Now, we have a saying here in Texas: “You dance with the one that brung you.” This means you don’t go to a party with someone and then spend your time dancing with someone else. Carolyn and I have been dancing only with each other, so to speak, for most of our lives. We’ve been dancing with the Word of God since we fell in love with it in 1969. I’m not looking for another woman, and I’m not looking for another message, either.
The favor of God has been part of my life and ministry for more than 40 years. Although God’s favor is available to me on a continuous basis, I’ve learned that there are three things I must do in order to position myself to experience that favor continuously.
I must be engaged in a continuous pursuit of God.
I must continuously approach God with a right motive.
I must maintain a right attitude on a continuous basis.
The Continuous Pursuit of God
God has an awesome plan for each and every one of us. But it begins with our pursuit of Him. The Bible says, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” (Jas. 4:8). God is never pushy. He invites us to take the first step.
I’ve discovered that when we take that first step, God is always there for those who are hungry for Him. Matthew 5:6 tells us, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.”
I believe there is something fresh taking place in our midst right now. I see people all over this country who hunger and thirst for God like never before. You know, an uncertain economy has a way of driving people to God. When the government isn’t working as it should, people begin looking for answers elsewhere—and many of them turn to God.
I believe there is a call from heaven for God’s people to begin a fresh pursuit of Him. Pursuing God is the only answer to the issues we face in life, regardless of whether the economy is good or bad. How do I know this? Because the Bible says, “Those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing” (Ps. 34:10).
Seeking the Lord is not a one-time experience; it is a progressive effort. And I can attest to the fact that those who continuously seek Him will lack nothing. Carolyn and I determined years ago that we were going to seek God with all that was within us—not just in the bad times, but all of the time, uninterrupted. God has honored that decision. His blessing and favor have flowed continuously in our life and ministry for more than 40 years—and what He’s done for us, He will do for anyone. The Word tells us that God is not a respecter of persons (see Acts 10:34).
Moses spoke these words to God’s people: “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength” (Deut. 6:5). The Amplified translation says to love Him “with your entire being.” When we love God like this, we will never stop pursuing Him. Our attitude will be: I can’t get enough of God.
This is precisely the attitude the apostle Paul had when he penned his letter to the believers in Philippi. Most theologians agree that Paul had been walking with the Lord for some 30 years at that time. He had been shipwrecked, imprisoned, bitten by a snake, beaten, and nearly stoned to death, but God had delivered him each time. After three decades of relationship with God, Paul wrote, “ I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish … that I may know Him” (Phil. 3:8,10). Paul had known God intimately for 30 years, but he wanted to know Him more.
Do you suppose that Paul’s hunger for God was the reason God always showed up in the worst imaginable circumstances? Paul didn’t run from God in his times of adversity. He ran to God.
As Christians, the worst mistake we can make when we’re going through difficult times is to run from God. In bad times, it’s always best to run to Him—the way a young boy named Uzziah did following the death of his father, Amaziah, king of Judah:
Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jecholiah of Jerusalem. And he did what was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Amaziah had done. He sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God; and as long as he sought the LORD, God made him prosper (2 Chron. 26:3-5).
Notice the final part of this passage: “as long as he sought the LORD, God made him prosper.” The condition was that he would prosper as long as he sought the Lord. In other words, if Uzziah ever stopped pursuing the Lord, then he himself would break the cycle of prosperity.
God put the ball in Uzziah’s court, so to speak, and the same is true for us today. The ball is in our court. God is saying, “If you want what I originally intended for your life, which is a continuous flow of my favor and blessing, all you have to do is pursue me on a continuous basis.” The moment we stop pursuing God, we stop the cycle of favor and blessing, and we open ourselves up to Satan, whose purpose is to steal, kill and destroy—if we allow it.
Jesus addressed the ways Satan works in the lives of believers when He explained the parable of the sower. Speaking of those believers represented by the seed that grew up among the thorns, Jesus said, “They are the ones who hear the word, and the cares of this world … choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful” (Mark 4:18-19). The Amplified translation says that this seed is choked not only by “the cares and anxieties of the world” but also by “the distractions of the age.”
I don’t think there’s ever been a time when we’ve had more distractions than we have right now. In this age of technology, there is so much out there vying for our time and attention: television, movies, the Internet, and all the latest gadgets. Understand that I’m not being critical of these things; they are a fact of life in our fast-paced, high-tech world. In fact, the same technology that often distracts us can also prove to be a blessing.
For instance, I was recently introduced to my first iPad. This is an amazing piece of technology that allows me to take my entire library of faith material with me wherever I go. I used to carry five suitcases with me when I went somewhere to preach; that’s how much reference material I had. Now I can carry all of that information in one hand.
