Today I am going to talk about to talk about honor. Specifically how every ordinary Christian is honored by God and even by man.
We have a lot of verses that we are going to look at today. So please turn with me to Matthew 20, and we’ll look at verses 25-28 first. And if you can then turn to Philippians 2 and keep your finger there, or bookmark it in some way, we’ll read from verses 5 through 11 there.
But first, Matthew 20.
Now, the funny thing about honor is that it doesn’t always happen the same way for everyone; sometimes it’s in a small, private way like just a simple thank you note or a gift. Other times, you might receive an award at a ceremony. Or maybe someone will throw you a party.
Maybe it’s like this example: a funeral for a turtle:
Alexander M. Sanders, Jr. (who was at one time the Chief Judge of the South Carolina Court of Appeals) told a story about when his daughter, Zoe was 3 years old. He came home to find a crisis. Zoe’s pet turtle had died and she was crying her heart out. His wife turned the problem over to him to solve.
First, Mr. Sanders explained that he would go to the pet store and get her another turtle. He got nowhere with that idea. Zoe knew that life couldn’t be transferred from one turtle to another. She wanted her turtle alive. She continued to cry. Then Mr. Sanders said, “I’ll tell you what, we’ll have a funeral for the turtle.” Being three years old she didn’t know what a funeral was. “A funeral,” he said, “is a great festival in honor of the turtle.” She didn’t know what a festival was so he said, “A funeral is like a birthday party. We’ll have ice cream and cake and lemonade and balloons, and all the children in the neighborhood will come over to play, all because the turtle has died.” Zoe’s tears began to dry up and she returned to her happy self.
Then, an utterly unforeseen thing happened. They looked down, and the turtle began to move. He was not dead after all. In a matter of seconds he was crawling around as lively as ever. Mr. Sanders didn’t know what to say. But Zoe appraised the situation perfectly. With all the innocence of a three year old she looked up at her father and said, “Daddy, let’s kill it.”
Well, let’s not hope someone will want to kill you in order to throw a party in your honor. But let’s hope that whatever honor you receive, it’ll be a joyous celebration.
Scripture: Let’s look at Matthew 20:25-28
25 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 26 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
And now if you would turn to Philippians 2, we’ll read verses 5-11. As you’re turning there, and we look at what we just read, think of what it meant for Jesus to leave his throne in Heaven to come to earth. I mean, he had it good. He was in Paradise and perfection. There, he was undoubtedly exalted already as The King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He was recognized as the ultimate authority over Heaven and Earth. Yet when he left his throne, he came to earth born in a dirty, stinky, cold stable, and his birth–this king of all creation–was announced to only a few lowly shepherds and some astrologers who were probably of another religion altogether because they came from the East–outside of Israel.
When Jesus gathered his disciples, as we all know, they were a bunch of ragtag men who were a bit rough around the edges. They were not wealthy and educated, they were not on the track to become rabbis, but were rather ordinary laborers. And then Jesus had the audacity to wash their feet. An act of the lowest of the low, the most humble thing a man could do.
And of course, we know that Jesus showed compassion on the beggars. He healed the sick and the lame and went even further and forgave the most wretched of sinners. He died a cruel death willingly so that the forgiveness of sins could be complete and available for the most wretched of sinners for all of time.
And for all of those things and even more, he is exalted above all by those of us here on earth as well as in Heaven. In fact, God the Father was pleased with Jesus and his humility and service, let’s read how Paul describes it in Philippians 2, starting with verse 5.
Paul said to the Philippian church:
Have this mind among yourselves which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Phil. 2:5–11).
In other words, in order to receive honor, one must practice humility. And that’s it.
I know this is tough. It goes against every piece of common sense, right? If we are to be honored, then we need to rise up to the top and become successful. We need to climb the corporate ladder and step on as many people as we need to on the way up. We need to rub shoulders with the ‘who’s who.’ We need to make contacts and wine and dine the right people.
Well, that’s not how it works in the Kingdom of God.
We just read how God the Father is the one who honored Jesus, His son. Jesus never honored himself. If he wanted to honor himself, he would have joined with the Pharisees instead. Seems like a plan, right? Seems like the right thing to do if you want to be honored. But instead, Jesus did everything in service to glorify God the Father, not himself. In return, Jesus might have ended up hated and despised by those Pharisees, but God flipped that around, and now Jesus is forever honored and the others are forever humbled.
