Today we are going to be discussing about an issue that perhaps many of us have not considered it to be so important, some of us may know it’s important but we have not considered it as a matter of priority or something that we should always pursue even as we are in the kingdom.  There are blessings that are apportioned for sons and for daughters that are in the kingdom, but there are certain ways to access these blessings. This is what we are going to be looking at today. It is not something that any of us have out grown, it is not something that we should feel as if it’s not needed it is something that is needed by each and every one of us no matter the level we are in the kingdom.

 

I want to read the book of Revelations 5 verse 9, verse 10, and verse 12, it is going to make a background for what we are going to be looking at this morning. “And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,¹⁰ And have made ^[d]us kings^[e] and priests to our God; And ^[f]we shall reign on the earth.”

 

The matter we will be looking at this morning is talking about this situation that was spoken about in this verse 10. It says “and they shall reign on the earth” there is something that makes the believer, the Christian to reign on the earth, and it says we have been made kings and priest unto our God. So, there are categories of people that reign on the earth, not in the heavens. These category of people are the people the Bible says they have been made kings and they have been made priests. There is something I want us to note before we begin. We have not been saved just to prepare for heaven so to say, we have been saved to reign on the earth.

 

And the reason why we must reign on the earth is because there was a sacrifice, a price that someone has paid for us and has qualified us to be kings and to be priest. The matter of blessings are the things that we would be considering this morning. The question is; what is blessing? Blessing is the act of bestowing or declaring favor or approval. It is also the pronouncement invoking divine aid. It is a supernatural aid or reward. So, two things that I want us to note from this definition; blessing is a pronouncement, blessing is a product of a reward. It comes as a reward; it comes as a pronouncement. I want us to note that even as we proceed in this message.

 

So, verse 12 of that Scripture in Revelation says; “saying with a loud voice: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, and strength and honor and glory and blessing!” So, we could see that there was someone who was slain, and the Scripture was now saying “worthy is He.” So, there were so many lambs, but this Lamb was slain so that there is something He will receive on our behave so that we can reign on the earth. The problem of man has been the problem of dominion, it has been the problem of rulership and reigning on the earth. There was something that man lost in the garden of Eden and then the Bible says there was a Lamb who was slain to receive these things that were lost and He was not to receive it to keep for Himself, He was to receive it to give to us. And so we are going to be looking at how to access these blessings from Christ.

 

Christ Jesus did not receive these blessings to begin to distribute it to people anyhow, there are some criteria, there are certain conditions, there are certain requirements that you must meet in order to be able to receive these blessings. And note that the reasons why you receive these blessings is so that you can reign on the earth. You have not been saved or redeemed, you have not been called out of darkness into His marvelous light so that you can take things for granted, you have been called, you have been chosen, you have been selected, you have been blessed so that you can reign as kings and as priest on the earth. I want us to begin our study from Genesis 1:26-28. “Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over ^[g]all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” ²⁷ So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. ²⁸ Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that ^[h]moves on the earth.”

 

I want us to note that; it says “then God blessed them and God said to them.” Every other thing that God was speaking to man was as a result of the blessing that He was proclaiming upon the man. And I want us to note that this man that God was speaking to here was not the formed man, but He was speaking to the created man. And I believe that we have known this over time that, there was a man that was created and there was a man that was formed. And so God was speaking to the created man, He blessed them and said be fruitful and multiply. There is something I want us to note; the blessings of God may be tangible and it may not be tangible. It is tangible in the sense that it can be felt around your life, it can be felt around the man.

 

It is intangible because you cannot see it, you cannot touch it, but it is very real, it can be vivid. Now Jesus was speaking to His disciples at a point, He said the words that I speak to you, they are Spirit and they are life, He said the flesh profits nothing. One thing I want us to not is that blessings come in form of words. It is the Spiritual blessing that is being spoken upon the man that is being expressed to the formed man. It comes by the expression of the word. So, while Jesus was speaking to His disciples it was a spiritual impartation He was giving to them. So, the more He was speaking a positive word to them, He was blessing them in one way or the other.

 

There is something we must note; before you can be blessed, before you can be a blessing to somebody, you must be blessed. So, before Adam can begin to express the blessing on the earth, he must be a man that needs the conferment of the blessings of God upon his life. So, while Jesus was speaking to His disciples there was a Spiritual transfer of words. From the definition we saw, it said that a blessing can be a pronouncement, a blessing can also be an invoking, it can be a spiritual aid. So, the words can come in a form that will activate what God has put inside of you. When you were born it was not like certain things were not deposited in your life, but by the virtue of those words, they begin to activate certain dimensions that God has deposited in your life.

