A son honour his
father, And a servant his master. If then I am the father, where is my honour?
And if I am a master, where is my reverence? Says the Lord of host. “Malachi
1:6
Honour is, perhaps, the
most important key to experiencing a life of increase. If you are going to
consistently walk in increase, you must determine in your heart to continuously
and consistently honour God. A simple test of honour is asking yourself who
comes first in your life. You see, honouring God is giving preference to God.
You can not afford to be so modern that you put God in the back burner and
think that he will just look at your heart. The truth is, if it is really in
your heart, it will manifest in your actions. God values honour so much that he
had to confront the people in the days of Malachi. He asked a very profound
question, “if I am the father, where is my honour?”
Therefore, the LORD God of isreal has
declared, I did, in fact, say that your family and your ancestors’s family
would walk before me forever; but now the LORD declares, far be it from me! The
one who honours me, I will honour, and the one who despises me is to be treated
with contempt. (ISTV) 1 samuel 2:30
Ask yourself, where is
God’s honour in my life? Point things you do or refrain from doing that shows
that you truly honour God. God says those despise him(those who do not honour
Him) will be treated with contempt. You do not want God to treat you with
contempt. However, he is emphatic about honouring those who honour him. If you
intend to live a life above reproach and contempt, you must pay attention to
honouring God.
FIRST
You honour God by
putting Him first. Whethere it is your time, your money or your affection, God
wants to come first. Jesus explained to the Pharisees that the first and
greatest commandment is to love the Lord with all your heart and with all your
soul and with all your mind (Mathew 22:37). This is non-negotiable. You can not
love your spouse, your job or even your parents more than you love the Lord.
God must have preeminence in everything you do.
THE LORD’S CALF
There is an interesting
story of a man whose cow had two calves. As soon as he saw the calves, he vowed
to give one to the Lord. When his friends asked him which of the claves is the
Lord’s, he responded that it was strictly between him and God. One day, a car
hit one of the calves and it died, in agony the man cried out, “The Lord’s calf
is dead!” How convenient!
In your experience, is
it always the Lord’s calf that dies? When you have a challenge and need to
restructure your time, is it the time you spend with the Lord whether in prayer
or in attending church services that has to be limited? Do you maintain every other
activity and shut down God thinking that God will understand? God ask, “if I
am your father, where is my honour?”
THE BEST
Do you allocate your
best time of the day to God or wait till you have schedule every other thing
before you make time for the Lord? Do you expend whatever funds come to you and
then leave whatever is left for the Lord? Do you wait for things to get worn
out and useless to you before you sow them to the lord? You see, God is serious
about honour and his points of reference are interesting. He ask in “Malachi
1:8”.
And when you offer the
blind as a sacrifice, is it not evil? And when you offer the lame and sick, is
it not evil? Offer it them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you?
Would he accept you favourably?” says the Lord of host.
Can you give the things
you give to God to your governor or president? Whether it is money, attention
or reverence, do you give more details when it comes to people you see than the
God you serve? How do you dress when you want to see dignitary? How do you
dress when you go to church? Do you act like you are going to see the most
important person in the universe? Honour is cruscial. You see, your tithe is
not just ten percent of your increase. It is the first and the best ten
percent. When you prepare your offering, do you just pick random notes or do
you take time to pick the very best notes and arrange them in an orderly
manner. God pays attention to how you treat him and the things that concern him.
Honour the Lord with
your possessions, and with the firstfruit of all your increase”--- Proverbs 3:9
Do not just give the
lord your substance, Honour Him with it! Give properly. Give with reverence.
Give with expectation.
Do you make haste to do
the word that comes to you every time you are in church or every time you open
your bible, or do you try a self help guru’s technique first and then turn to
God when things fail? Put God first.
Perhaps the greatest
show of honour is having faith in God and His word. For without faith it is
impossible to please him(Hebrews 11:6). Why is this? The bible says that he
that comes to god must believe that God exists and that God rewards those who
see him diligently. You must believe God’s word that he will honour those who
honour him. You must choose to live a life that consistently honours God.
Honour God with your
body. Honour God with your lifestyle. Honour God with your money. Honour God by
putting God and his kingdom first and watch how things will begin to turn in
your favour. Honour the Lord; it is a key to increase!
Rev. Biodun
Fatoyinbo
Snr Pastor of:
Commonwealth of Zion Assembly (COZA)
0 comments:
Post a Comment