Genesis 48: Pass the Blessing

Genesis 48: Pass the Blessing This message is brought to you by Pastor Vincent Dinh Scriptures: Genesis 48.1-22; 1 Chronicles 5:1; Colossians 1:15,18; Romans 8:17, 29 Context: Jacob is more than 140 years old, and his task to pass on the COVENANT to the right offspring. (Gen 47.28;48.15,18) The covenant God gave started with Abraham and boils down to this - his offspring will become a mighty nation and will inherit 7000 square miles of the land of Canaan. Jacob calls for a private meeting with Joseph and ask Joseph to bring his two sons - Manasseh & Ephraim. (Gen 48.1-2) He surprises Joseph by giving him the firstborn blessing meant for Reuben, the 1st son of Jacob. But he does not directly give the double inheritance to Joseph but to the grandsons - Ephraim and Manasseh. (Gen 48.14-18) This double inheritance is played out 400 years later when Israel conquers Canaan, divided the land into 12 portions. Joseph's sons received 2 portions of land. In the Old Testament, 1st born sons are told to carry on the covenant promise of God, pass it down to their children, meant for a specific nation. Now in the New Testament, Jesus occupies the 1st born seat, and he pass down the Good News which is a greater covenant, not just to one nation but to all nations. (Colossians 1.15,18) Christ not only is the firstborn over all creation (Colossians 1:15) , firstborn from the dead (Colossians 1:18), but also the firstborn among brothers(Romans 8:29) who allows believer to be co-heirs with Christ. (Romans 8:17) One of Christ's inheritance will be an UNCOUNTABLE number of believers who will stand around the throne.(Revelations 7:9). How do believers participate in bringing many disciples to Christ? Answer: Fathers spiritually lead their children. Fathers are to provide faith, values, spiritual direction to their kids. (Genesis 18.19, Deuteronomy 6.6-8) 3 immutable truths emerge from 50+ years of studies on how is faith passed on the next generation: 1st truth: All will make a decision to stay with their faith by the time they reach 16. 2nd truth: The single strongest predictor of a child's faith is the faith of the parents. 3rd truth: The warmth of the father has enormous spiritual impact. When the father is close & warm to his kids, there is a 67% success rate in passing on his faith to his kids. While the mothers shape the spiritual direction of the daughters, the fathers shape the spiritual direction of the sons. The key, the "secret sauce" is for fathers to learn to pass on their father in the rhythms of daily life. Ex. while driving to school, have your kid read the Bible. Buy books to help kids understand the reliability of resurrection, reliability of Scriptures, how science points to the Intelligent Design. Question: Will the father go beyond providing material needs for their kids, and go deeper to become spiritual teacher to their kids? If that is your desire for the future, fathers need to commit to a deeper walk with God. Become that special dad who will carry blessing of God and pass it on to your sons & daughters.