Sermon Central
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Unmistakable Signs A Person Is Genuinely Walking In The Presence, Anointing, And Favor Of God - Part 1 Series
Contributed by Dr. Craig Nelson on Apr 28, 2025 (message contributor)
Summary: These two messages are the culmination of decades of observing those I have heard, met, sat under, and worked with in ministry who have walked in a unique Anointing and Favor of God and what they all had in common that caused them to stand apart from others.
“Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” (James 4:8 ESV)
“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” Luke 9:23 NIV)
2. They Abide in the Knowledge that God is the Omnipotent Creator of All Things, and His Goodness Continues Forever
“Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good, For His lovingkindness is everlasting. Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the adversary.” (Psalm 107:1-2 ESV, see also Psalm 119:68; 1 Chronicles 16:34; Jeremiah 31:12)
The words used in the Bible for “good” are ‘towb’ in Hebrew and ‘talos’ in Greek. They are translated into English as good, better, well, goodness, best, merry, fair, prosperity, precious, fine, wealth, beautiful, favor, honest and gladness.
God is infinitely and perfectly good, kindhearted, rich in loving kindness and tender mercies, gracious, good-natured, and benevolent in intention, which is clearly revealed in the Bible. He is the source and perfection of all good (2 Thessalonians 1:11; see (Psalm 23:6; 68:10; 73:1; 119:65; 145:9; Lamentations 3:25; Luke 6:35; Romans 2:4; 11:22; Ephesians 2:7; Titus 3:4). His goodness is the foundation of Scripture and is praised for it (Psalms 25:8; 34:8; 86:5; 100:5; 118:1; 136:1; 145:9).
“O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever.” (1 Chronicles 16:34 KJV)
God works for the good and is not the author of evil. He knows everyone personally and everything about them, yet He still loves them anyway! His goodness leads them to repentance and restoration. His acts toward them are always good actions to help and bless them. He takes no delight in wrath and only desires to lead people to repentance. Even when God must chasten a person, He uses His hand from a heart filled with goodness and love because He is kind and a loving heavenly Father.
Because of Jesus's death on the Cross, He forgave all our sins—past, present, and future! He is immutable. He never varies. There is no shadow of turning with Him—He does not change (Malachi 3:6). That means He will always be good because His character will never change! God is good because His gifts are good.
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28 NIV)
Historically, this verse has been used to teach that every situation, no matter how terrible, will turn out “good” if a person loves God. The verse says, in the full meaning of the Greek text, that God enters into every life circumstance to come alongside us and work it out for our best, no matter what has happened. That doesn’t mean or remotely insinuate that He will supernaturally change the circumstances or the outcome the way we want it to be.
The context of the verse is the fallen world and that the world as a whole is subject to the bondage of corruption (Romans 8:21). This bondage is so widespread the whole world is groaning in pain, the Born-Again Christian groans in pain, and even the Holy Spirit groans in pain (Romans 8:22-23,26). The groaning in this context is worldwide and appears to cover all of creation itself.
