"Respect is Earned, Honor is Given"

FORGOTTEN VIRTUES SERIES

From Lifechurch.tv series

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Introduction: Today we start a series that will take us through our Lenten season called “The Forgotten Virtues.” It seems that in our world we see less and less of these virtues: honor, purity, loyalty, integrity, and gratitude. As we have done at times before, we will be partnering with Emmanuel Presbyterian Church, in Long Beach, and First Presbyterian Church in Garden Grove, whose churches also will be doing this same series. In fact, Rev. Cheryl Raine, from Garden Grove 1^st Pres. is the one who provided us with the wonderful Lenten devotionals to go along with this series.

This morning we will be looking at the virtue of honor: what is means to show honor, and what it means to have honor.

In many countries you have to behave in a certain way to show honor to the people. Maybe you have to take off your shoes before you go into their homes, or you have to bring a small gift of thanks. These actions show honor. An expert on these kinds of customs was asked what people of other countries are told to do when they come to the United States, and he answered that there is nothing that is expected from Americans of others. Maybe this is telling us that we are becoming a country that does not value honor!!

I. Jesus’ home town- (Mark 6:1-5)

a. Lack of honor shown- In Mark chapter 6 Jesus is returning to the

place where He had grown up. Up to this point Jesus had healed many people, turned water into wine, done many miracles. So the people had heard about Jesus and the works He had done. In this context Jesus is coming “home”, if you will, to the people who knew Him best and should have shown Him the greatest honor.

How exciting it should have been for this town to receive Jesus on this day. Here is one of their own, coming home to see His people, and you would think that they would be excited about what He had achieved and whom He was. But we are going to actually see the opposite happen. The people are not going to show Jesus honor, and this lack of honor and lack of faith will actually limit what Jesus does there!

A year prior to this Jesus was actually run out of town and they threatened to kill Him. And yet Jesus is choosing to come back to this setting.

Mark 6:1-2 tells us: “When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed. ‘Where did this man get these things?’ they asked. ‘What’s this wisdom that has been given him? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing? ³ Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?’ And they took offense at him. that Jesus is teaching in the synagogue on the Sabbath and He was wowing everyone with His teaching.”

They were wondering: Isn’t this that ordinary guy we knew growing up? How did He become such an amazing teacher? We see His sisters here…They think that Jesus is just an ordinary guy. Even though they were wowed by His teaching and wisdom, they were offended that He would come into the synagogue, on the Sabbath, and teach. They didn’t believe He belonged there. They didn’t honor Him for who He was, because they didn’t believe Him to be anything other than the carpenter’s son!

How does Jesus respond? We see this in Mark 6:4- “Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.’” Did you catch that? Jesus says that a prophet is ‘WITHOUT HONOR’ in his hometown. The Greek word used here is atimos, which means ‘to dishonor; to treat as common or ordinary.’ Let me give you an example of this. If you want a COMMON or ORDINARY marriage, then treat your spouse as common or ordinary. And we do that by no longer treating them as special. When we are dating we open the door, we buy them flowers and gifts. But then we get married, and we stop treating them as special. This is really showing DISHONOR to our spouse, and leads to a very common and ordinary marriage.

The flipside is honor. The Greek word for honor is time (pronounced tim-may) and means ‘to value, respect, or highly esteem; to treat as precious or valuable.’ Let me give you an example of this. Not too long ago Carol gave my son Tyler a basketball. Not just an ordinary basketball, but a Harlem Globetrotters basketball. This was special enough, but a couple of weeks ago our family went to see the Harlem Globetrotters play, and after the game Tyler got many of the players to sign the basketball. This basketball is not ordinary or common. Tyler would never use it to shoot hoops. He has an ordinary basketball for this. This basketball is honored by Tyler and special to Tyler! This ball is valued and esteemed by Tyler.

