In this piece, we'll be sharing something important by the help of the Holy Spirit. We want to look at “Honoring God in a Dishonorable World”.
What does it mean to Honor God? I'm going to give us dictionary definitions of Honor, but we're going to also look into the Word of God to see what God calls Honor. The first definition I'm going to give us is that Honor is to have high regard or respect for someone. So, if I Honor you; I have high regard for you, I hold you in high esteem. Another meaning of Honor is to treat someone with admiration and respect. So, when you Honor someone; there is a way to treat the person. When you Honor someone, there is a high regard that you have for the person: and all of these, have very significant meaning in our conversation.
We're looking at Honoring God, and God is a huge personality; He is God in a class of His own. So, we are looking at God and Honor. How do we Honor God? How do we have high regard for God? How do we treat God with admiration or respect? Another meaning of Honor is to give special recognition to someone. So, how do we give special recognition to God?
Our text will be Malachi chapter 1:6-14. It says; “A son Honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am the Father, where is My Honor? (This is God speaking) And if I am a Master, where is My reverence? (Another word for Honor is reverence) Says the Lord of hosts.”
Every time you see God referred to as the Lord of hosts, it is a different dimension. It means the Lord of heavens army; He tries to help us understand who He is, and the kind of dimension through which He is speaking to you. The Bible says in Revelation, the angels, and the 24 elders, and the four living creatures all bow before Him. He said the 24 elders will cast their crown and bow before Him saying Holy! Holy! Holy! Lord God Almighty: there is something they saw.
So, God says, I am saying this, as the Lord of host; where is My Honor? Where is My reverence? If the Honor or reverence was there, will God ask? That means the Honor was not there; the reverence was also not there.
To you priests who despise My name. (The opposite of Honor is to despise; if you don’t Honor someone; you have despised the person.) Yet you say, ‘In what way have we despised Your name?’ Verse 7, “You offer defiled food on My altar, but say, ‘in what way have we defiled You?’ By saying, ‘the table of the Lord is contemptible.’ And when you offer the blind as a sacrifice, is it not evil? (God is telling them what they are doing wrong) And when you offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? Offer it then to your governor!”
The way God was talking to these people shows that God was so displeased by the dishonor. That you have been telling yourself; God we did not defy you; God we did not dishonor you. Are you like that too? Are you saying to yourself; let me look at my life, is there any way I have dishonored God? Is there any way I have despised God?
The question is, how are you treating God? What are you offering to God? God said, the way you have been treating Me; can you treat your governor like that? If the president of Nigeria should walk into this room and he comes in with his own entourage, what happens to all of us? Many of us will not know when we'll jump off, whether we should kneel down, or we should bow down, or we should arrange ourselves. Some of us that didn’t dress well, we will want to adjust ourselves. Why? A human president walks in and we did all of that simply because we can see him; but there is a God we cannot see, that moves with greater entourage.
The Bible says in the Book of Kings, when Solomon offered to God a thousand offerings, the Bible says and the presence of God filled the temple; that the priests could not minister. Do you know the entourage that follows God? In the Book of Hebrews, the Bible says, we have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God; we have come to the heavenly Jerusalem. When God shows up as a Judge, He doesn’t show up alone; He shows up with Jesus: the Mediator of the New Covenant, He shows up with the company of just men made perfect, He shows up with thousands upon thousands, and millions of angels; innumerable (the bible calls it) He shows up with the church of the Firstborn registered in heaven. We have come to that great company. Imagine if we can see it.
The reason why many of us despise God and we don't know it; is because we can't see Him. The reason why most of us worship God with a lackadaisical attitude is because we can't see Him. Imagine about two or three angels with flaming sword on every side.
When we're talking about Honoring God, the difficulty in Honoring God is the spirituality of God. They said He is God, but they did not worship Him and revere Him as God. Why? They can’t see Him. The same issue with us now; before we are quick to cast the priests, that how can they defile God; imagine them! Are we not doing the same? When we come into the presence of God, how do we treat the presence of God? Do we Honor or despise?
