Gift of Years 3
Stacy Ikard & Phil Haag
Gift of Years 3
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Gift of Years 3 - The text
The Gift of Years
The Art of Blessing Others
What is the mark of
deep spiritual maturity?
What would manifest in our lives deep spiritual maturity?
§ The Fruits of the Spirit – Galatians 5:22-24
§ Love – I Corinthians 13
§ Jesus’ Teaching – Matthew 5-7
§ “The mark of a deeply mature man or woman, the mark of a very mature disciple of Jesus, and the mark of someone truly giving his or her life away is this: he or she is a person who blesses others and blesses the world, just as God does and just as Jesus did. “
§ Giving one’s life away
§ Blessing others
§ Blessing the world
Sermon on the Mount
5 When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 And he began to speak and taught them, saying:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5 “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. “The eye is the lamp of the body. So if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, 23 but if your eye is unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If, then, the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
Philippians 2
3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or empty conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not to your own interests but to the interests of others. 5 Let the same mind be in you that was[a] in Christ Jesus,
6 who, though he existed in the form
of God,
did not regard equality with God
as something to be grasped,
7 but emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
assuming human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a human,
8 he humbled himself
and became obedient to the point of death—
even death on a cross.
9 Therefore God exalted him even more
highly
and gave him the name
that is above every other name,
10 so that at the name given to Jesus
every knee should bend,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
12 Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence but much more now in my absence, work on your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
14 Do all things without murmuring and arguing, 15 so that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine like stars in the world, 16 holding forth the word of life so that I can boast on the day of Christ that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.
Matthew 5
13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything but is thrown out and trampled under foot.
14 “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. 15 People do not light a lamp and put it under the bushel basket; rather, they put it on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in he
Biblical Examples of Blessing
- Jesus’ baptism – This is my son with whom I am pleased.
- Jesus’ teaching - Beatitudes in Sermon on the Mount.
- Jesus’ actions – disciples, those in need
- Hebrew Scripture– Jacob, Joseph
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
“A blessing is a visible, perceptible, effective proximity
of God.”
benedicere – Latin word
bene- well or good
dicere – to speak
Dallas Willard - “Blessing is the projection of good into the life of another. It isn’t just words. It is the actual putting forth of your will for good for another person.”
Bob Goff - “Don’t tell people what they want. Tell them who they are.”
Characteristics of a Blessing
Seeing Someone
Speaking Well of Someone
Giving away some of your own life so that someone else can have more life.
When a Blessing is Powerful
Top Down
Gendered Blessing
When a Heart is Constricted/Wounded
When it Points to Wholeness and Delight
How Does this Work?
Blessing the young, when they seem not to want our blessing,
It is not easy to bless someone who, seemingly, does not want your blessing, but that is the real task.
Bighearted maturity gives anyway.
Love demonstrates itself this way.
Don’t confuse what someone wants on a surface level with what is needed on a deeper level.
Nelson Mandela (18 July, 1918 - 5 December, 2013)
Letting Go
To let go doesn't mean to stop caring: it means I can't do it for someone else.
To let go is not to cut myself off; it is the realization that I can't control another.
To let go is not to enable, but to allow learning from natural consequences.
To let go is to admit powerlessness, which means the outcome is not in my hands.
To let go is not to try to change or blame another; I can only change myself.
To let go is not to care for, but to care about. To let go is not to fix, but to be supportive.
To let go is not to judge, but to allow another to be a human being.
To let go is not to be in the middle arranging outcomes, but to allow others to effect their own outcomes.
To let go is not to be protective; it is to permit another to face reality.
To let go is not to deny, but to accept.
To let go is not to nag, scold, or argue, but to search out my own shortcomings and to correct them.
To let go is not to adjust everything to my desires, but to take each day as it comes and to cherish the moment.
To let go is not to criticize and regulate anyone, but to try to become what I dream I can be.
To let go is not to regret the past, but to grow and live for the future. To let go is to fear less and love more.