Bill Winston - The Law of Favor
Favor determines the limits of everyone's destiny. Favor is like faith. It demands that God be your source and your only source. You can wear favor. People can see it on you. One encounter with favor was worth a lifetime of labor. With favor, you're going to get confidence. With favor, all you got to do is know God. Now, I want you to get that saints because that is one of the biggest difference between the world and the church. I said God will open up your door. That door can be locked and sealed for years, but when you stand in front of it, it will open up. The favor of God is so powerful until no harassment, no weapon, no nothing, because God has endorsed you. You're going into a place now where God's about to raise you up, but I don't want you to compromise going up the mountain. I don't want you to bow to Baal. I want you to maintain your stand and the way you're going to do that is through favor.
We're talking about what this idea of favor is. How does favor operate and the importance of favor in this hour. Now, when you're talking about favor, again, we want to have this mindset of the kingdom and the kingdom mindset is not a religious mindset. Religion really can't deliver anybody. It comes from the Latin root, religion, which means back to bondage. When we're talking about the church, we're talking about life. The life that I'm talking about is Zoe, it's a God kind of life. The life and the nature that God imparts to us when we get born again.
So, when you and I get born again, we now have taken on a whole new status. We are exempt from some things that would come, that would hurt you, harass you, molest you, we are exempt from that. They go over in Psalm 91, He says, "A thousand shall fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not come nigh you, only with your eyes shall you behold to see the reward of the wicked because you made the Lord which is your refuge. Even the most high, your habitation, there shall no evil, there's another supremative". No evil. That means not a little bit of evil will befall you, "neither any plague come nigh your dwelling, for He shall give His angels charge over you and they will keep you and all your ways".
So, right now, you've got angels assigned. As we look at this, He's talking about favor and I said you have to have a kingdom mindset on this because when you're talking about any of the promises or blessings of God, those things are activated by faith, it takes faith to activate it. Faith comes how? By hearing and hearing. By the Word of God. I need to hear the word of God on it so I'll have faith to receive it into my life. Say "Amen" to that. Today, I'm going to give you this word on favor because it's a part of the release that you have and this one teaching is going to change your life. This one teaching is going to be the thing that is going to enable you to be able to be sure that you make it to your destiny. Say "Amen" to that.
Favor means to endorse. I'm endorsing someone or maybe somebody's called me, people call me, "Hey would you endorsey book"? so forth. What do they want? They want somebody who perhaps has done something or somebody that's established themselves or brand or something to endorse them, to enable them hopefully to sell more copies, and people to have more credibility. Favor means to endorse. It also means to support. To be able to support someone or there be support to one in terms of a tangible way or support someone, encourage someone, or whatever. To support. It means also to assist. The Bible talks about in Psalm 103, "Bless the Lord, ye his angels", verse 20, "that excel in strength, that do His commandments, harkening until the voice of the Lord", that these angels are coming. The Bible said Hebrew 114, to assist us. They're assigned to assist us.
In Exodus, chapter 23, verse 20, He told Moses. Moses is about to go into the promise and "behold I send an angel before you to keep you in the way, to bring you into the place where I have prepared. Beware of Him now, obey His voice, don't provoke Him, because you will not pardon your transgressions because my Name is in it, but if you shall indeed obey His voice and do all I speak, then I'll be to an enemy to enemies, I'll be an adversary to the adversaries. For my angels shall go before you and bring you into the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites and Jebusites and I'll cut them off".
So, you need some assistance where you're going. You need some assistance and could be someone who is a person, human assistant or divine assistant and another thing that favor is, favor also makes things easier. That's that anointing part. Of course you know the anointing takes the struggle out of everything. It gives you sweat-less victories, so it makes things easier. Favor also means to provide with advantages. Glory to God. So, God's going to provide you with advantages.
Can you imagine you being in a class or something like that. You're preparing for the course and you're preparing for the final exam and then the teacher said you know, "I really like you. I'm going to give you where some of these exam questions are going to come from so you can study that and you can have a heads up on the rest of the class". You said and the rest of the class said "that's not fair". Yes it is fair. It's called favor. Favor ain't fair. So, God can give you insight as to what's going to happen so forth and so on, put you ahead of the game. Well that's a part of a favor. Also, it means to show special privileges. It shows special privileges and to be able to showcase someone or preview someone or whatever have you, pick you out and so forth. Or to feature someone.
