We Are Blessed in Christ

Pastor Dale shared about a Mennonite missionary to Ethiopia who found out that miracles are for today and is writing a book about the miracles in Ethiopia. Pastor Dale told about talking to a Baptist pastor near Pittsburgh who told him that he doesn’t believe in speaking in tongues and being charismatic, but this pastor told of being in Africa in a crisis and how he and the Africans didn’t understand each other, but all of a sudden this language came out of his mouth, and they understood him. The pastor said he still doesn’t believe in tongues. Sermon: Just like you are a sibling in your family, and you don’t have a choice about it, you can try to be depressed, defeated, or sick, but you’re blessed. God has blessed you! Isaac, even through deceit and deception, couldn’t take back his blessing. God has commanded the blessing on us. You are blessed! “Happy” is not the same as “blessing”. God has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in the heavenly places in Christ (Ephesians 1:3). God’s blessing rests on you. You are blessed in heavenly places, which is the spiritual realm where angels and demons are. The spirit realm birthed us. You are blessed in Christ. Being born-again or saved is Christ in us. Colossians 1:27 says Christ in us, the hope of glory. Jesus Christ has come in my flesh (1 John 4:2). We are also in Christ. That’s where the blessings are. What does it mean to be in Christ? In Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive (1 Corinthians 15:22). What are the effects of being in Adam? (Romans 5:12) Adam opened the door to sin and as a result suffering, wars, corruption, and death came. Does sickness come because of a person’s sin? In some cases it does. All sickness does come from sin, at least from Adam’s sin. If you have sinned and have sickness, run to the cross and the blood of Jesus takes care of it. Apply faith to the grace that has been given to you. The Old Testament priesthood was replaced by Christ as our High Priest. Abraham tithed, and when you tithe you are really giving to God, testifying that Jesus is alive (Hebrews 7:8-). Levi paid tithes through Abraham, but Levi was born 430 years after Abraham. How could he have paid tithes to Abraham? Abraham paid tithes to Melchizadek, the Priest of the Most High God, a type of Christ, obligating Levi to come underneath what Abraham did. You are the result of those who have gone before you. One act affects lineage. (Pastor Dale told of his German cousin, Johnny, and his meeting with his grandfather years later. He found out that he was the recipient of one act of mercy.) In Abraham, you can be blessed. (Pastor Dale gave a demonstration of lineage: God, Adam, Cain. When Adam sinned, there was a breach, and the blessings couldn’t pass down the line.) We all were in Adam. Jesus’ lineage is in Luke 3:23-38, tracing all the way to Adam, who was the son of God. In Adam all die. In Abraham there can be blessing because he tithed. In Christ, He took His blood and went to heaven to the mercy seat, breaching the gulf with His sacrifice. As long as you put faith in the blood of Jesus Christ, the lineage doesn’t stop at Adam, but goes back to God. We were grafted into the root. Being born is how we inherited all the sin and sickness and death, but being in Christ is to have all the righteousness, wisdom, redemption, peace, joy, love that comes to us through Christ Himself. We have to receive by putting faith in the grace of God. If you are in Christ, you are a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). It’s your birthright to be blessed. You are born blessed and healed. We are in Christ, blessed and redeemed.