Introduction

American Dream: I was raised in a culture that believes in the American dream. The American dream is the idea that anyone through hard work and dedication can achieve success and prosperity. You might come to America as a maid with $5 in your pocket, but if you work hard enough cleaning hotel rooms, some day you might own the hotel.

Living the American dream means not living paycheck to paycheck, but having plenty of money in the bank. It means enjoying your job, not working too many hours, paying off a house, going on vacations, having time for recreation and having plenty of money for retirement. Some people include a white picket fence, an SUV and 2.5 kids in that dream.

I have bought into the American dream so whole-heartedly, that I have a very difficult time thinking about my resources Biblically. The problem with the premise of the American dream is that it builds my kingdom but not God’s kingdom. If we boil down the American dream to what it really is, it is nothing more than a lifetime of accumulating things with the hope that we will be happier if we own more stuff. It is a trap that we can all get caught up into.

The problem with the American dream is that we chase after it for an entire lifetime only to discover that it does not produce more happiness. But instead, it makes us miserable.

Purpose: It is my intention this morning to change our view about God’s blessings in our lives as Americans. (That’s no small task in one sermon.) When we are making decisions about how to best invest our money and time and talents and attention, how are we making those decisions? Are we thinking of ourselves as stewards of God’s resources and builders of His kingdom? Or, are we running our decisions through a different kind of grid? Are we just living for the Kingdom or for the American dream?

If I don’t think critically about how I steward God’s resources, the American dream is my default and I think some of you are in the same struggle with me this morning.

Psalm 67 is a call to be a conduit of God’s blessing to flow through and not a hoarder. The psalmist is calling us to have a light touch on the things of this word and a firm grip on the things that last for eternity. If we allow this psalm to take root in our hearts, it will change how we make decisions about our resources. It will change everything about how we see ourselves, our purpose and our mission during this short time we have here on this earth.

This morning, I am going to defend this statement: God blesses us so that we might bless others and glorify His name. My hope is that this morning’s teaching will extend beyond today and become more than just facts in a book, but a fresh, ongoing call on our lives to live with purpose and intentionality. AND then to be able to see not just God’s blessing in our lives, but God’s multiplied blessing – blessing on top of blessing on top of blessing. These are blessings that have nothing to do with stuff or 401k’s, but blessings that produce real, lasting joy!

Let’s begin by looking the intentional purpose behind why God blesses those who follow Him.

God’s Blessings Have an Intentional Purpose

Take a look at Psalm 67:1-2…

May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face to shine upon us,               Selah
2 that your way may be known on earth,
your saving power among all nations

When we are talking about God’s blessing, what are we talking about? Most people would assume that we are talking about money or the American dream. Some people think the American dream is based on biblical principles. Is that what David was talking about here? Is he talking about gathering things for ourselves when he says, “gracious to us and bless us”?

When David speaks of a blessing in this context, he is referring to a gift from God that accomplishes these purposes…God’s Blessings are a gift that:

  1. Glorifies His name by helping His people or
  2. Glorifies His name by reaching out to unbelievers

That could be money or material possessions, but it could also be a whole host of other things. The blessings of God are gifts that have an intentional purpose. Just like it would be foolish to buy Christmas presents and never give them away, God’s blessings are the kinds of gifts that are foolish to hoard. God gives us blessing in order for us allocate them for the needs of His church, his people and His kingdom. They are not ours to keep. His blessings are for other people. Blessings are supposed to be shared. They are gifts that we have the privilege of giving for the purpose of spreading His name, His fame and His gospel.

If God gives us a gift for the purpose of spreading His kingdom and we keep it, then how selfish are we? Think about what we miss out on by not allocating God’s resources in the right way.

Some people consider Psalm 67 a missionary Psalm. John Piper says this about missions, “Missions exists because worship does not.” If God was being worshipped among every people group, then there would be no need for missionaries.