So, this idea of favor, again, that comes from the dictionary. These are ideas that you can get into your mind so you can start picturing what favor is. Now, favor is a part of your heritage when you get born again. Look at Psalm Chapter 5, all the way back, "As you are born again, you're born into favor. You're born into the house of God and favor is a part of what you've been born into". Look what it says here. Starting verse 11, "But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice, let them ever shout for joy because thou defends them, let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee. For the Lord will bless the righteous with favor, will thou come past him as with a shield".
So, God's going to surround you with favor. He's gonna surround- everywhere you go, you'll be having assistance. You'll be featured. C'mon now. You came in late and got a front seat or whatever have you. The favor of God. Are you with me here? Now, favor is something's that granted. It's not something for payment. You can't work for it, but it's something that is granted. If you look in the scriptures, a lot of times, when you're talking about favor, you're talking about something that God has given to someone that causes them to be successful where they normally would fail or causes the door to open which normally that door is locked, but favor will cause that to happen in your life. Say "Amen" to that.
So, it starts when you're born again. One, you've got to be taught about favor and you use your faith to activate favor in your life, and when that favor comes, you will know it because that favor will distinguish you. Now, as we look at this also, when you talk about favor, where do we see it start? Now, look all the way back here. In the life of Noah, look back here in Genesis, chapter six please, verse five. He says this, "And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the Earth and that every imagination of the thought of his heart was only evil continually and it repented the Lord that He had made man on the Earth and it grieved him at His heart". And the Lord said, "I will destroy man whom I've created on the face of the Earth, both man and beast, and the creeping thing and the fowls of the air, for it repented me that I've made them". Noah found what? Grace.
Now, what does grace mean? Favor in the eyes of the Lord. As you know, here is God and basically, what he did with Noah, is he picked Noah out. Praise God for whatever reason, now he took Noah and picked Noah out and others perished, but Noah and his family were spared. So, favor will cause you to be spared when other people fall by the way side. This is favor. Then, as you go on down, anybody that you see God's success in the Bible, you will track their lives and see that they had favor attached to their whatever success was in their lives.
Now, the reason why I'm telling you this is because your understanding favor and relying on, and expecting God's favor in your life is key for you to be glory to God. Favor is the way to the top. Favor is the way to the top. Now, let's just look at this because we want to look at the reality of this thing. How many you know the devil does not like you? How many thinks he likes them. Okay. Now, the enemy opposes you so when you are sent into the Earth and you and I as the righteous, are deliberately planted among the wicked, because we have the light.
Okay. In that, the wicked then, many have been controlled by the enemy. Their job is to keep you down. To frustrate you, to harass you, so forth and so on, but favor turns all of that. Favor is the way to the top. Look what he said over here. Over in Luke chapter four and then to verse five, He said "The devil taketh him", Jesus, "up to a high mountain and showed him all the kingdom of the world in a moment of time, and the devil said to him 'All this power will I give you and the glory of them for that is delivered to him and to whomsoever I will give it if thou will worship me, all shall be thine', and Jesus said to him, 'get thee behind me, Satan'".
Now, let's stop right there. Here's what I'm telling you. It's that the idea is to occupy the mountain. The idea is to get and occupy or control that sphere of influence. Say "Amen" to that and the thing of it is is on the way up the mountain, you cannot compromise because whatever you compromise going up the mountain will control you at the top of the mountain. So, now with favor, you're going to get confidence. Put it out there, put out there, Proverbs 24 and verse five, "A wise man is strong ye a man of knowledge increases strength". What are we giving you today? Knowledge. Look at verse ten please, out of that, "if thou faint in the day of adversity", c'mon, "thy strength is small". Now, so what did Daniel do? They said "Daniel, anybody caught praying to any other God during this 30 day period of time other than this statue of whatever or the king, will be thrown in the den of lions".
Somebody tell me what did Daniel do? He went up in his room, didn't try to hide, opened the windows, and they arrested him. They put him in the lion's den, but guess what? Favor. See. The favor of God is so powerful and till no harassment, no weapon, no nothing... Lord have mercy because God has endorsed you. Then, favor and God'll showed you because you're going into a place now where God's about to raise you up, but I don't want you to compromise going up the mountain. I don't want you to bow to Baal. I want you to maintain your stance and the way you're going to do that is through favor, but the way you get the favor to function is by faith and the way you get faith is by hearing.
