Blessings for the church Pastor Samuel Gyau Obuobi

Blessings for the church
Pastor Samuel Gyau Obuobi
Sunday, October 14, 2018

One of the things the Lord has told us about is to forget about the former things since the new things he is going to do are bigger and better and cannot be compared to what he has already done. He also says he will make a way in the wilderness, making the impossible possible. We’ve also been told that he makes rivers in the desert and that where there is no river, God is causing a river to gush out. A river will flow from Eden to water the garden. (Genesis 2.10-14) PIWC is a beautiful garden that the Lord likes and is happy about. We’ve also been told that we are in the era of new wine. This was explained as new wine in place of the old so we can be sure that God is doing something new in us as a church and as individuals.

As we bring the conference to an end today, there are some blessings in my heart that I want to pronounce on the church. The Lord has laid it on my heart to pronounce blessings on the church.

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron and his sons to bless the people of Israel with this special blessing: ‘May the LORD bless you and protect you. May the LORD smile on you and be gracious to you. May the LORD show you his favor and give you his peace.’ Whenever Aaron and his sons bless the people of Israel in my name, I myself will bless them.” (Numbers 6:22-27 NLT)

This passage has been known as the priestly or Aaronic blessing or benediction. We can point out about six blessings to be declared on the people of Israel:
1. May the Lord bless you
2. May the Lord protect you
3. May the Lord smile at you
4. May the Lord be gracious to you
5. May the Lord show you favor
6. May the Lord give you peace

I have come to declare these blessings unto you.

1. May the lord bless you
I believe that one of the things that the Lord enjoys doing is blessing his children. I believe that when he sees his children being blessed he is happy about it. ‘To bless’ has many meanings but the one I have picked for our discussion is ‘to fill with benefits.’ To say that God has blessed me is to say that God is filling my heart with benefits. The key gift that God has given us is our salvation. There is nothing as priceless as our salvation—nothing to be compared to it. Our salvation comes with benefits and that is what I call blessing. When the Lord called us and gave us salvation, he gave other benefits, all included in the salvation. May you receive other benefits.

God has the power to bless. In his hands are the power of blessings. When God decides to bless he does not need the endorsement of any other person. If the power to bless had been in the hands of man he would have discriminated against some of us. God has decided to bless and he does not need to consult. It is he who has decided and he has the power to bless. God is blessing in a way he has never done before.

It is the blessing of God that makes one rich. He blesses and adds no sorrow to it. (Proverbs 10.22)
I pray that God will raise giants in this church; that he would so bless people that, one day, while we are raising an offering, one person will ask “What is your budget” and he will give the money and it will not even affect him. I pray these blessings over someone in this room.

God so blessed Isaac that he gained more and more until he became very wealthy. I pray that you receive what God has prepared for you. As you make an effort to work—I pray that as you wake up in the morning and go out and come in, may the Lord bless your effort. May the gates of heaven be opened over you so that you become wealthier and wealthier.

One thing I need you to understand is that the reason God wants you to be rich is that he wants you to be a blessing to someone else; that you would become a blessing to that vulnerable person and this church. I declare over PIWC, Atomic: May God almighty, the one who has the power to bless, may he push you into blessing so that as you walk, you will walk in blessing; that God would bless you beyond measure and bless you such that you shall not just be a blessing to your family but to your nation also.

2. May God protect you
The protection of God is part of the blessing of God. I found that the Hebrew word used suggests guarding and safekeeping. May the Lord keep you safe. In him we are safe and secure. In him we are protected. Sometimes we come face to face with death, calamity, and danger but I came to announce to you that within the blessing of God is the protection of God. He is able to keep us and protect us. May the protection of God upon your life be increased. Again, God has the power to protect; he has the power and the capacity to keep his children and anything entrusted into his care. Anything that is entrusted into this hands, whether human beings, businesses, or marriages, once it is entrusted into his hands, he has the capacity to secure it and he has demonstrated this many times in the scriptures.

When the people were leaving Egypt and heading toward Canaan, he guarded them during the day with a pillar of cloud and provided light at night with a pillar of fire. This enabled them to travel by day or night and the Lord did not remove the pillar of cloud or fire from its place. During the day, the pillar of cloud kept them from the heat while the pillar of fire kept them from wild animals at night.

Then the angel of God who was going before the host of Israel moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them, coming between the host of Egypt and the host of Israel. And there was the cloud and the darkness. And it lit up the night without one coming near the other all night. (Exodus 14:19-20 ESV)

As the pillar of cloud turned into fire, it gave light to Israel but darkness to Egypt. This is the God who keeps us. May the Lord protect you as you travel by air, by sea, and by road. May the Lord protect you—he has the capacity to guard.