To honor someone is to believe the best in someone, whereas dishonor believes the worst in others. Honor lifts up, encourages, and builds up. Dishonor tears down. You might say that there are people that you can’t honor because they don’t deserve it. The truth is, Respect is earned, but Honor is given. You can honor someone just because of there place or position. You can’t treat them with honor even before they are “honorable,” and this honor shown will often lead them to become more honorable. It empowers and encourages.

Maybe our country is the way it is because we have been dishonoring each other for so long. Check out what dishonoring Jesus, does to Jesus.

b. The result of dishonor- Listen to Mark 6:5, “He could not do any

miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. ⁶ He was amazed at their lack of faith.” This is interesting. It doesn’t say wouldn’t do miracles. It says could not. I don’t fully understand this, but because of a lack of faith, and a lack of honor, it keeps Jesus from being able to do what He has done in many other places. It keeps Him from doing many miracles there. There is something tied together with faith, honor, and the work of God.

It is unfortunate that we have lost honor in our country. Who are we called to honor? Let me highlight the top three people that the Bible tells us we are to honor….

II. Who are we to honor?- (Exodus 20:12; Romans 13:7; 1 Timothy 5:17; Romans 12:10; Psalm 22:23)

a. Parents- Number 1 is that we are to honor our parents. Exodus

20:12 tells us, “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.” We are called to honor our parents. Tragically we can be one of the most dishonoring cultures to our parents. This has to break God’s heart! How often have we seen or heard kids mouth off to their parents? Say I hate you, I’m not listening to you. In my house, if I ask my children to do something, the only acceptable response is “Yes dad.” A number of years ago the only acceptable response would have been “yes sir.” Why? Because this shows HONOR!! This might sound old fashioned, but because we have strayed from it, we have seen kids lose sight of the honor they are to show to their parents.

b. Authority- Number 2 we are called to show honor to those who

have been put in authority over us. Romans 13:7 tells us, “Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.” When President Clinton was president, there were many who did not honor him. When President Bush was president there were others who didn’t honor him. Now there are many who don’t honor President Obama. But the point about honoring, is that it is about honoring those who are in authority, not necessarily the person. It is about honoring the position, and the authority that position holds.

Story: There is a story about a man who was at a gathering where President and Mrs. Bush happened to be at, and he was telling his neighbor how he was not a Bush supporter at all. But then the door opened, the flag came in followed by President and Mrs. Bush, and everyone stood, including this guy, and there were cheers and great emotion in response to this entrance. This response was not for President Bush the person, but for the position he held and the country he served!!

Those who are in sports need to honor their coaches. Those in school need to honor their teachers. Those who are working need to honor their boss. You may think you are smarter than your boss, but to be over others you first need to learn how to be under. You show this by honoring those whom God has put over you.

We are to honor those who are put in authority. As we show honor, they will lead with honor.

c. Number 3 we are told to honor our pastors and church leaders;

those who are directing us spiritually. 1 Timothy 5:17 says, “The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching.” There is an interesting phrase here that says they are to receive DOUBLE HONOR. Those who are called to this role are to receive special honor.

One of the important aspects of the Presbyterian church is how pastors are CALLED. In the Presbyterian church someone doesn’t just one day stand up and say, ‘I feel like I am called to be your pastor,’ and then start pastoring. NO. They might feel this call, but then it is supported first by a committee called ‘The Committee of Preparation for Ministry.’ This committee helps the local church to affirm and guide this call for this candidate. Ultimately, a person is not ordained to pastoral ministry until they have been CALLED by a church.

This position needs to be honored. I have to tell you that I do feel honored by you, and I am grateful for that. More than for the person I am, but for the call that God has given me here. It is wonderful to see that in other places as well. I have felt great honor from the Vietnamese Church who used to rent our chapel. And even now, at the end of our service, when I am at the door ready to great people, many from the Hispanic church come over to greet me and show me love and respect!!

