Praise be to the Lord who has extended his good favour to me.

Ezra 7:28

Every child of God needs the favour of God upon his/her life. The favour of God takes a believer to places where money and qualifications cannot take. The favour of God will bring opportunities into your life which skill and hard work cannot bring. If all you have has only come through toil and sweat, then you are leading a very difficult life. What hard work and sweat cannot bring into your life, the favour of God will bring into your life.

There are times in the calendar of God when He steps in to favour His children. Your days will never be the same.   The word of God tells us that there is a time when God shows favour to His children. This is what the Lord says: “In the time of my favour I will answer you (Isaiah 49:8). Isaiah 61:2 talks about “the year of the Lord’s favour.” Psalms 102:13 says, “You will arise and have compassion on Zion, for it is time to show favour to her; the appointed time has come.” Without the favour of God we will find it difficult to make it in our society where wickedness and corruption abound. Dear Child of God, one touch of God’s favour will turn everything around in your life.

 WHAT IS THE FAVOUR OF GOD?

Someone described the favour of God in the following way: (1) It is the power of God behind a believer which prepares the ground for success (2) It is the grace of God which enables a believer to rise above competitive and negative forces (3) It is to be given preferential and special treatment as compared to others. Many people in the Bible operated in the favour of God.

• When someone is selected for something good among many qualified counterparts, he/she is enjoying the favour of God. For instance, Esther was selected among several other beautiful ladies that are qualified to be the queen (Esther 2: 15-17). Ruth was a foreigner and a widow but had favour and married Boaz and became the grandmother of David and great grandmother of our Lord Jesus (Ruth 2:2,10,13)
• When a man is chosen for the position he is not naturally qualified for, especially among others that are far better than him, he is experiencing the favour of God. David was the most unqualified person naturally in his family, but God rejected others to look for him (1 Samuel 16: 11-13)
• When a man seeks the face of God in prayer and has all his request granted, he is living in the favour of God. A very good example is the account of Jabez (1Chronicles 4: 9-10)
• When help is made available to a man at a time and from a place he least expected, he is walking in the favour of God. Like the case of the man waiting at the pool of Bethesda for 38 years ( John 5: 1-15)

WALKING IN THE FAVOUR OF GOD

The favour of God is manifested in diverse areas of our lives. The Lord will help you to walk in his favour in the following areas in this year

1. Medical Favour

If you are sick and you are considered incurable and you find favour with God, you will suddenly discover that the incurable will begin to have a testimony. In John 5:2-9, there was a multitude by the pool of Bethesda. Jesus came there; saw a man who had been there for 38 years. His face shone on that man. He went to that man, healed that man and left the place. There were several others. Divine Favour singled out that man for a miracle.

We read the story of healing of Namaan in 2 Kings 5:1-14. But Jesus said something in Luke 4:27. There were many lepers in Samaria in the time of Elisha, only one was cleansed! How many? One! Out of the many, one found favour. The favour of God will single you out for a miracle this year!

2. MATERIAL Favour

When you find favour with God, suddenly, whatever you touch begins to prosper and people will begin to wonder how? Divine Favour can give you just one contract and all of a sudden for the rest of your life you can enjoy. In Luke 5:1-7, we read that Jesus was preaching by the seaside. He saw two boats. One belonged to Peter. One belonged to somebody else and by favour of God it was Peter’s boat that was chosen. When God decided to favour you, you cannot escape the blessings whether you like it or not. If He says, ‘I’m going to prosper you!” Prosperity will come! Someone said, “A day of favour is worth more than years of labour!”

3. MARITAL Favour

If you have been considered barren and God decides to favour you, suddenly those who have been laughing against you will begin to laugh with you. That is what happened to Hannah in 1 Samuel 1:9-20. Now when you read Proverbs 18:22, the Bible says whosoever finds a wife, finds a good thing and obtains favour of God. If you are looking for a life partner, you will find one. If you are barren, you’ll have children. Praise the Lord!

