At the beginning of a new year, people often greet one another by saying, “May you receive many blessings!” Even those who do not usually say such words wish each other blessings at this time of year.
Our Zion family members greet one another by saying, “God bless you!” every day, not just on special occasions. The Bible likens words to seeds. So, “God bless you!” is not merely a routine greeting, but it grows like a seed and bears the fruits of blessing without fail. I hope you share this beautiful greeting as often as possible, so that both speakers and listeners can receive blessings.
Let us examine the teachings of the Bible to see what kind of people are truly blessed and how we can share God’s blessings with others.
Those who are acknowledged as a blessed people
God rebuilt Zion, which had long been in ruins, and there He bestows His blessing (Ps 102:16; 133:1–3). The blessed people of God are those who dwell in Zion.
“. . . and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor. They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations. Strangers will shepherd your flocks; foreigners will work your fields and vineyards. And you will be called priests of the LORD, you will be named ministers of our God. You will feed on the wealth of nations, and in their riches you will boast. . . . Their descendants will be known among the nations and their offspring among the peoples. All who see them will acknowledge that they are a people the Lord has blessed.” Isa 61:3–6, 9
Spiritually, Zion is the place where God’s festivals are observed (Isa 33:20–24). The Sabbath, the Passover, and all the other festivals, which God has instructed us to observe, lead to God’s blessings. God has established the festivals so that we can receive blessings.
The Bible says that the people of Zion will be called priests of God, ministers of God. In Old Testament times, a priest was a person who ministered in the sanctuary of God, and his primary duty was to perform the sacred rituals of sacrifice. This shows that those who keep God’s festivals, following His laws and regulations, will be acknowledged as a people God has blessed.
“‘Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.” Ex 19:5–6
God has promised that if we obey His word and keep His covenant, we will be exalted among all nations as His chosen people and a kingdom of priests. A kingdom of priests must have worship ordained by God. Only those who have God’s laws, decrees, and regulations written in their hearts can be acknowledged by God as His priests and a kingdom of priests for Him (Isa 51:7).
Blessings for obeying God’s commands
A sacrifice God has commanded us to offer is our spiritual worship, which involves the truth of the new covenant.
“The days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. . . . This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the LORD. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the LORD,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the LORD. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” Jer 31:31–34
God has put His laws, decrees, and regulations in the hearts of the heavenly people. When we faithfully keep all the laws, decrees, and regulations God has given us, all of God’s promised blessings will come upon us.
If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God: You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country. The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed. You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out. The LORD will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven. The LORD will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The LORD your God will bless you in the land he is giving you. The LORD will establish you as his holy people, as he promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the LORD your God and walk in obedience to him. Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they will fear you. . . . The LORD will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the LORD your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom. Do not turn aside from any of the commands I give you today, to the right or to the left, following other gods and serving them. Dt 28:1–14
How can we know that we are a blessed people? This is proven by the fact that we keep God’s commands written in the Bible. If we faithfully follow God’s commands, we will surely be blessed when we come in and blessed when we go out, and we will be set high above all the nations. All the peoples on earth will fear us, the holy people of God. This means that they will respect and honor us.
God Himself has restored the truth of the new covenant
Just as Jeremiah had prophesied, Jesus came to this earth 2,000 years ago to open the way of blessing by establishing the truth of the new covenant for humanity (Lk 22:7–20). The new covenant, which Christ established through His blood, contains God’s blessings for us; we are blessed when we come in and blessed when we go out.
The laws of the new covenant, such as the Sabbath and the Passover, are not given to force us to hold worship services 365 days a year. God has given us the laws, so that we can always receive His blessings by keeping every law at its appointed time. Simply put, we can receive the promised blessings of the Sabbath when we keep it, and the blessings of the Passover when we celebrate it.
However, during the Dark Ages, God’s appointed times and laws were changed. As a result, many churches today worship on Sunday instead of the Sabbath, one of God’s laws, and celebrate Christmas as the birthday of Jesus, instead of the Passover. Since the truth of the new covenant disappeared from the earth, there have been no people worthy of receiving God’s blessings, nor has there been a kingdom of priests.
