Blessed to be Twice Fruitful [Part 1]

Pastor author and Bible teacher Alan Wright of searching something about pandemic and it just popped about couldn't believe his visit.

Is it normal to experience pandemic fatigue during the code 19 pandemic is it normal to be desired.

The pandemic because you're tired of a pandemic. Yeah, that's pastor another message of good news will help you see your life in a whole new light.

I'm doing the excited for you to hear the teaching today.

In the series.

Power to bless taken from Pastor Alan's book of the same title is presented in an old church in North Carolina. I want to make sure you know how to get our special resource right now. It can be yours for your donation this month to Alan Wright Ministries as you listen to today's message go deeper as we send you today's special offer. Contact us at pastoralan.org or call 877-544-4860 that's 877-544-4860.

More on that later in the program but now let's get started with today's teaching here is Alan Wright are you ready for some good news. God doesn't pressure you to be fruitful. He blesses you to be fruitful and we can do the same on to others were talking about the power to blasts to speak a positive vision and faith over others lives.

This great theme that runs all the way through the Scriptures we come by today. This foundational blessing that for 3700 years, 3700 years Jewish dads have been speaking this blessing on the Sabbath day over their kids. May God make you receive from Emma Masi and today were to focus in on the part of this that has a do with what Ephraim means this is a story in Genesis 48 in which Joseph has brought his two sons to his dying father Jacob so that Jacob could rouse himself and bless these boys in verse three Jacob said to Joseph God Almighty appeared to me at loose in the land of Canaan and blessed me on Paul's right here to say. One of things we've learned about Jacob is that Jacob struggled his whole life because he didn't feel blessed so is always trying to manipulate always trying to strive always trying to earn a blessing God already had intended for him, but it is death that he finally gets it NEC. Here he understands he been blessed, and knows the nature of it verse four and said to me, behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you and make of you a company of peoples and will give this land to your offspring after you, for an everlasting possession.

I'll make you fruitful.

That's at the heart of the blessing that he had Genesis 48 verse 19 after Joseph has brought these boys to a ham and Jacob did the unusual thing. He crossed his arms and he put the strong right arm. The right hand, a blessing that should be for the firstborn in a study put on the younger son's head.

Ephraim is a younger grandson if RAM got this stronger blessing and Joseph realize that this was violating protocols are tried to gently remove his father's hands back to the no dad. This is this is the firstborn Manasseh put your hand here, the right hand here, but Jacob said no. He knows what he's doing. Verse 19 the father. Jacob refused and said I know my son, I know he also shall become a people speaking of Manasseh. He also shall be great.

Nevertheless, his younger brother shall be greater than he.

Speaking of Ephraim, and his offspring shall become a multitude of nation's is speaking of the increase that he spoke over Ephraim. Now every Bible with you go into the New Testament and John chapter 15 to hear these words of Jesus that help explain the nature of the Christian life is one of bearing fruit by abiding in him. John 15 verse five Jesus and I'm the vine and you are the branches.

Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

Verse eight. By this my father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so proved to be my disciples were talking about the name Ephraim today, which means twice fruitful and what it means to live a fruitful life. So were talking and many ways in a broader sense of in the very very best sense of the word of succeeding. There was a middle school teacher and she had class of of young aspiring entrepreneurs and so she had arrange for all of them to have.

I think $10 and go.

She said go out. It's easy to start a little business maybe felt sell something. See if you could make some money off of this they came back three weeks later and first the girl came up and she returned on the D teachers desk $29.

Your so that's wonderful. So what did you do she said I sold T-shirts. She said I bought some plain white T-shirts I tie-dye them myself.

I sold them. I reinvested the money back into some more T-shirts Doing this for several weeks and and that's how May $29 that you sent with that's wonderful. Another logo came up she had made $79 that you said wow how to do that. She said I sold informative magazines. She said I sold enough, those able to reinvest by more magazines.

I stood out front of a shopping center and I told people this was a help enrich their lives and people Buying them look I made $79.02 wonderful little boy came up and opened up a big box and dumped out $2738 and adjusted what is this what did you what did you do these acyl toothbrushes. She said you sold toothbrushes and made all this money. How did you do it.

