Blessed Beyond Imagination

[This is Part 1 of the “Blessed Beyond Imagination Series”]

Many times, we greet each other with “How are you?” For the believer, our answer really is “Blessed beyond imagination!”. In this introductory episode, you’ll find out why, as we learn:

• That God is the source of all blessing. He blesses us because He is good.
• A Blessing Scripture Parade – presenting a sampling of the many wonderful scriptures about the blessing of God.
• Blessing: What it is and is not.

[Scriptures: Eph 1:3, Gen 1:22, Gen 1:27-28, Deut 28:14, Prov 10:6-7, 10:22, 28:20, Isaiah 44:2-5, Rom 8:32 & 15:29]

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[This is Part 2 of the series, “Blessed Beyond Imagination”] It’s amazing how FORGETFUL we can be. One moment we get a deeper, fresher glimpse of the blessing of God…. and the next, we forget that word of blessing, when we open up an unexpected bill in the mail. In this episode we learn:

• The blessings of God reflect His great heart of love for us.
• God’s blessing PRECEDES anything truly good that we could ever do for Him.
• We begin looking at Psalm 103, a psalm rich in telling of the blessings and benefits of God.
• The blessings of God lead us to wholehearted worship and praise of Him.
• How that the blessing of God transformed a “nobody” into a great king.

CC by-nc-nd 2016 Mark D. VanOuse
This recording is under a Creative Commons copyright license.

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[This is Part 3 of the series, “Blessed Beyond Imagination”] We continue with a veritable feast of God’s blessings & benefits, found in Psalm 103. Today, we look at:

• God’s TOTAL forgiveness – no matter how great the iniquity or sin, God’s love and grace makes possible a perfect and forever forgiveness, based on the perfection of Jesus Christ and His perfect, finished work. This teaching will truly set you free to enjoy your relationship with God!
• Temporary forgiveness (people misusing 1 John 1:9) vs. the forever forgiveness of ALL our sins, whether past, present or future.
• God’s healing – He heals ALL of our diseases. Jesus, the image of the Father, “healed all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people”. Jesus did this because that was what The Father was doing. Our Father is still healing through Jesus IN US today.

[Scripture: Psalm 103:3, various]

CC by-nc-nd 2016 Mark D. VanOuse. This recording is under a Creative Commons copyright license.

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[This is Part 4 of the series, “Blessed Beyond Imagination”] Many Christians acknowledge that God is a blessing God. The extent of His blessings are truly amazing. However, they think to themselves, “Why would God bless me, with all the sin that I have done?” In this encouraging episode, we look at one of the greatest blessings of all: our redemption and what that means when it comes to God making you “blessable”:

• What “redemption” means in the Bible and why it is so important.
• God’s redemption is both a ransom from sin, self and Satan AND a purchase where we belong to God.
• How God takes us from doom and destruction to the heights of His love, where He “crowns us with lovingkindness and tender mercies”!

[Scriptures: Psalm 103:4, various]

CC by-nc-nd 2016 Mark D. VanOuse. This recording is under a Creative Commons copyright license.

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[Psalm 103:5-7]  Because of God’s incredible GOODNESS, we are blessed beyond imagination. Today, we explore the blessings of real and lasting SATISFACTION, God’s justice for the oppressed and Personally knowing HIM:

• God and only God can bring real satisfaction. The devil flaunts the pleasures of this world at us. But the child of God finds real satisfaction from God HIMSELF.
• Millions all across the world suffer oppression. God blesses us with justice and righteousness, even in the face of such hostility.
• The greatest joy of all is KNOWING GOD, in a real, personal way. Moses had that kind of relationship with God and so can we!

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[Psalm 103:8-10, Part 6 of the series, “Blessed Beyond Imagination”]  We live in rapidly changing times. Everywhere we look, dramatic — sometimes traumatic — change is taking place: in our culture, in the world, at the workplace, in our schools and in our families. But there is one, sure, great constant and that is GOD HIMSELF and His Incredible STEADFAST LOVE. In this lesson we learn about:

• The rich Hebrew word “hesed”, which means “steadfast love” or “unfailing love”. This powerful word, which is closest to the New Covenant concept of grace, occurs many times throughout the Old Testament, particularly in the Book of Psalms.
• The great dimensions of God’s love: His great mercy.
• What is really behind the wrath of God, how God’s anger is the result of His justice and righteousness, which have been so severely violated by sinful man.
• How God’s wrath last only for a moment, yet His mercy is EVERLASTING!

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[Part 7 of the “Blessed Beyond Imagination” series] Have you ever been betrayed by a friend, rejected by someone who used to love you or ever had someone say, “I’m DONE with you!”? At some point, we all experience the pain and loss of broken love. On this edition we learn about the steadfast love of God that NEVER GIVES UP ON YOU:

…

Blessed #7: The Incredible Steadfast Love of The Lord – Part 2Read More »

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Throughout the Bible and down the corridors of time, we find people who were known to be BLESSED OF GOD. How did they ever get to such a place of being SO BLESSED? What was their secret?

