A Life that Honors God

Glory to the master. We're going to talk about honor today. Look at your neighbor and say Honor. Honor. Since April 6th of 1948, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier has been guarded 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, with zero exception, say zero.

Every hour during winter and every half hour during the summer and daylight hours. One guard relieves another from their post in the in a ceremony with the precision of a Swiss watch. While on duty, the Tomb Sentinel marches 21 steps across the black map, passing the grave markers of each of the unknowns. He then turns 90 degrees and faces east for exactly 21 seconds afterward. Then he turns north for another 21 seconds, which is followed by a crisp shoulder arms movement where the guard places his rifle on the shoulder nearest to the spectators to symbolize that he stands between the tomb and an outside threat.

The guard then paces 21 steps to the north, turns, and repeats the entire process until he is relieved. The tomb guard badge is the least awarded badge in the army and the second least awarded badge in the overall military tomb guards are held to the highest standards of behavior and can have their badge taken away for any action on or off duty that could bring disrespect to the tomb. So they're called to honor. Even though it may not have a name or a face, they still have the responsibility of showing honor. Look at your neighbor say honor.

Honor is a precious gift that has been cheapened and neglected in many ways through the past several decades, however spiritually mature. Say that's me. Uh huh. They understand what it means to honor God.

Honor has been taken out of context so much, especially in church, that it's created idols. And so honor misplaced creates idolatry. So I'm not talking about idolizing a person. I know when you heard honor, you were like, oh, she gonna talk about honoring the pastor. You gotta give her all this.

No, I'm not. We're gonna talk about honoring God because that's why we're here, right? Look at your neighbor say, that's why I'm here.

Spiritually mature people understand how to honor God. And honor to everything else flows from that place. First Samuel, chapter 2, verse 30 says this. But I will honor those who honor me, and I will despise those who think lightly of me. So what does it actually mean to honor?

Some would say it means writing checks. Hold on, let me take a sip of tea. That ain't really what it is.

Some would say it's showing up, but honor actually means this. Write it down to Value to respect, to revere and give weight to. So what does it mean to give weight to? It means in terms of honor. It means to show them significant respect, esteem and importance, recognizing that their life, their words, and their presence have gravity and substance.

That means we value God's opinions. We heed his advice. Essentially, this is my favorite part. We are acknowledging God's worth and authority in our lives.

So why is it so important that we worship? I'm going to get this because it's my last point. But it is our act of acknowledging who he is to us. And sometimes we forget. We water him down and we cheapen him.

But when I understand honor, I understand the value that God has in my life. Anything that's valuable, we protect. You have a safe in your house. What's in your safe? What's in your safe?

Seriously, Your valuables. Maybe it's your gun. Amen. Maybe it's your paperwork that you don't want to get lost. Why?

Because it's valuable. It means something. You acknowledge that it holds weight in your life. Maybe it's an heirloom from a grandmother, why it's valuable to you. How much more should we protect the honor of God in our life?

How much more should we protect God in our lives? And letting him in and giving him this authority and this weight and access to us? When I honor him, the phrase comes from a Hebrew word for honor, which literally means to be heavy or to give weight. It's found in the biblical commandment to honor one's parents. It's that same Hebrew word, to be heavy.

So today I want us to kind of look at what does it look like to honor God in our lives? What does it look like to make him heavy? What does it look like? So I'm glad you asked. Number one, you honor him with your faithfulness.

Hear me. With your faithfulness. When I married Pastor Josh and I said yes to him, I said no to everybody else. So my yes wasn't just to him. It was also sounding the alarm of a no to everybody.

Other jokers. Amen. Same thing for my baby. When he said yes to me, he was sounding that alarm that he said no to everybody else. Praise be unto God.

And so because of this, we have this opportunity to demonstrate and prove our love for each other by remaining faithful to each other. Because it wasn't just a word service. It was my heart. It was a posture. Does that make sense?

So if someone cheats on their boyfriend or their girlfriend, maybe you're not married, or they cheat on Their spouse. It's a major act of dishonor. Because I have forgotten the value of them.

I have forgotten their worth and authority in our lives. And I have cheapened them. They have become. What? Common.

When something becomes common, you lose honor. It's always going to be there. I don't have to do it today. I can get to it tomorrow. Why?

Because when it's valuable, I'm always taking care of it. These soldiers we just talked about, some of you might have seen the changing of the guard at the tune of the unknown. It is something serious. But they understand that even though it might look faceless and people may not know them, they understand that honoring them and guarding them at all cost. So they don't complain.