So, as I give you this today, one lesson is going to turn you around. One lesson where you would have been weak or faint in that day of adversity, now you're going to stand strong. You're going to say "Naw, naw, naw, I've got favor in my life". Say "Amen" to that. It may not look good right now, but I'm going to keep my joy. When his favor comes on you, you don't have to tell a man "thank you". I better come over here. When his favor comes on you, you don't owe a "thank you" to a man. Come on up here. Let's go over this again. "Joseph was brought down to Egypt, and Potiphar, and officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hands of the Ishmaelites, which had brought him down", what happened, Joseph was sold by his brothers, as you know, to a traveling band of Ishmaelites, some business people.
The Lord was with Joseph and he was a prosperous man. He was in the house of his master, the Egyptian. His master saw the Lord was with him and that the Lord made all that he did to prosper in his hand. Joseph found what? Grace. What's a name for it? Favor. In his sight, and he served him and he made him what? Overseer over his house, c'mon, all that he had. He put into his hand. Favor, the way to the top. The way to the top. Say "Amen" to that. I've had people come up here sometimes said you know, they've been passing over me for this promotion and so forth and so on and what they want. "what do you want"?. "Well, I need them to cut me a little slack", no you don't. You need favor 'cause with favor, they don't have to cut you no slack. C'mon, God's going to cut you some slack.
See if God says promote you. There's not a single person that can stop your promotion. There's not a government. There's not a demon. "It came to pass from that time, the time that he had made him over see his house, nor that he had, that the Lord blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake and the blessing of the Lord was upon all that he had in the house and in the field. He left all that he had in Joseph's hand and he knew not all he had saved the bread which he did eat. Joseph was a goodly person" and what? "Well favored". Say "I'm well favored". Keep going. "It came to pass after these things that his master's wife cast her eyes upon Joseph, and she said lie with me". Uh-oh.
So, okay. "He refused and said to his master's wife, 'Behold my master what is not what is with me in the house and he committed all that he had into my hand. There is none greater in the house than I neither had he kept back anything from me but thee because thou are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God'? And it came to pass as she expected Joseph day by day that he hearkened not to her to lie by her or to be with her".
C'mon. "It came to pass about this time that Joseph went into the house to do his business and there was none of the men in the house, there were there. She caught him by his garment saying, 'lie with me'. This woman is desperate for him. He left his garment in her hand and fled and got him out". Lord have mercy. "It came to pass when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and was fled forth, that she called into the man of the house and speaketh to them, 'See he had brought in a Hebrew unto us to mock us and he came in to lie with me', and I cried with a loud voice. It came to pass when he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried that he left his garment with me and fled and got him out". Now, you can wear favor. People can see it on you.
Divine favor works with a good attitude, that if you think you gonna come with a bad attitude and get favor to work, you better watch it, because a bad attitude could indicate your faith is not working; because faith always sees the future. For as much as God has shown you all this, all this, there is none so discreet and wise as you are. Thou shall be over my house and according to thy Word shall all my people be ruled. In other words, you gonna tell Potiphar what to do. Only in the throne will I be greater than you. And Pharaoh said to Joseph, "See, I have thee over all the land of Egypt", Keep going, "and Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand and put upon Joseph's hand and arrayed him in vestures and fine linen and put a gold chain about his neck".
Joseph had one hour with the king and he was running the whole country. No, no, you didn't get that. Favor opens up opportunity. And in one hour with the king, Joseph got favor with the king and in one hour, he took over running the country. If you have favor, you can not fail. If you have favor, you can not fail. Now, this is important, folk, because God is gonna send you in among the wicked. He's gonna send you in among people that are not saved. He's gonna send you into places that are tight places, but what you gotta do is maintain your integrity of the Word of God. You know that the God who sent you there is gonna raise you up.
So as I went here, I began to look at all the people that had favor, and in the Old Testament, they had favor. Daniel had favor. In fact, Daniel had such favor, glory to God, until every thing contrary to his lifting was abandoned. Every thing contrary to him rising was put aside. I said every thing. It didn't make any difference what it was. Joseph had favor, it turned him from a slave into an heir. They put him in prison, but he became the commander. I'm telling you, according to Psalm, put it up there please, Psalm chapter 30 and verse 5, look what it says here. "For his anger endureth but for a moment and his favor is life. Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning". Glory to God. This favor is key for you to arrive at your destiny and people have not put value on favor because they didn't know what favor really was.
