To learn more about the details for activities happening during the 10 days, please read here. Each day we will be sharing a devotional here on the KCI Blog, which you can follow via RSS here or by signing up to the emails here. Read Day 7's devotional below.
DAY 7, THE FAVOUR OF GOD
Today's reading is Deuteronomy 11:13-15.
“So if you faithfully obey the commands I am giving you today – to love the Lord your God and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul – 14 then I will send rain on your land in its season, both autumn and spring rains, so that you may gather in your corn, new wine and olive oil. 15 I will provide grass in the fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied.”
These verses speak to us about how a loving and faithful relationship with the Lord brings the favour of God to our lives. Faithfulness brings forth favour and fruitfulness. The ultimate reward in life comes from the ultimate relationship in life.
It is amazing to see how favour is not bestowed on us because of what we do. It can not be earned and it does not come because we ‘made it in life’. Favour is simply the fruit of a mutually loving relationship where we love the Lord and serve Him with all of our heart and with all that we are, putting Him first in every area of our lives.
In Luke 1:28, an angel appears to Mary and says,‘Greetings, you who are highly favoured! The Lord is with you.’ You too are highly favoured because God Almighty is with you! The favour of God in our lives is directly correlated to our proximity to Jesus.
You can be 100% sure that we will experience the rain of heaven if we will seek the Lord with everything that we are. The Lord is faithful to send his rain.
Matthew 5:6, assures us that “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”
James 4:8 encourages us, “Come near to God and he will come near to you.”
And in Revelation 21:6 (ESV) Jesus proclaims, ““It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life.”
When you draw near to God you will experience His immeasurable favour and He will bless you in every area of your life - intellectually, physically, spiritually and socially. Jesus was one with His Heavenly Father and in Luke 2:52 we read that, “Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.”
Jesus wants to meet our needs. When Jesus started His earthly ministry He quoted from the book of Isaiah:
Isaiah 61:1-2, “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captive and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.”
Jesus wants each one of us to experience this favour for ourselves so that we can go to everyone that we know and passionately proclaim that this is “the year of the Lord’s favour.”
When the rain and favour of God falls on your life you will be able to “gather in your corn, new wine and olive oil.” You will experience material provision, victory through the blood of Jesus and the anointing of the Holy Spirit.
You will eat and be satisfied as Jesus declared, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10).
Our closeness to God and favour from God is also what makes us fruitful and effective in sharing the favour of the Lord with other people.
Jesus explains in John 15. In verse 4 and 5 He says, “Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. ‘I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
Fruit is a defining characteristic of a disciple of Jesus. John 15:7-8 continues, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”
When you experience God’s amazing love, the only natural response is to want to share it with others giving everything so they too can experience the favour of God. John 15:12-13, “love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
As a church I believe God is showing us His favour because He is appointing us so that we “might go might go and bear fruit – fruit that will last” (John 15:16). This means not just seeing ‘decisions for Christ’ but making disciples that make disciples for Christ.
I believe this is a key time for us as a church and as we draw near to God, He will make us fruitful as a people and we will see the church grow and multiply.
Also, as we draw close to God as a people, I believe we will see all the practical resource challenges of the church met. This year we have been seeing a new level of favour released.
One of the interesting things to note is that as we are drawing close to God and encouraging people through discipleship we are increasingly seeing God’s provision released to achieve all that we believe God is calling us to. In the past year we have seen a 10% increase in the number of regular monthly givers in the church.
2 Corinthians 9:6 says, “whoever sows generously will also reap generously.” Generous giving will “enlarge the harvest.” If we want to see a fruitful season of ministry, we need to sow accordingly. This brings the favour of the Lord.
If you want to join this group of regular monthly givers then please do (it’s as simple as praying, setting up a monthly standing order and signing a gift aid form from the church office if you are a taxpayer)!
A generous church will have all the resources it needs. In 2 Corinthians 9:7-8 it says, “Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.”
Let’s all work together to each month give our best to the Lord and see how God will, “throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing” that we will not have enough room for it!
PRAYER
Lord, thank you that you send your rain on every area of my life. Thank you that you bless me and make me fruitful. Thank you that you are showing your favour to us as a church. Help us to share your favour in the territory where you have planted us. Help us to bear much fruit. Help us to bear fruit that will last.
DECLARATION
When I serve the Lord with all of my heart and with all that I am, I experience the rain of heaven.