4. MENTAL Favour

When God decides to favour you mentally suddenly you begin to have wisdom that you never can explain. You know Daniel 2:20-22 tells us that wisdom belongs to God and He gives wisdom to the wise. We learn that Daniel had so much favour with the leaders of the land; he was elevated to prestigious positions in the Babylonian kingdom. You will find that when God decides to favour somebody mentally, he has a wisdom he himself cannot explain.

5. MINISTERIAL Favour

Everyone born again Christian is a minister of God. All you need is favour from God to impact the lives of the people. When a minister finds favour with God, it becomes easy for him to do the work of God. He will preach a simple sermon and souls will be saved. When you find favour with God, any door you knock will open (1 Corinthians 16:9). When I say ministerial favour, I also mean any work that God has assigned for you to do. You will be successful and victorious in your work. The Bible says that King David and King Hezekiah had success in all their undertakings (1 Samuel 18:5, 14; 2 Kings 18:7).

6. MANIFOLD Favour

Manifold favour is all round favour. When we study about the man called Joseph, we can find that he had all-round favour. He had medical favour since he lived long with good health (Gen. 50:22). He had material favour. If you read Genesis 45:4-13, Joseph said, “God has made me Lord of all Egypt.” And he sent to his father and said, “Come with all your family. I will feed you for the rest of your life.” What about mental favour? If we read Genesis 41:39, Joseph was referred to here by Pharaoh who said, “There is no one so discerning and wise as you.” What about marital favour? He was blessed with a virtuous wife (Gen. 41:45). He didn’t even have to look for a wife – one was given him! He had favour! He was blessed with two sons. And if we read Genesis 48:8-20, we can discover that in the home of Joseph there was peace, there was harmony. What about ministerial favour? As far as Joseph was concerned, everything he touched prospered. Joseph was successful in every task that was given to him (Gen. 39:2-4, 21-22). He was eventually elevated to the position of a Prime Minister and became a blessing to nations!

Dearly beloved,God’s favour is not automatic nor does it come through wishful thinking. It flows out of a consistent and healthy relationship with God. It comes through continuing in total obedience to the word of God. Release your faith and divine favour will invade your life. (Psalm 102:13). The time has come for God to show his favour to his children (Psalm 102:13). The favour of God will bring unexpected blessings from unexpected places and people at an unexpected time. All that you’ve lost will be restored. All the enemy has taken from you will come back double. Total restoration and recovery will come your way! I wish that you may enjoy the season of God’s favour in 2015!

By My Spirit

Zechariah 4:6

The world-renowned evangelist Dr. Billy Graham once beautifully said, ‘you need the Lord Jesus for your eternal life and the Holy Spirit for your internal life.’ Every believer in Jesus Christ needs to be filled with the Holy Spirit (Eph. 5:18). It is impossible to live victoriously and serve the Lord effectively without relying on the Holy Spirit’s power. The divine standard that God has set for Christian living and service is so high that it is impossible to reach that standard without the enabling ministry of the Holy Spirit. Human ability and human genius are quite inadequate. It is “not my might nor by power; but by my Spirit,” says the Lord Almighty (Zechariah 4:6)! Let us see briefly the ministry of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