Now look what Paul said about favor, look at First Corinthians, chapter 15 and verse 10: "But by the grace of God", What does grace mean? Come on. "I am what I am". Notice he's saying without that, I'm nothing. I couldn't have been raised up like I was raised up if I didn't have the grace of God on my life. Say amen to that. How about David? David knew about favor. Let's go to Psalm chapter 67, verses one and two please. "God be merciful unto us and bless us and cause his face to shine upon us. Selah". And if you look at that same scripture, is over in Numbers chapter six. What we call the Benediction. God cause his faith, his grace to shine upon us. Look at also in verse two, of Psalm 67 and verse two, he says that "Thy way may be known upon Earth, thy saving health among all nations".
Go to Psalm 119 please and verse 58. "I entreated thy favor with my whole heart. Be merciful unto me according to thy word". In other words, I ask for favor. Go to Hebrews please. In Hebrews, chapter four and verse 16. Let's try that. "Let us therefor come boldly to the throne of grace, that we might obtain mercy and find grace in time of need". So you can pray for grace to be on your life. Now, not only that, how about Esther? Let's go to Esther please. In Esther, chapter five. Now as you know, there was a law out to kill all the Jews. But Mordecai, Esther's uncle, said "Esther, go in and plead our case for the king". Esther said, "I can't go in there, because if I do without being summoned, I could get my head cut off". He said, "Esther, if you don't go, God will deliver us some other way".
The Bible says Esther fasted for three days and this is what happened: "It came to pass on the third that Esther put on her royal apparel, and stood in the inner court of the king's house, over against the king's house, and the king sat upon the royal throne in the royal house against the gate of the house and it was so when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, that she obtained favor in his sight and the king held out unto Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand. So Esther drew near and touched the top of the scepter. Then said the king unto her, 'What will thou Queen Esther? And what is thy request? It shall be given the to the half of thy kingdom'".
So notice what happened with Esther. Esther went in here unannounced, but because of the favor of God, she got half the kingdom and petitions granted. I said petitions granted. So when you're talking about favor, you're talking about having laws changed to your benefit. So favor will give you supernatural increase, restoration, increased assets, great victories, recognition, prominence, preferential treatment, petitions granted, palaces and rules and laws and regulations changed, and battles won which you don't have to fight. Let's look at that. Let's look at Psalm chapter 43 of Psalm 44 please.
In Psalm 44 and let's start at verse one. "We have heard with our ears Oh God, our fathers have told us what work thou didest in their days and in the times of old". Keep going. "How thou didest drive out the heathen with thy hand and planteth them. How thou didest afflict the people and cast them out. For they got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arms save them. But thy right hand and the arm and the light of thy countenance because though hadest a favor unto them".
So the favor was on Esther, and not only was it on Esther, the laws got eventually changed. I believe there's some laws that need changing here today. This is Luke chapter one starting at verse 26. "And in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God into the city of Galilee named Nazareth to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary; and the angel came unto her and said 'Hail, thou art highly favored". Say, "I'm highly favored of the Lord. The Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women". So here's Mary and she needed favor to be on her for her to be able to fulfill the destiny that God had for her. How about the children of Israel coming out of Egypt? Look at Exodus chapter three, please.
Exodus chapter three and look, I'll start reading here at verse, let's just say verse 21. All right? "And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians and it shall come to pass that when you go, ye will not go empty". Now let me give you what I wrote down. One encounter with favor was worth a lifetime of labor. They paid in one day for Israel's 430 years of slavery. One day. One day. One act of favor restored everything that they had lost. Say, "Favor". Say, "Favor is on my life". Now let me give you this one. How about Jesus? You know if Jesus had to have favor, you have to have favor too. "Well Pastor I don't know about that". All right. First of all, let's see if Jesus had favor. Let's go to Luke chapter two please, verse 52. "And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man".
Wow. Look at Hebrews chapter two and look at verse 17. "Wherefore in all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren that he might be merciful and faithful high priest in all things pertaining to God to make reconciliation for the sins of the people". So notice Jesus was made like unto his what? Brethren. How many of you know Jesus was both human and divine? Notice he didn't operate like God. He had to operate like a man. So notice here I'm saying that he was made like unto his brethren. Let's go to another verse. First Peter please. In chapter two, and look at chapter two and verse 21. "For even here unto were ye called because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that you should follow his steps".
