The Ephraim and Manasseh Blessing [Part 1]

Pastor Arthur and Bible teacher Alan Wright.

Jesus began his ministry by speaking a series of blessed, blessed are the poor in spirit.

When Jesus was teaching wanted to bring the little children to I almost hundred percent certainty when those little children came up to do this.

They put a saddle and he would say many things that we would certainly say my God make you like that's faster message of good news that will help you see your life in a whole I'm excited for you. Here the teaching today. In a series on blessing the room and when NASA blessed is presented in an old church in North Carolina.

If you're not able to stay with us throughout the entire program I want to make sure you know how to get our special resource right now itself styled desk devotional for your kitchen counter.

Your desktop it's filled with blessing for every day of the month. This 30 day flip style calendar comes from Pastor Alan's latest book, the power to bless and it's yours free for your donation this month is our thank you gift Alan Wright Ministries as you listen to today's message go deeper as we send you today's special offer truly unique item.

Contact us at pastoralan.org that's pastor at.org or you can call 877-544-4860 that's 877-544-4860 melt more on this later in the program right now. Let's get started with today's teaching years Alan.5 years in April to pass up after Christmas and what's funny about they think of all the plays and stuff blows up all about. Maybe that said, I don't I don't I think this is pretty funny.

So Monroe coronavirus start is all in all no we get to close this writer's we didn't gain something in 2020, with a thirst for God and as we come into the new year is our custom here not to emphasize New Year's resolutions. Nothing wrong with the goal setting good goals with concrete objectives for reaching those goals is a good good strategy for life, but New Year's resolutions don't work right a Washington post article this week said only 8% of people actually accomplish their New Year's resolutions and someone else is on the state says 80% of New Year's resolutions have been abandoned by February so they don't really work and instead what we do is we come to the new year, not by ramping up our promises to God, but by reveling in God's promises to us. Blessing is a positive vision that is spoken over your life and Faye a been here over 24 years and my first Sunday I made a pledge that I want to bless you never curse and we began every year.

Therefore, by speaking a word of vision rooted in God's word spoken in faith. And this year I speak a blessing that I've been waiting to speak over you in a real sense is the New Year's blessing for over a decade have been studying this and it became the subject of a book of mine is coming out February and I think it is the substance and the model for all blessing and is rooted in a mysterious story were to look at in Genesis chapter 48.

I have some years ago preached this maybe something occurred but before I began start and I never even really was familiar with the story that we talk about today and this blessing it is arguably the most important family blessing in the Bible mandated that Hebrew fathers would speak it over their children for 3700 years Jewish fathers. Every Sabbath will say these words over their children to extraordinarily important blessing in God's mind and yet we never seem to have heard of it and today I want to speak simply this New Year's blessing. May God make you as a friend of Manasseh, why in the world would God mandate that every single week.

Jewish fathers were to tell their children and bless them that God would make them like Ephraim and Manasseh will not pick somebody out say.

May God make you like my Abraham and Isaac. Moses and Joshua or Elijah and Elisha some famous Bible heroes are people that we know that were extraordinary, and gifts or extraordinary in blessedness and demonstrable ways but Ephraim and Manasseh, until I started studying this on over 10 years ago and really knew who they were, much less what could be significant about this blessing. It's interesting that Jewish rabbis have over the centuries speculated as to why if remember NASA and the consensus report.

Does this kind of funny is that most rabbis that is because if remember NASA got along together didn't have the kind of sibling rivalry that we see in most of the other siblings in the Bible. Well, any parent knows, if your children don't express sibling rivalry. That is a blessing, but I think that there's something deeper than that. As to why I want to show you today is to me one of the most thrilling things.

The Holy Spirit never showed me in the Bible and it is my heart and my intent to revisit this blessing and give a little series on this later in the early spring. But today I want to give you this blessing. And then there's one aspect of it that I want to just spend time alone over the next five weeks explain further.

But the blessing is found in Genesis 48 verse 20.

This is what happened. Joe's of who had been assaulted and traumatized by his brother, sold into slavery falsely accused and thrown into prison is exalted through his capacity to interpret dreams into Pharaoh's court and placed second in command of all Egypt and eventually used by God to save the known world from famine.

Jacob, his father who loved Joseph more than anything in life had spent his whole last 30 years grieving thinking that Joseph was dad. And then there reunited and before Jacob dies were Joseph's father dies. Joseph learning that his father is nearing death of rushes to his bedside because he wants more than anything else. And this is not the only place you see this in the Scripture what he wanted more than anything else was for Jacob to bless Joseph, sans friend, bless his grandson and it should. If nothing else, this should arouse our attention to the power and place of blessing because it's what we see in the narrative of the patriarchs. What seems to be not only the thread that is passing along the favor of God, but it is the thing that people most want from their fathers is bless is not a story primarily about wanting riches or wanting importation of particular craftsmanship or particular skill. What boys and grandson granddaughters want is a blessing from their father and their father's father. And that's what's going on here when Joseph comes and asks Jacob to bless him and arousing his final energy. Jacob blesses these grandsons.

