John 5:23 So that all men may give honor (reverence, homage) to the Son just as they give honor to the Father. [In fact] whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, Who has sent Him.
Honor is a very
important thing, and should play a major role in how we live our lives each
day. As we just celebrated Memorial Day, it is a time to remember those who
have given the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms as a nation. To remember the
fallen and the sacrifice they made we should always honor their memory and
never forget what they have done for us to remain free. So it is in our walk
with God. Jesus gave the ultimate sacrifice for us, and we should in turn honor
Him for what He did to deliver us from sin, and restore our relationship with
the Father.
This week I want
to share some powerful truths about remembering Jesus by honoring Him. In John
5:23 Jesus even tells us that all men should give honor to the Son just as they
give honor to the Father. If we don’t honor the Son, then we are not honoring
the Father who sent Him. So what should we do as believers in Christ to honor
Jesus and what He has done for us? That is what we will cover this week in our
study.
In remembering
Jesus let’s first define what the word “honor” means. It is defined as to
prize, to value, and to revere. If you honor Jesus you are going to place a
high value upon Him and what He has to say. If you revere Him you are not going
to take lightly what He has done, nor what He has said in His Word. If we are
going to honor Jesus we are going to take Him at His Word.
When the Word of
God says we are the righteousness of Christ, then we believe we are the
righteousness of Christ. When the Word says we are to forgive, then we forgive.
When the Word tells us we are to walk in love, then we choose to walk in love.
Just as important, when the Word of God tells us to receive God’s correction,
then we willing receive God’s correction as well. A good father is going to
build up their children by being a positive influence on their life, setting a
good example for them to follow, but they are also going to lovingly correct
them when they are wrong. So it is with our heavenly Father.
John 14:15 “If you love me, obey my commandments.
Let me
say first that there is no one more for you than God. He loves you and cares
about every part of your life, and He wants to help you in every way He can. To
do so He is not going to make choices for us, but He is going to give us
instructions for our life that we can choose to do or not to do. He is also
going to give us commandments. For some reason there are those today who seem
to think there is something wrong with saying anything about the Lord’s
commandments for our life. First of all a commandment in the eyes of the Lord
is not an option in the eyes of God, but He won’t force us to do anything. We
have a choice.
When
you talk about the commandments that the Lord has given us in the New
Testament, people begin to say you are being legalistic. I grant you there are
those who preach legalism, but what is it? To be legalistic means that you are
saying the only way you get anything from God, including eternal life, you must
do so by your own effort. You must earn it. That is what scripture reveals
legalism as. Yet today if you tell people Jesus gave us commandments they begin
to tell you that you are being legalistic. That is not so if they are not
saying you must earn from God what He gives you, but we must walk in the light
of His commandments in the New Testament if we want to honor Him. Remember to
honor Him means we place a high value on what He has done and what He has said
we are to do.
Jesus
tells us in John 14:15 above that if you love Him then you will obey His
commandments. You don’t have to do so, but if you love Him with the love of
God, the agape kind of love, you are going to honor Him by doing what He said.
You are also going to honor Him by believing what He said. Jesus did not say if
you love me you might consider doing what I have suggested for you to do. He
said you will obey His commandments. This is not legalistic, this is valuing
what He said, knowing that He knows what is best for our life. So what did
Jesus command for us to do?
Matt. 22:37 Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’Matt. 22:38 This is the first and great commandment.Matt. 22:39 And the second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’Matt. 22:40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
When people
think of commandments they think of the Ten Commandments. Some will say today
that we don’t have to keep the Ten Commandments, because they were given in the
Old Testament. But Jesus never said we are not to keep the Ten Commandments.
Jesus tells us here that we are to love the Lord our God with all our being,
and we are to love one another. In John’s gospel Jesus said to love one another
as He has loved us. In doing this He said we would fulfill the Law and the
Prophets.
If we walk
in love toward God, and we walk in love toward one another, you are not going
to violate the Ten Commandments. We are not earning anything from God in doing
so, but we are simply honoring Him and what He did for us. If you walk in the
love of God you are not going to steal, commit adultery, dishonor your parents,
etc., instead you are going to bring God upon the scene for God is love. This
love is not a feeling or an emotion, it is an action. God’s love is summed up
in what we call the golden rule. Treat others the way you want to be treated.
When you do you are fulfilling a commandment given to you by Jesus and in turn
you are honoring the sacrifice He made for you and for all of humanity.
Matt. 28:18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.Matt. 28:19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,Matt. 28:20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
The
other way we can honor Christ and what He has done for us is to go and fulfill
what He has commissioned us to do. Far too many believers today are so wrapped
up in their own lives that they are not reaching those around them with the
good news. Jesus gave us the authority to go and do the works He Himself did.
We are to be a part of making disciples of all people, taking time to show the
love of God to others, and to be willing and yielded to the Holy Spirit in using
us to minister to others.
Jesus
wants us to baptize people (immerse them) in a relationship with the Father,
Jesus Himself, and the Holy Spirit. We do this by sharing our story, and
showing others that we care about them. Through our relationship with God we
are to become an extension of God to those around us. We help make disciples
out of others by first, sharing the gospel with them and then second, teaching
them to observe all things that Jesus has commanded us. This again is not
legalism nor bondage, but helping others to walk in what God has for their
life. Jesus has promised us that He will be with us wherever we go, even to the
end of the age so we are not alone in doing His work. It is He who does the
work through us.
Acts 1:4 And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me;Acts 1:5 for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”Acts 1:8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
For us to
be successful in fulfilling the commission given to us we need to obey another
commandment given by Jesus. Jesus commanded His disciples to go to Jerusalem
and wait until they had received the promise of the Father, which He declares
is being baptized in the Holy Spirit. This will bring an empowerment from the
Holy Spirit to be used by Him in healing the sick, casting out demons, raising
the dead, and preaching the gospel, for as Jesus said we have freely received
and we should therefore freely give to others what we have been given.
Once
baptized in the Holy Spirit if we will begin to yield unto Him every day, we
can begin to have a powerful impact on the lives of others. When we are seeing
others born again, healed, delivered, and set free from the powers of darkness
and the ruler of this world, we are honoring the life of Christ as a memorial
that will make an eternal difference in this earth.
Honor
Christ by walking in obedience to His commands. Honor Him by doing the works He
did through the same Holy Spirit that worked in and through Him. Make the
effort everyday to be Jesus’ hands reaching out to others. Show people you care
about them and you will see hearts open to receive what Christ has for them.
See You Again Next Week For More “Weekly Wisdom”
May God’s Best Be Yours!
Pastor Darryl Baker
