WEBVTT 00:00:01.199 --> 00:00:04.219 Sharing good news of great joy to all people. 00:00:04.679 --> 00:00:10.500 Elation Church. We're continuing in our series 00:00:10.500 --> 00:00:15.519 named A Call to Honor. A Call to Honor. Everybody 00:00:15.519 --> 00:00:18.399 say A Call to Honor. A Call to Honor. This is 00:00:18.399 --> 00:00:23.539 week number three in that series. Honor is important. 00:00:23.780 --> 00:00:26.519 Honor is mentioned in the Bible. The concept 00:00:26.519 --> 00:00:29.899 of honor is mentioned in the Bible over 300 times. 00:00:31.200 --> 00:00:33.960 So if something's in the Bible that many times, 00:00:34.159 --> 00:00:36.560 it must be important to God. What do you think? 00:00:36.700 --> 00:00:40.000 Do you agree with me? All right. Thanks for talking 00:00:40.000 --> 00:00:45.939 to me. Honor is important to God. It's very important 00:00:45.939 --> 00:00:50.719 to God. The Bible says in 1 Samuel 2 .30, this 00:00:50.719 --> 00:00:54.140 is God speaking, and he says, I will honor those 00:00:54.140 --> 00:01:00.350 who honor me, and I will despise those. who think 00:01:00.350 --> 00:01:07.450 lightly of me. Who wants God to honor them? Well, 00:01:07.489 --> 00:01:09.430 if you want God to honor you, you need to honor 00:01:09.430 --> 00:01:12.829 God. And that's what we talked about last week. 00:01:12.890 --> 00:01:15.730 We just specifically talked about honoring God. 00:01:16.769 --> 00:01:21.390 This is in context with Eli, who was a priest, 00:01:21.450 --> 00:01:25.290 and his sons were serving as priests. And his 00:01:25.290 --> 00:01:28.349 sons weren't doing right. They were not doing 00:01:28.349 --> 00:01:32.569 right at all. They were stealing from the offerings. 00:01:32.689 --> 00:01:35.129 I mean, the priests were allowed certain parts 00:01:35.129 --> 00:01:38.569 of the sacrifices that were brought, but they 00:01:38.569 --> 00:01:41.349 were stealing above that, not doing right, not 00:01:41.349 --> 00:01:43.670 handling the offerings correctly. They weren't 00:01:43.670 --> 00:01:47.930 treating the people correctly. They were even, 00:01:48.010 --> 00:01:50.390 I guess everybody in this room could understand 00:01:50.390 --> 00:01:53.769 this, they were even taking advantage of women 00:01:53.769 --> 00:01:58.049 as being a priest. They were taking advantage. 00:01:58.680 --> 00:02:03.120 of women who would come to the temple. So they 00:02:03.120 --> 00:02:06.019 weren't doing right. And Eli would not correct 00:02:06.019 --> 00:02:11.099 his sons. Eli knew it was happening. He wasn't 00:02:11.099 --> 00:02:13.759 blind to it. He knew it was happening, but he 00:02:13.759 --> 00:02:17.000 wouldn't correct his sons. And here's what God 00:02:17.000 --> 00:02:20.979 said to Eli. God said, you've honored your sons 00:02:20.979 --> 00:02:25.360 more than you've honored me. How many of you 00:02:25.360 --> 00:02:28.159 know that's a bad thing? He honored his sons 00:02:28.159 --> 00:02:33.120 more than he honored God. And as a result, God 00:02:33.120 --> 00:02:38.460 took away the priesthood from Eli and his family. 00:02:39.900 --> 00:02:43.120 He despised those who thought lightly of him. 00:02:43.259 --> 00:02:47.020 That's what took place. God said that he will 00:02:47.020 --> 00:02:51.199 honor those who honor him. So it's important 00:02:51.199 --> 00:02:56.400 to honor God. That word honor, we... We think 00:02:56.400 --> 00:02:58.639 we know what it means, but maybe we don't fully 00:02:58.639 --> 00:03:02.300 understand what it means. The Hebrew word is 00:03:02.300 --> 00:03:07.199 kavod. It means to be heavy, to make weighty. 00:03:07.900 --> 00:03:11.960 It means to honor, it means to glorify, and it 00:03:11.960 --> 00:03:16.520 means to value. I think it's easier for us to 00:03:16.520 --> 00:03:19.460 understand what honor means when we think of 00:03:19.460 --> 00:03:24.210 the word value, right? Because when we value 00:03:24.210 --> 00:03:30.770 something, then we honor it. If we value a person, 00:03:31.009 --> 00:03:35.750 we honor that person. Now to be heavy, to be 00:03:35.750 --> 00:03:39.069 make weighty is, because sometimes this word 00:03:39.069 --> 00:03:42.150 in the Old Testament is even translated glorify. 00:03:42.969 --> 00:03:45.930 To glorify God means that you're honoring Him, 00:03:45.990 --> 00:03:50.650 that you're valuing Him as worthy. Right? So 00:03:50.650 --> 00:03:54.870 we honor him, we value him. But to be heavy, 00:03:55.009 --> 00:03:59.789 you get the idea of a scale. Not a scale with 00:03:59.789 --> 00:04:03.030 numbers on it, but a balanced scale. And during 00:04:03.030 --> 00:04:07.110 this time, most of the transaction was done with 00:04:07.110 --> 00:04:12.370 a balanced scale. The value of an item would 00:04:12.370 --> 00:04:16.879 be placed on one side and weight. you had to 00:04:16.879 --> 00:04:22.399 equal that value in order to purchase it on a 00:04:22.399 --> 00:04:28.180 balanced scale. So we honor what we value. You 00:04:28.180 --> 00:04:32.759 can't separate honor and value. It can't be separated. 