This evening, I'm going to speak
on the Savior God raised. The Savior God raised. The fifth day is the title of
this message. The fifth day. Fish, birds and blessing. This is the first time we read
the word blessing in the scriptures. Now on the first day, there was
light. The second day, the expanse of the firmament, the heavens.
The third day, dry land and plants. The fourth day, the sun, the
moon, and the stars. The fifth day, fish birds, and
the first time we read of this most important word, blessing. Blessing. And God blessed them. The sea creatures, the fish,
the plankton, the great whales, the seas teeming with life, and
the birds filling The air filling the heavens. Now, this is moving
life. There was plant life before this,
but this is moving life, creatures who moved. Now, what I think
is very interesting is before the fall, there were no animals
killing other animals for food. Tigers were vegetarians. Lions
were vegetarians. there was no death. Look in verse
29 of Genesis 1, God said, behold,
I've given you every herb bearing seed which is upon the face of
all the earth and every tree in which is the fruit of the
tree yielding seed to you it should be for me And to every
beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to everything
that creepeth upon the earth wherein there is life, I have
given every green herb for meat. And it was so. All they ate was
plants. I think that's glorious. There
was no death. Now somebody said, does that
mean it's wrong to kill meat now? No. The Lord said to Peter,
rise, Peter, kill, and eat. These animals were provided for
food. Before the fall, there was no
death, no prey, no hunters. And then we're introduced to
this concept, God blessed them. Now this is something I am very
interested in. I want God's blessing. He has infinite power to bless. And if he's for you, who can
be against you? God's blessing, God blessed them. And this blessing came on the
fifth day. Now, I don't have any question
that there is significance to the numbers in the scripture.
One is the number of unity or union. Both he that sanctifies
and they who are sanctified are all of one. Two has something
to do with witness. Two witnesses. One's not enough. There must be two. Three, the
number of perfected holiness. God the Father, God the Son,
and God the Holy Spirit. Four is Totality, four seasons
make up the year, the four living creatures. I'm gonna skip five
right now. Six is the number of man created
on the sixth day. And you'll remember in the book
of Revelation, the number 666, the number of a man, which I
believe refers to failure upon failure upon failure. That's
man. Seventh is completion, completed. 12 is the number of the people of
God. the 12 apostles, the 12 patriarchs, the four and 24 elders. And the number five is associated
with grace, spiritual blessings, grace. In the tabernacle, the
dimensions of the tabernacle are divisible by five. There were five types of offerings,
all to illustrate the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. I like
the five stones of David. Five stones. Why five? I preached
a message on that once. Got one of my favorite letters
out of this message. It's been 10 or 12 years ago.
Five stones of David. Now, I just used the number five
to introduce the five golden links of salvation, Romans 8,
29 and 30. For whom he did foreknow, number
one, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image
of his son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren,
Moreover, whom he predestinated, them he also called. Whom he
called, them he also justified. Whom he justified, them he also
glorified. Five. And I got a letter from
a man that said, that was the most stupid thing I've ever heard.
And he said, the only thing more stupid is your southern redneck
voice. And I thought, well, he heard
something. He heard something. Five. The day of grace. This is where we're introduced
to this word, blessing. Now, blessing is one of the key
words of the covenant of grace. Now, there are only two covenants.
The covenant of works. I think it can be simply deduced
by going into the Garden of Eden. I mean, it means salvation somehow
dependent upon what you do. I think of Adam being placed
in the garden Had everything you could want. I mean, everything
was great. He didn't even have a sinful
nature to deal with. He had an innocent nature. Everything was
great. Oh, he wanted to eat. Him and
Eve, oh, what a marriage. What more could you want? One
law, though. Don't eat. And he broke it. That's the covenant
of works. And if you put salvation dependent
upon you in any aspect, it works. And then there's the covenant
of grace, salvation dependent upon what Christ does, about
what God does for you. It's having God's favor. It's
having God's blessing. Now we're talking about spiritual
blessings. We're not just talking about material blessings. When
most people think, of blessing, they think of health and wealth.
