1 Kings 1:48, The king has also said thus, 'Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who has granted one to sit on my throne today while my own eyes see it.'" 
	Once again, this morning, we are dealing with the fact that our lives are to be a blessing to The Lord God Creator of Heaven and earth. We were created to be in living fellowship with Him. A great aspect of that rapport is the fact that, because He so loved us and made the way for us to be redeemed and adopted into His very family in Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit, we want to bless Him! We desire that our lives reflect that living relationship which seeks to so honor and please God. This is in order that He is fully blessed with the wondrous work that He has accomplished in the lives that we live before Him!
	In order for us to walk on this earth in the growing veneration and obedient trust that characterizes those who are pleasing in the sight of God, there must be a work that is needed to remove any other element that we have placed on the altar of our hearts and minds, other than Jehovah. We saw some of this in detail last time we were together. 
This morning, we will start with one of the major examples from the Bible of how this was brought into place. This was in an utterly surprising manner in the heart of one of the most powerful monarchs in the history of humanity.
	Nebuchadnezzar had created an immense empire with the capital of Babylon at the foundation of that power. He put himself and his glory, as reflected in the splendor of that great city, upon the throne of his heart. He reveled in all that he had accomplished!
His power was unrivaled in that day, and probably even in its scope beyond measure in our current day. He was so grand and so dominant and so commanding in the vast supremacy of his kingly reign that no man could stand before him without declaring his earthly majesty. 
All that supremacy came to naught when God put forth His hand to humble this prideful, earthly sovereign. For seven years, he was driven into the wilderness, eating grass, and without any kingly appearance or majesty. He was as a wild beast roaming aimlessly through the natural realm without friend or help or any regal comfort or stately rest. His cerebral enthronement of all his self-made idols was utterly shattered by the working might and majesty of God. This culminated in that day when Nebuchadnezzar acknowledged that The Lord God Almighty, Alone, deserved the place of honor and regard as the One to whom every knee must bow!
We pick up with the result of this Divine removal of self and the placement of God on the throne of Nebuchadnezzar’s heart with his very avowal that The God of Heaven was to be honored and praised for all that He had done and would continue to accomplish in the hearts and minds of mankind. This is recounted in Dan 4:34-37.
Dan 4:34-37, "But at the end of that period I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever; For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, And His kingdom endures from generation to generation. "And all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, But He does according to His will in the host of heaven And among the inhabitants of earth; And no one can ward off His hand Or say to Him, 'What hast Thou done?' "At that time my reason returned to me. And my majesty and splendor were restored to me for the glory of my kingdom, and my counselors and my nobles began seeking me out; so I was reestablished in my sovereignty, and surpassing greatness was added to me. "Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise, exalt, and honor the King of heaven, for all His works are true and His ways just, and He is able to humble those who walk in pride." 
	This is the point we all need to come to if and when we want to be a living blessing to God each and every day of our lives! This is not just a Sunday ritual, setting aside an hour or so for the Lord on His Day. No, this is the walk with Him that does not settle for anything less than the full measure and breadth of His smile upon the manner in which we conduct ourselves as His disciples on this earth. 
This heart after God flavors everything we do. Every interaction, every decision, every essence of our beings are completely consecrated and dedicated and surrendered to His purpose and His will! That is when the blessing flows forth from us unto His Throne with all adoration and worship and acknowledgment that …He does according to His will in the host of heaven And among the inhabitants of earth; And no one can ward off His hand Or say to Him, 'What hast Thou done?'
	This entire consideration of the work and the might and the blessing that we are to be unto Jehovah was highlighted when that young virgin named Mary was so honoring to Jehovah. She displayed her willingness to be the one who would bring forth the perfect and only Begotten of The Father. 
Accordingly, she was fully ready to bear all the reproach of her people for the sake of the humble acknowledgment that God was doing His great work. She willingly accepted the abuse and the shunning disapproval of her community in the knowledge that Jehovah had chosen her for a mission that would be wholly unto His glory. 
Please open in your Bibles to Luke 1:46-55, as we read together that great reality of the Hand of God upon this young woman. In this passage is expressed the heart of honor that Jehovah should receive from each one of His called and redeemed people.
	Luke 1:46-55, And Mary said: "My soul exalts the Lord, And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. "For He has had regard for the humble state of His bondslave; For behold, from this time on all generations will count me blessed. "For the Mighty One has done great things for me; And holy is His name. "And His mercy is upon generation after generation Toward those who fear Him. "He has done mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their heart. "He has brought down rulers from their thrones, And has exalted those who were humble. "He has filled the hungry with good things; And sent away the rich empty-handed. "He has given help to Israel His servant, In remembrance of His mercy, As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and his offspring forever." 
