Kerry Kirkwood - The Power of Blessing

Copyright 2010Kerry Kirkwood

All rights reserved. This book is protected by the copyright laws of the United States of America. This book may not be copied or reprinted for commercial gain or profit. The use of short quotations or occasional page copying for personal or group study is permitted and encouraged. Permission will be granted upon request. Unless otherwise identified, Scripture quotations are taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved. All emphasis within Scripture is the authors own. Please note that Destiny Images publishing style capitalizes certain pronouns in Scripture that refer to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and may differ from some publishers styles. Take note that the name satan and related names are not capitalized. We choose not to acknowledge him, even to the point of violating grammatical rules.

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Trade Paper ISBN 13: 978-0-7684-3232-9
Hardcover ISBN 13: 978-0-7684-3418-7
Large Print ISBN 13: 978-0-7684-3419-4
Ebook ISBN 13: 978-0-7684-9064-0

For Worldwide Distribution, Printed in the U.S.A.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 / 13 12 11 10

L ittle did I know that what started out as a random Sunday morning sermon would become a life message. This life message we now call The Power of Blessing has been forged not only in my own life, but in the lives of countless churches around the world. The question began very subtly. More people than I could count would ask, Do you have this in book form? I would dismiss the idea with a half laugh, thinking there was no way I could write a book.

The reality of this book has been largely due to the encouragement of my life partner and wife, Diane, who has practiced the life of blessing and has reminded me to do the same. We are grateful for our four childrenCasey, Kevin, Kristen, and Karafor being the testing-ground for this experiment of declaring blessing. They all have experienced the favor of God because of it.

I am thankful for well-timed friends like Ron Simpkins, whose gentle pressure led me to take the first steps to bring this message to a larger platform. It was through Ron that I was introduced to Loua Clair, who would take unedited teaching CDs and put this message on paper with great patience and painstaking effort. Thanks, Loua, for being the catalyst to this book and making this all come together. Your creative skills will be enjoyed by many for years to come.

Along my path of discovery is the congregation of Trinity Fellowship Church in Tyler, Texas, which I have had the pleasure of serving for 22 years. It was your hunger and positive response that caused me to continue pursuing the power that was locked up in blessing. You pulled depths out of me that needed to be discovered.

I owe a great deal to the staff pastors of Trinity Fellowship. This dedicated team of pastorsDuane Hett, Jim Hahn, Harold Vincent, and Leah Brownhas gone beyond just doing their job. They have given me the freedom to go beyond the mundane.

It is with great fondness and joy that I have the privilege of serving with Pastor Olen Griffing, who has been instrumental in developing a prophetic heart of worship in me. His integrity has been a rock for me to test my own heart as I walked out these principles. His leadership as an apostle over the Antioch Oasis Network of Churches has been invaluable. To Dick and Sue Bontke, thank you for the consistent nudge to take the message of blessing to the nations. Your friendship has been refreshing to Diane and me. Thank you to all the Antioch Oasis pastors; I have enjoyed sharing the Power of Blessing in your congregations. You have been a source of encouragement to finish and finish well. May we have many more years together exploring the depths of our God together.

To my good friend Cleddie Keith, who has been a rich source of affirmation to me. Thanks, Cleddie, for your encouragement to go beyond the surface and dive into the depths of the Spirit.

As an avid reader I enjoy reading books. Although my level of enjoyment varies, I always get something of value from each book. Seldom do I read a book I can hardly put down The Power of Blessing is one of those. This is a have to read book for believers and unbelievers alike if they have any desire to live a life full of joy.

Olen Griffing

Senior Pastor, Shady Grove Church

Grand Prairie, Texas

There will, no doubt, be some who pick up this book, read the cover, and say, I am familiar with this teaching; it is more of the same. That is far from the truth. The first time I heard Kerry Kirkwood teach I realized he was a man with whom God had entrusted transforming truth. I begged him to get this into print for the benefit of families and those in marketplace ministries. If I had another 100 years to live, this book would remain in my library. This will be a book that you read and reread; it will be a book you give to family and friends. You will find yourself going back to it for reference. It is a line upon line book. I think we are living in a day when we have a tendency to fix single meaning to truths that we have heard. In doing this, we shut ourselves out from future revelation. This is one of the most timely books I have ever had in my hand; it is a book written by a man of God whose time has come. Faithful men and women will pass this book on to faithful men and women.

Cleddie Keith

Senior Pastor, Heritage Fellowship

Florence, Kentucky

It is rare, extremely rare, to receive a living, active message from a book that changes ones life. In your hands is just such a life-shaping word to live by. The truth that makes one free is truth applied to living. My friend, Pastor Kerry Kirkwood, is a flowing fountain head of supernatural revelation, and The Power of Blessing is renewing minds and transforming hearts throughout this nation. As the Body of Christ activates the divinely given words of Blessing, the relational principle yields the fulfillment of Jesus high priestly prayer that we might become one in unity. Living out the message of The Power of Blessing is nothing short of amazing. Truly a must-read!

John H. Parks

Senior Pastor, Freedom Fellowship Church

Regional Director, Antioch Oasis International