 

So, it is possible that the word can destroy you and the word can also make you. So, the question is; what kind of words are being spoken over your life? because, words are spirits. It is important to not this. What kind of words do I subject myself under, is it the words of Christ or it is the word of somebody else? And this is one of the ways we can access blessings in the kingdom. So, God spoke to the man, it said and God blessed them and said be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth. Now when you look at the book of Ephesians 1, there is something so fundamental that I want us to read. Verse 3 says; “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, ⁴ just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,⁵ having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will”

 

“Haven adopted us” this why we are looking at the concept of the power of adoption. Now there is a way this blessing is being conferred on us, and it comes by adoption. It doesn’t come by an adoption of anybody else but the adoption of the one who was slain to receive this blessing. That was why I made that statement that says; until you are blessed, you can’t be a blessing.  Jesus Christ received this blessing and He is the only one that can confer true blessings upon a man. So, it says by adoption, we were adopted, by who? It said by Christ Jesus as sons. So, two things to be noted from this Scripture, it says; there are sons who have been adopted. So, the ones who are qualified for blessings are the sons, and the one who gives the blessing is Jesus Christ.

 

So, the Scripture says without any contradiction, the less is blessed of the better. I was sharing something with my wife recently and I told her, it is possible that you can have a father for thirty years, forty years or even more and you can be under that father and there is nothing spectacular that you would have gained under him, nothing spectacular that has robbed off on you haven been subjected to that father, and as a matter of fact within a twinkling of an eye haven been adopted by another father, let’s assume he is a king and within a twinkling of an eye things can change about your life. Is that true? Yes! For example, you have a father who is lacking capacity in certain dimensions and you are now adopted by a father who is a king, what happens is that certain things changes about your life automatically by the power of that adoption, by the pronouncement of him saying you have become a son, and things will just turn around in your life. 

 

I want us to understand this; the power of adoption. Jesus Christ adopted us as sons. We are going to be looking at how to access these blessings. It is not because Christ adopted us and then it becomes an automatic ticket into the blessing, there are certain procedures that will usher us into this blessing. And so when you read the book of Genesis 3 verse 23 to verse 24, the Bible was talking about how God drove the man out of the garden of Eden, so by the reason of that, man became disconnected with God. It was like you are no longer my son and then there was nothing that was connecting man with God. So, what Jesus Christ came to do was to bring man back to God and to connect man to that very thing he has missed in the garden of Eden. So, there were dimensions that Christ was slain to receive, and one of them was these blessings.

 

That was why Jesus made a fundamental statement in John 14:18, He said I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you. When you begin to investigate that statement, why did Jesus Christ have to make that statement? Why did He say I will not leave you as orphans? Is it that He didn’t know that His disciples were people that didn’t have father and mother? He knew! He knew that His disciples have relations, He knew that His disciples could be under any kind of parents. He said but I will not leave you as orphans. So, it means that if the Spirit of the Lord, the presence of the Lord is not with you, it means that you are an orphan, you lack a father. So, it means that while Adam was being sent out of the garden of Eden, he was being disowned, he was being sent out as a man without a father.

 

And we must begin to ask ourselves this question, who is your father? What kinds of words are being spoken into your life? Under what atmosphere, under what kind of spirit do you sit under. Apostle Paul said I commend you to God and to the word of His grace. He didn’t say I commend you to other gods or I commend you to one of the things that are in the world, He said I commend you to God, and to the words of His grace, I commend you to God and His words that can make impact, His words that can pronounce blessings upon you, His words that can build you up, and His words that can give you inheritances. That inheritance talks about the blessings. The blessing is the sum of all these.

 

I want us to read the book of Romans 8:12 “Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. ¹³ For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. ¹⁴ For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. ¹⁵ For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba,^[e] Father.” So, the Spirit is the Spirit of Adoption, it is the Spirit that reconciles us back to God, it is the Spirit that guarantees us the blessings and the inheritances of God. Jesus said I will not leave you as orphans, so the Spirit that cries Abba Father is that Spirit that leads us towards the direction where the blessing is. As many that are led by the Spirit, they are the sons of God.

