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Matthew 24 3 Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives. The followers came to Him when He was alone
and said, “Tell us, when will this happen? What can we look for to show us of Your coming and
of the end of the world?”
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Jesus only tells us what it will look like, but he never tells us when it would happen.
Walking in the FOG - 2. (Favor of God)
Sometimes the best way to increase God's favor in your life, is to increase your awareness of the favor
you already have.
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Gratitude is the access code to favor.
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Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Psalm 100:4
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Before I ask God for anything, I should thank Him for everything.
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You should never start your prayer with a please, until you've started saying thank you.
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Would you thank God for a few seconds for His church that you are a part of.
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I said last week that God doesn't give us His favor, for our convenience, but for His purpose.
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When God gives you favor, He expects you to have even more faith.
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To him who much has given, much more will be required. Luke 12:48
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It's one thing to find God's favor, it's another thing to walk and live and flow in it. I want to
know, are there any favor-finders in the house this week?
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It's crazy how favor is everywhere.
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God's favor is always present in our lives but it's when we open our eyes to look for it that we
begin to see it and then God can increase on it in our lives.
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I want to encourage you to get in the market for favor.
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You don't respond to God's favor by owing Him a favor, it doesn't work that way.
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"Favor ain't fair!"
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There was nothing fair about the cross, He took your place.
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Our response to God's favor is to say, "God, show me how I can take the favor you've given me,
the blessing you've given me, the influence you've given me, the money you've given me, the
skills you've given me; and now, be a channel of Your favor for others, because …..
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God doesn't give you His favor for you - He gives you His favor for His purpose so it can flow
through you, not just to you.
The favor of God is the guarantee of His presence and the provision of His power to accomplish His
special purpose in and through our lives.
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If we're going to find God's favor, first we've got to know what we're looking for .
God's favor can be found even in your most difficult circumstance; even in the worst doctor's report you
could ever receive, even when the marriage is not only falling apart, but has fallen apart and it feels like
your life is over.
If you'll learn how to perceive God's favor, I believe you can receive God's favor no matter what you're
going through in your life.
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The first factor to increase God's favor: Not achieved, only received!
1. Expect: 'frame your world with favor'
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Moses, Mary … they both fulfilled God's purpose, and that was bigger than their convenience.
God doesn't just offer to give you stuff, He offers to be something to you, to do something in you, to
work something through you, and that's called favor.
You might even call it the 'it factor'
Abraham – It Factor ….
'Where we going?
'I'll show you when we get there. All you need to know is that I will be your shield and your exceeding
great reward because you found favor.’
Favor will just do stuff in your life where you're like, "Really God, really? Are you really going to bless me
this much?"
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Some of you think - "I don't believe all of that!"
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You don't have to! I'll just take your favor too!
Because I have decided to frame my world with favor. I've decided that even when bad things happen,
I'm going to choose to believe that God works all things to the good of those who love Him and are
called according to His purpose.
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'The Favor Five’
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Leviticus 26:9, God says: I will look on you with favor and make you fruitful and increase your
numbers and I will keep my covenant with you.
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Psalm 5:12 says: Surely Lord, you've blessed the righteous; you surround them with your favor
as with a shield.
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Psalm 84:11: For the Lord God is a sun and shield, the Lord bestows favor and honor... and no
good things does He withhold from those whose walk is blameless.
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Proverbs 3:4 says, 'Then you will win favor’: If you obey the commands of the Lord you will win
favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.
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Acts 2:47 They were praising God… The early church, they enjoyed the favor of all of the people
and the Lord added to their number daily, those who were being saved.
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The Bible says about Jesus that He grew in wisdom and stature, in favor with God and with men.
And I want to be like Jesus and I want to grow in God's favor.
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I can tell talking to people sometimes that they don't expect God's favor. And it's not that God's
a genie in a bottle, He's God in heaven. You can NOT manipulate a miracle out of God.
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When you're in the market for it and you're looking for it, when you expect it, there's a different
vocabulary that you use compared to people that don't have God's favor in their heart.
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My Bible says that God, in the beginning create man and He said, "It is good". And then I flip to
the back of the book and I find out that we win.
Even when I face a battle, it's just so the world can see that God is strong and fighting for me. How will
they know how strong He is fighting for me if I never have to face an opponent?
The next time you see Goliath in your life David, and you walk up to the battle lines, don't see him
through the framework of the rest of the world, this is the one whose come to take us down, this is the
one who is keeping us from the blessings. Stop seeing it that way! Start looking at it like this, this is an
opportunity where if I'll trust God, He can use me to do something that the world will know that it was
Him because it couldn't have been me and I can be a showcase for His favor!
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Favor should be the primary frame of reference for the child of God.
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Scripture says that you should forget not all of the benefits of the Lord.
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I meet a lot of Christians who just don't really understand how incredible God's favor is.
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You don't need another opportunity; you need to open your eyes to the opportunity that God
has already put in front of you.
2. Recognize: Open your eyes to opportunity.
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Sometimes, something so great can be right in front of your face, but you don't even care
because you're focused on something that doesn't matter at all.
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Many times because you're not mature enough to open your eyes to see the favor that's right in
front of you.
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God will give you the favor you need for the season you're in to do what He's called you to do.
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Expecting and recognizing favor will do you no good if you don’t do number 3.
3. Respond: Give yourself to obedience.
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When you understand God's favor, you understand that it's not arrogant to say, "I have the
favor of God," it's arrogant not to.
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People who understand favor, understand, "I shouldn't even be here today, if it wasn't for His
grace.”
1. Frame your world with favor.
2. Open your eyes to opportunity.
3. Give yourself to obedience.
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Favor isn't just a matter of luck, it isn't just a matter of chance or looking on the sunny side; "I've
got God's favor and I'm never expecting anything to change, but I'm going to be a little more
grateful."
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That’s not a favor finder!
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"God, make me a favor-finder who doesn't just feel the favor of God every once in a while, but
walks in it constantly, following hard after you.
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I believe that God can do more for me in one moment of His favor than I can do without Him
through a lifetime of my labor!
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By trying to be obedient to God to where He has placed me and doing what He has called me, I
found out that I don't have to force my way into favor, God's favor will follow me as I follow
Jesus.
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'Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life.'" And so, when I'm following
Jesus, favor follows me.
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You don't leave trying to manipulate circumstances, you leave believing God for miracles and
positioning yourself to receive those miracles through being where He's called you to be,
becoming who He's called you to become, and doing what He's called you to do.
The commitment to favor isn't just, "God, send me Your favor", it's "God, I'm making a commitment to
be in the place where your favor is falling. I commit myself to obeying you, to positioning myself; Your
favor has provided me with opportunities and now I will position myself to cease them through
obedience."
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When you find God's favor, it's all about His presence. The essence of God's favor isn't what
happens to me; it's who I know is with me no matter what happens with me.
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Whatever unfavorable situation you might be in right now….. Divorce … bankruptcy.. Rebellious
children .. Depression.. Sickness .. And you don’t feel Gods favor – know this promise.
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Jesus said, 'I'm with you always and I'll never leave you and I'll never forsake you.' If you find
nothing more than Jesus, you have found favor!
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Because I've found favor, I don't have to know where I'm going because I know who I'm with
and I know He's with me!
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In the valley I have favor, in uncertainty I have favor, when I hit a hard time, I've got favor. When
I'm blessed I thank God and I humble myself because it wasn't me, it was God in me.
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When I'm not blessed right now in the way I want to be blessed, I look back on the favor that I
have and I anticipate that there's greater favor coming and God has a purpose that He's working
in this and I stand on the fact that if He is for me, He's more than the world that's against me.