Sunday Sermon by Pastor Rajesh Mathew on 21 June 2020

Malachi 4:6- And he will turn The hearts of the fathers to the children, And the hearts of the children to their fathers, Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.”

Genesis 49:1-4- And Jacob called his sons and said, “Gather together, that I may tell you what shall befall you in the last days: 2 “Gather together and hear, you sons of Jacob, And listen to Israel your father. 3 “Reuben, you are my firstborn, My might and the beginning of my strength, The excellency of dignity and the excellency of power. 4 Unstable as water, you shall not excel, Because you went up to your father’s bed; Then you defiled it— He went up to my couch.

• Bible speaks of a BLESSING and also BLESSINGS.

Blessings are what you see- health, good family life, ministry, finances, relationships, businesses,

Blessing entails all what you see (blessings).

Ephesian 1:3- 3 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.

• The Lord is saying, I will curse this land unless I turn the hearts of the children to their fathers. That land could signify anything- it could be your finances, your family life etc. If the hearts of the children are not aligned well with the Father, then you could come under a curse.
• If a man curses, the Lord can remove that curse, but if the Lord Himself curses, then who would remove it?
• I have seen families and persons who have received blessings and some who have walked under curses. Many do not know why they do not experience any good in their lives. They may be baptised and the may come to church, but still not seeing anything good in their lives. Sometimes, it could be that they are under a curse. You may have been trying hard but you are moving in circles.

There is a lot of motion but no progress. Because the blessing of the father is in not in it.

If you are under such curse, in the Name of Jesus may every such curse be broken.

HOW DO YOU KNOW IF YOU ARE UNDER A CURSE?

➢ Something that was working well ceases to, once you step into the picture! ➢ You struggle under a closed heaven. ➢ Something that others obtain fast, takes forever to get to you! ➢ You are working and there are no results ➢ People who see good things very late, many a time it is because of a curse.

Psalm 90:14- Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy, That we may rejoice and be glad all our days!

• Many times, delays could be because your heart is not in the right place. It could be because you do not have a good relationship at the heart level with someone connected by blood who is above you like a father or a father figure. You are harbouring anger or bitterness. Let such situations change this morning.

Blessing is the ability to succeed or prosper.

• In the Old Testament, we see that when Isac was old, he had to bless his sons. Jacob bent his knees before him and for the fatherly blessing that was in Isac. The father was wealthy and had everything (flocks, gold, silver and gold). But he did not give all that when he blessed Isac (or rather he did not). It was just the spoken Word.
• There are blessings and there is a blessing that brings all these things.
• Children want five cents of land, old mixer, scooter, old TV. This is not what you need! If your dad doesn’t give you any of this, but if he just places his hands on you head and pronounces a blessing on you, which is sufficient!

Words are the carriers of blessings.

• If such a blessing has come upon you from your father, you have the ability from the Lord to prosper and succeed in everything that you do.
• Jacob just had a rod in his hand. He crossed the Joran only with a rod in his hand. But there was a blessing that he carried within him that was released by his father.
• You may have nothing in your bank account. Let there be a blessing from the mouth of your father, the best will come your way. The Holy Spirit will release something from the heaven into your life.
• In the Garden of Eden, God made Adam and Eve. There were trees, animals, and everything they needed. After he placed them there, the Word of God says that the Lord blessed them. That blessing was to create things that have to been created yet.

Pastor’s declaration: I bless you to create certain things that have not been created yet! I speak and release this Word of Blessing. To make something new!

The Holy Spirit is saying to people who are burdened thinking that they are old, that there is a release of blessing to create certain things in to your life- Finances, ministries, business

I am empowered to be a blessing.

• Supernatural empowerment to be a blessing
• If that blessing falls, even in the time of famine, you will reap. Isac reaped even in famine. He began to prosper and became very wealthy. There is famine and no possibilities but it was just a Word of Blessing that was upon his head.
• A person who is cursed but sent to the US with a free visa, will still fail even in the US. But if a person who has the blessing of the father is sent to Rajasthan’s deserts, there too the blessing will manifest over his or her life.

The tragedy of our generations is that many fathers are dying with the blessing still inside of them.

• The Fathers whom God has placed over your life have inside of him is a blessing. They might be a not do good individuals, they might not be baptised. But you should receive it. Just ask your father to bless you.
• God has placed good seed of blessing within the fathers.

A mother’s declaration over a son who became a man of God of a large church with lakhs of people- You will call and 10000 will respond to you.

• The blessing of the mother and father is what God has placed within them.
• Are you paying a price for the blessing of your father?
• When you get your daughters married, send them with the blessing of the Lord.

Genesis 24:60- Our sister, may you become The mother of thousands of ten thousands; And may your descendants possess The gates of those who hate them.”