So, God was saying here, what you are offering to Me; the way you are treating Me: Can you treat your governor like that? He's God; heaven and earth adore Him, angels bow before Him; and you treat Him the way you like.
“Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you favorably?” Says the Lord of hosts”. The reason why the Lord of hosts is coming out is because there's a way God is addressing this matter. You know, the angels in heaven got so upset and they asked a question, God, we know how we treat You in heaven, we know how we revere You; who dare not look at Your face, who dare questions You: You are unquestionable. They asked; what is man that You are mindful of him? Because we know, it takes one instruction, and the whole of Sodom and Gomorrah is destroyed, and yet You are so tender in Your mercies.
What is man that You are mindful of him? Nor the Son of man that You visit him. In the Book of Job, the Bible says, and the sons of God presented themselves, God didn't go and meet them: they presented themselves before God. Then you and I; (God said He is Emmanuel: God with us) see how we treat Him. And that's why He's asking, if you behave like this to your governor, will he be pleased? Will he treat you favorably?
Verse 9 says; “But now entreat God’s favor, that He may be gracious to us. While this is being done by your hands, will He accept you favorably?” Says the Lord of hosts. “Who is there even among you who would shut the doors, So that you would not kindle fire on My altar in vain?” God is saying, anything you do to Me in dishonor is in vain. He says somebody will help these people to close the door, let them stop offering in vain.
“I have no pleasure in you,” Says the Lord of hosts, “Nor will I accept an offering from your hands. (Whatever you do to God in dishonor, He said, I will not accept it.) For from the rising of the sun, even to its going down, My name shall be great among the Gentiles; (no matter what you do; God is God) in every place incense shall be offered to My name, and a pure offering; for My name shall be great among the nations,” Says the Lord of hosts. “But you profane it, in that you say, ‘the table of the Lord is defiled; and its fruit, its food, is contemptible.’ You also say, ‘Oh, what a weariness!’ and you sneer at it,” Says the Lord of hosts.
How many of us say, every day we will worship? Every day we will thank God? How many of us are tired? Somebody asked you, did you pray today? And you say, I prayed yesterday, God should be satisfied with yesterday's prayer. I worshiped yesterday; God should be satisfied with that. He said, you also say, Oh, what a weariness! In other words you are saying God is wearying me; I am tired.
If you are tired of worshiping God here, you are not qualified; because in heaven that is all that we're going to do: so if you don't pass the rehearsal, how will you do the real play? He said day and night, they don't keep quiet. Songs of adoration is going on in heaven always to God; they are not weary. So, if we are going to join; and the Bible says when it comes to that time, when we are taken up; He said we will be like the angels. When you're now like the angels, what will you be doing? You think you'll be eating akpu? Or you'll be sleeping and waking up? He said there will be no night and day because God Himself will be the light of that city. All you'll be looking at is God. So, if you are tired of looking at Him now, you are already failing the rehearsal: you won’t be able to fit in the real play.
See what the Bible says, “Oh, what a weariness!’ and you sneer at it,” Says the Lord of hosts. “And you bring the stolen, the lame, and the sick; You give God just anything. You give God your tiredness. You give God what is left of your day. You give God what is left of your time. Thus you bring an offering! In your heart; you say you have brought an offering and the kind of offering you have brought to God, is a stolen offering: a lame offering, a sick offering. Should I accept this from your hand? Says the Lord. But cursed be the deceiver, who has in his flock a male, and takes a vow, but sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished—For I am a great King,” It’s like God is just reminding us that do you know who I am: I am a great King, says the Lord of hosts, and My name is to be feared among the nations.”
We're going to start delving on two important issues that God raised. Number one: the issue of the Honor of a son to his father. He said if I be your Father, meaning that you are My son, where is My Honor? What was God trying to convey to us on this very important analogy? He is saying to us, I am the Father; and how do you relate with your Father?
I want us to see Matthew chapter 5:14-16, “You are the light of the world.” Why? God is light. Meaning that like Father, like son. If God is light, you are the light of the world. “A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Verse 16, Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” Why? You are a son.