Thomas Tarrants said, “God takes pleasure in our efforts to humble ourselves, and he loves to bless and exalt the humble.”
Both James and Peter wrote almost identical verses about this.
James said: “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.”
Peter said: “Young men, in the same way, submit yourselves to your elders. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, so that in due time He may exalt you.”
And then the words of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke:
Luke 14:11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Luke 18:14 I tell you, this man, rather than the Pharisee, went home justified. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Humility and honor go hand in hand. Why is that? Because true humility is selflessness while false humility is selfishness.
Proverbs 15:33 says: “Wisdom’s instruction is to fear the Lord, and humility comes before honor.”
Rick Warren wrote in The Purpose Driven Life: Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less. Humility is thinking more of others. Humble people are so focused on serving others, they don’t think of themselves
That quote has often been mistaken to have been attributed to C.S. Lewis,
But C.S. Lewis did say on this topic that:
According to Christian teachers, the essential vice, the utmost evil, is Pride. Unchastity, anger, greed, drunkenness, and all that, are mere flea bites in comparison: it was through Pride that the devil became the devil: Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind…it is Pride which has been the chief cause of misery in every nation and every family since the world began.
And regarding humility, there’s a story about Booker T. Washington, the renowned black educator who was an outstanding example of this truth.
Shortly after he took over the presidency of Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, he was walking in an exclusive section of town when he was stopped by a wealthy white woman. Not knowing the famous Mr. Washington by sight, she asked if he would like to earn a few dollars by chopping wood for her.
Because he had no pressing business at the moment, Professor Washington smiled, rolled up his sleeves, and proceeded to do the humble chore she had requested. When he was finished, he carried the logs into the house and stacked them by the fireplace. A little girl recognized him and later revealed his identity to the lady.
The next morning the embarrassed woman went to see Mr. Washington in his office at the Institute and apologized profusely. “It’s perfectly all right, Madam,” he replied. “Occasionally I enjoy a little manual labor. Besides, it’s always a delight to do something for a friend.” She shook his hand warmly and assured him that his meek and gracious attitude had endeared him and his work to her heart. Not long afterward she showed her admiration by persuading some wealthy acquaintances to join her in donating thousands of dollars to the Tuskegee Institute.
A little humility goes a long way. Humility leads to honor. And did you hear the word, ‘meek?’ “his meek and gracious attitude…”
What did Jesus say about the meek? Jesus said, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”
I remember hearing David Jeremiah say that “meekness is not weakness.” That’s a catchy phrase and easy to remember. That’s one to file in the back of our memory. But if “meekness is not weakness,” what is it then?
The Biblical definition of meekness is gentleness, humbleness, and strength under control. In other words, those who are intentional about being meek will practice keeping themselves under control. If you’re meek, then you’re not a hothead. Hot heads get into trouble. They get into fights. They don’t inherit anything, they get left out of an inheritance. They don’t get exalted, they don’t get promoted, they get fired.
They lose their jobs, their positions in public service–voted out of office–they lose their place of honor or their potential for honor. But the meek will be seen doing their work. They’ll learn how to get along with others. They’ll learn how to work well with others. They’ll play nice with others–all the things we were taught as kids and to our kids.
The people who practice these things are the ones who receive honor, promotion, and recognition. They are the ones that everyone wants to work with–and for. They are the ones that everyone wants to do business with. They’re the ones all the kids want to play with. They’re the ones all the kids want as teachers. Didn’t you want the nice teachers in school? Not the ones who were always ready to snap.
Being humble and meek means not being a hothead. Not being a hothead will get you further in life. Some say nice guys finish last. I see where they’re coming from, but that is a shortsighted, worldly perspective. In God’s judgment seat, in God’s timetable, the meek, the gentle, and the humble will be exalted–either by God or by man–in due season.
I shared a couple of things on social media the past couple of days. One said, “The Gospel sounds strange to a generation that has been told they are perfect, loving themselves is virtuous, their heart is always right and nothing is more important than being happy.”
