The Honor Protocol Series

Most things in life have to be learned. You can do things naturally but you’ve had to learn how to talk, behave, eat, dress, etc. Some people take all things for granted and have an attitude of knowing it all but in fact there are always new things that we have to learn in the area of our relationships. If you think you know everything about Church or about God you may end up losing your faith and even your salvation. In a race athletes can start well and run in the first positions but sometimes they give up and don’t cross the finish line.

Today I want to talk about something really important for your spiritual growth, for a better relationship with God and others and to enhance your life at all levels.

The Protocol (the ethics) of honor

If you go to a real five star hotel, and I am not talking about a five star in Acapulco or in a tourist resort, but if you go to Monte Carlo or to a fancy place in Dubai you will not be allowed to enter the restaurant without the proper attire. They may require either a suit with tie or a tuxedo since there is a dress code to obtain access to the club areas. You will not enter there with shorts of cheap clothes since there is a high standard and a protocol. There are complicated rules of “etiquette” when you start going to high class places. These rules are based in honor and respect and they set limits and boundaries to what you can and cannot do. If you are an outsider you will be easily spotted because eventually you will break protocol.

In God’s Kingdom there is a “Protocol of Honor”. If you expect God’s blessing you need to start by honoring God, respect his Word and behave accordingly. This includes respect by everything that is Holy, God himself, his Word, the Church and the men and women of God that he places on your path.

Proverbs 3 (AMP)

7Be not wise in your own eyes; reverently fear and worship the Lord and turn [entirely] away from evil.

8It shall be health to your nerves and sinews, and marrow and moistening to your bones.

9Honor the Lord with your capital and sufficiency [from righteous labors] and with the firstfruits of all your income;

10So shall your storage places be filled with plenty, and your vats shall be overflowing with new wine.

The Bible talks about “reverent fear” and worship. This is mentioned as a lifestyle since you do it by turning away from evil. This first action involves a promise of inner healing and physical healing. Then it proceeds to Honor. When you honor God with the firstfruits of all your income God promises to bless you to a place of overflow. Honoring God includes giving financially.

My message today is not about giving but it’s about raising the bar in our life. God wants to give you inner peace; healing and financial wellbeing but there is something we have to do if we expect him to reward us with these blessings.

Many people today expect to be blessed without honoring the Lord. Some others expect to be healed both emotionally and physically without having a reverent fear for the things of God.

Honor is the value of something – Causes everything around it to elevate

Dishonor is to treat something as common – Causes everything around it to go down

Honoring God is not something that happens naturally. You need to learn how to be in God’s presence. There is a protocol of access that has little to do with just exterior manifestations of honor. Some Churches show respect by silence in the house of God. Others by covering the altar and the temple with Gold and Silver. Some Christians have a complicated way to do a Church service using incense and complicated protocols of standing, kneeling and repeating prayers. Today I am here to tell you that I don’t want to devalue these things but that reverent respect starts in your heart and not in a ritual that is done in Church.

Raising the Bar in our Honor

The year is 550 BC and everything was going in a down spiral, moral was down, lifestyle was deteriorating, God spoke through a prophet named Malachi and asked where was the honor due to him.

Malachi 1 (AMP)

6A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am a Father, where is My honor? And if I am a Master, where is the [reverent] fear due Me? says the Lord of hosts to you, O priests, who despise My name. You say, How and in what way have we despised Your name?