Favor Pt 2

Don’t Forget God’s Favor

Favor (pt2)

There are many reasons God saves you: to bring glory to himself, to appease his justice, to demonstrate his sovereignty. But one of the sweetest reasons God saved you is because he is fond of you. He likes having you around. He thinks you are the best thing to come down the pike in quite a while…. If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it. If he had a wallet, your photo would be in it. He sends you flowers every spring and a sunrise every morning. Whenever you want to talk, he'll listen. He can live anywhere in the universe, and he chose your heart. And the Christmas gift he sent you in Bethlehem? Face it, friend. He's crazy about you!

Proverbs 3: 1 My son, do not forget my teaching, But let your heart keep my commandments; 2 For length of days and years of life And peace they will add to you. 3 Do not let kindness and truth leave you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart. 4 So you will find favor and good repute In the sight of God and man.

1) Don’t forget, favor comes as a heart thing.

Proverbs 3: 1 My son, do not forget my teaching, But let your heart keep my commandments;

Favor is unmerited blessing that comes from a right heart.  You can not keep the command to not forget the teachings of God if your heart is not right.  How do we do this?

The higher people are in the favor of God, the more tender they are.

Martin Luther, Leadership, Vol. 8, no. 2.

a) The importance of remembering God’s word

Deuteronomy 6:7-12 (NASB95)
7 “You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. 8 “You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. 9 “You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. 10 “Then it shall come about when the Lord your God brings you into the land which He swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you, great and splendid cities which you did not build, 11 and houses full of all good things which you did not fill, and hewn cisterns which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant, and you eat and are satisfied, 12 then watch yourself, that you do not forget the Lord who brought you from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

·         The “mezzuzah” is a little wooden or metal case that contains parchment with scriptural readings. You’ll find it on the entryway of Jewish homes and synagogues. It serves as a constant spiritual reminder around the home and place of worship. The Jews began using these as a way of making concrete their response to the command to write the commands of God “on the door frames of your houses and on your gates” (Dt. 6:9).

·         Family traditions are effective spiritual reminders. Think of the customs you learned at home and have begun to pass on to your children. God has used family traditions to preserve His people, the Jews, through every conceivable circumstance.

·         Moses told the Jews to “tie” God’s commands “as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads” (Dt. 6:8). Some Orthodox Jews apply this verse so literally that they tie pouches containing the Torah to their forearms and foreheads. That practice served as a powerful reminder that God’s Word should dwell within their hearts and be the focus of their thoughts and deeds throughout the day.

b) A right heart is the son’s responsibility in obtaining favor-

Proverbs 3: 1 My son…

• Son’s are called to honor their parents

Exodus 20:12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you.”

Colossians 3:20  Children, be obedient to your parents in all things, for this is well-pleasing to the Lord.

Ephesians 6:1-3 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with promise: 3 “that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.”

• Honoring our parents means making a decision to treat them (or their memory) as valuable treasures, and granting them a position of respect in our lives. Since the command to honor our parents comes from God’s Word, let us seek its counsel on how we should do that.

• We honor our parents when we listen carefully to their counsel. (Prov. 1:8, Prov. 2:1, Prov. 3:1). We’re not suggesting we obey our parents no matter what, but simply that honoring them means listening carefully to what they have to say. This involves being courteous, listening patiently, and giving weight to their insights. Sometimes they will be wrong; many times, they will be right. And when their advice is sound, we should praise them for their wisdom.

• We honor our parents when we praise them. (Prov. 20:20). For many children who’ve been abused, this is difficult, because it involves face-to-face contact. We shouldn’t manufacture praise, but we should commit ourselves to actively looking for praiseworthy qualities in our parents. For some, it may be something as simple as, “Dad, I’ve always appreciated the way you’ve taken care of the cars,” while for others it may be, “Mom, you’re the most gentle person I’ve ever known.” Whatever the quality, no matter how small or how great, our parents deserve our praise.

• When honoring our parents, we must still maintain healthy boundaries. Honoring our parents may mean sacrificing our pride, hurt, anger, and resentment, but it never means sacrificing safety, financial stability, or our own families. In other words, honoring an alcoholic father may mean speaking positive, gentle words of care and forgiveness, but it doesn’t mean allowing him to drive your four-year-old around town. When valuing our parents, we must carefully consider the adverse effect our actions may have on others.

• When we honor our father and mother things go well for us.

Ephesians 6:1-3 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with promise: 3 “that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.”

 eu /yoo means to be well off, fare well, prosper

c) When we plant the word in good soil (honoring our parents + putting it into our hearts), it brings a heart change.

Proverbs 3: 1 … But let your heart keep my commandments;

• Good soil- A heart that is prepared for God.
• Bad soil- A heart that has not had the weeds and rocks taken care of.

Remember favor is unmerited blessing that comes from a right heart. When we bind the word of God onto a heart that is right, it produces blessing.

2) Don’t forget the benefits of God’s favor

Proverbs 3: 2 For length of days and years of life And peace they will add to you.

A race has a finish line. In archery, you have a target. In school you have test.  In keeping God’s word you have a blessing.

• Length of days – you’ll get more done
• Length of years – you’ll live longer
• Peace- will be added to you or quality of life.

3) Don’t forget the basics of obtaining favor.

Proverbs 3:3 Do not let kindness and truth leave you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart.

Solomon says there are two things we need to be aware not to leave us:

a)     Kindness

In Prov 3:3 is translated several different ways:

ESV says, “Steadfast love”

KJV says “Mercy”

NAB says “Kindness”

• So what is Solomon saying to us?

Hebrew uses several words for ‘mercy,’ of which the most frequent is ḥesed, which means loving-kindness, mercy, love, loyalty, and faithfulness. That is the word that is used here (hesed). So it’s more than just being kind- it’s a way that we demonstrate God. It’s not one thing but a combination of things. It’s not spiritual gifts, that’s a hook or a wooing, or demonstration of God’s power.

1 Corinthians 13:1-3  If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.

“They will know we are Christians by our bumper stickers, denominations, etc…?”

• Therefore we find favor when we show hesed to others.

Proverbs 14:22 Will they not go astray who devise evil? But kindness and truth will be to those who devise good.

b)     Truth

Prov 3:3 …Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart.

John 17:17  “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.

It’s all about Jesus stupid!

4) Don’t forget favor is vertical and horizontal.

Proverbs 3: 4 So you will find favor and good repute In the sight of God and man.

Luke 2:52  And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.

• Favor grows as we continue in His ways
• Favor grows with God- Daniel example – he did might exploits – Dan 11:32
• Favor grows with men- The Daniel example; he was promoted to rule over the kingdom.
• Favor with God and man- Has to be sought after, you have to find it.