They don't get to take a day off. Because they understood that they have been assigned to guard, to protect and to honor people that couldn't do it themselves. We are assigned as children of God to live a life that shows that we not only want God to save us and rescue us and provide for us, but we also live lives that honor Him. Look at somebody say, I'm faithful to Him.

So we demonstrate our love to God every day by remaining faithful to three things. Number one, His Word. Psalms 119, verse 30 and 31, says this. I have chosen the way of faithfulness. Look at this.

I have chosen. Which means I had a choice. We have a choice every time we wake up to choose faithfulness or unfaithfulness as it relates to His Word, as it relates to what he has told us, as it relates to walking sanctification out. It says, I have set my heart your laws. I hold fast to your statutes.

Lord, do not let me be put to shame. So being faithful in His Word means this. I cannot adopt a mindset of situational obedience when it comes to His Word.

Situational obedience, meaning that I will obey him when it is convenient, but when it is not, when it goes against my desires, when it goes against what I don't like, when it makes me uncomfortable, I'm not going to listen anymore. So I have to ask myself, am I really honoring God in the faithfulness to His Word, or am I a situational obedience type person? We don't just obey when it's easy and when it accommodates our desires. If you only do that, it's not really obedience, faithfulness in his house. Hebrews 10:25 says this.

You should not stay away from the church meetings, as some are doing, but you should meet together and encourage each other. Look at that. And look at this. This next part, do this even more as you see the day coming.

So when we see the end times and we see all the craziness, it should motivate us to want to be in the house of God, not run away from the house of God. And it should also motivate us to want to invite people to a house of God, not act like we don't see them and know that they in bed asleep right now. Like, we should be motivated to blow up their phones and say, I'm meeting you. I'm saving you a seat. I need you to be here.

Because we see the day coming. We are here to encourage each other to love on each other. There is something about corporate worship that encourages us in a way that being alone cannot. If the enemy can isolate you, he's got you. So for some of y', all, the struggle is just getting out of bed to get here.

Because if the enemy can make you lay there, he can make you lay and watch things and scroll and get more depressed and more sad and more burdensome when if you could have just been here, what you need is in the house. Look at somebody say it's in the house.

They did a pew research. I want y' all to listen to this. It tore my soul up. This was 23 and 24. About 30 to 35% of U.S. christians say they attend church weekly or nearly weekly.

30 to 35%. 20 to 25% attend monthly or a few times a year. The rest attend rarely or never.

The church is his bride, and I don't want us to choose things over his bride as an act of dishonor. Do you get sick? Absolutely. Do you have vacations? You better be.

But when I make the decision in the morning. Because if you think I want to just jump up and come to church every Sunday, you would be mistaken. I'm tired. My kids still wake up at night. I don't know about y', all, but I'm tired.

But I come as an honor to God. And I know that I'm better off being in the house than not being in the house. So even if I have to wear sweatpants to the house, it's better than not being in the house at all.

And the good thing is we got two services. So if you sleep late and can't make the nine, you still got the eleven. Look at Jesus. You still have time to come.

The first Commandment, there should be no other gods. And so as it comes to being faithful to his house, what we see here, even in the Research is that people have made other gods outside of his house. And being faithful to the house, that's not even being faithful in serving. It's just faithful in attendance. It's faithful in being with, like, believers.

It's the faithfulness of corporate worship. It's understanding that God comes to the house. He meets us in the house. I drag myself to work every day. And it doesn't keep you from going.

It's real quiet. Sis, I'm glad you're here. I'm so glad you're here to be my amen corner. You look good.

She's my friend. I can say that. Sorry. We don't want to go to our jobs, but we still go. Why?

Because it pays us. How much more spiritually does being in the house pay us? In the spirit. And so if I understood the value of being faithful, then I wouldn't want to miss. It's not about.

I'm only here when I serve. No, no, no, no, no, no. I understand that there is a deposit being made in the spirit, and I don't want a miss payment. I don't want to miss an opportunity to deposit to him and receive from him. And so I make sure that I'm in the house, and it's also honoring him.

And I'm setting boundaries in my home. Our son does not always want to come to church.

But I told him this morning, when you turn 18 and you have your own place, y', all, I got so aggressive this morning. It's fine. These are my confessions. I was like, when you get to be grown and you have your own car, you can go to church when you want to go to church, but when you under our roof, on Sundays, we go to church.

