Today I wanna share a message about the exciting journey into the world of God’s favor. Many of you have experienced God’s favor in your life and you don’t even realize it. • We diminish it as coincidence or luck or what are the odds? The truth is we serve a loving God and He wants us to live and walk daily in his abundant favor. The favor of God can be described as “tangible evidence that a person has the approval of the Lord.”
The Favor of God
YOU ARE QUALIFIED
Luke 1:30 & Ephesians 2:1-9
Pastor Tom Cogle
Sunday, November 19, 2023
1. The Greek word CHARIS is used throughout the New Testament and is translated most often as grace or favor.
· Luke 1:30
The angel told her, “for you have found favor (charis) with God!”
· Ephesians 2:8 NIV
For it is by grace (charis) you have been saved.
2. Grace: God’s unearned, undeserved, and unmerited FAVOR.
· Grace is love in action.
· Grace is what every man needs, what none can earn and what God alone can and does freely give.
· Grace is unmerited love and favor of God which is the spring and source of all benefits men receive from Him.
· Grace is the strength of God to overcome.
3. We are QUALIFIED to receive God’s favor by the work of Jesus on the cross and not by our own works.
2 Corinthians 5:21
For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.
If my actions cannot ATTAIN God’s favor, then my actions cannot cause me to LOSE God’s favor!
Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 3:22-24
We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.
23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.
24 Yet God, in his GRACE (FAVOR) freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.
Romans 5:1-2
Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.
2 Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.
4. God intends for us to DAILY WALK in His favor.
Psalms 5:12 AMP
For You, O Lord, bless the righteous man [the one who is in right standing with You]; You surround him with favor as with a shield.
Psalms 84:11 NIV
For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.
Psalm 90:17 TLB
And let the Lord our God favor us and give us success. May he give permanence to all we do.
FAVOR:
a. an act of kindness beyond what is due or usual
b. to feel or show approval or preference for
c. to regard or treat with favor
d. to show partiality toward
e. to give aid, support or confirmation
f. to afford advantages for success
g. to endorse, to bring to prominence, to give notoriety
h. it’s the special affection of God toward you that releases an influence upon you, so that others are inclined to like you or to cooperate with you
i. it opens doors that normally would be closed
j. it’s a force that takes you where you can’t go on your own
*All verses are NLT (New Living Translation) unless otherwise noted.