How To Be Blessed | Aha! Lesson 1

Devotional

Day 1: Be Fruitful and Multiply

The dust still hung in the air when God spoke over Adam and Eve. His first words weren’t rules or warnings but a blessing: “Be fruitful. Multiply. Fill the earth.” He gave them dominion over creation—not as tyrants, but as stewards reflecting His image. Their purpose flowed from His declaration. The same God who empowered them to cultivate Eden now invites you to partner in His work. [28:05]

Blessing begins with God’s initiative, not human striving. He designed you for fruitfulness—not just biological offspring, but spiritual legacy. When Jesus told His disciples, “You will do greater works,” He wasn’t exaggerating. He was activating their divine design.

Where have you reduced “fruitfulness” to mere productivity? What responsibility feels too heavy for you to carry alone? “God blessed them” means He equips those He calls. How might trusting His empowerment shift your approach to your work, family, or ministry today?

“And God blessed them. And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’”
(Genesis 1:28, ESV)

Prayer: Ask God to reveal one area where He’s calling you to step into His blessing of purposeful work.
Challenge: Write down three tasks you’ve avoided due to feeling inadequate. Pray over each, then do one today.

Day 2: Shields and Stumbling Blocks

Abraham stared at the stars, doubting God’s promise of descendants. God responded not with more blessings but with Himself: “I am your shield, your very great reward.” The patriarch learned blessing wasn’t about land or legacy—it was relational. Centuries later, Jesus would echo this, offering His presence as the ultimate gift. [01:03:30]

We chase blessings like prizes, forgetting the Giver. Satan’s oldest lie twists God’s generosity into suspicion: “He’s holding out on you.” But Scripture shows a Father who withholds no good thing—including His Son. Temporal gains fade; His presence remains.

What earthly desire distracts you from pursuing God Himself? “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart” reshapes our cravings. When did you last sit in silence, content with His companionship?

“After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: ‘Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.’”
(Genesis 15:1, NIV)

Prayer: Confess one thing you’ve valued above God’s presence this week.
Challenge: Spend 10 minutes today in prayer without asking for anything—only worshiping.

Day 3: Broke Vending Machines

The disciples begged Jesus, “Increase our faith!” He rebuked their transactional thinking: true faith isn’t a coin to manipulate God. The prosperity gospel reduces prayer to a slot machine lever, but the Father refuses to be treated like a cosmic ATM. His blessings flow from love, not leverage. [47:43]

Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son exposes our vending-machine mentality. The younger brother demanded his inheritance; the Father waited patiently. Blessing isn’t seized—it’s received by children who trust their Father’s timing and wisdom.

Where have you demanded blessings on your terms? God’s “no” often protects us from counterfeit joy. What if the delay you resent is His mercy in disguise?

“Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”
(Matthew 7:9–11, NIV)

Prayer: Thank God for three “unanswered” prayers that spared you harm.
Challenge: Call someone who’s struggling and listen without offering advice for five minutes.

Day 4: Pollen-Stained Praise

Spring explodes in Connecticut—barren branches now heavy with blossoms. This isn’t random biology but God’s signature: “I am a blesser.” The same power that resurrects trees resurrects dead marriages, stagnant faith, and weary souls. Winter’s grip always breaks. [56:08]

Jesus told the woman at the well, “Living water!” not “Better circumstances.” His blessings renew our capacity to thrive in drought. Like Paul learning contentment in chains, we discover blessing isn’t the absence of pain but the presence of the Lifegiver.

What “winter” have you declared permanent? The God who clothes lilies can clothe your heart with hope. Where might His resurrection power be stirring beneath your frozen surface?

“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.”
(Matthew 6:28–29, NIV)

Prayer: Ask God to open your eyes to one sign of His renewal in your life today.
Challenge: Take a 15-minute walk outdoors, noting three examples of God’s creative blessing.

