This is what the LORD says: "In the time of my favor I will answer you, and in the day of salvation I will help you; I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people, to restore the land and to reassign its desolate inheritances, to say to the captives, `Come out,' and to those in darkness, `Be free!' "They will feed beside the roads and find pasture on every barren hill. They will neither hunger nor thirst, nor will the desert heat or the sun beat upon them. He who has compassion on them will guide them and lead them beside springs of water. I will turn all my mountains into roads, and my highways will be raised up. See, they will come from afar -- some from the north, some from the west, some from the region of China." Shout for joy, O heavens; rejoice, O earth; burst into song, O mountains! For the LORD comforts his people and will have compassion on his afflicted ones,” [Isaiah 49:13-18]
As God's fellow workers we urge you not to receive God's grace in vain. For he says, "In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you." I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation,” [2 Corinthians 6:1-2]
Sometimes we ask, “Hey, could you do me a favor?” A favor is request for something that we can’t pay for –if the person responds with “yes,” then it’s freely given, otherwise it’s not a favor. God has provided us with an ongoing favor –we call it grace. Grace is best understood as a gift but with God, it’s an ongoing gift. It’s as if He has said, “Now, ask me for all the favors you want –and give favors away to others freely, just like Me. In the Old Testament Law, there was a provision for a 50th year, called the Year of Jubilee [Leviticus 25:8-55], but it was also known as the “Time of God’s Favor,” the year of His grace. The number “50” carries special significance in the Word and it’s always connected with the outpouring of God’s grace. Every 50th year of the Israelite calendar a Year of Jubilee was decreed by God so that all debts would be forgiven, all Israelite slaves were set free. This was a special grace from God that pointed to a time of grace that was coming, and sure enough, right when Jesus began His ministry, after 50 days He declared it to be the “Year of the Lord’s Favor.” Jesus’ death on the cross was also the inauguration of the Festival of Firstfruits and Fifty days later grace arrived in an unprecedented fashion on the day of Pentecost [“Pentecost” means “counting of 50” in Greek]. On that Day, grace was poured out on the earth as never before when the Church was born. Now, during the time of the Church, this is the Time of God’s Favor, the Time of salvation.
We live in the time of God’s generous grace. And rather than believe the message of the enemy that the Church is dying and can no longer affect the world, let’s pray for the favor of God to come to us at Kouts Christian in unprecedented ways. Jesus said that if we ask, then we will receive. Our goal is now the “extra mile” that Jesus talked about. God loved us so richly and has poured out His grace on us, among us and into us. And the only way that grace made it into us is by faith. We have the faith that we need and our faith has brought us into a wonderful grace in which we now stand. Hear the battle cry! Believe that your little faith has now been amplified by the grace of God! All things are possible with God, so pray by His grace because you already have it if you’re a Christian! This is the Year of the Lord’s Favor –and He wants you to ask Him for a lot of favors that bring glory to His Name. Now is the time for testimony. Now is the hour of prayer. Great and Awesome is the Lord our God –Faithful to answer us in our time of need.
Pray with confidence,
George