Dearly beloved in Christ,
Greetings to you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Today man seeks popularity and honor in the midst of people by speaking about their hypocritical sacrifices. Even though they are nothing, they want to be seen as something. They glorify themselves. They put on the false robe of glamour and keep announcing great projects. It is sheer hypocrisy. Jesus Christ says, “But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing” (Matt. 6:3). But they do it ostentatiously to be praised. Such people who want to be honored and praised abound even in the churches and communities. Our prayer should not be like those of the hypocrites. In prayer, we should be led by the Lord’s counsel: “if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land” (2 Chron. 7:14). The Lord who said this is the same today. Do our words and deeds bring glory and honor to the Lord? If it is not so, the name of the Lord is dishonored.
We should honour those whom the Bible advises to honor. “Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor” (Romans 12:10). “Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king” (1 Peter 2:17). When we obey these words, the Lord will bless us.
I. HOW TO HONOR GOD
1. With the First Fruits
“Honor the LORD with your possessions, and with the firstfruits of all your increase” Proverbs 3:9
One way of honoring the Lord is to give to Him. Sometimes people who give their first fruits to the Lord feel sad to know that they are not spent for the right purpose. When we give to the Lord, we honor Him as we give according to His word. There is no need to be worried as to how they spend it. If the offerings are spent for Godly purpose there would be blessing; if it is misused, they would incur the curse of the Lord.
The sons of Eli did abhorrent sins with people who came to the church. They demanded from people who came to make their offerings: “Give meat for roasting to the priest, for he will not take boiled meat from you, but raw.” ‘And if the man said to him, “They should really burn the fat first; then you may take as much as your heart desires,” he would then answer him, “No, but you must give it now; and if not, I will take it by force.” Therefore the sin of the young men was very great before the LORD, for men abhorred the offering of the LORD’ (1 Sam. 2:15-17). So the Lord sent His prophet to inform them of what He was going to do to them. Without the fear of the Lord, they did horrible sins against the Lord and dishonored Him. Even after knowing the curse that was to come upon them, they did not repent and so their descendants were cursed.
Dear Brother/ Sister, honor the Lord with your possessions and first fruits. That would bring blessings upon you. The Lord will take care of those who use them. It is up to them to make it a blessing or curse for them. The children of Eli did not honor the Lord and sought curse and destruction for themselves.
Today let us honor the Lord with our possessions and first fruits.
2. By having mercy on the needy
“He who oppresses the poor reproaches his Maker, but he who honors Him has mercy on the needy” Proverbs 14:31
Do we not look upon the miseries of the poor and turn a blind eye to them? The Lord who created us is still alive. He has blessed us from the womb creating us in a mysterious way. What have we done to Him? If you start examining yourself, you will begin to show mercy to those who are poor and miserable. “He who has pity on the poor lends to the LORD, and He will pay back what he has given.” (Proverbs 19:17). Today man seeks honor and fame from men through acts of display and advertisement. If we act obeying the command of the Lord: “Give and it will be given to you.” and do some help to the poor, the Lord will bless us.
Once a widow came and asked us to pray for her daughter who sought admission to Teacher Training Course. We also prayed. The Lord who hears prayers saw her tears. She got admission to a Training institution nearby and thus the Lord wiped away their tears. When they came back to report about it, I wanted to send them away saying that it gave me joy. But she gave me another prayer point. She had to pay Rs. 400 as fees four days before joining the course. I thought that I needed Rs. 4000 to send the ‘Jebathoni’ magazine that month and so I thought that everybody was in need. But when I prayed the Lord asked me to give her Rs. 400 from what I had. I was delaying thinking that I myself needed more money. But the Lord spoke to me again. I then felt that the ministry and the money belonged to the Lord and came forward to pay her the money. The lady was delighted and thanked me as she did not expect it from me. She left. Now my need has risen from Rs. 3600 to Rs. 4000. When the brother in charge of posting came for money, I asked him to come after an hour. Then one Brother who was with me in ministry handed the money his wife had given as an offering the previous day. He had forgotten it. His wife was a doctor. She had decided to give the money she would receive as fees for child delivery to Jebathoni Ministry. Thus saying he opened his purse. I asked him to give that Rs. 4000 to me. He was astonished that the Lord had revealed even the amount. I just told him that it was what I needed that day. That was the exact amount his wife had given. That amount was enough for sending the magazine. The Lord blessed the amount given to that unknown widow ten times and gave it back to me. I thanked and praised the Lord thinking of His love and mercy to which I am not worthy.
