Honor from the King
1Cor. 12:25-26
Indira Gandhi once said, “My grandfather told me that there are two kinds of people: those who do the work and those who take the credit. He told me to try to be in the first group; there was less competition there.
The brilliant physician and writer Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., and his brother John represent two radically different views on the subject of flattery. Dr. Holmes loved to collect compliments, and when he was older he indulged his pastime by saying to someone who had just praised his work, "I am a trifle deaf, you know. Do you mind repeating that a little louder?"
John, however, was unassuming and content to be in his older brother’s shadow. He once said that the only compliment he ever received came when he was six. The maid was brushing his hair when she observed to his mother that little John wasn’t all that cross-eyed!
How many of you know that flattery is the world’s way. The more you butter someone up the greater your chances to succeed. Flattery is of the world but honor is from God. As we work for the Lord there is nothing wrong with you and I giving honor to the efforts of a servant. The word here says that when
one part is honored we all should rejoice. We need to learn how to be one anothers biggest backers, learn how to affirm and encourage each other for what we have done and are doing for the Lord
This morning I want to talk to you about Honor from the King. I want you to understand that God sees everything that we do for Him and that he desires to honor you for your service to His throne.
Esther 6:1-3; 10-11
The Jews were in captivity held by the Persians in their empire. Here we have a man of God by the name of Mordecai who was goung about his business and received honor from the King. Not just a heavenly reward but honor that was seen by man.
Two things about Mordecai that apply to us today.
1. Attitude
Joe Theismann enjoyed an illustrious 12-year career as
quarterback of the Washington Redskins. He led the team to two Super Bowl appearances--winning in 1983 before losing thefollowing year. When a leg injury forced him out of football in 1985, he was entrenched in the record books as Washington’s all-time leading passer. Still, the tail end of Theismann’s career
taught him a bitter lesson: I got stagnant. I thought the team revolved around me. I should have known it was time to go when I didn’t care whether a pass hit Art Monk in the 8 or the 1 on his uniform. When we went back to the Super Bowl, my approach had changed. I was griping about the weather, my shoes, practice times, everything. Today I wear my two rings--the winner’s ring from Super Bowl XVII and the loser’s ring from Super Bowl XVIII. The difference in those two rings lies in my attitude
The noted English architect Sir Christopher Wren was
supervising the construction of a magnificent cathedral in London. A journalist thought it would be interesting to interview some of the workers, so he chose three and asked them this question, "What are you doing?" The first replied, "I’m cutting stone for 10 shillings a day." The next answered, "I’m putting in 10 hours a day on this job." But the third said,
"I’m helping Sir Christopher Wren construct one of London’s greatest cathedrals."
Notice Mordecai’s attitude
Esther 2:21-23
The reason he received the reward or honor is that his attitude allowed him to.
Here he was going about his own business and he hears the plot against the king and what does he do? He did what he had to do and did it without the thought of getting. You don’t even see him as the one who tells of the plot, and you don’t hear him say, okay I did this for you now what are going to do for me.
This is where we often fall short and that is our attitude towards the work of the Lord.
Eph. 6:7-8
What we need to do is go at everything with this attitude in mind. I do it for my king because I want to.
What happens when we do something in hopes that we will
receive something in return? Here’s what happens.. (I washed your car foryou.....)
Prov. 25:27
Matt. 6:1
When we do works for the Lord expecting that everybody is going to pat us on the back and tell us what a wonderful job that we did. We are going to get what we deserve.
Do everything with a servant’s heart. Do it for the Lord. You want to know how you can tell if you are doing it with a servant’s heart? What’s your reaction when you are treated like a servant?
2. The reward
In the spring of 1883 two young men graduated from medical school. The two differed from one another in both appearance and ambition. Ben was short and stocky. Will was tall and thin. Ben dreamed of practicing medicine on the East Coast. Will wanted to work in a rural community. Ben begged his friend to
go to New York where they could both make a fortune. Will refused. His friend called him foolish for wanting to practice medicine in the Midwest. "But," will said, "I want first of all to be a great surgeon...the very best, if I have the ability." Years
later the wealthy and powerful came from around the world to be treated by Will at his clinic...the Mayo Clinic.
On December 16, 1944, 18 members of a reconnaisance platoon held off a battalion of crack German storm troopers in the Belgian hamlet of Lanzerath. Few history books note that their gallant stand gave Allied forces time to begin mounting the defense that eventually won the famous Battle of the Bulge.
One of the platoon members was Will James, who after the war slipped into oblivion for nearly 4 decades. During that time he underwent numerous painful surgeries as a result of his war wounds. Not until 1981, through the efforts of U.S. House Speaker Thomas P. O’Neill and columnist Jack Anderson, was he awarded, posthumously, the Distinguished Service Cross for extraordinary heroism.
Is 49:4-9
You continue to do what you do for the Lord and you will receive the honor and reward that he wants to bestow upon you I don’t know about you but just as Is. says here I would rather have my reward in the hands of the Lord in anybody elses hand.
Heb. 11:26
Our rewards are in heaven
1Tim 5:17
Our rewards are right now on earth
What I want you to understand this morning is that as long as you go about your work for the Lord with the right frame of mind you will receive a reward from Him, how he desires in his time. And it will be right for,you and right on time for you.
Close:
God sees you this morning and he wants you to know that he desires to give you honor from the King. I don’t know if there is somebody here that maybe has become discouraged with your ministry for the Lord. Or maybe someone is on the verge of losing the right attitude. God says continue to do that which I have called you to, I see your hardship, I see you work and you will receive the honor due you. This church is a team and we need everyone for the team to run efficiently and effectively for what God wants to do with us.
