Heroes of the Faith, Part 2Sample

God's Blessing

Hero: Jacob - Genesis 27:41-28:2, Hebrews 11:21

Theme verse: Luke 11:28

In life, we have a choice to fight for material things (physical) or God’s Blessing (spiritual). After taking Esau’s Birthright, Jacob fled because he thought Esau would kill him (physical), but he was also pursuing God’s Blessing by obeying his parents (spiritual). On the way, the Bible says that Jacob's only possession was a staff (physical). While sleeping, he dreamed of seeing angels going up and down a staircase to Heaven. God promised him (spiritual) that he would have many descendants who would possess the land. Jacob asked God to be with him (spiritual), which was better than any possession.

Jacob met his extended family, married, had children, and worked for his uncle Laban for 21 years! His uncle cheated him over and over (physical). But God was with Jacob and blessed him (spiritual) with a big family and wealth (physical). Even Laban was blessed because of Jacob! (Genesis 30:27)

Sometimes, God’s Blessing in our lives also touches the people around us. But when Jacob was upset and ran away from Laban (physical), God spoke to Laban and protected Jacob (spiritual).

Jacob was terrified to go back home! What if Esau still wanted to kill him? Jacob divided his family and belongings into groups so that if one group were attacked, the others could get away (physical). During the night, he wrestled with God for His Blessing (spiritual). To Jacob’s surprise, Esau ran and hugged him! And Jacob gave Esau a huge gift.

When we value God’s Blessing more than material blessings, we can be generous instead of afraid of people. Later, God told Jacob and his family to get rid of any other gods, so they buried their idols and gold rings (physical). When they did, anyone who may have wanted to hurt them was terrified! (Spiritual) Jacob said, “God… has been with me wherever I have gone.” (Genesis 35:3)

Just like Jacob, we live in a world with physical and spiritual sides. The whole world is fighting for more status, toys, good looks, popularity, and better qualifications. Even Christians can go to church and claim we agree with the Bible and then spend our lives fighting for material things, even though Jesus said that you cannot serve both God and money (Luke 16:13).

It is much better to fight for God’s Spiritual Blessings. We can fight to grow closer to God, serve God, serve in church, and tell others about Him. We can fight to open our hearts completely to God and hide nothing from Him. We can fight to put others above ourselves and do what pleases God. Jesus said that those who hear and obey the Word of God are blessed (Luke 11:28). Just like in Jacob’s life, sometimes God’s Blessings come as material things; often they come as something else, like protection or changed hearts.

I choose to fight for spiritual blessings instead of material blessings.

Questions:

1. Is it wrong to want the best for myself?

2. What everyone likes is most important, right?

3. If I'm wrong or make mistakes can I lose God's Blessing for me?

Application to Life:

Your assignment this week is to remember what you thought about and wrote the last two weeks; your dreams and your Birthright. Think about them again, but also think about how you can destroy them by doing certain things. If you are rebellious at home, it can seriously affect your natural Birthright. If you dream of being a doctor or engineer, you can destroy that dream by not doing well in school. If your dream requires good health, you can destroy that dream for yourself with smoking, drugs, or alcohol. Write down how to live so you can achieve your dreams and your Birthright.