Sunday Service — Apostle Johnson Suleman And Dr. Lizzy Suleman, 22nd March 2026 by Apostle Johnson Suleman: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

Favor as a Shield

Psalm 5:12 — For You, Lord, will bless the righteous. With favour will You compass him as with a shield.

Favour as a shield. A shield is an ornament for defence. A shield is a weapon for protection and preservation. Psalm 35:1–2 — Plead my cause, O God. Take hold of shield and buckler and stand up for my head. Psalm 84:11 — The Lord is a strength and shield. Ephesians 6:16 — Above all, taking the shield of faith, with which you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

Anytime a shield appears in Scripture, it is because there are battles. A shield is needed only where arrows are flying. This is very important: when God says He will bless the righteous with favour as a shield — He is saying two distinct things in one statement. First: I will bless you. Second: the blessing will attract battles, so I will also give you favour as a shield.

The plan of God is that every believer enjoys the element of favour. Favour is the best of God released to handle the worst of hell. It is divine aura that commands acceptance under pressure. It is a catalyst that attracts honour and gives dutiful regard. It is divine partiality that commands mortal acceptability. Favour is a product of mercy — wherever you see the mercy of God, you see the favour of God. Genesis 39:21 — The Lord was with Joseph and showed him mercy and gave him favour.

What Favour Attracts

1. Hatred

Once heaven favours you, men hate you. The favoured are always the hated. If you are not ready to be hated, do not pray for favour. If your mind is not strong, do not ask God for a blessing that is strong — because it takes a lion heart to handle a lion share.

Joseph was favoured. He got a coat of many colours. His brothers hated him — hated him for his dream, for the blessing. Sarah brought Hagar herself to Abraham, but as soon as Ishmael came, she hated the same woman she had invited.

Saul made David his enemy — all because of a compliment from women. 1 Samuel 18:9 — Saul eyed David from that day forward. There are people who started hating you simply because somebody spoke a good word about you. You did nothing to them. Just a compliment — and that was the day it started.

When you hate people, you deny yourself the good they enjoy. Ecclesiastes 9:6 — Their love, their hatred, their envy have perished; neither have they anymore a portion in anything done under the sun. If a man is enjoying blessings and you hate him, you are declaring that you have no portion in that blessing — it flows away from you.

2. Conspirators

Hatred moves from emotion to implementation. They do not just feel it — they act on it. Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of his wife — but the real complaint was in verse two: Has God spoken only by Moses? Has He not spoken also by us? The wife was just a soft target. Their real anger was that Moses was more favoured and more used.

Korah gathered famous men of renown and challenged Moses — saying, "Are you the only one who can bring down the anointing?" They lifted their own sensors in imitation. Fire came from God and consumed them. Numbers 16.

Haman, second in the entire empire, planned against Mordecai for years — envious of a security guard. What they plan for years, someone can scatter in a moment. Every conspiracy against you shall fail because favour is your shield. Every gang-up against you shall fail. Every satanic involvement, known or unknown to you — it will fail because favour is your shield.

3. Pride

The third thing favour attracts is pride — when God blesses you, there is every possibility that your head will swell and you begin to credit yourself. Luke 12:16–19 — A rich man whose ground brought forth plentifully kept saying: I, I, I, I, I, I — six times. Six is the number of man. He was blessed by God and became full of himself.

Deuteronomy 8:16–18 — God fed them with manna and said: beware, lest you say in your heart, my power and my might has gotten me this wealth. Remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth.

Four reasons to remain perpetually humble:

1. Wherever you are today, somebody has been there before. There is no seat with your name on it.
2. It is so easy to come down. One health attack humbles even the proudest man. Billionaires have become broke. Things that take years to build can collapse in a day.
3. Blessings are a test — a test of your faithfulness, loyalty, and whether your ego will inflate or your service will deepen.
4. Once you are proud, God is your enemy. 1 Peter 5:5, James 4:6 — God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. There is no worse enemy than God.

Coins make noise. Notes are silent. Anybody you see making noise has coins. Learn to desentimentalise yourself from what you have. You are not your car, not your house, not your bank account. You can lose everything in one day. Humble yourself.