So we're gonna follow the steps of Jesus. Say amen to that. Let's go to John chapter 14 please. So we are duplicating Jesus' ministry. Glory to God. John 14 and look at verse 12. "Verily, verily I say unto you, he that believeth on me, the works that I do, shall he do also. And greater works than me shall he do". Why? "Because I'm going to my father". So God wants you to duplicate Jesus and his footsteps and do and understand the things that he did and that he did them for your example. So Jesus had favor. Do you have to have favor? Why? Because favor is the way to the top. Glory to God. Favor is the way to the top.
All right, so let's just wrap this up now. So then what does that mean to you and me? How does this play out? One, is that one, favor comes directly from God. So I don't have to beg somebody to do something for me. I don't have to bow down or compromise to get a door open. Only thing I need to know is that favor is on my life. So favor determines the limits of everyone's destiny. It's not gonna happen without some favor. God gives you favor. He gives divine favor. Now, Jesus had so much favor, he had to tell people to keep quiet. That'll register in just a minute. He had so much favor he had to tell folk, "Don't tell them anything". Why? Because favor will give you prominence. It will distinguish you. And favor was raising him up so fast, until he's trying to keep the crowds down.
So what am I saying? Favor. Favor took Paul from a murderer to a soul winner. And wherever you go and you're down, favor will bring you out. So what I've done is I've put together here a confession on favor, and this confession is for you today. Now before we confess this, I want you to go to something with me, 'cause what I'm gonna do with this that you're gonna say today is you're gonna bless yourself. Let's go to Isaiah, in chapter 65, please. He says in verse 16, "That he who blesseth himself in the earth, shall bless himself in the God of truth". I'll stop right there. Let's take that same verse in the Amplified translation please. "So it shall be that he who invokes a blessing on himself in the land shall do so by saying".
So we're gonna bless ourselves, but we're gonna do so by? Saying. So we're gonna have to say something. Now go over to Deuteronomy chapter 30 please, and in Deuteronomy chapter 30, he speaks a blessing. He says in Deuteronomy 30, and look at verse, Glory to God, 19, and he says, "I call heaven and earth to record this day against you that I've set before you life and death", Keep going, "Blessing and cursing. Therefore choose life that both you and your seed shall live".
More than one or two people have testimonies, I've got a book at home with them right now, of where their children were failing in school and they took this idea of favor, which is upon them, and for their household, began to speak blessing over their children. And their child, Lord have mercy, their children went from one level of grades failing, to another level of grades, the A's and B's. Now, I had this happen when we were very small and still... I don't know where we were then, I think we were up on Madison street. I had the same thing happen. What you gotta do is you gotta believe this. So now, we gonna bless ourselves by saying, because we know Proverbs chapter 18:21 says this, "Death and life", Come on, "Are in the power of the tongue. And they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof".
So you and your seed are gonna live by speaking something and we gonna speak favor over their lives. You ready? Now we gonna declare this, now get ready, 'cause when you say it, it's gonna start happening. The moment you declare this, it's gonna start happening for you. Then I'd like you to make sure you say it now continuously everyday. Because I get up and confess the favor of God surrounds me today like a shield. Say amen to that. And I expect doors to open. I expect folks to call me on the phone and I get a blessing. I expect, come on now. You ready? Say this with me:
In the name of Jesus I decree: from this moment forward I see myself the way God sees me. I am highly favored of the Lord. I am crowned with glory and honor. I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. I am reigning as a king in life through the one man Jesus Christ the Messiah. Now in Jesus' name I declare by faith that I walk in divine favor. I have preferential treatment. Supernatural increase. I have restoration. I have prominence. I have petitions granted. Laws changed. Policies and rules changed. And battles won which I do not have to fight. Why? All because of favor. The blessing and favor of God is on my life. In Jesus' name. Every morning when I arise I will speak and expect divine favor to go before me and surround me as with a shield with good will and pleasures forevermore. Doors are now open for me that men have said are impossible to open. No obstacle can stop me. No hindrances can delay me. In Jesus' name. I am honored by my father as I receive genuine favor that comes directly from God. I am special to him. I am the object of his affection. I am the apple of his eye. I am blessed and highly favored of the Lord, in Jesus' name. Amen.
Impossible situations are about to come to fruitfulness in your life. Where people have signed you off, God's gonna step you up because it's time for favor in your life.