How to have favor with God, through Jesus Christ

1. The Year of Favor!
Luke 4:18-21

2. Luke 4:16-21 (18) "The Spirit of the Lord is on Me; because of this
He has anointed Me to proclaim the Gospel to the poor. He has sent
me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim deliverance to the
captives, and new sight to the blind, to set at liberty those having
been crushed, (19) to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord."
And He began to say to them, Today this Scripture is
fulfilled in your ears.
• Illustration: favor in times of
darkness, Noah, Moses, Jeremiah
& Baruch
Jesus Proclaims Favor!

3. God’s favor flows from God’s Throne as a royal action.
We can only have access to that favor through the Cross,
and not on our own merit.
The Holy Spirit pours God’s favor
into our lives.
God’s favor is according to His Word
when it is received in faith
Throne, Cross, Spirit, Word

4. Romans 8:6-8 For to be carnally minded is death, but
to be spiritually minded is life and peace (7)
because the carnal mind is enmity against God, for it
is not subject to the Law of God, neither indeed can
it be. (8) So then they who are in the flesh cannot
please God.
The Flesh (Self-Centered Ego) = No Favor
Illustration: Your attitude is
your altitude, a mind at war
with God cannot get God’s
favor

5. John 3:3-7 Jesus answered and said to him, Truly, truly, I say to
you, Unless a man is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of
God. (4) Nicodemus said to Him, How can a man be born when
he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb
and be born? (5) Jesus answered, Truly, truly, I say to you,
Unless a man is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into
the kingdom of God. (6) That which is born of the flesh is flesh,
and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
(7) Do not marvel that I said to
you, You must be born again.
Born-Again Before Favor

6. Hebrews 11:1-6 Now faith is the substance of things hoped
for, the evidence of things not seen. (2) For by it the elders
obtained a good report. ….(6) But without faith it is
impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must
believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who
diligently seek Him.
Faith Leads To Favor
Illustration: Jesus
rejoiced when He saw
faith and was grieved
when He saw unbelief

7. Hebrews 11:3-5 By faith we understand that the ages were
framed by a word of God, so that the things being seen not to
have come into being out of the things that appear. (4) By
faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain,
by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God
testifying of his gifts. And by it he, being dead, yet speaks. (5)
By faith Enoch was translated so as not to see death, and he
was not found, because God
had translated him; for before
his translation he had this
testimony, that he pleased God.

8. Hebrews 11:7-10 By faith Noah, having been warned by God of
things not yet seen, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of
his house, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the
righteousness which is according to faith. (8) By faith Abraham
obeyed when he was called to go out into a place which he was
afterward going to receive for an inheritance. And he went out, not
knowing where he went. (9) By faith he lived in the land of promise
as a stranger, For he looked for a city which has foundations,
whose builder and maker is God.
They Obeyed God!
Illustration: House on fire, the
person who obeys is the person
who believes

9. Favor Follows Faith Alone
Favor follows faith, not religious good works!
Legalism does not lead to blessing at all
2 Chronicles 16:9 For the eyes of
the LORD run to and fro
throughout the whole earth, to
give strong support to those whose
heart is blameless toward him.

10. To Have God’s Favor ….
1. Be born again (John 3:3-7)
2. Set your mind on the Spirit and not on the flesh
(Romans 8:6)
3. Have the bold obedient faith of Abraham, Noah
and Enoch. (Hebrews 11:1-6)
Illustration: You have to follow
the steps in the recipe.

11. 5 Responses To God
1. Faith - believes God and does what He commands
2. Unbelief - refuses to believe God
3. Doubt - wavers and does not obey
4. Presumption – invents a word from the Lord and does that
instead.
5. Rebellion – hears God and does
the exact opposite of what He
commanded

12. Prayer
Lord Jesus, please proclaim favor over our lives. Let Your
Kingdom come in our lives. Free us from sin and self-centered
living. We come to the Cross for Your favor and blessing. We
humble ourselves before You. Take our burdens, we roll them
upon you. Send us grace. Send us
undeserved blessings because of
Your great mercy. Amen.