Spiritual Blessings
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Ephesians 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly
realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
A man prayed for finances that he desperately needed. In the mail, he found a check for what he needed.
So, the next time he needed money he prayed and went to the mailbox. For several days, he checked the
mailbox, but no check. So he began to complain to God about his unanswered prayer. God said, “The
answer is not in the mailbox.” That day when he went to work he received a bonus.
A woman handed out food to the poor all day long. That night she complained to God that not one person
thanked her for the food. God said, “Thank you for serving me.”
Our problem is that we are looking in the wrong places for our blessings!
Our blessings come from God and the best ones are spiritual blessings in heavenly places. Now let’s
examine that.
Heavenly realms -
God has blessed us ‘in the heavenly realms’. What does that mean? (That we wait till we get to heaven to
get our blessings?) No! I believe it means that God blesses us with higher things than we generally look for
and ask for or expect. We want bigger cars and more powerful credit cards. God is wanting deeper
spiritual lives and more effective ministry (blessing each other). We are looking for higher pay level or a
higher esteem level, but God is looking for a higher calling and a higher serving.
He has blessed us with spiritual blessings in heavenly places, but we are more enamored with material
blessings in earthly places. His blessings are for the purpose of making us holy and blameless in his sight.
Is your desire to become holy and blameless?
Listen, if we will get our heads out of the gutters and look higher, we will begin to see what God has for
us. His blessings are in heavenly realms. They are spiritual blessings. You see, we want our flesh blessed
so we can feel good. God wants our spirit blessed so we can be good. Material blessings are nice rewards,
but they perish with the using. Spiritual blessings are more important and lasting.
Jesus said,
John 6:27 Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man
will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval."
Don’t waste your time – your life – on things that won’t last. Remember this term – we spend our lives.
What are you spending it on? Are you getting your money’s worth?
Spiritual blessings – “who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.”
Salvation –
Acts 16:31 They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household."
Romans 10:9 That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God
raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Transformation –
Ezekiel 11:19 I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them
their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.
Ezekiel 11:20 Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people,
and I will be their God.
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has
come!
Forgiveness –
Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in
accordance with the riches of God’s grace
Titus 2:14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people
that are his very own, eager to do what is good.
Psalms 103:12 as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
Jeremiah 31:34 … for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.
Rest –
Hebrews 4:9 There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God;
Matthew 11:29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you
will find rest for your souls.
Peace –
John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let
your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
John 16:33 "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have
trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
Relationship –
Jeremiah 24:7 I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the LORD. They will be my people,
and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart.
Holy Spirit –
Luke 11:13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more
will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"
Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in
Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
Power –
Matthew 16:19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be
bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."
Luke 10:19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of
the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
His Name –
Mark 16:17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons;
they will speak in new tongues;
John 16:23 … I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.
An inheritance –
1 Peter 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us
new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
1 Peter 1:4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade— kept in heaven for you,
Eternal life –
John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him
shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 10:28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no-one can snatch them out of my
hand.
And more …
1 Corinthians 2:9 However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived
what God has prepared for those who love him"—
Psalms 103:2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:
realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
A man prayed for finances that he desperately needed. In the mail, he found a check for what he needed.
So, the next time he needed money he prayed and went to the mailbox. For several days, he checked the
mailbox, but no check. So he began to complain to God about his unanswered prayer. God said, “The
answer is not in the mailbox.” That day when he went to work he received a bonus.
A woman handed out food to the poor all day long. That night she complained to God that not one person
thanked her for the food. God said, “Thank you for serving me.”
Our problem is that we are looking in the wrong places for our blessings!
Our blessings come from God and the best ones are spiritual blessings in heavenly places. Now let’s
examine that.
Heavenly realms -
God has blessed us ‘in the heavenly realms’. What does that mean? (That we wait till we get to heaven to
get our blessings?) No! I believe it means that God blesses us with higher things than we generally look for
and ask for or expect. We want bigger cars and more powerful credit cards. God is wanting deeper
spiritual lives and more effective ministry (blessing each other). We are looking for higher pay level or a
higher esteem level, but God is looking for a higher calling and a higher serving.
He has blessed us with spiritual blessings in heavenly places, but we are more enamored with material
blessings in earthly places. His blessings are for the purpose of making us holy and blameless in his sight.
Is your desire to become holy and blameless?
Listen, if we will get our heads out of the gutters and look higher, we will begin to see what God has for
us. His blessings are in heavenly realms. They are spiritual blessings. You see, we want our flesh blessed
so we can feel good. God wants our spirit blessed so we can be good. Material blessings are nice rewards,
but they perish with the using. Spiritual blessings are more important and lasting.
Jesus said,
John 6:27 Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man
will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval."
Don’t waste your time – your life – on things that won’t last. Remember this term – we spend our lives.
What are you spending it on? Are you getting your money’s worth?
Spiritual blessings – “who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.”
Salvation –
Acts 16:31 They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household."
Romans 10:9 That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God
raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Transformation –
Ezekiel 11:19 I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them
their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.
Ezekiel 11:20 Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people,
and I will be their God.
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has
come!
Forgiveness –
Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in
accordance with the riches of God’s grace
Titus 2:14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people
that are his very own, eager to do what is good.
Psalms 103:12 as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
Jeremiah 31:34 … for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.
Rest –
Hebrews 4:9 There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God;
Matthew 11:29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you
will find rest for your souls.
Peace –
John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let
your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
John 16:33 "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have
trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
Relationship –
Jeremiah 24:7 I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the LORD. They will be my people,
and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart.
Holy Spirit –
Luke 11:13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more
will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"
Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in
Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
Power –
Matthew 16:19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be
bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."
Luke 10:19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of
the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
His Name –
Mark 16:17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons;
they will speak in new tongues;
John 16:23 … I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.
An inheritance –
1 Peter 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us
new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
1 Peter 1:4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade— kept in heaven for you,
Eternal life –
John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him
shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 10:28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no-one can snatch them out of my
hand.
And more …
1 Corinthians 2:9 However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived
what God has prepared for those who love him"—
Psalms 103:2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: