So I am continuing to press into understanding the Lord's favor, and how that should be experienced and lived out in my life, and more importantly what He really means when He speaks about His favor.
It is a common prayer in my portfolio to ask for favor with the people whom I meet or work. Favor provides an avenue to do things, and acceleration for things that normally take longer, and the ability to overcome difficulties that does not exist without it (favor). Being in favor means that I am liked and that the people I am with want to help me. In the business world, favor is huge. It is built on trust, truth and demonstration. In other words, the individual(s) understands that they can trust you because you are telling the truth, and you do what you say you will do. Another word for this might be integrity.
I find this is also very critical in the Body of Christ. I believe the Lord is looking for those that He can trust with His Truth and authority. Those who can walk in integrity with great authority and responsibility. The Lord uses the example of the talents (bags of gold in my new NIV) in Matt 25:14-30 to convey His Father's thinking about entrusting responsibility to someone. The focus is on that which was entrusted to the servants, and what they did with it. Those that prospered it, and managed it well received more. In Jesus' words this is how the master (Father) responds to those that have managed well what they have been entrusted, “His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!' Matthew 25:23 NIV.
When I hear those words "well done, good and faithful servant" I hear the Master expressing His favor. It is interesting to note that the response is to entrust more to the one who has found favor in the Master's eyes. It is also interesting to note that servant was acting in a way they knew the Master would act, and thus faithfully representing Him. I believe this is exactly what the Father looks for in us, and when He finds it, He extends His favor!
Again, going back to my time with the Lord this last Saturday, His favor is really much greater than we can possibly imagine. So when I look at the Lord extending His favor, that is a very significant occurrence! When He extends His favor, He is also inviting you to a place of greater responsibility and authority. In Luke 19:11-27 Jesus provides a similar story (it might be the same, just remembered differently) and here He speaks of rewarding the one who has managed His money well with a position of authority over 10 cities. That is a huge increase in responsibility and authority. Here is the King's statement - Luke 19:17 NIV: “ 'Well done, my good servant!' his master replied. 'Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.'"
Wow - that is HUGE favor. As my friend Byron Easterling ( http://www.byroneasterling.com/) would say, "he just got upgraded"! The individual the master is speaking to goes from being a servant in the master's household, to being the ruler over ten cities. I am convinced that the Lord, wants us all to walk in and experience this kind of favor! He wants to promote us and upgrade us! He wants to be able to entrust more and more to us, because we are faithfully representing Him, and embracing His heart for His children.
Again, when the Lord is speaking about favor, He is speaking in His terms, not ours. My normal thought would be if the servant did well, he might get the rest of the day off, or maybe a nice bonus check, but he would still be a servant. This is not the way the Lord thinks, and we need to understand that. I have a good friend who faithfully managed a group of housing maintenance workers who got upgraded to being a pastor! He went from toilets and plumbing to pastoring a vibrant church. That is a small example of the way the Lord grants favor.
Heidi Baker is another who has experienced His extreme favor. She and her husband faithfully worked in the mission fields of Mozambique for years, with very little fruit. However, one day the Lord extended His scepter of favor over her and asked if she wanted the nation of Mozambique. After He powerfully filled her with the Holy Spirit, she went back to Mozambique and has now planted 10,000+ churches and seen more than one million people converted to Christ, including wondrous miracles and signs and wonders. That was a significant upgrade. For more on her experience and ministry you can go to https://www.irisglobal.org/.
The Lord is about releasing His favor in unprecedented ways, and I, for one, want to be found to be one of His faithful servants who experience His favor! Its not that I want greater responsibility or authority, but I want His favor! I want to be found faithful in everything I do because I love Him and take joy in serving Him. Whether I get upgraded or not, I want to share in His happiness (Matt 25:23).
Amen!
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