GOD BLESS YOU

It was a missionary called Reverend Sowell who started it.He often said those words.Every parting with him ended with this benediction.Offcourse being a Christian for some time that phrase was familiar.It was the sort of thing that the born again said to one another.It was a cliche. But with this missionary those words would linger with me after his physical presence was long gone.

Chrispin God bless you.

Those words would create an atmosphere of its own.Did he really mean it ? Was he serious ? Did he really want me to be blessed?

It seemed he was serious.Eventually I started believing I was blessed.The words of that missionary is the foundation of this book.You will discover as you read this book that you are blessed.I describe in this book my pilgrimage of discovery of what it means to be blessed.To be blessed is the greatest of all blessings.Being blessed is a spiritual climate or enviroment that one lives in.You can only know that you are blessed when you are blessed.You can only be blessed unless you receive spoken words upon your life.

The last book of the Old Testament Malachi has these words.

Malachi 4

5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:

6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

It describes a situation of a relationship breakdown between the fathers and children.This broken relationship ends in a curse released.

The opposite of a curse released is a blessing.The blessing comes where there is a restored relationship.I personal believe that one of the greatest needs in today soceity is for children not in the context of biological children only but for children who realise they need fathers who can pronounce a blessing upon them for them to suceed in life.

We also need fathers who realise they need to bless their children.These two children and fathers are the fabric of society.

My biological father was a wonderfull man.Although religious he was not born again and limited in his understanding of the bible.I dont remember him blessing me.Others only remember that the only words spoken over them by their fathers were the words useless.

Jesus equates careless words spoken over a person as murdering them.

Mat 5:21 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:

Mat 5:22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.

Mat 5:23 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee;

Mat 5:24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.

Mat 5:25 Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison.

Mat 5:26 Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost

The word Raca means worthless

Fathers have literally cursed their children in this manner.

Fool here means the following

probably from the base of 3466; dull or stupid (as if shut up), i.e. heedless, (morally) blockhead, (apparently) absurd:--fool(-ish,

These words become more devastating coming from authority figures like fathers,teachers and pastors.

Fathers provide shoulders for their children to climb into their destiny.

I strongly believe the church of Jesus Christ is a support system to provide surrogate fathers and children.

The Jewish tradition allowed mothers to bless the birth of their children by naming them.

Here are a few examples

1 Samuel 4

21 And she named the child Ichabod, saying, The glory is departed from Israel: because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father in law and her husband.

1 Chronicles 4

9 And Jabez was more honorable than his brethren: and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bare him with sorrow.

Genesis 30

6 And Rachel said, God hath judged me, and hath also heard my voice, and hath given me a son: therefore called she his name Dan.

7 And Bilhah Rachel's maid conceived again, and bare Jacob a second son.

8 And Rachel said, With great wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed: and she called his name Naphtali.

9 When Leah saw that she had left bearing, she took Zilpah her maid, and gave her Jacob to wife.

10 And Zilpah Leah's maid bare Jacob a son.

11 And Leah said, A troop cometh: and she called his name Gad.

12 And Zilpah Leah's maid bare Jacob a second son.

13 And Leah said, Happy am I, for the daughters will call me blessed: and she called his name Asher.

The examples show mothers duty in naming their children.There is a saying which says there is something more in a name.

Powerfull the mothers naming might be it was the fathers who released the destiny blessing.

Here are examples

God hears Abraham about Ishmael

Genesis 17

20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.

Genesis 27

1 And it came to pass, that when Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see, he called Esau his eldest son, and said unto him, My son: and he said unto him, Behold, here am I.

2 And he said, Behold now, I am old, I know not the day of my death:

3 Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me some venison;

4 And make me savory meat, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat; that my soul may bless thee before I die.

5 And Rebekah heard when Isaac spake to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt for venison, and to bring it.

6 And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother, saying,

7 Bring me venison, and make me savory meat, that I may eat, and bless thee before the LORD before my death.

8 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command thee.

9 Go now to the flock, and fetch me from thence two good kids of the goats; and I will make them savory meat for thy father, such as he loveth:

10 And thou shalt bring it to thy father, that he may eat, and that he may bless thee before his death.

11 And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man:

12 My father peradventure will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver; and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing.

13 And his mother said unto him, Upon me be thy curse, my son: only obey my voice, and go fetch me them.

14 And he went, and fetched, and brought them to his mother: and his mother made savory meat, such as his father loved.

15 And Rebekah took goodly raiment of her eldest son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them upon Jacob her younger son

4 And make me savory meat, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat; that my soul may bless thee before I die.

