The Trap of Transactional Favor: Why Your Effort Cannot Buy God’s Blessing

While the sermon offers practical exhortations to prioritize God and repent, it fundamentally undermines the Gospel by teaching that human effort and faith act as mechanical levers to control God's power. It promotes a synergistic theology where divine favor is earned through moral achievement, effectively replacing the doctrine of sovereign grace with a transactional system of self-help and prosperity.

🔴
Theological Status: THERAPEUTIC / COMPLACENT Biblical Parallel(Archetype): Laodicea
❓ What do these grades mean?
🔍 Biblical Discernment: The 7 Church Parallels
The Faithful Parallels Smyrna • Philadelphia
Teaching that parallels the churches that endure suffering with true spiritual riches (Rev 2:9) and keep the Word of Christ without denial despite having "little strength" (Rev 3:8).
The Cold Orthodox Parallel Ephesus
Teaching that upholds doctrinal precision yet parallels the loss of the "first love"—the vital, motivating power of the Gospel (Rev 2:4).
The Compromised Parallel Pergamum
Teaching that parallels churches tolerating the "doctrine of Balaam" through cultural accommodation (Rev 2:14), characterized by weak boundaries, sloppy theology, and worldly compromise.
The Corrupted & Dead Parallels Thyatira • Sardis • Laodicea
Teaching that parallels churches with active heresy, synergism, therapeutic deism, or dead orthodoxy (Rev 2:20, Rev 3:1, Rev 3:17). These represent systemic, fundamental errors that corrupt the Gospel engine.
Why strictly "Mark & Avoid"?
We do not issue this rating to attack the speaker, but to protect the listener. This ministry's overall teaching trend consistently deviates from sound doctrine. As per Romans 16:17, we identify these patterns so believers can guard their hearts.
Date: 2026-01-11 | Church: The Wave Church | Speaker: Tammy James

🧐 Overview

Theological Verdict & Summary

Sermon Summary: Do you want to experience God's supernatural favor in the new year? This sermon argues that by prioritizing God and repenting of sin, you can unlock a life of increased blessings and reduced hardship.

Pastoral Analysis: While the sermon offers practical exhortations to prioritize God and repent, it fundamentally undermines the Gospel by teaching that human effort and faith act as mechanical levers to control God's power. It promotes a synergistic theology where divine favor is earned through moral achievement, effectively replacing the doctrine of sovereign grace with a transactional system of self-help and prosperity.

Biblical Parallel (Archetype): Laodicea — The sermon exhibits the characteristics of the Laodicean church: a therapeutic deism that reduces the gospel to a transactional mechanism for earthly comfort and self-actualization. It presents a 'lukewarm' orthodoxy where divine favor is contingent upon human effort, denying the sovereign grace necessary for true spiritual life.

Big Idea: To experience the supernatural favor and blessings of God in the new year, believers must intentionally make God their number one priority through humility, repentance, and obedience, distinguishing this active alignment from mere religious effort or legalism. [00:34:56 ▶️ 📄]

🎨 The Visual Metaphor

The heavy, indecipherable script represents the futile burden of human effort to earn God's favor. True divine blessing rests lightly and naturally upon us, independent of our transactional striving or religious legalism.


📖 How they Handle Scripture & Jesus

  • Primary Text: Isaiah 66:2
  • Usage Classification: Topical / Expository Hybrid
  • Text-to-Talk Ratio: Moderate
  • Pulpit Decorum: ⚠️ CAUTION - The speaker uses coarse language ('all the hell') and relies heavily on subjective authority claims ('I believe,' 'I'm certain') rather than objective scriptural exposition.

✝️ Christological Focus: Minimal

"Christ is mentioned primarily as the object of human choice or the means of receiving favor, rather than as the active agent of salvation and the sole source of spiritual life."

Scripture Saturation: Verses Read: 12 | Referenced: 7 | Alluded: 3

Passages Read Aloud:

  • Isaiah 66:2 [00:41:11 ▶️ 📄]
    "Has not my hand made all these things? And so they come into being, declares the Lord, because he made everything they came to be. These are the ones I look on with favor. I want those who are humble and contrite in spirit and who tremble at my word."
  • 2 Chronicles 16:9 [00:42:17 ▶️ 📄]
    "For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole world to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect towards him."
  • Jeremiah 1:4-9 [00:48:15 ▶️ 📄]
    "Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Behold, I have formed thee in the belly, I knew thee. And before thou comest forth out of the womb, I sanctified thee, and ordained thee a prophet unto nations. Then said I, O Lord God, Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a child. But the Lord said unto me, Say not, I am a child. For thou shalt go to all that I send thee, and wheresoever I command thee, thou shalt speak. Be not afraid of their faces, for I am what? With thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord."
  • Lamentations 3:22-23 [00:55:50 ▶️ 📄]
    "It is the Lord's mercy that we are not consumed because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning. Great is Thy faithfulness."
  • Jeremiah 33:2-3 [00:57:16 ▶️ 📄]
    "The God who made earth, who made it livable and lasting, known everywhere as God. Call to me and I will answer you. I'll tell you marvelous and wonderful things that you could have never figured out on your own."

Key References: Isaiah 66:2, 2 Chronicles 16:9, Jeremiah 1:4-9, Jeremiah 33:2-3, Lamentations 3:22-23, Matthew 14:13-21, John 2:1-11


🎙️ Sermon Content & Delivery

Word Count: 5,404 words

📌 Key Topics Addressed

  • Priorities and Decision Making [00:32:35 ▶️ 📄]
    > The pastor argues that individuals must establish priorities because they can only be in one place at a time, and their daily routines reveal their true heart priorities.
  • Walking in God's Favor [00:40:14 ▶️ 📄]
    > Defining favor as blessing, protection, and supernatural empowerment from God, contingent upon being humble, contrite, and trembling at His word.
  • Scriptural Basis for Favor [00:40:55 ▶️ 📄]
    > Citing Isaiah 66:2 and 2 Chronicles 16:9 to explain that God looks with favor on those with a perfect heart toward Him and who tremble at His word.
  • Human Desire for Approval vs. Divine Favor [00:43:57 ▶️ 📄]
    > Distinguishing between the universal human desire for peer/family approval and the specific Christian call to serve God, warning against confusing loving God with working to gain His favor through legalism.
  • Distinction Between Love and Favor [00:45:30 ▶️ 📄]
    > The pastor argues that while God loves everyone equally without respect of persons, His 'favor' is a conditional state of influence and blessing granted to those who prioritize Him and live in obedience.
  • Divine Purpose and Destiny [00:47:48 ▶️ 📄]
    > Referencing Jeremiah 1, the pastor asserts that every individual is divinely designed for a specific purpose and destiny, which is discovered through obedience rather than just seeking.
  • The Nature of God's Favor [00:50:27 ▶️ 📄]
    > Using Lance Wallnau's definition, favor is described as a 'signature' of value placed on a person by God, resulting in a supernatural influence or charisma that causes others to cooperate with or be receptive to the believer.
  • Faith and Expectations [00:56:15 ▶️ 📄]
    > The pastor teaches that human limitations on God's work are often self-imposed by low expectations or wavering faith, urging the congregation to believe God will 'outdo Himself' in the coming year.
  • New Year Alignment (2026) [00:49:20 ▶️ 📄]
    > A call to action for the congregation to leave the past behind, make specific commitments to prioritize God in 2026, and expect a new wave of blessings and miracles.
  • Divine Favor and Blessing [00:58:43 ▶️ 📄]
    > The pastor asserts that God has been good to the congregation, providing basic needs like shelter and transportation, and promises that walking in His favor leads to unimaginable blessings.
  • Making God a Priority [00:59:52 ▶️ 📄]
    > The core application is to 'make God a priority' rather than a 'spare tire,' which results in drastic life changes and alignment with God's will.
  • Grace and Forgiveness [01:02:42 ▶️ 📄]
    > The pastor explains that God gives grace and forgiveness to those with 'checkered pasts' who do not deserve it, inviting them to move on from their history.
  • Worship as Surrender [01:01:49 ▶️ 📄]
    > Worship is defined not just as singing but as surrendering to God, which 'grasps hold of God's attention' and allows His glory to radiate from the believer.
  • Human Free Will [01:03:31 ▶️ 📄]
    > The pastor emphasizes that God does not force favor but gives humans the freedom to choose to obey, love, or make Him a priority.

