Saturday, September 2, 2017

Blessed and Highly Favored

In this study we look at the difference between blessings, favor and grace.  Are all Christians "blessed and highly favored"?


  • Blessings vs Favor vs Grace
  • Favor of God and Man


Scriptures:
  • Luke 1:28-30
  • Genesis 6 :7-9
  • Ephesians 1:3-4
  • Psalms 30:4-5
  • 1 Samuel 2:26
  • Luke 2:52
  • Ephesians 2:4-5
  • Matthew 5:44-45
  • Proverbs 3:3-4
  • Judges 6:16-17
  • Exodus 3:21-22
  • Ruth 2:10-11
  • Luke 11:27-28
  • 2 Corinthians 12:8-9



Luke 1:28-30
28And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. 29And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. 30And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.
  • Mary found favor with God
  • Mary was blessed among women
  • Mary was highly favored by God
  • Mary was blessed and highly favored


Example: interview favoritism
  • school alumni, fraternity, branch of the military, hometown, family member


What does it mean to be blessed and highly favored?
  • “Highly respected” means that the person is respected more than most people
  • “Highly favored” implies that you are more favored than someone else
  • It implies that you are more favored than most


Can someone who is not  blessed or favored have more blessings than someone who is highly favored?


We will examine what blessings, favor and grace are and how they work.

Blessed and Highly Favored
What does it mean to be blessed?  What does it mean to be favored?


Blessings vs. Favor vs. Grace

What is the difference between blessings, favor and grace?

Blessings

  1. the act or words of one that blesses
    1. say the blessing over dinner
  2. approval, encouragement
    1. the man asked her parents for their blessing before he proposed
  3. A thing conducive to happiness or welfare
    1. Their absence turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
    2. Count your blessings.
“A thing conducive to happiness or welfare” is what we're referring to.

Perpetual Blessing

What does it mean to be blessed?
  • Can you be blessed?


Ephesians 1:3-4
3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love
  • God has blessed us
  • With what?
    • Spiritual blessings
  • We have been blessed with every spiritual blessing
    • Salvation
    • The ability to abide in Christ
    • The Holy Spirit within us
    • The fruits of the Spirit
    • Having been made righteous by the blood of Jesus


These are the Christian blessings


We are perpetually infused with these “spiritual blessings” because we are Christians.
  • We do not always have material blessings or natural blessings just because we are Christians
  • We do not automatically get prosperity or earthly treasures


So it is not wrong to say that you are blessed
  • You just need to know what it means
  • We are” spiritually blessed”

My Usage



I will generally use the term speaking of a specific act or scenario that was conducive to happiness or welfare
  • A blessing is something you get
  • Versus something you are


You can be blessed with: a new car, a good child, good genes


A blessing is a single instance of something conducive to happiness or welfare

Favor

1. an attitude of approval or liking:
    • "the legislation is viewed with favor"
  • support or advancement given as a sign of approval
    • "a struggle between competing lobbyists for presidential favor"
  • over generous preferential treatment:
    • "they accused the referee of showing favor to one of the players"
  • an act of kindness beyond what is due or usual:
    • "I've come to ask you for  a favor"


Psalms 30:4-5
    4Sing praise to the LORD, you His godly ones,
           And give thanks to His holy name.
     5For His anger is but for a moment,
           His favor is for a lifetime;
           Weeping may last for the night,
           But a shout of joy comes in the morning.
  • You can have favor for your entire life
  • Being favored is a status


We are looking at “being favored” or “having favor”
  • Not single instances of favor
  • Not a single blessing or an instance of answered prayer
  • We're not talking about fever in the situation
  • We're talking about the favor of God on your life


You can get a blessing as a one time thing
  • Being favored is the reason you are continually blessed


One of the results of being favored is that you receive blessings.


