The favor of God is His grace, and no one can ever say enough about God’s wonderful grace. Jesus brought it for everyone, and what a miracle it is. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ (John 1:17). Jesus said, And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free (John 8:32). In the truth is all the favor of God you need to wash away your sins and to make you a brand-new person.

Jesus was full of grace and truth. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth (John 1:14). When you have God’s truth and grace, all of Heaven is available to you; and it won’t be hard for you to please God. Do you have the favor of God?

We are really blessed to have the grace of God available to us. It brings grace-love, grace-faith, grace-hope, grace-patience and the answers to our prayers. Grace will keep you from losing your temper because you’ll be looking up instead of blowing up. Grace brought the whole armor of God; and when you put it on, it will make you a strong child of the Kingdom. All of God’s promises come to us through His grace; so you can only use the promises through grace, and you must be faithful to meet the conditions of each one. If you don’t do that, the promises will become just print on paper. Grace puts the power of Almighty God in every promise.

Only through grace can you hear what the Spirit is saying. Seven different times in the first part of the book of Revelation, Jesus said, He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith (Revelation 2:7,11,17,29; 3:6,13,22). While on earth, Jesus was always working to get people to allow the Spirit that was in His voice to open their ears. But many wouldn’t listen; and Jesus said of them, In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them (Matthew 13:14,15).

It’s so sad that the people had ears to hear, yet they didn’t want to hear; they had eyes to see, yet they didn’t want to see. Don’t be like that, and you won’t if you’ll keep grace on your mind. Then you will walk in grace, fast in grace and pray in grace. Heaven and the New Jerusalem will be real to you, and so will everything that you’ll find in them.

Adam and Eve Lost God’s Favor

God created Adam and Eve in His divine favor, and He never intended for them to have anything less than that. The Lord would come down in the cool of the day to walk and talk with them. They beheld His glory and looked into His eyes and saw the love and grace He had for them. The Lord allowed them to look right into His face, and no man or woman has ever been able to do that since Adam and Eve fell into sin. There was nothing but divine blood in them; they were God’s miracles.

God favored Adam and Eve in a very special way; and He never planned for them to be sick, get old or die. They had no tear ducts and no need for a restroom. Those things were all part of the curse that God had warned them about if they ate the forbidden fruit. Of course, the devil told them that what God had said wouldn’t happen; and they listened to him instead of God. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat (Genesis 3:4-6).

Never forget that the devil is a liar; Jesus told us exactly that when He was here on earth. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it (John 8:44). The devil is a fallen angel with nothing but evil in him, and he led Adam and Eve to a spiritual death.

Adam and Eve could have been sinless yet today if they had wanted to be. They had God’s whole heart and all of His favor. He had given them a miniature heart to beat in rhythm with His big heart and a miniature mind like His; but they sold all of that to the devil, and what a price the human race has had to pay since then.

Jesus Paid the Price

Thank God, Jesus came to buy back everything for us. He paid for our deliverance with His divine blood. He left His Father’s throne so we could have favor with God, but He had to become our Sacrificial Lamb and go to Calvary to make that possible. No man or angel could have died for us; it took the very Son of God to come down, take on the fashion of a man and shed His blood for us. Only divine blood could have done it; and as the Son of God, Jesus had no physical blood in His soul or in His body.

No one can buy their salvation or their passage to Heaven. Jesus is the only way there. I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me (John 14:6). Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved (Acts 4:12). Jesus paid for us all to have a glorified body like His one day—a body that will be able to pass through closed doors and one that will leave this earth to go to Heaven where we’ll never shed another tear or have another pain. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away (Revelation 21:4).

A Favorable Sacrifice

Outside of Eden, we find that Abel had the favor of God; but his brother did not. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell (Genesis 4:2-5).

Cain was jealous of Abel because God had accepted Abel’s sacrifice but rejected his; however, Cain knew that he hadn’t done right in the eyes of God. He knew that his sacrifice was supposed to have been a blood sacrifice. The Bible says, And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission (Hebrews 9:22). Cain didn’t heed this; and as a result, he didn’t receive the favor of God.

