Build a Victory Table: Why God's Favour Lasts a Lifetime

Sermon outline

God's favour is not bought or earned but freely given through Christ and lasts a lifetime, so do not give up, do not let it slip, keep declaring it, and ask and expect to receive favour with God and man.

1. His favour is for a lifetime

   God surrounds the righteous with favour as with a shield. His anger is for a moment but His favour is for a lifetime: once you tap into it, you will experience it again and again, and it will grow larger and larger.

   “His anger is but for a moment, but his favour is for a lifetime.”

   • Psalm 5:12
   • Psalm 30:5

2. Do not give up: persistence is the key

   Because we hold this ministry by God's mercy, which grants favour, benefits and opportunities, we do not lose heart. Many people threw in the towel when their favour was just around the corner. The key between success and failure is persistence.

   Illustration: As a young athlete who represented his province and country on the track, he learned that just when you want to give up, if you decide not to, a second breath carries you through to win the race.

   “The key between success and failure is persistence.”

   • 2 Corinthians 4:1

3. Don't let it slip: build a victory table

   We must give earnest heed to what we have heard lest we let it slip; on a high we remember God's victories, but within days we forget. Keep a victory table at home with a trophy or ornament for each victory of the year, so that in a tough time you can look at it and say, 'If God helped me then, He will help me now.'

   Illustration: A victory table at home with reminders of each victory God has given.

   “If I made it then, I'm going to make it now.”

   • Hebrews 2:1

4. Declare the favour of God constantly

   When you consistently declare favour over your life, extraordinary things happen. Learning from a man of God now with the Lord that you must preach to people what you want them to experience, he prophesies unexpected blessings from relatives and strangers and unexpected promotions. The psalmist's problem was overwhelming, but God remembered that this covenant man was entitled to His favour; Israel did not win the land by their own arm but because God favoured them.

   Illustration: He writes scriptures that resonate with him on notes and sticks them near his desk and bathroom, reading them all month until they are part of him and he sees them manifest.

   “When God's favour hits you, the dams will burst open.”

   • Psalm 102:1-2
   • Psalm 102:13
   • Psalm 44:3

5. Long battles and delayed answers

   Some battles are short, but some are long, and after a while you grow tired and want to give up. Just then God sends a word, a phone call or a message of encouragement, and favour kicks into gear again. A delay in your prayer or your favour does not mean it will never come.

   Illustration: A phone call, email or text message arriving just when you are about to give up.

   “There might be a delay in the favour, but let me assure you, it will come.”

6. What favour is: a gift, not a wage

   Favour is not bought or earned; Christ paid the price, and that entitles you to it, so stop thinking God passes you by. Favour is a gift given as a token of love and friendliness, and the stronger the relationship, the stronger the favour. Jesus said He would do whatever we ask in His name, because God is more willing to give than we are to receive.

   “God is merely looking for a receiver.”

   • John 14:13-14
   • Psalm 84:11

7. Favour with God and man

   God will use people near you or strangers to bless you. Constant declaration brings preferential treatment and waves of favour, and favour gives you an advantage that does not work for others. Everything God does is motivated by love, and like Jesus we can grow in favour with God and man.

   Illustration: A woman from Newcastle, about three hours from Durban, came to see him in a very hard time and asked for prayer for a miracle and a car. Two days later she was told she had won a car in a store competition, and when he told the story the next Sunday, a woman in his church stood up as the store manager who had made the call.

   “If God can favour that man and if God can favour that woman, God will favour you.”

   • John 3:16
   • 1 Samuel 2:5
   • Luke 2:52
   • Proverbs 13:15
   • Proverbs 14:19