Luke 2:52 (NKJV): And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.
The word 'favor' here in the New Testament is 'charis' in Greek, which can mean:
- divine influence upon your life
- divine acceptance upon your life
- divine benefit upon your life
- divine pleasure upon your life
- divine gift upon your life
This word 'charis' is from the word 'cha-i-ro', meaning 'be well-off, be well, be cheerful, be joyful, be happy, be glad, God speed'.
As Jesus is, so are you in this world! (1 John 4:17) And just as Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men, so should you be in this world!
Notice what Luke wrote in Acts 2:46-47 regarding the church (i.e. the people of God): 'So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved'.
See the word 'favor' here? It is the same word 'charis'. In other words, the people of God were enjoying the divine influence, divine acceptance, divine benefit, divine pleasure, and divine gift of the Lord upon their lives! And when the favor of God was with them, they couldn't help but be 'attractive' to those around them, even the unbelievers! And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved! See? Favor of God and favor of men!
How about the likes of Joseph and David? You can see the same word 'favor' written by Luke in the Book of Acts. Acts 7:9-10 (NKJV) says, 'And the patriarchs, becoming envious, sold Joseph into Egypt. But God was with him and delivered him out of all his troubles, and gave him favor ('charis') and wisdom in the presence of Pharaoh, king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house'. Acts 7:45-46 (NKJV) says, '... David, who found favor ('charis') before God and asked to find a dwelling for the God of Jacob'.
Let me 'qualify' what I write about 'favor' here. I am not saying when the favor of God is with you, you will never have to face any opposition, or even persecution (particularly from those who may be envious or feeling threatened by what the Lord is doing in your life). What I am saying is when the favor of God is with you, He will know how to prosper you (in all that He has called you to do), and He will raise up the right people to favor you! And that's exactly what happened to the people of God in the early days!
"How do you apply the above verses in this end-time?"
No doubt the world is not getting any better, with more and more wars and rumors of war, earthquakes occurring in various places, pestilences, etc. You don't need a prophet to tell you this. Even the people who are unbelievers can tell you the same. You can see this everywhere, and in the news channels. Isaiah 60:2 (Holman Christian Standard Bible) confirms it, 'For look, darkness covers the earth, and total darkness the peoples...' But Isaiah 60:2 then continues with these very encouraging words, '... but the Lord will shine over you, and His glory will appear over you'.
People of God, the second part of Isaiah 60:2 is yours to receive! Therefore, no matter how 'unfavorable' the conditions around you may be, as a people who are in Christ, you can still (and should still) be walking in the favor of God and favor of men! The expression 'but the Lord will shine over you' here in the Old Testament parallels with 'the favor of God' (i.e. 'charis' of God) in the New Testament.
In cross-reference, the priestly blessing mentioned in Numbers 6:24-26 says,
"The Lord bless you and keep you;
The Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace."
See? 'The Lord make His face shine upon you'! Now, that's 'the favor of God' upon you! Just as in the physical realm, you can feel it when the physical sun shines upon you (i.e. the ray of light, the warmth), the same it is when God's face shines upon you! You can feel it when 'His divine influence, divine acceptance, divine benefit, divine pleasure, and divine gift' is upon you!
Now, look at what Jesus cried out when He was about to give up His Spirit at the cross. Matthew 27:45-46 says, 'Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachtani?" that is, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"' In other words, God the Father turned His face away from His Son Jesus (who carried all the filthiness of our sins), so that His face can now shine upon you!
"But why are some believers seem to walk in favor (or greater evidence of favor) more than other believers?"
Remember the word 'favor' is 'charis'. It is a gift of God to you (who are in Christ)! In Christ, you actually already have it! Simply because of what Jesus has already done for you on the cross. It is not something you can buy or earn with your own self-effort. So, why then some believers seem to walk in favor more than some others?
To answer the above question, let's go to Luke 1:26-38:
'... the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, "Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!" But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end." Then Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I do not know a man?" And the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you... For with God nothing will be impossible." Then Mary said, "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her'.
Can you imagine what if Mary had rejected all that the angel Gabriel had conveyed? What if Mary had said 'nay' instead of 'aye'? What if Mary had said, "No, that's not for me. Who am I to be chosen for such?" Mary would have missed out the privilege of bringing forth the Son of the Living God!
But look now at Luke 1:38: "Behold (here am I) the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word." People of God, this is the key to seeing the favor of God HAPPENING in your life! A heart that is willing and yielded, and a heart that is fully surrendered to all that the Lord had wanted to do in your life! Like Mary!
And soon you too will bring forth the many good things that God had already intended for you! Amen!
