May 2026 Blessing Sunday Service by Dr. Paul Enenche: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

Authentic Spirituality and the Blessing of God

This morning we want to understand two things: the connection between authentic spirituality and the blessing of God, and what exactly constitutes authentic spirituality. Psalm 24 asks who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord, or who shall stand in his holy place. He who has clean hands, a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to vanity nor sworn deceitfully, shall receive the blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is the generation that seeks him, and it is the generation that receives the blessing from him. Many people seek things, they seek the blessing, they seek money, but there is an authentic spirituality that is a highway to the blessing of God.

Biblical Examples of Authentic Spirituality

• Abraham left everything to follow God's direction, not even knowing where he was going, according to Genesis 12:1-5. By Genesis 24:1 and Genesis 24:35, the Lord had blessed him in all things, with flocks, herds, silver, gold, and servants.
• Job held on to God even in calamity. In Job 27:1-3 he said that as long as his breath was in him, his lips would not speak wickedness against God, and in Job 13:15 he said, "Though he slay me, yet will I trust him." By the time his season of calamity passed, his latter end became greater than his beginning.
• Daniel was notorious for authentic dedication to God. Daniel 1:8 says he purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the king's food. In Daniel 6:3-5, his rivals could find no fault in him except concerning the law of his God, and in Daniel 6:10 he continued praying openly even after prayer was outlawed. His dedication led Nebuchadnezzar to fall on his face and worship him, and by Daniel 6:28, he prospered through the reigns of both Darius and Cyrus.

Authenticity of spirituality is a major key to authority and prosperity in life. When you are real with God, the goodness of God becomes real in your life.

Five Marks of Authentic Spirituality

1. A tireless, unconquerable passion for God

   Psalm 42:1-2

   As the deer pants for the water, so the soul pants after God. Matthew 5:6 says blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled. Many grew up with a hunger for God, and then life happened, and the pursuit of what to eat, what to drive, and how to outshine others took over, until prayer became a struggle and study of the word became a formality. A believer who can watch a three-hour movie without losing interest but falls asleep twenty minutes into a one-hour service has lost this passion.

2. A lively, living conscience

   Acts 24:16

   Paul said he exercised himself to always have a conscience void of offense toward God and toward men, a conscience that is alive and can feel guilty when it is guilty. Isaiah 33:15-16 describes the one who walks righteously, despises the gain of oppression, and shuts his eyes from seeing evil as the one who shall dwell on high. Jeremiah 5:25 and Jeremiah 7:24 say that sin and a hardened heart withhold good things and cause a life to go backward instead of forward. Someone can sit in church on Sunday and still send money to the village for sacrifice during the week; that inconsistency reveals a conscience that is no longer clear.

3. Christ-centered, God-centered living

   2 Corinthians 5:15

   Christ died so that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for him who died for them and rose again. Philippians 1:21 says, "For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." This is a life solely and completely centered on God, one that will refuse a job, an opportunity, or a relationship if it will destroy that person's spiritual life or family, no matter how profitable it looks. Philippians 4:12-13 becomes the reality of such a life: knowing both how to be abased and how to abound, doing all things through Christ who strengthens.

4. Demonstrating true passion for souls

   2 Peter 3:9

   The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. Mark 16:15 records Jesus' charge to preach the gospel to every creature, and in Luke 22:35 he reminded them that when they went out to preach without purse or scrip, they lacked nothing. A generation once carried gospel tracts everywhere and felt undressed without one; today many attend church for a year without inviting a single soul to Christ. Priorities determine prosperity, and Matthew 6:33 says to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added.

5. Laying up treasures in and for eternity

   Matthew 6:19-21

   Do not lay up treasures on earth where moth and rust corrupt and thieves break in and steal, but lay up treasures in heaven, for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Ecclesiastes 12:12-14 concludes that the whole duty of man is to fear God and keep his commandments, for God will bring every work into judgment. This means living with eternity in view and making deposits of time, energy, and resources into the kingdom on a regular basis, not merely amassing wealth with nothing waiting in eternity.

A Call to Authenticity

These five things confirm that Christianity is authentic: a tireless, unconquerable passion for God, a lively, living conscience, Christ-centered and God-centered living, demonstrating passion for God through passion for souls, and laying up treasures in and for eternity.