00:04:33.800 --> 00:04:36.279 And then when we think of the word despise, just 00:04:36.279 --> 00:04:40.079 in our minds, in our normal conversation in English, 00:04:40.220 --> 00:04:42.379 when we think of the word despise, we think that 00:04:42.379 --> 00:04:46.290 that's like next level hate. When you think of 00:04:46.290 --> 00:04:49.949 that word, I despise you. I mean, that's like 00:04:49.949 --> 00:04:53.689 even beyond just saying you hate somebody if 00:04:53.689 --> 00:04:57.730 you say that you despise them. But the word in 00:04:57.730 --> 00:05:00.110 the Old Testament doesn't mean the next level 00:05:00.110 --> 00:05:04.810 of hate. Right? Sometimes our understanding of 00:05:04.810 --> 00:05:08.170 English words and understanding God's word can 00:05:08.170 --> 00:05:12.029 be two different things. So to despise means... 00:05:12.509 --> 00:05:17.029 to look down on with disrespect or to regard 00:05:17.029 --> 00:05:25.750 as worthless. So Eli's sons looked down on what 00:05:25.750 --> 00:05:28.610 they were supposed to be doing for God and honoring 00:05:28.610 --> 00:05:30.709 God, the instructions that God had given them. 00:05:30.910 --> 00:05:33.290 So they just despised that. They knew what they 00:05:33.290 --> 00:05:35.970 were supposed to do. Eli knew what he was supposed 00:05:35.970 --> 00:05:41.529 to do. But, you know, they just were casual about 00:05:41.529 --> 00:05:44.600 it. They looked down on it with disrespect. They 00:05:44.600 --> 00:05:49.079 regarded that as worthless. They didn't honor 00:05:49.079 --> 00:05:52.360 the position that God had them in. So it was 00:05:52.360 --> 00:05:56.560 taken away. In the New Testament, when we read 00:05:56.560 --> 00:05:58.540 verses in the New Testament, they use the word 00:05:58.540 --> 00:06:01.959 honor. It could be a verb, a noun, or an adjective. 00:06:02.920 --> 00:06:07.120 Timao, the verb, is to prize something, to revere 00:06:07.120 --> 00:06:13.480 something. The noun, time, Represents a valuable 00:06:13.480 --> 00:06:17.660 or something valuable. Esteem of the highest 00:06:17.660 --> 00:06:24.819 degree. And then the adjective temios is valuable, 00:06:24.980 --> 00:06:28.740 costly, honored, esteemed, beloved, or precious. 00:06:31.279 --> 00:06:35.819 So honor has to do with a perceived value or 00:06:35.819 --> 00:06:40.459 worth. Perceived value or worth. Even when you're 00:06:40.459 --> 00:06:42.790 purchasing something, You've got to think it's 00:06:42.790 --> 00:06:46.350 worth what it costs before you will make the 00:06:46.350 --> 00:06:49.670 purchase, right? So in honor, it's a perceived 00:06:49.670 --> 00:06:55.829 value or worth. The value, weight, or honor that 00:06:55.829 --> 00:07:00.110 is willingly assigned to something. Willingly 00:07:00.110 --> 00:07:05.870 is important. It's what you assign, right? The 00:07:05.870 --> 00:07:08.050 value, the weight, or honor that you assign. 00:07:09.420 --> 00:07:12.600 Honor includes the ideas of worth, esteem, dignity, 00:07:12.959 --> 00:07:16.740 and price. Whether we're talking about God, whether 00:07:16.740 --> 00:07:18.759 we're talking about Jesus, whether we're talking 00:07:18.759 --> 00:07:21.660 about other people, whether we're talking about 00:07:21.660 --> 00:07:26.040 material goods. And I want you to not forget 00:07:26.040 --> 00:07:29.000 this part. Even if you took notes on it last 00:07:29.000 --> 00:07:32.139 week and the week before, don't miss this part. 00:07:32.259 --> 00:07:36.019 The term honor always measures value, and it 00:07:36.019 --> 00:07:40.730 calls for a response. proportionate to that value. 00:07:41.730 --> 00:07:44.430 So that's why the series is called A Call to 00:07:44.430 --> 00:07:48.189 Honor. Because when you honor something that 00:07:48.189 --> 00:07:51.850 is valuable, there must be an act or a response 00:07:51.850 --> 00:07:56.930 proportionate to that value. If not, it's just 00:07:56.930 --> 00:08:02.649 lip service. Alright? It's just lip service and 00:08:02.649 --> 00:08:07.769 not honor. So, the first week we talked about 00:08:08.220 --> 00:08:11.579 Honoring what God honors. Who was here the first 00:08:11.579 --> 00:08:14.519 week? Talk about honoring what God honors, the 00:08:14.519 --> 00:08:19.959 things that He honors. The Word, the Church, 00:08:20.180 --> 00:08:23.379 the Kingdom were the three things that we focused 00:08:23.379 --> 00:08:27.920 on. Last week we talked about honoring God, because 00:08:27.920 --> 00:08:31.699 ultimately that's where our honor is due. But 00:08:31.699 --> 00:08:34.299 when we honor what God honors, we're also honoring 00:08:34.299 --> 00:08:38.720 Him in the process. Today we're going to be talking 00:08:38.720 --> 00:08:42.360 about honoring people. Honoring other people. 00:08:43.220 --> 00:08:48.460 Now this slide is going to come up a lot. Because 00:08:48.460 --> 00:08:51.539 I want you to remember this. How many of you 00:08:51.539 --> 00:08:53.860 would agree with me that our society today needs 00:08:53.860 --> 00:08:57.580 more honor? Can anybody remember a day where 00:08:57.580 --> 00:09:01.639 there was more honor than there is today? I know 00:09:01.639 --> 00:09:06.389 I can. And we're going to find out why, I believe 00:09:06.389 --> 00:09:10.549 in our study today, why there's less honor in 00:09:10.549 --> 00:09:14.490 our society. But to demonstrate honor to another 00:09:14.490 --> 00:09:17.789 person means that you will speak highly of them. 00:09:19.470 --> 00:09:22.970 So when you do not speak highly of someone, you're 00:09:22.970 --> 00:09:25.269 not honoring them. We can take the negative side 00:09:25.269 --> 00:09:29.490 of this too. So to honor someone is to speak 00:09:29.490 --> 00:09:31.970 highly of them. Always speak highly of them. 00:09:32.350 --> 00:09:36.289 then you are honoring them. Another way to demonstrate 00:09:36.289 --> 00:09:41.269 honor is showing generosity towards another person. 