🖼️ Illustrations & Stories

  • Sermon Illustration [00:32:56 ▶️ 📄]
    > The pastor references a statement by 'Miss Hobbs' about wanting to be split into three places to do more, using it to illustrate the limitation of being one person and the necessity of choosing priorities.
  • Sermon Illustration [00:34:16 ▶️ 📄]
    > The pastor describes the common morning routine of hitting the snooze button on an alarm clock to illustrate how ingrained habits and routines dictate our daily priorities.
  • Sermon Illustration [00:44:46 ▶️ 📄]
    > The pastor shares a personal anecdote about receiving a perfect audit score and the hurt feelings when not achieving above-average evaluations, illustrating the deep human desire for acceptance and approval.
  • Sermon Illustration [00:44:57 ▶️ 📄]
    > The pastor shares a personal anecdote about receiving below-average evaluations, which hurt his feelings because he equated the 'piece of paper' with his worth and desire for acceptance, illustrating the human drive for validation.
  • Sermon Illustration [00:50:27 ▶️ 📄]
    > The pastor cites Lance Wallnau's teaching that God's favor places a 'special value' on a person, creating a 'charisma' that makes people want to cooperate with them even if they don't personally like them.
  • Sermon Illustration [00:54:39 ▶️ 📄]
    > The pastor references the biblical account of Jesus feeding the 5,000 (including women and children, totaling 12-15,000 people), noting that everyone had an abundance of food and 12 baskets of leftovers, illustrating that God gives His best and never does things halfway.
  • Sermon Illustration [00:58:09 ▶️ 📄]
    > The pastor uses a rhetorical check on the congregation's current circumstances (being upright, having food, having a roof, having transportation) to illustrate that God is already good and present, countering the idea that He is absent or unfaithful.
  • Sermon Illustration [01:00:58 ▶️ 📄]
    > The pastor uses the analogy of God being a 'spare tire' versus a 'priority' to illustrate how people often relegate God to a secondary role in their lives, only turning to Him when in trouble.
  • Sermon Illustration [01:01:07 ▶️ 📄]
    > The pastor shares a personal testimony of having been through 'all the hell' in his journey, yet stating he wouldn't take anything for it because he knows God has something greater and better waiting.
  • Sermon Illustration [01:06:23 ▶️ 📄]
    > The pastor references hearing multiple testimonies from the congregation that morning about what God had done for them during the week, using this as evidence that the church is currently walking in God's favor.

🚀 Calls to Action (Application)

  • Pastoral Charge [00:31:18 ▶️ 📄]
    > Go back and watch last week's sermon to understand the series foundation.
  • Pastoral Charge [00:40:58 ▶️ 📄]
    > Take notes or mark specific words in the Bible.
  • Pastoral Charge [00:49:29 ▶️ 📄]
    > Walk wisely, step out in faith, and commit to putting God first in all decisions.
  • Pastoral Charge [00:49:36 ▶️ 📄]
    > Join the pastor in making a difference through obedience and prioritizing God.
  • Pastoral Charge [00:53:13 ▶️ 📄]
    > Thank God for past blessings while actively seeking new opportunities in the new year.
  • Pastoral Charge [00:58:45 ▶️ 📄]
    > Verbal affirmation of God's goodness
  • Pastoral Charge [01:04:03 ▶️ 📄]
    > Verbal confession of being highly favored by God
  • Pastoral Charge [01:05:54 ▶️ 📄]
    > Join the pastor in a spiritual journey for the year 2026
  • Pastoral Charge [01:06:18 ▶️ 📄]
    > Participate in the collective spiritual direction and purpose for the church

🧭 Biblical Alignment Dashboard

Overall Verdict: Fundamentally in Error

CategoryStatusReasoning
Gospel Presentation ❌ FAIL The Gospel Engine is broken. The sermon replaces the monergistic work of Christ with a synergistic system where human choice ('It's up to you') and moral effort ('perfect heart') are the prerequisites for receiving God's favor. Salvation and blessing are presented as rewards for human diligence rather than gifts of sovereign grace.
Soteriology ❌ FAIL The sermon explicitly denies the bondage of the will and the necessity of effectual calling, asserting that humans have the autonomous freedom to choose God and that their faith mechanically limits or enables God's action.
Bibliology ⚠️ WEAK Scripture is treated as a tool for self-actualization and a checklist for earning favor, rather than the revelation of God's sovereign character and redemptive history.
Hermeneutic ❌ FAIL The hermeneutic is anthropocentric, reading the Bible through the lens of personal destiny and self-discovery ('narcigesis') rather than Christocentric redemption.
Theology Proper ❌ FAIL God is portrayed as a transactional entity whose power is limited by human faith and whose favor is distributed based on human merit, denying His absolute sovereignty and omniscience.
Sacramentology ⚪ N/A No specific sacramental theology was addressed in the transcript.
Confessional Depth ❌ FAIL The sermon relies on emotional appeals and self-help rhetoric, lacking any engagement with the depth of sin, the nature of atonement, or the doctrine of grace.

⚙️ The Gospel Engine (Confessional Distinctives)

The Law And Wrath: Not observed in the sermon.

Total Depravity And Inability: Not observed in the sermon.

Active Obedience Of Christ: Not observed in the sermon.

The Cross And Atonement:

"He gave His only begotten Son so you and I could" [00:46:23 ▶️ 📄]

✅ Commendations

Pastoral Care | Emphasis on Repentance and Humility

The sermon correctly identifies the need for believers to humble themselves and repent of sin, acknowledging the reality of human failure and the need for spiritual alignment.

Practical Application | Prioritizing God in Daily Life

The call to make God a priority rather than a 'spare tire' is a valid and necessary application for believers who may be distracted by worldly concerns.

⚠️ Theological Concerns

🔴 The Error of Human Self-Sufficiency (Autonomous Will)

Root Cause: Classical Arminianism / Pelagianism

"He gives you freedom to make Him a priority or everything else a priority. He gives you those choices and the freedom. He lets you and me set our priority. ... But it's totally up to you. He's not going to make you. He's not going to force you. ... No, he don't work that way. He says, this is your choice." [01:03:44 ▶️ 📄]

Correction: Salvation is entirely the work of God's sovereign grace. The human will is bound by sin and cannot independently choose God; God effectually calls and regenerates the elect without coercion but with sovereign power.

🔴 The Error of Transactional Favor (Prosperity Gospel)

Root Cause: Prosperity Gospel / Health and Wealth Theology

"God is a God of increase. God is a God of favor. God is a God of blessings. And even though we will experience some hard places in life, we can walk in God's favor and things won't be so bad." [01:00:00 ▶️ 📄]

Correction: God's favor and providence sovereignly orchestrate all events, including affliction and poverty, for the believer's ultimate spiritual good and salvation, not for the guarantee of earthly prosperity or the absence of trials.

🔴 The Error of Human Self-Sufficiency (Merit-Based Favor)

Root Cause: Semi-Pelagianism / Synergism

"It's up to you and me. It's up to us. Are we humble? Are we sorry when we do wrong? Do we repent? ... And this scripture adds, and have a perfect heart toward Him. If so, God wants to give you His favor." [00:43:27 ▶️ 📄]

Correction: God's favor and election are grounded in His sovereign, gratuitous choice rather than human merit or decision, and a 'perfect heart' is defined by faith in a reconciled God, not by human moral achievement.

🟠 The Error of Faith as a Mechanical Lever

Root Cause: Mechanical Theology / Synergism

"But if you have the faith, if you believe God will move mountains for you, As much as we can believe God, God wants to do it. Our faith is what stops Him so many times. Our faith is wavering." [00:56:24 ▶️ 📄]

Correction: Faith is a supernatural gift and work of God that receives His promises, not a human lever that controls or compels divine agency, as God's power and will are not dependent on the fluctuating strength of human belief.

🟠 The Error of the Higher Life (Two-Tiered Sanctification)

Root Cause: Higher Life Movement / Keswick Theology

"Forget your past and move up to higher grounds in favor with God in 2026." [01:02:49 ▶️ 📄]

Correction: The Christian life is a perpetual task of sanctification characterized by ongoing struggle and dependence on grace, not a two-tiered system where believers can passively surrender to achieve a 'higher' state of victory over sin.

🟠 The Error of Self-Actualization (Narcigesis)

Root Cause: Therapeutic Deism / Self-Help Gospel

"The reality is not that everyone will discover their destiny. Not everyone will discover their purpose. But for those who will seek out their purpose, they'll find it in obedience to their purpose." [00:48:53 ▶️ 📄]

Correction: The Christian life is a perpetual task of sanctification and dying to self, where believers find their true purpose not in discovering an internal destiny but in submitting to God's sovereign will and being conformed to the image of Christ through grace.


📜 Full Sermon Transcript (Audit)

Use the 📄 icons next to quotes above to automatically jump to their location in this raw transcript.

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_13]:
I am not a failure I am not my past And I am not my sin We are beloved We are fearfully and wonderfully made We are cleansed We are forgiven We are children of God We are a new creation

[00:00:41] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_15]:
Hey Shep, what are you doing?

[00:01:08] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
What you playing with?
[00:01:08] You got a truck?
[00:01:09] Yeah?

[00:01:13] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
It always happens.
[00:01:15] One year ends, another one begins.
[00:01:18] We want to move forward and still, we just can't help looking back.

[00:01:22] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
It's so hard not to focus on all the ways we've fallen short.
[00:01:26] All our failures, all our sin.

[00:01:28] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]:
It's so hard to believe there's something else.
[00:01:31] Something more than just another year of mistakes and regrets.
[00:01:37] I'll always be an addict.

[00:01:39] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_11]:
I'll never amount to anything.
[00:01:42] Why am I such a failure?

[00:01:44] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Will I ever be enough?
[00:01:46] Could someone ever truly love me for me?
[00:01:50] But your word says while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
[00:01:55] Through all of our mistakes, you still offer us your love.

[00:01:59] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]:
Help me to believe in that truth and not in the world's lies.

[00:02:04] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_09]:
Help me to trust in your words that I'm a new creation.

[00:02:07] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
The old is gone and the new has come.

[00:02:10] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]:
Help me to no longer conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of my mind.

[00:02:17] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Help me to see myself the way that you see me.

[00:02:24] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_10]:
I am not a lost cause.
[00:02:26] I am not an addict.

[00:02:27] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_12]:
I am not my mistakes.

[00:02:29] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_10]:
I am not a failure.
[00:02:30] I am not my past.

[00:02:32] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_12]:
And I am not my sin.

[00:02:35] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_13]:
We are beloved.
[00:02:36] We are fearfully and wonderfully made.

[00:02:39] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_16]:
We are cleansed.

[00:02:40] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
We are forgiven.

[00:02:42] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_13]:
We are children of God.

[00:02:44] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_16]:
We are a new creation.

[00:02:59] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_15]:
Hey Shep, what are you doing?

[00:03:22] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
What you playing with?
[00:03:24] You got a truck?
[00:03:24] Yeah?

[00:03:30] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
It always happens.
[00:03:44] One year ends, another one begins.
[00:03:47] We want to move forward and still, we just can't help looking back.

[00:03:51] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
It's so hard not to focus on all the ways we've fallen short.
[00:03:55] All our failures, all our sin.

[00:03:57] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]:
It's so hard to believe there's something else.
[00:04:00] Something more than just another year of mistakes and regrets.
[00:04:07] I'll always be an addict.

[00:04:09] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_11]:
I'll never amount to anything.
[00:04:11] Why am I such a failure?

[00:04:13] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Will I ever be enough?
[00:04:15] Could someone ever truly love me for me?
[00:04:19] But your word says while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
[00:04:23] Through all of our mistakes, you still offer us your love.

[00:04:28] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]:
Help me to believe in that truth and not in the world's lies.

[00:04:33] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_09]:
Help me to trust in your words that I'm a new creation.

[00:04:37] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
The old is gone and the new has come.

[00:04:39] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]:
Help me to no longer conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of my mind.

[00:04:46] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Help me to see myself the way that you see me.

[00:04:53] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_10]:
I am not a lost cause.
[00:04:55] I am not an addict.

[00:04:56] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_12]:
I am not my mistakes.

[00:04:58] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_10]:
I am not a failure.
[00:05:00] I am not my past.

[00:05:01] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_12]:
And I am not my sin.

[00:05:04] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_13]:
We are beloved.
[00:05:06] We are fearfully and wonderfully made.

[00:05:08] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_16]:
We are cleansed.

[00:05:09] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
We are forgiven.

[00:05:11] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_13]:
We are children of God.

[00:05:13] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_16]:
We are a new creation.

[00:05:41] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_15]:
Hey Shep, what are you doing?

[00:06:06] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
What you playing with?
[00:06:07] You got a truck?
[00:06:07] Yeah?

[00:06:12] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
It always happens.
[00:06:13] One year ends, another one begins.
[00:06:16] We want to move forward and still, we just can't help looking back.

[00:06:20] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
It's so hard not to focus on all the ways we've fallen short.
[00:06:24] All our failures, all our sin.

[00:06:26] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]:
It's so hard to believe there's something else.
[00:06:29] Something more than just another year of mistakes and regrets.
[00:06:36] I'll always be an addict.

[00:06:38] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_11]:
I'll never amount to anything.
[00:06:40] Why am I such a failure?

[00:06:42] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Will I ever be enough?
[00:06:44] Could someone ever truly love me for me?
[00:06:48] But your word says while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
[00:06:53] Through all of our mistakes, you still offer us your love.

[00:06:58] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]:
Help me to believe in that truth and not in the world's lies.

[00:07:02] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_09]:
Help me to trust in your words that I'm a new creation.

[00:07:06] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
The old is gone and the new has come.

[00:07:09] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]:
Help me to no longer conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of my mind.

[00:07:15] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Help me to see myself the way that you see me.

[00:07:22] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_10]:
I am not a lost cause.
[00:07:24] I am not an addict.

[00:07:25] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_12]:
I am not my mistakes.

[00:07:27] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_10]:
I am not a failure.
[00:07:29] I am not my past.

[00:07:30] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_12]:
And I am not my sin.

[00:07:34] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_13]:
We are beloved.
[00:07:35] We are fearfully and wonderfully made.

[00:07:37] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_16]:
We are cleansed.

[00:07:38] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
We are forgiven.

[00:07:40] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_13]:
We are children of God.

[00:07:42] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_16]:
We are a new creation.

[00:07:58] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_15]:
Hey Shep, what are you doing?

[00:08:19] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
What you playing with?
[00:08:20] You got a truck?
[00:08:23] Yeah?

[00:08:28] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
It always happens.
[00:08:43] One year ends, another one begins.
[00:08:45] We want to move forward and still, we just can't help looking back.

[00:08:49] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
It's so hard not to focus on all the ways we've fallen short.
[00:08:53] All our failures, all our sin.

[00:08:55] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]:
It's so hard to believe there's something else.
[00:08:58] Something more than just another year of mistakes and regrets.

[00:09:05] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_11]:
I'll always be an addict.
[00:09:07] I'll never amount to anything.
[00:09:09] Why am I such a failure?

[00:09:11] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Will I ever be enough?
[00:09:13] Could someone ever truly love me for me?
[00:09:17] But your word says while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
[00:09:23] Through all of our mistakes, you still offer us your love.