1. He is the SECRET of the Christian’s victory
   The Christian life should not be one of failure but a life of victory and triumph. The One who lives this life out in us is the Holy Spirit, so that we are able, through His empowering to be victorious over sin, self and Satan. The Bible says, `live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature (Gal. 5:16). Days are becoming more and more difficult to live holy. But God has made full provision for a victorious life in giving us His Spirit. Apostle Paul in Romans chapter 8 brings the ministry of the Holy Spirit to believers into clear focus. Prior to this chapter, the Holy Spirit is mentioned only one other time in the entire epistle (Romans 5:5). But here in chapter 8, he is referred to nearly 19 times. Paul says that the Holy Spirit frees us, enables us, revives us, leads us, bears witness for us, intercedes for us and makes us more than conquerors (8:2, 4, 11, 13-15, 26, 37).He transforms us more and more like Jesus (2 Cor. 3:18). By His Spirit, we have victory!
2. He is the SPRING of the Christian’s joy
   The Holy Spirit brings joy unspeakable. He is called the oil of joy, the oil of gladness (Isaiah 61:3; Psalms 45:7; 1 Peter 1:8). He turns our mourning into dancing. He lives within us to make us joyful, happy, radiant people. One of the fruit of the Spirit is joy (Galatians 5:22). The disciples were filled with joy in the midst of adverse circumstances because of their walk in the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:41; 13:52; 16:25). The Holy Spirit comes in to lubricate your spiritual life, to make this life interesting and exciting. The Christian life will become a frustrating religion without the Holy Spirit. Paul writes, ‘The kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking…but it is joy in the Holy Spirit’ (Romans 14:17)!By His Spirit, we have great joy!
3. He is the SOURCE of the Christian’s knowledge
   Jesus said, `the Holy Spirit will teach you all things’ (John 14: 26). The Holy Spirit is the best teacher of the bible because he is the author (2 Peter 1:21; 2 Tim. 3:16). The Holy Spirit teaches us all that we need to know concerning our walk and our work, what we are and what we are to do (John 16:13). This does not mean we don’t need people and study materials. The Holy Spirit will turn all information into inspiration. When we study the Bible with the help of the Spirit, He will open your eyes to get a grasp of His Word (Neh. 9:20,30). He will illuminate our minds to understand the difficult passages of the Scriptures (Eph. 1:17, 18). He will quicken our understanding and give revelations from the Word of God. He will teach us comparing the spiritual things with the spiritual (1 Cor. 2:13; 1 John 2:27). How wonderful to have the divine Teacher instructing and guiding us into the truth, in order to please the Lord.By His Spirit, we have deep understanding of God’s Word!
4. He is SUCCOURER of the Christian’s Faith
   The Bible says that we are to live by faith (Romans 1:17; Hebrews 11:6). Therefore the Devil attacks our faith (Luke 22:31-32). We are subject to many trials and temptations, overwhelmed by sorrow (John 16:33), but the Holy Spirit is within us to succour us at such times.The Holy Spirit is called a Helper (John 14:26). One of His primary helps is in the area of prayer, because we are all weak in it. We do not know at times what to and how to pray for. In those times, the Holy Spirit not only helps is in our prayer but also intercedes for us and through us (Rom. 8:26, 27). Apostle Peter who faltered in his faith and failed in his prayer life (Matthew 26:40; 69-74) became a mighty man of faith and prayer after receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost (Acts 3:1, 6). By His Spirit, we become mighty in faith and prayer!
5. He is the STRENGTH of the Christian’s Service and Ministry
   We are all saved to serve, but Christian service is impossible in our own strength. In Old Testament times God called people to serve Him, giving them special anointing of the Holy Spirit to make them effective in service. Bezalel was filled with the Spirit of God and so he became an extraordinarily skilled craftsman (Exo. 35:30, 35). Daniel and Joseph prospered in the strange lands which were hostile to their holy convictions because the excellent Spirit of God was upon them (Dan. 5:11; 6:3; Gen. 49:23-25; 41:38). Yes, when you are filled with the Spirit, you will be able to do your work exceptionally and extraordinarily well. A spirit-filled doctor will treat better, a Spirit-filled engineer will build better, a Spirit-filled teacher will teach better and a Spirit-filled student will study better! When a person is filled with the Spirit of God, even his seniors and superiors will come to him for counsel and guidance (Gen. 41:37-40).
   The Lord Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit when He began His public ministry (Luke 3:21-22; 4:18). The last recorded words of Jesus before His ascension was the promise of the Spirit’s power for global evangelization (Acts 1:8). About the early Christians we read, `they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the Word of God boldly’ (Acts 4:31). The Spirit-filled believers are powerful means in the hands of God to convince and convict the sinners (Acts 2:36, 37). The Holy Spirit gives us the courage, charisma and charismata (spiritual gifts- 1 Cor. 12: 7-11) to witness for Him. He empowers us to emancipate those who are under the bondage of sin, sickness and Satan (Acts 10:38). Hegives us strength and power to accomplish God’s purpose in our lives. By His Spirit, we shall do valiantly (Psalm 60:12; 108:13)!