You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. (Psalm 91.5-7 NIV)

My grandfather, my mother’s uncle, was a military man. He retired and became a security man for a white man. This man used to drink and got drunk one day and slept. When the white man got home, he blew the horn but got no response so he went into the house, lifted the man, carried him to the guest room, and laid him on the mattress. The supposed security man did not notice what was happening. When he woke up at 4:30 am he realized he was on the mattress and contemplated firing himself. You may have a security man but he may sleep. However, we can rest assured that at any time we have a God protecting us. We should not be afraid of what may come against us. There is a God in whom we are secure and safe. May the protection of the Lord upon your life be increased.

3. May the Lord smile at you
The smile of the Lord represents his approval and acceptance. Sometimes all you need in life is a father’s approval or smile. That way you know you have his approval and can be at ease. Unfortunately, some of us may not even have fathers looking at us and smiling at us.

Sometimes when a man smiles at you he may have something else in his head but when God smiles at you, it is a genuine smile of blessing. May we receive the smile of the Lord. If you are here, receive a smile from the Lord. I declare over your life that may God smile at you. That is the approval and acceptance of God.

David said: Many people say, “Who will show us better times?” Let your face smile on us, LORD. (Psalm 4.6 NLT)

Can you imagine God seated on his throne and smiling at you? He will say “Son, you may have soiled your dress but come.” May the Lord smile at your marriage, business, and everything that concerns you. I speak to that business going down and that job that seems not to be going well. Even when it looks like things are difficult, may you receive the smile of the Lord. You may be expecting the fruit of the womb and people may be saying all sorts of things but may the lord smile at you. May we be a church that receives the smile of the Lord.

4. May the Lord be gracious to you
May you receive grace. God is gracious. He describes himself as gracious. (Exodus 34.6) No wonder in the New Testament he is described as the God of all grace. (1 Peter 5.10)

For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. (John 1.17 NIV)

Grace is like a key that opens a locked door. When you stand before a locked door you need grace. I prophesy over you to receive grace.

There is such a thing as greater grace. May the Lord be gracious unto the church to receive this grace. When you have grace, things are not difficult for you. It may be difficult but grace takes you through. When you have grace, ministry becomes enjoyable. It doesn’t become burdensome. I speak into the life of somebody here as a manager doing one thing or the other. If things appear too difficult and you appear confused and it seems everything is dying—maybe the circumstances of the people you were looking up have changed and they have disappointed you—may God release grace upon your life.

May grace open doors for somebody. Because of grace, you can come out of that competition victorious. I speak grace upon your life. I pray in Jesus’ name that may the Lord be gracious to you.

5. May the Lord show you favor
Related to grace is favor. My attention was drawn to two people in the Bible who received favor. The first is Noah.

But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD. (Genesis 6.8 ESV)

In the NT, I see Mary.

And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” (Luke 1.28 ESV)

I also greet you with this greeting. May you find favor with the Lord. May the favor of God come upon your life.

6. May the Lord grant you peace
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. (John 14.27 ESV)

No wonder when Jesus was about to depart he left his peace with his disciples. This is not the peace of the world that is brought about by the things around us but a kind of peace that Christ himself gives and comes from within. This peace does not mean absence of trouble or conflict but knowing that God is in control in the midst of it all. It also comes from knowing that your destiny is certain and that you are victorious.

The peace of God surpasses all understanding.

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:7 ESV)

As I speak and minister the word of God, may the peace of God guard your life. Some of you are disturbed because of an occurrence or two but, today, the Lord sent me to you to declare that his peace is for you. People cannot understand why you have peace in the midst of a storm but it is because the peace of God is able to guard your mind and your understanding.

As I conclude, remember God said that:

Whenever Aaron and his sons bless the people of Israel in my name, I myself will bless them.” (Numbers 6.27 NLT)

So when I pronounce the blessing upon you, he himself will bless you. As the Lord told me we are a beautiful garden, expect a river from Eden coming to water this garden. (Genesis 2.10-14) May the blessing of God water your life and may others point at you as the man or woman who is blessed.

‘May the LORD bless you and protect you. May the LORD smile on you and be gracious to you. May the LORD show you his favor and give you his peace.’

Main references
Numbers 6.22-27 (NLT)

Other references
Ezra 6.14, Psalm 91, Exodus 13.21