[00:09:27] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]:
Help me to believe in that truth and not in the world's lies.

[00:09:31] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
Help me to trust in your words that I'm a new creation.
[00:09:35] The old is gone and the new has come.

[00:09:38] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]:
Help me to no longer conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of my mind.

[00:09:45] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Help me to see myself the way that you see me.

[00:09:51] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_10]:
I am not a lost cause.
[00:09:53] I am not an addict.

[00:09:55] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_12]:
I am not my mistakes.

[00:09:56] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_10]:
I am not a failure.
[00:09:58] I am not my past.

[00:10:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_12]:
And I am not my sin.

[00:10:03] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_13]:
We are beloved.
[00:10:04] We are fearfully and wonderfully made.

[00:10:06] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_16]:
We are cleansed.

[00:10:08] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
We are forgiven.

[00:10:09] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_13]:
We are children of God.

[00:10:11] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_16]:
We are a new creation.

[00:10:39] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_15]:
Hey Shep, what are you doing?

[00:10:51] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
What you playing with?
[00:11:02] You got a truck?
[00:11:02] Yeah?

[00:11:56] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_18]:
These are the days of Elijah Declaring the Word of the Lord And these are the days of your servant Moses Righteousness being restored And though these are days of great triumph
[00:12:24] Still we are the voice in the desert crying prepare ye the way of the Lord Behold he comes riding on the clouds shining like the sun at the trumpet call Lift your voice we'll hear out jubilee and loud as Zion's hills
[00:13:01] And these are the days of Ezekiel The tribal's becoming his flesh And these are the days of your servant David rebuilding the temple of grace And these are the days of the harvest Oh, the fields are as white

[00:13:31] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_22]:
Believers in your name God Declaring the Word of the Lord Behold begun Riding on the clouds Shining like the sun At the trumpet call Lift your voice In the year of jubilee And I will die until someday

[00:14:16] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_17]:
There is no God like you

[00:14:44] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_22]:
Riding on the clouds, shining like the sun At the trumpet call, lift your voice It's a year of jubilee, and the night of silence feels salvation come Behold He comes!

[00:15:07] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Riding on the clouds, shining like the sun

[00:15:12] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_22]:
Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy

[00:16:11] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_20]:
Hallelujah!
[00:16:13] Can somebody lift their voices and behold He comes!
[00:16:17] Riding on a cloud!
[00:16:20] Hallelujah!
[00:16:21] Hallelujah!
[00:16:22] Hallelujah!
[00:16:24] We bless the name of the Lord!

[00:16:28] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
Hallelujah!
[00:16:28] Thank You Jesus!
[00:16:29] We magnify You in this house this morning!
[00:16:30] Hallelujah!
[00:16:31] Glory to the Lamb of God!
[00:16:34] Hallelujah!
[00:16:34] We worship You Jesus!
[00:16:37] Hallelujah!
[00:16:38] We worship You in this house God!
[00:16:40] Lord, you are worthy of praise and worthy of honor, God.
[00:16:45] Hallelujah.
[00:16:46] Thank you, Jesus.
[00:16:48] Hallelujah.
[00:16:49] Hallelujah.
[00:16:51] Hallelujah.
[00:16:52] Thank you, Jesus.

[00:16:53] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
Hallelujah.
[00:16:54] Oh, there's a freedom in the house.
[00:16:56] Hallelujah.

[00:16:57] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Hallelujah.
[00:17:00] Thank you, Jesus.

[00:17:01] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
Thank you, Jesus.

[00:17:02] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_21]:
You're my joy.

[00:17:04] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_22]:
You're my peace.

[00:17:06] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_21]:
You're my comfort in the time of need.
[00:17:10] You're my refuge, You're my rock You're the one I depend on You're the road to hope when the light goes dim When the waves of doubt come crashing in You're my anchor in the troubled storm Almighty You are You're my joy, You're my peace
[00:17:38] You're my comfort in the time of need You're my refuge, You're my rock You're the one I depend on You're the road to hope when the light blows dim When the waves of doubt come crashing in You're my anchor in the troubled storm Almighty God
[00:18:06] You bore the cross and You bare the scars You're my bright and shining star You gave me sight that I might see The kind of person that I should be You came to die to set me free Almighty God
[00:18:37] You bore the cross You bear the scars You're my bright and shining star You gave me sight that I might see The kind of person that I should be You came to die to set me free Almighty God

[00:19:08] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
Hallelujah!
[00:19:10] Thank you Jesus!
[00:19:11] Hallelujah!
[00:19:12] Thank you Lord!

[00:19:14] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_19]:
We bless you Lord!
[00:19:16] Hallelujah!
[00:19:17] Hallelujah!
[00:19:18] Hallelujah!
[00:19:22] We bless you Lord!

[00:19:28] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_21]:
Mountains are still being moved
[00:19:33] The struggles are still being loose God we believe, yes we can see it The wonders are still what you do
[00:19:49] Bodies are still being raised.
[00:19:54] Giants are still being slain.
[00:19:59] God, we believe.
[00:20:01] Yes, we can see it.
[00:20:04] The wonders are still what you did.
[00:20:07] Thank you, Lord.
[00:20:08] We are here.
[00:20:09] We are here for you Come and do what you do We are here for you Come and do what you do Set our hearts on you

[00:20:32] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_22]:
Come and do what you do We need a move We need a move We need a move We need a move

[00:20:56] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_21]:
Miracles happen when you move.
[00:21:01] Healing is coming in this room.
[00:21:09] Miracles happen when you move.
[00:21:14] Heaven is coming.
[00:21:19] This is our mood.
[00:21:24] This is our mood.
[00:21:38] We are here for you, come and do what you do.
[00:21:56] Set our hearts on you Come and do what you do Cause we need a move We need a move This is a move This is a move
[00:22:25] This is a move.
[00:22:33] This is a move.

[00:22:40] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_19]:
Thank you, Jesus.

[00:22:42] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_21]:
Thank you, Jesus.

[00:22:44] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_19]:
Yes, Lord.
[00:22:44] Yes, Lord.

[00:22:52] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
You are here, moving in us

[00:23:17] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_21]:
I worship You, I worship You, You are my God
[00:23:28] I worship you, I worship you You are here, moving in our midst I worship you, I worship you You are here, moving in our midst
[00:23:57] Work in this place, I worship You, I worship You You are the Waymaker, Miracle Worker, Promise Keeper, Light in the darkness My God, that is who You are You are the
[00:24:24] Waymaker, Miracle Worker, Promise Keeper, Light in the Darkness, My God, that is who You are, You are
[00:24:40] I worship you, I worship you You are here, here in every heart I worship you, I worship you You are the
[00:25:06] Waymaker, Miracle Worker, Promise Keeper, Light in the Darkness, My God, that is who You are.
[00:25:21] Waymaker, Miracle Worker, Promise Keeper, Light in the Darkness, My God, that is who You are.
[00:25:35] You are here turning lives around I worship You, I worship You You are here mending every heart I worship You, I worship You
[00:26:02] Waymaker, Miracle Worker, Promise Keeper, Light in the Darkness, My God, that is who You are.
[00:26:15] You are the
[00:26:16] Waymaker, Miracle Worker, Promise Keeper, Light in the Darkness, My God, that is who You are.
[00:26:28] That is who You are.
[00:26:32] That is who You are.
[00:26:35] That is who you are.
[00:26:39] That is who you are.
[00:26:42] That is who you are.
[00:26:45] That is who you are.
[00:26:53] You are the
[00:26:57] Waymaker, Miracle Worker, Promise Keeper, Light in the Darkness, My God, that is who You are.
[00:27:10] You are the
[00:27:11] Waymaker, Miracle Worker, Promise Keeper, Light in the darkness, my God, that is who You are.
[00:27:25] Even when I don't see that You're working,
[00:27:28] Even when I don't feel that you're working You never stop, you never stop working You never stop, you never stop working Even when I don't see that you're working Even when I don't feel that you're working You never stop, you never stop working You never stop, you never stop working
[00:28:36] Can we do that one more time?
[00:28:38] Can we do that one more time?