 

It says the Spirit Himself bears witness with our Spirit that we are the children of God. remember that Scripture we read, it said “as sons.” There are certain people that are qualified for the blessings, there are certain people that are not qualified for the blessing and it says as many that are led, so we can see that the blessing cannot come without the leading of the Spirit. The blessing cannot be made manifest if you are not lost and completely lost in the Spirit or to being led by the Spirit.

 

I want us to see Genesis 27, we are going to dwell much on that Scripture. I will begin to read verse 18. So he went to his father and said, “My father.” And he said, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?” Let me give us a little background of this Scripture, it was talking about how Jacob took the blessing of Esau, how Jacob came to deceive his father and took the blessings. So, he went to his father and said here I am. Who are you, my son? And I want us to note that question even as we are proceeding. ¹⁹ 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. [ I also want us to note this, I am Esau your firstborn] ”²⁰ But 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.”²¹ Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come near, that I may feel you, my son, whether you are really my son Esau or not.”

 

You may want to ask, why was it that Jesus Christ was able to do so much on the earth? There were so many times the confirmation of God was coming upon the life of Jesus, He said “this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased”, the word kept coming. And this was Isaac asking a question here, are you my son, are you the first born? As many as are led by the Spirit, they are the sons of God.  And so the Holy Spirit is asking us this question here, are you really my son? It is not about desiring the blessing, the Spirit is asking a question, the Father is asking a question, are you really My son, or you are not My son. Until you are a son, until you are a daughter in the kingdom, you will not be able to access that blessing. The blessing is not meant for the children outside the kingdom. When you read the book of John 14 verse 17, Jesus was speaking to His disciples, He said the world neither know Me nor can they receive Me.

 

 So, He was talking about a people that have associated with God, and a people that have associated with His Spirit. And so He was saying; are you really Esau? Are you really my son? Are you really my daughter? If you are my son, if you are my daughter, are you led by My Spirit? Because it is by that, that you are qualified to receive the blessing. So, lets proceed; ²² So Jacob went near to Isaac his father, and he felt him and said, “The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” ²³ And he did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau’s hands; so he blessed him.

 

Men can be deceived into making certain pronouncement on you, but the Spirit cannot be deceived, the Spirit of God knows exactly those who are His. And this is the difference between the kind of blessing that we think is a blessing and the kind of blessing that God confers on His children. Verse ²⁴ Then he said, “Are you really my son Esau?” He said, “I am.” We can see that in the space of few verses he kept asking; are you really my son? If you are really my son, then the blessing can be yours. But if you are not my son, you cannot be a partaker of this blessing. You may put on deceit and hypocrisy in the flesh, but you cannot deceive in the Spirit. Because there is clarity in the realm of the Spirit. Are you really my son? God said this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. God was not in doubt He knew and He kept confirming it, He kept testifying about it, that this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. Until you please the father, you cannot be a partaker of the blessing. Does who come to Him must believe that He is and He is a rewarder of those that diligently seek Him. That is one of the ways to please God and receive the blessings.

 

How to Access the Blessings of the Kingdom

#. Let your focus be to bless and to bless God. Remember I said without any contradiction, the less is blessed of the better, but in this case if you want to access the blessing, you must bless God and your focus must be to keep blessing God. it is a two-way thing, it is not about God bless me always, God continue to bless me, there’s also a place for you to take the responsibility to be a blessing to God. Perhaps you have not been a son that blesses the Lord, perhaps your focus is to receive the blessing from the Lord, and the Holy Spirit is also saying you can also be a blessing to God. When you read Genesis 27, Isaac gave an instruction to Esau, let me begin from verse two.  Then he said, “Behold now, I am old. I do not know the day of my death. ³ Now therefore, please take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me. ⁴ And make me ^[a]savory food, such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die.”

 

So, before the blessing was to come upon the man, He gave a condition, He said go and prepare food for me. What do you think are the things that can please God, that you can offer to God, that God can bless you in return?  We could see that blessing is not just a one-way thing, how are you blessing God that will stir His heart to send blessings towards your direction. He said make me savory food, let me be pleased that my soul can also bless you. So, that point says be focused and make sure that you are pleasing the Lord.