00:09:43.210 --> 00:09:46.009 We're supposed to be generous people. People 00:09:46.009 --> 00:09:48.429 of God are supposed to be like God, and God is 00:09:48.429 --> 00:09:51.610 generous. Hallelujah, amen. I'll amen myself. 00:09:52.450 --> 00:09:58.750 Okay? Demonstrating honor is having a high respect 00:09:58.750 --> 00:10:05.080 of someone. High respect of someone. And it's 00:10:05.080 --> 00:10:10.120 also submitting to leadership. Submitting to 00:10:10.120 --> 00:10:13.820 the leadership of is a demonstration of honor. 00:10:15.259 --> 00:10:18.480 And we can look at our society today, and sometimes 00:10:18.480 --> 00:10:21.899 we can even look at our own lives and see this 00:10:21.899 --> 00:10:24.980 list of how to demonstrate honor and figure out 00:10:24.980 --> 00:10:27.620 that maybe we're not honoring other people as 00:10:27.620 --> 00:10:31.600 much as we should. Anybody got an oh me or an 00:10:31.600 --> 00:10:36.600 amen or something like that? Here's where we're 00:10:36.600 --> 00:10:39.419 starting. Honor should be modeled in the home. 00:10:42.000 --> 00:10:46.000 I'll say that again. Honor should be modeled 00:10:46.000 --> 00:10:52.080 in the home. The first thing God instituted was 00:10:52.080 --> 00:10:56.879 the family. Long before the church was ever instituted, 00:10:56.980 --> 00:11:01.169 the family was instituted. And honor should be 00:11:01.169 --> 00:11:04.389 modeled in the family. It should be modeled in 00:11:04.389 --> 00:11:08.710 the home. And we're not going to read Ephesians 00:11:08.710 --> 00:11:10.830 5. We're not going to read these verses because 00:11:10.830 --> 00:11:13.289 I'll be up front with you. The word honor is 00:11:13.289 --> 00:11:18.110 not in these verses. But, everybody say but. 00:11:18.769 --> 00:11:26.029 But, demonstrations of honor are in these verses. 00:11:27.009 --> 00:11:30.250 Right? So you can look it up for yourself. Write 00:11:30.250 --> 00:11:31.990 it down if you want to read it. In Ephesians 00:11:31.990 --> 00:11:35.230 5, it talks about the home and how the home should 00:11:35.230 --> 00:11:38.250 be structured and modeled. And it says this, 00:11:38.269 --> 00:11:43.470 Wives should love and submit to leadership of 00:11:43.470 --> 00:11:46.509 the husband. Don't get mad at me. That's what 00:11:46.509 --> 00:11:54.909 the Bible says. Okay? Y 'all got to deal with 00:11:54.909 --> 00:11:58.399 it. If God said it, then you've got to deal with 00:11:58.399 --> 00:12:02.039 it. Don't get mad at me. Deal with it in your 00:12:02.039 --> 00:12:07.320 soul. Wives should love and submit to the leadership 00:12:07.320 --> 00:12:11.100 of their husband. But husbands, we're not off 00:12:11.100 --> 00:12:18.860 the hook. Husbands should love and esteem. That's 00:12:18.860 --> 00:12:21.179 one of the definitions of one of the Greek words. 00:12:21.580 --> 00:12:33.230 Esteem and sacrifice. Okay? So, we all, each 00:12:33.230 --> 00:12:36.990 one of us, need to model these things in the 00:12:36.990 --> 00:12:41.830 home. And just in case you forgot, a lot of those 00:12:41.830 --> 00:12:44.350 things are exactly what demonstrations of honor 00:12:44.350 --> 00:12:47.769 are, if you want to look at that, right? Speaking 00:12:47.769 --> 00:12:54.049 highly of. Spouses should always speak highly 00:12:54.049 --> 00:12:59.279 of the other spouse. Say oh me or amen or something. 00:13:00.600 --> 00:13:07.259 Okay? We're supposed to speak highly of each 00:13:07.259 --> 00:13:12.200 other. This works both ways. Showing generosity 00:13:12.200 --> 00:13:14.740 towards. That falls more in the husband's category 00:13:14.740 --> 00:13:17.960 than the wife's, but we should show generosity 00:13:17.960 --> 00:13:21.399 to each other. We should have a high respect 00:13:21.399 --> 00:13:25.360 of each other, even though the husband is directly 00:13:25.360 --> 00:13:30.500 told. To highly esteem. We should have high respect 00:13:30.500 --> 00:13:34.039 of each other. We should submit to the leadership 00:13:34.039 --> 00:13:40.340 of under submitting to Christ. Because the role 00:13:40.340 --> 00:13:43.460 of the husband says we need to be like Jesus 00:13:43.460 --> 00:13:53.159 in the home. We need to be at that level of who 00:13:53.159 --> 00:13:55.419 we are and how we act and what we say and what 00:13:55.419 --> 00:13:59.620 we do. Oh, me, yeah. I'm not letting the guys 00:13:59.620 --> 00:14:06.700 off one minute in this. Let's take a look at 00:14:06.700 --> 00:14:10.480 the next part of the home that it actually uses 00:14:10.480 --> 00:14:17.100 that word, honor. Exodus 20, 12. And this is 00:14:17.100 --> 00:14:19.740 one of the Big Ten. Everybody say the Big Ten. 00:14:20.139 --> 00:14:22.519 It's one of the Big Ten commandments, right? 