I’ve also had my staff download other preachers’ messages onto my iPod so that I can listen to them when I travel. On a recent 21-hour flight to Tanzania, I listened to sermons by John Osteen, T.L. Osborn, Oral Roberts, Kenneth Hagin and Kenneth Copeland. Listening to these messages back to back was a wonderful experience, provided by a little device that fit in my shirt pocket.
My point is this: With the technology available to us today, there is absolutely no excuse for the Body of Christ not to pursue God on a continuous basis.
When God told Joshua, “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night” (Josh. 1:8), He was saying, “If you want a continuous flow of My blessing and favor in your life, then make this a daily encounter.” Pursuing God is not something we are to do only on Sunday or once a year at a convention. We are to seek Him continuously.
THOSE WHO PURSUE GOD ON A CONTINUOUS BASIS WILL EXPERIENCE A CONTINUOUS FLOW OF HIS FAVOR AND BLESSING.
Those who pursue God on a continuous basis will experience a continuous flow of His favor and blessing—in both good times and bad.
Approach God with a Right Motive
The second thing we can do to position ourselves for a continuous flow of God’s favor and blessing is always to approach God with a right motive.
Speaking through the prophet Jeremiah, the Lord said, “ I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings” (Jer. 17:10, KJV). When God says, “ I try the reins,” what does that mean?
This same passage in THE MESSAGE reads, “ I get to the root of things.” According to the New Living Translation, God “examine[s] secret motives.” So we can see that with God, motive matters. Therefore, we have to ask ourselves, Why do I want a continuous flow of God’s favor and blessing in my life? We’ve certainly established that it is God’s will for us, but why do we want blessing an
d favor?
If our desire is to be blessed just so we can have everything we’ve ever wanted, then it’s a pretty shallow desire. As a matter of fact, this motive is not even scriptural. Nor is the desire to be blessed so that we can brag about what we have. God is not against our having the things we want, but He is concerned with our motives for wanting them.
To make sure our motives line up with God’s purpose for bestowing His favor and blessing in the first place, let’s look again to the book of Genesis and what God said to Abraham: “I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing” (Gen. 12:2).
So, if we desire the blessing of Abraham, we’ve also got to accept the call of Abraham—and that call is to be a blessing to others. What does it mean to be a blessing? In modern-day language, it means to be a distributor. To have a right motive in our pursuit of continuous blessing and favor, we must understand that we are to be distributors of that blessing and favor. Our job is to receive God’s blessing and favor and then to further His kingdom by helping other people along the way.
When Carolyn and I first got the revelation of the favor of God, we didn’t own much of anything. But we decided that when the manifestation of the blessing began to flow in our lives, we would become a distribution center. We said, “We are blessed to be a blessing, so we won’t hoard it for ourselves.” We kept in mind the words of James: “You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures” (Jas. 4:3). The New International Version puts it this way: “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.”
It didn’t happen overnight, but those blessings did begin to flow in our lives—and as they did, we kept our word to God that we would be a distribution center. To this day, our greatest monthly outlay of money is not a mortgage payment or a car note. It’s our giving. More money goes out of our personal income to help other people than for any other expense in our life. We kept our word to God, and He kept His word to us. We are blessed to be a blessing; that’s our motive.
God doesn’t mind if we’re wealthy, as long as we have a right motive. I like to think of wealth as “money with a mission” or “prosperity with a purpose.” Jesus said that a person’s life does not consist of possessions. God doesn’t measure wealth by what we possess; rather, He measures it by what we give away. For example, consider the story of Jesus’ encounter with the rich young ruler:
Now a certain ruler asked Him, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’ ”
And he said, “All these things I have kept from my youth.”
So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”
But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich (Luke 18:18-23).
Notice that the young man told Jesus he’d kept God’s commandments from his youth. That’s why he was wealthy. But when he pursued Jesus and sought the truth about eternal life, he ended up walking away from that truth grieved—because he had great possessions.
Let’s read between the lines here: Not only did the rich young ruler have great possessions, but those possessions also had him. How do we know if something has us? The answer is: if we can’t give it away. In other words, if we can’t sow something that God has given to us, then we don’t have it—it has us.
In Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians, he wrote about sowing, reaping and motives of the heart. I particularly like the way the Amplified Bible translates what Paul said:
[Remember] this: he who sows sparingly and grudgingly will also reap sparingly and grudgingly, and he who sows generously [that blessings may come to someone] will also reap generously and with blessings.
Let each one [give] as he has made up his own mind and purposed in his heart, not reluctantly or sorrowfully or under compulsion, for God loves (He takes pleasure in, prizes above other things, and is unwilling to abandon or to do without) a cheerful (joyous, “prompt to do it”) giver [whose heart is in his giving].
