Abundant Blessings

Text focus: Genesis 48:14-20

Have you ever worried there wouldn't be enough?

Enough food.

Enough time.

Enough opportunities.

Enough love.

Sometimes we live as though life is one giant pie. If someone else gets a bigger slice, there must be less left for us.

We learn that lesson early.

Children argue over whose piece of cake is larger.

Adults compare careers, salaries, accomplishments, and even families.

Sometimes we quietly wonder, "If God blesses someone else does that mean there is less blessing left for me?"

That question isn't new.

Jacob spent much of his life believing exactly that.

When we first met Jacob, he fought for blessing.

He manipulated, he deceived, he tricked, he fought

He believed that if Esau received the blessing there wouldn't be enough left for him.

But today we meet a very different Jacob.

An old man.

Wiser for the years and experiences.

A man who has finally discovered that God's blessings cannot be exhausted.

Because Biblical blessings are not simply getting what we want.

Blessings from God, include God’s favor, presence, calling, and provision so that we can live lives that participate in God's purposes.

Jacob spends his last days giving blessing away.

Joseph brings his two sons to Jacob.

Manasseh, the firstborn.

Ephraim, the younger.

Joseph carefully positions them.

Manasseh on Jacob's right.

Ephraim on the left.

Everything is arranged according to custom.

Everything makes sense.

Then Jacob does something surprising.

He crosses his hands.

His right hand rests on Ephraim, the younger son.

Joseph immediately objects. "No, Father. You have the wrong child."

Jacob simply says, "I know, my son. I know."

What an incredible statement.

Earlier in life Jacob received the blessing because Isaac couldn't see.

Now Jacob sees exactly what he is doing.

This isn't a mistake.

This is faith.

Throughout Genesis, God repeatedly chooses the unexpected.

Jacob over Esau.

Joseph over his older brothers.

Now Ephraim over Manasseh.

Why?

Because God's blessings have never been limited by human expectations of who “deserves it”.

God's blessings are God's to give.

It reminds us that God often works beyond our expectations.

The world measures importance by status,

achievement,

seniority.

But God looks at the heart.

You may wonder why Jacob blesses Joseph's sons instead of simply giving Joseph another blessing.

Genesis 48 gives us the answer.

Jacob adopts Ephraim and Manasseh as his own sons.

In doing so, Joseph’s legacy becomes blessed.

It is a beautiful act of generosity.

Joseph has already become a blessing to the nations through God's work in Egypt.

Now Jacob ensures that Joseph's family will remain fully woven into God's covenant people for generations to come.

Even here, God's blessing continues to overflow.

This may be my favorite transformation in Genesis.

Think back to our message in June when Jacob believed there was only one blessing.

He disguised himself.

He lied and manipulated.

He stole what he thought he could never receive otherwise.

Now look at him.

The man that once stole the blessing from his brother now freely gives blessings away.

He blesses Ephraim.

AND he blesses Manasseh.

Then in chapter 49 he gathers every one of his sons.

Not just Joseph, not just his favorite.

Every son.

Even those who had deeply disappointed him.

And each receives a blessing.

Not identical blessings, but intentional blessings.

Genesis 49:29 says, “All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them, giving each the blessing appropriate to him.”

This is abundance.

Jacob finally understands something he spent a lifetime learning.

God's blessings are never diminished by being shared.

In fact, it is when they are shared that they multiply.

I want to go back to Genesis 49:29 and address something important.

"he blessed them, every one with the blessing appropriate to him."

Notice what Scripture doesn't say.

It doesn't say Jacob gave everyone the same blessing.

Each blessing fit the person.

Judah receives leadership.

Zebulun receives the sea.

Issachar receives strength.

Joseph receives fruitfulness.

Benjamin receives courage.

Jacob doesn't give each son the same kind of blessing.

Some words are words of promise,

some are words of warning,

and some are words that name who they are becoming.

But each son receives something intentional and uniquely fit for them from their father.

Each blessing is unique.

Because each person is unique.

Paul picks up this same idea centuries later as he explains the gifts of the spirit saying in 1 Corinthians 12:4 "There are varieties of gifts but the same Spirit."

