Faith Baptist Church
4258 Botetourt Road
Fincastle, Virginia 24090
(540) 473-2325
Before we start this morning I am compelled to go over some basic instructions which we must never overlook in the course of worship.
We spoke on God’s blessings in the mature believer’s life and how others are blessed by their association with that positive mature believer.
1. Ps.1:3 tells us that the positive believer is like a tree planted by the rivers of water; that is he is [immovable in the word of God]. He is rooted and grounded in the knowledge and love of God as Paul said in Eph.3:17-19.
2. The maturing positive believer will bear fruit in his life in due time, “in its season”. There is no disappointment in the outcome of the positive believer’s life. He reaps what he allows to God to sow in his heart. He lets God sow righteous seeds in his mind and the fruits of righteousness naturally spring forth, just as the branches [believers] bear the fruits fed by the vine [Jesus Christ, as seen in John15:4-5].
You may not think you are seeing much fruit during some periods of your life; that you are in a holding pattern, however, by consistently taking in the word of the Lord you are allowing God to till the soil of your soul. There are times when God is teaching you his word, and there are times when God is testing your faithfulness to His word. The testing phase can go on for quite a long time if you are not passing the test. Why teach you more truth if you are not going to obey or trust God with what you presently know?
God plows new ground in your soul to plant new seeds every time the pastor teaches a new section or subject from the Bible. Every time the pastor goes over a formerly taught subject God fertilizes and gives nutrients to boost your understanding of that subject until you mature in that area of your life.
3. “His leaf also shall not wither;” the leaf is a symbol of faith. It shows there is life in the tree, that the tree is converting the nutrients taken in. It takes time, but fruit will come in... ...its season. When a believer’s leaves of faith wither up its because they have stop taking in the sap of God’s word, and no fruit will come forth.
4. “whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”
The story of Joseph, the son of Jacob [who was renamed Israel by God], in an example of how the Lord God can bring blessings into our lives, even when it may at first look like a disaster. Only if we continue to trust the Lord and walk in his ways will the Lord turn our disaster into blessing.
Gen.37:4 tells us Joseph’s brothers hated him, they were jealous of his coat; it represented the love Jacob had for his son Joseph. I am sure Jacob gave presents to his other sons. He loved all of his sons, but for some reason his brothers ganged up on Joseph.
You see, it doesn’t have to be a new car or a fine home or a great job for people to be jealous of you. His brothers hated him even more for the visions God was giving him, visions of his ascension to power, and their obeisance toward him at some time in the future, Gen. 37:9.
From Gen.37:18 we see they even conspired against him to slay Joseph. Think of it. These ten brothers, unbeknown to them, were the leaders of ten of the twelve tribes of the nation Israel, and they wanted to slay Joseph. Had it not been for Ruben they would have, v.21.
Gen.39:1-5 declares to us that the Lord blessed the Egyptian, Potipher’s house for Joseph’s sake. After being falsely accused of infidelity Joseph was cast into prison, but later he was released to interpret the Pharaoh’s dreams.
When the interpretation came to pass, Joseph was made Secretary of State by Pharaoh. All of this by the time Joseph was thirty years old, 41:46.
Had it not been for God blessing righteous Joseph, their entire families would have starved to death in Cannan, 42:1-5. Talk about blessing by association, as we see the historical impact blessings brought about by God as he used Joseph to save Israel from starvation.
This example of the historical impact of Joseph’s life affected an entire nation. But it started with his willingness to obey God on a personal level. When you have an individual or a collective group of people who are willing to obey the gospel and the teachings of the Bible you see blessings at an historical level. These blessings can go on for decades.
Invitation:
Have you received the first increment of God’s eternal blessings? Have you said yes to receiving Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? He died for you on the cross. His death satisfied the just demands God requited of you and I for our sins. Jesus Christ took our place; he was condemned for our transgressions against God. Our sins are no longer the issue with God. The issue now is what do you think of God’s Son Jesus Christ?
“He that believeth on him is not condemned; but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” Jn.3:18
“If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” Rom.10:9.
Make sure you are saved, and then grow in the grace and in the knowledge of God’s Son, Jesus Christ. Come to a Bible doctrine church and experience what grace and knowledge will do for your walk with God.