“From the Heart” teaching by Drs. Rodney & Adonica Howard-Browne.

Thoughts on Stewardship Lessons from Genesis

Blessed to be a Blessing
Foundation Scriptures: Genesis 12 verses 1-3 and Genesis 13 verses 1-2

Now the LORD had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you. 2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Genesis 12:1-3 NKJV

Then Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, to the South. 2 Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. Genesis 13:1-2 NKJV

1. In order for God to bless Abram, He had to take him out of where he was and He also had to take where he was out of him! God had a great plan for Abram and his descendants and in order to fulfill this plan, God had to take Abram out from his current surroundings. Sometimes we are limited by our circumstances and by the people around us. We are stuck in the same old rut and we need to be shaken up and our eyes opened to all the possibilities that are available to us in the Lord. If we want to walk in the blessings of God, we may have to make some defining choices. We will need to leave the influence and company of those who are negative and destructive and who are leading us away from the plans and purposes God has for us, and press into God for His will for our lives.

God separated Abram from his kinsmen and their gods so that Abram could come to know the true God and serve Him alone. God had a plan to bless Abram and to make him a great blessing to ALL the families of the earth!

2. God’s promises to Abram:

a. I will make you a great nation.

b. I will bless you.

c. I will make your name great.

d. You will be a blessing.

3. God will bring you out in order to bring you in—He will bless you to be a blessing:

a. You were born to be blessed.

b. You were born to be a blessing.

c. You cannot be a blessing if you are not blessed.

d. There is MORE than enough blessing to go around so that EVERYONE can be blessed.

Pastor Adonica’s Thoughts:

The Lord owns the cattle on a thousand hills—He has more than enough provision for everyone on the earth—He has more than enough for you. You need to change the way you think and believe so that you can start to see yourself as God sees you. In Psalms 21:6, David says that God made him (David) to be blessed and a blessing forever and that applies to all those who love and obey God. Begin to expect God’s blessing in your life. Thank God for His blessings—rejoice and praise Him for them. SEE yourself as a blessing. BE a blessing wherever you are every day. Don’t wait until you have what you think you need to be a blessing. Just do what you can and give what you have right now. Be a blessing to everyone who crosses your path. Watch the Lord transform your life!

Pastor Rodney’s Thoughts:

I purposed in my heart many years ago that I wanted my life to count for eternity and that I wanted to be a blessing. I was blessed with godly parents and I had been raised in a godly home, so I had a good foundation in my life that ought to have brought blessings to me. However, I knew that God was calling me out and that I had to move to obey the call of God. God called me to America even as a young boy. I knew that I would go to America and that all I needed was God’s perfect time and the open door. I had to get up from where I was, take my family—my wife and three children—and travel to the United States of America and obey heaven’s call to be a missionary. Adonica and I climbed aboard the 747, with our three children and $300 cash, and when we landed in America in December of 1987 we had an excitement and an expectation in our heart. We knew that the Lord had promised not only to bless us, as we obeyed Him, but also to make us a blessing unto many!

God blessed Abram and he paid tithes to Melchizedek. Abram was a generous person. Look at how kind he was to Lot. Remember, that the Word of God declares that if you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good of the land (Isaiah 1:19). You were born to be a blessing and you were born to be blessed! God has blessings for you that cannot be contained, and it all begins with a seed.  We purposed in our hearts to give our way into God’s blessings, and it worked! Open your heart as you sow seed today.

Confession and prayer:

I was born to be a blessing and I was born to be blessed! Father, teach me your ways and I promise you I will be a giver and be a blessing to the world.