[00:28:40] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_20]:
Hallelujah!

[00:28:42] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
Let's declare it!
[00:28:44] Let's say it!

[00:28:48] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_21]:
Even when I don't see that you're working Even when I don't feel that you're working You never stop, you never stop working You never stop, you never stop working Even when I don't see that you're working
[00:29:06] Even when I don't feel that you're working You never stop, you never stop working You never stop, you never stop working That is who you are Oh we bless you Lord Hallelujah That is who you are
[00:29:32] That is who you are.
[00:29:37] That is who you are.
[00:29:41] That is who you are.

[00:29:49] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_19]:
Hallelujah!

[00:29:49] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
Give the Lord a clap of praise.
[00:29:51] Hallelujah.
[00:29:52] Thank you Jesus.
[00:29:54] Hallelujah.
[00:29:55] Thank you Jesus.
[00:29:57] Hallelujah.
[00:29:57] Thank you Jesus.

[00:30:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
Glad to see you all in the house of the Lord this morning and even though we have some that is out.
[00:30:17] We're praying for them as they heal from their sicknesses as the bad stuff is going around but we're praying a covering over us that we won't get any of it and pray for those that do have it that the Lord would bring healing to their bodies but I'm so thankful that you have chosen to be in the house of the Lord
[00:30:36] Thank you for those that are watching on Facebook Live and those that are listening.
[00:30:39] 102.5 WEZG in Statesville.
[00:30:44] Thank you for being part of the Way family.
[00:30:47] And of course we invite you to be in our audience, in our congregation at 135 Village Point Drive, Statesville, anytime you can come and join us.
[00:30:57] But I am so glad that you are here for those that's been out for...
[00:31:01] For several weeks for different situations.
[00:31:03] Thank you for being back in the house of God.
[00:31:06] We are excited about what God is doing in this hour.
[00:31:10] Amen.
[00:31:10] Can somebody say amen?
[00:31:12] Hallelujah, yes.
[00:31:15] You know, last week I talked about walking in the favor of God.
[00:31:18] If you was absent, didn't get a chance to watch that, I hope that you'll go back and that'll sort of give you a foundation of what
[00:31:29] Our series is about, and of course, I want us to get this in our spirit.
[00:31:35] Say, in my spirit.
[00:31:37] I don't want it to be something that we hear, but we're not doers of.
[00:31:41] I want it to go into our ears, into our minds, and into our spirit, so when we walk out these doors, we can be more than say we're Christian.
[00:31:49] We can show the world that we're Christian.
[00:31:51] Amen?
[00:31:53] You know, last week I started our series on walking in the favor of God.
[00:31:57] And like I said, I encourage you
[00:32:02] That as born-again believers in Christ, we must be wise in the decisions that we make.
[00:32:09] I've said this often and I'll repeat it again.
[00:32:12] You as a Christian, when you say, I am a Christian, people are watching your lives and sometimes you're the only Bible that a person, especially a sinner person, will read.
[00:32:24] So we have to be wise in the choices that we make.
[00:32:29] We have to be wise in how we live our life and the decisions we make and what we're committed to.
[00:32:35] In a world filled with triggers that's pulling us from one thing to another, we must all establish priorities in our lives.
[00:32:45] Whether we recognize it or not, we have decided what is going to take up our time, our devotion, and our strength.
[00:32:53] See, there's only one you.
[00:32:56] And I heard Miss Hobbs say this this week.
[00:32:59] If I could be split in three places, I'd be glad to do it.
[00:33:03] But I can't.
[00:33:03] I can only be one person.
[00:33:05] That's the same with you and me.
[00:33:07] We can only be one person and the choices that we make is going to have a lot to do with how we live our lives.
[00:33:15] But there's one decision that you and I have to decide that will determine how our life goes.
[00:33:24] And I want to ask you this morning, just where does God fit in your life?
[00:33:29] I'm hoping that your answer will be that your relationship with God is the most important thing that you can think of in your life.
[00:33:38] That pleasing Him, walking with Him.
[00:33:41] And for the most part, as Christians, we say, yeah, that's true.
[00:33:45] We do that.
[00:33:47] But you know what?
[00:33:47] Our actions are proving another thing.
[00:33:51] But I can't choose for you and you can't choose for me.
[00:33:55] Because where your heart is at, that is where you want to be.
[00:34:00] Let me say that again.
[00:34:03] Where your heart is, is where you want to be.
[00:34:07] We make our own schedule and we place every day what we do in order.
[00:34:12] Some of us have some routines that we're not going to get out of that routine.
[00:34:16] You know, the alarm goes off and we hit the alarm clock and we hit it for snooze for whatever moments you have that you want it and then it hits it again and then we finally get up and then some, you know, immediately goes to the bathroom and some immediately brushes their teeth.
[00:34:32] Whatever your routine is, you know what your priority is.
[00:34:37] But every day we are making priorities in our life and making a decision of what we're doing with our day.
[00:34:46] So I'm asking you in 2026, let's make God the number one priority in our lives.
[00:34:54] I'm going to say that again.
[00:34:56] Let us in 2026 make God the first and main priority in our life.
[00:35:03] Amen?
[00:35:05] You know, what we really want to do, we do what we really want to do.
[00:35:09] And I don't say that arrogantly.
[00:35:12] But that's the truth.
[00:35:14] Whatever we want to do, we will make it a priority.
[00:35:18] Whatever is important to us, we're going to take care of it.
[00:35:22] We stretch ourselves thin.
[00:35:25] And the last thing on our list rarely ever gets taken care of.
[00:35:30] Whatever you said as important to you and important in your life, that's what you're going to do.
[00:35:37] That is what you will do on the top of your list.
[00:35:40] Subconsciously, we need to understand that every choice, every priority that you make will affect your decisions, your scheduling, your relationships, and your whole outlook on life.
[00:35:54] Think about it.
[00:35:55] How many times have we got out of our routine in the morning and we get grumpy?
[00:36:01] Oh, now come on, I see some, okay, we're being honest this morning.
[00:36:07] We got something scratching their head, thinking, uh-huh.
[00:36:10] But don't we, if we get out of our routine, whatever is our priority, that sort of sets us off for the day.
[00:36:19] But I'm asking you to get your priority on God first.
[00:36:23] before anything else.
[00:36:25] In 2026, this church, the Statesville Full Gospel Tabernacle, the wave church where we are victorious every day, are walking in the favor of God in 2026.
[00:36:40] I want us to understand what you decide to do with your life is your business.
[00:36:48] But I'm here to tell you and encourage you and let you know when you make God number one in your life, your life is going to be a much better life.
[00:36:58] Making your relationship with God a priority will cause you to spend every moment that you can in prayer.
[00:37:06] Not just for asking for the things that you want, but to talk to Him, share your heart.
[00:37:11] There are many people that need your prayers.
[00:37:14] Do you believe that?
[00:37:15] Yes, there are.
[00:37:17] The lost.
[00:37:19] Family, friends, church family, the Wave Christian Academy, our government, those that are sick, those that are lonely, those that have problems.
[00:37:28] People need you praying for them.
[00:37:31] And if you don't make prayer time a priority, guess what?
[00:37:35] They may not have that prayer.
[00:37:38] Talking with God about those around you, it shows that you care.
[00:37:42] When God is your priority, you will want to read His Word because that's one of the ways that God speaks to you.
[00:37:49] He speaks to you through His Holy Spirit.
[00:37:52] When you read His Word, His Spirit will reveal things to you and reading God's Word will help you to grow and give you direction for your life.
[00:38:03] There is so much that needs your attention.
[00:38:06] There's so many things that pull you from place to place.
[00:38:10] But the most important thing is letting God be number one in your life.
[00:38:15] But you have to decide, is God a priority in my life?
[00:38:20] Just walking with God is not an option.
[00:38:23] It's your lifeline to overcome the battles and the trials that you face in this life.
[00:38:30] You and I was born with a purpose.
[00:38:32] Do you believe that?
[00:38:33] And we can find our purpose when we choose to spend time with God, when we choose to walk with Him, when we choose to make Him our priority, when we choose to make Him number one in our life.
[00:38:48] God wants to use your life to bring Him glory and honor.
[00:38:52] But how can that happen?
[00:38:54] How can your life bring Him honor and glory when you don't make Him a priority?
[00:38:59] Today I begin this new series, and I can't tell you how long it's going to go.
[00:39:04] Because as much as I've got in my spirit, it might be a whole year thing.
[00:39:07] But I want you to be prepared that today we're starting on this series, walking in the favor of God.
[00:39:16] God has dealt with me since December about the vision for our church and our lives for the new year and soon we'll be working on it together.
[00:39:25] But first we need to examine us and see where we stand with God.
[00:39:31] You know, it's my desire and my heart that you will make a very firm decision to walk with Jeff and I in this ministry as we walk in the favor of God in 2026.
[00:39:42] But it all begins with you making a choice.
[00:39:46] Who or what is going to be the priority of your life in 2026?
[00:39:52] God has given us many examples of people in the Bible.
[00:39:56] Many people who made a choice to put Him first.
[00:39:59] Many people who decided to walk with Him.
[00:40:02] And when they did, God gave them favor.
[00:40:06] Over the next weeks ahead, I'm going to speak to you about the ways we receive God's favor and the different kinds of His favor.
[00:40:14] So, to begin with, what exactly is favor?
[00:40:19] It is defined as the blessing, the protection, the support, the supernatural empowerment that comes from God.
[00:40:30] Think about that.
