February 22, 2010 – Favor, Part 2

There is favor that God shows to us that we don’t deserve – His irrational love and His unmerited grace that He exhibited to us by coming here as a servant to die on a cross that we could have a relationship with Him.  But there is also favor that we can grow in.  Luke 2 says that Jesus grew in favor both with God and with man.  So, the next few weeks we are going to learn how to grow in favor with God.

Duet. 6:24 and 10:12-13 talk about fearing God’s word and how that pleases Him.  The first way to grow in favor with God is to obey His word, to have a fear of it – which means to reverence it as sacred and holy.  The fear of the Lord, the reverence of Him and the gift that He has given us is our motivation for obeying His commands.

A great example of this is found in I Sam. 15.  In it, it describes and interaction between the prophet of God Samuel and Israel’s first king Saul.  Saul was given strict instruction through Samuel to completely destroy the Amalekites but Saul compromised God’s word and spared the king and the best of the sheep and oxen.  The next day Samuel said to Saul why he did not obey the command of the Lord and his response is found in vs. 20 and Samuel’s response that obedience is greater than sacrifice in vs. 22.

We can be doing good things for God obeying His word but still rationalize and compromise his commands.  In Saul’s words he was sacrificing to God his compromise.  Sacrifice is good – giving up something to God but Samuel’s correction came that obedience to God’s word is greater than us sacrificing things to God.  Compromise is just below what is right – it is still good but if we have to rationalize our actions it is not obedience.  Saul said he compromised because he feared the people and obeyed their voice but, complete obedience is better than sacrifice

Saul and many times in the OT Israel thought that by going around and doing what they only felt they had to do, the law, that they would gain favor with God.  That by doing “good,” by sacrificing, they were holy and righteous.  Sacrifice is ok, giving something to God is fine but it doesn’t end there.  It is not enough to just sacrifice, because after Jesus, what sacrifice can we make to please God – the ultimate sacrifice has already been made.  There is nothing that we can do which can equal or surpass that sacrifice.  Therefore, it is better to obey. Indeed, obedience is better than sacrifice.

If we want God’s favor radical obedience free from compromise and rationalization free from self-righteousness is the standard.  God’s favor comes into our lives when we fear the Lord and live in obedience to His word.  Protection and blessing, prosperity and growing in favor comes when we walk in complete obedience of Him greater than just sacrifice.

Lets begin to fear God’s word, to obey beyond what we think we are sacrificing to Him and we will grow in favor with God.

Jonathan

Tags: Jonathan Spuler

No comments yet.

Leave a comment