God is love. He loves everyone. He gave the life of His only begotten Son for our salvation, but for a greater level of relationship, the relationship of honour, there is one condition: “…for them that honour me I will honour” (1 Samuel 2:30, KJV). God is a God of honour. He highly appreciates this moral and social virtue, therefore He warns us that He expects honour from us too. Thisis the condition for us to be honoured and be great before God.
“…for them that honour me” (1 Samuel 2:30, KJV): as we can see, we ourselves must be the initiators of honour. We must make the first step.
When we show honour at first – we start the law of sowing and reaping. When we honour the Father, we automatically receive honour from Him. If we honour God, He will honour us. “I will honour”. God’s honour is expressed powerfully not only in heaven, but also the earth is moves and amazing thing start to happen.
Examples of God’s honour towards man
Thanks to honour towards God:
- Moses was saved as a baby from the cruel decree of the pharaoh and lived, (Exodus 2:6-10).
- Moses found refuge and protection in a foreign land after he had killed an Egyptian, (Exodus 2:20-21).
- He was free from the pharaoh’s threats upon his return to Egypt,
- Aaron become the mouth of God, (Exodus 4:15).
- Moses had the mind of God, (Exodus 4:16)
- David was able to grow from a shepherd to a king, (1 Samuel 16:13).
- Not even one word of the Prophet Samuel remained unfulfilled, (1 Samuel 3:19, 20).
- Abraham became the father of nations, (Genesis 17:4).
- Paul became a deliverer for pagans, (Galatians 1:15, 16).
- Peter became the pillar, the foundation of the church, (Matthew 16:18).
- Timothy got 2 books of the Bible dedicated to him, (1, 2 Message to Timothy).
- The memory about Mary Magdalene is immortalised in the Gospels, (Matt. 28:1, Mark 16:1).
Consequence of dishonour
“…but those who despise me will be disdained” (1 Samuel 2:30).
It is a dangerous thing not to honour God. Neglecting God costs too much.It brings death, shame, and disdain. Dishonour towards God evokes a return reaction of dishonour. It is well illustrated through historical examples in the Bible:
-Saul lost the Kingdom (1 Samuel 15:26).
-Cain got cursed and rejected (Genesis 4:11-14).
– Eli died tragically (1 Samuel 4:18).
-Judah was despised and committed suicide (Matt. 27:3-5).
-Demas, Hymenaeus, and Alexander (1 Tim. 1:20; 2 Tim. 4:10) served together with Paul, but eventually were disgraced and disdained.
How do we sometimes dishonour God?
Why do you kick at My sacrifice and My offering which I have commanded in My dwelling place, and honour your sons more than Me, to make yourselves fat with the best of all the offerings of Israel My people?’ 1 Samuel 2:29 (NKJV)
We dishonour God when:
- God takes a secondary place in our family, plans, finances, and life.
- We honour people more and treat them as if they were higher than God.
- We are obedient to man more than to the Word of God.
- We choose our ways instead of God’s ways.
- We honour our children more than God and His commandments; we allow children to take the place of God in our lives.
- We honour our own interests and desires more than the Word of God.
- We refuse to listen to Him.
- We appropriate His glory.
What does it mean to honour God?
How do you honour God? There are different ways and means to do that: one of the greatest way is to honour man, for a part of God is in every one of us. We also can honour God through ministry, giving, offering, dedication, social activities, etc. In order to know how to honour God, you need to understand His character, his dreams and desires. You need to deepen your knowledge of His Word. In 2013 let us pay the price to show God honour through a deeper knowledge of His essence.
You can also honour God through your actions: “… but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits”, Daniel 11:32 (NKJV).
Those who are not too lazy to honour their God by getting to know Him even closer will definitely be strong and carry out great exploits.
Make a decision that 2013 will be the year of manifestation of honour; and together with Jesus we will be able to say: “I honour My Father”, John 8:49.
You are welcomed to study this topic deeper by reading the following books: “Understanding God”, “Restorers of the earth”, “Put on the robe of power”
Yours with honour!
Senior pastor of
The Embassy of the Blessed Kingdom of God for All Nations Church
Sunday Adelaja
Translated by Kate Popova
Edited by Emmanuel Chindove
