Gods Favor, tried, tested, true!
Ephesians 2:4–-7 NKJ
“But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us...raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus”
What a God, What a verse, what a promise to those of us, who are in Christ Jesus! (repeat vs.)
“But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us...raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
(He took us, He loved us, when we were nobodies, He made us a somebody, He adopted us and treated us, not like step children,
but like we were one of His own children.k
and gave us a seat, right by His own Son!)
So that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace
(not just a little welfare check amount of grace each month, but a lifetime supply of Favor,
made available to us 24 hrs. a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.)
in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus”
Praise God! Forever and Ever!!
You know, there are a lot of times, people have a hard time getting past the used to be’s in life.
Did you know? A lot of people are hindered just as much by past victories as they are by past failures.
Its true, they hold on to them like the present and future depends upon the remembrance of them,
There’s no need for that, because like the old song says, “there’s a better day a coming, for were not home yet!”
We can expect each day to be better than the one before, when we are serving and doing Gods work.
TBS. His mercies are new every morning, Great is His faithfulness!
The bible records the most amazing miracles throughout history,
We should always be willing to acknowledge what God has done in the past,
But at the same time, we also have to look forward to what God wants to do in our lives today and in the future!
God is a progressive God, both in thinking and action and He wants us to be the same way!
In our text, Paul was talking about and looking towards the future, not the past
TBS. (the Bible says) that “in the ages to come” God would do things that far supersede anything He’s ever done before.
Can you imagine? That means over and above anything up to this point that He has done!
Scientist are still discovering new things about the earth and solar systems, He created who knows how many years ago, when time began.
And if your expectant of Him, and are a follower of Him, you can count on Him to be a deliverer of what you ask,
not just occasionally, but consistently and faithfully.
Its true, TBS. He raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
That means we have what Jesus has available to Him, available to us.
We have the righteousness of God, through Christ Jesus!
This is an amazing statement! “we have what Jesus has available to Him, available to us.”
Psalms 23:1 NKJ
1. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
God doesn’t want us to want, we should want for nothing, for He is our able and constant provider.
David makes a statement here, that all Christians should take to heart, with the Lord as our shepherd, there should be no want in our lives.
He wants to meet our needs and for us to come boldly when we ask Him for anything, no matter what It is.
Matt. 7:7-11MSG.
7-11. "Don’t bargain with God. Be direct. Ask for what you need. This isn’t a cat-and-mouse, hide-and-seek game we’re in. If your child asks for bread, do you trick him with sawdust? If he asks for fish, do you scare him with a live snake on his plate? As bad as you are, you wouldn’t think of such a thing. You’re at least decent to your own children. So don’t you think the God who conceived you in love will be even better?
God is a God of way to much, not a God of barely get by,
When Jesus fed the five thousand, He didn’t take a head count first, to see if His father had enough resources to get the job done!
TBS. He prayed and ask His Father to bless the 2 loaves and 5 fish, had faith and He fed them!
everyone had their fill and there was still an abundance of leftovers, 12 baskets and then some!
Praise the Lord, God never does anything halfway, He’s always giving us His best,
He’s always advancing us, He’s always doing new things for us,
He’s constantly looking for new ways, for even the slightest reason, to show His favor to us and bless His Children!
TBS. in Lamentations 3:22-23 NKJ
22. The LORD’s mercies
Because His compassions fail not.
23. They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.
God is constantly doing new and exciting things for all of us, we may not see it in the natural,
but you can rest assured, He is always, constantly working behind the scenes on our behalf!
And the best news is, we are only limited as to what He wants to do for us, by our expectation of Him!
Imagine that, the only thing standing between us and the amazing Favor and Grace God wants to do for us, is us!
A lot of times we may like to blame others, for not receiving what we want from God
Gen. 37:23-28NKJ.
23. So it came to pass, when Joseph had come to his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the tunic of many colors that was on him.
24. Then they took him and cast him into a pit. And the pit was empty; there was no water in it.
25. And they sat down to eat a meal. Then they lifted their eyes and looked, and there was a company of Ishmaelites, coming from Gilead with their camels, bearing spices, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry them down to Egypt.
26. So Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is there if we kill our brother and conceal his blood?
27. Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother and our flesh.” And his brothers listened.
Makes you wonder what they would have done to him, in he wouldn’t have been their brother?
28. Then Midianite traders passed by; so the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt.
Josephs brothers thought they had done away with him, they thought they had finally gotten rid of the favorite one, once and for all!
What they didn’t realize was, it wasn’t just their fathers favor Joseph had his life, it was Gods favor.
His brothers hadn’t ended his life, they had just set him up, for the opportunity of Gods favor to take Him places
and open doors and opportunities for him, that they would never know, or even dream of!
Joseph, could have held a grudge against his brothers, but he didn’t.
Because of the favor of God on his life, he later saved his family and his nation, as a result of the destiny they had put him on
Everyone can not go, where God wants to take you.
Now some people might think they can keep you from Gods Favor and what He wants to do in your life.
But Nothing, I repeat nothing can stand between you and the love of God!