Being “highly favored” is a position or status in your life
  • It’s not an event
  • It's being favored above most people


Obtaining Favor

Genesis 6:8 says Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.
  • He “found” favor
  • He wasn't born with favor


Favor can be obtained/found.
  • You can seek after favor
  • Favor is a response to your choices, actions, behavior, words and thoughts.
  • In the last 3 lessons, we looked at 10 things that bring you favor


Favor is not given to those who are in need
Favor is given to those who earn it

Increasing Your Favor

You can grow in favor


1 Samuel 2:26
26Now the boy Samuel was growing in stature and in favor both with the LORD and with men.


Luke 2:52
52 And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.
  • Favor can be increased

Grace

Grace:
the free and unmerited favor of God, as manifested in the salvation of sinners and the bestowal of blessings


The spiritual blessings that we get for being a Christian are an act of “grace”
  • We didn’t earn:
    • salvation,
    • the presence of the Holy Spirit,
    • the fruits of the spirit


Salvation is a blessing
  • The presence of the Holy Spirit is a blessing
  • The fruits of the Holy Spirit or a blessing
  • We didn't earn those blessings


Ephesians 2:4-5
4 But God, being rich in mercy[grace], because of His great love with which He loved us,
5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive
  • Grace is a gift from God
  • Grace is the means by which God gives salvation
  • We can't be saved except through grace.


Grace is what got you saved.
Grace is what keeps you saved.
Grace is undeserved and unearned


You can’t do anything to “earn” grace,
  • You just need to accept it
  • To believe that Jesus died for our sins is to accept his sacrifice
  • You can’t accept God’s grace unless you believe in Jesus


Example: giving a gift
  • You have to accept it
  • You have to believe it’s yours
  • That's how you receive a gift


You will never be in a situation where you don't need grace
  • You don't need favor if you have all of the blessings you want
  • You will always need grace


Common Grace

There’s “saving grace”
  • Which is an amazing grace
  • There's also “common grace”


Matthew 5:44-45
44 "But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
  • God causes good things to happen to both good and evil people
  • God allows bad things to happen to the righteous and the unrighteous
  • The good and the evil receive blessings
  • God loves the righteous and the evil


Everyone is a recipient of God's blessings at some time or another.


This is “Common Grace”
  • God blesses good people and bad people
  • Grace is undeserved favor


You don’t have to have “Saving Grace” to have “Common Grace”


Non-believers don’t get the spiritual blessings,
  • but they may get natural or material blessings through grace.
  • Jesus came so we could have spiritual blessings
  • “Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s…”


You can be wicked and have blessings from grace if it suits God’s purposes.


The problem with Christians
The problem is that Christians think that because I got the blessings of “saving grace” even though I don’t deserve it, someone who didn’t get that blessings shouldn’t get other blessings that I don’t get


The expression “favor ain't fair” should be: “grace ain’t fair”
  • Grace is always undeserved


Favor vs Grace

Grace is unmerited favor
  • This implies that there is merited favor
  • Grace is a specific type of favor
    • There are other types of favor
    • There is merited favor


Example: ice
  • Ice is frozen water
  • Water and ice are not the same thing
  • Ice is water
  • But not all water is ice


Ice is a type of water
  • Grace is a type of favor


Grace is favor
  • But not all favor is grace
  • There is favor that's not grace


Some favor can be obtained and increased.
  • Grace can’t be increased
  • Grace covers all sin
  • You can’t get “more” grace
  • You can’t increase in grace
    • But you can increase in favor


Grace is always undeserved and unearned


Favor With God and Man

Natural favor vs supernatural favor


Proverbs 3:3-4
3Do not let kindness and truth leave you;
      Bind them around your neck,
      Write them on the tablet of your heart.
4So you will find favor and good repute
       In the sight of God and man.
  • Kindness and truth bring you favor
  • Favor from God and favor from man
  • Favor is a response to your words and actions


We often see the following terms
  • Favor With God and Man
  • Find Favor
  • Grant Favor


To receive a blessing from someone is to “find favor” with them
  • It can refer to a one time occurrence or to a state
  • The person will “grant favor” to you


The Favor of God

Judges 6:16-17
But the LORD said to him, "Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat Midian as one man."
17 So Gideon said to Him, "If now I have found favor in Your sight, then show me a sign that it is You who speak with me.
  • Again we see “finding favor” with God comes with Him “being with you”
  • Favor from God comes with the “Presence of God”


Was the presence of God with Mary?
  • You will call his name Emmanuel -  “God with Us”
  • Mary was highly favored by God
  • God’s presence was definitely with Mary
    • He was inside of her for 9 months
  • Mary was blessed and highly favored


Exodus 3:21-22
21 "I will grant this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and it shall be that when you go, you will not go empty-handed.
22 "But every woman shall ask of her neighbor and the woman who lives in her house, articles of silver and articles of gold, and clothing; and you will put them on your sons and daughters. Thus you will plunder the Egyptians."
  • God made the Egyptians favor the Israelites
  • When they left Egypt they left with riches
  • This is the favor of God
  • When God intervenes in the natural order of things it is the favor of God
  • Even when he makes other people favor you