[00:40:32] It is defined as His blessings, His protections, His support, His supernatural empowerment that comes from Him He gives this to the faithful followers out of His love and grace for us
[00:40:47] It's also defined as a divine kindness approved or a blessing that God gives to those who follow Him.
[00:40:55] Let's look at Isaiah 66 and 2.
[00:40:58] And if you're taking notes or if you mark your Bible, I'm going to give you some words I want you to mark.
[00:41:06] I'm doing it in the New International Version.
[00:41:11] Has not my hand made all these things?
[00:41:14] What has his hands made?
[00:41:16] Everything.
[00:41:17] And so they come into being, declares the Lord, because he made everything they came to be.
[00:41:27] These are the ones I look on with favor.
[00:41:31] Now, who does he look on with favor?
[00:41:33] He's getting ready to tell us.
[00:41:35] If you want God's favor, this is what he's telling you.
[00:41:38] I want those who are humble and contrite in spirit and who tremble at my word.
[00:41:47] Three words here.
[00:41:49] He will give favor to those who are humble, who are contrite.
[00:41:53] That means that you have a repentant heart.
[00:41:56] You know when you mess up.
[00:41:58] And you ask for forgiveness.
[00:42:00] You want His forgiveness.
[00:42:02] And tremble, which means you are affected and changed by the Word.
[00:42:09] Amen?
[00:42:09] 2 Chronicles 16 and 9.
[00:42:13] 2 Chronicles 16 and 9.
[00:42:17] It says, For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole world to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect towards him.
[00:42:29] What does the Lord do?
[00:42:30] He looks back and forth.
[00:42:32] He's looking all over the world to see those that he can show himself strong to.
[00:42:40] But what does he say?
[00:42:42] To them whose heart is perfect toward him.
[00:42:47] Herein thou hast done foolishly, therefore hence thus shalt thou have wars.
[00:42:53] But if we focus on right there, there's another word or words I want you to underline or mark or take note of.
[00:43:01] It says on behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him.
[00:43:08] These two scriptures of many scriptures that I could bring to you and probably will over the next weeks ahead that tells us God wants to favor you.
[00:43:20] He wants to give you favor above all.
[00:43:27] But once again, he's also saying, it's up to you and me.
[00:43:31] It's up to us.
[00:43:32] Are we humble?
[00:43:34] Are we sorry when we do wrong?
[00:43:36] Do we repent?
[00:43:37] Do we honor and respect His Word?
[00:43:40] Do we allow His Word to change us, to move us?
[00:43:44] Do we allow His Word to affect us?
[00:43:47] And this scripture adds, and have a perfect heart toward Him.
[00:43:53] If so, God wants to give you His favor.
[00:43:56] Now,
[00:43:57] Before we get a little bit arrogant here, let's say this.
[00:44:00] Everybody wants favor.
[00:44:03] You think about it.
[00:44:04] Favor from family.
[00:44:06] Favor from friends.
[00:44:08] We want favor from supervisors.
[00:44:11] And the list continues.
[00:44:13] We all have a desire for someone else's approval.
[00:44:16] I don't need nobody's approval anymore.
[00:44:18] Yes, you say that, but yet you don't act that way.
[00:44:22] Think about that.
[00:44:23] That's why peer pressure works so well with many people.
[00:44:28] It's because you want to be in the group.
[00:44:31] You want to be liked.
[00:44:32] You want acceptance.
[00:44:35] And that is why we have so much peer pressure.
[00:44:41] You know, we may say that we don't, but in some form we do work hard at it.
[00:44:46] Do we want perfect scores?
[00:44:49] Do we want good evaluations?
[00:44:51] I know several times I didn't get quite above average and it hurt my feelings.
[00:44:57] I got it last year, why ain't I getting it this year?
[00:44:59] Because everybody can improve in.
[00:45:02] Right?
[00:45:03] But I wanted their acceptance.
[00:45:05] I thought that piece of paper that said I had a perfect audit meant I was good.
[00:45:11] Everybody wants to be accepted.
[00:45:14] Everybody wants favor.
[00:45:17] But do you know what?
[00:45:19] All the other religions of the world says the same thing.
[00:45:22] They teach that we need to get acceptance from God.
[00:45:27] We need His favor.
[00:45:30] So we have to be very, very careful not to confuse loving and serving God
[00:45:37] With working to gain His favor.
[00:45:40] Because I'm not talking about legalism.
[00:45:43] I'm talking about you and me making up our minds that we want to serve the true and living God.
[00:45:51] And with that, we are willing to give up our fleshly desires and want to follow God through this journey that we call life.
[00:46:00] And when we make that decision, then God will become our priority and we will walk in the favor of God.
[00:46:07] So, you must understand this, that God's love for you and His favor is related, yet it's two completely separate things.
[00:46:16] God loves us all the same, thank you Jesus.
[00:46:19] He has no respecter of persons.
[00:46:22] There's no one bigger or better.
[00:46:23] And that love is so deep and intense, so much that He gave His only begotten Son so you and I could have a relationship with God.
[00:46:33] But the favor of God is something entirely different.
[00:46:37] His favor comes when we walk with Him being our priority, when we seek Him, when we are humble, when we have a perfect heart, when we have a repentant life, letting His Word affect us and when we follow Him in all our ways.
[00:46:55] I believe that we all want to experience the favor of God.
[00:46:59] Some of us even want the extreme favor of God.
[00:47:03] I say let the blessings flow, but He says make me a priority in your life.
[00:47:09] See, everybody wants the blessings of God.
[00:47:11] Everybody wants their prayers answered from God.
[00:47:14] They want, want, want, but yet they have not chosen to make Him a priority, number one, in their lives.
[00:47:22] I believe we all, in some form or fashion, want to experience the favor of God.
[00:47:29] The good news is that every one of us is eligible to live under the covering of God's favor.
[00:47:35] It's a place of tremendous blessings but also extreme responsibility.
[00:47:41] The favor of God will change your life and the life of those around you in ways that you can only imagine.
[00:47:48] According to Jeremiah, and I can show you other places and probably will, each one of us are divinely designed and individually created for a purpose and a destiny.
[00:48:03] The Word of God starting in Jeremiah 1 verse 4 says, Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Behold, I have formed thee in the belly, I knew thee.
[00:48:15] And before thou comest forth out of the womb, I sanctified thee, and ordained thee a prophet unto nations.
[00:48:24] Then said I, O Lord God, Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a child.
[00:48:33] But the Lord said unto me, Say not, I am a child.
[00:48:36] For thou shalt go to all that I send thee, and wheresoever I command thee, thou shalt speak.
[00:48:45] Be not afraid of their faces, for I am what?
[00:48:50] With thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord.
[00:48:53] The reality is not that everyone will discover their destiny.
[00:48:59] Not everyone will discover their purpose.
[00:49:02] But for those who will seek out their purpose, they'll find it in obedience to their purpose.
[00:49:09] discover themselves completely blessed and highly favored of God in a way that we could never ever experience otherwise that's why I'm asking you today our church family I'm asking you to walk wisely in 2026 I'm asking you to step out in faith I'm asking you to make a commitment to God put Him first in every decision in your life
[00:49:36] In your time, in your obedience, and join with me to make a difference.
[00:49:43] I believe that we're walking in the favor of God in 2026.
[00:49:46] I believe so much, I believe it's like we've never experienced before.
[00:49:51] We've left the past behind us and it's time that you and I walk in the favor of God.
[00:49:58] But I also know it's going to take us putting Him first in everything we do, everything we say, everywhere we go.
[00:50:06] We've got to make God first priority.
[00:50:10] Lance Wallnau, does anybody know Lance?
[00:50:12] Anybody follow Lance?
[00:50:13] Okay.
[00:50:14] Lance Wallnau is a pastor in Rhode Island.
[00:50:19] He had some things to say about favor that I think is really good.
[00:50:23] So listen to what Lance has said.
[00:50:27] To have a particular signature of God's favor or honoring or cherishing value placed on you so that when He sees you there is a special value He has for you.
[00:50:43] In other words, God really likes you.
[00:50:46] And when He likes you, there is an influence that will come upon you like the charisma of God Himself will rub on you.
[00:50:56] And make it like people will want to cooperate with you whether they like you or not.
[00:51:04] Favor is that special affection of God towards you that releases an influence on you so that others are inclined to like you or cooperate with you.
[00:51:18] You know there are people that I come in contact with and they immediately
[00:51:24] And I think, Lord, I've never done nothing to them people.
[00:51:26] Why do they act like that to me?
[00:51:28] And the Lord spoke to me and He says, It's the Spirit inside of you fighting the Spirit inside of them.
[00:51:33] And that's why they cut you off like that.
[00:51:36] See, I had to get past that.
[00:51:38] But I'm believing when we walk in the favor of God in 2026, we can be so close to God that we can walk up to those people and immediately that shield will come down and they can receive Jesus Christ as their Savior.
[00:51:54] Quite often people only remember what God has done in the past.
[00:51:58] You know, we like talking about the good old days.
[00:52:00] And I'll tell you what, if we had some of those ladies and men here in the church that was here 30, 40 years ago that would shout this place down, we'd be, wow.
[00:52:12] Because times have changed, but God has not.
[00:52:15] So we remember the good times.
[00:52:16] We remember all those times.
[00:52:19] But we also remember the Red Sea.
[00:52:21] The Scripture tells us how He parted the water or how rain fired down from heaven and consumed Elijah's sacrifice or how He fed the thousands of people just with a small lunch.
[00:52:35] All as well as what He has done for us personally.
[00:52:40] We remember things God has done in the past that has helped us in situations.
[00:52:47] On one hand, we know what God has performed countless amazing miracles throughout history and it's important for us to give Him praise and honor and glory for what He's done.