David recognizes that worship is missing in the pagan nations that surrounds him and that his God is so worthy, so holy, so praiseworthy and so much greater than the man-made, non-gods of the pagan nations that he needs resources (he needs God’s blessing) to reach them. David asks for some of God’s blessing so that the nations around him might bow before the real God and King and worship Him alone. David understood that God blesses us so that we might bless others and glorify His name.

I think that reaching the lost and making disciples and standing up for the truth of God’s Word are a good reasons for us to ask for God’s blessings. “God, I live in an areas filled with pagan religions. I have a plan to reach our Valley. I think it’s from You. Would you give me the resources to reach people right here?” I prayed this prayer for our Valley and month after month, God continues to provide for me and my family. We’ve been here almost a year now.

This psalm was originally written to be accompanied by an ensemble of harps. (I wonder what that sounded like) In verse 1, there is a strange word two lines in; the word, Selah. Spurgeon says that “Selah” was a musical cue to lift up the heart and the voice and go to a higher, sweeter key. So right away in this psalm, there is a reflective pause, a change in the music and a swelling of sound to bring emphasis to the lyrics to follow. David is aiming to emphasize that there is a real purpose behind the blessings that he seeks for Israel. Here it is…Verse 2:

2 that your way may be known on earth,
your saving power among all nations

He’s saying, “God would you bless your people Israel so that we might bless others and bring glory to Your name?” That’s a good reason to ask for God’s blessing on a nation. David is asking for God’s blessing on Israel so that Israel might be a blessing to the secular nations that surround them. In fact, when God blesses His people, it creates a curiosity in the hearts of those observing.

  • When God’s people are delivered from their enemies against all conceivable odds or
  • When God’s people are provided for beyond their natural means or
  • When God’s people have joy and peace in the midst of their trials that is unheard of in the secular world

…it creates curiosity. Some might even say that is makes the non-believer jealous. When the non-believer, who is consumed in the misery of materialism, sees real joy in the heart of a believer who is going through a trial or who is being persecuted, that unbeliever wants some of that joy. “How can you be so joy-filled when you are going through such a miserable time? AND I don’t have any joy and I have more stuff than I know what to do with…” Most people would gladly trade in all their possessions for a shot at real joy.

When lost people see God’s people being blessed, it often stirs their hearts to find out more about God. AND every time a non-believer receives Jesus as their Lord and Savior, there is one more person who is giving God the glory with their lives.

God’s Blessing is Intended to Result in His Glory

Look at verse 3

Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you!

There is a growing opinion among Americans that as long as you are sincere, you can worship anything and God will honor and receive that worship. I often hear people say things like,

  • “I want my kids to discover their own spiritual paths so I don’t really make them come to church” or
  • “I’m really open to all different kinds of beliefs. Everybody is worshipping the same God, right? Let’s all just get along. Let’s co-exist”

The problem with this view of God is that these beliefs go directly against what the Bible says. This verse says, “let all the peoples praise you” It’s not whoever they want, but “let all the peoples praise you” the only true and living God. He alone is worthy of our praise!

Worshipping false god and idols was a problem in the countries that surrounded Israel. These gods were not only unable to save, but were driving these nations further away from the One True God. They were living in rebellion to the one true God, they were miserable and they heading to an eternity of paying for their own sins in conscious punishment in a dark place called Hell.

David is pleading with God to bless Israel so that the nations would turn from their false gods and worship the one true God. He’s saying, “God would you bless us so that the surrounding nations might see your blessing, submit to your authority and glorify His name?” “Let all the peoples praise you”

We can learn something about how to manage the blessings in our lives by looking at God’s intended purpose for blessing Israel throughout history.

God Blessings fo Israel was for the Purpose of Blessing All Nations

Look at Verse 4

Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you judge the peoples with equity
and guide the nations upon earth.

David was looking for an immediate need that He was facing. He was surrounded by the enemies of God and He was asking for the God’s deliverance, God’s justice and God’s guidance to deliver Israel from their enemies for the glory of God’s name. However, the way God used Israel to bless the surrounding nations extends far beyond David’s immediate need and prayer request.

