Missing a Blessing
Text: Philemon | Matthew 5:1–12
Theme: Don’t miss your blessing by resisting conviction
Introduction
Raise your hand if you could use a blessing.
Who doesn’t want one?
We could all use blessings in different areas:
- Finances
- A reliable car
- Healing in our relationships
- Better health
- Peace in our families
- Growth in our church
But let me ask you this: What is a blessing, really?
In Scripture, a blessing is not just good fortune or kind words. It is something divine. A sacred act or declaration that brings life, favor, protection, provision, or purpose. It is the visible outpouring of God’s covenant love.
What Does the Bible Say About Blessing?
In the Old Testament, blessings often include:
- Fruitfulness and fertility (Genesis 17)
- Land and provision (Deuteronomy 28)
- Peace and protection (Psalm 29:11)
- The favor and presence of God
In the New Testament, blessings focus more on:
- Spiritual wholeness, even in hardship
- Union with Christ
- Kingdom identity and calling (Matthew 5)
- Speaking and acting with grace (Romans 12:14)
Conviction and Blessing
We’ve talked before about conviction — how the Holy Spirit stirs something in our hearts, nudging us toward a decision or change.
It could be about a habit we need to break, a relationship we need to mend, or a step we need to take in faith.
Sometimes that conviction might be drawing you to a particular church or faith community. You might feel a nudge to visit, to show up, or to reconnect. But fear, pride, or uncertainty can stop you. If we let those things win, we risk missing out on something that could bless us, grow us, and even transform our lives for the better.
But what if conviction is actually the doorway to blessing?
Let’s look at the book of Philemon to see how conviction and blessing work together.
Philemon: A Case Study in Blessing Through Conviction
Full Text: Philemon 8–16 (NKJV)
“Therefore, though I might be very bold in Christ to command you what is fitting, yet for love’s sake I rather appeal to you—being such a one as Paul, the aged, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ—I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten while in my chains, who once was unprofitable to you, but now is profitable to you and to me. I am sending him back. You therefore receive him, that is, my own heart, whom I wished to keep with me, that on your behalf he might minister to me in my chains for the gospel. But without your consent I wanted to do nothing, that your good deed might not be by compulsion, as it were, but voluntary. For perhaps he departed for a while for this purpose, that you might receive him forever, no longer as a slave but more than a slave—a beloved brother, especially to me but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.”
Context:
- Philemon was a Christian, likely wealthy, who hosted a house church.
- Onesimus, his runaway slave (possibly a thief), encounters Paul in prison and becomes a believer.
- Paul writes Philemon, urging him to receive Onesimus back. Not as a slave, but as a brother in Christ.
And here’s where the cultural tension hits.
In the world Philemon lived in, he was fully in the right to punish Onesimus.
Socially, legally, and economically, Philemon was expected to make an example of a runaway slave — especially one who had possibly stolen from him. His peers would have supported him. No one would have questioned his authority.
But Paul doesn’t appeal to Roman law or cultural norms.
He begs Philemon to see the situation through the lens of Christ, not through the expectations of society or even his own pride.
Paul is asking Philemon to surrender his rights, his status, and his expectations for the sake of reconciliation.
That’s a hard ask.
But it’s also where the blessing lives.
When Conviction Leads to Blessing
1. Conviction (Philemon 8–10)
Paul doesn’t demand. He appeals. Why?
Because a true blessing cannot be forced. It must be freely received through inner conviction.
2. Opportunity for Blessing (Philemon 15–16)
God was working even in the mess.
Philemon is being invited into a divine moment. A chance to trade pride for purpose and power for peace.
By embracing Onesimus as a brother, Philemon steps into a blessing:
- Reconciliation
- Spiritual growth
- A testimony to his house church
3. The Risk of Missing It
What if Philemon had said no?
He could have held onto his status and his offense. But at what cost?
- A broken relationship
- A missed opportunity to grow spiritually
- A weaker witness to his community
Sometimes the greatest blessings come on the other side of surrender, humility, and obedience.
The Upside-Down Blessings of Jesus
Full Text: Matthew 5:1–12 (NKJV)
“And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
This kind of blessing, where love overrules pride, is the same spirit Jesus teaches in the Beatitudes.
Jesus redefines blessing. It is not about status, comfort, or control. It is about faith, vulnerability, and surrender.
Closing Challenge
As we close tonight, I want to ask you:
- Where is God convicting you right now?
- Is He calling you to forgive?
- To return?
- To serve?
- To surrender something you’ve been holding onto?
Don’t miss your blessing.
The Holy Spirit’s conviction is not to punish you. It is to prepare you for something better.
God may be flipping your world upside down so He can set it right.
Let’s listen. Let’s respond. Let’s not miss what God is trying to do in us and through us.
Let’s pray and enter into worship with open hearts.
Amen?
Pastor Alex