Another post was a quote by Dustin Benge, who is a Christian author, editor, and professor. He said, “When your final authority is your ‘heart,’ you will ordinarily twist scripture to say whatever pleases the heart.”
I want to read something to you from Jeremiah that goes along with this.
Jeremiah 17: 9-10:
9 The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?
10 “I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.”
Did you hear that? God searches the heart. It’s not necessarily how high we are on the corporate ladder. It’s not the size of the church or the size of the ministry. It’s not whether you are in full-time ministry or–as I too often say–any ministry with a capital ‘M.’ It’s not the education you have, the credentials you have. It’s the motivation of the heart and the mind. It’s being obedient to your call. That’s it. It’s making yourself as available to that call as you can, where you can with the gifts and talents that you have out of love for God. And then God will find a way to honor you according to what your deeds deserve.
In Luke 14, just after Jesus said, “For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted,” he goes on to say this: “But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
Do you remember the story of The Sheep and the Goats? Keith Green brilliantly put this to music. This is a lengthy one, so I’m not going to read it all to you, just the more encouraging part. It goes like this.
Matthew 25: 31-40
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you as a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
At that time, we will not only receive eternal life as a reward but we will also be honored at that time with crowns. We will be honored with rewards in Heaven. I talked about David Jeremiah a few minutes ago, on his website he lists five crowns that we have the potential to receive in Heaven.
- The first is the Victor’s Crown listed in 1 Corinthians for self-discipline.
- The second is the Crown of Rejoicing for those who have led others to Christ. That’s listed in 1 Thessalonians.
- The third is the Crown of Righteousness for those who have a longing for the Lord Jesus and his return. That is found in 2 Timothy.
- The fourth is the Crown of Life for all those who have endured trial, temptation, and persecution. That’s found in the books of James and Revelation.
- The fifth is the Crown of Glory for the faithful shepherds of God and Christian leaders. That is found in 1 Peter.
There is also a great book called, A Life God Rewards, by Bruce Wilkinson, not to be confused with David Wilkerson. It’s a short, simple read and it was popular about 25 years ago, but I think you can still get it. I remember I read it at the cash register when I worked at the Barnes and Noble in Elmira when things got quiet, even though I wasn’t supposed to read there, but our manager let us. This book was on sale and I snagged a whole bunch of them and gave them out as Christmas presents that year. I must have bought 20 copies. It was that good.
I want to encourage you today, God will honor us. He honors us in His way and in His timing. There might be honor and blessings on this earth, and/or “On That Day” when we will receive whatever crown and whatever reward Christ, our perfect judge decides to give us. Matthew 6 is filled with Christ’s teachings about God rewarding the faithful and the humble.
I’ve been giving you homework a lot lately, and here’s another one. I’d like to ask you to go back and reread Matthew 6. Like I said, there were a lot of scriptures that we went through today, some lengthy, others not. I certainly didn’t have time today to go through an entire chapter on top of everything. Maybe someday when I revisit this sermon topic, I could go back and just focus on Matthew 6. But I do want to leave you with this.
Matthew 6: 19-20: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.”
And I want to ask you one more thing. In what way can you honor someone who deserves it? It doesn’t have to be big, like I said earlier, it can be something small like a card or a gift. Maybe it’s leaving a bigger tip. Or remembering to say thank you when someone serves you. A simple thank you can go a long way.
Prayer:
Dear Lord, we thank you for the many gifts that you have given us and the many people that you have placed within our paths to bless us. May you inspire us to find ways to honor each other. We ask that you honor those here who have been meek and humble, Lord. May their bosses and others whom they come in contact with take note of their good work. I pray for whatever honor you see fit, whether it’s a raise or a promotion. Maybe it’s just a thank you or other form of compliment. I pray for the people in this congregation to be recognized for their hard work and diligence.
I thank you for the people in this congregation who have worked not only in their place of employment but also for you and this church. The many hours of volunteering to serve you and this church. Thank you, Lord, for the people that you have placed within this congregation now and over the years. They are a true blessing. Without them, there would be no church.
This is an updated edition of a post originally published on First Baptist Church of Watkins Glen
Featured Image by Jeff Jacobs from Pixabay
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