When we help others who are also created by the Lord, we honor Him. By that we are also blessed.
3. With Sacrifices
“You have not brought Me the sheep for your burnt offerings, nor have you honored Me with your sacrifices. I have not caused you to serve with grain offerings, nor wearied you with incense.” Isaiah 43:23
The word ‘sacrifice’ makes us think of something weird. But there is no need for any sacrifice as the Lord Jesus Christ offered Himself as a blameless sacrifice on the cross. But we should offer the sacrifice of praise. “Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.” (Hebrews 13:15). This is a way of honouring the Lord. We gratefully thank people who help us in this world. So also we are bound to thank the Lord for all that He has done for us with a grateful heart. It pleases the Lord when it proceeds from the heart. Psalm 69:30-31 speaks about it: “I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify Him with thanksgiving. This also shall please the LORD better than an ox or bull, which has horns and hooves.” Besides a prayer of thanksgiving makes our hearts filled with the peace of God.
When we offer the sacrifice of praise and call upon Him in the days of trouble, we would have deliverance from our problems. Let us glorify Him. Praising Him would bring several blessings upon us.
Another thing that pleases the Lord is offering our bodies as holy and living sacrifices. To that to which you offer to obey as slaves, you become slaves to it. If you offer your bodies as the temple of God, the Lord is glorified. You are honoring Him.
If you honor Him, He will honor you. If you know whom the Lord honors, it will help you to live happily in Christ. In this world you may be living with no one to regard you, living in misery and need. Dear Brother/ Sister, the Lord Almighty is seated on the throne. All the angels keep praising Him and the Lamb: “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom, thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen” (Rev. 7:12). The One who is worthy of honor will honor those who are His.
II. WHOM WILL HE HONOR?
1. Those Precious in His Sight
“Since you were precious in My sight, you have been honored, and I have loved you; Therefore I will give men for you, and people for your life.” Isaiah 43:4
Who are those precious in the sight of God? 2 Peter 1:1 states: “those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.” Those who have received this precious faith are precious in His sight. If we have this precious faith, and practise it, we become precious. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1). “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6).
If our faith is in Lord Jesus Christ, we can experience wonderful things in life. He sees our faith. According to the measure of our faith, He works miracles. He is the One who makes faith to originate. As this faith grows, the Lord transforms us into people of honor.
Further, the Lord works through His promises to transform us into precious persons. We read in 2 Peter 1:4: “by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” As we cling to His promises, we become precious in His sight.
We become precious in the sight of God through faith and His promises and thus we inherit His honor.
2. Those Who Love the Lord
“Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him” Psalm 91:14,15
The Lord delivers those who have set their love upon Him. Besides, as you know His name, He protects you and honors you. When you call upon Him in days of trouble, He hears your prayers and answers them by doing wonders. He has promised to deliver and honor you. This is the way the God of love honors those who belong to Him. He also blesses them with long life.
Once a tax official was falsely accused of demanding bribe. Those who levelled charges were trying to transport two lorry-loads of rice to the neighbouring state without any permit. On account of the accusation, the official was also placed under suspension. He began to do ministry saying that the Lord had given him leave for doing ministry. After due enquiry it was reported that the lorries had no permit and they were fined. But this official was reinstated and was given promotion too. That is the way the Lord blessed him.
Dear Brother/ Sister, the Lord who delivers lives. The Lord will give protection and honor to you as you know His name. He will thus bless you.
