“Surely, LORD, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield.” (Psalm 5:12 NIV)

The blessing of God’s divine favor is huge!

To be blessed with God’s favor is to be authenticated, authorized, certified, commissioned, confirmed, countersigned, deputized, designated, empowered, enabled, enfranchised, entitled, licensed, notarized, ordained, permitted, validated, and warranted by God’s grace!

Blessed in what you do

You obtain God’s blessings and favor by first, being adopted into God’s family (John 1:12), and secondly, by looking into the Word of God intently and doing what it says! “But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.” (James 1:25 NASB)

What it means to be blessed

When most people think of what it means to be blessed, they imagine it to be a life without difficulties or problems. But, that’s not correct. Problems visit everyone from time to time. Jesus said, “In this world you will have trouble.” (John 16:33). To be blessed is to have God’s presence and help in the midst of trouble or trials. “Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial.”  (James 1:12a NASB)

The blessed life of Joseph

A great example of what it means to “persevere under trial” and to be blessed with God’s favor, is the life of Joseph. (Gen. 37-50).

• He was blessed by his father – “Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colors.” (Gen. 37:3 KJV
• He was sold into slavery and yet was  blessed  – “The LORD was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master.” (Gen. 39:2 NIV)
• He was sent to prison and yet blessed – “The LORD was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden.” (Gen. 39:21 NIV)
• He was brought before Pharaoh and yet blessed – “Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you." (Gen. 41:39-40 NIV)
• He was blessed to be a blessing to others – “Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me.” When they had done so, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will be no plowing and reaping. But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.” (Gen. 45:4-7 NIV)

Our covenant is greater!

We have a better covenant in the New Testament than Joseph had in the Old Testament (Heb. 8:6). God was with Joseph and blessed him, but God is within us through His Holy Spirit. (1 Cor. 3:16).

We are blessed!

• We are blessed with God’s family favor – “God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.” (Eph. 1:5 NLT)
• We are blessed with God’s grace and peace – “Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. (2 Pet. 1:2 NIV)
• We are blessed with every spiritual  blessing – “Praise 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.” (Eph. 1:3 NIV)
• We are blessed with all our needs met  – “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.” Phil. 4:19 NIV)
• We are blessed to be a blessing to others – “You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.” (2 Cor. 9:11 ESV)

The unmerited favor of God

“Grace,” according to the dictionary, is the unmerited favor of God toward mankind. The word “grace” is used over 170 times in the New Testament alone. Grace is not bought. It is a free gift of almighty God to needy mankind.” – Dr. Billy Graham

“Always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence.” (1 Peter 3:15 NASB)

My first chance to “testify for God”

Shortly after receiving Christ as my personal Savior, I went to an evening service at the small church the family I was living with attended. It was a brand new experience for me. I didn't know what they did at evening church services and was excited to find out. The family I was living with didn't attend this evening, so I was on my own. After singing a few hymns, the preacher invited people to come to the front and “testify for God”. Wow! That sounded so exciting. I had never heard of testifying for God before. I immediately assumed it meant you were supposed to do what they do in a courtroom. I had watched old TV shows like Perry Mason, where people were sworn in to “testify” and told to take the stand and “tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me God.” So, I jumped up and volunteered to “testify for God!” The pastor called me to the front and handed me the microphone. He said, “Go to it Mike”, and I did! I looked over the people in the congregation and immediately recognized a few of them that I had seen recently at parties, bars, dances and nightclubs. And I started testifying about them. “There is Billy. He pretends to be a Christian, but he's not! He gets drunk on Friday nights and curses like a drunken sailer!” I went on, “And, Mary Lou, sitting three rows back in that red dress, is cheating on Charlie with some guy named Frank! And not only that, one of the ushers this evening, tells dirty jokes!” I pointed at him. “Then, there’s Betty, sitting next to Ted, she’s also at a lot of bars with different guys.”

People suddenly rose to their feet

People started shouting at me from the congregation. “Mike, who do you think you are!”, someone yelled! “Shut up and sit down!”, cried another. “How dare you accuse us of such things!”, said someone else. People from every part of the room were suddenly on their feet yelling at me all at once. Then they began to lurch forward like a lynch mob!

I ran out the door, jumped into my car and fled the scene!

I drove around for awhile thinking about all the people who were angry at me for testifying. I wondered if this was a normal reaction to testifying services. Or, if maybe I had misunderstood somehow and had gotten it all wrong. I now wished I hadn't been the first one to jump up and testify. Maybe I should have waited for a couple of others to testify first and then watched how they did it. Perhaps I would have known how to do it better when it was my turn to testify for God? I was totally confused. I drove home but didn't stop when I saw cars in our driveway, probably belonging to church people waiting for me to get home. I continued to drive around for hours until they had all left. Then I went home and found the family waiting up for me. They said, “Mike! Mike! Mike! What did you do?” “I testified for Jesus,” I said.