He so I started out by giving people free ice cream. She said, and so then, just because they wanted to make sure they didn't leave sugar on their teeth they they bought toothbrushes.

He said no is. I gave him the free ice cream and they all said to make this taste like dirt and I said it is dirt, nor by toothbrush. Everybody in this world in one way or another is trying to find a way to sorted get ahead and if you feel like that. You just gotta do it in any way possible to make it happen. Then you'll start cutting corners and you'll you'll you'll succumb to the feeling of pressure I got such a chuckle out of reading is where you joke about a man who called 911. He said my friend is bleeding very badly. I really afraid. What should I do an operator said calmly, well, bad hemorrhage like this could lead to death. So the first thing you need to do is apply pressure so the man hung up the phone. He said to his friend lesson stop bleeding right now, or else you could die yet. No pressure, just bleeding see what pressure does is it just it just make somewhat uptight about what they are supposed to be able to do, and it ends up just exhausting what one thing that happens to me. I think throughout a lot of my Christian life was. I hear a preacher gets up start talking about being more fruitful and why all know here we go again not doing enough as the messenger never doing enough you're not serving in IVI giving you not bearing fruit you not witnessing enough you're not doing a images maker by tired I was. I was googling something this week about pandemic you when you Google and it comes up and it drops couple questions right there that like these must be the most commonly asked questions related to your search and I'm searching something about pandemic and it and it just popped up. I couldn't believe what is said is it normal to experience pandemic fatigue during the COBIT 19 pandemic is it normal to be tired during the pandemic because you're tired of a pandemic yeah all I care it can feel wearisome if on top of all of the weariness of life. Somebody says hey and you need to be more fruitful. So we come to this part of what it means to be blessed of the name Ephraim in Hebrew there is a dual form of nouns so like we have singular and plural. Like you, and y'all pick up in in in Hebrew there singular and plural, but it also has dual former door are to speak of two of something so and it's in this that it always ends with I-beam one day is your home your home but two days is your my team and so is easy for Heem F. Rahim means it fruit from the root of AFTRA and IE meaning to.

So it means doubly fruitful and so when you see the name Eve from our you speak. This is Jewish dads have over their kids. May you be like Ephraim, you're saying may you be very fruitful twice as fruitful as maybe you ever imagine twice as fruitful as you ever could be, by your own power on talk to about that today and then were going to. After laying out the depth of theology for this we are going to just talk some in real practical terms about what's the difference between pressuring somebody and blessing somebody so that we could understand how we can better help people live fruitful lives.

That's Alan Wright will have more teaching moment from today's important series inspiration and practical help to grasp is in conjunction with the exciting release of Pastor Alan's new book, the power to classically put together some tools to get you started on the journey of speaking life empowering the people you that the toolkit includes a message of Pastor Alan's recent sermon on the mysterious pricing of AFTRA in the marks that gateway to understanding the power of all blessing also included in the kit is a booklet with a list of scriptures that can be spoken directly as blessings.

Blessing scriptures are probably pricing can easily access them for specific situations when you make your gift Alan Wright Ministries this month will happily send you the power to bless toolkit is our way of saying thanks for your partnership resources are available for immediate digital download or available in CD and a partner with us and be inspired and equipped to bless someone's life to the gospel is shared when you get to Alan Wright Ministries.

This broadcast is only possible because of listener financial support. When you get today. We will send you a special offer.

These are the final days. This offer is being made available to you this month, seven 877-544-4860 877-544-4861 come to our website. Pastor our and got work days teaching now you once again is no start with this. There is a fine line between idolizing success and pretending that success doesn't even matter have been part of for a long time of a men's fellowship in town called chapter of a national organization new Canaan society and part of what we do every week as we let guys tell their stories and I just love hearing on his testimonies of guys get up and in one of the values we have, and new Canaan is what is honesty as a people tell their stories honestly and I would just say as I look back over many many years of hearing guys tell their stories that there's one theme that seems to come up a theme of regret or disappointment of of what they would do differently in their life and the theme is that there's a guy who gets really involved in his business really involved in his work, and in a sense makes an idol out of success and spent so much time building up a successful business may be becoming wealthy may be becoming starting a bunch of of of of other businesses.

