Finding Favor with God Copyright © 2014 All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America Published by TimeWorthy Books Phoenix, AZ 85046 This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form without prior written permission of the publisher. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version of the Bible, Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. Scripture quotations marked AMP are from The Amplified Bible. Old Testament copyright © and New Testament copyright © are by the Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. Scripture quotations marked Living Bible are from The Living Bible, copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Publishers, Wheaton, Illinois. Used by permission. Scripture quotations marked KJV are from The King James Version of the Bible. Scripture quotations are taken from the New American Standard Bible. Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.Lockman.org Scripture quotations marked ESV are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. The Message (MSG) Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson Design: Peter Gloege | LOOK Design Studio PDF eBook: 978-1-62961-052-8 ePub: 978-1-62961-053-5 Mobi: 978-1-62961-054-2 To my beloved wife, Carolyn Sue, mother of our four precious children and ten cherished grandchildren: You and I were best friends before we fell in love. You were the first person to ever believe in me, and I am thankful that you still do. You are my partner in ministry and the most selfless person I’ve ever known. introduction...............................................................7 chapter 1. God’s.Power.and.Presence................................11 chapter 2. God’s.Protection.............................................. 29 chapter 3. God’s.Glory........................................................ 45 chapter 4. God’s.Blessings.................................................. 59 chapter 5. God’s.Gladness.and.Rejoicing........................ 77 chapter 6. God’s.Deliverance............................................ 87 chapter 7. God’s.Grace....................................................... 111 chapter 8. God’s.Pleasure.in.His.children.................... 125 chapter 9. God’s.Forgiveness............................................ 135 chapter 10. God’s.Love..........................................................147 chapter 11. God’s.Peace........................................................ 161 chapter 12. God’s.Anointing.for.the.Impossible............ 175 chapter 13. Pursuing.God....................................................189 chapter 14. God.Is.on.His.Throne..................................... 203 epilogue.................................................................... 215 notes.........................................................................221 In.2012,.I.related. some of my personal experiences in a book titled Living in the FOG (Favor of God). It detailed how we, as Believers, could have God’s favor at work in our lives. More recently, the question in the forefront of my thoughts has been: What is favor with God, and does that differ from the favor of God? That may best be explained by an example from my own life. Also in 2012, I traveled to Jerusalem to seek a location for a Friends of Zion (FOZ) Museum in the Holy City. Through the museum, the accounts of Christians who played a crucial role in helping to promote, defend, support, and establish the modern state of Israel will be told, as will the stories of those men and women who fulfilled their moral duty to rescue Jewish people from the Holocaust. The attractive building that houses the museum sits in the heart of Jerusalem at 20 and 22 Yosef Rivlin Street, a prominent location overlooking Independence Park and within walking dis- tance to the Old City. My heart is overflowing with gratitude to God as the fulfill- ment of a dream He placed in my spirit more than thirty years ago has become a reality. When the contract for the purchase of the building that now houses FOZ—just a short distance from the Temple Mount—was signed, I was reminded once again that every 7 Mike Evans promise from God is certain and sure, no matter how long we have to wait for it. Not only has this “great and effective door…opened to me (1 Corinthians 16:9),” God has made it possible for us to purchase an adjacent building to use as a welcome center and coffee shop. Abraham waited for the promised birth of Isaac for some twenty- five years, but in God’s perfect timing, the son of promise was born. Likewise, when I first met with Prime Minister Menachem Begin more than thirty years ago and we agreed to work together to build a bridge between Christians and Jews, part of that dream was to have a permanent presence in the Holy City. Now we are moving forward with this beautiful facility to minister to the Jewish people and to you. Prior to that meeting with the prime minister, I had faced one of the greatest crises of my life: I was working eighteen hours a day, seven days a week, striving to be the best I could be, but not totally relying on God for His direction. I was soon beset with a neurological disease that manifested itself in neck spasms. At the same time, I began to experience panic attacks and tachycardia (a sudden increase in heart rate). In the midst of this darkness, I became depressed, discouraged, and physically drained. I cried out to God from the midst of a cardiology ward, “Lord, what am I doing wrong? I need Your peace.” As I said that, the Lord whispered in my spirit, “Then you shall know Me in the power of My resurrection.” Little did I know that several months later, the soft, gentle voice of the Holy Spirit would urge me to read: Remember ye not the former things, neither con- sider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will 8 Finding Favor with GOD even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert (Isaiah 43:18–19 kjv). Through this Scripture it was as though a drop of water had fallen on my parched spirit. Next the Holy Spirit instructed me to go home and send a fax to Israeli Prime Minister Begin, asking if he would meet with me. I was reluctant to reach out to a man who did not know me. Eventually, I obeyed the voice of God and sent the fax telling the prime minister I would be in a Jerusalem hotel for six days and expressing my desire to meet with him. I flew there, checked in to my hotel, and began to pray. On the second day, I found myself surrounded by the favor of God as I answered a call to meet with the prime minister. Mr. Begin dominated the conversation for almost thirty minutes, which was a relief because I could think of nothing to say. Finally he asked, “Why did you come?” “I don’t know why I came,” I answered. “You don’t know?” he said with astonishment. “What do you know?” “God sent me,” I said. “God sent you but didn’t tell you why?” he asked, becoming amused at the situation. “No, He didn’t tell me why,” I said, somewhat embarrassed. He called for his secretary to come into his office. “Eight thousand miles, Kadashai, to meet with me, and he says nothing except God sent him. Kadashai, shake his hand. We have finally found an honest man!” Then he turned to me and said, “When God tells you why, will you come back and tell me?” After leaving the prime minister’s office I still didn’t know why 9 Mike Evans I’d come, so I prayed and waited for an answer. Finally Jesus softly spoke one word to me: “Bridge.” Once I had that, I called and we set another time to meet. When we met, the prime minister asked, “Why did you come?” I replied slowly, “To build a bridge.” “What kind of bridge? The Brooklyn Bridge?” the prime min- ister chuckled. “A bridge of love...between Christians in America and Jews in Israel,” I answered. “I like that,” Begin said. “Let’s build it together.” Before I left his office, the prime minister gave me two letters he had written and asked me to deliver them. One was addressed to Dr. Billy Graham and the other to Dr. Jerry Falwell. I had told him earlier that I knew neither man. He assured me these letters would open doors for me. That was the start of more than three decades of a Jesus-blessed ministry to the nation of Israel. It revolutionized my life and helped develop the bridge Jesus wanted built. By my not caring about my reputation, God was able to use me. Somehow I fit into His plan, allowing my imperfections to draw me closer to Him. That bridge has been built because over the years I have been blessed not only with the favor of God, but I have walked in favor with God. The favor of God has opened doors for me; favor with God has given me the grace and strength to walk through those doors to experience the full blessings of God in my life and ministry. 10 God’s.Power. and.Presence The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. — PSALM 19:1 In.1978.the.late.Jamie Buckingham, international author and columnist, invited me to accompany his group on what had become for him a regular trek through the Sinai. It would be an unforgettable journey through the desert—one filled with sand, sun, scorching heat, scorpions, and a stunning example of God’s presence.