We read about it 4820. In Genesis Genesis 4820, so he left Jacob blessed them that day saying by you. Israel will pronounce blessing saying God make you his Ephraim and Manasseh. Thus he put Ephraim before Manasseh is one the most important verses in the Bible that know by whatever pay attention to God put Ephraim before Manasseh, and on but I explained that from that time for 3700 years. This is what Jewish fathers have been saying over their children. And in this mysterious ancient blessing. I think you're going to see the secret to finding favor in God's eyes find a glory of what blessing is all about. The Bible is not about moralism. This is why we practice blessing.

The Bible is not a story about how if you will in a moralistic way live a better life then you will be more acceptable to God. That is exactly what the Bible is not about if I give you just picked up the Bible and just read it through.

What would stand out to you is how shocking it is that God would pick people and bless them for no particular reason, and that those people, though blessed would often rebel against God, and yet the power of blessing is relentless. What you would see is that in letter contrary fashion to the ways of culture.

God does not motivate us by withholding his love, but by giving it and in this world.

What happens is that people who want you to do what they want you to do withhold love and acceptance in some measure like a carrot dangling before you, if you run faster and jump higher, then you'll be given love and acceptance and blessing. And so when we bless we are defying the dark kingdom and we are living out the kingdom principle of God for this is the way of transformation. God bless Adam and Eve and then he said, be fruitful and multiply it as a golden thread that runs all the way through the Scripture. Not only did he bless this man Abraham and say through you. All the nations will be blessed by the Hebrew patriarchs bless their sons and their grandsons and Moses blessed the tribes of Israel and David blessed his family and even when Jesus was born God appointed a man named Simeon to come and lay his hands on the baby Jesus in lesson is a sinless son of God and yet he needed blessing and baptism. His own father said this is my son in whom I am well pleased, and blessed. Jesus began his ministry by speaking a series of blessing. Blessed are the poor in spirit.

When Jesus was teaching people just wanted to bring the little children to bless them. I tell you, with almost 100% certainty when those little children came up to Jesus and he put his hands on you would say many things that he was certainly say my God make you likely remember NASA right will have more teaching moment from today's important series will be nice to such a blessing instead of the curses of the world. This special offer from Alan my ministries will help with the release of Pastor having a blast. We created a flip style devotional figure – the kitchen counter beautiful spiral bound devotional offers 28 days of inspiration. Utilizing some of the most moving excerpts from the new pot for four weeks. Keep the premises and assurance of God's blessing, Philippians, whatever is true, I'm sure, think on these things make a gift in my ministries inspirational flip style devotional as I thank you for your partnership spiral arm devotional come to the convening style stand seeking keep inspiration in front of you and fill your heart with God expressing the gospel is shared when you get right ministries. This broadcast is only possible because of listener financial support. When you get today we look for special offer.

We are happy to send this to you as I thanks from Alan Wright Ministries, 877-544-4860 877-544-4861 come to our website. Pastor Alan.work teaching is the last thing is they left this earth was he lifted up his hand and he blessed the disciples also were supposed to bless even our enemies. It is the is the way of God. And so when we bless we are putting into effect God's plan for empowerment is what were doing way.

Love is expressed and part of the reason that we practice blessing here is that honestly after 30 years of study and blessing. I believe more passionately now and the need for than I did my first because if you were made to and designed for receiving blessing and given blessing, but family delivers that blessing imperfectly or not at all.

Or, instead, gives curse, then part of your design is not being fulfilled more starkly, can never be God made you to be without blessing. This is going on in our families are two fractured family are supposed to be the place where blessing goes on from generation to generation to generation was so sad is aware culture now that is trying to say the family that even matter is I like fathers don't matter in our culture and you and nothing could be further from the truth. According to the word of God that this blessing that comes to families is so important that without it will never be your spouse to be and so what I believe is that we are brothers and sisters in Christ, and we are family is what we do in this family as we bless we blessing. We do not curse.

I want to blush. I'm like everyone ways in which I craved blessing from my father that I didn't get and some of it was. He grew up in that you know came to that time were dad's work. Not quite likely to tell their children how proud they were and that he'd always brag about is everybody else. I think ad nausea was measured three boys and it was sit there like tell us. And since I and I find out. Still, stuff about my dad, my brother's guns are interested in the ancestry stops and looks up stuff and he wrote me last week. His dad was the president of the student body at Little Rock College when he was asset on. I do know is a leader.

