We are all God’s favorites, and His favor and grace are gifts He gives us freely. Pastor Robert helps us understand what it means to have God’s favor and how to walk in the grace that comes along with it.
1. Does God have favorites? Yes! All of God’s children are His favorites. In the Bible, Abraham, Jacob, Ruth, Esther, Hannah, and Daniel all found favor in the Lord. If you have accepted Jesus as your Savior, you are a child of God, and you are His favorite.
2. What is favor? “Favor” in Greek is charis, which means grace. In Genesis 6:8, Noah found grace. How do you find grace? Like salvation, grace is always there and is available to us when we open our eyes and receive the truth of God’s Word. Ephesians 2:8 tells us we find grace through faith. When Gabriel told Mary she would have a baby, she believed it even though she didn’t know how it would happen. Noah believed God when He said it would rain even though he didn’t know what rain was. In 1 John 5:13, we find that we receive grace for eternal life, and we continue to believe for abundant life. In other words, believing leads to salvation, and continuing to believe leads to sanctification.
3. What is faith? Faith is believing. There’s a difference in believing with our minds and believing with our hearts. Mary believed in her heart and trusted what Gabriel told her. It Focus Fun Review didn’t mean her life was perfect from then on. Mary experienced struggles and heartache, but she was still highly favored of the Lord.