Cómo andar en el favor de Dios, Pt. 2

The Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me. Therefore, go around the world teaching and preaching the gospel to every creature, to the last of the earth. En Contacto, the biblical teaching ministry of Dr. Charles Stanley. Today on En Contacto, how to walk in God's favor, part 2. The Bible says that there was no grace before Jehovah's eyes. And when I think about that, I remember what it says in Genesis 6, and I invite you to read it with me in a moment. And the reason why he found favor with God in the first place was because he heard it. And we talk about that in the previous message. He heard God, he found favor before his eyes. Not only did he hear it, but the Bible also says that he trusted in Him. That is the part that I want to deal with today in this passage. He heard God and then trusted in Him. So, when you think about that, ask yourself, Do I know how to listen to God? And would you say that after listening to Him, you are ready and willing and ready, not just to listen to Him, but willing to trust in Him? Think about this. You can pray as much as you want. If you don't trust in God, you waste your time. Because faith is fundamental. It was essential to receive salvation. It is essential for Christian life. There are many people who say, Well, am I saved? Have you ever listened to God?

Well, not really, but I know that I am saved. Well, first of all, if you are saved, you had to listen to God, because it was He who told you that you needed to be saved. Once you have listened to Him, He will tell you that doing so was how He accepted Christ as His Savior. But many people don't listen to God. And if they don't listen to Him, how do they know if they are doing the right thing or not? And then, do they have faith in God when they ask Him for something? When they ask God for something, they close their prayer with great expectations that God will answer their request. Or it is like most people, that is, they pray and speak to God about this, that, and the other, and they say, in the name of Jesus, Amen, they get up and leave. First of all, we must listen to God. Second, we must trust in Him. That is what this passage is about, and this message. So, we speak of what is God's favor. God's favor is His acceptance, His approval, His support, His provision for us, the divine energy that He gives us, and His joy. With that in mind, I invite you to look for Proverbs chapter 3, which is a wonderful biblical passage. And, in reality, it is the way in which Noah lived in those days when he listened to the Lord. Let's go then to Proverbs chapter 3, from verse 5. The word says,

Trust in Jehovah and all your heart, and do not rely on your own prudence, but trust in Him. Recognize Him in all your ways, but trust in Him. And He will straighten your ways, but trust in Him. Do not be wise in your own opinion, fear Jehovah, and turn away from evil. So, our first responsibility is to listen to God. I ask you, does it take time to listen to God? Not just to kneel or whatever you do, and begin to speak. Secondly, once you pray, you begin to think about what you have prayed, and you begin to think, well, this is what I have asked of God. Do you trust in God? Do you have a certain expectation when you get up from your knees? That is the only way to say it. It is the way in which I pray. When you finish praying, do you wait for God to do something about what He said in prayer? I think that most people do not pray like that. They speak to God, and they tell Him what they want Him to do, what they need Him to do, and then they say, in the name of Jesus, Amen.

No! Wait a moment. If I am going to ask Him that, I am going to trust in Him. I get up, I sit down, and I say, yes, Lord, I have asked you this, I hope so. I trust that he will answer my petition. If he does not finish his prayer with a sense of confidence, he is only babbling words. Think about this. His whole relationship with God is based on that. How did he become saved? By listening to the word of God. He was saved by faith that God would do what he said. Amen? That sounded very weak. Amen? He trusted in Him to save him, and all he did was ask for His word, repent of his sins, confess his sins, and he asked for that, and then he got up and left, and he trusted that God would answer his prayer. So the reason why Noah found grace in the eyes of God is, first of all, because he listened to God, what God told him. Secondly, he trusted in God. We do not know the story. I invite you to join me in Genesis chapter 6, because it is a perfect example of the three essential foundations for God to act in our lives and for us to achieve what God wants us to accomplish. First of all, to listen to Him. Secondly, to trust in Him. And I want us to see this in the light of Noah's character,