00:14:23.620 --> 00:14:29.129 Honor your father and mother. So that you may 00:14:29.129 --> 00:14:33.330 live long in the land the Lord your God has given 00:14:33.330 --> 00:14:43.509 you. What, a commandment? Right? And what? A 00:14:43.509 --> 00:14:48.129 promise attached to that. It's quoted again in 00:14:48.129 --> 00:14:52.129 Ephesians 6, 1 -3. Children, obey your parents 00:14:52.129 --> 00:14:58.720 in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father 00:14:58.720 --> 00:15:01.240 and mother, which is a first commandment with 00:15:01.240 --> 00:15:05.740 a promise, so that it may go well with you and 00:15:05.740 --> 00:15:12.200 that you may enjoy long life on the earth. So, 00:15:12.320 --> 00:15:17.559 who wants your life to go well? Who wants to 00:15:17.559 --> 00:15:20.580 enjoy a long life on the earth? Not just live 00:15:20.580 --> 00:15:24.320 a long life on the earth, but enjoy a long life 00:15:24.320 --> 00:15:29.830 on the earth. When honor is displayed by the 00:15:29.830 --> 00:15:32.649 parents, because that's where it's got to begin 00:15:32.649 --> 00:15:36.070 in a home. When honor is displayed by the parents, 00:15:36.169 --> 00:15:41.850 a culture of honor is built in the home. And 00:15:41.850 --> 00:15:44.769 when the culture of honor is built in the home, 00:15:44.970 --> 00:15:50.909 it can be easily nurtured in the children. But 00:15:50.909 --> 00:15:56.120 if the children do not see, The husband honoring 00:15:56.120 --> 00:16:00.159 the wife and the wife honoring the husband, they're 00:16:00.159 --> 00:16:04.179 not going to get it. There's going to be no culture 00:16:04.179 --> 00:16:08.940 of honor. Now, some people try to beat it into 00:16:08.940 --> 00:16:13.960 the kid. Some of you laughed, some of you got 00:16:13.960 --> 00:16:19.399 quiet. Some people try to force it, but if it's 00:16:19.399 --> 00:16:24.580 not modeled, it's not going to be... Easily received 00:16:24.580 --> 00:16:29.700 by the children. Honor is more easily caught 00:16:29.700 --> 00:16:35.759 than taught or demanded. That's a good one to 00:16:35.759 --> 00:16:42.500 remember too. Honor is easily caught. It's more 00:16:42.500 --> 00:16:47.759 easily caught than just being taught. Because 00:16:47.759 --> 00:16:50.830 if you just try to teach it without... modeling 00:16:50.830 --> 00:16:54.049 it, then it's like, do what I do, do what I say, 00:16:54.230 --> 00:16:56.690 not what I... Don't look at what I do, just do 00:16:56.690 --> 00:17:00.789 what I say to do, right? So honor is more easily 00:17:00.789 --> 00:17:04.950 caught than taught or demanded. And again, honor. 00:17:05.690 --> 00:17:08.730 I don't want you to forget this. Honor is speaking 00:17:08.730 --> 00:17:12.250 highly of. So children should always speak highly 00:17:12.250 --> 00:17:15.690 of their parents. Even when you're grown and 00:17:15.690 --> 00:17:20.170 on your own. If you're obeying God's word, you 00:17:20.170 --> 00:17:23.930 speak highly of your parents. You show generosity 00:17:23.930 --> 00:17:28.549 towards. You have a high respect of. You submit 00:17:28.549 --> 00:17:33.490 to the leadership of. Here's the deal. Honor 00:17:33.490 --> 00:17:38.329 is recognized and rewarded by God. When we honor 00:17:38.329 --> 00:17:41.630 the way God calls us to honor, when we honor 00:17:41.630 --> 00:17:47.000 other people, God notices. Look at the person 00:17:47.000 --> 00:17:49.920 beside you and say, God sees it. God sees it. 00:17:51.240 --> 00:17:54.059 God sees it. Honor is recognized and rewarded 00:17:54.059 --> 00:17:58.160 by God. And then this was one of the promises 00:17:58.160 --> 00:18:00.599 that we focused in on already. It may go well 00:18:00.599 --> 00:18:04.059 with you and that you may enjoy long life on 00:18:04.059 --> 00:18:12.289 the earth. So God sees. God sees. Here's something 00:18:12.289 --> 00:18:13.670 else we're going to talk about today. Throughout 00:18:13.670 --> 00:18:16.109 the Bible, honor and love are often connected 00:18:16.109 --> 00:18:20.029 together. Side by side in verses in the Bible. 00:18:20.690 --> 00:18:25.470 Honor and love. They work together. They work 00:18:25.470 --> 00:18:27.009 together. Look at the person beside you and say 00:18:27.009 --> 00:18:30.170 they work together. Honor and love works together. 00:18:31.849 --> 00:18:34.990 Matthew 19, 19. Honor your father and mother. 00:18:35.069 --> 00:18:37.630 There it is again. In case you thought it was 00:18:37.630 --> 00:18:40.500 only there one time and you could get by. Here 00:18:40.500 --> 00:18:46.019 it is again. Honor your father and mother and 00:18:46.019 --> 00:18:53.339 love your neighbor as yourself. Who's your neighbor? 00:18:55.559 --> 00:19:00.019 Who's your neighbor? Well, when they asked Jesus 00:19:00.019 --> 00:19:03.640 who the neighbor was, Jesus told the story of 00:19:03.640 --> 00:19:08.299 the Good Samaritan. And the Samaritan wound up 00:19:08.299 --> 00:19:15.549 being The greatest neighbor to the Jew who despised 00:19:15.549 --> 00:19:23.289 the Samaritans. Hello? Jews hated Samaritans. 00:19:24.769 --> 00:19:27.630 They didn't want anything to do. Some Jews would 00:19:27.630 --> 00:19:29.670 actually pray. Real religious Jews would pray 00:19:29.670 --> 00:19:32.950 every day. God, help me to not even see one of 00:19:32.950 --> 00:19:38.190 those dog Samaritans today. And then when... 00:19:39.049 --> 00:19:41.430 A good Jew asked Jesus, who's your neighbor? 00:19:42.829 --> 00:19:46.190 He told the story of the good Samaritan. And 00:19:46.190 --> 00:19:48.970 then he asked him, he said, now, who is the neighbor? 