Well, you can have both of those and be under God's curse. And
you can have neither of those and have God's richest blessing,
the spiritual blessings that are in Christ Jesus. But look in Genesis chapter nine,
verse one. And God blessed Noah. and his sons. He made a difference
with Noah, didn't he? Noah found grace in the eyes
of the Lord. The rest of the world didn't,
but Noah did. Look in Genesis 12. Now the Lord, this is when we're
introduced to Abraham. And the Lord had said unto Abram,
get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from
thy father's house, and to a land that I will show thee, and I
will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make
thy name great, and thou shalt be a blessing, and I will bless
them that bless thee, and curse them that curse thee, and in
thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed. Look in Genesis chapter 14, verse 18. And Melchizedek, king
of Salem, brought forth bread and wine, and he was the priest
of the Most High God, and he blessed him, and said, blessed
be Abraham of the Most High God, possessor of heaven and earth
He blessed, and blessed be the Most High God, which hath delivered
thine enemies into thy hand, and he gave him tithes of all. I love that passage of Scripture
in Psalm 32, quoted once again in Romans 4, even as David describeth
the blessedness of the man unto whom God imputes righteousness
without works. Blessedness. You know, the Lord said it's
more blessed to give than to receive. Now in this thing of
salvation, he's always the more blessed. He's the giver. We are the receivers. Now if
I would understand God's blessing, I think the scripture gives us
such a beautiful illustration of this. In Genesis chapter 39,
I would like you to turn with me there. Remember, these stories
in the Old Testament are given to teach us the gospel. They're
not just interesting or weird stories, but they're all given
to teach us the gospel. Now look here in Genesis 39. This is after Joseph was sold
by his brethren, and Joseph was brought down to Egypt, and Potiphar
and Ospheser of Pharaoh, captain of the guard of the Egyptians,
bought him of the hands of the Ishmaelites, which had brought
him down hither, and the Lord was with Joseph. And he was a prosperous man,
and he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian. And his
master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord made
all that he did to prosper in his hands. And Joseph found grace
in his sight and served him. And he, Potiphar, made him overseer
over all his house and all that he had put into his hand. And
it came to pass from the time that he made him overseer in
his house and over all that he had, that the Lord blessed the
Egyptians' house. Why? For Joseph's sake. Now there isn't anything about
this Egyptian to recommend him to God. But the Lord blessed
his house for Joseph's sake. And the blessing of the Lord
was upon all that he had in the house and in the field. And he
left all that he had in Joseph's hand. And he knew not aught he
had save the bread which he did eat. And Joseph was a goodly
person and well favored. Here's another way to translate
that whole story. Be kind one to another, tender
hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake
hath forgiven you. Now, Potiphar didn't get this
blessing because he had some kind of good karma. You know,
what goes around comes around. He does good, and then he ends
up getting good stuff. That's what most people's religion
is, karma. You do good, you'll get good. You do bad, what goes
around comes around. It's gonna happen to you. Well,
I'm so thankful the Lord saves for Christ's sake. I'm so thankful
he forgives for Christ's sake. And that is God's reason of blessing
for any sinner for Christ's sake. Turn to Numbers chapter six. This is a great priestly benediction. Numbers chapter six, verse 22. And the Lord spake unto Moses,
number 622, and the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto
Aaron, and unto his son, saying, On this wise You shall bless
the children of Israel, saying unto them, the Lord bless thee. Not the Lord will bless you if
you can just receive it. No conditions that we must first
meet The Lord bless thee. Not the Lord offers you blessings,
but it's up to you to take it. You know, that kind of blessing
won't do me or you any good because of the sinfulness of our hearts.
If he doesn't just bless me, if he's gotta wait till I can
do something in order to get that blessing, if he's just gonna
bless me, only if I, I won't do it. You see, there's something
called total depravity and total inability. I won't want it, and
I wouldn't take it if I could. I have to have his sovereign
blessing. The Lord bless thee. Lord bless me. Lord bless me. Now look what he says next. And keep thee. Do you know I
know that if he doesn't keep me, I'll fall away. if he doesn't
keep me. I have to have him to preserve
me. I need to be kept by the power
of God through faith unto salvation. The Lord keep thee. Now, a blessing
that doesn't keep me won't do me any good. And look what he
says next. Verse 25. The Lord make his face
shine upon thee. Oh, I want his face, who he is
according to you as he reveals himself in his word through the
gospel. Oh, I want his face in favor
to shine upon me. Don't you? Isn't that what you
want? And look what it says next. And be gracious unto thee. Now that's what I need. I need
the Lord to be gracious to me. Don't you cry out for this blessing?
great benediction of the high priest. And then it says in verse
26, the Lord lift up his countenance upon thee. What that means is
we have his presence. I need the Lord's presence. I
need thee. Oh, I need thee every hour. I need thee. I need his presence.