The Favor of Man

  • It’s when a person favors you without supernatural influence
  • It’s getting preferential treatment over other qualified candidates


Example: pretty women
  • That’s not “the favor of God”
  • It's preferential treatment for natural reasons
  • Human nature

Proverbs 3:3-4 said if you are kind and truthful you will find favor with God and man
  • Being kind and honest  to others brings you favor
  • People will naturally favor you over others


If people know you as a kind and honest person they will show you favor.
  • Especially if you were kind to them


Example: Bullies at junior high
  • Punch in the jaw
  • Viewed me as kind and honest


Ruth 2:10-11
10Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your sight that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?” 11Boaz replied to her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law after the death of your husband has been fully reported to me, and how you left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and came to a people that you did not previously know.
  • Boaz favored Ruth because of her kindness
  • This is the favor of man
  • Favor without supernatural intervention

Conclusion



Who was the most highly favored person ever?
  • Some would say Mary


Luke 1 tells us that the angel Gabriel came to Mary and told her that she was highly favored by God and blessed among women.


Luke 11:27-28
27While Jesus was saying these things, one of the women in the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, “Blessed is the womb that bore You and the breasts at which You nursed.” 28But He said, “On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.”
  • The woman expressed how blessed and favored Mary was
  • Jesus said “on the contrary”
    • Jesus said “no”
  • Blessed are those who hear the word of God
  • Because faith cometh by hearing the word of Christ
  • Blessed are those who believe the word of God and accept Jesus as their savior


Yes Mary was blessed and highly favored
But being a Christian is the ultimate blessing


Saving grace is better than common grace


2 Corinthians 12:8-9
Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me.
9 And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.
  • “My grace is sufficient” means God’s saving grace is sufficient
  • The fact that we get eternal life should be enough to keep us content
  • The spiritual blessings that we get as Christians should be sufficient
    • The blessing of Eternal life
    • presence of the Holy Spirit
    • The fruits of the Spirit,
  • It's not wrong to have or  pursue material things
    • As long as your happiness isn't dependent on them


But we need to realize how blessed we already are!


So yes we are blessed and highly favored!  As long as you know what you mean by that.

Presenter: Michael Leadon





Summary

A blessing is a thing conducive to happiness or welfare
  • A blessing is something you get


Being favored is a position or status
  • It is receiving preferential treatment from God
  • The “Favor of God” comes with “The Presence of God”


Grace is the free and unmerited favor of God
  • Grace can't be earned
  • Saving grace comes with spiritual blessings
  • You get
    • Salvation
    • The presence of the Holy Spirit
    • Spiritual gifts
  • material blessings don't always accompany grace
  • Common grace are the blessings God gives to everyone regardless of whether they're saved 
     

References





What Does it Mean to be Highly Favored?


Favor - Oxford Dictionary


What it means to be Highly Favored - TheBRICK


Extra Scriptures

Blessings

Acts 3:25-6
25“It is you who are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant which God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘AND IN YOUR SEED ALL THE FAMILIES OF THE EARTH SHALL BE BLESSED.’ 26“For you first, God raised up His Servant and sent Him to bless you by turning every one of you from your wicked ways.”

Grace

1 Corinthians 15:10
10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.


You owe all of your accomplishments to grace


Favor of God and Man

Exodus 11:2-3
2 "Speak now in the hearing of the people that each man ask from his neighbor and each woman from her neighbor for articles of silver and articles of gold."
3 The LORD gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Furthermore, the man Moses himself was greatly esteemed in the land of Egypt, both in the sight of Pharaoh's servants and in the sight of the people.
  • That's why these slaves had gold for
    • Tabernacle
    • Golden calf


Daniel 1:9-10
Now God granted Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the commander of the officials,

Mary’s Favor

Luke 8:19-21
19Now Jesus’ mother and brothers came to see him, but they were not able to get near him because of the crowd. 20Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you.”
21He replied, “My mother and brothers are those who hear God’s word and put it into practice.”


Quotes



The blessing of God is the empowerment to succeed to prosper to multiply.
The favor of God produces the opportunity for the empowerment to work.
--Jerry Savelle


Favor is God’s channel of blessings designed for your growth and advancement
  • How does God get his blessings to you?
  • He can use people who don't know him
--theBRICK

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