00:19:50.109 --> 00:19:53.450 And the good Jew had to say, well, the Samaritan 00:19:53.450 --> 00:19:59.089 was the good neighbor. So, a neighbor is not 00:19:59.089 --> 00:20:02.569 just your favorite person who might live next 00:20:02.569 --> 00:20:07.059 door or down the street. That's not your only 00:20:07.059 --> 00:20:09.900 neighbor. They are your neighbor, but that's 00:20:09.900 --> 00:20:13.480 not all. Love your neighbor as yourself means 00:20:13.480 --> 00:20:18.660 to love everybody. That's why a minute ago when 00:20:18.660 --> 00:20:24.400 I said God loves people and I love people, that 00:20:24.400 --> 00:20:27.180 should be our motto as followers of Christ is 00:20:27.180 --> 00:20:30.700 that we love people. Even the people who might 00:20:30.700 --> 00:20:34.119 not be easy to love. Does anybody have someone 00:20:34.119 --> 00:20:36.779 in their life that's not easy to love? Well, 00:20:36.819 --> 00:20:38.240 we've got to love them too if we're going to 00:20:38.240 --> 00:20:42.180 be like Jesus. And He will help us and He will 00:20:42.180 --> 00:20:46.579 empower us. The fruit of the Spirit, you know, 00:20:46.599 --> 00:20:48.619 we talked about that in our last series of self 00:20:48.619 --> 00:20:51.000 -control, but the fruit of the Spirit is also 00:20:51.000 --> 00:20:53.880 love. And that's the number one, this mission, 00:20:54.039 --> 00:21:00.039 is love. So we can love even the people we... 00:21:00.740 --> 00:21:04.500 view as unlovable when we're empowered by the 00:21:04.500 --> 00:21:07.940 Spirit. When we acknowledge Him, we can walk 00:21:07.940 --> 00:21:12.940 in love. Y 'all got quiet when I said you got 00:21:12.940 --> 00:21:14.799 to love your enemies. Jesus said love your enemies. 00:21:16.099 --> 00:21:22.079 He said do good for the people who did bad to 00:21:22.079 --> 00:21:26.339 you. Do good for them. To those who despitefully 00:21:26.339 --> 00:21:32.359 use you, love them and do good. It sounds impossible. 00:21:34.019 --> 00:21:37.400 But all things are possible with Christ. All 00:21:37.400 --> 00:21:39.619 things are possible being empowered by the Spirit. 00:21:40.740 --> 00:21:45.740 We can be different. We can be different than 00:21:45.740 --> 00:21:49.480 the world. We're called to be different than 00:21:49.480 --> 00:21:53.920 the world. Somebody smile or something. You're 00:21:53.920 --> 00:21:56.539 frowning at me too much. Makes me want to stay 00:21:56.539 --> 00:21:58.640 on this topic that wasn't even in my message. 00:21:59.279 --> 00:22:01.140 The more you frown, the more I'm going to stomp 00:22:01.140 --> 00:22:07.880 on it. Honor should be displayed by the church. 00:22:10.460 --> 00:22:17.099 And it should be displayed in the church. Like 00:22:17.099 --> 00:22:22.680 I said, we're supposed to be different. We've 00:22:22.680 --> 00:22:28.000 been born again. We have God in us. Empowering 00:22:28.000 --> 00:22:35.119 us. Filling us. People need to say, if people 00:22:35.119 --> 00:22:37.680 are not followers of Christ, when they see you, 00:22:37.900 --> 00:22:40.099 and I'm talking about every single one of you, 00:22:40.119 --> 00:22:42.500 not just a preacher, when they see you at work, 00:22:42.859 --> 00:22:45.299 they ought to see something different about you. 00:22:47.119 --> 00:22:51.039 The main thing they're going to see is your love. 00:22:53.400 --> 00:22:55.400 The main thing they're going to see is your honor. 00:22:56.819 --> 00:23:00.779 Right? Should be displayed by the church. The 00:23:00.779 --> 00:23:03.319 church is us. The church is called out ones. 00:23:03.420 --> 00:23:09.539 It's not an organization or a meeting. That word 00:23:09.539 --> 00:23:12.319 church is a compound Greek word that means called 00:23:12.319 --> 00:23:16.160 out ones. Somebody raise your hand and say, I'm 00:23:16.160 --> 00:23:22.680 a called out one. I've been called out. So we 00:23:22.680 --> 00:23:27.659 should display honor to the world. Sometimes 00:23:27.659 --> 00:23:29.799 I've done acts of honor towards people and they've 00:23:29.799 --> 00:23:35.839 laughed at me. You know, I'll never forget. Sometimes 00:23:35.839 --> 00:23:37.880 when we go to different parts, I don't know if 00:23:37.880 --> 00:23:41.099 I'm not against people who are not from the South, 00:23:41.180 --> 00:23:43.400 but go to different parts and you start saying 00:23:43.400 --> 00:23:46.220 yes ma 'am to somebody older than you and they 00:23:46.220 --> 00:23:52.240 just look at you like you're crazy. They visited 00:23:52.240 --> 00:23:54.460 our church before, but the first time I went 00:23:54.460 --> 00:23:57.390 to their house and they come, you know, four 00:23:57.390 --> 00:24:00.250 or five times a year, I was saying, yes, ma 'am, 00:24:00.329 --> 00:24:03.049 and she looked at me and said, why are you calling 00:24:03.049 --> 00:24:06.269 me ma 'am? She was a school teacher. Nobody had 00:24:06.269 --> 00:24:08.569 ever called her ma 'am. Nobody in her family 00:24:08.569 --> 00:24:11.710 had ever called her ma 'am. I was the first one, 00:24:11.849 --> 00:24:15.690 when she's 70, I was the first one to ever say, 00:24:15.829 --> 00:24:18.069 yes, ma 'am, to her, and it freaked her out. 00:24:20.710 --> 00:24:25.210 But that's an honor. It's a term of respect. 00:24:28.169 --> 00:24:36.069 Right? Glad I got two little amens. Romans 12, 00:24:36.230 --> 00:24:44.430 10. Love each other with genuine affection. Listen, 00:24:44.569 --> 00:24:52.910 and take delight in honoring each other. I'll 00:24:52.910 --> 00:24:58.150 read it again. Love each other with genuine affection. 00:24:59.930 --> 00:25:06.710 And take delight in honoring each other. I'm 00:25:06.710 --> 00:25:08.390 not telling you that we all have to walk around 00:25:08.390 --> 00:25:12.529 and say, yes ma 'am, yes sir. I mean, it's more 00:25:12.529 --> 00:25:17.029 than that. It's more than just words. It's more 00:25:17.029 --> 00:25:23.930 than just words. We need to honor. Offering a 00:25:23.930 --> 00:25:29.900 seat. Opening a door. Whatever it is. Honoring 00:25:29.900 --> 00:25:35.359 each other. Preferring other people over ourselves. 