what kind of man he was, and the way in which God said that he saw his society. This is what he said in chapter 6, and he saw Jehovah that the wickedness of men, in verse 5, was much in the earth, and that every design of the thoughts of their hearts was continuous, only evil. And Jehovah repented of having made man in the earth, and it hurt him in his heart, and he said, Jehovah, I will bring upon the face of the earth the men that I have created, from man to beast, and to the reptile, and the birds of heaven, for I repent of having made them. But Noah found grace before Jehovah's eyes. This society where he was was abominable, and God spoke to him. God saw that Noah was different from all the other people, and what he saw was a man who had a different perspective. So the Bible says, he found grace before Jehovah's eyes. Let's look at this. These are the generations of Noah. Noah, a just man, was perfect in his generations. With God, Noah walked. Think about this seriously. Can you be told in three ways by your conversation, your conduct, and your character that you are a person who walks with God? When someone thinks of you, a friend, a colleague, a family member, whoever,

would they say that they see you that way? Because of your character? Because of your conduct? Do they see you as a person who walks with God? We will see this shortly when we begin to observe all this. So, I wish that we could see the point of view that God had of Noah. He said, in the first place, he found grace before Jehovah's eyes. His story was just, perfect in his generations. With God, Noah walked. Can you say that about us? If you cannot say that about us, what would you say? That someone is rich, famous, that he is busy, that he is a good employee, a good manager, a great neighbor, that he is someone from the church, that he goes to the church. Or, what could you say? What would be more shocking for you to say about us, that we walk with God? That we walk in his grace, that we find God's favor. We have God's favor when we listen to him and when we trust in him. And that is true in Noah's life. So, I wish that we could think about this for a moment. God said to Noah, There is only wickedness, wickedness and malice everywhere.

I have found in you a man without a mark, so I want you to do this. Then God began to speak to him and ordered him to build the ark. Now, what kind of chariot was an ark? No one knew about that. They had no idea what it was. Let us think of something 137 meters long, about 23 meters wide and three floors. Then the Lord spoke to him. Then the question would be, should Noah trust in what God said to him? But look, Noah walked with God. The word says that he found grace to walk with the Lord. Now, pay close attention. If you can hear me, say Amen. If you ask God for something, and He gives you the first step, maybe it's a minor step, maybe it's something very simple that anyone could do, or go, or whatever God has told you, if God gives you the first step and you don't give it, you lose it. Now, what does human nature say? Well, Lord, if you teach me how, if you tell me how to do it, I will do it. No, He said, take care of it. So, he had to take care of doing the first thing that God had told him to do. So, I ask him, when he has an impression, a deep impression in his heart of something that God wants him to do, does it give him an excuse not to move forward and say, okay, Lord, whatever you say? Or does he need everything to have an explanation? I think of many things that God has told me that He didn't explain to me. If I had explained them, it's likely that it would have seemed like a bigger problem to me.

God only says, this is what you should do, trust me. Not only listen, but trust. There are three keys in Noah's life. Listen to me, trust me, and obey me. Those are the three keys in life, trust me, listen to me, and obey me. So, he had to deal with that. God made it very clear to him, to Noah, I have found in you a just person, untouchable, this is what I want you to do. And that was the instruction that He gave him at that moment. So, I ask him, when God speaks to him of something, does it give him whatever it is, or what he receives? For my part, I say, God spoke to my heart and said, so I listen. When God speaks to you, what do you do? The Bible says that Noah walked with God and found grace in God. So, the challenge for Noah was his faith. I will do what God said I would do, for the reason that He gave me, even if I do not understand the most remote possibility, I do not even know what it seems, if He tells me to build something, to build what? So, Noah had many legitimate questions, a lot of tension. When God goes with a legitimate question, do not stop praying for not understanding it or not having the answer.