So, God said; if I be your Father, where is My Honor? What are the issues that God is raising from here? He said number one, carry My name. If we go back to the Malachi chapter one, God was making emphasis on defiling His name, meaning that you are not a good representative of His name. So, if God is light, that could be your surname. So, when you go to a place in Honor of your Father, what are you supposed to be doing? You are to show forth light.
The Bible says God is Spirit; So your surname is also spirit. When you appear on the earth; you are appearing has spirit. What do you do has spirit? You make sure that you don't walk in the flesh. You make sure that you don't follow the dictates of the flesh. You make sure that you are walking contrary to the flesh, because the Bible says the Spirit walks contrary to the flesh: that's who you are.
So, you carry on His name. God is love. Wherever you go, you are supposed to show forth the love of God. The Bible says in First Corinthians 13; Love is kind. Love is patient. He keeps no record of wrong. Love believes all things, hopes all things. Love never fails. So, wherever you go, you are supposed to carry His name. That's how you Honor Him. You Honor God by carrying His name; His name is His identity. That is who He is. And that's why He was upset with the priest. He said, you have defiled My name.
God is holy. So, wherever you go, you carry the holiness of God. You show forth that God is without stain or wrinkle. You carry His name as a son; you carry His identity. The Bible says the earnest expectation of creation, await eagerly the manifestation, what are you manifesting? You are manifesting the name of your Father; the manifestation of the sons of God. The sons of God are not to come and manifest themselves, they are to manifest the name of their Father. That’s why the Bible says blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD. So, to Honor God is to come in His name; as a son.
The second issue is, you are supposed to carry on His legacy: that’s His works. Ephesians 2:10 says you are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus, for good works which God had prepared aforetime that you should walk in them. Before you were born, God had created a good work in your name as a legacy. All of us are God's legacies on the earth if we follow Him.
God had a legacy in Samuel, the Bible says and none of the words of Samuel fell to the ground. Is that not the same thing about the legacy of God that we read in Isaiah chapter 55? That none of the words that goes out of His mouth will return to Him void until He fulfills that which He has sent it. Every one of us in Christ Jesus is God's legacy. That's why the Bible says in Ephesians 2:10, you are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works that God has prepared aforetime that you should walk in them. There is something you should walk in. There is something I must walk in; called purpose and assignment that gives God the opportunity to leave a legacy on the earth. When you walk in it, you are Honoring God as a son. You are Honoring God when you follow His works.
I want us to see a Scripture in Titus chapter 2:7, “In all things, showing yourself to be a pattern of good works; in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility, sound speech that cannot be condemned, that one who is an opponent may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say of you”. That is the work that God has called you to: it is His legacy.
Another word for legacy is footprints. When you Honor God, His footprints will be your footprints. The Bible says how God anointed Jesus with the Holy Ghost and with power that ‘He went about’. As Jesus was going about, God was going about with Him. How do I know this? He said whatever He says to Me, I say. Whatever He does, I do. As I see My Father do, I do; meaning that as God is working, Jesus is working. As God is speaking, Jesus is speaking: that is in Honor of the Father. And when the Father is quiet, Jesus is mute. You know, the Father was quiet and they asked Jesus, ‘defend yourself so that we won't kill you’. No wonder when Jesus hung on the tree, He said, Father! Father! Why have you forsaken Me?
The Bible says, though a Son, He learnt obedience through the things that He suffered; He did all that in Honor of God. So, when we are talking about Honoring God, it is not a language that the world understands. The world would tell you; ‘What is there’? Are you a fool? You aren’t a fool; show them you aren’t a fool. And if it is true, that it is God that is your Father, then you must give Him His Honor over that situation: because the Bible says love endures all things.
Titus chapter 3:1:8, “Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work. Verse 8, this is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men.”