Whatever it might be to the point that it neglects his other relationships in and is costing a lot of a lot of pain sometimes cost them a marriage or relationship with kids in and led to other destructive thing over and over you. I hear those stories is that there's there's is a great pressure on on people in the world today and maybe men and women experience a little bit differently but as a pressure to be successful and whether you're a businessman or perhaps you're in a career as a lady in your feeling of pressure to keep advancing or maybe your parenting and your home with the kids a lot and you can start feeling the pressure to have the perfect kids so pressures a bad thing it is. It's an anxiety producing thing and that's part of why we don't want anymore, but the other side of this is that is not right.

On the other hand just think that were supposed to just never win at anything.

I thought of this Preached in the me from my youth. Because the great evangelical preacher my youth Roy Putnam he he he was victorious and I was drawn to that is drawn to the message. The gospel is victorious. He wrote a book on Ephesians called in it to win it.

I loved always love them in it to win it.

I got a kinda competitive nature and have a kind of deal with that off and on over the years when our son Bennett was little, I wound up in up coaching a soccer team there for a while.

Dan Anthony get Elder in our church. He was coach and and I helped him a little bit.

They were pretty good back there when Dan was doing. By the time that I have the team.

Though I don't know would also of our key players and we just weren't very good and we were losing most all the games I was. It was part of the more laid-back league in town the optimist league where there's not a lot of pressure on in the first place. Remember the God at the time that was heading it up and he got all the coaches together for training and he said listen, he said, your kids, there's two things they want to do. They want to kick a ball and they want to eat a snack. He said so here we do the optimist soccer league.

We make sure every kid gets a chance to kick the ball and every kid is to eat a snack.

And so it was required that every kid get to play at least half a day and you always about was that it was pretty funny guy. He said also, when your practices. I want you to employ the dead man's role. It was it was a dead man's really said that means that you can't do anything at practice. Ask your kids to do something that a dead man could do and that includes just sitting still and listening to you talk safely to go out and have a snack and so you we aim to just have fun with this but would skip losing week after week.

I me.

I think maybe the first sees I'm not sure we want to game or not. And every week.

We believe in the house minute not come walking out I got my little whiteboard and I draw stuff on and I got practice soccer balls and began Bennett and were going out every week my wife she say she said I listen Bennett just go out there and have a good time. Remember, it's not so much whether you win or lose, but just that you're having a good time doing this and will I okay I am you got to be it was just it was just regular as we are right. She could not remember and and Wilhite Wayne Lano mom and unmount well. In allusion, LOL thank any delay or we could submit so well with it and I and and Susie.

Also, she is aware that we are losing most of the time is what, disappointed son coming up but find that galleon I said honey I said we would you mind not saying that anymore because honestly, I'd like to win sometimes and I said another thing is I'm trying to help teach these boys some life lessons in one day they're going to probably go out and have a job in this, it can be a little bit competitive product you know I'm asked that I think there may be a kid on team he grows up and and he's he's eased in a sales job and he comes home, and he's just lost a $20,000 a year commission and he says to his wife.

He said honey, I got bad news, I just lost were my biggest clients and I don't think I did a good job on the presentation and they're going to go with somebody else and is wise.

Probably not to say, well, honey, it doesn't matter whether you will lose it just did you have fun. Probably will be the case, there might be one of these boys might be a surgeon one day and comes home and says I lost a patient today and it is wise not to say what. But did you have fun though sometimes it matters whether you win or lose.net and Jacob didn't lay his hands on these two grandsons and say I just bless you to have fun in life and always remember, it's not whether you win or lose. It's how you play the game.

