“At that time the Lord set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of the Lord, to stand before the Lord to minister and to pronounce blessings in his name, as they still do today.”
Deuteronomy 10:8 NIV

I’m sure by now you’ve heard the worship anthem “The Blessing.” It’s straight out of scripture, super anointed, and set to memorable and powerful melody and chords. As I listened for the first few times through, I was overwhelmed by the fact that God is FOR us and WANTS to bless us. I once heard it put like this - blessing in Ancient Hebrew meant: anointed to win, empowered to overcome, and impossible to curse! (definition from Cheryl Salem) Especially during the tumultuous times the world is experiencing...we need to walk in the blessing of the Lord! 

One scripture that kept running through my mind was Deuteronomy 10:8 where it said that God appointed the priests to pronounce blessings in His name. Their words were the avenue through which the blessing of the Lord would come upon the people. 

What stood out to me the most was the fact that God had set up a system through which people could receive His blessing. God uses people to reach people and the priests were set up to pronounce blessings in His name. 

The very fact that He set up priests to bless is evidence enough that God WANTS to bless you!

Not only did the Levites pronounce blessing in His name, Jesus actually did the same thing:
“...He lifted up His hands and blessed them.” (Luke 24:50)

Ultimately, we are blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ (Eph. 1:3), but the kingdom of God is voice-activated! 

Even Jesus’ ministry was a declarative ministry. He, quoting Isaiah, said this about Himself - that He was anointed “…To preach the gospel to the poor…To proclaim liberty to the captives…To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” (Luke 4:18-19)

What am I saying?
1. God wants to bless you!
2. His blessing is released through declaration.

Here are some important keys to accessing the blessing of the Lord:

1. Be convinced that God wants to bless you

God is FOR you. (Rom. 8:31)

If you’re against you then you’re against God!

It’s time to get on the winning team. Do you really want to be fighting against God?

Since God is FOR you, you should be also.

Many times, we hinder what we receive from God because we don't believe we’re worthy. But praise God for the gospel of Jesus! God has qualified us through Jesus to receive all of God’s blessing. (Col. 1:12)

Blessing is the will of God for your life.

2. Know what the blessing is

…so you can expect it!

Let’s revisit that Ancient Hebrew definition:

• Anointed to win

• Empowered to overcome

• Impossible to curse

When the blessing of God gets on you, your life gets enriched.

“The blessing of the Lord makes one rich,
And He adds no sorrow with it.”
Proverbs 10:22

It’s His favor, wisdom, protection, abundance, ability, grace, joy, freedom, peace - all resting upon you and whatever you put your hand to.

Check out Numbers 6:22-27 and Deuteronomy 28:1-14 for more. 

Just for clarity, it doesn’t mean that life gets void of trials and nothing tough ever happens. There are definitely times of trial and challenges - but with the blessing of the Lord upon us, we have strength, endurance, and favor even in the tough times. (Just take a look at Joseph’s life in Genesis…).

3. Position yourself to receive the blessing

• The blessing is released through declaration! 

That’s what the priests were appointed to do and it’s the same today! (1 Peter 2:9 says we are the royal priesthood.)

Attend ministries that believe in the declaration of God’s blessing upon you and receive from the spoken word.

It was the declaration of the priest that released the breakthrough to Hannah’s prayers (1 Sam. 1:17). 

Did you know you can also declare it over yourself?

One time we were leading a young man in the baptism of the Holy Spirit and he got the gift of tongues. He actually started speaking Mandarin Chinese. We knew that because one of our friends who was present lived in China for six years and understood him.

He translated what he was saying as this: “You believe in Him! You believe in Him!”

The young man, empowered by the Holy Spirit, was declaring over himself to have faith in God!

What’s the point? You have the ability to declare the truth and blessing of God over yourself.

• The blessing is released through the Presence of God

A man named Obed-Edom hosted the Presence of God at his house for three months and the Bible says the blessing of the Lord got on him and his entire household! (2 Sam. 6:11-12)

You position yourself to receive the blessing by being in the Presence of God.

Be intentional on personal times of worship. 
Be intentional on attending ministries that prioritize the Presence of God.
Lean into times when the Spirit of God manifests Himself.

• Trust in the gospel of Jesus

We are blessed in Christ. 

All the promises of God are apprehended by faith. It takes a simple childlike trust. God gives each one of us a measure of faith - let’s use it to believe the gospel and instead of the fear-driven reports.

A pastor friend, Mel Ayres, was sharing with me revelation from the story of the Passover. The spirit of death was passing through the towns of Egypt and would kill every firstborn of every house...unless there was a substitute sacrifice of a pure lamb. The blood of the lamb on the doorpost would prove that death had already visited that house, so the spirit of death would pass over.

The powerful thing about the story was that the spirit of death didn’t go inside the house to investigate what kind of people were in there. When he saw the blood of the lamb, he passed over.

What does that mean for us? 

It doesn’t matter who you are, where you’ve come from, or what you’ve done - if you’re covered by the blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ, the enemy has to pass on by!

Jesus has qualified you! You are forgiven and washed clean. You are covered.

Believing the gospel makes you a magnet for the blessing of God.

Let’s turn the tide of this crazy time by not only receiving the blessing for ourselves, but declaring the blessing of the Lord over our nation, families, and those affected by sickness and disease.

Question: How have you experienced the blessing of the Lord? Testify in the comments below!

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