If I don't have his presence, I don't have anything. And give thee peace. I can't
make it my peace with God. Somebody says, if you made your
peace with God, can't do it. I need Christ to make my peace
with God. And I need for him to give me this peace. What's it say next? And they shall put my name upon
the children of Israel. Jehovah Tzikindu. This is the
name wherewith he shall be called, the Lord our righteousness. Jehovah
said, can you? This is the name wherewith she
shall be called, the Lord our righteousness. Same name. And
I will bless them. Not I will if, I will. I love the I wills and they shalls
of the scripture. will bless them. Turn to Ephesians one. Verse three. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now he is the blessed one. God the Father is the blessed
God the Father. God the Son is the blessed God
the Son. God the Spirit is the blessed
God the Spirit. Oh the infinite blessedness of
the God of glory. I love to think of before there
was time, before there was creation, the eternal God, the three persons
of the blessed Trinity, blessing one another. You know, he didn't
create the world because he needed anything. He wasn't lonely. He
was utterly blessed in himself. God, the Father, God, the Son,
and God, the Holy Spirit. But because he infinitely decided
to do it, He created the universe, the blessed God, and look what
it says. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Now, the first
thing that comes to my mind is who is the us? He hath blessed us. Is this a generic us? Does it
mean all men without exception? Look in verse four. Here's the
us. According as he hath chosen us
in him before the foundation of the world. That's talking
about the elect. That's talking about those he
chose in Christ before the world began. What a spiritual blessing
to be chosen by God. If you're saved, it's because
God chose you to be saved before the foundation of the world. Now what kind of blessing is
that? We're bound to give thanks for you, brethren, beloved of
the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation. This is God being God. I like
saying that. This is just God being God. I love the God of
election. Somebody says, I don't. Well,
I do. That's the only way I can answer
that. I do. Look in, he's chosen us
before the foundation of the world that we should be holy
and without blame before him. What a blessing to be holy, to
be without blame. in love, having predestinated
us unto the adoption of children
by Jesus Christ to himself according to the good pleasure of his will,
to the praise of the glory of his grace wherein he hath made
us accepted in the beloved. Now that's the us. That's a reference
to every believer, the elect of God, those for whom Christ
died. Now, if that us is a generic
us, his blessing is meaningless. But this is the us that he chose,
and I love the way he said spiritual blessings. Material blessings, well, I don't
even know that you can call them blessing. It might be a curse.
Might be a curse. It might be you got so much that
who needs God? It might be you're so healthy
that who needs God? I think of the rich man Lazarus.
Now, you know this health well stuff that preachers bring about,
you know, if you've got God's blessing, you're going to, no,
no. What about rich man Lazarus?
Who had God's blessing? Lazarus, the man so sick and
ended up dying in poverty. who was under God's curse, the
rich man who fared sumptuously in purple and fine linen. Now,
spiritual blessings, like the ones I just read of, being chosen,
being without blame before God, being holy and unblameable, being
accepted in the beloved, being predestinated in the love of
God to be sons, on and on, the forgiveness of sins, these are
spiritual Blessings, and it says he hath blessed us not he will
if he hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly
places in Christ how many blessings do we have all a Double L all Every blessing
God has to give is Every believer possesses in its fullness because
it's all in the Lord Jesus Christ. He hath blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus our Lord. Now, if you were in the ark,
how safe were you? Ain't no way you could be destroyed
by the flood. If you were in the house with the blood over
the door, how safe were you? And I've got to say this, and I don't,
what if you committed some horrible sin that very day? Were you still safe? Answer that. Were you still safe? You were
in the house with the blood over the door. God said, when I see
the blood. Oh, thank God for that. That's
what he was looking for. When I see the blood, I will
pass over you. Now, the blessing of God is in
Christ. That's why Paul said, oh, that
I may win Christ and be found in him. Not having my own righteousness. I don't want to have anything
to do with that, which is of the law, which is according to my personal
obedience, but that which is through the faithfulness of Christ,
the righteousness which is of God by faith. That's the righteousness
I want to be found in. I want his righteousness to be
my personal righteousness. I want to be found. That's where
all of God's blessing, that's where all of God's mercy, that's
where all of God's favor is, in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now,
his blessing is eternal. Come, our Lord said, ye blessed
of my Father. He's talking about Judgment Day,
and he's giving us a picture of what's gonna take place. Come,
ye blessed of my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared
for you from the foundation of the world. His blessings are
sovereign. Psalm 65, four says, blessed
is the man whom thou choosest and causest to approach unto
thee. Now the only reason any sinner
approaches unto God seeking mercy and grace and favor is because
God chose them to do that. God's blessings are eternal.
God's blessings are sovereign. And listen to this, God's blessing
is irreversible. Turn with me for a moment to
Numbers chapter 23. Numbers 23. Beginning in verse 18. This is Balaam speaking to Balak
who sought to get Balaam to curse Israel. Verse 18, and he took
up his parable and said, rise up, Balak, and hear. Hearken
unto me, thou son of Zippor. God is not a man that he should
lie. Neither the son of man that he should repent, that he should
change his mind. Hath he said, and shall he not
do it? Or hath he spoken, and shall
he not make it good? Behold, I have received commandment
to bless, and he hath blessed, and I cannot reverse it. He hath not beheld iniquity in
Jacob. Neither hath he seen perverseness
in Israel The Lord his God is with him and the shout of a king
I Know Dutch out is to He cried with a loud voice It is Finished Now when it says He hath not
beheld or seen perverseness in Israel. He hath not beheld iniquity
in Jacob. How? How? Understand this. If you are a believer, if you
look to Christ only, you're one of these people being described. He does not see. iniquity or perverseness in you. How? There's nothing there to see.
That is how affectionately Christ removed your sin. There is nothing
there to see. Not, he just overlooks it, but
we, me and you both know it's still there. There is nothing there to see. It's what the Bible calls justification. If you're justified by God, that
means you have no guilt before God. That means you stand before
God perfect, perfect in his comeliness, in his beauty, in his righteousness. And that is irreversible. I love to think of that Republican,
crying, God, be merciful to me, the sinner. And what does the
Lord say about that man? He says, I tell you, that man
went down to his house justified. Justified, rather than the other. God's blessing. Whom do men say
that I am? Well, they say good things. Whom
say ye that I am? You remember what Peter said?
Thou art the Christ. the Son of the living God. And
what did the Lord say to him? Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jonah. Flesh and blood didn't reveal
that to thee, but my Father which is in heaven. I love what John said in Revelation
14, 13. He said, Put this in scripture so everybody
will be able to read it. Write this down. Blessed are
the dead that die in the Lord. Best day of your life will be
your death if you're in the Lord. Blessed are the dead that die
in the Lord. Yea, saith the Spirit, that they
may have rest from their labor. Now, what's that talking about?
Does that mean, oh, they're working so hard for Christ and witnessing
and trying to build the kingdom and now they get to rest from
all that? That's foolishness. This is talking about the labor
of an evil nature that they're bearing right now that still
is with them. Can you imagine having rest from
that, not having a sinful nature anymore? No longer being a sinner. None of them remember what it's
like. And he says, their works do follow
them. They don't come out front as
the cause of salvation, nor do they walk alongside as evidence
of salvation or a grant of assurance. But they're in the back. And
every believer, there's going to be works that prove they really
believe what they said. They're in the back, maybe they
can't even see him, but the Lord does. Lord said to each of the
seven churches, first off, I know thy works. I know thy works. Now, what does this, I'm gonna
close with this. What does this blessed person
look like? God blessed them. I love the way that that's, he
waits to the fifth day to give us this word. but it's one of
the key words in scripture, God's blessing. What does this blessed
person look like? This person that God has blessed. Well, turn with me to Matthew
chapter five. I love the sermon on the mouth.