There is a huge connection between God blessing Israel and God blessing all nations (Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,). Israel had a missionary purpose from very early in their history. From the very beginning, God blessed Israel in order for them to be a testimony to the other nations of the world. Genesis 12:2-3, God is speaking about the newly forming nation of Israel and he says to Abraham:

2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 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.

How did God bless all the nations of the earth through Israel? Fast forward a few thousand years and we see that God was absolutely intentional about establishing, sustaining, guiding and protecting Israel for the purpose of preparing the way for Jesus.

Let’s turn to the New Testament for a few moments and unpack together what Gods promises mean today for the 21st century worshipper of God. Keep your finger in Psalm 67 and turn to the New Testament book of Galatians 3.

God would bless the nations of the world through Israel by sending the Messiah to be born, to live, to minister and even to die & rise again in the nation of Israel so that anybody (Jewish or not) who demonstrated faith in Jesus would be considered a son of Abraham and a child of God. That is how the nations would ultimately be blessed through Israel. Galatians 3:7-9 says:

7 Know then that it is those of faith (not of race) who are the sons of Abraham.
8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith (that’s us),
preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham (4-5000 years ago) ,
saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” (Gen 12)
9 So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. God’s plan was that all the people of the world would ultimately be blessed through the coming of the Messiah. God chose the people in Israel to preserve his revelation and to be the nation that would ultimately be host to the coming King. God fulfilled his promise to “bless the nations through Israel” at the precise moment when Jesus died for sin and rose again so that anyone who believes in him (Jew or Gentile alike) might:

  • Become a son of Abraham and therefore a child of God (Father Abraham reference)
  • Receive a blessing that promises eternity with Jesus in a glorious new kingdom – ruling and reigning forever with Him.

Being a child of God sounds like a way better blessing than picket fences and SUV’s and 401k’s! God blesses us so that we might bless others and glorify His name …. God blessed Israel for the purpose of blessing all nations for the glory of His name. Ultimately, David’s prayer was answered through the person of Jesus, but there was still an immediate need.

The nations surrounding Israel needed to know God. They were relying on the false hope of the pagan gods and while the wrath on the one True God was still burning against them. At this point in the psalm, the music swells again. Notice the Selah. It moves to a new key and verse 3 is repeated, word for word, again in verse 5.

David repeats this phrase again to emphasize the fact that the worship of these false gods is unacceptable to God, but only the worship of the one true God is sufficient. God’s blessing is intended to result in His glory alone.

God’s Blessing is Intended to Result in His Glory Alone

Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you!

The worship of false gods in our culture is just as unacceptable to God today as it was back then. Here in the Verde Valley, I have run into a whole host strange and unusual belief systems that worship a number of false gods. Some of these belief systems are clearly part of the new age movement. Some masquerade as part of the Christian church (those are scariest). They all have one thing in common: they place their hope for salvation on something other than the person of Jesus Christ.

So, when people involved in the New Age or in Islam or in Mormonism or in the Cults say to us, “we worship the same God,” how should we respond to that? Is that true? Whenever someone tries to become right with God outside the person of Jesus, here is what the Bible has to say about them:

  1. They do not know the true God
    Jesus says “You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” John 8:19
  2. They do not honor the true God
    Jesus says “Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.” John 5:23
  3. They do not love the true God
    Jesus says “42 But I know that you do not have the love of God within you. 43 I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not receive me.” John 5:42-43
  4. They have not received the true God but have denied Him
    The Apostle John says “23 No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also.” 1 John 2:23
  5. They have not learned from the true God but are following demons
    Jesus says “45 It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me” John 6:45

People who deny the Deity of Christ or who disregard scripture do not know, honor, love, receive or learn from God. If someone does not know the God of the Bible and they don’t love Him and they have not learned from Him and they openly rejecting Him, then are we really worshipping the same God as they are?

If we put it that way, the answer is obviously ‘no’. It is not out of arrogance that we call them to renounce their false beliefs, but out of compassion that we engage those who are believing lies and plead with them to follow after the one true God… so that we can say with the psalmist, “Let the peoples praise you, O God;    let all the peoples praise you!”