Always remember that no one can be saved by their works or their possessions but only by the grace that came in the divine blood of Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast (Ephesians 2:8,9).

Noah Found Grace

After Eden was closed to man because of his sin, the world became more and more degraded until God couldn’t take it anymore; and He finally decided to destroy everyone. And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts 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 have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them (Genesis 6:5-7). But the Bible goes on to say that Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD (Genesis 6:8).

Just one man found grace, and he had such great favor with God that the Lord had patience and longsuffering with him for 120 years while he and his family built the ark…and the Lord went through all of that to save just eight souls. Others could have joined them, but not one soul got saved during that time; instead, people became even more wicked. They persecuted and mocked Noah’s family as they worked day and night to get the ark ready; but God had laid out the plan, and He was with them through it all.

When the ark was finally finished and all the people and the animals were inside, God closed the door Himself and sealed it shut. And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life. And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD shut him in (Genesis 7:15,16).

When the promised flood came, God took care of Noah and his family. The people outside watched as the water rose higher and higher, and I’m sure they screamed and pounded on the door; but it was closed. The eight souls on board had the favor of God, and He fed them and looked out for them for over a year. Their meal barrels were never empty.

Tribulation Is Coming

Everyone will wake up one day, but for many it will be too late. People may mock us now like they did in Noah’s day; but they’ll want the safety of our ark, Christ Jesus, when they realize they’re headed for damnation. Only the favor of God will keep people from the things that are coming upon the earth. Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth (Revelation 3:10).

That great hour of temptation is the Tribulation Period, and it will be the worst time the earth has ever seen. Jesus said there would be no flesh saved unless the days were shortened. For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened (Matthew 24:21,22).

When Jesus returns to fight the Battle of Armageddon, He’ll come as the Lion of the tribe of Judah. And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain (Revelation 5:5,6). Jesus will have a completely different personality than the one He had as the Lamb of God. He’ll talk only about war, death and judgment. The Bible tells us that there will only be a few men left on the earth after the great Battle of Armageddon. Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left (Isaiah 24:6).

It’s a Terrible Hour

We’re living in a terrible hour now, but the Lord said that today would be as in the days of Noah and Sodom and Gomorrah. As it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all (Luke 17:26-29).

Thank God, we don’t have to worry about what’s coming upon the earth because we can find grace; however, there are people on earth right now who will still be here during the Tribulation Period. Many of them will receive a judgment of death from God and then be cast into the lake of fire for all eternity. The Bible plainly says, It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment (Hebrews 9:27). All those who don’t meet their judgment at Calvary will face an unmerciful God at the White Throne Judgment.

People act so devil-smart, but they’re not God-smart at all; and they don’t have God’s favor. They may mock God now, but they won’t be able to do it much longer because God has had just about enough. God’s judgments would fall today if it weren’t for God’s people; they’re the salt that is saving the earth right now. However, Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount that when the salt has lost its savor, it’s good for nothing. Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men (Matthew 5:13).

God’s Favor Brings Love and Faith

To have God’s favor, you must first have God’s love; but you have to want it before you can have it. Once you accept God’s love, you have to let it draw you to Calvary and deliver you from all your sins. That love brings divine faith—believing faith, salvation faith and miracle faith that will reach to Heaven twenty-four hours a day. The Bible instructs us to live from faith to faith, not from faith to doubt or from faith to disobedience. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith (Romans 1:17).

You can’t please God without faith. But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him (Hebrews 11:6). You can’t buy God’s faith, and you can’t earn it; it’s a gift from God. God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith (Romans 12:3). If you use that faith and treasure it as a gift from Heaven, you’ll have the favor of God; but if you don’t use it, you’ll lose His favor.

You can have as much faith as you will use. I use my faith, and the Lord just keeps adding to it; but I’m always seeking for even more. I want the faith that was once delivered to the saints. Ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints (Jude 1:3). We can seek for and desire that same faith that moves mountains of despair, oppression, depression and weakness or anything else that comes against us to destroy the happiness the Lord wants us to have.