The pastor came to visit me

The pastor and I had a very long chat the next day. I told him what I had thought I was supposed to do last evening, and that everything I had said about people in the congregation was absolutely true, and that I was only trying to “testify for God.” He then explained to me what testifying for God was really about. He said, even though what I said may have been true, I shouldn’t have said it, especially in front of the entire church!

I was embarrassed!

I told the pastor I was very sorry for what I had done and promised to never show my face in his church again. But, he told me he wanted me to come back to the church. He said that he had been speaking with everyone involved personally, and they were now dealing with lots of “sinful behavior” they needed to take care of as a result of what I had done. And some good was coming out of it. He then pointed his finger at me and said, “But, don't you ever do that again!”

A gentle tongue is a tree of life!

“From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.” (James 3:10 ESV)

“A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.” (Prov. 15:4 ESV)

“For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.” (2 Cor. 1:20 NKJV)

There are many thousands of promises throughout the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, and all of them are “yes” and paid for by Jesus. But, that doesn’t mean they will necessarily work for you. Here are some reasons why they may be stopped.

• Double mindedness will stop them

You must not doubt but you must ask with complete assurance. For if you doubt, you become double minded and the promises won't work for you.

“But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” (James 2:6-8 NKJV)

• Not mixing them with faith will stop them

The promises are all faith activated and they won't work without faith!

“For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.” (Heb. 4:2 NKJV)

• Religious tradition will stop them

Throughout Africa, millions attend massive healing rallies held by German evangelist Reinhard Bonnke, and many are miraculously healed at the events . Yet, attempts to see similar results at USA events held by Bonnke don't show the same results. When asked to explain, Bonnke says that folks in Africa come to His events in faith, expecting to be healed, and folks in America come to them with skepticism and steeped in negative religeus traditions. It's similar to Jesus not being able to perform many miracles in His home town because of the little faith He found there. (Mark. 6:6)

“Making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down. And many such things you do.”  (Mark. 7:13 NKJV)

Therefore….

If you want God's promises to work for you, you must believe them totally without being double minded; If the Word of God says it, it must be settled in your mind, period! You don't allow religious dogma or traditions of men (we’ve never done it that way and we’ve always done it this  way) deter you, but you take the Word of God seriously, and stand only on it alone. Finally, you mix your faith with it which means you stand firmly on the promise expecting it to work.

“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” (Mark 11:24 NIV)

 “This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24 NKJV)

Notice that this verse says “this is the day the Lord has made!”

God tells us two things to do with the day

1. Rejoice in it (show great joy or delight)

2. Be glad in it (be pleased or happy)

Notice that these are two attitudes you have complete self control over. No matter what each day may look like, or may bring, you can decide to rejoice and be glad! And what a difference that kind of an attitude could make!

God created time

Scientists who study such things say time has not been around forever, and they believe it was created along with the rest of the universe in what they like to refer to as the “Big Bang” theory. Of course they are right to say that time was created. But, it was not an accidental Big Bang but was instead created deliberately by the Word of God.

God spoke everything into existence

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1). This creative process included creating  time itself.

“God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.” (Gen. 1:5 NIV)

A  day is a measurement of time

One day has of 24 hours, one hour has 60 minutes, and one minute has 60 seconds. One day has 86,499 seconds and a nanosecond is one billionth of a second. It kind of blows your mind to think about it, doesn't it?

We are all temporary so don't waste time!

In 1900 the average life span in the US was 47. Today's lifespan average in the USA is 79. We are expected to live longer these days but no one escapes eventual death. A 24 hour day is what we all get exactly the same amount of. We can’t hoard time and save it up for later in a “time bank”. When it's gone at the end of a day, it's gone forever. You use it or lose it!

“Be very careful, then, how you live--not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.” (Eph. 5:15-16 NIV)

"You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God.” (James 4:2 NIV)

You don't know what you don't know!

Asking questions is one of the most powerful things you can do to keep from making mistakes and to get ahead in anything you are doing. You don't know what you don't know, and that can harm you! I learned this when I was a young man shortly after being drafted into the US Army.

Shortly after graduating from high school I was drafted

Up until this time life for me had been pretty uncomplicated. I lived on a small island in Alaska and my life revolved around attending school, working a part time job, and for fun, hunting and fishing.

Army basic training was pretty straight forward where we were turned into soldiers

After basic we were assigned "jobs" and sent off to Advanced Individual Training schools (AIT). I was sent to Fort Huachuca, Arizona, to be trained as a truck driver. This new "truck driver" job description seemed odd to me since I didn't know how to drive.