• You may have no money but don’t forget to speak a blessing over your children.
• Your family will never be put to shame.
• Blessing is something that God has kept inside a father. That is the right fo fatherhood. As long as they have occupied the place of a father or mother, a blessing is inside them. HS saying, you must go back and get it.

Genesis 49:4- Unstable as water, you shall not excel, Because you went up to your father’s bed; Then you defiled it— He went up to my couch.

• A Father is telling Reuben, you will not excel. You will not succeed. You will not occupy any place of honour.
• When you read the Bible, from the tribe of Reuben, there were no great leaders, no prophets, no great warriors nor judges. Reuben’s tribe never saw anybody rise to great positions. It was people from this tribe that gave a lot of trouble to Moses. They started dying young, wives became widows, and children became fatherless. It was the result of the words spoken by the fathers.

We have a Heavenly Father. There is a Father who is your natural and biological father; and there is a spiritual father. There is no contradiction or conflict in this.

A Natural father cannot take the place of God. A spiritual father can’t take the place of a natural father. As a matter of fact the spiritual fathers will complement that which the natural fathers in the Lord will do for you.

Deuteronomy 33:6- “Let Reuben live, and not die, Nor let his men be few.”

• The anointed is declaring this. If there has been some curse that has been spoken over your life. May be your fathers are dead and you are troubled. I speak that blessing, let that curse be broken.

You will not just manage life, but you will enjoy life You will not just survive, but you will thrive You will not just endure, but you will enjoy

• If you have the blessing of the father, there will be no stress. Stress is sign of a curse.

There is an ease within the anointing of blessing. There is a peace even if you have to work hard.

• Let all situations that bring stress into your life leave you!
• May you smile again, may you enjoy life again, and may you dance again. May you receive the blessing in Christ.
• If your father is alive, you have to go, bend your knees in front of him and seek his blessing.

No responsible father will bless an irresponsible son.

THERE IS A KEY TO RECEIVE THIS BLESSING:

1) SERVICE- You have to serve

• If your mother works all the time, you all just come eat and go. You are not serving your mother. How will you be blessed?
• The father washes the car, you just take that car, drive around, dirty it and park it back in garage. How will you be blessed? Polish his shoes, put on his socks for him, press his feet.
• You travel in the first class, sleep in the AC room but your father stays in a house which gets flooded during the rains. The blessing won’t come!
• Don’t take your parents to old age homes. You should serve them.
• The blessing that you get from that, there is no substitute for that!

John 13:3- Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God,

• The Father has given all things into MY hands. Some people just want the will written and handed over to them, some people just want to get some ministry and shine.

That which does not have the blessing of the father will not succeed.

• Ezekiel 18 says that when the devil saw a little bit of his brightness, his head was lifted up in pride. Even if we get a little of something, one becomes arrogant.
• The church is not an institution. It is a set of relationships. I gave responsibility to people based on relationships earlier days but as years passed, people forgot to value their relationship with the father, they forget what was given to them as their responsibility. They became independent. Then the organisation or the structure became more important than the relationships.
• When Jesus realised that everything that the Father had was given to them, Jesus removed his robe, girded his waist and came to wash the feet of the disciples and began to serve. Anointing is not the blessing.
• But He began to serve. This truth will set you free. It will take you to another dimension in your walk with God.

WHAT DOES THE FATHER’S BLESSING DO

➢ The Father’s blessing cannot be bought with money. ➢ The father’s blessing will be a turning point in your life. It will give you wings to fly. It will

take you forward in way that you have never witnessed in the past. ➢ It will give you speed. Where you were slowed down in the past, you will speed up because

of the Father’s blessing. ➢ The fathers blessing activates grace upon life.

The Holy Spirit said, one encounter from your heart with your father, the direction of your life will change!!

• There is power in a father’s blessing.

Genesis 27:22- 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.”

• Go closer to your father. You need a father’s touch.
• Children came close to Jesus and Jesus laid his hands on them and blessed them.
• It can be a hug, a shake hand or a kiss depending on your culture.

Verse 26- 30- Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come near now and kiss me, my son.” 27 And he came near and kissed him; and he smelled the smell of his clothing, and blessed him and said: “Surely, the smell of my son Is like the smell of a field Which the Lord has blessed. 28 Therefore may God give you Of the dew of heaven, Of the fatness of the earth, And plenty of grain and wine. 29 Let peoples serve you, And nations bow down to you. Be master over your brethren, And let your mother’s sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you, And blessed be those who bless you!”

Isac blesses Jacob with all this but it was Joseph who actually enjoyed this blessing. This blessing remains.

➢ When the father blesses you, you will see it being passed on to generations.