That is not when we stop praying, we just have to take a break and say, Lord, I do not understand this, but if you told me to do it, there is only one correct answer, I will do it. That is what Noah did. So, let us think about this. By doing it, he had a great confrontation with his society. Think about it. He was the only right person, and here he begins to do something that was unthinkable. Look, it seemed absurd. Only someone without judgment would think of something like this, and at the same time, try to do it. A lot of tension. There will be times when God will tell you to do something that perhaps no one else will agree with, and perhaps not even you will understand it. But that is not a sign of not obeying God. Do whatever God tells you to do, and as He tells you to do it, and by doing it, leave the consequences in your hands. When we obey God, we can leave the responsibility in His hands. Let us think about this for a moment. He had a frontal collision. Think about the fury of the people when Noah begins to build something that would apparently be immense. They wondered how he thought he would do all this. So, it was like a frontal collision with his society. Those who did not understand, thought he would create a disaster and damage the beautiful land of his region. Secondly, when he says that God told him to do it, look, who is this God who has told him to do what seems impossible?

Well, what did that do? It gave Noah the opportunity to tell them who God is. Now, did they understand it? No. Did they believe it? No. How do I know? For a simple reason, that God exterminated them all. So, they would like to know who is the God who has told you to do that. I ask them, Have you ever told someone what God has told you and they have asked you, What kind of God is He? God does not speak to me like that. Who is that God who told you that? God does not speak to me like that. From time to time, I have told something that God told me to do and someone answered me like that. God never tells me things like that. Maybe he does not ask him. Look, God does not treat us the same way. Everyone depends on their will for our life. What I want you to see is that our responsibility before God is not to answer all the questions but to listen to Him and trust Him. Because if we do not trust God, nothing else will work in our life. Think about it. If you do not have four tires in a car, you will not go anywhere. If you do not have faith in God, you will not go anywhere in life. Then you will say, this God whom you worship, how will this work? Does not sound like a rich man's name? Well, how did he cost it? I have no idea how God provided it, but I'm sure of something. If God tells us to do something, God assumes the responsibility of providing whatever is necessary for us to do His will, whatever it is.

If we always expect to have all the answers in life, God will never be able to bless us as He wants to do it. Noah listened to God, grasped that, yes, and what else did he do? Come on, he listened to God, and what else did he do? He trusted Him. And this is where many people get stuck. This is what I think God told me, but I'm sure He did not say that. And it is likely that Noah himself thought that at the beginning when God told him to do this. But let's think about what God told him to do. Then he says, this is what I will do. Then he says, make a gopher wooden ark. Then he describes everything precisely, that it will be 127 meters long, 23 inches wide, three floors. I mean, how? But Noah listened to God, and after listening to Him, he trusted Him. See what happens. The reason why he had courage was because God had spoken to him, and he trusted that the God whom he worshiped would fulfill his promise. And what happened? God said, these are the plans. I will answer the questions. Look, God is just as willing to give us an answer if He declares our requests, when we offer Him those requests with all sincerity, when we cry out to Him, He will do as He did with Noah. It's just that we are not building arches. We are doing something else. It could be buying something, or moving, or doing something, whatever. Look, we have the right to ask God, now what do I do? How many times do you think Noah would have said, my God?

Wow! Do you mean 127 meters long? Pay attention. Nowhere in the Bible does it say that we should never ask questions, but doubting the word of God is not the same. Look, the Bible says that Noah found grace in the eyes of Jehovah. Why did he find grace? Because he listened to God, and because he trusted Him. And so I ask you, do you listen to God? Do you trust Him? If that is true in your life, God will show you His favor in every aspect of your life, if in all aspects you listen to God and trust Him. Those are the two third parts. We are in the process of trusting God, and now God will bless whatever we do. And it is not a perfect example, pay attention, of daily life. It is our daily life, what do we do? Listen to God, trust Him, and if we are wise, we obey Him, A, B, C, 1, 2, 3. Let's think about this. What do we have to add to this formula to live? I think the Bible is very clear. It's hard for me to describe it. In a story, thousands of years ago, through a man, God gave us the foundation to live every day of our life, to listen to Him, to trust Him, to obey Him. Is there anything better than that or not? If you know how to count 1, 2, 3, or you know the ABC, you have the solution of God to live in a world that is vile, cruel, sinful, corrupt, and unjust. And we want to make it complicated now. You heard of this one true God, and I'm sure he didn't try to tell you who He was. I imagine what you would have said, God, who is that God? Why are you the only one who has heard of Him?