00:25:38.099 --> 00:25:44.980 See, genuine honor busts selfishness. And we're 00:25:44.980 --> 00:25:48.839 supposed to honor everyone. Again, just like 00:25:48.839 --> 00:25:51.640 we love everyone, we're supposed to honor everyone. 00:25:54.029 --> 00:25:59.250 1 Peter 2 .17, respect, in the New Living it 00:25:59.250 --> 00:26:01.690 says respect, but it's the same word that's translated 00:26:01.690 --> 00:26:09.589 honor. Respect or honor everyone and love the 00:26:09.589 --> 00:26:16.490 family of believers. Respect and honor everyone 00:26:16.490 --> 00:26:22.970 and love the family of believers. Now do you 00:26:22.970 --> 00:26:24.890 know how to demonstrate that honor to everyone? 00:26:25.390 --> 00:26:30.569 Have you figured it out yet? Well, it's going 00:26:30.569 --> 00:26:33.470 to come back up in just a second. Because I've 00:26:33.470 --> 00:26:37.309 already said it twice. That's why it's up like 00:26:37.309 --> 00:26:43.970 four times in this message. 1 Timothy 5 .17 Let 00:26:43.970 --> 00:26:46.630 the elders who rule well be considered worthy 00:26:46.630 --> 00:26:51.339 of double honor. Especially those who labor in 00:26:51.339 --> 00:26:57.900 preaching and teaching. Who are the elders? Those 00:26:57.900 --> 00:27:01.000 who lead with wisdom and integrity with a focus 00:27:01.000 --> 00:27:05.119 on God's Word. I'm just going to read that and 00:27:05.119 --> 00:27:11.240 leave it there. So how do you honor? How do you 00:27:11.240 --> 00:27:17.000 honor everyone? How do you honor everyone? Well, 00:27:17.019 --> 00:27:20.130 you speak highly of them. When you're talking 00:27:20.130 --> 00:27:23.029 to somebody else, see, this bust gossip, there 00:27:23.029 --> 00:27:25.349 is no such thing as gossip when you're honored. 00:27:27.329 --> 00:27:31.210 Because you always speak highly. I'll never forget 00:27:31.210 --> 00:27:33.789 the little Haitian choir when I was a teenager 00:27:33.789 --> 00:27:37.730 doing a mission trip in New Jersey, and they 00:27:37.730 --> 00:27:40.210 said, tell it like it is, and if you don't tell 00:27:40.210 --> 00:27:42.650 it like it is, don't tell it at all. That was 00:27:42.650 --> 00:27:48.150 their little song. Well, If you can't speak highly 00:27:48.150 --> 00:27:54.150 of someone, keep your mouth shut. It's better 00:27:54.150 --> 00:28:04.569 to not speak at all than to trash somebody. It's 00:28:04.569 --> 00:28:07.769 better to not speak at all than to trash somebody. 00:28:09.769 --> 00:28:15.349 So, don't... trash the preacher at lunch after 00:28:15.349 --> 00:28:19.769 the service. My dad was a pastor and it was like, 00:28:19.910 --> 00:28:22.670 you know, so many people, when they got together 00:28:22.670 --> 00:28:24.549 at lunch, boy, they would run the preacher down 00:28:24.549 --> 00:28:27.609 the road because he preached too long or he preached 00:28:27.609 --> 00:28:32.289 too hard or he preached too, right? And he's 00:28:32.289 --> 00:28:34.890 a double honor person, right? So especially don't 00:28:34.890 --> 00:28:41.990 speak lightly or lowly of the, but that's everybody. 00:28:43.309 --> 00:28:47.650 It's everybody. Everybody. So guard your tongue. 00:28:48.730 --> 00:28:50.269 Look at the person beside you and say, guard 00:28:50.269 --> 00:28:52.549 your tongue. If you're going to honor somebody, 00:28:52.690 --> 00:28:54.890 you're going to speak highly of them. You're 00:28:54.890 --> 00:28:57.410 going to show generosity towards them. Generosity 00:28:57.410 --> 00:29:02.589 is not always about money. It's being a generous 00:29:02.589 --> 00:29:08.009 person with your time, with your resources. Huge 00:29:08.009 --> 00:29:11.109 generosity from Robert and Alyssa for us being 00:29:11.109 --> 00:29:14.519 here today. Huge generosity. Because they've 00:29:14.519 --> 00:29:16.059 got people back here in the kitchen working. 00:29:16.660 --> 00:29:20.940 But when I asked, he said, sure, let's do it. 00:29:21.099 --> 00:29:24.500 That's huge generosity. Having a high respect 00:29:24.500 --> 00:29:29.140 for somebody. So if you're going to honor everybody, 00:29:29.339 --> 00:29:33.420 you've got to respect everybody. And again, this 00:29:33.420 --> 00:29:37.740 busts selfishness. Selfishness has no place in 00:29:37.740 --> 00:29:42.470 the life of a follower of Christ. Having a high 00:29:42.470 --> 00:29:48.230 respect of submitting to leadership up. 2 Kings 00:29:48.230 --> 00:29:54.769 2, 1 -8. I'll share a story with you. When the 00:29:54.769 --> 00:29:56.950 Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven in 00:29:56.950 --> 00:29:59.650 a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were traveling 00:29:59.650 --> 00:30:05.650 from Gilgal. And Elijah said to Elisha, Stay 00:30:05.650 --> 00:30:08.750 here, for the Lord has told me to go to Bethel. 00:30:10.089 --> 00:30:13.289 But Elisha replied, As surely as the Lord lives, 00:30:13.569 --> 00:30:17.230 and as you yourself live, I will never leave 00:30:17.230 --> 00:30:23.410 you. So they went down together to Bethel. The 00:30:23.410 --> 00:30:26.430 group of prophets from Bethel came to Elisha 00:30:26.430 --> 00:30:31.730 and asked him, Did you know that the Lord is 00:30:31.730 --> 00:30:34.369 going to take your master away from you today? 