Because of being honored in this way, it lifts me up and causes me to value this role all the more, and know that I have to seek God and God’s guidance in what I do, in what I teach, and in how I lead.

d. Romans 12:10 tells us: “Be devoted to one another in love. Honor

one another above yourselves.” Another way to say it is to ‘outdo’ one another in showing honor. How can you do this? By giving encouragement to those who serve you, and minister to you, you honor them. Spouses should seek to outdo one another in honoring their spouse. We, as the members of this body, should be seeking ways to honor one another; building each other up, not tearing each other down.

We have ELDERS who give of their time to help govern and serve this church. We have DEACONS who serve and lead in this church. We have people who teach our children and our youth. We have people who make blankets, who cook meals, who count the money, and on and on it goes. We need to outdo one another in showing honor to each other!!

But most of all we need to honor God. This God who has created us in His image, and given us salvation through His Son Jesus Christ. I honor the Son of God, the risen Christ, who has forgiven me and changed me into a new creation; for filling me with His Holy Spirit and for empowering me to do things I couldn’t do on my on. I honor Him for who He is.

Why is it that we are a culture without honor? The reason that our culture isn’t honoring, is because we are a culture that too often is not honoring of God. Psalm 22:23, “You who fear the LORD, praise him! All you descendants of Jacob, honor him! Revere him, all you descendants of Israel.” The problem is that we are treating God as common. We’re too familiar with Him. He is the big guy upstairs.

Jesus is not a little baby in the manger. He is the soon coming, returning, ruling, reigning King of Kings and Lord of Lords. When He comes back, He is coming back with a sword. When we honor God we will honor others, because we are made valuable by His name. When we get that, that we are valuable by the name of Christ, we will reclaim honor and return to the forgotten value of honor.

III. Giving Honor to God- (Isaiah 29:13)

Story- Babe Ruth, the famous New York Yankees baseball player was said to have signed 7 homerun bats. The very first one was lost for decades. His agent had given it out, and that person disappeared from the public eye. On his death bed, the man who owned the bat had outlived all of his family, and so he gave this bat to his nurse who had cared for him for years. He told her that she was the closest thing he had to family, and he wanted her to have this bat that he had valued for so many years. She didn’t know much about baseball, but she knew it had some value. She kept it for the next 18 years under her bed. One day she decided she wanted to start a business, and so she thought this bat might have some value, where she could sell it and get some money to help her get started. She took it to a sports place and asked the man if it was worth anything. The guy’s eyes got all big, and he told her how it was the first of 7 bats Babe Ruth had signed. So she put it up for auction, and in 2006 it sold for……1.6 million dollars! She opened her guest lodge, and then took the remaining money and started a foundation to serve all the children that Babe Ruth wanted to serve at the end of his life. A reporter asked her why she did this with the remaining money, she told him that the bat was only valuable because Babe Ruth’s name was on it, and so the only reasonable thing she could do was to honor him in this way because he was what made it valuable.

We are only valuable because God makes us valuable (as we talked about last week), and the only reasonable thing we can do is to honor God with our lives. Unfortunately, for too many this is not true. We are told in Isaiah 29:13, “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught.” God is the only one truly worthy of our honor and praise, and when we realize who we are because of what He did, we will see the value of others and give honor to them, because they were valuable enough for Jesus to give His life. In this way we will reclaim the forgotten virtue of honor, and the world can become more the place God meant it to be!

Conclusion: The wonderful irony about honor, is that as we give it to others, it more often than not leads them to become honorable. But above this, we are called to show honor by God, through the scriptures, and need to Honor God, by honoring those we are called to honor.

Illus. For Tyler’s baseball team I call the pitches for the pitchers during the game. What this means is that I am the one who decided whether the pitcher will throw a fastball, or a changeup, or a curveball. They don’t always agree with me, but I do it because I feel I have a good feel for the game, and the batter, and I believe if they follow my lead, then they will be successful in their pitching.

We might not always understand or agree with God, but I do believe that if we follow God’s lead, then we will be more successful in life. God calls us to honor our parents, the authority around us, our spiritual leaders, and most of all God. Let us seek to do this, and in doing this bring back honor to our city, state, and country. Amen.