Author: Pastor Rufus Ajiboye

«..being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ» (Philippians, 1:6).

Why was Paul so confident that the Lord will complete the good work He has begun in the lives of believers? If you pay careful attention to the context, you will see that his confidence is based upon the attitude of these people towards the work of God.

In the beginning of his letter Paul said that these people had been preaching the Gospel from the very beginning of their walk with God.

The point is that favour can be sown not just in relation to other people, but also in relation to God and His work on the earth. Your attitude towards the work of the Kingdom will determine the level of Kingdom blessings operating in your life.

«You will rise and have mercy of Zion; for the time to favour her, yes, the set time, has come. For Your servants take pleasure in her stones, and show favour to her dust So the nations shall fear the name of the Lord, and all the kings of the earth Your glory» (Psalm 102:13-15).

The law of sowing and reaping governs how favour works. It is necessary to look at favour as a seed that must be sown.
Jesus said that, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” (Matthew 5:7).

In other words, Jesus is saying, “Blessed are those who have sown favour or mercy, because they will reap favour or mercy”.

Generally, the level of favour operating in your life depends on the level of the seed of favour you sow into other people’s lives. This means that I cannot expect the harvest of favour in my life until I have not sown mercy into other people’s lives.

Favour in a person’s life is never a coincidence; it is the results of understanding God’s ways. There are certain godly secrets that we all must comprehend and apply in order to be able to set free the power God’s favour in our lives.

“Good understanding gains favour, but the way of the unfaithful is hard”

“Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.” (2 Tim.2:19)

Practical righteousness is the solid foundation on which to build your Christian life and ensure that you receive God’s favour. If as a Christian you still continue to live in sin and make it part of your lifestyle, then you are eliminating yourself from God’s favour.

Through faith in Jesus Christ we become clothed in his righteousness and nature. In the our spirit we have the perfect character of the Almighty God even though we do not become perfect in our actions immediately after becoming followers of Jesus. We reflect God’s life, character and thoughts more and more in our lives to that extent to which we submit ourselves to the new nature in our spirit. Our daily submission to God’s nature and character in us is what I call practical righteousness that qualifies us for God’s favour.

«For You, O Lord, will bless the RIGHTEOUS; with favour You will surround him (the RIGHTEOUS) as with a shield» (Psalm 5: 12).

From the above Scriptures, we can establish that it is righteousness that qualifies a person for receiving blessings and God’s favour.

The foundation for favour is righteousness.

«And the Lord had given the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they granted them what they requested» (Exodus, 12: 36)

When God gave favour to the children to Israel, in one day they took away from the Egyptians an enormous amount of silver and gold. For 400 years the Israelites had worked in Egypt as slaves; they were mocked and oppressed. However, in one moment the favour of God restored to them everything the Egyptians were holding back from them. In a blink of an eye they were made rich.

«We have heard with our ears, O God, our father have told us, the deeds You did in their days, in days of old: You drove out the nations with Your hand, but them You planted; You afflicted the peoples, and cast them out. For they did not gain possession of the land by their own sword, nor did their own arm save them; but it was Your right hand, Your arm, and the light of Your countenance, because You favoured them» (Psalm 44:1-3).

It is so wonderful that God has given us a full manual for wholesome living. Bible is full of principles and instructions for a happy life on the earth, and – the most important – it gives us a guarantee of eternal life. Every wise person not only reads the Bible, but also uses its principles in his daily walk.