The training skills test that almost killed me 

Soon after arriving to Fort Huachuca AIT, training began with a trip up a steep mountain for a driving skills test. The mountain was very different from the kind we have in Alaska. It was completely bare of anything growing. At the top I could see a long road zig-zagging steeply down the mountainside with lots of sharp switchbacks marked with orange cones at each turn. At the top was a long row of canvas backed deuce-and-a-half military trucks. The trucks were running and on the passenger side of each one sat a training instructor sergeant with pen and clipboard in hand. One by one each soldier got into the driver's side of a truck and proceeded slowly down the mountainside making turns left and right at the orange cones. When it came to my turn, I too got into a truck and sat down next to a sergeant. I could feel the rumble of the truck beneath me as I peered nervously over the steering wheel at the steep downward slope stretched out before me.

Then the sergeant said firmly, "Navigate the cones!"

At this point I figured I should let him know I didn't know how to drive.

"But, I ...."

Before I could finish the sentence, the sergeant repeated what he had said previously, only louder this time.

"Navigate the CONES!"

He startled me! I tried to tell him again.

"But, sir, I don't ..." 

The sergeant slammed his clipboard against the truck's dashboard with an ear-piercing crack and screamed at me at the top of his lungs  . . .

“I SAID NAVAGATE THE CONES, AND DO IT NOW YOU NO GOOD WORTHLESS PIECE OF...."

I practically jumped out of my skin!! And, as a reflex action, I jammed the stick-shift forward and stomped on the floor peddles with everything I had.

We lurched forward and downward at breakneck speed! Forget about the cones! Forget about the turns! Straight forward and downward we went plowing a new path through all the switchbacks along the way without making a single turn! There were no seatbelts and we were thrown all over the cab including into each other. We both yelled, me in sheer terror, and he, cursing loudly as he fought wildly to gain control of the rampaging vehicle. Somehow we managed to get all the way to the bottom of the mountain without rolling over.

Finally we stopped in a great cloud of dust

For a few seconds we sat in stunned silence. The sergeant's face was white as a sheet. He then spoke softly to me for the first time. 

"Son, why didn't you tell me you didn't know how to drive?"

"Well sir", I said, "I'm from a small island in Alaska and we had boats, not cars, and I don't know why they made me a truck driver when I don't know how to drive. Why didn't they draft me into the navy?"

The sergeant had made a very serious mistake! 

Because the sergeant had refused to ask me important questions (and wouldn't allow me to give him important information) such as, "Do you know how to drive?", we plowed through and destroyed the truck driver's training course and nearly had a very serious accident. I've often wondered if he had learned the important lesson there and, in the future, started each training session with the question, "Do you know how to drive?"

Always ask queations!

Not only should you quickly ask questions from those around you, you should definitely put God at the top of your list. The Bible says, “You do not have because you do not ask.” (James 4:2 NKJV)

God will always answer when you ask!

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” (Matt. 7:7 NIV)

“But Peter said, "I don't have any silver or gold for you. But I'll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk.” (Acts 3:6 NLT)

Using the authority of Jesus’s Name

In the above passage, Peter spoke to a lame beggar who had just looked at him expecting to receive money. He told him he had something better to give him than silver or gold. He said, “In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk.” And then he took the beggar by the hand and helped him to his feet! He then began jumping, leaping and praised God! Totally healed!

Notice that Peter did two things. First, he took authority of the situation by using the Name of Jesus as he spoke a command “in the Name of Jesus get up and walk! Secondly, he took the beggar by the hand and helped him to his feet! Healing then instantly became a reality for the beggar.

“And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” (Col. 3:17 NIV)

Using God’s authority in what you say or do while speaking is like a policeman who is backed by governmental authority which empowers him to perform his official duties. You can do it too because you are backed by God’s Word!

“If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God.” (1 Peter 4:11 NIV). “In this world we are like Jesus.” (1 John 4:17 NIV)

Jesus said about believers

“In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” (Mark. 16:16-17 NIV)

“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." (Luke 6:38 NIV)

Nobody I have ever known believed the above promise more than my friend Mildred Wynette!

I first Met Mildred back in the 1970's when I was in charge of arranging live Gospel music for the Northwest Washington Fair. I needed to fill about 60 hours of time and so I was searching everywhere, and calling everyone I knew to find talented gospel singers to fill the many available spots. Someone told me about Mildred. They said she had just sung at their church, she did a great job, and they thought she would be a wonderful addition to the Fair’s singing roster. They said she was staying with a church lady for a few days, and gave me the phone number. I immediately phoned her to invite her to participate.

“Jesus is always so good to Mildred!”

Mildred was delighted for the invitation and spoke about herself in the third person, saying, "Praise be to Jesus! He is always so good to Mildred! And, Mildred always goes where Jesus provides for Mildred to go!"