Not everyone is gifted in the same way.

Not everyone serves in the same way.

But everyone has been entrusted with something.

Blessing isn't about everyone receiving identical gifts.

Blessing is about learning to recognize and faithfully use what God has entrusted to us for God's purposes

Sometimes we spend so much time wishing for someone else's blessing that we fail to recognize our own.

But God has never asked you to become someone else.

God is inviting you to become the person you were created to be.

That is blessing.

Jacob's story invites us to let go of a scarcity mindset.

Our world constantly teaches us to compare and compete.

To assume there isn't enough for everyone.

And sometimes scarcity is real in this world,

People genuinely go without what they need,

we see people struggle to get the healthcare, housing, and resources that they need.

But God's Kingdom doesn't work that way.

The gospel does not ask us to pretend that this is not a reality in our world.

It asks us what we will do with what God has entrusted to us, so that our abundance can become someone else's provision.

How can our abundance become enough for someone else?

Enough hope.

Enough opportunity.

Enough love.

Enough recognition.

When God blesses your neighbor,

That does not mean that God isn’t blessing you.

When someone else's gifts flourish,

That does not mean that your gifts become invaluable.

The same God who remained faithful to promises and uniquely blessed Abraham...

Isaac...

Jacob...

Joseph...

remains faithful today.

God’s grace meets each of you in an intentional and uniquely sacred way.

God knows us more deeply than we know ourselves,

and God's grace meets us exactly where we are and equips us with the unique gifts we need for calling God gives us,

no matter where that calling may find us in our lives.

God's blessing for you may not look like anyone else's.

It isn't supposed to.

Because God's calling on your life is uniquely yours.

Blessing is not having everything.

Blessing is trusting that God will meet you with the grace, gifts, and presence you need to become who God created you to be.

And when we live in our blessings, we are living the lives that God intends for us.

That is also what God intends for the church.

We aren't blessed simply to become a comfortable community of blessed people.

We are blessed so that God's blessing can flow through us into the lives of people who need hope, compassion, welcome, and grace.

This week I want you to do two things.

First, thank God for one blessing that is uniquely yours.

Perhaps it's patience.

Compassion.

Hospitality.

Wisdom.

Generosity.

Encouragement.

Persistence.

Faith.

Whatever it is, thank God for it.

And if you are in a season where it is difficult to see your blessings, you don’t have to pretend otherwise.

Sometimes part of faith is trusting that God is faithful and present as we seek out those blessings.

And sometimes it means allowing another person to help us notice God's goodness until we can see it again for ourselves.

Which is why, this next part is so important.

Once you have identified your blessings, put that gratitude into action and become a blessing to someone else.

Pray for someone.

Write a note.

Share your gifts.

Offer forgiveness.

Share your story with each other,

invite someone over for coffee,

or an ice cream,

or a meal,

and share your story.

And listen to theirs.

This is a great way to encourage each other.

Because blessings were never meant to stop with us.

They were always meant to flow through us.

Just as Jacob's blessings became the future of Israel our blessings become part of God's work in the lives of others.

When we first met Jacob he believed blessing had to be taken.

By the end of his life he had discovered blessing could be given away freely and joyfully.

For all you deeply rooted Methodists,

this is what Wesley would call sanctification,

God's grace slowly transforming who we are and how we live.

That is that holy transformation

Jacob no longer lives with clenched fists.

He lives with open hands.

Open enough to bless his grandsons.

Open enough to bless every one of his sons.

Open enough to trust that God's goodness is greater than his fears.

Beloved,

the good news is this.

We worship a God whose blessings never run dry.

A God who does not compare us to each other.

A God who does not ask us to earn our place.

A God who knows each of us by name.

A God who knows what each of us needs and who gives each of us gifts.

Who calls each of us for a purpose.

And who invites us not merely to receive blessing

But to become a blessing.

So go from this place with open hands.

Receive the blessings God has prepared for you.

Celebrate the blessings God has given others.

And share the blessings God has entrusted to you.

Because we serve a God of abundant grace and mercy

who showers us with abundant blessings.

Thanks be to God. Amen.