Caleb Whittington
The Favor of God by Jerry Savelle
Chapters 3&4
Gentlemen, this is the Word of God. In these 66 books you will find every answer you are seeking. Whatever it is, you will find it in the Word of God! The Bible is holy, just, good-we should treat it with respect. 2 Timothy 3:16- “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction for instruction in righteousness.
God instructed Dr. Favor to build the foundation of favor with Ps 5:12. Let’s revisit this and go into detail.
“For you bless the righteous, O Lord; you cover him with favor as with a shield.”
You ARE the righteousness of God! In 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 it tells us this, via the AMPC version:
“Therefore if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come! But all things are from God, Who through Jesus Christ reconciled us to Himself [received us into favor, brought us into harmony with Himself] and gave to us the ministry of reconciliation [that by word and deed we might aim to bring others into harmony with Him]. It was God [personally present] in Christ, reconciling and restoring the world to favor with Himself, not counting up and holding against [men] their trespasses [but cancelling them], and committing to us the message of reconciliation (of the restoration to favor). So we are Christ’s ambassadors, God making His appeal as it were through us. We [as Christ’s personal representatives] beg you for His sake to lay hold of the divine favor [now offered you] and be reconciled to God. For our sake He made Christ [virtually] to be sin Who knew no sin, so that in and through Him we might become [endued with, viewed as being in, and examples of] the righteousness of God [what we ought to be, approved and acceptable and in right relationship with Him, by His goodness].”
Your righteousness doesn’t depend on anything you do or don’t do-it is based on the finished works of the Cross! You are now justified by faith in Christ. It doesn’t give us the right or the license to go on and sin because now we have the grace (divine favor) to fall back on. Rather, we should desire to live holy, just and good lives according to the Scriptures. We are to daily take our cross and follow God-that is how we are sanctified-by daily taking our cross.
In 2 Thessalonians 5:23 MSG- “May God himself, the God who makes everything holy and whole, make you holy and whole, put you together—spirit, soul, and body—and keep you fit for the coming of our Master, Jesus Christ. The One who called you is completely dependable. If he said it, he’ll do it!”
We are spirit, we have a soul (mind, emotions and a will) and we live in a body. Other translations say the body is a tent.
In John 4:24- “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
Genesis 1:26-Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
We must understand our makeup. We are Spirit, we have a soul and we live in a body(flesh) on this earth. When Jesus died on the cross and was resurrected three days later, He redeemed our Spirit from hell. Praise Jesus! We have to confess Jesus and believe in our hearts God raised Christ from the dead to be saved (Romans 10:9-10)
Righteousness means right standing with God. Our right standing is based on the finished works of Jesus-it doesn’t fluctuate based on our day-to-day performance-thanks be to God and praise His Name for this! God’s love for us knows no bounds! He desires us to be favored – it is up to us to receive it, grow our faith in it and speak it!
Once we receive this revelation of our right standing with God, we can then move onto receiving our Abrahamic covenant rights! In Chapter three, Dr Favor starts out declaring Galatians 3:8-9. We are justified by faith in Christ! Hallelujah! Let us listen closely to vs 9,
“ So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer.”
Did Abraham ever have defeat?
No, everything Abraham ever did he had victory! God’s covenant with Abraham extends down to us in the here and now! God’s blessing caused Abraham to have three things in his life: success, prosperity and power. (Read Deuteronomy 28:1-14) These blessings(favor) were bestowed upon Abraham, Isaac, Jacob-and it can be ours now if we will reach out and take it by faith! Decree-I am Abraham’s seed, I am blessed to be a blessing, I am favored. Look to your neighbor and decree: You are God’s favorite! On page 54 the start of the last paragraph, Dr. Favor starts going over Genesis 12. He continues going over it in the Amplified Classic which states: “I will bless you [with abundant increase of favors].” God wants to bless you with and abundant increase of favors!! Hallelujah! Now, to be sure no one tries to explain away “abundant” I looked up the definition. According to Merriam-Webster it means, ‘existing or occurring in large amounts’; ‘marked by great plenty’; ‘amply supplied’. We will be amply supplied in favors! Glory to God! Abrahams obedience to God granted him this favor. What would have happened if Abraham stayed in his country of Ur? We wouldn’t be talking about him, but praise the Lord, he was obedient. Obedience is key to walking in the promises of God.
Nothing in Scripture is an accident. It was said with a purpose. In Luke 2:52 it states, “Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” Everything Jesus ever said and did is a direct revelation of the will of God for mankind for all time. If Jesus increased in favor with God and man, then so can we! (Pg 59).
