Unlocking The Mystery Of Honor (Inspired By A Blog From Rabbi Curt Landry)

Unlocking the Mystery of Honor

(Inspired by a Blog from Rabbi Curt Landry)

4.29.2015 CFBC, Chester, IL Dr. Mike Fogerson, Speaker

Introduction:

A Honor can be mystery, shrouded in questions, defying a definite definition . . .HOW DO YOU DEFINE “HONOR”?

1 Tonight, honor will mean that you have a good name, outward respect of others, and that you walk in integrity.

a The most important thing about honor is that it means what you speak happens.

b If you say you believe something, committed yourself, given your word . . . then it comes to pass. Your “yes” is “yes” and your “no” is “no”.

2 Kabad (Honor) means to be heavy, weighty, burdensome; become fierce, distinguished, achieve abounding honor.

a Ex. 20.12, “ Honor your father and your mother so that you may have a long life in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.”

aa We all want to live a long, full life; prosper.

bb Some of the most famous men/women who have ever lived have had a long life/prospered . . . but that doesn’t mean that they’ve done in a way that honor God.

cc It’s not enough for the Believer to prosper . . . live a long life; I want to prosper in the Land that God has given to me.

b How do we pull that off? Do everything with honor & excellence—to the best of our ability.

aa Our homes should be the best-kept homes in our neighborhood, be well kept personally because it reflects the excellence of our Lord.

bb These are characteristics of running your life with honor.

3 Before we can run a life of honor, we first learn to walk in honor. . .which is how we honor our parents.

a Our parents may not be easy to honor (not everyone’s parents are perfect) but we must still come into alignment with God’s Word.

b God chose that man & woman (good or bad) to be your parents.

aa When I came to Chester in 2000, I told one of mentors that I wonder what my life would have been like had he been my father. He told me, “God put you with the right parents. You wouldn’t have wound up where you are at, who you are had you not had the mom & dad gave you.”

bb I was so wrong in even asking that question.

c My mom & dad, although not perfect . . . none are, were worthy of my honor because that was/is God’s heart for me.

aa The moment I thought otherwise I was not aligned with the heart of God.

bb When any of us choose not honor our parents . . . we CANNOT fulfill God’s promise for us.

cc Deuteronomy 26:18-19 (HCSB)

18 And today the LORD has affirmed that you are His special people as He promised you, that you are to keep all His commands, 19 that He will elevate you to praise, fame, and glory above all the nations He has made, and that you will be a holy people to the LORD your God as He promised.”

3 We cannot be God’s holy people if we do not walk in honor.

a The Ten Commandments were written because they are a matter of honor.

aa There is NO honor in . . . murder, adultery, stealing, spreading rumors and lies against others.

bb There is NO honor in envy & jealousy towards others.

b We are temples of the Holy Spirit.

aa Our bodies react to our thoughts, and they also react to words that speak and that are spoken over our lives.

bb Some words cost us very dearly.

That's the lesson Dana Snay learned when she violated a court "gag" order in a snarky Facebook status:

*According to the Miami Herald, Patrick Snay, 69, was the headmaster at Gulliver Preparatory School in Miami for several years, but in 2010, the school didn’t renew his contract. Snay sued his former employer for age discrimination and won a settlement of $80,000 in November 2011. The agreement contained a standard confidentiality clause, prohibiting Snay or the school from talking about the case.

*However, Snay’s daughter, Dana, now at Boston College and a part-time Starbucks barista, couldn’t resist bragging about the case on Facebook. “Mama and Papa Snay won the case against Gulliver,” she wrote. “Gulliver is now officially paying for my vacation to Europe this summer. SUCK IT.”

*Well, news travels fast on the internet, so it wasn't long before authorities were made aware of comment and Snay was promptly relieved of his $80K settlement.

cc In our age of social media, what was once mumbled in silence is now broadcast to millions.

*If this story gives you cause for pause, consider Jesus' warning, given long before there were microphones, tape recorders, videos, or the internet: "I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned" (Matthew 12:36-37).