He's the only one. No one has heard it, because God said that they were vile like the devil, and they did not pay attention to God. He's the only one. The world was so corrupt that God said, I will erase everything I have created and I will begin again. Now that is so simple that a five-year-old can understand it. Pay attention, we can apply this formula to every aspect of our life. What do we teach our children? To listen, to trust in us, and to obey us. Likewise, when we think about how Noah expressed his courage and his trust in God, for him it was very simple. And let us think about this, the Bible did not exist. Noah was one of the first men mentioned here. There was nothing, he only had the voice of God that spoke to his mind, to his heart, to his spirit, because he tried to lead a just, holy, and consecrated life. Perhaps he knew very little about God, but God had given him enough clarity that he knew how to obey the voice that was within him. And God taught him to do the impossible. Thousands of years later, we find a man, the key to living life. You know, I could stay there and praise God for the rest of the day, listen to God, trust in Him, and obey Him. When I think about this, I think that when we trust in God, sometimes we will be in situations like this. Pay attention, no one else understood Noah. No one understood him. Think about how simple and profound this is, that God would tell a man, the only man on earth, and his family, whom God would save from the total destruction of society, to a man, this is the reason why I will grant you my favor with life. You listen to me, you trust in me, and now you are willing to obey me. One of the most important men in the Bible teaches us, at the beginning of the Bible, how to live the rest of life. The way to have a consecrated life, the Christian life, is to listen to God, and we listen to Him mainly by reading His Word. We believe in what He says, and then we obey what He says. Let us think about how wonderful God is. With all knowledge of everything, He has all power in all circumstances of life.

Nothing outweighs Him, and what does He do? He sums it all up in three things that I want us to do. I want you to listen to me, to trust in me, and I want you to obey me. You know what? Think about this. Think about how many millions of millions of volumes have been written about the Bible, about so many aspects of the Word of God, and we say it in a prayer. Everything is here in the Bible. It is an explanation or an illustration of the failure or the willingness to listen to God, to trust in Him, and to obey Him. And we sing the hymn, OBEY AND TRUST IN JEHOVAH. It is the path marked to walk in the light, but you forgot something. To listen, to obey, and to trust in Jehovah is the path marked to listen, to trust, and to obey. How could I forget this message? It has nothing to do with me, but with the simple truth of the Word of God. The next time you read the story of Noah, you will remember this. To listen to God, to trust in God, and to obey Him. Then someone will say, what happened? What happened was that the whole world was destroyed, and Noah and all those animals came alive. Look, was Noah perfect or not? But he listened to God, believed in what God told him, and obeyed Him. Perhaps you have not yet accepted Christ as your Savior. You do not know what this is about. This is what this is about. May God bless you. He has a plan for you. If you listen to God and follow His leadership and His guidance, that is, if you trust God with your life, your future, and you obey Him, you will find life in full. If you do not do it, it is on your own. God will not force you.

He gives you the option to decide. It is a wonderful, fabulous option. You must make the decision. Now think about it. Just three things. You will listen to God, you will trust Him, and you will obey Him. If you want life in full, it does not matter who you are, here is the solution. Amen. Father, we love you, we praise you, and we thank you for this simple and profound study. I ask that the Holy Spirit speak to someone here who is not yet saved because he has not heard. I ask that you have heard today, and that you are willing to trust in your forgiveness, no matter what you have done. That you are willing to obey today, accepting Christ as your Savior and Lord. We trust in you and we pray in the name of Jesus. Amen. ♪♪