There’s nothing like the divine love and divine faith of God. They’re given in such a personal way, and you don’t have to have anyone’s help to use them. You can call on Heaven yourself at any time. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need (Hebrews 4:16).

Grace makes us a son or a daughter of God just as much as Jesus was the Son of God when He was here on earth. When He prayed, He knew that His Father always heard Him. Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always (John 11:41,42). I know that God always hears me because I know I have His presence and His favor. I know I live free from all sin, and I’m as holy now as I’ll be when I walk down the Avenue of Glory. If you’re living holy, God will always hear you, too. He said His ears are open to the cry of the righteous. The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry (Psalm 34:15).

God Will Provide

The widow woman in Elijah’s day had the faith and the favor of God, and He provided for her and her family during a time of great drought in the land. Her meal barrel and oil cruse stayed full just as they had on Noah’s ark.

And when he [Elijah] came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said…Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand. And she said, As the LORD thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die. And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son. For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth. And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days (I Kings 17:10-15). In Israel at that time, people were starving to death because they had failed and disobeyed God; but this woman had the favor of God. Through her obedience, God had provided for her.

Grace Never Fails

You have to be obedient to the will of God no matter what the circumstances are just as Jesus was obedient in the Garden when He prayed, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt (Matthew 26:39). God took care of Jesus, and He’ll take care of the Bride in this her final hour, too. We have nothing to fear and nothing to worry about. Jehovah is our God; and He’s the great I-Am, not the great I-used-to-be. Jesus Christ is our Lord, and He’s the same yesterday, and today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8).

All those who find Calvary will find the favor of God. Have you found it? If you’re blood-washed and living free from sin since going to Calvary, you have all God’s favor working for you. You don’t have to be afraid of man or the devil; you have it made both in this life and for all eternity because the One who holds the future in His hands also holds you in His great love, His great strength and His great faith.

We have God’s favor to live in Heaven with Him, and He’s building a mansion for each one of us over there. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also (John 14:2,3).

Claim Divine Freedom

With God’s favor comes great divine peace. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7). The world doesn’t have or understand this divine peace; so they pop pills, drink alcohol, fulfill the lusts of the flesh and live such degraded lives trying to find their own kind of peace…but they’ll never have real peace without the Lord. His peace comes from Heaven and only flows to children of God. We have to lay aside our bondages and all the darknesses of the devil knowing that the Son has set us free. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed (John 8:36).

We must live in divine freedom. Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage (Galatians 5:1). When we live in the liberty of God’s love, faith and peace, we will have His favor. He’s so patient and longsuffering with us that we can live in the realm of His kindness, His tender touch and His gentleness. We must have the anointing of self-control so we can keep self down and lift Jesus up, and then we’ll walk in His greatness.

Jesus is our divine priest who makes intercession for us. It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us (Romans 8:34). When He died, He conquered death, hell and the grave for us. Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory (I Corinthians 15:54,55)?

What a wonderful life we have in Christ, but we didn’t get it by being baptized in water or by shaking the preacher’s hand; we got it through Calvary. The Cross spells victory, and that’s where Jesus made it possible for the whole world to be set free from sin.

God Directed Moses

Moses had God’s favor. It took the Lord forty years to make a man strong enough to stand up against the evil ruler of Egypt, and God had started preparing Moses from the time he was born. When all the baby boys were to be killed, God protected Moses by giving his mother and father wisdom and knowledge to build a little ark of safety for their son. And when she [Moses’ mother] could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river’s brink (Exodus 2:3).

The Lord instructed Moses’ parents exactly how to build and seal the little ark so no water would get in, and it took a lot of faith to put that ark into the water and to close little Moses inside. Think how his mother must have felt as she kissed the baby she loved so much goodbye and whispered, “God will take care of you, Honey, and He’ll send you where He wants you to go.” The Lord did just that, and He floated Moses’ little ark right into the arms of Pharaoh’s daughter. And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river; and her maidens walked along by the river’s side; and when she saw the ark among the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it. And when she had opened it, she saw the child: and, behold, the babe wept. And she had compassion on him…and he became her son. And she called his name Moses (Exodus 2:5,6,10).