And God is able to make all grace (every favor and earthly blessing) come to you in abundance, so that you may always and under all circumstances and whatever the need be self-sufficient [possessing enough to require no aid or support and furnished in abundance for every good work and charitable donation].
As it is written, He [the benevolent person] scatters abroad; He gives to the poor; His deeds of justice and goodness and kindness and benevolence will go on and endure forever!
And [God] Who provides seed for the sower and bread for eating will also provide and multiply your [resources for] sowing and increase the fruits of your righteousness [which manifests itself in active goodness, kindness, and charity].
Thus you will be enriched in all things and in every way, so that you can be generous, and [your generosity as it is] administered by us will bring forth thanksgiving to God (2 Cor. 9:6-11).
Notice that Paul said God would provide and multiply your resources for sowing. When was the last time you asked God not just to multiply your resources, but to multiply your resources for sowing? Paul understood the impact that an individual’s motive has on receiving God’s favor and blessing. He said, “Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need” (Eph. 4:28).
Paul exhorts us to look at our jobs with a different perspective. The reason we have our work is not just to make a living; it’s also God’s way of providing us with seed for sowing.
When we develop a mindset of “I live to give,” then we know that we have the right motive when we approach God. When we declare, “Let there be a continuous flow of favor and blessing in my life,” God also knows that the motive of our hearts is right.
WHEN WE DECLARE, “LET THERE BE A CONTINUOUS FLOW OF FAVOR AND BLESSING IN MY LIFE,” GOD ALSO KNOWS THAT THE MOTIVE OF OUR HEARTS IS RIGHT.
Carolyn and I live to give, and I will tell you that giving has become one of our greatest joys in life. God has blessed us because our motive is right—and what He’s done for us, He will most certainly do for anyone whose heart is pure before Him.
Maintaining a Right Attitude
I’ve always been somewhat of a perfectionist, in that I’m methodical and meticulous. I like to do things correctly, and I like everything to be in its place. My daughters have told me, “Daddy, you could come home after being gone for a year, and you’d know if we’d used one of your pencils.” When carried to the extreme, this kind of attention to detail can become a stumbling block. But when the Holy Spirit sanctifies it, it can be developed into what I like to call “an attitude of excellence.”
In order to position ourselves to receive and operate in the favor of God, we must develop and maintain an attitude of excellence. We can actually hinder God’s favor from manifesting to the fullest in our lives if we have the attitude that we will do just enough to get by and only meet the minimum requirements set before us.
During my first year in college, I needed a job, and I was thrilled when the engineering firm that was designing the Louisiana portion of Interstate 20 hired me as a draftsman. My job was to examine aerial photos under a magnifying glass to determine which houses and commercial properties would need to be removed to accommodate the new highway.
My superiors at this firm were all college graduates, many from the school I was attending, and I naturally wanted to provide the best service I could for them. Sometimes I couldn’t clearly identify a structure from a photo, and because I didn’t want to remove anything unnecessarily, I’d go
to my supervisor and ask, “What do you think about this?”
Invariably he’d answer, “Well, just go ahead and take it out; it’s close enough for government work.”
I heard that phrase often enough over the course of my employment with the firm that it planted a seed in me. At some point, I stopped striving for excellence and developed a “that’s good enough” attitude. It wasn’t long before that attitude showed up in everything I did. I expended the least amount of effort required on every task and did anything I could to take the easy way out. Simply put, I got sloppy.
I’m happy to say that once I realized what had happened, I didn’t let that attitude root itself any deeper in me. But the point I want to make is this: As Christians, we can’t go around with a “that’s good enough” attitude and always be looking for shortcuts in our walks of faith.
Proverbs 11:3 says, “The integrity of the upright will guide them,” and verse 27 says, “He who earnestly seeks good finds favor.” In other words, if we want to position ourselves to receive God’s favor, then we must be diligent to maintain an attitude of excellence in everything we do.
Now, I’m not saying that God wants us to be perfectionists, but we must certainly guard against a “that’s good enough” attitude carrying over into our spiritual lives. If that happens, we won’t pray as consistently as we should, we won’t fast, and we may get to the point that we do not want to listen to the Word. The Bible says, “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” (Prov. 13:13-15).
God wants to pour out His favor—He wants to manifest it in our lives—but it will not come until we have the right attitude. We need to seek and then expect the favor of God. The young shepherd, David, who had slain both a lion and a bear that had attacked his father’s flock of sheep, had already come to expect the favor of God when he went to visit his brothers in Saul’s army.
The Favor of God Page 11