Victoria Osteen - Pass On Spiritual Blessings
I want to remind the parents today that you have the ability to pass on spiritual blessings to your children. You know, we can speak the blessing to our children, encourage them, lift them up, but there's another transfer that the Bible talk about and it's one of the very first transfers of blessing and it's called personal touch. You know, think about when your baby born or there is a baby in the cradle, you pick that baby up and before that baby can ever understand your voice of approval, he senses your touch of approval. You hold that baby. You bring that baby close to you and you just show the warmth and love to that child and research shows that when a baby is cared for and loved by their parent that their brain literally begins to develop emotionally and they begin to develop properly physically.
See, the power of touch is so important, it transfers a blessing. We see this in Matthew 19 when the parents brought their children to Jesus. They brought their children to Jesus so that he could put his hands on them and bless them. You see, he could transfer the blessing to them. Now, we know that Jesus can speak a blessing. He healed people without ever touching them. But this case shows that there is a transfer of blessing also when you feel that personal touch, when you have hands laid on you.
Now, I know that from the time that our children were very little, Joel and I would put our hands on them when we would pray for them. We'd touch their shoulders, we'd hold their little hands. We'd put our hands on their head, and we'd begin to pray for them, ever since they were very young. And they experienced this transfer of blessing so much that even now, when they're 21 and 17, and they're going to leave the house, and we're able to physically pray for them in our presence, we still put our hands on them, and we begin to pray. I can literally feel my children lean into that prayer. You see, I believe that they realize that there is a spiritual blessing that is transferred to them when their parents pray for them and touch them.
You see, they literally lean in. And I believe as parents, we need to have our children understand that there is a parental blessing that is transferred because we have authority. And God is counting on us to use that spiritual authority to impart and release the blessing in our life. We cannot underestimate the power of touch. Do you know what touch is? It's a personal acceptance. It means there's no barrier between you and me. If I reach out and I touch you, that is saying there is no barrier between you and i. It says in Genesis 27, Isaac was an old man, he was a patriarch. And he wanted to bless his son. He was about to die. He wanted to transfer a blessing to his son. The scripture says that he literally called his son and said, "Come close to me. Come close to me".
And he hugged his son, and he kissed his son, and he transferred the blessing to his son. You see, he not only spoke the blessing, but he physically transferred it by touch. See, there is power when you lovingly touch and embrace one of your children. How long has it been since you've given your kids a hug? You know, in this passage of scripture in Genesis 27, it was Jacob who received the blessing that day. And he was at least 44 years old when he received that blessing. See, I don't know, it's never too late to transfer a blessing to your child. You may say, "I haven't really hugged my kid in a long time, hadn't really thought about it. They know I love them". What would happen if you literally just gave them a hug, and said, "I bless you".
I want to tell you there's transferable power in that hug. The parable of the prodigal son shows this. It shows a father's personal acceptance to his son. You know the story. The younger son took his inheritance, and went off in rebellion. Spent everything that he had. Found himself in the hog pens of life. Realized he had it no better than when he was at his father's house. The Bible talks about how the father looked for him every single day, looked out to see when he was going to come back. And one day, he saw his son coming from afar. And the parable talks about how the father stepped out with his arms wide, and he ran towards his son, giving him a loving embrace and kissing him.
Now, just a minute. Can you imagine leaving your house in rebellion, taking your inheritance, leaving your family's house, going to spend it? How do you think you would feel when you had to come back? I don't know about you, but I'd be a little nervous. I'd be thinking, "How is this going to go down now"? But something happened when his father took him, and embraced him, and kissed him, and blessed him. You know what? It disarmed the shame that that young man had. It disarmed the insecurity. His father was saying, "I forgive you, and there is no distance between us. The barrier has been broken. You are mine, and I will bless you". Can you imagine the overwhelming feeling that that young man had? I bet he was never the same. I bet he never looked at his own children the same, and I bet he never felt the same way about himself. He was free to know that he had his father's blessing.
Can I just encourage you dads, hug your children, love your children. Just give them those big old bear hugs. Because when a father steps in his place of spiritual authority, there is a transfer that only a father can transfer. And you have the ability to make your children's life better and more fulfilled when you step into that place of authority. I tell Joel this all the time. Let me tell you, I say, "Hey, have you hugged your kids today"? Because I understand that there is power in a father's approval. There is power when there is no barrier between a father and their children. And you may say, "I never had that", and I can surely say, "Victoria, you're absolutely right".
But can I tell you that you can be that father figure? If you're a man today, you are that father figure. You can emit and transfer and release blessing in people's life. I was reading an article about the university of Houston's football coach, Tom Herman. And he loves his players. He's gotten in there, he's a pretty new coach. He's rallied his team. He's interested in his players. He finds out about their life, their family, their girlfriends. He wants to know about them. But there's one thing he does before he sends those players out on the field for a big game. He takes those players and he gives them this big old bear hug, and kisses them on the cheek. Each player, one by one by one by one.
And he was explaining in this article why he does that. He said these guys, most of them don't even have a father figure. He says, "When I give them a double-armed bear hug and kiss them on their cheek, I'm letting them know, 'i love you. I support you. I'm for you. I approve you'". He's saying when those guys go out and battle it out on that field that day, he said it goes a long way when they know that they're accepted and they're loved. You see, if a coach can understand the importance of this approval, of this transfer with this big old bear hug, with this acceptance, no barrier between you and I, I'm for you, if a coach can do that to his players, how much more a father to his son and daughter? A mother to her son and daughter? How much more can that prepare them to battle it out on the field of life when they go out with this transfer of blessing?
Coach Herman says that he was raised with his mother's side being a big Italian family. And they hugged, and they loved, and the uncles kissed and they hugged with this fatherly hug. Isn't it interesting that that blessing was passed onto him so he can pass on that blessing to other people, to his players? You see, you have something to pass on, dads. You have something to pass on, men. Don't neglect your spiritual authority, that your approval, and your warm embrace, and your manly hug and a kiss on the cheek can make a difference in your son's and in your daughter's life. Because I can tell you it will disarm insecurities, it will disarm shame, and it will touch them for eternity. Amen? Amen.