What Do We Do With Material Blessings?

I’ve talked a lot about not finding our happiness in collecting material wealth, but being a conduit for God’s blessings in order to pass them on to others for the glory of God. With that having been said, sometimes God does provide material blessings. I used to work in sales for a Christian based business and here are the facts about Christians and wealth: People who follow God’s commands:

  • Tend to stay in marriages
  • No child support
  • Not supporting two families
  • Try to get out of debt
  • Usually don’t waste money on drugs or excessive drinking
  • Tend to be family minded
  • Tend to live healthier lifestyles
  • Tend to have disposable income

So what do we do when God does provide us with material blessings? When we receive God’s material blessings, then this phrase is especially true: God blesses us so that we might bless others and glorify His name. Or you could say that we are “Blessed in order to be a Blessing”

Blessed in order to be a Blessing

We can’t help but to notice that verse 6 points to a time of material blessing. There are seasons that God’s people enjoy material blessings. The whole psalms has revolved around spiritual blessings up to this point and then verse 6 says, “The earth has yielded its increase;    God, our God, shall bless us.”

In addition to this being a missionary psalm, it is a psalm celebrating a good harvest. There was an immediate material blessing they were celebrating. God provided Israel with food and met the material needs of His people.

God may provide material wealth, but He does so for a purpose. Look at verse 7, “God shall bless us; let all the ends of the earth fear him!” God provides material wealth so that we can meet the world’s greatest need – to know God through his son Jesus Christ.

In this regard, God has a lot to say to the American church. God has given America more resources than we could (or should) possibly ever use. Why has He given us so much wealth? Maybe you think you are not wealthy… The fact is that 1/3 of the world still lives on less than $2 per day. Every person in this room has a measure of God’s financial blessing.

When we use wealth the way the world does, it leads to emptiness and misery (that’s the end of the American Dream). But, if we use wealth for the purpose God intended, it brings about incredible blessings. IN fact, there is triple blessing that God intends for us to receive if we use His resources in the way He intended.

In many ways, God has now blessed believers in our country now, like he blessed the Jews in Israel then. He has blessed us in order that we should be a blessing to others and bring glory to His name. He given us resources so that we might use those resources to reach the lost and further that cause of the gospel.

When we are faithful to invest in the gospel, we receive a triple blessing

  1. We are blessed as we watch God provide the resources.
  2. We are blessed when we give and invest in Kingdom work
  3. When we have the joy of knowing that our faithfulness in utilizing God’s resources for His kingdom results in the salvation of souls and the glory of His name.

My goal this morning was to change our view on everything we own. This teaching is hard for me to receive but I know God gave me blessings to give to others for the spread of His kingdom. When new people are brought to salvation, worship begins to exist where it did not previously exist and God is glorified! You and I will be triply blessed if we have a light touch on the temporary things of this world and choose to be a part of what He is unfolding for all of eternity!

Life Application

God blesses us so that we might bless others and glorify His name.

Teaching Outline

God’s Blessings Have an Intentional Purpose – Ps. 67:1-2

God’s Blessings are a gift that:

  1. Glorifies His name by helping His people or
  2. Glorifies His name by reaching out to unbelievers

God’s Blessing is Intended to Result in His Glory – Ps 67:3

God Blessing Israel was for the Purpose of Blessing All Nations – Ps 67:4, Genesis 12:2-3, Galatians 3:7-9

God’s Blessing is Intended to Result in His Glory Alone – Ps 67:5

Whenever someone tries to become right with God outside the person of Jesus, here is what the Bible says:

They do not know the true God – John 8:19

They do not honor the true God – John 5:23

They do not love the true God – John 5:42-43

They have not received the true God but have denied Him – 1 John 2:23

They have not learned from the true God – John 6:45

Blessed in order to be a Blessing – Ps 67:6-7

 

Application:

You and I will be triply blessed if we have a light touch on the temporary things of this world and choose to be a part of what He is unfolding for all of eternity!