The sermon on the mouth tells us what a believer is. Matthew chapter five. and seeing the multitudes, he
went up into a mountain, and when he was set, his disciples
came unto him, and he opened his mouth and taught them, saying,
Blessed are the poor in spirit. Who is this poor in spirit? Someone who right now, present
tense, has nothing in themselves to bring before God and think
he can accept it. They have nothing. Not they used
to have nothing, they have nothing now. All they have is Christ. He's something, but they have
nothing. Blessed, if that's you, Oh, how
blessed by God you are. Blessed are the poor in spirit. For theirs is the kingdom of
heaven. Verse four, blessed are they
that mourn. Now that's mourning over your
sin. And that's not you used to before
God saved you, but now you've got things down pat so well that
everything's great. No, you're mourning over your
sin right now. There's never a time when you
cannot say with David, my sin is ever before me. And this concept
of mourning, when do you mourn over someone when they're dead? Now, when they're alive and you
have some hope, oh, you pray. You ask the Lord to do something
for them and you hope that perhaps they'll be preserved. You're
praying. You might be scared, but you're
praying. You haven't lost hope, but you mourn when there's nothing
you can do to bring them back. Now, there is never, for any
believer, an excuse over their sin. Well, you know, is God sovereignly
let me do it? No, you don't say anything like
that. It's all part of God's purpose. You don't say anything
like that. You mourn over your sin because you know you can't
do anything about it. And you mourn, like you mourn
over a dead person. What about that mourning? They,
and only they, shall be comforted. Blessed are the make. Here's
the person God has blessed, that meek person. Now what is meekness?
Meekness is that attitude toward God. Listen carefully. Meekness is that attitude toward
God that believes whatever happens, God sent it and it's right. That's meekness before God. God
reigns, God rules, God is in control. and whatever he does
with me or anybody else is right because he is God. Do you believe that? Blessed
are you. God has blessed you. Verse six, blessed are they which do
hunger and thirst after righteousness. Now, you know when I'm hungry? When I
don't have anything in my stomach, I'm hungry. Now, when I got plenty
in my stomach, I'm not hungry anymore. But when I feel, in
and of myself, hunger, I have to have food from without to
satisfy that. This is a hungering and a thirsting
after His righteousness. I can't produce a righteousness.
I can't satisfy my own hunger. And I hunger and thirst to be
found in Him. It's exactly what Paul said when
he said, oh, that I may win Christ and be found in Him, not having
my own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is
through the faithfulness of Christ, the righteousness which is of
God by faith. They shall be filled. What's
he say next? Verse seven, blessed are the
merciful. For they shall obtain mercy. Now here's how that works. You
know mercy. You know his mercy to you. You'll
show mercy. Someone who is not merciful is
lost. Remember, this is the Lord describing
what a believer is. Poor, I'm glad he started there,
aren't you? Poor, mourn, meek, hungering and thirsting after
righteousness. Merciful, having attained mercy,
you give mercy. Verse eight, blessed are the
pure in heart. Now, that one used to always
bother me because I thought my heart's anything but pure. It's
filled with iniquity and wickedness and sinfulness. How could I say,
take this to myself, blessed are the pure in heart? Well,
I know this. It's only the pure heart that sees the sinfulness.
You know, a lost man doesn't really understand sin. He really
doesn't. But the pure in heart, that heart
given in the new nature that does not sin, that's pure. And
it's that heart that knows it must be saved purely by grace.
It's that heart that knows it must be saved purely by Christ. Blessed are the pure in heart. Verse nine, blessed are the peacemakers. Peacemakers. Now Christ made
my peace. I wanna preach the gospel peace,
and I wanna be a peacemaker. Every believer is. The Lord said
that. Blessed are the peacemakers. They shall be called the children
of God. Verse 10, here's the last one. Blessed are they which
are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom
of heaven. Now, if you do something good,
do something that the world would call righteous, they'll put it
in the paper, you'll get on the internet, people will praise
you. And I'm glad you did something good. That's a good thing. I'm
glad. But that ain't what this is talking about. You see, you'll
be praised for that. You're persecuted for maintaining
that the righteousness of Jesus Christ the Lord is the only righteousness
there is. There is no other righteousness
but the righteousness of Christ. All human righteousness is as
filthy rags. Can't take that too far. Now,
I'm looking at some nice people, some fine people, all that stuff,
people I admire. I mean that. I admire you. But
I know you because I know myself. In and of ourselves, we're nothing
but filthy rags. Amen? You believe that? It's
so. Now, this is the person that
has experienced God's blessing, and this is what I want, Lord,
bless me. Oh, His infinite power to bless. Lord, bless me for Christ's sake. Let's pray. Lord, would you bless us and
keep us and make your face to shine upon us and be gracious
to us. And let the light of thy countenance
be upon us. Give us peace and place thy name
upon us and bless us. Oh, Lord, bless us. Don't pass
us by. Bless us for Christ's sake. In his name we pray, amen.