pardoning and loving towards you and means you only good. He has NO WRATH against you (Ps 103:13). He only seeks your joy, which is the joy of Christ, so He won’t let you eat poison things that look good and taste sweet for a season, but He leads us to green pastures and still waters: what is best for us.

People squander their lives and souls living for what doesn’t satisfy as much as God, so God SHAKES our foundation, destroys our sinful ambitions, and gives us, like a Father, what is best (Hos 2:13).

Submit yourself to God: He is doing you good. Believe and receive it. Know that God’s will (obedience) is BEST for you and me, and He has FAR MORE here than we thought.

Ruth thought that she’d get “some mercy”, because it was promised to her that the fields must be properly un-reaped, for the poor [Lev 19]. But, she didn’t know that she’d marry Boaz, the Kinsman Redeemer, even as you and I get Christ Himself, when we thought that we’d only get the outskirts of Christian service. You and I, after our sins, may still have Christ fully.  Your finances and family may have been ruined, but you and I may have God now, and that covers everything. He may not give you what you could have had in this world, but He WILL give you Christ, which makes life worth living.  He is the great and forgiving God, and He meets us in obedience, causing us to obey by His chastening hand, and then rewarding obedience with Christ and Himself, fellowshipping with us (John 14:23). Take the promise as for you, and see God FAR more loving than you could have dreamed.

Not the Quantity of Faith... (Welsh)

It is not the quantity of thy faith that shall save thee. A drop of water is as true water as the whole ocean. So a little faith is as true faith as the greatest. A child eight days old is as really a man as one of sixty years; a spark of fire is as true fire as a great flame; a sickly man is as truly living as a healthy man. So it is not the measure of thy faith that saves thee – it is the blood that it grips to that saves thee. As the weak hand of a child, that leads the spoon to the mouth, will feed it as well as the strong arm of a man; for it is not the hand that feeds thee – albeit, it puts the meat into thy mouth, but it is the meat carried into thy stomach that feeds thee. So if thou canst grip Christ ever so weakly, he will not let thee perish. The weakest hands take a gift as well as the strongest. Now, Christ is this gift, and weak faith may grip him as well as strong faith, and Christ is as truly thine when thou hast weak faith, as when thou hast come to those triumphant joys through the strength of faith.

Welsh

"Grasp Them As Your Own" Spurgeon

After I had preached in this place one morning, there was a sinner convinced of sin, and led to tremble before God. He saw his brother after the service, and he asked him, "What must I do to be saved?" "Believe," said he. "Well, brother," he said, "I always did believe, I always have believed the things that are preached, and the things that are in the Bible. What more am I to do?" His brother answered, "Why, take them! Grasp them as your own." "I never saw that before," said the man, and so he was brought into the light. Now, that is faith. Faith is the hand that grips the Saviour, and holds him fast.

Lord Save Me (Matt 15:21-28)

"Then came she and worshiped him, saying, Lord, help me" (vs25).

Calling upon the name of the Lord, we shall be saved. This woman is unworthy of help, but recognizing her sinful condition doesn’t keep her from Christ. She BELIEVES the Lord’s GOODNESS, in spite of her sins, and we’re saved the SAME way.
1. We are devil possessed because we deserve to be so – “And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil” (Matt 15:22). We are sinners who rebelled against God and lost all right to His love and favor. We are POSSESSED of Satan, because we are children of the devil, estranged from God, and enemies by nature. We DESERVE to die in sin. The crime is committed, the judgment is set. Only the Lord Jesus can SAVE the sinner, but only ACKNOWLEDGED sinners shall be saved, “for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him” (Rom 10:12).

We call on the name of the Lord, as we realize His right to save us, though we have no merit.
2. The disciples are NOT as merciful as God, not as holy, not as good, and not to be a cause of discouragement – “But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she cries after us” (Matt 15:23). No one who should be saved will allow the evil of His saints to keep them from Christ. Sinners don’t let sinners keep them from the Savior by saying, “Lord, I would have come, but THEIR sins”. It is OUR sins that DRIVE us to Christ, and nothing holds us back, if we are sinners with hope in God.
3. Submission is God’s way, “Then came she and worshiped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, It is not good to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to the dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table” (Matt 15:25-27). When the word rebukes us, we admit it, “Only acknowledge your iniquity, that you have transgressed against the Lord your God, and have scattered your ways to the strangers under every green tree, and you have not obeyed my voice, says the Lord” (Jer 3:13). When sin is revealed, we confess. When God unfolds Himself, we bow.

Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord, recognizing His right to save, shall be saved. Your blemishes, though now acknowledged, will only bring you to Christ and ENDEAR you to Him, as you trust His SALVATION, in spite of your horribleness and sin, “Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is your faith” (vs28)!
4. We are saved by Christ, healed by Him, given what we need, and made WHOLE by God’s dear Son – “O woman, great is your faith: be it unto you even as you will. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour” (Matt 15:28). We are not absolutely whole until we get to heaven, but we are WHOLE down here, being saved, pardoned, justified, and filled with the Spirit. We walk with God by the gospel; we live.