APPREHENDING THE GOD OF INCREASE

[Albert Finch]

Right now, we celebrate the Holy Spirit bringing us into a divine convergence to position us for a continual increase in wisdom, stature, and favor!
Luke 2:52 reads, "And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men."

WISDOM is the application of your knowledge and the supernatural ability to turn your encounters and dreams with God into reality. This increase in the Spirit of Wisdom is being poured out to give you the capacity to clearly recognize where your FAVOR should be directed right now. In the Bible the "Sons of Issachar" knew the times (kairos: the NOW opportunities) and the seasons.

STATURE refers to the size of your heart and your inner-man. It's a combination of your God-sized dreams, His presence on your life, and the size of your YES to God. Your stature in the Spirit causes a healthy recognition and is used by God to attract favor with God and men.

FAVOR is a direct result of grace and it is the engine for your vision. Favor causes whatever you need and even desire to be made manifest.
2 Cor. 9:8 reads, "And God is able to make all grace (favor) abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed."
Favor is so powerful that it requires wisdom to steward properly. Favor without wisdom results in the lack of readiness when your moment arrives. But favor with wisdom increases your stature, the ability to be recognized, and causes you to live in a constant state of flow and advancement in God's PURPOSE for your life.

SPENDING YOUR FAVOR
The secret to your increase in these NOW moments is directly linked to recognizing and valuing your "Burning Bush" (new and uncommon) invitations and your ability to "take off your shoes" and stay a while with Him. God set a precedent for Moses and taught him to not take lightly His strange ways of getting Moses' attention but also drawing him into a continual flow of supernatural thought traffic.

Moses not only turned aside to encounter God's obvious invitations, but he built a dwelling place for continual encounters and called it "The Tent of Meeting". From that day on everyone knew that Moses was intentional about using his favor to get more favor.
In Exodus 33:13, Moses discovers how to use his favor, "Now therefore, I pray You, if I have found favor in Your sight, let me know Your ways that I may know You, so that I may find favor in Your sight."
Moses uses his favor with God to get closer to God and know His ways, so he may find more favor with God. This bold ASK launches Moses into a staggering discovery that Gods presence in his life is the ultimate measurement for all true favor.

FAVOR AND FRIENDSHIP
Exodus 33:14-16 reads "And He said, 'My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.' Then he said to Him, 'If Your presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from here. For how then can it be known that I have found favor in Your sight, I and Your people? Is it not by Your going with us, so that we, I and Your people, may be distinguished from all the other people who are upon the face of the earth?'"

Moses had learned from his surprise "Burning Bush" encounters, and from wearing a path in the sand to his regularly scheduled "Tent of Meeting" moments with God, that experiencing more of God's presence would cause him to go from favor to friendship. Moses grew in favor and confidence in God because his ultimate assignment was to walk in such a place of favor and friendship with God that it would attract the tangible glory of God to all the earth.
Then Moses said, "I pray You, show me Your glory!" (verse 17)

You have found the favor and the friendship of God who says to you this day, "I will be with you just as I was with Moses."

ALBERT FINCH MINISTRY
http://afministry.ning.com/