Homes of Favour

What are homes of favour? Homes of favour are not perfect but they are right. What do we mean by 'right'? A home that is 'right' isn't right because our effort has made it right. It is right because its members have been made right. Being made right is about receiving what the Holy Spirit declares about us and over us. He, the Holy Spirit, tells the believer that he is highly favoured, totally accepted and fully forgiven. When a household believes this it will become a home of favour. You may well ask, what's our part in all of this?


There is a powerful account in Acts 12, that demonstrates what our part is in receiving favour for our households. Peter was imprisoned and heavily guarded. The early church was experiencing powerful demonstrations of the Holy Spirit but it was also experiencing persecution from the authorities under Herod. Crisis can stimulate the church to pray. "Peter was therefore kept in prison but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church." (12:5) Not only was there prayer, but the Lord also despatched an angel to deliver Peter from prison chains. Peter was freed. He left the prison and headed toward the house of Mary, John Mark's mothers' home. These events were remarkable enough but when a little girl called Rhoda answered the door, she had a job convincing her household that their prayer had been answered. Peter continued knocking until they opened the door. The unexpected had happened. Their prayers had been answered. The miracle had happened. All the household had to do was to open the door. Our part in receiving all that God has for our families, is to open the door.


When we 'open the door', we are effectively inviting the Holy Spirit to grow us from the inside out. Crises can become the stimulus to pray but we need to 'open the door' to let God the Holy Spirit work His work in us. If your crisis point is a troubled marriage or a broken parent-child relationship, keep on praying and keep the door open. He, God, is our Helper in times of trouble. He will surround you and your loved ones with angels (Ps 34:7). God will act when you are helpless. He will intervene when you are desperate. Perfection is not about what we need to do ; it is about trusting Him to work in scenarios that are beyond our effort to fix or to control.  He knows how to release your loved ones from the prisons that are on the inside. Our responsibility is to behold the empty cross, to believe and to keep the door open.






This blog is based on a message given by Diane Smith. called Homes of Favour at The Vine Church, Logan City, Queensland, Australia on 10/05/15. The full message can be downloaded by podcast from www.thevine.org.au/teaching.