Doors can be opened before you that once seemed impossibly slammed shut and locked. No, I'm not talking about something that belongs to the rich and famous.
What I am describing is the heritage of every believer, an essential element for completing the work God has for the Body of Christ to do in these last days. It's called walking in the favor of God. And quite frankly, it's the only way to live.
Let me give you an example of how God's favor supernaturally opened a door for me early in my ministry. For the first three years I was in the ministry, I worked for Kenneth Copeland. During that time, he talked a lot about what a blessing Kenneth Hagin had been to him. There were times when we were in the same room with Brother Hagin.
I would be standing right next to Brother Copeland as he talked to Brother Hagin, but I never met the man! I was close enough to touch him, but never once was I introduced! I wanted to nudge Brother Copeland and whisper, "Tell him I'm your servant. Please introduce me to this man." But, I didn't.
The Bible says, "A man's gift maketh room for him, and bringeth him before great men" (Prov. 18:16). So I waited until God opened that door for me, and He did - in a spectacular way!
A Memorable Introduction
The first time I actually met Brother Hagin was at the first Believers' Convention that Kenneth Copeland Ministries conducted. The speakers were Charles Capps, Kenneth E. Hagin, Kenneth and Gloria Copeland, and me. I was to speak just before Brother Hagin. When I started to preach, a strong anointing came over the entire congregation.
In fact, right in the middle of my sermon, a lady got up out of a wheelchair and began walking. The Anointing of God was so strong that she received her healing while I was preaching! Still, I was conscious of not wanting to run over into Brother Hagin's time, so when my time was up, although the anointing was still there, I stopped and said, "Well, my time is up. I'm going to turn the service over to Brother Hagin."
But Brother Hagin stood up and said, "I don't need any practice preaching. I know when the anointing is present. Keep preaching, boy." So, I preached a little more, but I was still concerned about taking his time. Finally, I shut it off again, and sat down. I said to Brother Hagin, "Well, Brother Hagin, my time is up. It's your time now."
After the service - now remember, this was the first time I'd ever met Brother Hagin - he walked up to me and said, "God told me there are some young men coming on the scene that will do more than we've been able to do in the past." And then he said, "You are one of those men, and I want you to preach in my camp meeting this year."
Well, that's not bad! The first time you meet Kenneth E. Hagin he asks you to preach at his convention! I call that favor. I didn't make that door open. Kenneth Copeland didn't make that door open. God opened it with His divine favor. And since that time, I've had the privilege of preaching with who I consider to be some of the greatest men and women of God in our generation. But I've never once had to make it happen.
The Favor of God
Those doors opened because I have always confessed and believed that I'm walking in the favor of God. Just what is favor? You want to walk in the favor of God, but how will you know if you are or not? And anyway, "I'm not a preacher. How is walking in God's favor going to open doors for me?" How is the favor of God going to benefit me in my everyday Christian life?"
Well, thank God, divine favor is not just for preachers! It's for every child of God who will claim it by faith. Why? Because favor is by God's grace. It's a free gift.
What is grace? The definition of grace that I like best is, "The ability of God coming on you to do what you can't do for yourself." When Paul says, "By grace ye are saved," (Eph. 2:5), he means that God's grace had to do something in us that we couldn't do for ourselves. I couldn't save myself. It took grace.
It took God's ability to do in me what I couldn't do in myself. Secondly, grace is often defined as unmerited favor. That brings us to the definition of favor. My dictionary defines favor as: "To support, to endorse, to assist, to make easier, to provide with advantages and to show special privileges."
So when you're walking in the favor of God, you can expect to be supported, endorsed, assisted, to have things made easier for you, to be provided with advantages and shown special privileges. Sounds like a great way to live, doesn't it?
Are you living that way in your everyday Christian life? If not, it may be that you haven't fully realized the wonderful benefits of your birthright as a believer because of what Jesus did for you at Calvary. Psalm 103:2 says, "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits." There are a number of benefits of walking in the favor of God:
- Increased Assets
One of them is financial abundance. Isaiah 60:5 says when God's favor is bestowed on you, "the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee." In Hebrew, the word translated forces means "wealth." In fact, the New International Version says, "To you the riches of the nations will come." Riches, hallelujah!
Favor produces wealth. According to the Bible, one of the ways the wealth that favor produces will be manifest is in the area of real estate (Deut. 8:7-9, 33:23) Do you need some real estate? Then lay hold of these promises. That's what I did recently, and God gave me special favor in the purchase of a large plot of land.
- Title Deed to a Piece of the Planet
You need God's favor when you're buying real estate, not only because God will see to it that you get a better price, but because when a Christian has the title deed to a piece of land, it enforces the devil's defeat in the spirit realm. Brother Oral Roberts taught me that years ago.
One day he asked me, "Jerry, do you know why it seems that every demon in hell fights churches when they try to buy property?" "No," I said. But I was anxious to hear what Oral Roberts had to say about it. He said, "It's because the devil thinks he owns the planet. But when a member of the Body of Christ purchases real estate, he gets the title deed to a piece of the planet. And that reminds the devil that "The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof" (Ps. 24:1). It enforces the fact in the spirit realm that the devil doesn't own the planet like he thinks he does!"
- The Least Likely to Succeed
Not only does walking in the favor of God bring wealth and increased assets, but God's favor will bring you promotion and recognition even in situations where you seem the least likely to receive them.
When Joseph was thrown into prison after being falsely accused by Potiphar's wife, it must have seemed as if he would have been the last man in that prison who would receive special notice from the warden.
"But the Lord was with Joseph, and showed him mercy, and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners that were in the prison; and whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it. The keeper of the prison looked not to anything that was under his hand, because the Lord was with him, and that which he did, the Lord made it to prosper."
(Gen. 39:21-23)
Talk about promotion! From Hebrew slave accused of making improper advances toward the wife of a prominent Egyptian to Assistant Warden - all because Joseph walked in the favor of God.
Begin to claim it by faith. When you get up every morning, anticipate the favor of God going before you. Anticipate the favor of God surrounding you. Expect God to give you favor with men, even with the ungodly. If you do, God will open doors for you that neither man nor the devil can shut.
by Kenneth and Gloria Copeland
Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers
Dr. Jerry Savelle was an average, blue-collar man who was struggling and needed God's help. While he considered himself a "nobody," when he became a believer God told him not to worry about it because He was a master at making champions out of nobodies. God has since taken Dr. Savelle from being a constant quitter to a man who knows how to stand on the Word of God until victory is experienced. Because of the life-changing combination of God's faithfulness and Dr. Savelle's "no quit" attitude, his life is totally different than it was thirty-eight years ago.