00:30:38.000 --> 00:30:40.940 When Elisha and Elijah got there, the other prophets 00:30:40.940 --> 00:30:45.160 started saying, Hey Elisha, you know God's taking 00:30:45.160 --> 00:30:47.200 Elijah today, taking him to heaven, don't you? 00:30:48.279 --> 00:30:52.980 And what did he say? Of course I know, but be 00:30:52.980 --> 00:31:00.920 quiet about it. Of course I know, but be quiet 00:31:00.920 --> 00:31:06.150 about it. Then Elisha... Keep getting tongue 00:31:06.150 --> 00:31:09.390 -tied and crossed up here. Then Elijah said to 00:31:09.390 --> 00:31:14.029 Elisha, stay here for the Lord has told me to 00:31:14.029 --> 00:31:18.309 go to Jericho. But Elisha replied again, as surely 00:31:18.309 --> 00:31:20.730 as the Lord lives and you yourself live, I will 00:31:20.730 --> 00:31:25.769 never leave you. So they went together to Jericho. 00:31:27.329 --> 00:31:30.009 Then the group of prophets from Jericho came. 00:31:31.369 --> 00:31:33.970 to Elisha and ask him, did you know that the 00:31:33.970 --> 00:31:36.049 Lord is going to take your master away from you 00:31:36.049 --> 00:31:40.990 today? He said, of course I know. But be quiet 00:31:40.990 --> 00:31:47.130 about it. I'm not happy that it's happening today. 00:31:48.049 --> 00:31:51.769 Because I've been following Elijah. I've been 00:31:51.769 --> 00:31:59.490 honoring Elijah. I'm dedicated to him, to helping 00:31:59.490 --> 00:32:06.490 him. To our friendship. Then Elijah said to Elisha, 00:32:06.490 --> 00:32:08.809 stay here for the Lord has told me to go to the 00:32:08.809 --> 00:32:13.630 Jordan River. But again, Elisha replied, as surely 00:32:13.630 --> 00:32:16.670 as the Lord lives and you yourself live, I will 00:32:16.670 --> 00:32:22.930 never leave you. So they went together. He wanted 00:32:22.930 --> 00:32:25.650 to spend as much time as he possibly could, right? 00:32:27.630 --> 00:32:30.369 Fifty men from the group of prophets also went 00:32:30.369 --> 00:32:33.150 and watched from a distance as Elijah and Elisha 00:32:33.150 --> 00:32:40.190 stopped beside the Jordan River. We've looked 00:32:40.190 --> 00:32:44.369 at different groups of prophets that supposedly 00:32:44.369 --> 00:32:49.349 respected and honored Elijah. There were more 00:32:49.349 --> 00:32:52.109 prophets. He wasn't the only one, but the other 00:32:52.109 --> 00:32:54.670 prophets, I mean, they even had schools of prophets. 00:32:56.299 --> 00:32:58.240 But here's what we're finding out through what 00:32:58.240 --> 00:33:02.880 we're reading. Elisha honored Elijah more than 00:33:02.880 --> 00:33:07.339 any of the other prophets. Everybody say honor. 00:33:08.599 --> 00:33:17.640 He respected him more. Followed him more. Then 00:33:17.640 --> 00:33:22.359 Elijah folded his cloak together and struck the 00:33:22.359 --> 00:33:26.440 water with it at the Jordan River. hit the water 00:33:26.440 --> 00:33:31.660 with his coat. The river divided, and the two 00:33:31.660 --> 00:33:35.119 of them went across on dry ground. It wasn't 00:33:35.119 --> 00:33:38.279 even soupy. It wasn't even wet. It was dry. Just 00:33:38.279 --> 00:33:43.119 immediately split. Water's dry. They walk across 00:33:43.119 --> 00:33:46.660 dry ground across the bed of the Jordan River. 00:33:47.619 --> 00:33:50.099 When they came to the other side, Elijah said 00:33:50.099 --> 00:33:54.440 to Elisha, Tell me what I can do for you before 00:33:54.440 --> 00:34:00.119 I'm taken away. Look to the person beside you 00:34:00.119 --> 00:34:06.839 and say, genuine honor is always rewarded. Genuine 00:34:06.839 --> 00:34:13.480 honor is always rewarded. Tell me what I can 00:34:13.480 --> 00:34:15.500 do for you before I'm taken away. And Elisha 00:34:15.500 --> 00:34:19.099 replied, please let me inherit a double share 00:34:19.099 --> 00:34:27.130 of your spirit. And become your successor. Double 00:34:27.130 --> 00:34:33.309 portion. You have asked a difficult thing, Elijah 00:34:33.309 --> 00:34:38.409 replied. It's actually something Elijah himself 00:34:38.409 --> 00:34:45.309 could not give him. See, his honor is rewarded. 00:34:45.789 --> 00:34:49.690 His honor is acknowledged. His honor is seen. 00:34:51.630 --> 00:34:59.010 By God. And it will be rewarded by God. You have 00:34:59.010 --> 00:35:01.750 asked a difficult thing, Elijah replied. If you 00:35:01.750 --> 00:35:05.510 see me when I'm taken from you, then you will 00:35:05.510 --> 00:35:09.889 get your request. But if not, then you won't. 00:35:11.670 --> 00:35:15.630 As they were walking along and talking, suddenly 00:35:15.630 --> 00:35:21.679 a chariot of fire appeared. Drawn by horses of 00:35:21.679 --> 00:35:26.739 fire, it drove between the two men, separating 00:35:26.739 --> 00:35:32.300 them, and Elijah was carried by a whirlwind into 00:35:32.300 --> 00:35:43.539 heaven. What a way to go. What a way to go. I 00:35:43.539 --> 00:35:47.320 mean, Enoch walked with God and was no more earlier 00:35:47.320 --> 00:35:50.639 on in the Bible. I mean, he walked with God so 00:35:50.639 --> 00:35:52.860 closely that God said, just come on home with 00:35:52.860 --> 00:35:57.559 me today. Right? There was no funeral. There 00:35:57.559 --> 00:36:00.840 was no grave. There was no body. He just went 00:36:00.840 --> 00:36:05.599 home with God that day. Walked so close with 00:36:05.599 --> 00:36:12.199 God. Well, we got a fiery chariot with fiery 00:36:12.199 --> 00:36:20.210 horses. Came and picked up Elijah. Carried by 00:36:20.210 --> 00:36:24.409 a whirlwind into heaven. Elisha saw it and cried 00:36:24.409 --> 00:36:30.110 out, My father, my father, I see the chariots 00:36:30.110 --> 00:36:35.670 and the charioteers of Israel. What did Elijah 00:36:35.670 --> 00:36:42.550 say? If you see me go, your request is going 00:36:42.550 --> 00:36:48.110 to be granted. So his honor was recognized. His 00:36:48.110 --> 00:36:52.829 honor, Not only to God, but his honor to Elijah 00:36:52.829 --> 00:37:01.489 was recognized and rewarded by God. Elisha received 00:37:01.489 --> 00:37:05.630 that double portion of Elijah's prophetic anointing. 