On the day Mildred was scheduled to sing at the fair she showed up wearing flip flop shoes and a flowered moo-moo dress, and it fit! She was a large, beautiful black woman with a huge smile on her face.

She radiated joy as she sang and people reacted very positively to her!

Mildred believed with all her heart that God was not only able to supply her every need, but that he would do so without fail! In fact, it would be “a good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over", she declared!  She continuously expected and looked for doors of opportunity to open before her that she was supposed to walk through. When any opportunity was presented to her, she boldly moved forward and through them without hesitation or fear.

“Mildred always goes where Jesus provides for Mildred to go!”

When Mildred finished singing her stint at the Fair, a woman in the crowd approached her and asked her If she would be willing to sing a few songs at "her place". As always, Mildred immediately said, "Yes, Mildred always goes where Jesus provides for Mildred to go!" Mildred got the address of the place and wrote down the time she was expected to be there. Now she needed to arrange for her transportation to get there. She always expected God to provide that, too. While in our county she was staying with a church lady who regularly volunteered to host visiting ministers, evangelists, and singers who performed at her church. She also drove them around as a part of her generosity. Mildred had just sung at her church so asked her to drive her to this next "singing for Jesus opportunity". And, the church woman happily agreed!

But uh oh, the place it turned out to be!

Mildred had a portable PA System and tape deck that she packed around with her from place to place. She also had all her pre recorded sound tracks to sing along with ready to go. She got all this packed into the church lady's little car and off they went to find the address the lady she had met at the Fair had provided. It turned out to be Bill's Tavern!

Mildred, you can't go in there!

As soon as they arrived at the address and saw that it was a tavern, the church lady exclaimed, "Mildred, you can't go in there!" And Mildred said, "Why not? Mildred always goes where Jesus provides for Mildred to go!" And she got out of the car with her equipment and into the tavern she went. Right behind her marched the little church lady saying, "Mildred, Mildred, Mildred! This is the devils house!"

Let the gospel music fill the air!

As soon as Mildred walked through the door of the tavern she was greeted enthusiastically by the woman who had invited her. Soon Mildred got her system set up, plugged in her first tape and began to sing, "Jesus got ahold of my life and He won't let me go!" Her voice filled the room and so did her joy and love for her Jesus! She sang one song after the other, Old songs like Amazing Grace, How Great Thou Art, In the Garden, and The Old Rugged Cross.

God was there and at work

On one of the bar stools sat a prostitute carefully listening to every word. Soon tears started flowing down her cheeks as God touched her heart! She got up and walked over to Mildred and said, "Thank you dear lady for coming here tonight! Something has happened to me here and I want to change my life. I also want to give you something to help you do what you do for Jesus!" And the woman handed Mildred a huge wad of cash. Mildred reached out and took it, looked up and said with a great big smile, "Thank you Jesus!" When the church lady saw this she leaned over and said, "Mildred! You can't take that money!" And Mildred, standing there and counting it said, "Why not!" And the church lady said, "Because it's the devil's money!" And Mildred said, "The devil has had it long enough!" And, she was right!

"This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.” (2 John 5:14 NIV)

Approach God with confidence

We can approach God confidently when we ask Him for things we know are according to His will for us. He knows what we need and loves to provide for us. (Matt. 6:26 & Phil. 4:19)

I loved to say yes to my kids!

When my children were little they would often ask me for things, as normal kids do. Sometimes I would say yes and other times I would say no, depending on the circumstances. I loved to say yes whenever I could. Sometimes I would say no because they would ask for something I knew wasn't good for them, would hurt them, or they were too immature for at the time. When my son, Matthew, at age three, for instance, asked to use a butcher knife, and my son, John, at age five, asked for a Motorcycle - they were both told no and were greatly disappointed by my answer. My answer was always yes, however, whenever they asked me for things they were ready for and I wanted to give them. Both of them eventually matured enough to get what they had asked me for earlier. Matthew, now grown, and himself a father of three, can handle any knife expertly and safely; last October I saw him carve pumpkins for his family into amazing artistic creations. John, eventually grew up, and bought a beautiful motorcycle, and handled it safely.

And it's the same way with God

His answer is always yes when we ask with correct motives (James 4:3) and we ask for things that are according to His will for us. God always wants what is best for us and He even knows our heart in all matters (1 Sam. 16:7). The good news is we can always ask Him for wisdom about anything, and He doesn't mind us asking! (James 1:5).

“This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus.” 1 John 4:17 NIV)

Jesus said you will do greater things than He did!

“Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” (John 14:12-14 NIV)

Christ lives in you!

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Gal. 2:20 ESV)

"Whosoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit. (2 Cor. 6:17 NIV)

Let your light shine! 

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” (Matt. 5:14-16 ESV)