November 1, 2015
Morning Worship
Text: 1 Samuel 2:30; Revelation 4:11
Subject: Honoring God
Title: Glory and Honor
Last week we began a series on honoring God. And in 1 Samuel 2:30, the Lord is speaking to Eli through a prophet concerning the character and actions of Eli’s sons who were acting as priests in the wilderness tabernacle but doing things that weren’t very priestly.
I believe this is God’s word…
I believe it is for me…
I accept it as mine…
I appropriate it to my life today…
30 Therefore the LORD God of Israel says: 'I said indeed that your house and the house of your father would walk before Me forever.' But now the LORD says: 'Far be it from Me; for those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed.
Who is the Lord going to honor? Those who honor Him.
The word translated “despise” is often misunderstood in today’s language. We thing of it as having a hatred or extreme dislike for something or someone. But despise can be a simple as just ignoring something. And many people, even in the in the church world, tend to do just that by ignoring God’s word for salvation, healing, power, blessing…
So just ignoring the things of God can change the way that God responds to you.
This morning I want you to look with me at the correlation between honor for God and glory.
Honor =
kabad (kaw-bad') (or kabed {kaw-bade'}) v.
1. to be heavy, i.e. in a bad sense (burdensome, severe, dull) or in a good sense (numerous, rich, honorable
2. causatively, to make weighty (in the same two senses)
Glory = a variation of the same word…
kabowd (kaw-bode') (rarely kabod {kaw-bode'}) n-m.
1. (properly) weight, but only figuratively in a good sense, splendor or copiousness
Both honor and glory have to do with weight. In the OT culture the value of something was according to its weight. It’s the same way our monetary system was set up with gold as the standard… the heavier something is the more valuable it is.
The honor or glory that you give to God is directly proportionate to how much you value Him.
In Revelation 4 we get a clear picture of this…
Revelation 4:9-11 (NKJV)
9 Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever,
10 the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying:
11 "You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created."
Those who are continually in God’s presence understand the weight of His presence.
Those who are in His presence will give Him honor…
Those who are in God’s presence will give Him glory…
Those who are in God’s presence will know His power…
those who honor Me I will honor…
Is that true?
Do you believe God’s word?
If the word of God says that about honor what will happen concerning glory?
Isaiah 60:1-2 (NKJV) This is a prophecy concerning Israel, a promise of the coming Messiah.
1 Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you.
2 For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, And deep darkness the people; But the LORD will arise over you, And His glory will be seen upon you.
Many times in the scripture when it talks about God’s glory it is referring to a visible physical manifestation of God’s presence…
With that in mind then, if we treat God as having value, honoring Him and giving Him glory then how will He honor us? How will he let His glory rise among us? Through the same type of physical manifestation in our lives!
¯ Ken Sande, Resolving Everyday Conflict
“What are you really living for? It's crucial to realize that you either glorify God, or you glorify something or someone else. You're always making something look big. If you don't glorify God when you're involved in a conflict, you inevitably show that someone or something else rules your heart.”
1 Peter 4:14 says that “you are blessed for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you”.
Now we see a connection between the Holy Spirit indwelling believers and glory. Has God given you the Holy Spirit for your own personal convenience? NO, the Spirit of God rests on you so that you can honor Him and be honored; So you can give him glory and receive glory;
Go back to Revelation 4, 11 "You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power;
What is the Lord worthy to receive? Glory, honor, and power…
Has He given you His glory?
Does He honor you through manifestations of His presence?
Oh come on… are you listening?
He is also worthy to receive power…
How are we going to give Him power?
Acts 1:8 (NKJV)
8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV)
7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
OK. Stop right there. How can the eternal, all-knowing and omnipotent God receive what He already has? Does God somehow become more glorious, more honorable or more powerful?
for those who honor Me I will honor… We give Him honor…
the glory of the LORD is risen upon you… We give Him glory…
But you shall receive power…
How does that work? Does God lack anything?
NO! He is almighty! What does happen though is that as you honor God He honors you. And since he has poured out his glory on you by His Spirit you, in turn, give glory back to Him. And He has given you a spirit of power so that you give that power back to Him buy using it to honor Him and to glorify Him.
What receives your most passionate energy and strength? To what do you give your most focused thoughts and creativity? What is the object of your greatest respect and reverence? What is your most valued investment? What most often fills you with joy?
What is it that carries the most weight?
There is a reason God has given you honor and glory and power… so you can give it right back to HIM.
God’s glory – His manifest presence seen by His work on your behalf through healing, provision, deliverance, blessing etc…
God’s power given to you through the baptism in the Holy Spirit…
That you might honor Him and in return receive honor…
Eric Liddell
During the summer of 1924, the Olympics were hosted by the city of Paris. Liddell was a committed Christian and refused to run on Sunday (the Christian Sabbath), with the consequence that he was forced to withdraw from the 100 metres race, his best event. The schedule had been published several months earlier, and his decision was made well before the Games began. Liddell spent the intervening months training for the 400 metres, an event in which he had previously excelled. Even so, his success in the 400m was largely unexpected. The day of 400 metres race came, and as Liddell went to the starting blocks, an American masseur slipped a piece of paper into Liddell's hand with a quotation from 1 Samuel 2:30, "Those who honour me I will honour." Liddell ran with that piece of paper in his hand. He not only won the race, but broke the existing world record with a time of 47.6 seconds. Liddell returned to Northern China where he served as a missionary, like his parents, from 1925 to 1943.
for those who honor Me I will honor…
