god's favorites
“Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him, And show him My salvation. (Psalm 91:14-16, New King James Version). Obviously the man that this passage is talking about is much liked by God – he is one of God’s favorites.
Before we proceed any further, Rom 2:11 makes it clear that God is not partial, i.e., He does not play favorites; He is not impressed by our wealth or education or family or looks. However, God does have favorites, people that He loves and accepts as we see from Acts 10:35, But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him. From this verse, we see that not only does God have favorites, He chooses favorites one by one, not as a group or a whole church, contrary to popular belief in some church missions and denominations. To be chosen as a favorite, you have to fear God and do righteous works, according to that verse.
In addition, we see from our main text that if you desire to become one of God’s favorites, you must do three things:
As you do your part to become God’s Favorite, God will do these seven things for you
We see additional blessings for God’s favorite in Ex 33:17, So the Lord said to Moses, I will also do this thing that you have spoken; for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name. That is, in addition to what God does for His favorites in our main text, God says, because Moses was one of his favorites – for you have found grace (favor) in My sight.
Note: not all believers are known by name, only those who know God’s name. What you do for God is what He will do for you, as you also see from James 4:8, Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. The bible calls this principle a faithful (correct) saying in 2 Tim 2:11-12, For if we died with Him, We shall also live with Him. If we endure, We shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us.
That is what John the beloved enjoyed, leaning on Jesus' bosom at supper, Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved. Simon Peter therefore motioned to him to ask who it was of whom He spoke. Then, leaning back on Jesus’ breast, he said to Him, “Lord, who is it?" (John 13: 23-25). Remember, John had been chosen the same way the other 11 disciples were chosen, but he made Jesus his favorite and Jesus returned the favor by making John His favorite. Some favorites are so special that before they call, God answers as we read in Is 65:24, It shall come to pass, That before they call, I will answer; And while they are still speaking, I will hear.
As we conclude, we see that Jesus loved God so much that He did all that God asked Him to do, even dying a most horrible death on the cross. Therefore God loved Him excellently and declared concerning Jesus, This is my Son, in whom I am well pleased. That may be your testimony too. You can be loved the same way, but you must be ready to do exactly as God wants.
Amen.
Before we proceed any further, Rom 2:11 makes it clear that God is not partial, i.e., He does not play favorites; He is not impressed by our wealth or education or family or looks. However, God does have favorites, people that He loves and accepts as we see from Acts 10:35, But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him. From this verse, we see that not only does God have favorites, He chooses favorites one by one, not as a group or a whole church, contrary to popular belief in some church missions and denominations. To be chosen as a favorite, you have to fear God and do righteous works, according to that verse.
In addition, we see from our main text that if you desire to become one of God’s favorites, you must do three things:
- Set your love upon God, vs 14; that means you have to love God with everything in you, all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength; you must love Him in the good times as well as in the bad times.
- Know God’s name, vs 14. God said in Exodus 6:3 that although His people knew Him as Jehovah, they still needed to do some more knowing to understand that He is also LORD. Similarly, we all need to do more before we can claim to know God’s name.
- Call upon Him, vs 15. Let God be your first port of call in trouble, not the last resort after you have called on your uncle or your senator or whoever. Secondly, you not only call on God in trouble but also in love and gratitude. This is called worship; Abraham, one of God’s favorites, worshiped in every situation of life. The grace to call on God first in all situations, God will give us. Amen. We shall also receive grace to worship God at all times. Amen
As you do your part to become God’s Favorite, God will do these seven things for you
- God will deliver you from visible as well as invisible problems (vs 14).
- He will set you on high, far above your peers, a concept that is also reiterated in Heb 1:9, You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness more than Your companions.
- He will answer you when you call, vs 15. You may not have to call for too long before receiving answers to your prayers.
- He will be with you in trouble. Whether we like it or not, there is trouble in the world, but with God on your side, trouble flees (vs 15)
- God will honor you, Honor means that people strive to please you even before you ask (vs 15)
- He will satisfy you with long life, not just long life as in verse 16, but long life that is coupled with satisfaction.
- God will show you His salvation and you will make it to Heaven (vs 16)
We see additional blessings for God’s favorite in Ex 33:17, So the Lord said to Moses, I will also do this thing that you have spoken; for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name. That is, in addition to what God does for His favorites in our main text, God says, because Moses was one of his favorites – for you have found grace (favor) in My sight.
- That He will do the thing that Moses asked. No unanswered prayers.
- He will know Moses by name; talk to him face to face.
Note: not all believers are known by name, only those who know God’s name. What you do for God is what He will do for you, as you also see from James 4:8, Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. The bible calls this principle a faithful (correct) saying in 2 Tim 2:11-12, For if we died with Him, We shall also live with Him. If we endure, We shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us.
- If you want God to honor you, honor Him.
- Befriend Him if you want Him to be your friend (you are my friends if you do everything I ask).
- If you want God to listen to you, listen to Him.
- If you want God to love you unconditionally, love Him etc.
- If you want God to make you His favorite, make God your favorite.
That is what John the beloved enjoyed, leaning on Jesus' bosom at supper, Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved. Simon Peter therefore motioned to him to ask who it was of whom He spoke. Then, leaning back on Jesus’ breast, he said to Him, “Lord, who is it?" (John 13: 23-25). Remember, John had been chosen the same way the other 11 disciples were chosen, but he made Jesus his favorite and Jesus returned the favor by making John His favorite. Some favorites are so special that before they call, God answers as we read in Is 65:24, It shall come to pass, That before they call, I will answer; And while they are still speaking, I will hear.
As we conclude, we see that Jesus loved God so much that He did all that God asked Him to do, even dying a most horrible death on the cross. Therefore God loved Him excellently and declared concerning Jesus, This is my Son, in whom I am well pleased. That may be your testimony too. You can be loved the same way, but you must be ready to do exactly as God wants.
Amen.