Moses never imagined that he would someday be the deliverer of the Israelites; but as he grew, he realized that he really loved those people, and he was even willing to kill to protect them. Little did he know that God had a plan for him. And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens: and he spied an Egyptian smiting an Hebrew, one of his brethren. And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he slew the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand. And when he went out the second day, behold, two men of the Hebrews strove together: and he said to him that did the wrong, Wherefore smitest thou thy fellow? And he said, Who made thee a prince and a judge over us? intendest thou to kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian? And Moses feared, and said, Surely this thing is known. Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian (Exodus 2:11-15).

Moses, the Deliverer

Moses feared for his life, so he fled Egypt and was gone for many years. However, the time came when God wanted him to return, but he had to go by way of the burning bush so he could have the great favor of God. And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed…God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt (Exodus 3:2,4,5,10).

Moses had to go completely God’s way, the way of truth and nothing but the truth; and he had to use God’s rod of truth. And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod. And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it. And the LORD said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand (Exodus 4:2-4).

When Moses lifted up that rod of truth, miracles took place; and the king of Egypt had no control over them. When Moses lifted up that rod on the shores of the Red Sea, the waters parted. And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left (Exodus 14:21,22).

It’s been calculated that the Red Sea was twelve miles across and eighty-six feet deep where the Israelites crossed. The water banked up like a mountain on each side, and the people went across dry-shod; but still Israel doubted God after such a marvelous miracle. It didn’t take much to make the Israelites doubt God because they had never gotten rid of their spirits of idol worship.

Don’t Lose God’s Favor

Many people have those same spirits today, and they worship the golden calf. They’re after money and possessions rather than God, and they don’t feel the need of Him. They don’t realize that money can’t buy anyone a passage to Heaven, and the devil keeps deceiving them with the same line over and over: “You won’t die and go to hell; that won’t happen to you.” It will be too late for them to change when they’re in hell, and that’s exactly where the devil wants them to end up.

It’s sad to see people who once had great favor fail God! King Saul was one of those people. God chose him to be the first king over the Israelites, and yet he disobeyed the Lord and took on the devil’s arrogance. And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the LORD: I have performed the commandment of the LORD. And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear? And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed (I Samuel 15:13-15). Then Samuel said, The LORD sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed. Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the LORD…Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king (I Samuel 15:18,19,22,23). Saul continued down the wrong path, and he later committed suicide and died without God.

God Favored David

David found so much favor in the eyes of God that he was able to kill a bear, a lion and later a giant. Then said David to the Philistine [Goliath], Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth. So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him (I Samuel 17:45,46,49,50).

David was about thirteen years old when he killed Goliath, but God used him because everyone else was afraid. When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid (I Samuel 17:11). Saul had become so disobedient that he had lost God’s favor. As a result, God chose a little shepherd boy to be the king in his place.

Go God’s Way

Joseph walked the paths of humility in adverse circumstances; and through it all, he kept the favor of God. And the patriarchs [his brothers], moved with envy, sold Joseph into Egypt: but God was with him, And delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him favour and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house (Acts 7:9,10).

Gideon had favor with God without realizing it. How many times have you had favor from Heaven and didn’t know it? And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him [Gideon], and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour. And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of…And the LORD looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee? And the LORD said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man (Judges 6:12-14,16).

The devil wants to rob us through doubt; he doesn’t want us to believe that God leads us with His great love and power. I don’t believe in letting the devil rob me. God saved and delivered me with His great grace, and both of my hands are in His as He leads me on. I wear His shoes of love, faith and holiness; and I’m in step with Him. Jesus is my example; and when I need an answer for any problem, I stop and ask myself, “What would Jesus do?” I always get the answer I need, and then I do what He would do. While other people are upset, wringing their hands and wondering what to do, I’m holding on to God’s unchanging hand; and I know I’ll be all right.