5 And Rebekah heard when Isaac spake to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt for venison, and to bring it.

6 And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother, saying,

7 Bring me venison, and make me savory meat, that I may eat, and bless thee before the LORD before my death.

8 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command thee.

9 Go now to the flock, and fetch me from thence two good kids of the goats; and I will make them savory meat for thy father, such as he loveth:

10 And thou shalt bring it to thy father, that he may eat, and that he may bless thee before his death.

11 And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man:

12 My father peradventure will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver; and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing.

3 And his mother said unto him, Upon me be thy curse, my son: only obey my voice, and go fetch me them.

14 And he went, and fetched, and brought them to his mother: and his mother made savory meat, such as his father loved.

15 And Rebekah took goodly raiment of her eldest son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them upon Jacob her younger son:

16 And she put the skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands, and upon the smooth of his neck:

17 And she gave the savory meat and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.

18 And he came unto his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I; who art thou, my son?

19 And Jacob said unto his father, I am Esau thy first born; I have done according as thou badest me: arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me.

20 And Isaac said unto his son, How is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son? And he said, Because the LORD thy God brought it to me.

21 And Isaac said unto Jacob, Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, whether thou be my very son Esau or not.

22 And Jacob went near unto 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 discerned him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau's hands: so he blessed him.

24 And he said, Art thou my very son Esau? And he said, I am.

25 And he said, Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son's venison, that my soul may bless thee. And he brought it near to him, and he did eat: and he brought him wine and he drank.

26 And his father Isaac said unto him, Come near now, and kiss me, my son.

27 And he came near, and kissed him: and he smelled the smell of his raiment, and blessed him, and said, See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the LORD hath blessed:

28 Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine:

29 Let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee: be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother's sons bow down to thee: cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee.

Isaac blessed his children.

Jacob also blesses his children

Gen 49:1 And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.

Gen 49:2 Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father.

Gen 49:3 Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power:

Gen 49:4 Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father's bed; then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch.

Gen 49:5 Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations.

Gen 49:5 Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations.

Gen 49:6 O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united: for in their anger they slew a man, and in their selfwill they digged down a wall.

Gen 49:7 Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.

Gen 49:8 Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee.

Gen 49:9 Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?

Gen 49:10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.

Gen 49:11 Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes:

Gen 49:12 His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.

Gen 49:13 Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships; and his border shall be unto Zidon.

Gen 49:11 Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes:

Gen 49:12 His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.

Gen 49:13 Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships; and his border shall be unto Zidon.

Gen 49:14 Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens:

Gen 49:15 And he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute.

Gen 49:16 Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.

Gen 49:17 Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.

Gen 49:18 I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD.

Gen 49:19 Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last.

Gen 49:20 Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.

Gen 49:22 Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall:

Gen 49:23 The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him:

Gen 49:24 But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:)

Gen 49:25 Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb:

Gen 49:25 Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb:

Gen 49:26 The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.

Gen 49:27 Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.

You will notice that each patriarch endeavored to bless their children before death especially.

God is called the Father.

Eph 3:14 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Eph 3:15 Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,

He made men in his image.Part of his image is Fatherhood

We all need fathers who can release the blessing in our lives.

I heard a preaching on fatherhood and this is what the preacher said

Fathers are those near you any one who is near no matter anointed they might be are not fathers.

You cant simply adopt your favorite preacher as your father based on their books or by watching on television.

Fathers are those who display their lives before you to see and emulate.They provide live modeling of the principles they teach.

Let me add to say they must also be given a chance to read our lives at close range. They must really know us.They know us with our smiles,our frowns and our pimples.In spite of what they see in us they see potential and they bless us regardless.

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AND GOD BLESSED THEM

We begin from the book of the beginning.The creation story.

Genesis 1

22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.

23 And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

24 And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.

25 And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.

30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.

31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

God in this passage of creation is present in His creation.

He blesses His creation.

Let me quote from Jay Snell book What are Abraham blessings ?