God does not mind us having pleasures! He wants us to enjoy life. The issue becomes when the things of life become our focus. Religion tells us that we are to live laborious lives-walking around moping stating ridiculous jargon, “if it’s Gods will, it will happen”. Beloveds, we know that is not true! True Christianity is not religion-a bunch of does and do nots; Christianity IS fellowship relationship with God through Jesus our Savior! Ephesians 2:8-9 states it perfectly, “For by grace [divine favor] you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Religion causes mankind to become high minded because of who they are or what they’ve done. “Look at me, I’m a multibillionaire and I’ve given millions to the poor” That’s great and good for you brother, but that’s not going to get you into heaven. That boasting will not grant you any favor.
Religion keeps you tethered to sin. It’s called the cycle of condemnation and it goes like this:
You have a thought, you dwell on said thought, you act on that thought making you sin, you feel terrible- you “repent” and seek forgiveness. You then start trying to do better. Read the bible more, pray more, go to church more etc, then you get worn down. You’re doing it in your own strength! You then get tempted again. You fail. You sit around in self-pity thinking you’re never going to amount to much. You then “repent” and seek forgiveness. And it starts back over. And this cycle continues. This is why it is paramount that we understand our right standing with God does not fluctuate with our day-to-day lives. Once you receive this revelation, when/if you sin, you don’t ball and squall in the cycle of condemnation, you are quick to declare, “God, what I did was against Your Word, I repent and renounce my sin.” You then move on. You’re not dwelling on the sin. You’re dwelling on the goodness of God and are focusing your time, your energy, on your relationship with God. It is truly liberating!
In Ephesians 2:10 is states, “For we are God’s [own] handiwork (His workmanship), recreated in Christ Jesus, [born anew] that we may do those good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us [taking paths which He prepared ahead of time], that we should walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live].” (Pg 65+ we were created a littler lower than Elohim!)
We have the ability to access God’s favor daily-however, if we have doubt and unbelief towards God’s divine favor, we will not experience it!
We are to think soberly. Scripture declares in Philippians 4:8, “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things arenoble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.”
Again in 1 Peter 1:13, “Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ”
When we take authority over our thoughts, we will be freed from fear:
Fear of failure, fear of not being enough, fear of what others think about us
Once we take account for our thoughts, taking them into captivity that anything that exalts itself against God (2 Corinthians 10:5) we can then focus ourselves on the three keys Dr. Favor discovered in increasing in favor.
1-We must consider our ways. Are we walking out, to the best of our ability, God’s ways? God doesn’t expect us to be perfect, however, He does expect our best. Are we rehearsing God’s victories in our lives or are we letting them go by the wayside? To increase in the favor of God we must make sure our ways are pleasing to Him. If we are not experiencing the favor of God in our lives to extent that it has been promised, we should examine our ways and see if they are pleasing to Him. (Pg 83-84, Ps 119:58-89, Proverbs 16:7) If we know by the Word and the conviction of the Holy Spirit that what we are doing (or not doing) isn’t pleasing to God, we must take authority over it and overcome it by our faith.
2-We must hear instruction. Proverbs 8:32-35. We must not despise instruction, but heed it. Hold it tightly to our chests knowing that when we adhere to instruction, we will be blessed with favor! Those who hear God’s instructions and determine to be obedient to them will experience His favor. The more we increase in obedience to instruction, the more we will increase in the favor of God. When it comes to obedience let us remember what 1 Samuel 15:22 says, “But Samuel replied, “What is more pleasing to the Lord: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Listen! Obedience is better thansacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams.” NLT
3-We must get understanding. Our love, fervor and enjoyment for the Word must not wane. If it starts to wane, we need to take into account our ways. Are we back in condemnation? Are we trying to earn favor? Are we trying to do it in our strength? If we find that we are, simply but quickly repent and get back into the Word! The Word is instruction! Recall 2 Timithy 2:16. Proverbs 3:13-15- “He who despises the word will be destroyed, but he who fears the commandment will be rewarded. The law of the wise is a fountain of life, to turn one away from the snares of death. Good understanding gains favor.”
To understand means you grasp the meaning of what is being taught. The favor of God does not exclude us from trials. What it does do is grant us an unwavering faith in God that He will show up and do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think (Ephesians 3:20-21). We must become favor minded! No matter how bleak the situation may seem, God will show up. Are we meditating on His favor? Let us heed Joshua 1:8, “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” Meditation on Gods favor is paramount. We must think about it, we must declare it daily for us to see the favor of God. When you go boldly before the throne of divine favor, you can expect when you leave that you have the answer you’re looking for and your situation will change. We must grow our faith in favor. Some of the mountains you are facing may seem stubborn, as if they’re never going to move. For them to move, you must grow your faith and your expectation in the favor of God! How to we increase our faith? Rehearse our past victories in Christ. Rehearsing them causes faith to arise within your Spirit which will then flood over into your soul which will then flood out of your mouth and influence your situation for good!