None of these prophets of old we have examined understood the kind of grace we have today, but they desired to know about it. They had visions of it, but they didn’t have the reality of it. For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them (Matthew 13:17). The Bible lets us know that even the angels don’t understand what grace will do for a sinner because they’ve never experienced it. Which things the angels desire to look into (I Peter 1:12). Today, we not only have a vision of His grace, but we have living reality of it; and it’s so simple that even little children can understand it enough to give their hearts to the Lord.

Stephen Died with Grace

In the New Testament, Stephen was so much like Jesus that he walked like Him, talked like Him and died just like He died. He was full of the power of God. But he [Stephen], being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep (Acts 7:55,56,59,60). Do you have that much of God’s grace? It takes a lot of grace to have the power of God working in you like Stephen did.

You can learn so much through each character in the Word of God, and Paul has been one of my favorite studies. It was the stoning of Stephen that eventually brought Paul to God. He was a witness to it all, and he couldn’t get the scene out of his mind. Years later, Paul himself was stoned and left for dead, but the people couldn’t kill him because of the grace of God.

God Was with Paul

Paul and Silas had the favor of God even when they were cast into prison. And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailer to keep them safely: Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks. And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed. And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway (Acts 16:23-33). Paul and Silas were put in jail for the sake of Christ, but He was right there with them. As a result, they were able to bring salvation to the jailer and his whole household; and Paul and Silas baptized them all that night.

Paul had an angel from the devil that followed him everywhere he went to stir up persecution. And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me (II Corinthians 12:7,8). Paul sought the Lord three different times for Him to stay the hand of the enemy, but the Lord said to him one day, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness (II Corinthians 12:9). Paul received his answer, and he never asked God about it again. God had said that His grace was sufficient, and Paul knew that he had done nothing to cause any disfavor with God. He knew God’s grace was with him.

Receive and Preach the Truth

It isn’t hard to have the favor of God. When you’re washed in Calvary’s blood, you can have the whole Trinity of the Godhead moving and working for you. You can have the baptism of the Holy Ghost, and the Spirit will move in to dwell right on the inside of you. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you (John 14:16,17).

The Holy Spirit will be your teacher to guide you into all truth because He is the very Spirit of truth and never the spirit of error. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come (John 16:13). There are so many spirits of error in the world today, but not in Jesus Christ or in the Holy Spirit. The disciples had the Spirit of truth, and they went everywhere teaching people the truth.

We also travel all over the world teaching the truth, and people are being set free just as they were when Jesus was here. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised (Luke 4:18).

We use Bible truth, and it delivers people and heals them of all manner of sicknesses and diseases. In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues…they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover (Mark 16:17,18). Jesus is the only name you can use to cast out devils and to heal the sick.

Miracles from On High draw multitudes to our services where people are healed of AIDS, cancer and other deadly diseases. We’re documenting the AIDS cases because skeptics don’t believe that God has the cure for it, so we’re giving them medical proof. If they still doubt what the doctors say, then we give up on them because that’s what God does. The God of miracles lives, and Jesus is life; but God won’t force anyone to be a believer.

You Must Have God’s Love

Jesus said, There is none good but one, that is, God (Matthew 19:17). This means that no one can be good unless God is in him or her. When you have God, you have His love; and the Bible says that we’re nothing without it. Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity [love], I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing (I Corinthians 13:1,2).

Without God’s love, people are like the walking dead; and there are so many in the world today who are just like that. They don’t have the favor of God, and they wonder why so many calamities are coming upon the earth. The Lord said they would come and that they would bring great fear. Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken (Luke 21:26).

There’s never been a time when so many young men and women are dying with heart attacks, but stifling fear is taking the ungodly over. They won’t receive Christ, so they don’t have His favor; they have only His judgments of damnation. It’s terrible to fall into the hands of an angry God because your destiny is sealed for all eternity.

The Beatitudes Came through God’s Grace

The Beatitudes given in the Sermon on the Mount are for people who have favor with God. Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God (Matthew 5:3-8). If you’re a child of God, you’re blessed; and you should never think less than that about yourself. Count your blessings, not your troubles.

Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God (Matthew 5:9). Blessed are all those who make peace, but you have to have peace yourself before you can share it with others. The same is true with love and faith; you have to possess them yourself before you can serve them to others. If you will take the divinity of the Lord and use it, you will have God’s favor; and His love and faith will multiply for you.

You must know that you can please the great God of the universe! Some of our loved ones who have pleased God have gone on ahead of us, but we know that we will see them again. They’ll be at Heaven’s gate if we arrive before the Rapture; and if we live until Rapture day, Jesus will bring them with Him when He comes. But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord (I Thessalonians 4:13,16,17).

The long night for us will soon pass, and there will be no night in Heaven. Our loved ones who are already in Heaven are enjoying the divine favor of God—no more battling against the forces of nature, against problems or against the bad spirits of people. They’re basking in the light of God’s glory where there’s no need for the sun, the moon or the stars. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof (Revelation 21:23).

Grace Will Make You Free

God loves all people, and He wants everyone to be in Heaven with Him; but they have to be right with God. John the Baptist said, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world (John 1:29). People think we’re foolish to believe in Christ, the Lamb of God; but it doesn’t matter what others think because this old world is not our home. We’re just pilgrims passing through, and we’re hurrying to take this Gospel of love to the ends of the earth.

To accomplish this, we must have that true light of Jesus shining through us. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world (John 1:9). The only way we’ll be able to bless and encourage others and bring souls to Him is by carrying the light of God. We must let them know that only through God’s grace can they be saved. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast (Ephesians 2:8,9).

Only through grace can people be completely set free from the powers of the devil and made brand new. The Bible tells us that they have to be re-created in true righteousness and holiness. And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness (Ephesians 4:24). People have to be born new and have victory over all sin.

No Sin in Heaven

The Bible says, The soul that sinneth, it shall die (Ezekiel 18:4). Those who don’t believe in living free from sin will never see Heaven; they’ll be left standing outside. Adam and Eve committed just one sin, and they lost everything. Sin can never enter Heaven because it would contaminate that celestial city.

And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him (Revelation 12:7-9). God kicked Lucifer and all the fallen angels out of Heaven, so do you think He’s going to let one sinner go through the gate? That’s why Jesus came and paid such a price for us.

Jesus suffered untold agony and died on the Cross; yet some people still claim that nobody can live free from sin. That disputes the Word of God and calls the Lord a liar; but the Bible says, Yea, let God be true, but every man a liar (Romans 3:4). The Bible said it; I believe it, and that settles it. People who die with one willful sin in them won’t go to Heaven; they’ll go to hell.

See Jesus through Grace

The Bible teaches that we have to live holy. Be ye holy; for I am holy (I Peter 1:16). Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14). Without holiness, no one will ever see the face of God. No matter how close to God some of the prophets in the Old Testament were, they were never able to look into the face of God.

God made Himself so real to Moses and performed many miracles through him, but God would not let him look into His face. And he [God] said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live. And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by: And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen (Exodus 33:20-23). Moses only got to see the back part of Him.

When Jesus came, He said, He that hath seen me hath seen the Father (John 14:9). Think about it…when the shepherds looked into the manger, they looked into the face of God. They looked into the face that gives us favor, justification, sanctification and the baptism of the Holy Ghost. That power from On High brings miracles, healings and all the favor of God.

Saving grace brings you out of the world. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord (II Corinthians 6:17). When grace brought me out, I left the world completely behind and took Jesus as my Savior. Immediately, I started walking like Him, talking like Him and acting like Him.

We can all be just like Jesus through the divine blood and the Word of God. Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth (John 17:17). To be sanctified means to be set apart and made holy. That’s why Jesus came—to make us the righteousness of God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him (II Corinthians 5:21).

Dine on Spiritual Fruit

In the favor of God, you’ll find the nine wonderful fruits of the Spirit. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law (Galatians 5:22,23). The Holy Ghost is the One who produces those divine fruits within us. They’re more wonderful and much greater than the physical fruit produced in the first Eden; and if you will make a place for them in your heart, the Lord will make an Eden right on the inside of you.