00:37:06.489 --> 00:37:09.289 And it's even recorded in scripture. We have 00:37:09.289 --> 00:37:14.309 seven recorded miracles in Elijah's prophetic 00:37:14.309 --> 00:37:18.289 ministry. And we have 14. Everybody say double. 00:37:19.400 --> 00:37:25.420 14 miracles recorded in Elisha's ministry, in 00:37:25.420 --> 00:37:29.599 his prophetic ministry. So honor is important. 00:37:30.440 --> 00:37:32.659 It didn't happen for all the other prophets. 00:37:32.940 --> 00:37:35.039 They went to two different places, right? They 00:37:35.039 --> 00:37:37.500 went to Bethel and Gilgal. There were other prophets 00:37:37.500 --> 00:37:42.739 there, but they didn't honor Elijah as much as 00:37:42.739 --> 00:37:47.420 Elisha honored him. And God saw that and rewarded 00:37:47.420 --> 00:37:55.230 that. So how do we show honor? Everybody say 00:37:55.230 --> 00:37:59.409 one more time. How are you going to show honor 00:37:59.409 --> 00:38:05.550 today to other people? Because when we come to 00:38:05.550 --> 00:38:07.630 church, it's not just about our religious concept 00:38:07.630 --> 00:38:10.750 that we're talking about. It's not just, right? 00:38:11.670 --> 00:38:14.090 It's not just rub a little Bible, rub a little 00:38:14.090 --> 00:38:18.440 Jesus on our life. And check off something in 00:38:18.440 --> 00:38:21.199 our calendar. Hey, I went to church today. Wow, 00:38:21.400 --> 00:38:24.559 God must be thrilled that I went to church today. 00:38:26.320 --> 00:38:28.659 And I might see him again next week. I might 00:38:28.659 --> 00:38:30.639 not. Depends on if we get a better offer or not. 00:38:31.920 --> 00:38:36.139 Right? Come on. Don't shout me down while I'm 00:38:36.139 --> 00:38:41.280 preaching, good. So how are we going to apply 00:38:41.280 --> 00:38:47.159 this? The Bible says be doers of the word, not 00:38:47.159 --> 00:38:51.800 hearers only. It's not just about us acquiring 00:38:51.800 --> 00:38:57.760 more spiritual head knowledge. It's about us 00:38:57.760 --> 00:39:06.659 doing it. Doing it. So, how are you going to 00:39:06.659 --> 00:39:11.460 show honor? How are you going to show it? The 00:39:11.460 --> 00:39:17.050 rest of the day, tomorrow. This week, next week, 00:39:17.090 --> 00:39:18.989 how are you going to display honor? How are you 00:39:18.989 --> 00:39:23.090 going to show it? It's going to have to do with 00:39:23.090 --> 00:39:24.650 your words. You're going to have to speak highly 00:39:24.650 --> 00:39:28.070 of people. And not just your favorite people. 00:39:31.710 --> 00:39:35.550 It's easy to apply it when it's easy to apply 00:39:35.550 --> 00:39:41.110 it. Speaking highly of people. We're going to 00:39:41.110 --> 00:39:43.769 show people honor. We're going to be the body 00:39:43.769 --> 00:39:46.449 of Christ. We're going to represent the kingdom 00:39:46.449 --> 00:39:48.510 of God. We're going to speak highly of people. 00:39:48.809 --> 00:39:51.050 We're going to show generosity in our lives. 00:39:51.130 --> 00:39:53.809 We're going to be generous people. We're going 00:39:53.809 --> 00:39:58.130 to respect other people. We're not just concerned 00:39:58.130 --> 00:40:02.650 about ourself all the time. And us getting first 00:40:02.650 --> 00:40:06.349 and getting best. We're going to prefer others, 00:40:06.469 --> 00:40:08.150 right? We're going to have a high respect of 00:40:08.150 --> 00:40:10.969 other people. We're going to submit to leadership. 00:40:13.500 --> 00:40:16.019 I want you to come back next week. Jeffrey's 00:40:16.019 --> 00:40:17.599 going to be talking about that a little bit more 00:40:17.599 --> 00:40:21.619 in detail. So, he's going to be finishing us 00:40:21.619 --> 00:40:24.719 up next week. Remember, next week we're going 00:40:24.719 --> 00:40:27.719 to be back at Citrus Ridge Academy. The week 00:40:27.719 --> 00:40:33.480 after that, we're going to be back here. Back 00:40:33.480 --> 00:40:36.900 here at Honics. Let's pray together. God, thank 00:40:36.900 --> 00:40:38.480 you for your word. Thank you for your truth. 00:40:39.760 --> 00:40:41.559 Thank you for each person that you've brought 00:40:41.559 --> 00:40:44.000 to this place today, and I pray that your word 00:40:44.000 --> 00:40:48.780 will be planted in their hearts in such a way 00:40:48.780 --> 00:40:54.559 that the roots grow deep and grows into maturity 00:40:54.559 --> 00:40:59.460 and produces a harvest of honor in our lives. 00:40:59.719 --> 00:41:03.739 Thank you for your promises to us. When we honor 00:41:03.739 --> 00:41:07.309 other people, you will notice... Our honor. And 00:41:07.309 --> 00:41:09.869 you will reward us. And we thank you for that. 00:41:11.170 --> 00:41:14.389 Help us to be obedient. Help us to submit to 00:41:14.389 --> 00:41:18.150 you. Help us to honor you and esteem you. Highest 00:41:18.150 --> 00:41:22.889 of all. In everything we do. In everything we 00:41:22.889 --> 00:41:27.610 say. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.