That's not what he said is it he blessed the fruitfulness of their lives, and Jacob himself had had the fruitfulness of his life. Be blessed and so the answer to having peace in this world and not feeling pressure can't be to just simply pretend that success never matters and as we look at who God is and I will show you the theological foundation of fruitfulness, you'll realize that it's in God's heart and his own nature, for that which is good and made by him as something good to be able to prosper, to flourish, to increase will start back in Genesis chapter 1 verse 11 God said, let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind on earth and it was so. The design of God is that there would be plants and they have branches in those branches will blossom have leaves and stuffed it blossom right in and from that fruit and inside the fruit is seat and you could take the seed in that fruit planted more trees grow more fruit more seed so it's a plan for exponential increase and it verse 26 we see the pinnacle of God's creation in Genesis 126, God said, let us make man in our image, in our likeness, let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on earth. So God created man in his own image in the image of God he created him male and female he graded them and so he's made humanity in his own image, very much like God, that's who we are and then in verse 28 God blessed them and said to them, be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of heaven so the nature of God is to create bringing order form and beauty out of the chaos and the take that which he has created and bless it to identify how good it is to will it's increase to blessed with a positive vision for the future so that what he is made will increase.

And this is why God has made everything in the world.

Their seed is planted it grows it flourishes its fruitful and this is the nature in which he made people to live fruitful lives and what what is is compelling, in the Scripture we realize is that God is relentless in his intent to blessed humanity to be fruitful, just as he originally said so even after the fall of humanity in Adam and Eve send and there such brokenness in the world, you'll see throughout the Scripture, God still intent on increasing the place of his good people in his good intentions in the world. Genesis 822 is after the great flood and God promises James. They 22 with the earth while the earth remains seed time and harvest. There it is again cold and heat, summer winter, day and night shall not cease. And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.

So you see this, the thing that was spoken to Adam and Eve then great sin comes in the world of the huge flood in God and a sense of starting over with this one man, Noah, and he blesses him and he said same thing you did Adam and Eve, be fruitful and multiply largely blesses him. Helen writing today's good news message and blessed to be twice fruitful from the series the power to blessed which is also the name Pastor Alan's book and Pastor Alan is back with us in the studio, sharing his parting good news thought for the day. In just a moment of inspiration and practical help to grasp is that in conjunction with the exciting release of Pastor Alan's new book, the power to classically put together some tools to get you started on the journey of speaking life empowering the people you that the toolkit includes an idea message of Pastor Alan's recent sermon on the mysterious passing of Efrain and the marks at the gateway to understanding the power of all blessing also included in the kit is appropriately a list of scriptures that can be spoken directly expressing blessing Scripture is a product pricing can easily access them for specific situations when you make your gift Allen Wright ministries this month will happily send you the power to blessed toolkit is our way of saying thanks for your partnership resources are available for immediate digital download or available in CD and document partner with us and be inspired and equipped to bless someone's life to the gospel is shared when you get Allen Wright ministries this broadcast is only possible because of listener financial support. These are the final days. This offer is being made available to you this month. We are happy to send this to you as I thanks from Allen Wright ministries, seven 877-544-4860 877-544-4861 come to our website pastor out.work now sitting with pastor out in the studio owner parting good news thought for the day in and we know from Genesis, God bless them to be fruitful. What's this about being twice fruitful.

That sounds even better. The name Ephraim means twice fruitful. It's a beautiful name Hebrew has both single and has not always seemed singular and plural expressions of noun but also the dual form so like in the South.

We know to say you in the singular and y'all is the part I guess we don't have a word it says two of you, but in Hebrew there is an expression for that anytime you hear a word that ends in IE.

That means that means that's the dual form of it.

So this is Eve Fry EMF frying from fruit and double it means double fruit or twice fruitful.

So I think when you bless someone to be like Ephraim and Manasseh. Part of that is your blessing the fruitfulness of their life a part of this was Jacob had Ephraim in Egypt is the second born. So part of it was just a simple as hate the Lord may be fruitful again here.

Another son I think that is are so much prophetic about Ephraim and Manasseh blessing that this is partly God saying I want this name on people twice fruitful. I want this on everybody twice fruitful twice as fruitful as you would ever be by your own power. I think ultimately prophetically twice as fruitful meaning you were fruitful because he made you, but you also fruitful because he feels with the Holy Spirit and you redeemed so, to blessed someone is to envision their life being fruitful. Thanks for listening today. Visit us online at pastor at.org or call 877-544-4860 that's 877-544-4860 if you only caught part of today's teaching. Not only can you listen again online but also get a daily email devotional that matches today's teaching delivered right to your email inbox free. Find out more about these and other resources at pastor at.org that's pastoralan.org. Today's good news message is a listener supported production Allen Wright ministries