As for me in my house, what? You ain't gotta like it, but you gonna come. That was me being a mama this morning. You're welcome. So, God, am I being faithful in your word?

Am I being faithful to the house that you've called me to? This is why it's important. Like, you got to know the body that God called you to. It's not about a name and a preference. It's about the body that God called you to.

You may not like your job, but God called you to that area. Right? It's okay. Mighty God, Mighty God. I see you.

But because I'm called there, I understand there is something in there that I'm to give to it, but also to receive from it. And if I miss it, I am missing the place that God has strategically placed me. So look at Somebody say, you got to know where you're called number three. We honor him with our faithfulness to his people spiritually. Mature believers are committed, say committed to the people of God to journey with them.

We talked about this two weeks ago to build community, oh mighty God, and to advance the kingdom together.

We see a lot of people advancing the kingdom solo ish. And they're trying to do it alone. And they get so frustrated because they don't understand that God called them to a body with what they need is in the body. And they're not alone. But if they would just take the time to know the people that God has placed in and around them, they would understand that everything they need is already there and that we can advance the kingdom together.

That way we can do what we find in Hebrews 10:24 where it says, and let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Look at somebody say you spurring people to love and good deeds.

Oh, we also find this in John 13 and 35. That your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.

It's Bible the way I love you. I don't have to like you, but I do have to love you. I don't have to understand every decision you make, but I'm going to love you. And love is a sacrifice. Love is being faithful even when they are not.

Love is showing up when they don't. Love is loving without a return sometimes. But because I'm committed to the people of God, you keep showing up.

We're honoring God today. Look at somebody say we honoring number two. How do we honor God with our lives. Don't be mad at me at this next point. Point.

It's Bible. We honor him with the tithe. Proverbs 3 and 9 says, Honor the Lord with your wealth with the first fruits of all your crops. We think it's just money.

All your crops. That business belongs to God. We dedicated back your first business. I dedicated back to him. My first baby.

We dedicate them back because it's a harvest. It's not just your money. Wealth is not just finances. My health I give to the Lord.

First fruits is the Hebrew word Bikram, a promise to come. It shares the same root word as the meaning of firstborn. It's the most mentioned feast in the Bible next to Passover. We know this because families would watch for the first budding of grain or fruit and they would tie a red piece of yarn around the branch or limb, marking it as first fruits. And then after harvest, those fruits were bought into the temple and the priest would hold them up before the Lord and wave it above the head, presenting it to God in look at this thanksgiving and the recognition of his provision and blessing.

So I don't just give my first fruits begrudgingly, they gave it thankful, but also acknowledging that it was God who provided and it was God who blessed. It was God that blessed my womb, not the doctor.

It was God who blessed me with a paycheck, not my job.

They don't like me today, baby, but I love them so much.

This act sanctified the rest of the harvest and the people could enjoy it. So this is why tithing is so important. This is what I need you to understand. It is the primary way we acknowledge that God is first, because at the end of the day, money is our biggest idol.

So when the first portion is given to God, it redeems the rest.

Offerings. Here's the difference. Offerings are cause oriented, but a tithe is about the lordship of Christ.

So 10% of our income is to be returned to the Lord. According to scripture. I don't give it because I can't give something that doesn't belong to me. It's already his. So even, even I have to change the way I take up offering.

I didn't take up offering. We're gonna take it at the end. But it's not even like give your tithes. No, I'm presenting what already belongs to him. Because if I ever feel like I have to give it, I will feel like I have the means to hold it.

But if I'm holding something that doesn't belong to me, then that means I'm still stealing because it's not mine. But if I ever start thinking that it is mine, I'll begin to make reasons is why I can't give back it. It's yours anyway. Look at somebody say, don't, don't rob from the lord.

Malachi, chapter 3, verse 6 through 12 says this. If you don't believe me, it says, I, the Lord do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. Ever since the time of your ancestors, you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me and I'll return to you, says the Lord Almighty.

But you ask, how are we to return? Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me. But you ask, how are we robbing you in tithes and offerings? You are under a curse, your whole nation because you are robbing me.

Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse that there might be food in my house. Test me in this, says the Lord Almighty, and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops. And the vines of your fields will drop fruit before it's ripe, says the Lord. Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land, says the Lord Almighty.