The first fruit is love, and God is love. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love(I John 4:8). There’s nothing greater in this whole world than God’s love and His Word. The love of God changes people; it brings them from darkness into light and takes out all their hate and grudges. When the divine blood cleanses them from all sin, they’re made new; and then love takes over. When I got saved, I was born new through and through. Divine blood flowed into my soul, and I had so much divine love and peace.

Joy is a wonderful fruit, but so many people don’t have it. They’re not happy or free in the Lord, and that’s why they seek the pleasures of sin. I have Heaven’s unspeakable joy; and you can have it, too, if you’re forgiven and living free from sin. Don’t live in your feelings because the Lord said we shouldn’t fret and worry about anything. We’re not supposed to sit around wondering whether or not God will take care of us. Live in the faith of God and use it every day.

When I come out of bed each morning, I don’t wait to see if I feel good; I immediately start praising God until I get happy and feel good all over. But some of you run for a cup of coffee instead, and who wants to meet a person surviving on just a cup of coffee? Come out of bed with the faith of God and lift your hands to bless God for another wonderful day that He’s made just for you. It doesn’t matter if the sun is shining or the rain is pouring, if it’s cold or hot. All that matters is being with the Lord and pleasing Him, having the grace of God and being wrapped up in His love.

Come into God’s Favor

Do you have the divine favor of God? Are you walking in His greatness? If so, you have divine love and grace; and that grace is sufficient for everything you need spiritually, physically and financially. Why allow darkness to close in on you when you have the grace of God to light up all your paths? You have everything you need because all the promises of God are yours through grace. You should never pray through doubt again; realize that you have the favor of God. If ye abide in me, and my words [my promises] abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you (John 15:7).

Grace keeps you walking on top of the waters so you won’t sink. The devil would have to sink the promises of God first, and he’ll never be able to do that; so you have nothing to fear. It’s almost time to go home, so why fret about what you don’t have when everything is waiting for you on the other side? Your eyes should be shining with the glory of God as you look for Jesus to return. Through God’s grace, you’ll be changed and caught up with Him. Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed (I Corinthians 15:51,52).

Jesus is coming very soon; and if you’re not ready, you can get ready. If you’ve been living out of the favor of God, give your heart to Him now. If you’re a backslider or a lukewarm Christian, repent now.

Say this prayer with me: Oh, God, I’m so sorry that I’ve sinned against you; but I’ve come home, and I’m going to serve you, Lord, for the rest of my life. I believe that the blood of Jesus washes away all of my sins. Come into my heart, Jesus! Come on in!

Receive a Miracle of Grace

If you meant that prayer, you now have God’s love, faith, peace and favor. When you find grace, you’re entitled to miracles and physical healings; so you can be healed of any disease. Remember, faith in God heals the sick; and His healing is divine. Man cannot do these things; they only come through the hands of the good Lord. I’m not your healer; I’m just a witness to the healing power of the Lord. The gifts in my life are divine gifts. I can’t operate them myself; the Holy Ghost operates them through me as I yield in perfect obedience to the will of the great I-Am. I preach the truth, and the Lord confirms it; and He’ll confirm it for you today.

Lord, I bring the sick and afflicted to you—those with AIDS, diabetes, heart trouble, lung trouble and paralysis. I bring the little deformed children. Some of them have been born with just part of a brain; but you’ve given so many of them a whole brain, and they have become normal at once. I bring those with leprosy to you, and many of them are being healed through your Jesus ministry, too. Heal! in the blood-name of Jesus. Heal! in the all-mighty, blood-name of Jesus.

Jesus said, Only believe (Mark 5:36). He also said, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth (Mark 9:23). Your disease is dead if you believed that prayer. Watch yourself or your child get well, and know that God did it. Then teach that child to love the Lord and to respect His holy Word like my parents taught me. Prayer, fasting and living in the Word will keep you on the straight and narrow love-road that leads to Heaven; and one day we will meet you there.

Until then, God bless you is my prayer.