3. Those Who are Humble
“A man’s pride will bring him low, but the humble in spirit will retain honor.” Proverbs 29:23
Let us learn to be humble. Many are proud because of their qualification, their income, wealth and other exaltations. They buy vehicles to keep up their status in society. Some wear costly jewels and clothes so that others would speak high of them. Once I was asked to pose for a photograph while doing a ministry. I also accepted and sat on a chair. The husband and wife sat each on one side and took a photo. A few days later they sent me a copy of it. Then I noticed how they had kept their fingers with rings on eight fingers. I was astonished. They did not realize that the Lord “resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6).
Once the Tamilnadu government started a sports hostel to train and encourage youngsters. They gathered the best talented students from all places at the headquarters of the districts to train them in each sport. In Trichy foot-ball players were trained. They were given training from 8th standard. But the school where I trained students always won. Students of 11th and 12th standards were trained in a special way. That year the final match was between our school and the special school for sports. Before sending the team into the playground, the man who trained the players of the opposite team spoke proudly so that I might hear him. I counselled my players and I made the usual prayer I used to make and sent them into the playground. That was the last year of my teaching career as I tendered my resignation in favour of the Lord’s ministry. Our team won the match by scoring 2 goals against them. They had been given good food and training, but our school won. The Lord God is against the proud. James 4:10 says, “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.” The word will be fulfilled.
Let us learn to live according to the verse, “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself” (Philippians 2:3). Jesus Christ humbled Himself and took the form of man. He wants us to be humble. We read in Micah 6:8, “He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” “Seek the LORD, all you meek of the earth, who have upheld His justice. seek righteousness, seek humility. It may be that you will be hidden in the day of the LORD’s anger” (Zephaniah 2:3). Mary sang, “He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted the lowly.” (Luke 1:52).
Dear Brother/ Sister, if you live with humility, the Lord will exalt you. You will be honored.
4. Those Cleansed by the Lord
“Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.” 2 Timothy 2:21
In this life on earth some live with honor and some with dishonor. Why this dishonor? It is caused by several sinful habits. There was a judge in the place where I lived. In those days, only he owned a car there. He was living an exalted life. But he began to drink and became a drunkard. He could be seen lying on the ground in the street at night times. People sympathized with the family. All the honor and exaltation he enjoyed left him.
If one wants to be honored, he should cleanse himself fully. People are seen to be good by their behaviour and words. But their hearts and thoughts are filled with filth. Jesus Christ called such people ‘whited sepulchre.’
How is your life today? Are you a cleansed vessel? Or are you as Christ said a ‘whited sepulchre?’ Has some sinful habit bound you from which you are struggling to come out? Are you under the bondage of some secret sins? Are your eyes eager to look at sinful acts? If you are cleansed, you will be honored. Jesus Christ was harsh on Pharisees and Scribes and called them hypocrites: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence” (Matt. 23:25).
We read in 2 Timothy 2:21, “Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.” To cleanse us Jesus Christ shed His blood on the cross. His blood can cleanse us from all sins. If we commit to be cleansed with the blood shed on the cross, He will forgive us and give us a sanctified life.
In John 17:17, it said that the Word of God is the truth and it can cleanse you to be useful to do things acceptable to God. The Lord wants to transform you to be a useful vessel. Moreover, Jesus Christ wants to fill you with the Holy Ghost from the Father. This Holy Ghost can cleanse you and it is called the “sanctification of the Spirit” (1 Peter 1:2).
Thus we are transformed not only as useful vessels but also as honorable vessels.
5. Those Who Serve the Lord
“If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.” John 12:26
If we do the ministry of the Lord, He will honor us. This is the assurance given to us here. Do something to Him that you can. He will lift up your head and honor you.
One Brother worked as a sexton in a church. He had been trained to work as a teacher. He was offered an appointment to work as a teacher. But he declined it and preferred to do the ministry of the Lord. Today the Lord has honoured him. Now he is doing ministry in a Bible College and is sending missionaries. Yes, the Lord honours those who do ministry for Him. He makes them flames of fire and uses them.
Dear Brother/ Sister, when you do ministry for the Lord, He not only honors you, but also gives you exaltation and joy.
May the Lord bless us!
In the service of Christ,
Bro. C. Ebenezer Paul.