How to enjoy God’s honor

“Wherefore the LORD God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me forever: but now the LORD saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.” 1 Samuel 2:30

“And the LORD said, "I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” Exodus 33:19

There are two kinds of people on earth. One kind of people are those who are enjoying God’s mercy, the other kind of people are enjoying God’s honor. Everyone who is enjoying God’s honor automatically enjoys God’s mercy. People who enjoy God’s honor are greater than people who enjoy His mercy. You cannot be honored by God and not enjoy His mercy, but you can enjoy God’s mercy without being honored by Him. To enjoy God’s mercy has nothing to do with what you did or did not do, it is God’s absolute prerogative. He said to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy. A lot of people take God’s mercy for granted, they miss God’s honor because they are enjoying His mercy. This is because to enjoy God’s honor, there is a prerequisite.

The prerequisite is that you must honor God if you want Him to honor you. The story of God’s relationship with Eli’s family sheds light on what it means to honor God. To honor God means to obey Him. It means to honor His word. If you are consistently living in disobedience, you are at the risk of getting to the realm where the season of mercy expires. To obey is better than sacrifice. Some people deliberately walk in disobedience and they think they can bribe God. It is time you make up your mind to live according to God’s word so that He can honor you. God has exalted His word more than His name. Honor God’s word so that He can honor you.

Honor God by giving to God your first fruit. Proverbs 3:9 says, “Honor the Lord with your possessions, And with the first fruits of all your increase” God expects you to honor Him with your possessions and also with the first fruits of your increase. This means to honor God you must give to Him, and also give to Him first. If you catch this revelation, you will always experience honor from God. A lot of people attend church without a financial commitment to the church. Such people risk being dishonored by God.

Honor God by hating what God hates and loving what God loves. Hebrews 1: 9 says, “You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore, God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness more than Your companions.” A lot of people will go to hell from the church because they consciously and consistently live in sin. They take God for granted since they do not receive God’s judgement because of His mercy. Ecclestiastes 8:11 says, “Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.” Beloved, God hates sin but loves righteousness. He honors also those who do so.

Honor God by honoring His servants. John 13:20 says, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receives whomsoever I send receives me; and he that receives me receives him that sent me.” If you want God to honor you, cultivate the habits of honoring His servants. Don’t take your Pastor for granted even if He is simple. He is the channel through whom God will honor you, if you honor him.

I ask God to honor you in Jesus name.