“COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS: God’s unseen blessings.” - 8-1-21

 

“COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS: God’s unseen blessings.” - 8-1-21

 

INTRODUCTION

 

Blessings

God carries our burdens daily.

God meets our needs.

God blesses us with spiritual blessings in Christ.

God forgives all our sins.

God heals all our diseases.

God redeems your life from the pit.

God crowns us with love and compassion.

God satisfies your desires with good things.

God works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.

 

“Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. 

 

Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits— who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. The Lord works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.”

              Psalms 103:1-6 NIV

 

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”

              Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV

 

God will bless you.

 

 

“Everybody has problems, but everybody also has blessings in life.”                                                                      Robert W. Bly

 

“The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings.”                                        Eric Hoffer

 

I.   TRUST IN THE LORD WITH ALL YOUR HEART

 

There is an old story of a father who took his young son out and stood him on the railing of the back porch. He then went down, stood on the lawn, and encouraged the little fellow to jump into his arms. "I'll catch you," the father said confidently. After a lot of coaxing, the little boy finally made the leap. When he did, the father stepped back and let the child fall to the ground. He then picked his son up, dusted him off, and dried his tears. 

 

"Let that be a lesson," he said sternly. "Don't ever trust anyone." 

              Bernie May, Learning to Trust, Multnomah Press, 1985, p. 4

 

 

“Being able to recognize and appreciate your blessings in life is a blessing.”                                        Angel Moreira

 

“Gratitude lifts our eyes off the things we lack so we might see the blessings we possess."                                                                                      

              Max Lucado 

 

              A.  Trust

 

A television program preceding the 1988 Winter Olympics featured blind skiers being trained for slalom skiing, impossible as that sounds. Paired with sighted skiers, the blind skiers were taught on the flats how to make right and left turns. When that was mastered, they were taken to the slalom slope, where their sighted partners skied beside them shouting, "Left!" and "Right!" As they obeyed the commands, they were able to negotiate the course and cross the finish line, depending solely on the sighted skiers' word. It was either complete trust or catastrophe.

 

              B.  In the Lord

              C.  With all your heart

 

The more we know of God, the more unreservedly we will trust him; the greater our progress in theology, the simpler and more childlike will be our faith.

              J. G. Machen

 

 II.  LEAN NOT ON YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING 

 

A man who lived on Long Island was able one day to satisfy a lifelong ambition by purchasing for himself a very fine barometer. When the instrument arrived at his home, he was extremely disappointed to find that the indicating needle appeared to be stuck, pointing to the sector marked "HURRICANE."  After shaking the barometer very vigorously several times, its new owner sat down and wrote a scorching letter to the store from which he had purchased the instrument. The following morning on the way to his office in New York, he mailed the letter. 

That evening he returned to Long Island to find not only the barometer missing, but his house also. The barometer's needle had been right--there was a hurricane! 

              E. Schuyler English

 

“Blessed are they who see beautiful things in humble places where other people see nothing.”                                                                          

              Camille Pissarro

 

“What seems to us bitter trials are often blessings in disguise.”                                                                Oscar Wilde

 

“Blessings sometimes show up in unrecognizable disguises.”           

              Janette Oke

 

Uncle Oscar was apprehensive about his first airplane ride. His friends, eager to hear how it went, asked if he enjoyed the flight. "Well," commented Uncle Oscar, "it wasn't as bad as I thought it might be, but I'll tell you this. I never did put all my weight down!"

 

              A.  Lean not

              B.  On your own understanding 

 

III.  IN ALL YOUR WAYS ACKNOWLEDGE HIM

 

 “You will be blessed the moment you realize you already are.”                                                                  Bryant McGill

 

              A.  In all your ways

            B.  Acknowledge Him

CONCLUSION

 

 “When I look back on my life as a whole, it is impossible for me not to feel blessed.”                           George Best

 

Trust in the Lord with all your heart.  Lean not on your understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge Him.

 

CHALLENGE

 

Our challenge will remain the same each week of this sermon series.  I just ask that you keep in mind the topic of each week’s message as you write down your weekly 3-2-1.  The topic this week is God’s unseen blessings.

 

Write down 3 ways God bears your burdens daily.  Write down 2 needs God has met this week.  Write down 1 spiritual blessing in Christ that you cherish most.  Acknowledge God’s blessings.

 

INVITATION

 

It is our custom to offer an "invitation" following the preaching of the Word.  You may want to follow Jesus.  You may want to proclaim your faith.  You may want to repent (stop doing ungodly things and start doing Godly things).  Perhaps you want to be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  Possibly, if you have already responded to God’s call in these ways, you would like to become a member of Kenwood Church.  If you have been moved by the Holy Spirit to make a decision in your life, you can come forward now.  If you would like, I would be honored to speak with you following the service about what God is doing in your life.