Day 5: Scars and Superpowers

The resurrected Jesus showed His scars to Thomas. His greatest blessing—redemption—came through wounds. Our culture hides weakness; God glorifies it. Paul’s “thorn” became a conduit for grace. Your insufficiency is the altar where God’s power rests. [59:21]

Blessing isn’t a merit badge for the strong but manna for the hungry. The Beatitudes crown the poor in spirit, not the self-sufficient. When you confess, “I can’t,” He whispers, “I AM.”

What weakness are you ashamed to bring to God? His strength shines brightest in broken vessels. How might your current struggle be preparing you to comfort others?

“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”
(2 Corinthians 12:9, NIV)

Prayer: Name one weakness aloud and ask God to display His strength through it.
Challenge: Share a story of God’s faithfulness in your weakness with someone this week.

Sermon Summary

Genesis 1 speaks first. God blesses male and female image bearers, binds his words to his blessing, and sends them into fruitfulness, multiplication, and dominion. Creation’s opening chapter introduces blessing as the way God shows himself to his world, and that strand runs from Genesis to Revelation and explodes forward into eternity. Jesus then sets the foundation with how much more. If broken parents know how to give good gifts, the Father in heaven delights to give good things to those who ask. Blessing is not God as a vending machine. Blessing is God as Father.

Blessing itself stands larger than thin, material notions. God’s blessing is his supernatural involvement in a person’s life, not a warm sensation but real divine activity that gives life, fruitfulness, dominion, favor, peace, and a settled wholeness. Creation’s voice says, this is your domain, now be who you were made to be. Blessing is God enabling image bearers to shoulder God-given callings. The heart of God is covenant love, not a conditional transaction. A weaned child learns to rest in the Giver, not grab at the gifts.

The lies line up early and often. The lie says blessing is only cash, circumstances, and stuff. The lie says God is stingy until people earn it. The lie says blessing can be leveraged or bought, that faith is a force to bend God’s will. Scripture answers that faith is trust in God’s heart when his hand cannot be traced. Temporal wins cannot fill an eternal soul. Even the therapist to the ultra-wealthy calls it toxic excess. Creation’s springtime shouts back that God is good and generous. The hills go from barren to fireworks of green because that is what God does.

The purpose of blessing lands on being before doing. God blessed them, saying, be. Divine empowerment precedes human activity. Blessing gives ability to live assignments bigger than human capacity, often without any feelings of superpower, often right through weakness and insufficiency. Sin’s curse brought barrenness and exile, but God’s blessing brings presence, favor, and fruitfulness to those who return to him.

Abraham hears the promise that he will be blessed and be a blessing to all families. He then hears the greater word, I am thy shield and thy exceeding great reward. The greatest blessing is not the thing. The greatest blessing is God himself, given in Christ. Romans 8 says that if God did not spare his own Son, he will freely give all things with him. At the cross, Christ absorbed the curse to place favor on undeserving sinners. Redemption is the blessing beneath every blessing, received, not earned.

Key Takeaways

1. Blessing is God’s active involvement God’s blessing is not a mood or a vague wish. It is God stepping in with real, practical, supernatural help that produces life, fruitfulness, dominion, and peace. This is the Father drawing near, not as a dispenser of trinkets, but as the one who supplies power for his purposes. Desire his presence more than the perks. [35:41]
2. Blessing is bigger than prosperity Scripture ties blessing to God’s purposes, not to personal wish lists. It may include provision, but it never ends there, and it never shrinks to there. Blessing equips image bearers to carry God-given roles and responsibilities that are too big for flesh to carry. The point is alignment, not accumulation. [39:40]
3. Faith trusts God, not controls God Faith is not a lever that makes heaven comply. Faith rests in God’s goodness when outcomes are unclear, and keeps asking, trusting, and obeying, even if the pain lingers. Real faith refuses pride when prayers are answered and refuses despair when timing is slow. It holds the Giver tighter than the gift. [49:05]
4. Grow from grasping to resting Immature hearts treat God like a vending machine. A weaned child learns to enjoy the Giver for who he is, not for what he dispenses. That posture turns prayer from frantic bargaining into settled dependence, and it turns waiting into worship. Relationship outlasts and outshines results. [41:19]
5. God himself is the greatest blessing Abraham was promised land and lineage, then told the better news, I am your exceeding great reward. In Christ, God gives his whole self, absorbing the curse to pour out favor. If the Father did not spare the Son, he will not withhold what truly gives life. Receive the Giver, and the gifts find their place. [63:30]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[24:14] - New series on blessing begins
[25:58] - Washington inauguration and worship
[27:20] - Title and Genesis 1 text
[30:57] - How much more, Matthew 7:11
[33:00] - What blessing means in Genesis
[35:41] - Blessing as supernatural involvement
[40:22] - God is Father, not vending machine
[42:16] - Common lies about blessing
[47:43] - Faith is not leverage
[50:38] - Things cannot satisfy the soul
[53:24] - God’s heart to bless is good
[57:01] - Purpose of blessing, be before do
[62:10] - Abraham blessed to bless
[63:30] - God himself is the reward