I like to know I like to send you know I've been a leader and now you're a leader Alan I want to bless that leadership to reach many people like to have had that interesting, ironic twist, the way God works out things.

My dad was a news man and now here I am, news man to good news man. They spent every week like you ready for some news is are you a good news and he actually started the TV man, but he actually started in radio and the sweet irony was not lost upon me when over 10 years ago we start a radio ministry. My dad was in dementia. By that time and skilled care facility.

Often when I would go if the weather was nice.

I would just take him in his wheelchair outside to get some fresh air and sunshine. And I'll never forget the time that I went to visit him right after we started on radio and he was a little bit more lucid that day. His head was down as it usually was seldom pick up his head and looked at me, but on that day. I just was talking. Sometimes I just talk and I did all the talking and I just assumed the spirit was getting it.

You know, but I just said to him, dad.

I said we started our radio ministry yesterday and were on were all five stations in three states and he picked up his hand and had a big grin & that's great. I just took it in.

But what I really wanted was a miracle right. What I really wanted him saying what does a boy's soul craved from his daddy. I really wanted wasn't to be on rise up that wheelchair walked behind.

He put his hands on my shoulders and began speaking in props time blessing over my life I given almost anything to say I was in radio son but now you're in radio for a greater purpose and I bless that ministry to reach thousands and thousands whatever communication gift began in me my son I now blessed and you got usual boys, but he couldn't not in body nor in spirit and so I made it my resolve as a spiritual father of this flock. I'm here to bless you and where family and you can just count on the matter be honest with your brother and sisters I would not go to church that does not practice blessing. It is that integral to the nature of the gospel.

We can't live without blessing. We need to bless each other in the hallways and in the parking lot and are coming and going in our horizon and I'm going to bed at night. Blessing God implemented this and said I want you Hebrew daddies. I want you to say this over your children every week. I want this to go into the May God make you see from Manasseh what is going on here.

I think blessing is something like what Dallas Willard said I like this definition, the projection of good into the life of another is just words is actually putting forth of your will, for the good of another person to decide whether we believe that or not.

And I believe every fiber of my being that God is made to what you feeling you have when you love somebody you just want something good for them. You like to build just everybody in this room right now. You probably know somebody in this very position they are believing a lie about their own life believing a lie about their destiny. Walking into the destiny that you know your seen virtue in them that they don't see in themselves seem potential that they don't seem as if you could just take it to frustrating when you can't what God's given to us is blessing to my God make you is from an Manasseh is such an intriguing blessing. 3700 years Jewish fathers been saying these words and yet hardly anybody ever tried to come up with a reason why I've been studying this and I just think that that there's something going on here that is profound and shows the model of all blessing and I want to just give it to you today. These four gifts of this blessing that I think the essence of all blessing and I guess it later. I'm in a come back to this give this to you today.

The first thing I notice about this that I think is key is that when Joseph brought his signs for his father to bless even Manasseh. So Jacobs got to speak a blessing over these grandsons.

Jacob does something that takes your breath away when you think about it.

He adopts Alan Wright. Today's good news message in our New Year's blessing. Pastor Alan is back with us in the studio assuring a parting good news thought for the day in just a moment with this blessing instead of the curses of the world. This special offer from Alan my ministries will help with the release of Pastor Alan's new blast. We created a flip style devotional for your gastric kitchen counter beautiful spiral-bound devotional office 20 and inspiration.

Utilizing some of the excerpts from the new buck for four weeks.

Keep the premises and assurance of God's blessing to Philippians whatever is true, I'm sure, think on these things make you get my ministries inspirational flip style devotional as I thank you for your partnership. Spiral-bound devotional come to the convening style stand seeking inspiration in front of you and fill your heart with God expressing the gospel is shared when you get Alan Wright Ministries. This broadcast is only possible because of listener financial support.

When you get today we look for special offer.

We are happy to see Misty thanks from Alan Wright Ministries, 877-544-4860 877-544-4861 come to our website.

Pastor Alan.work Becky repass relevant reporting good news thought for the day which really is a central theme to your brand-new book, the power to bless them, holding it in my hands into what a great teaching going from the pulpit teaching now into the book format of not only understanding the power of blessing, but then taking that in applying it the power to bless this blessing that Jewish fathers have been speaking over their children for 3700 years, every Sabbath day saying May God make you is Ephraim and Manasseh, and nobody seems to know why even the Jewish rabbis never could come to an agreement or a consensus as to why and it finally makes sense when you really see the gospel when you see what God's done for us in Jesus Christ Daniel this is the very heart of our new book that is just been released. It is a lens that you from Manasseh blessing a lens through which you could see the essentials of blessing and anyone anyone never too late to receive blessing. Start your life a whole.

Today's good news message listener supported production Alan Wright