Romans 8:37-39 NKJ
37. Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
38. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come,
39. nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
There is so much love available to us through Jesus, if we will embrace it,
but few like Josephs brothers even realize it.
We haven’t even scratched the surface, of what God wants to do and is willing to do for us!
Its awesome when you think about how good He has been to us already huh?
And we’ve only just begun, Praise God!
We can receive from God as much as we can believe Him for!
We don’t have to figure out why He loves us so much, we just need to be willing to take it at face value,
and be thankful that He does, Thank You Jesus!
TBS. in Jerm. 33:2-3
2-3."This is God’s Message, the God who made earth, made it livable and lasting, known everywhere as God: ’Call to me and I will answer you. I’ll tell you marvelous and wondrous things that you could never figure out on your own.
Right now, even with the economy as shaky as it is, God wants to do marvelous, wondrous things for you, that you could never figure out on your own.!
Amazing things, things that baffle the minds of the business world!
1st Cor. 1:27 NKJ
27. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty;
What an exciting time to be alive, if you let Him, He will make everyday more exciting than the day before!
He wants us to awake with great expectations every morning, with Him in the center meeting and exceeding those expectations!
What a better time than the present, to trust and to be blessed by God,
The word recession, which we are constantly bombarded with,
He’s not hindered by it, nor does He participate in it!
It’s a man made word, its not even in God’s vocabulary and you certainly won’t find it in the bible!
His Favor consistently shines right thru it. Amen!!
What’s happened so far to us, is just a foretaste of what’s to come, we haven’t even began to experience all God’s goodness,
We’ve only experienced a fraction of it, the best is still yet to come!!
When you walk in the Favor of God, good things just come your way, with no effort on your part,
*Richards story
Just one moment of His Favor can excell and propel you and take you places you can’t begin to get to on your own!
God has great plans for us and He wants us to very much be a part of His Plans,
He wants to put our name on the marquee “Now starring so and so, in the life God has always had planned for them” Praise God!
He works relentlessly, behind the scenes for and on our behalf!
Psalms 121:1-4 MSG.
1-2. I look up to the mountains; does my strength come from mountains?
No, my strength comes from God,
who made heaven, and earth, and mountains.
3-4. He won’t let you stumble,
your Guardian God won’t fall asleep.
Not on your life! Israel’s
Guardian will never doze or sleep.
Not the half has been told, a small part not the whole, its beyond imagination what’s in store,
That’s talking about heaven, its hard to imagine, because we have a hard time participating in all the good He has in store for us in this life.
Jesus has so much Favor He wants to flow into all of our lives, just like a waterfall, if we will just let Him.
John 10:10 NKJ.
The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
A person if they choose not to participate in the life that God has for them,
they are disregarding, or in disagreement God’s word, like it will work for everyone but them.
And I ask this question, what Jesus did on the cross and the punishment He endured, was it enough payment to back up everything God has promised to those who believe?
Or was it just enough for salvation only?
3 John 1:1-4 MSG.
1-4. The Pastor, to my good friend Gaius: How truly I love you! We’re the best of friends, and I pray for good fortune in everything you do, and for your good health—that your everyday affairs prosper, as well as your soul! I was most happy when some friends arrived and brought the news that you persist in following the way of Truth. Nothing could make me happier than getting reports that my children continue diligently in the way of Truth!
He rewards those, who diligently seek Him!
It’s a tragedy, because God has so much more He wants to do for all of His children,
If you will accept them, walk in them and inhabit them, He has greater levels of His favor and blessing in store for you.
Levels you can’t even comprehend and no level that is not attainable!
Its up to you and how much you want to believe God for in your life!
Do you have the faith to not only believe, but also to apply Gods giving principles to your life and the ones around you?
*Dare to dream big!
*Dare to keep a God-sized vision in front of you!
*Dare to have the faith, to keep it open ended like Jabez did!
1st Chronicles 4:10 NKJ
10. And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, “Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!” So God granted him what he requested.
If God be your partner, make your plans large, so large that there’s no way you could ever do them by yourself
and when you do, expect them with His help and Favor, to come to pass!
As a church body, let it be our daily prayer that God would enlarge Calvary Temples territory.
That we would see, our sanctuary filled to capacity, not just one time each week, but multiple times each week.
That’s something that we could never do on our own, but God could easily do that and more.
That would certainly be easier than parting the red sea, you know! Praise God!
How much territory do you have the faith to believe Him for, not only for yourself, but for others as well?
That’s the key you know, giving for someone else!
Luke 6:38 NKJ
38. Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”
Everyone loves the pressed down, shaken together, and running over part.
But unless you fall in love with the giving part, it becomes true, but not in the non-giver’s life,
It becomes true in the givers life, it always becomes true in the givers life!
You see unlike the worlds way, with God you can put the way, the truth and the life principles to work in your life
And expect results, a life filled to the brim with results!
I’ve seen it work in my own life, time after time, after time!
And I know that God will do the same for anyone else,
who is willing to step into and embrace the life, the abundant life He has waiting for them!
So many in life, think that they have done
It all, heard it all and seen it all!
However, if someone will put God and His ways at the forefront of their lives,
I can safely say, “you ain’t seen nothing yet”
Amen, Lets pray!