 

Now when you read the book of Hebrews 10:5-7, the Scripture was saying; Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, But a body You have prepared for Me.⁶ In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure.⁷ Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come—In the volume of the book it is written of Me—To do Your will, O God.’ Did we see that? “to do your will” my desire is that I please the Lord, my desire is that I do your will. My desire is that I do the biddings and the will of God. And the Scripture says by that His sacrifice was acceptable. Behold I have come in the volume of the books to do your will O God. How much of Gods will are we doing? Because, God takes no pleasure, or He has no desire in burnt offerings and sacrifices that are according to the law and not according to the Spirit. Until you begin to function according to the Spirit, until you are led as a son, you cannot be a partaker of the blessing.

 

#. Be willing to partner with the Holy Spirit and be a waiter. Now when you read Genesis 25 and you read verse 27 you will realize certain things that happened there. The Bible says; So, the boys grew. And Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field; but Jacob was a ^[f]mild man, dwelling in tents. And I want us to begin to note these words. ²⁸ And Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob. ²⁹ Now Jacob cooked a stew; and Esau came in from the field, and he was weary. And I want us to also note that. Esau was a skillful hunter, Esau was the one going out and Esau could get whatever he could get. But the Bible says when he comes back, he becomes weary.

 

You must be a waiter; you must wait upon the Lord to be able to access the blessing of God. You must continue to partner with the Holy Spirit to be able to get what Holy Spirit has for you. You must be a waiter. If you will not be weary, you must be a waiter. The Bible says when he got back from the field, he was weary. When you observe people that are weary they are ready to give anything. And that was how the birthright was sold out. The Bible says he despised the blessing. Why? Because he was weary. Anything could be of pleasure. So, Esau came from the field, he was weary and his labor was all vanity. And so became subjected to the man who was staying in the presence of God.

 

#. You must die to flesh, it’s passion and its desires. The devil came to Jesus in Matthew 4:4 and said if you are the son of God. Note it; “if you are the Son of God.” I talked about the blessing being prepared for sons, and the devil came by that and said if you are the son of God, turn this stone, command this stone to become bread. And Jesus said man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.  He was led by the Spirit and He was operating according to the leadings of the Spirit. And we could see that this temptation was a repetition of what happened in the garden of Eden. The devil came to evil and haven tempted her, she began to behold.

 

The question is; what have you been commanded? The Bible says in Genesis, God commanded the man. And we must note this; you must live according to the command. The command is how the Spirit speaks to you, how the Spirit leads you. You must move, you must sit, you must talk, you must behave according to the patterns of the Spirit. You must walk circumspectly according to the call with which you were called. you must die to flesh and its passion. The Bible says that those that walk according to the Spirit, do no fulfil the lust of the flesh. The Bible says he was weary and while he was weary, he gave up his blessings. He wanted to satisfy his stomach, his belly became his god and so the blessing eluded him. You must crucify the flesh; you must crucify the passions of the flesh.

 

#. You must be willing to grow. Luke 1:76-80. “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways,⁷⁷ To give knowledge of salvation to His people By the remission of their sins,⁷⁸ Through the tender mercy of our God, With which the ^[j]Dayspring from on high ^[k]has visited us;⁷⁹ To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace.” ⁸⁰ So the child grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel.”

 

So, I noted here that there are phases of the blessing. The child was small and there was certain pronouncement upon his life, just like we saw when God was speaking in the book of Genesis to Adam and Eve. And He said be blessed, be fruitful, multiply, and God was speaking here the same way. He said this is the dimension of your ministry. Then the Bible said the child grew and he became strong in the Spirit, and he was in the desert.

 

There is a time of the pronouncement of the blessing and there is the time of the manifestation of the blessing. Your beginning maybe small but your latter end will greatly increase. Sometimes, it may seem as if the blessing is not upon your life, but the blessing is waiting for an appointed time which it will manifest. It said he was in the desert until the day of his manifestation. So, blessing is subject to time and not subject to chance. Until the blessing is spoken to you, you will not manifest it. there is a time to receive the blessing, which talks about the scope of your purpose, there is a time to be formed by the blessing, and there is a time to manifest the blessing.

 

 #. Your life must be in conformity with Christ by yielding to the Spirit of Christ.  Apostle Paul said I am crucified with Christ, never the less I live; the only way that that blessing can become life to you, is that you are crucified with Christ, you crucify your flesh.

Thanks for the gift of your time, I am Apeh Francis Abah!

Feel free to share your thoughts or testimony in the comment box below. I promise to respond to them as soon as possible!