When God wants things done in the earth He will pour forth His favor. We know favor opened doors for many including Esther, David, Moses, Joseph, Daniel, and even our Lord and Savior, Jesus. The favor of God opens doors that no man can open himself. As the people of God, we need favor active in our lives because favor divinely connects us to right relationships in season to accomplish God’s purposes. Our God never sleeps and He is always working. We are called to join Him in His work. We as the people of God must let favor run its course.
The Month of Tammuz
In this month of Tammuz, which begins Sunday June 21 and goes until Tuesday July 21 at sundown we can see favor being revealed in the scriptures. This is the month in which the Israelites made the golden calf out of the wealth spoiled from the Egyptians. God had given them favor with the Egyptians and they took the spoils to travel with them as provision on their journey to the promised land. While Moses was on Mt. Sinai receiving the Law, the impatient Israelites determined to make a golden calf out of the wealth given them. When Moses arrived, he saw the camp in chaos and sin destroying God’s people. God was angry with the way His people had now taken His blessing and began to worship it. The word says in Exodus 32:7-10 (NIV) that,
“Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt, have become corrupt. They have been quick to turn away from what I commanded them and have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. They have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and have said, “These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.” ‘I have seen these people,’ the Lord said to Moses, ‘and they are a stiff-necked people. Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation.’”
Take a look at how God feels in this passage. He is broken because He brought the people out of Egypt and now they are giving worship to wealth that was given to them by God. They have abandoned a heart for God and instead turned to a false image. Then God tells Moses that, “ I will make you into a great nation.”
Favor with the Lord
Moses has favor with the Lord. What does Moses do with this favor? He takes it to save a nation. The word says in Exodus 32:11-14 (NIV),
“But Moses sought the favor of the Lord his God. ‘Lord,’ he said, ‘why should your anger burn against your people, whom you brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians say, “It was with evil intent that He brought them out, to kill them in the mountains and to wipe them off the face of the earth’? Turn from your fierce anger; relent and do not bring disaster on your people. Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, to whom you swore by your own self: “I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and I will give your descendants all this land I promised them, and it will be their inheritance forever.” Then the Lord relented and did not bring on His people the disaster He had threatened.”
This word “favor” in the NIV translation, is the word “besought” in the KJV translation, which is the Hebrew word chalah, which means, as one who entreated the Lord, or was even grieved.
Favor can be so intense on our lives that we struggle stepping out to activate it even for God’s purposes. This is why faith is needed to activate favor.
Therefore, with the favor Moses had with God, he dialogued with God on this matter. Moses spoke back to God the very words that God Himself had spoken about His people, which of course were full of blessing and favor. The outcome was that God relented and did not bring disaster. There was still a consequence that day in that a remnant was called aside and had to make a difficult decision to kill those who worshipped the idols. As difficult as this was, the remnant remained and sought to move forward (Exodus 23:27-29).
How do we know if we have favor?
How can we know for sure we have this great favor on our life? Because of what Jesus Christ did on the cross. He took our sin. Yes, even the sin of our worshipping false gods and other things and nailed us to the cross with Him, and then buried us, and resurrected us as new creatures in Him. We are a remnant for His glory.
In Romans 6:3-7 (NIV) the Apostle Paul tells us, “Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. For if we have been united with Him in a death like His, we will certainly also be united with Him in a resurrection like His. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.”
So, because of Jesus you have been set free from sin and resurrected to a new life, and that life is one of carrying the favor of God. You received favor that you would not die in your sin and now use that favor to show the love of God to others.
The favor on Moses’ life was given to him by God Himself and was the catalyst to save the people of God. Favor on your life is a powerful tool to change the world. Some of you have favor with kings, presidents, governors, statesmen, politicians, teachers, business men and women, leaders of organizations, etc. Allow God to use the favor He has given you for divine purpose.
Stepping Into Favor
This month God will overshadow you with overwhelming favor so that you can accomplish His purpose on the earth. Don’t shrink back but take the favor given you and press forward in faith to bless the Lord and bring about peace and reconciliation to those who need it most. Use the favor on your life to crush injustice and evil and speak life into those who need it. This favor will open doors for you that will save nations just as it did for Queen Esther when she was used of God to save the Jews from annihilation. God wants to use you in a mighty way and He needs you to believe in the favor on your life because of what Jesus did, and also the favor in this month of Tammuz to press forward.
I challenge you today to look to the heavens and step out in favor every day by faith, with the confidence that God has indeed given you this favor through your resurrection in Jesus. You may be chosen to save a nation, but you will never know, unless you apply faith to the favor you have in Him!
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