The Holy Spirit says if you have the blessing of your father, even your children and children’s children will be filled by the Lord.

Hebrews 11:20-21-By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come. By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff.

• By faith this blessing is generational.

In the prisons across the world, the community with least numbers of people imprisoned are the Jews (Percentage wise). The reason is that any Jew after the age of 12 receives the father’s blessing.

Numbers 6:24- 26- The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; 26 The Lord [a]lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.”

• The priestly blessing is commanded over them. These blessings are kept.

Curse is a spiritual empowerment to fail. It is a spiritual force. Naturally people failing is fine, but when failure becomes a lifestyle it is a curse. It is a cycle of failure.

• Blessing too is a cycle. It is a life cycle of blessing.
• Declare that the cycle of blessing is beginning in my life.

Blessing is always conveyed through your mouth. The carrier of the blessing is your mouth.

• Don’t look at your wife and husband and say that they will never get better. Even if you can’t say anything, just say God bless you.
• Blessing is always superior to a curse.
• Balaak said, how can I curse the one whom the Lord has blessed?
• In the Garden of Eden, God blessed Adam and Eve. He did not curse them but he cursed the land. The Lord won’t curse whom He has blessed.

Genesis 9:1- So God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.

• Noah was drunk and Ham saw his nakedness. One son covered and defended his father
• God blessed Noah and his children.
• Noah did not curse Ham but the sons of Ham, Canaan saying that he would be a slave of a slave.

There is a spiritual sensitivity 1) - You can only bless whom the Lord has blessed. You can’t bless whom the Lord has cursed.

• You can never bless rebellion.

Someone left the church and wanted a blessing from me before that and God said no. The Holy Spirit said, No because that person’s heart was not right.

• Blessing is more powerful than a curse
• Some people are scared. Some people are scared to be blessed. They think it will kann vecchalo (Nazar lag jayegi!) Evangelists are envygelistic!
• But God’s blessing comes with God’s protection. If God has blessed you with that House, no matter what stands against you, nobody can break it. It is the same with your marriage. God’s protection is her within His blessing.

Ephesians 1:3- 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,

• People who are baptised and united with Christ are actually blessed.

Why do you need a Father’s blessing? It is this blessing that will activate that which God has already kept for you.

• God has saved you, so don’t you need to pray and obey? Yes you should, it furthers your blessing.

How do you activate this blessing?

Galatians 4:1- Now I say that the heir, as long as he is a child, does not differ at all from a slave, though he is master of all,

• He is an heir but he is not mature. He has not developed a capacity to enjoy the blessing. God will test you if you are faithful in the little. He will see if you have the capacity to handle that. If I give him a lakh, a crore, he has the capacity to handle it! God will test you with relationships and how you handle that?

Proverbs 13:20- He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed.

• He who walks with the wise will be wise. If you walk with the wise, you will definitely be wise! If you walk with the one who has dreams, you will dream. If we look at the closest 7 people in your life. The quality of your life will never exceed the 7 people who are closest to you, If you sit with the envious, your life too will be .... May God enlarge your capacity to receive!
• Miriam and Aaron went against Moses. Miriam was leprous immediately. But not Aaron. Why? Moses cried before God. God is asking them both, “were you not afraid to speak about my servant Moses.”

Spiritual sensitivity 2- Aaron had priestly garments. As long as his is in the office he cannot be cursed. The moment Aron took off his priestly garments, he died immediately. God will test you with relationships and with authority.

Everybody can bless people, but everybody doesn’t have the authority to impart the blessing.

• A father is a God placed authority over your life. Bless the people under you. People can bless each other but if that blessing needs to be imparted into your life, it needs to come from a God placed authority over your life. Mothers can bless but the impartation comes through the father.
• In a church, there is a father. Associate pastors can bless but impartation comes through the authority that God has placed.

Hebrews7:7- Now beyond all contradiction the lesser is blessed by the better.

• I am not greater than you but I have greater authority than you. The problem with this generation is that the reject fatherhood and they expect a blessing.

The Holy Spirit is saying, there are some MEFGA blessings coming your way.

• It is when he understood the mystery of this blessing, Elisha asked ‘I need a double portion’.
• That means the desire for the Lord’s blessing can either decrease or increase in intensity.
• Jacob wrestled all night at the Brook of Jabok and he had this tremendous desire to be blessed.
• Cling to your fathers ask him for the blessing. Hold him tight.
• Because within the blessing, it has got its own protective power. The wisdom of God is there in the blessing of God.

What is the Wisdom of God? It is the HOW TOs of God?

• In the blessing of the world there is no wisdom, there is no “how to”! The HOW TO!
• There needs to be a longevity in the blessing within ministry. If you don’t have the father’s blessing, you will leave that half way through and go!