So then I have to ask myself, am I honoring God with my tithes or am I robbing him? That's between you and God. God help me. Check me. He even says in the scripture, test me in this.

Just try it out. Just try it out. Look at your neighbor say, just try it out. Just try it out. Just try it out.

And number three, and this is our last point. How do we honor God?

We honor God with our lives, with our worship. It's not just music. It's not limited to singing or a Sunday service. Worship is a lifestyle of reverence and adoration towards God. We see that with Romans 12 and 1.

Worship means this. Write this down. Worth ship.

Worship means worth ship. The word worship comes from worship, which means to ascribe worth. So when we worship, we declare that God is worthy of our love. He's worthy of our trust and. And he's worthy of our obedience.

But you cannot give worth where you don't understand it or you don't even believe it.

Because if I don't understand that he's worthy of my love and trust, I won't give it to him. Or I'll only give it to him situationally when it's convenient, when I want to, when it feels good. But God is calling the spiritually mature. It isn't about your feelings. It's about what you know.

That he is still worthy, regardless of what it looks like and what it feels like. I can still posture myself to receive from the Lord what he needs and to offer him worth. And I don't have to sing it. Look at your neighbor say, that's good news, because I can't sing.

So true worship. If I'm trying to give worth to something, it has to flow from relationship, not routine.

Some of us just worship with the song because that's all we know to do. But it's empty.

How do I know something is valuable? Because somebody told me. I spent time with it. I watched the process of it. I learned from it.

How do I know somebody's advice is good? Because I sat down Long enough, and I listened and I applied it. And then I realized, well, they might know something that they're talking about. I used to think that my mom was insane. When I was 18, I was like, this woman ain't lived.

She is crazy. And I'm not gonna listen to anything. I know what I'm doing. I'm gonna nuck and buck and be a good person. But now that I'm almost 40, praise God for 40.

We love that. For me, now that we're almost here, my mom has become my best friend. And I realized that all the things that I thought she was crazy about, she was actually full of wisdom. But I didn't value what she said, and I didn't understand the worth of what I was given. So I could not give her what she deserved because I didn't put any value on what she said.

And so when I don't put value on what God said, says I am unable to give him the worship that he deserves.

God seeks worshipers. Not just worship, because worship. Write this down. I think it's a slide. Worship without relationship becomes empty ritual.

Worship without relationship becomes empty, empty ritual. It's just something you did because you've been churched. It was the slow song, and I sang the song, and then I went back out here, and I just did what I wanted to do. But you. You need to look at your.

Can you just tap your chest and say, I'm a worshiper. I don't need music. I don't even need to be on key. My posture is one that knows how to give worth to God. Because I understand the value.

I respect him. I understand the authority that he has in my life. I understand his words are good, and I need it to survive. And out of that flows that I can just be driving in the car with nothing on and say, man, God, you've been so good to me. You are so worth disobedience today.

I don't have to like it, but, God, you're so worthy of it. And then I honor him through the ways I show up to things. You're faithful on your job, your own time.

Look at somebody they like. Oh, she's. She's on it today. Your own time. Because it's not about them.

It's about honoring. I communicate well. Why from a place of honor? Because we do things in excellence. We're children of God.

We don't operate like the world. We meet deadlines not because we like it, but we are honoring God with what we give.

Am I offering him just an Empty ritual that's between you and God. Does the value you give God come from your personal experience or from someone else? Do you know he's worthy because your mama said he's worthy? Do you know he's a provider because you've actually experienced or because somebody told you? Do you know he's a healer because you've experienced it or because somebody just told you?

Do you know that obedience is worth it because you're allowing yourself to live it or you're just going off somebody else's experience? Somebody else's experience will not hold you in what's to come. You have to know him for yourself. You have to know how to tap in for yourself. You got to know how to read and where to go for yourself.

It's not that we don't want to help you, but there will be a day when there won't be people to help you. And you got to know and you cannot stand flat footed. You got to grow deep roots, spiritually. Mature people are rooted. Look at somebody say, I'm rooted.

I want us to practice this, this morning. And I want to close a little differently because I want us to close with the time of worship and honoring God. I want us to apply this so that when you get out here, you know, because right now we're doing it corporately and we love that. I want us to declare value and weight and respect, recognizing that his life and his words and his presence have gravity and substance in my life and in the situation that you are currently coming against. I want us to recommit to honoring him from a place of faithfulness, from a place of tithing and our worship.

So can you stand with me all over this building?