[00:52:57] But on the other hand, we need to also give Him praise as we look forward to what God is going to do in our lives in 2026.
[00:53:06] That's why you and I must make a decision to walk with God like never before.
[00:53:13] We've got to thank Him for the blessings of the past, His miracles, His ability.
[00:53:18] But in 2026, it's a new year with new opportunities.
[00:53:23] We can no longer stay in the blessings of the past.
[00:53:27] It's time to walk in the favor, the blessings of today in a brand new way.
[00:53:32] But it's going to take us making some changes in our own lives, walking wisely in Him.
[00:53:38] The Bible teaches that in ages to come, God would do things that far supersede anything else He's ever done.
[00:53:46] The Bible teaches this.
[00:53:49] I want you to understand the age to come is now.
[00:53:53] We are closer to the return of Jesus Christ than we've ever been.
[00:53:58] We see the signs everywhere.
[00:54:01] We know that He's coming.
[00:54:02] We see it.
[00:54:03] We have an emptiness, a longing for Him to return.
[00:54:07] But listen, we need to understand that God is a God of way much.
[00:54:13] Not a God of getting, just barely getting by.
[00:54:16] We have had success with enough.
[00:54:21] But God is calling us to walk in His favor, making Him a priority, seeking Him, being humble, having a perfect heart, a repentant life, and letting His Word affect us and follow His ways, and we will receive more than enough.
[00:54:39] When he fed the 5,000, you got to think, the scripture said 5,000 plus women and children.
[00:54:46] So when he fed the multitude, he was really feeding like 12 to 15,000 of women and children.
[00:54:54] And everyone had enough.
[00:54:57] Everyone had an abundance.
[00:55:00] Then there was abundance of leftovers as well.
[00:55:02] The scripture said there was 12 baskets left.
[00:55:06] And if this meal was anything like the water Jesus turned into wine, it was probably the best brand and the best fish they had ever eaten.
[00:55:18] Praise the Lord.
[00:55:20] God never does anything halfway.
[00:55:24] He's always giving you and me His best.
[00:55:27] He's always advancing.
[00:55:28] He's always doing things.
[00:55:30] He's constantly looking for ways to bless His children.
[00:55:34] That's why in 2026 we will walk in His favor when we make Him our priority.
[00:55:42] Lamentations 3.
[00:55:44] Lamentations 3.
[00:55:45] Start with the 22nd verse.
[00:55:47] We know this.
[00:55:48] We quote it right often.
[00:55:50] It is the Lord's mercy that we are not consumed because His compassions fail not.
[00:55:58] They are new every morning.
[00:56:00] Great is Thy faithfulness.
[00:56:04] God is constantly doing new and exciting things for us.
[00:56:08] We may not see it in the natural, but He's constantly working behind the scenes on our behalf.
[00:56:15] And the best news is we are only limited as to what God wants to do for us by our expectations of Him.
[00:56:24] Oh, God won't do that?
[00:56:26] Well, you know, then He won't do that.
[00:56:29] But if you have the faith, if you believe God will move mountains for you,
[00:56:35] As much as we can believe God, God wants to do it.
[00:56:39] Our faith is what stops Him so many times.
[00:56:43] Our faith is wavering.
[00:56:45] But when we make Him a priority in our life, that all changes.
[00:56:50] Because regardless of what we're looking at in the natural, we will know that He's working all things for our good.
[00:56:56] Now I'm going to read Jeremiah 33, 2 and 3 in a different version.
[00:57:03] And I don't know if you found it or not, Jeff, but I'm going to read it.
[00:57:07] Jeremiah 33, 2 and 3.
[00:57:10] And he's got King James.
[00:57:11] I'm going to do it another.
[00:57:13] This is God's message.
[00:57:16] The God who made earth, who made it livable and lasting, known everywhere as God.
[00:57:24] Call to me and I will answer you.
[00:57:28] I'll tell you marvelous and wonderful things that you could have never figured out on your own.
[00:57:36] What is God doing?
[00:57:37] God wants to outdo Himself in this generation.
[00:57:40] God wants to outdo Himself in this church, in the Statesville Full Gospel Tabernacle.
[00:57:46] The wave church.
[00:57:47] He wants to outdo himself.
[00:57:49] He wants to show us things.
[00:57:51] He wants to reveal things to us.
[00:57:53] Great things that we know nothing about.
[00:57:57] People have said, where is the God of miracles?
[00:58:01] Let me tell you, God is still the God of miracles and He's still with us today.
[00:58:06] People say, I don't see the blessings of God.
[00:58:09] Are you upright today?
[00:58:11] You're not confined to a bed this morning.
[00:58:14] You got out of your bed this morning.
[00:58:17] Do you have food on your table?
[00:58:21] It might not be in ribeye steak and a loaded baked potato, but you have food on your table.
[00:58:27] Did you have a roof over your head or was you out in the rain when it was pouring down yesterday?
[00:58:33] You have a roof over your head.
[00:58:36] Let me tell you something, and you had a way here.
[00:58:39] You had transportation to get here.
[00:58:43] Listen, God has been good to you.
[00:58:45] Say, God has been good to me.
[00:58:47] And when we walk in His favor, when we make Him priority in our lives, we will see more blessings than we can ever imagine.
[00:58:59] What an exciting time it is to be alive right now.
[00:59:03] The field is white.
[00:59:05] They're waiting for someone to lead them to Jesus Christ.
[00:59:10] It's not all gloom and doom, although we do get tied up with that once in a while.
[00:59:15] It is a time that you and I can walk in the favor of God.
[00:59:20] It's time that we can win the loss to Jesus Christ.
[00:59:23] It's a time that we can declare that we are blessed and highly favored by the God of all creation.
[00:59:31] What a better time to be blessed by God.
[00:59:35] What's happened to us so far is just a little bit of what's to come.
[00:59:40] We have not experienced all the goodness of God.
[00:59:43] We've only experienced a fraction of it.
[00:59:47] The best is yet to come.
[00:59:48] But yet you and I must align ourselves.
[00:59:52] And that first alignment comes when making God a priority in your life.
[00:59:58] Remember, God is a God of increase.
[01:00:00] God is a God of favor.
[01:00:02] God is a God of blessings.
[01:00:05] And even though we will experience some hard places in life, we can walk in God's favor and things won't be so bad.
[01:00:13] We won't receive them as much.
[01:00:15] We will rebuke them and pray of them and continue on knowing God will make a way for us.
[01:00:22] Where are you today?
[01:00:26] And where are you?
[01:00:27] Where do you stand?
[01:00:28] Well, Pastor Tammy, I've had a hard year.
[01:00:31] I've had problems.
[01:00:32] I've had this.
[01:00:33] I've had that.
[01:00:33] Let me tell you, where you are today is not where you're going tomorrow.
[01:00:39] This is just a stopping off place.
[01:00:42] We all will have trouble.
[01:00:43] We're in a world, a sinful world.
[01:00:45] We're going to have issues.
[01:00:47] But I want you to understand, when you make God your priority and not your spare tire, you're going to see your life change drastically.
[01:00:58] I'm certain, I'm telling you, with all the hell that I've been through, I am telling you I wouldn't take nothing for my journey now.
[01:01:07] I wouldn't take nothing for it because I know God has got something greater.
[01:01:12] I know God has got something better and greater than I can ever imagine because I'm going to hold on to His unchanging hand and I'm going to believe with all my faith and I'm going to set God as my priority.
[01:01:27] When you walk in the favor of God, good things don't just come your way.
[01:01:31] It is the pure essence of God that is on your life.
[01:01:35] That when you walk, people can feel God on you.
[01:01:39] They will know something is different.
[01:01:42] They will feel that something has changed.
[01:01:45] Let me tell you just one moment.
[01:01:49] See, that's why I want you so desperately to get involved with worship.
[01:01:54] You know, you think waving your hands of worship or surrendering, that don't mean, yes it does.
[01:02:00] It grasps hold of God's attention and He's looking down on you saying, you know, they're surrendering everything to me.
[01:02:07] That's why I've said this and I'll continue saying, praise and worship time is the only time we give back to God in the church service.
[01:02:15] All the rest of it is about me, me,
[01:02:17] I'm here to tell you that God is going to change things.
[01:02:21] He's going to make our lives to where He's our priority.
[01:02:25] When we put Him first, He's going to come down.
[01:02:27] The praise is going to come up.
[01:02:29] And when we have this experience, we're going to see a brand new walk of God.
[01:02:35] God will change us.
[01:02:39] Being in His presence will be a difference.
[01:02:42] Listen, God gives grace to people with checkered past.
[01:02:45] Well, my past is bad and I've done this and my past and I've done that.
[01:02:49] Forget your past and move up to higher grounds in favor with God in 2026.
[01:02:56] Hallelujah!
[01:02:57] God gives forgiveness to people who don't deserve it.
[01:03:00] I never deserved forgiveness for what I've done to Him, but yet He loved me enough that He gave His life for me.
[01:03:07] He placed His Spirit inside of us to direct our steps.
[01:03:11] He gave us His Holy Spirit so we didn't have to wander in darkness.
[01:03:15] We have the light to guide us and direct us.
[01:03:18] He frees us from the law keeping as the right way to live in Christ.
[01:03:24] Instead, He invites us to be saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.
[01:03:31] But He gives us freedom to choose or obey.
[01:03:36] Or disobey.
[01:03:39] He gives us freedom to love Him or be indifferent to Him.
[01:03:44] He gives you freedom to make Him a priority or everything else a priority.
[01:03:50] He gives you those choices and the freedom.
[01:03:54] He lets you and me set our priority.
[01:03:59] Listen, you are highly favored to God.
[01:04:03] Say it with me.
[01:04:04] I'm highly favored with God.
[01:04:06] Oh, come on, somebody needs to receive that.
[01:04:08] I am highly favored by God.
[01:04:16] God sent his one and only son to die for you on a cross.
[01:04:21] And he seeks to have a relationship with you.
[01:04:24] But it's totally up to you.
[01:04:26] He's not going to make you.
[01:04:27] He's not going to force you.
[01:04:28] He's not going to say, all right, I want your favor today.
[01:04:32] If you want my favor, then you're going to have to give me your favor, and you're going to have to make me a priority.
[01:04:37] No, he don't work that way.
[01:04:38] He says, this is your choice.

