Blessed to Be a Blessing

Genesis 3:1-3; Jonah 4:1-11; Mt. 5:13-16

The goal of this message is to consider the third part of the Gospel Prayer: ‘As You have been to me, so I will be to others.’  The generosity of GOD toward us produces a generosity of spirit in us for others.  The gospel progressively makes us into self-forgetting lovers of GOD and lovers of others.  Jonah’s greater care for a plant than for the lost city of Nineveh seems absurd in light of the grace GOD has shown us all as sinners.  We are all sinners who will only be rescued from sin and death by GOD’s grace alone.  Jonah quickly forgot GOD’s amazing grace toward him and his rebellion while in the belly of the great fish (Jonah 2:6).  If we are honest, too—more often than we would care to admit - we trample on the grace of GOD in our own lives by not showing grace to others.  Those who have been truly touched by GOD’s grace become dispensers of grace themselves.  We have been blessed by the grace of GOD in salvation so that we will live as gospel blessing to others - even our enemies.

 

 

We are Blessed by GOD’s Grace in Christ Jesus:

The Great Commission of our lives as Christ’s Redeemed People!

“Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you,  And I will make of you a great nation, I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.  I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” [Genesis 12:1-3]

 

A Lesson from a Reluctant Prophet of God’s Grace

“When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said that he would do to them, and he did not do it.  But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry … But God asked Jonah, ‘Do you do well to be angry for the plant?’  And he said, “Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die.’  And the LORD said, ‘You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night.  And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?  (Jonah 3:10 –4:1; 4:9-11)

 

Application: To Be a Blessing

1. Be Salt … “You are the salt of the earth.  But if salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?  It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men” [Mt. 5:13].

2. Be Light … “You are the light of the world.  A city on a hill cannot be hidden.  Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.  Instead they put it on its stand and it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven” [Mt. 5:14-16].

 

Notes, Quotes & Scripture References:

Is Jesus Enough for you?

Habakkuk 3:17-19 … “No matter what, I will rejoice in the Lord and find joy in the God of my salvation!”

Psalm 73:25-28 … “The Lord is my portion forever!”

Quotes from J.D. Greear’s book, Gospel:

“The gospel compels us to respond to others as Christ has responded to us.”

“Every disciple of Jesus should ask God to use his life maximally for His Kingdom.”

“We live in a world of captives, both physical and spiritual.  We were once there ourselves.”

“Where would you be if Jesus chose to steward His resources as you are stewarding yours?”

A Gospel Generosity Test …

Does what we do with our money reflect a heart aware of how generous God has been to us (2 Cor. 8:9)?

Does how easily we forgive others reflect our understanding of how much we’ve been forgiven by the grace of God in Christ Jesus (Eph. 4:32)?

Does how we are leveraging our lives for mission reflect an awareness of where we would be without Jesus (Romans 1:14)?

Have you evaluated your talents, your opportunities, and leveraged them for maximum kingdom impact?