In verse one, he said, be ready. And after you are ready, and you are doing; he said, maintain good works: these things are good and profitable to men. Honoring God is profitable to men. So, if you are His son, how do you show God is Honor? You show God is Honor by carrying on His name. Number two, by continuing and following on His legacy; His works.
Let's go to the second issue: God said, if I be your Father, where is My Honor? He said also, if I be your Master, where is My reverence? So, that's another issue God raised. If the son-father relationship is the same as servant and master, He wouldn't have repeated it: so, they are different. The first one He raised is son-father, the second one: He raised is the Honor of a servant to his master.
So, what is the Honor of a servant to his master? Colossians chapter 3:23-24, “And whatever you do, do it heartily, (as you are serving, serve heartily) as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ”. So, we are servants; He is the Master.
So, He said, I am your Master, you are My servant, where is My reverence? Where is My Honor? How do we Honor God as His servant? We Honor Him by obeying His instructions: we do His works. Whatever you do, do it as unto the Lord. When a servant is serving his master, he does not care what another master thinks about his service to his master. He said, because it is to his master he is accountable. There's a Scripture that says, don't judge another man's servant; for before his master, he rises or he falls. That is why we must learn to live for the audience of one; God alone. Because what you are doing, do it as unto the God, not men.
You must Honor God first before you think of men, because it's important: the Bible says we should Honor men, but you must Honor God first. And that's why Jesus was saying in Matthew, He said, seek first, what is Jesus saying, when He said; seek first? He saying; make God your priority. So, in the order of things, when you write your list, number one, God; number two, other things can follow. Seek God first, make Him your priority: that's how to Honor Him. Whatever He's asking you to do, do it heartily; do it cheerfully. Don't bring the stolen, the lame, and the sick to Him; and you think you're offering. Give God the best; the best of your time, the best of your efforts, the best of your service, because He's the one that will reward.
And guess what? In Revelation, He said, I'm coming quickly and My reward is with Me, to give to everyone according to their works not according to their lip service and deception. So, whatever work you do as a servant to the master, you will be rewarded.
Remember, Jesus told the parable of the talents, He said, a master was going on a journey, and he had three servants; to one he gave five, to another he gave two, and to another he gave one; according to their several abilities. In Honor of the master, the one that had five went to trade. In Honor of the master, the one that had two went to trade. And the one that had one despised the master; he said, I know that man; he loves to reap where he did not sow. I know what to do to him; let me take this one that he has given me, ‘I will bury it’. When he comes back, I will give him the same way he gave me. This is the life you gave me; such a worthless life: take it back. That’s dishonor and God was making us understand that if you live your life like that, God will call you wicked. If you live your life in Honor of Him, He will call you good and faithful, and you will enter the joy of your Lord.
So, as a servant, the Honor of a servant to his master is that you obey His instructions: you do His works. Matthew chapter 7:21-23, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ (It is not about lip service) shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven; That’s why we must understand that whatsoever we sow, we must reap. God cannot be mocked. Verse 22, Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’”
When you have faith in God, you will Honor Him: Hebrews 11:6 says, “Those that come to God, must believe that He is and He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” The way to Honor God is to diligently seek Him. Diligently know Him, diligently serve Him.
Diligence talks about hard work: a deliberate, intentional effort to celebrate, to Honor, to hold someone in high regard, and to specially recognize the person. When I come across a believer, in thirty minutes, I should be able to know where you place God: the priority of God in your life; in your conversation, because you see, when you Honor someone it will show: you can't hide it. When you revere someone; you hold somebody in high esteem, it will show. If you are living your life the way you like and you are the alpha and omega of your life; it will show. If God is your Alpha and Omega, it will show in how you talk. When you hear people using the word; me, myself, and I; it indicates that they are saying they make things happen.
Honoring God is putting Him first. Know that God is your source; acknowledge it. You can't Honor someone and not acknowledge it; it will show. But when we live our lives as if we are the one that made ourselves; we are self-made people, God had no input; God did nothing: God was just there supervising your project that you started and finished yourself: Then our story will be like that of Nebuchadnezzar that thought his hand created his kingdom. And God brought him low to see that there is a God that rules in the affairs of men.