Concerning the use of BARAK and EULOGIA in the Abrahamic Covenant, Dr. Link states that, "It is a striking feature of the formulation of the promise that in these programmatic promises, the root BARAK occurs five times, each time in a different form, as the key word..." (NID, I, p.209). But, "blessing" is the key word in the Abrahamic Covenant, not only for the history of Israel but also all families of the earth. For this reason, "Genesis 12:3b sets before 'all tribes of the earth' a history of blessing. It includes liberation from vain toil (Genesis 3:17), carefraught wandering (Genesis 4:11ff.), base servitude (Genesis 9:25) and the destructive chaos of the nations (Genesis 11:1ff.). Thus in Genesis 12:1-3, the Yahwist spans the histories of patriarchs, nation, and mankind with his promise of blessing" (NID,I, p.209). The "blessing" that spans the histories of patriarchs, nation, and mankind includes within its borders the twentythree concepts gleaned from the article of Dr. Link cited above. A concise list follows:

1. Conferring and transference of beneficial power.

2. Fertility in men, livestock, and land.

3. Continued growth of succeeding generations.

4. Peace.

5. Security from enemies.

6. Good fortune.

7. Well-being.

8. Posterity.

9. Liberation from vain toil.

10. Liberation from carefraught wandering.

11. Liberation from base servitude.

12. Destructive choas of the nations.

In addition, Dr. H. G. Link includes Within the borders of “blessing: these additional concepts:

13. Unconditional.

14. Irrevocable.

15. Permanent.

16. Political unity.

17. Harmony with neighbors.

18. Victory over enemies.

19. Abundance in the kneading trough.

20. Protection.

21. Grace.

22. Quiet life.

23. Prosperity.

From the above discussion of BARAK-EULOGIA, three great facts emerge:

1. "Blessing" comes only from God.

2. Blessing" requires an enduement of God's beneficial power.

3. Included within the scope of God's beneficial power is "well-being" for every area of life, that is, salvation for the soul, material wealth, (at the very least, having our needs met), and physical health, etc. From these three great facts, we derive the following concise definition of BARAKEULOGIA: "God's beneficial enduement of power to produce well-being in every area of life."

I am especially impressed with the definition

Gods beneficial enduement of power to produce well-being in every area of life.

Without blessing there is no enduement of power.

Where there is no blessing the well being of a person suffers.

Genesis 1

28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

The dominion mandate is given to Adam.

But you will notice here that it begins with a benediction.

God blesses Adam.

There five things which make the dominion mandate are here.

Be fruitful

Multiply

Replenish

Subdue

Have dominion

There is something about the way God creates that is very interesting.

There is what is called direct direction

This is where God creates directly

But there is also something that you can call indirect creation.

This is where God will create through something that he has created.

There are five ways in which God does this.These are creation laws which are part of the blessings that God.

There are five ways of receiving from God.We are living in times where every one seeks miracles.Yes there are miracles.But the God of miracles can not be domesticated.God never be put in a box.You cant demand from God a miracle according to man prescriptions.

They are five ways of receiving from God.God can use any of them.The things claimed in this book are not the only ways of receiving from God.These five ways are part of what i call the dominion mandate.They are released where there is a blessing.

But before we look at them in detail let us look at other examples at how God operates.

Sin has corrupted the world.The wickedness of man is on the increase.God destroys the world.God is making a new beginning with Noah.How does God restart his program

Genesis 6

1 And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,

2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.

3 And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.

4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.

5 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

6 And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.

7 And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.

8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.

9 These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.

10 And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.

12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.

13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

The dominion mandate is restored to Noah.You will notice that God begins by blessing Noah.The beginning point of God is always the blessing.When God has not blessed it means he has not begun.

Genesis 9

1 And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.

2 And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered.

3 Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.

4 But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.

5 And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man.

6 Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.

7 And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein.

8 And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying,

9 And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you;

10 And with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you; from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth.

11 And I will establish my covenant with you, neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth.

12 And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:

13 I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.

14 And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud:

15 And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.

The cardinal principle of the operations of God is always the blessing.

God blesses Adam

God blessed Noah

We again look at God beginning with another man.This one is a pagan he must be told to leave his fathers land and go to another land.God must establish him by blessing him

Genesis 12

1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee:

2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:

3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

God motivates Abraham through the promise of blessing

These founders of faith enjoy the blessing

This blessing is what i call the dominion mandate

It is the blessing that makes a difference

What is this blessing and how does it make a difference

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Be fruitful

Genesis 1

28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

What does this word fruitful mean

Strong gives this definition

פָּרָה

pârâh

paw-raw'

A primitive root; to bear fruit (literally or figuratively): - bear, bring forth (fruit), (be, cause to be, make) fruitful, grow, increase.

Total KJV occurrences: 29

Let us look at where this word or a similar word is used

Gen 1:22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.

Gen 8:17 Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of all flesh, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth.

Gen 9:1 And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.

Gen 9:7 And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein.

Gen 17:6 And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.

Gen 17:20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.

Gen 26:22 And he removed from thence, and digged another well; and for that they strove not: and he called the name of it Rehoboth; and he said, For now the LORD hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.

Gen 28:3 And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people;

Gen 35:11 And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins;

Gen 41:52 And the name of the second called he Ephraim: For God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.