	Please note that she did not exalt herself in any measure. She praised God and declared His tremendous work throughout the history of mankind. In every epoch, in every measure of human power and might, God ruled and overruled, humbling those who tried to reach too far, as we have seen in Nebuchadnezzar, as but one example. Jehovah worked in the lives of His people and brought forth His glory and His might and His awesome plan and purpose of salvation for those who are near and salvation for those who are far off. In every measure, The Lord has proven Himself glorious and majestic! He, Alone is worthy of the adoration and the tribute of the entirety of His creation.  
	This was echoed by Zacharias at the birth of his son, John, soon to be called John the Baptizer. This is recorded later in this first chapter of Luke, verses 67-79.
	Luke 1:67-79, And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying: "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people, And has raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of David His servant — As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from of old — Salvation from our enemies, And from the hand of all who hate us; To show mercy toward our fathers, And to remember His holy covenant, The oath which He swore to Abraham our father, To grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, Might serve Him without fear, In holiness and righteousness before Him all our days. "And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; For you will go on before the Lord to prepare His ways; To give to His people the knowledge of salvation By the forgiveness of their sins, Because of the tender mercy of our God, With which the Sunrise from on high shall visit us, To shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace." 
	This reality of the work of God caused the gathered people to cry out blessing and honor upon the name of The Lord. Jehovah was and is to receive the praise and the worship and the acclaim of His people in the manner in which we consider His holy and awesome working power manifested to us through the Only Begotten of the Father, Our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. He is the eternal essence of the Love of God poured out upon those whom He has called unto Himself. In full accord with this reality we are to offer the every measure of our dedicated hearts as a living sacrifice to His Righteous and Just power of redemption! Accordingly, we bring the Good News of His grace and His mercy to any who will but call upon His name. 
	The Apostle Paul highlighted this in his letter to the Church at Ephesus. Particularly consider what is gloriously declared in Eph 1:3-14.
	Eph 1:3-14, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished upon us. In all wisdom and insight He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him with a view to an administration suitable to the fulness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things upon the earth. In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ should be to the praise of His glory. In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation — having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of His glory. 
	When we consider just how marvelously Jehovah has worked to bring such as we are into His very presence as His people, and beyond that, He adopted us into His Beloved family through the miraculous and amazing and phenomenal work of the death and resurrection of the very Son of God, we cannot but express, through the willing surrender of our hearts and minds and lives, just how much He means to us! There is no way, in all of eternity, that we will be able to tell, much less show Him all the gratitude and honor and praise that He deserves! His awesome plan of salvation has been lavished freely upon the humanity of His creation who will turn to Him and open their hearts and their minds and their lives unto Him for His purpose to be fulfilled in all His glory and His grace and His majesty.
	The Apostle Peter concludes our current consideration that we are to bless The Lord with the opening of his first letter. 1 Peter 1:3-5 is a concise declaration as to the summation of the greatness and the supremacy of the work of God through the Only Begotten of the Father. 
	1 Peter 1:3-5, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
	In accordance with this eternal hope, there is that necessity for our daily walk on this earth to reflect the One Who has done so manifestly more than we could ever hope for or imagine with our finite minds and imaginations. Our scope of understanding and intellectual prowess pales utterly and infinitely in the vastness and the richness and the magnificence of what the Triune Godhead has accomplished now and forever in the Sovereignty and the Excellency of Jesus Christ!
God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, has given life where there was only death. He has provided the unsearchable riches of His Love where there was only a destitute nothingness of being. He has abundant provided His awesome plan of salvation for any who will but freely receive. He has brought forth life into the realm of humanity where there was only an existence chained to the foul putridness of sin and trespass and utter death and devastation. 
	As a direct result of that which only God could do and did do, we have received manifestly of His Grace and Mercy and Long-suffering, and Compassion, and Gentleness, and Supreme Kindness to the point at which our hearts can only burst forth in that desire that He be blessed now and forevermore! Thus is the walk of those who are truly desirous after Christ’s acclamation as the Lord of lords and the King of kings, today, tomorrow and forevermore! So be it!
The king has also said thus, 'Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who has granted one to sit on my throne today while my own eyes see it.'" Amen.

	
This morning’s benediction is Eph 1:3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