• People are blessed not because they are so good, but because God is good.
• None are righteous.
• So what IS the grace of God that brings such incredible, beyond imagination blessing into our lives?
• Another thing that we see in the life of a person blessed of God is that there is evidence of PROSPERITY upon their life
• A person blessed of God CANNOT be cursed

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Why is that we see in the Bible that God repeatedly blesses the undeserving? We learn more about this fact in this lesson, as we examine people in the Bible who were blessed of God, even though they didn’t deserve it. Today, we’ll study:

• Joseph – the youngest of Jacob’s sons. Even though he faced adversity, he held onto the fact that he was indeed blessed of God, Who had a great destiny for him
• Moses – another one who was not the firstborn of his family, yet God chose Him for His purposes.
• How there was a Great Divide of how God related to His before and after Mount Sinai and the giving of the Law: before Sinai, no judgment against Israel, after the Law, a man was cursed and stoned… for picking up sticks!
• After the law, curse after curse. And yet, God still cherished and blessed His people!

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They didn’t deserve to be blessed… yet GOD blessed them anyhow! In this episode, we continue looking at the lives of those who are blessed of God, yet didn’t deserve to be blessed. Today, we look at:

• Ruth – an outsider, a Moabite. Even though she was not a part of God’s blessed people, the Jews, yet she persisted in staying with her grieving Jewish mother-in-law. God gave a great legacy: she became the great grandmother of King David.
• King David – the least of Jesse’s many sons. He didn’t deserve the choice blessing of the oldest son, yet he was richly blessed to be anointed as King of Israel… with a royal line that would reach even King Jesus!
• King Solomon – once again a younger son blessed with great privilege. He enjoyed great wisdom from God and, as a result, great peace.
• Daniel – and Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Captives in a foreign land, yet delivered and blessed by God.
• Esther – another Jew in the time of the Captivity. Yet she enjoyed favor with the secular king and was mightily used of God to save her people from certain destruction
• The Most Blessed Person of All – The Lord Jesus Christ!

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Blessed Beyond Imagination series, part 12. In the Bible we read that God “justifies the ungodly“. How can that be? Today, we examine what He does this, looking at what the Bible says about:

• All of us don’t deserve to be blessed, because of our sin, idolatry and rebellion against God. In fact, we deserve damnation and judgment.
• There is only One — The Lord Jesus — who has the right to judge and condemn us. Yet He is in fact interceding for us.
• Even though we don’t deserve to be blessed, every single person who is in Christ is richly blessed, because they have received the gift of Christ’s righteousness by faith.
• What it means to be justified.
• Texts: Romans 1:18, Ephesians 2:3-6, Psalm 32:1-2, Romans 4:5-7

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[Blessed Beyond Imagination, part 13]. It’s one of the most important messages that could ever be spoken… And it answers the most important question of all: can I know for sure that I have a good standing with God? EVERYTHING depends on it! In this episode we look at:

• Faith is very important to God. In fact, the Bible says in four key places, “The just shall live by faith”. So why is it “of faith”. Romans 4:16 says, “That it might be according to grace.”
• All of the blessedness that we have is only because of the Grace of God.
• God blesses us because He is good. And is the source of all blessing

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Every single person who is in Christ is indeed richly blessed beyond imagination. But you might be wondering: it sure doesn’t seem like I’m richly blessed beyond imagination! Maybe you even think that your life is just the opposite. In this episode, we’ll help you to understand and experience the blessed life that is your birthright in Christ:

• First: an important caution! Addressing our tendency to dismiss these incredible realities.
• How do we know who we really are in Christ?
• There are nearly 200 scriptural truths about who we already are in Christ. In Part 1, we dig into some of them.

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[Blessed Beyond Imagination #15. Note: the beginning of this episode has strong encouragement during this dark time of the Coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak and economic uncertainty.]

God has already richly blessed every single believer… beyond imagination! But most Christians have almost no idea just how much God has already blessed them in Christ! In this episode we look at more of the incredible IN CHRIST realities for every believer!

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[Blessed Beyond Imagination #16] Very few believers know who they really are in Christ…And that’s important to know, in good times… and especially in bad times! Even fewer believers experience the reality of who they really are in Christ in their daily lives. In this episode, we talk about living in the full benefits of being the blessed person in Christ that you really are. We’ll learn that because we’re in Christ:

• We already have received all the promises God has ever made.
• We already have received the promise of the Spirit. And we’ll learn what that means for us right now.
• We already have the anointing.
• We already have peace, even during the tribulations of this world, because Jesus has overcome the world.
  

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[Blessed Beyond Imagination #17. The beginning of this podcast has encouragement from God’s Word dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic crisis].

It’s true: God has already richly blessed you, believer, beyond imagination! But many struggle and ask, “Why isn’t this working in my life?”. We tackling that perplexing question in this episode:

• Why “doing for God” is a big mistake.
• Many look at things carnally — after the flesh, rather than recognizing the new creation realities by the Spirit.
• The importance of walking by faith, not by sight.
• What it means to be a “new creature”.

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[Blessed Beyond Imagination #18]

Many Christians struggle with living as the brand new creature in Christ that they REALLY ARE, because they think, “I don’t think I’m ‘good enough’ or ‘holy enough’ or ‘righteous enough”. That’s right: you are NOT… but the Lord Jesus Christ is! And that makes a world of difference for you, in terms of the enjoyment of the blessed new life. Today we look at:

• The glorious truth of 1 Corinthians 1:30, which tells us that we are in Christ because GOD did it. As well as the incredible context of 1 Corinthians 1:30.
• You are a partaker of the blessings of God, not because you are so worthy, but because of what GOD THE FATHER has accomplished IN and THROUGH Jesus Christ!
• Romans 4:5-8 and the fact that God justifies and blesses the UNGODLY on the basis of faith, which is according to God’s Grace (Romans 4:16).
• The Bible clearly declares that “the just SHALL LIVE by FAITH”, which looks to Jesus Christ as our all in all.

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