It is dishonor to feel that you make things happen by your effort. Where is the rule of God in your life? To some people, they have everything figured out, and God will just do something and disrupt that arrangement; then you will see that if God does not have a hand in a man’s life, such a life is an effort in futility. In the Books of Ecclesiastes and Songs of Solomon; Solomon was talking about the vanity of this world.
When COVID came, do you know that even the National Center for Disease Control where clueless for months, people were dying they didn't know what to do? Egypt was an advanced nation when God said to Pharaoh; let My people go that they may serve Me. And God said to Moses, throw your rod on the floor and Moses threw his rod on the floor; it turned to snake. What did Pharaoh do? He said even my magicians can do that and he commanded them to throw their rods on the floor and they did and it became a snake also. And the snake of the rod of Moses swallowed up their own snake and God started showing forth is power. And God said, I can enter your house without opening the door. God entered the house of every Egyptians and killed their firstborn without opening the door. That's why Jesus was saying, He said; don't fear men that can destroy the body, but fear God that can destroy both the soul and the body and spirit in hell. That's why you must Honor God.
The world has created a system that dishonors God. There is a slogan that says ‘whatever God cannot do does not exist’. I remember somebody saying, what is there that does not exist, and there is no point going into the argument because God can defend Himself. If they spoke to Moses, not against God but against Moses and God heard it; Moses did not have to intervene. So, how much if they speak against God? He will hear it, and He will do what He wants to do and if He chooses to do nothing; let God be God.
So, we must Honor God; it is not subject to debate, He is God. How do you know Him as a Master? You wait on Him. The Bible says those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; it is a servant that waits on his master.
Lord, where will you have me go today? What do you want me to do today? Jesus was a servant to God when He walked on earth, how do I know this? Lazarus died, Jesus’s friend. Jesus was not only friend to Lazarus, but to Mary and Martha; the sisters. There matter was the matter Jesus could carry on His head. Lazarus was sick they told Him; very sick at the point of death. And He said to them, this sickness is not unto death, and even His disciples were amazed. Lazarus is sick, it is a matter of emergency and You are going nowhere. What happened? It was Jesus waiting on the LORD. And when they brought message that Lazarus had died, He said let us go. And Thomas said when he was sick they told us, we did not go anywhere, now he has died; should we all go and die with him? But Jesus didn't bother answering him because he knew his faith was limited. And they went to the place where Lazarus had died; and the man that had died and stinking for four days, Jesus called him forth because that was what the Father wanted to do.
His Master said, Lazarus will die; don't be emotional about it. That is the difference between us and the world; when we Honor God, God shows His mighty power in our lives. What the world does not understand and cannot comprehend; we're able to understand and comprehend it and have peace. During COVID, a lot of people thought they would die, especially when they are listening to news. And the statistics is been displayed by the day: the number of people infected, and the number of people that died; and as the day goes by, the number increases and these are human beings with name and surname.
But as believers, even though things are going wrong in the world; in Psalm 91, he said they might fall at your right hand and your left but no evil will come near you. How do you know? He said those that dwell in the secret place of the Most-High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. And I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust. How do I trust Him? I believe Him, why? I wait on Him. We may say, God, so much is going on in the world, what is our lot? And God say, be still and know that I am God; know that you won’t die.
Abraham had that kind of faith in God, in Hebrews 11, even though God wanted Isaac; in a figurative sense, Abraham believed that even if he had killed Isaac, God will raise him. If He doesn't raise him, He'll give him another son that will grow up that day: that was the kind of rugged faith of Abraham. Why? He was a man that waits on the LORD, as a servant to his master.
To Honor God, you must be able to wait on Him. Don't go ahead of God. Don't be behind God, be where God is not was. Be where God is! Where is God on the matter? That's where you should stand: it is that position that is called the position of faith. Where God is standing on every matter is the position of faith. If God has shifted position, and you're still standing there; you're not in faith.
