Unlocking the Supernatural through Favour by Bishop David Oyedepo

                                             

Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favour her, yea, the set time, is come. For thy servants take pleasure in her stones, and favour the dust thereof. So the heathen shall fear the name of the Lord, and all the kings of the earth thy glory (Psalms 102:13-15).

 

We are in the latter days, the era of supernatural favour in the body of Christ. As a result, there shall be an unusual release of supernatural favour in the church of Christ before Jesus returns. Also, the church will begin to possess the land and wherever the soles of our feet shall tread upon shall be given to us. As it is written:

We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us, what work thou didst in their days, in the times of old. How thou didst drive out the heathen with thy hand, and plantedst them; how thou didst afflict the people, and cast them out. For they got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them: but thy right hand, and thine arm, and the light of thy countenance, because thou hadst a favour unto them (Psalms 44:1-3; see also Haggai 2:3-9).

But, what entitles us to favour?

• Redemption: Redemption is a product of favour. It is written: For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8).

Grace, which also means favour, is the heritage of the redeemed and everyone that is born again is listed among God’s beloved. As it is written:

To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved (Ephesians 1:6; see also 2 Corinthians 5:21).

‘Beloved’ here means to be favoured or a favourite. That means every child of God is God’s favourite on the earth. Thus, we have our roots in divine favour by redemption. The Bible says:

For thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield (Psalms 5:12).

As a result, everything about our lives attracts favour.

• The ‘church in the wilderness’ was cladded with favour: The ‘Church in the wilderness’ (the Israelites) was a highly favoured and struggle-free church. The Bible records:

This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us (Acts 7:38).

During the sojourn of the Israelites in the wilderness for forty years, they experienced the tangibility of favour. They enjoyed manna twice daily and the Bible says that: Thy raiment waxed not old upon thee, neither did thy foot swell, these forty years (Deuteronomy 8:4).

There is nothing in the Old Testament that can compare to what is available to us in the New Testament. If the church in the wilderness was that favoured, how much more shall the church of the Living God bought by the Blood of Jesus be favoured.

Furthermore, concerning the Israelites, God said:

And I will give this people favour in the sight of the Egyptians: and it shall come to pass, that, when ye go, ye shall not go empty (Exodus 3:21; see also Exodus 12:36).

God is committed to giving His people favour and we are privileged to be His people by redemption. Hence, we are entitled to divine favour.

• The church in the upper room enjoyed favour: As it is written:

Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved (Acts 2:47).

Favour was the identity of the first church. That means the church of Christ is ordained to swim in favour.

Furthermore, Jesus Christ, the Head of the church was robed with favour. The Bible says: And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man (Luke 2:52).

Jesus said: As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world (John 17:18).

We are heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus. That means whatever pertains to Christ pertains to us. Thus, we are highly favoured individuals (Romans 8:17).

What, then, is in Favour?

• Favour terminates tears: Favour turns our tears into testimonies. It is written:

For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. And in my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved. Lord, by thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand strong: thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled (Psalms 30:5-7).

It is favour in a man’s life that defines the quality of his life.

• Prosperity: And the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. And his master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord made all that he did to prosper in his hand. And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him: and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand (Genesis 39:2-4).

It is impossible to secure favour with God and not have favour with man.

• Favour is the cure for man’s struggles: Joseph didn’t struggle; favour positioned him from one level to another (Psalms 105:17-22).
• Supernatural enlargement: Grace is the covenant mother of greatness. It is grace that makes great, not skill or strength. Every giant in the Kingdom is made of favour. No one can be greater than the grace of God at work in his life and grace simply means divine favour. Apostle Paul said: But by the grace of God I am what I am… (1 Corinthians 15:10; see also 1 Samuel 2:9; Ecclesiastes 9:11; Romans 9:16).

It simply means that without grace, we are grounded. However, by the release of divine favour, greatness surges and enlargement is stirred up (Isaiah 60:1-22).

Interestingly, apart from the favour of salvation, every other favour we desire is at a cost. It is important to understand that God’s favour is real, but it is not free. This is because even the favour of salvation still demands that we repent and be baptized, so we can be saved and then receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. That means there is what we must do to trigger favour.

Thus, encounters with turnaround favour demand the following, among others:

• Be Born Again: New birth is the first covenant step into a world of favour. Thereafter, we are listed among God’s beloved after the order of Joseph (Psalms 5:12).
• Commit to the Love of God and His Kingdom: And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28).

Our love for God entitles us to the flow of divine favour. David was a man after God’s own heart and God lavished him with supernatural favour (1 Samuel 13:14, 16:21-22).

The Bible records that Solomon loved the Lord and he reared an altar of sacrifice to God which granted him access to His favour (1 Kings 3:3-13).

Furthermore, Joseph was an epitome of God’s favour; he encountered favour in Potiphar’s house and he was in charge of his entire estate. He also secured favour in the prison and was appointed an official. That favour also made him to be brought before the king for multiple change of levels (Genesis 39; Psalms 105:17-22).

Every true lover of God enjoys access to divine favour. This is because when we walk in love, we are entitled to an open cheque from God which secures the supernatural in our affairs (1 Corinthians 2:9; 1 John 3:22-23).

However, we must understand that God’s love is not theoretical, it is practical. This is why the Bible says: For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous (1 John 5:3).

We cannot claim to love God when we do not walk in obedience to His commandments. Thus, the love of God demands that we:

• Love His Word: We cannot claim to love God if we do not love His Word (Psalms 119:97; Proverbs 13:15; 2 Peter 1:2).
• Love His house: I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord (Psalms 122:1).

If we love God, going to church and fellowshipping with the brethren will be our delight and lifestyle.

• Love His Kingdom (Psalms102:13-15; Matthew 6:33; Luke 7:1-5).

• Love His People (Matthew 25:31-40; Galatians 6:10; 1 John 3:16-18).
• Love Humanity (Matthew 22:36-40; Luke 10:29-37).

• Engage in prayer & supplication: Just like Jabez did, we can break the siege of misfortune over our lives as we engage the prayer altar (1 Chronicles 4:9-10; Psalms 106:4; Hebrews 4:16).

• Seek revelation of the truth: It is written: Good understanding giveth favour: but the way of transgressors is hard (Proverbs 13:15).

The more revelation we have, the more favour flows in our direction (Daniel 1:9, 9:2).

• Seek fresh anointing: The fresher the anointing on our lives, the fresher the flow of favour. Jesus never lacked favour because He had access to fresh oil. However, we must recognize that the altar of prayer is the altar of empowerment and revelation, which triggers the release of fresh oil for fresh favour (Psalms 45:7-8, 12).

It is important to understand that favour is not a religious theory; it is a virtue with proofs.

Therefore, we must expect the manifestation of supernatural favour in the following areas among others:

• Marital breakthrough: Marriage is a manifestation of divine favour. The Bible says: Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the Lord (Proverbs 18:22; See also Genesis 24:1-27; Psalms 68:6).

• Exploits after the order of Daniel (Daniel 1:9, 2:46).
• Supernatural visitation after the order of Sarah (Genesis 21:1-6).
• Supernatural turnaround in the order of Nehemiah (Nehemiah 2:5-8).
• Business Breakthrough after the order of Job (Job 1:1-3, 9).

The greatest event of anyone’s life in the Kingdom is a product of favour and its ultimate is to establish our dominion on the earth. Therefore, I see the favour of God rewriting your story in Jesus’ name! Remain ever blessed!

Jesus is Lord!

source:http://www.davidoyedepoministries.org/