Gen 47:27 And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions therein, and grew, and multiplied exceedingly.

Gen 48:4 And said unto me, Behold, I will make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a multitude of people; and will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession.

Exo 1:7 And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them.

Exo 23:30 By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land.

Lev 26:9 For I will have respect unto you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, and establish my covenant with you.

Deu 29:18 Lest there should be among you man, or woman, or family, or tribe, whose heart turneth away this day from the LORD our God, to go and serve the gods of these nations; lest there should be among you a root that beareth gall and wormwood;

Beareth

Psa 105:24 And he increased his people greatly; and made them stronger than their enemies.

Psa 128:3 Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table.

Isa 11:1 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:

Isa 17:6 Yet gleaning grapes shall be left in it, as the shaking of an olive tree, two or three berries in the top of the uppermost bough, four or five in the outmost fruitful branches thereof, saith the LORD God of Israel.

Isa 32:12 They shall lament for the teats, for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine.

Isa 45:8 Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together; I the LORD have created it.

Let them bring forth

Jer 3:16 And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the LORD, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the LORD: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more.

Jer 23:3 And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase.

Eze 19:10 Thy mother is like a vine in thy blood, planted by the waters: she was fruitful and full of branches by reason of many waters.

Eze 36:11 And I will multiply upon you man and beast; and they shall increase and bring fruit: and I will settle you after your old estates, and will do better unto you than at your beginnings: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.

A good study of the above verses clearly suggest that being fruitful should be a desired blessing.

But what does it mean to be fruitful?

They are those who interpret this verse historical.They say God is speaking to two people whom he has given a whole earth.God is simply telling them to populate it.

But is to be fruitful to multiply,is to replenish?

A law in interpreting in the bible says let the bible interpret itself.

Perhaps when we look at fruitfulness visually might help.

God made the waters directly.This is where we began from in the beginning of this chapter.Remember there are two types of creation.Direct creation is only done and can only be done by God.Indirect creation is done through what God has created.Indirect creation means God making what he has created to participate in creating other things through God blessing them.

We can begin again.

God created the waters

God made the earth the land,

Gen 1:6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.

Gen 1:7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.

Gen 1:8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.

Gen 1:9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.

Gen 1:10 And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.

So we have the waters or seas and we have the dry land or the earth.

These things God directly created.

But then God spoke to the land that he had created.

You need to see something here if you were there you could have seen dry ground ground but very barren.No grass no trees but as God spoke trees of every kind,grass of every kind would have started sprouting from the ground

Gen 1:11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.

Gen 1:12 And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

Verse 11 God speaks

Verse 12 The earth responds

This is a picture of fruitfulness.Fruitfulness means bringing out what is inside something by the command and blessing of God.

If God had not spoken what was in the earth ,trees of every kind would have remained locked in side the earth.

God in the creation story does not only speak once to the earth God speaks again

Gen 1:24 And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.

Gen 1:25 And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

God speaks again and the earth participating with God brings forth animal of every kind.

The earth was being fruitful.It was bringing forth what was in it out for everyone to see.

The earth had potential.Potential is unseen power,unused power or unused creation.God had to bless it in order to make it fruitful.

When the earth is cursed it means God puts a semi lock on it,it does not produce according to its full potential.

Gen 3:17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;

Gen 3:18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;

Gen 3:19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

A cursed ground produces less and sometimes the opposite of what is desired.

Dear reader are you blessed with fruitfulness?Is what was locked up for safe keeping in you coming out.The key to unlock your life is not always given to the individual.

Some years ago i did a series of sermons on Who is a Pastor?One thing that came out very clearly was that a Pastor is Gods bank.

A pastor is loaded with goods that do not belong to him but to the congregants and world at large.A blessed pastor is a fruitful pastor.What is inside them comes out.

But let go back to the book of Genesis.

God made the waters

Then God spoke to the waters

Gen 1:20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.

Gen 1:21 And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

And God said.God is blessing the waters and the waters brought forth abundantly after their kind.

Each human being is like locked land they are like the locked waters of creation.God must bless man.God must speak to man then man becomes fruitful.

TO BE FRUITFULL MEANS TO BRING OUT WHAT GOD HAS PUT INSIDE YOU BECAUSE GOD HAS BLESSED YOU

ARE YOU FRUITFUL

Remember that to be fruitful you need a father to bless you.Some who will pronounce a blessing upon your life.To ask some one to bless you is ask some one to unlock you.

Each person who comes into the world is born with a lock that must be unlocked through the the power of the blessing.

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