Deuteronomy chapter 6:13-25, “You shall fear the LORD (This is how to Honor Him.) your God and serve Him, and shall take oaths in His name. You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the people who are all around you. (For the LORD your God is a jealous God among you), lest the anger of the LORD your God be aroused against you and destroy you from the face of the earth. Verse 16, You shall not tempt the LORD your God, as you tempted Him in Massah. You shall diligently keep the commandments of the LORD your God, His testimonies, and His statutes which He has commanded you. And you shall do what is right and good in the sight of the LORD, that it may be well with you, and that you may go in and possess the good land of which the LORD swore to your fathers, to cast out all your enemies from before you, as the Lord are spoken.
Verse 20, When your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘what is the meaning of the testimonies, the statutes, and the judgments which the LORD our God has commanded you? Then you shall say to your son: ‘We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand; and the Lord showed signs and wonders before our eyes, great and severe, against Egypt, Pharaoh, and all his household. Then He brought us out from there, that He might bring us in, to give us the land of which He swore to our fathers. And the Lord commanded us to observe all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that He might preserve us alive, as it is this day. Then it will be righteousness for us, if we are careful to observe all these commandments before the Lord our God, as He has commanded us.’
God was so confident in Abraham that he was going to teach his children after him. Why? Abraham knew God and he Honored Him. Many a times we say; ‘children pray’, have they seen you pray? Children! God is God; Honor Him, how do they see you Honor Him? Children worship God! Have they seen you worship God? There is something called praying in tongues. Do you pray in tongues? Because what God has made possible as the parental model; because He Himself is a Parent, He is our Father. How did He become a Father? He made man. How did He make it possible to model parenthood to us? Whatever God is, He commands us after Him. If God is light, He said you are the light of the world. If God is love, He said love your neighbor as yourself; and He loved us, He forgave us.
Do you see the prayer that Jesus taught His disciples to pray? Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. He said, forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. The reason why He will forgive you, that you will be able to pray that prayer is because you know He has forgiving you. You cannot model what God is not. The same way your children cannot model what you are not, except God provides them an alternative.
So, do we see what God was saying to them? He said this is how you will be able to command your children after Me. This is how the Honor will pass from one generation to another. When they ask you, because they have seen: children will not just ask you from the blues, there's something they have seen that they want to question; they want to be inquisitive about, they want to try to know. And they will now ask you, what is the meaning of this thing? We have been doing this thing, and for many years I've been following you. We go and pray. We read the Bible, what is the meaning of these things that we are doing? He said then you will say to your son, we were slaves of Pharaoh. In this time, our own is that we were slaves of sin. We had no control over the flesh. If not for God, maybe your father would have been a drunkard, given over to the bottles, and you will be carrying him with vomit from the gutter.
He said we have been slaves to sin, and the LORD brought us out. When you see people having no self-control, it is not because they want to be like that, but because they have been given over but God has brought us out; He has translated us from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light. And that is the meaning of what we do when we Honor Him. We Honor Him for who He is, and for who He has made us in Him.
We live in a dishonorable world where so many things are going on. There was a day somebody posted a video of a young boy dressed like a girl dancing. In fact, I was almost carried away that the boy was a girl, until I read the comments, and I saw some things and do you know it is almost permissible now? We can't take the children out of here, but we can pattern good works.
Why is God looking for a godly marriage? It is because He is seeking godly offspring. If you Honor God, your children will see it, and they will follow after you. So, it is for our own benefit that we Honor God in this dishonorable world. So, that we continue to shine light in the midst of darkness. And it's important that we understand this: God is not a man.
In Deuteronomy 6, he said the LORD your God is a jealous God. As you are doing the things you are doing; He is seeing it: how somebody who sent you an alert became more important than God. The words you say to the person, you have not said it to God, God is looking. God said to Samuel, He said men look at the outward appearance: they look at the way you are pious; He said that He looks at the heart. God knows the heart that serves Him. He knows the heart that waits on Him. He knows the heart that Honors Him; it is not in what you say, it is in what you do.