[01:04:41] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_22]:
Mm, mm, mm, mm, mm, mm.

[01:04:45] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
But He wants to have a relationship with you like never before.
[01:04:49] Like never before.
[01:04:50] We're forgetting the past.
[01:04:51] We're moving on.
[01:04:52] We're leaving that behind us.
[01:04:54] Quit saying, I did this and I did that.
[01:04:56] Well, yeah, you did and it's under the blood.
[01:04:58] Forget it.
[01:04:58] Move on.

[01:05:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
God wants a relationship with you enough He sent His Son to die on a cross so He could be with you and you could be with Him.

[01:05:13] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
He wants you to set priorities in your life and make Him number one so that when you spend so much time with Him, His glory just radiates off of you.
[01:05:28] Listen, walking in the favor of God will take you places you've never been.
[01:05:34] But it's your choice.
[01:05:36] It's your priority.
[01:05:38] In 2026, I declare to you that the state's full gospel tabernacle, the Wave Church, where we are victorious every day, is walking in the favor of God.
[01:05:54] And I invite you to join that journey with me because I am anticipating great and mighty things in 2026.
[01:06:01] I ended the year with this prayer.
[01:06:04] I said,
[01:06:06] I needed no direction.
[01:06:08] I need to know what the direction is.
[01:06:12] And I'm telling you, in 2026, we're going to know clearly what our purpose and our direction is.
[01:06:18] But I need you to join in with me.
[01:06:21] I'm so excited for what God is doing.
[01:06:23] I mean, I heard testimonies this morning before church even started of how God has done this and God has done that and then somebody else comes in and says, God's done this this week and God's done that.
[01:06:34] I'm telling you, we're walking in His favor.
[01:06:36] Now let's put it in as our first priority, not our last.
[01:06:42] And let's receive everything that God has for us.
[01:06:46] I'm going on this journey and I'm hoping and praying you're going to go with me.
[01:06:51] So let's walk in the favor of God together and see what God can do for our church and for us.
[01:06:58] Let's stand to our feet.
[01:07:05] Heavenly Father, I thank you so much for the opportunity to be in your house.