“‘For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness. I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them into their own land. I will pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and in all the settlements in the land. I will tend them in a good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down in good grazing land, and there they will feed in a rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign LORD.’” Eze 34:11–15
“‘. . . I will save them from all their sinful backsliding, and I will cleanse them. They will be my people, and I will be their God. My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd. They will follow my laws and be careful to keep my decrees. They will live in the land I gave to my servant Jacob, the land where your ancestors lived. They and their children and their children’s children will live there forever, and David my servant will be their prince forever.’” Eze 37:23–25
As it was prophesied that God Himself would come as a Shepherd because there was no shepherd to guide the sheep on the right path, Christ came again in the name of David to teach us God’s decrees and laws one by one. By restoring all the truths of the new covenant, including the Passover and the Sabbath, He transformed the earth into a world of people worthy of receiving God’s blessings.
In the last days the mountain of the LORD’s temple will be established as the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, and peoples will stream to it. Many nations will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.” The law will go out from Zion, the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. Mic 4:1–2
The Bible says that in the last days, God will proclaim and teach His way of life—His laws—to us on the mountain of the LORD, that is, Mount Zion. This shows that God will come to this earth in the flesh to give humanity the truth of salvation in the last days. God’s blessings will come upon the people of Zion who follow His teachings.
The value and blessings of the gospel
In this age, God has come as the Spirit and the Bride to restore the truth of the new covenant and open the way of blessing. Among all the churches around the world today, it is only the World Mission Society Church of God that keeps God’s laws, decrees, and regulations, according to the teachings of God.
So, there is no doubt that we are most blessed among all 8 billion people in the world. The very fact that under God’s law of the new covenant is in us is itself a great blessing. We should realize the value of this great blessing. People of the world do not know what is the most precious and valuable thing in heaven, but those who listen to and obey God’s word will realize that this is a truly valuable treasure, when they go to heaven.
Jacob obtained God’s blessing after experiencing a great deal of pain. He fled to his uncle Laban’s house because he provoked his elder brother to hate him for taking his birthright and blessing. After 20 years, he decided to go home, and on the way back home he wrestled with a man at the ford of the Jabbok River. At that moment, he desperately begged him, saying, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” Even in excruciating pain with his hip dislocated, he refused to let go and persisted until he received God’s blessing. Then he was given the name “Israel,” meaning “one who struggles with God and prevails.” This was the result of his faith that enabled him to understand the value of God’s blessing. Likewise, even today, God’s promised blessings will be given to those who realize the value of God’s law, treasure it, and keep it faithfully.
God has established the truth of the new covenant to give us blessings, and He has established the church to lead us on the path of blessing. He has also entrusted us with the task of preaching, so we can help those who do not yet know the truth receive blessings by awakening them through the words of the water of life. Preaching is sharing God’s blessings with all people around the world. We share with every family the blessings of the Passover, which allows them to escape disasters and receive the forgiveness of sins and eternal life, alongside the blessings of the Sabbath, through which they can participate in God’s rest and holiness. We are the people who share God’s blessings, and the message we proclaim is the gospel, which is truly good news.
Preaching is the work of sharing blessings
If we carefully follow God’s word, we will be blessed when we come in and blessed when we go out. However, the people of the kingdom of priests should not just remain content with the fact that they themselves receive blessings from God. Isn’t it natural that we share something good with the people we love? That is why God Himself came to this earth and set the example of sharing the gospel, and He taught us to share the good news with all people around the world.
Of course, we may experience temporary hardships or difficulties in the process of preaching the gospel. Sometimes we meet people who reject or slander the gospel because they do not understand the blessings contained in God’s commandments. However, every word of God’s promise will surely come to pass. Although preaching the gospel may sometimes feel as difficult as walking through the wilderness, we will eventually realize that the entire process was a path God led us on to bless us in the end.
Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land the LORD promised on oath to your ancestors. Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. . . . He led you through the vast and dreadful wilderness, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. He gave you manna to eat in the wilderness, something your ancestors had never known, to humble and test you so that in the end it might go well with you. Dt 8:1–16
God makes us His holy people, so that all the peoples on earth will see, fear, and respect us. When we preach the gospel to lead a person to the path of blessing, let us think about how this one act can lead to tremendous results in the kingdom of heaven.
As sinners from heaven, we were not worthy of receiving God’s blessings. However, through the laws, decrees, and regulations of the new covenant, God has forgiven all our sins and established us as a blessed people and a kingdom of priests, putting us in the glorious position of sharing God’s blessings with people all around the world.
Now, let us go out into the world with the truth of the new covenant. Hoping that all 8 billion people will become God’s blessed people, let us fulfill our mission as a kingdom of priests. After fulfilling our mission, we will receive the ever-shining glory of a royal priesthood awaiting us in heaven. May God’s abundant blessings be upon you today, too! I hope you share your abundance of blessings with all people.