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Genesis 1:28 (ESV)
"And God blessed them. And God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.'"

Observation Questions

In Genesis 1:28, what specific actions does God associate with His blessing of humanity?
How does Jesus contrast earthly parents with God’s generosity in Matthew 7:11?
What does God declare about Himself to Abraham in Genesis 15:1, and how does this redefine the idea of blessing?

Interpretation Questions

Why might God’s command to "be fruitful and multiply" (Genesis 1:28) require His supernatural involvement rather than human effort alone?
How does the comparison of God to a Father (Matthew 7:11) challenge the misconception of Him as a "vending machine" for blessings? [40:22]
If temporal blessings like wealth or success cannot satisfy the soul (as illustrated in the sermon’s example of the therapist to the ultra-wealthy [52:15]), why do people still prioritize them over relational intimacy with God?

Application Questions

What is one area of your life where you’ve been trying to "subdue" or manage outcomes through your own strength, rather than relying on God’s empowering blessing? How could you invite His involvement there?
When have you caught yourself treating God like a transactional vending machine (e.g., praying only for specific outcomes)? What practical step could help you focus more on His presence than the "perks"? [41:19]
How might your daily priorities or decisions shift if you fully believed that God Himself is your "exceeding great reward" (Genesis 15:1) rather than any material or circumstantial blessing?
The sermon mentions that "faith trusts God’s heart when His hand cannot be traced" [49:05]. Where are you currently struggling to trust God’s goodness despite unclear outcomes?
Identify a lie about blessing you’ve believed (e.g., "God withholds until I earn it"). How can you replace that lie with the truth of His covenantal love this week?
What small habit (e.g., gratitude journaling, prayer walks in nature) could help you recognize God’s "exploding" blessings in everyday life, like the shift from winter barrenness to spring growth? [56:08]

Sermon Clips

35s

“When God created in those first six days of existence, In those six days of creations when when of creation. When he created, everything he did was good. All the way perfectly pure, wonderful, good, beautiful, abundant in every way, it was good. And in his actions, he blessed. So here's the idea. When God introduced himself to his creation, he said, I'm a blesser.”

29s

“Satan came in and said, no, he's a liar. He's an oppressor. He's a tyrant. He's a judge. You know, he I mean, all of these negative perceptions of God. And God fulfills the role of judge and there are some negative aspects to that if you reject him. But here it is, when God introduced himself to his creation, he said, I'm a blesser. I'm good and I wanna do good things.”

30s

“It's so much bigger than that. It may not be less than some of those things, but it is so much bigger than that. It's not merely prosperity or God making me happy or pleasing me or merely fulfilling my personal desires or pleasures. God's blessing is bigger than that and it's always attached. It's always attached to God's purposes. It's always attached to what God has given me to be and do in life, divine purposes.”

26s

“So my friends, it is God's nature and desire and heart to bless. And any picture, any image you have of God that doesn't start there, it's a false image. Any picture you have of God, any sense that you have of him that doesn't begin and and and have a strong foundation that this God is good, that this God is loving and lavish and generous and he wants to bless, it is a false image of God.”

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Emmanuel Baptist Church, Newington, CT This sermon · AI assistant

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How To Be Blessed | Aha! Lesson 1 | Pastor Cary Schmidt