Double Click - Honor

Man, I am so pumped for church today. If you got a Bible, you can open up to malecha chapter number four malecha chapter number four. We'll get there in just a few minutes. We'll get there in just a few minutes. But to get us started today, I want to remind us of the definition that we're moving forward from with blessing or the word blessed me say blessed. Look at your neighbor with a knuckle bump and say blessed, blessed. If you're really good, you not only end up with a T but anyway, this word blessed means to be made holy to be brought into right standing or be made sacred connected to God, by God. See, here's what we got to remember that no matter how good you are, or how far long you've come, you cannot bless yourself. I know that a lot of us are like, You know what, I'm just gonna work hard and and the results of my hard work will be blessing and wrong answer. You can't bless yourself. Only God can bless you. In the blessing of God comes through holiness, relationship with God, being consecrated to God, blessing comes from God, by God through God. It's your relationship with God that will pour out His blessing on your life. blessed. Blessed specifically, as I was praying around the focus of this morning, honor, I was reminded of this portion of Scripture that I led you to hear and Malikai chapter number four, it's a portion of Scripture that, in fact, I was at a prayer meeting with a group of church leaders in Nebraska It was last spring. So it's been almost 18 months since I was at this prayer meeting. And this, this lady came up to me and she had a little bit of she was a prayer person you could tell and she said, Hey, I know we've never met, but I feel like God wants me to tell you something. I said, Let's go girl
bout it. Do it. Do it.
And she's, she shared the Scripture with me. And she said, I feel like there's an anointing on your life, to turn hard hearted people to see hard hearted people turn their hearts back to the Father. And I kind of started to look get a look, you know, when the there's particles of dust in the atmosphere, you don't understand like, it just kind of affects the way you see, you know what I'm talking about it so that kind of started to happen to me. But the reality is what was going on was this is something that God had already been speaking to me. And it's interesting to me, because what on earth do I know about a father? See some of you know this, and some of you may not but when I was 12, my father left. But before that he wasn't even really present. There's no what would I know about the heart of a father
in this portion of Scripture, but here I've lived nevertheless, and it's interesting because this book of Malakal gets to the scripture here in just a minute but this this book of Molokai was written based on the prophetic word of a guy in the Old Testament who showed up to the people have God and and he, you know, he was like a yaller fallen short in selfless living before God and they're like, how are we falling short and selfless living before God? And he said, Well, you're actually robbing from God and like, how are we robbing from God? And he's like, Well, you're not bringing your tithe or offerings to the storehouse. And so the temple is starting to be without. And they're like, Yeah, but and he's like, okay, and then he comes and he says, Hey, y'all are being corrupt? And they're like, how are we being corrupt? And he says, Well, you're not really dealing in your business the way that God would have you to be dealing in your business and they're like, Yeah, but he's okay. And then he's saying, Hey, listen. Y'all are being a little bit impure, and you're going against the covenants that you have made. And they're like, how are we doing that? He's like, you're divorcing and you're not acting right with your spouse. And they're like, Yeah. And he's like, Okay. So what's happening is Malika the prophet is coming to the people of God, much like some pastors are coming to the people of God now in the saying, Hey, listen, you're operating in selfishness, and you're operating in corruption, and you're operating in impurity. But instead of submitting a surrendering and honoring God with our lives, what we're doing is we're pushing back and we're making excuses. Well, it's okay for everybody else. But it's not okay for me, because you don't know how busy I am. You don't know how hard I work. You don't know how much money I have? Or don't have. You don't know what my spouse did or didn't do. And we're making excuses. And that's where we find ourselves in this portion of Scripture. It's interesting to me that Malikai addressed these issues within the people of God, and the people of God pushed back and they didn't respond and repentance. And so to close out the book, chapter four talks about the day of coming judgment. But then the voice of God was silent for 400 years until Jesus came. And the Spirit of God was awakened again and people. And he began to speak through the prophets and began to speak through the people he began to speak to the Spirit of God.
Who is how, who was who?
Who is how we now hear the voice of God, through the Holy Spirit. So let's take a look at this scripture. Matthew Malikai. Sorry, chapter number four, verse six, his preaching will turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and the hearts of children to the fathers, otherwise, they'll come and strike the land with a curse. Wait, Pastor Matt, didn't you tell us that God doesn't curse his people that he only blesses His people? Yes, that's true. But the entirety of this chapter four again, and I'll read it here in just a minute. So you can trust me on this. Malika is addressing a coming day of judgment. It's a day where you and I will stand before the Lord and give account for the way we believed and what we chose to do. And on that day, have we not turned our hearts to Jesus? Have we not allowed the hardness of our heart to soften and come into relationship with Jesus? We will live eternally in that place of curse, or what it means is disconnection and destruction. But that's not what God wants for us. What he wants is for us to experience His Spirit so that our hearts soften, and they turn to the Father. And then we have influence in others, where their hearts will turn to the Father, as well. y'all believe that? Just in case you don't, let's read it. The Lord of Heaven's army says the Day of Judgment is coming. And some of us might think, dada, but it's a good day, everybody, because God set us up through His Son, Jesus Christ, to be able to stand purely before God on that day, so that we won't be disconnected. It's coming like a burning furnace. And on that day, the arrogant. The opposite of the humble was one of the choices that God can bless humility, right. And the wicked was one of the choices that God can bless Holiness was the opposite of holiness, wickedness, Shazam, God is setting us up to bless our lives. They'll be burned up like stroke is so roots, branches and all but for you who fear my name, humility, the son of righteousness will rise with healing in His wings and you'll go free leaping. With joy, like calves out to pasture. You're seeing little calves led out to pasture. Like just excited, excited, just frolicking through. I want to know what happened to me this morning. I was pacing and praying through my house, praying for you this morning. And I saw this little animal frolicking up in front up to my house, and I was like, What is this animal walk to our window? And it was a cat everybody. And I gotta be honest with you. It was cute. Can we cut that out of the message? Can we cut that other message? Anyway, if frolicked up and and I thought I'm just going to open the door and see what it does so open the door next Yeah took off. Wise decision anyway. Under some y'all like your cat videos. But some of us think those cat videos where they let them out to pasture and just frolicking. And that's that's how God sees us. Like the joy that is yours. That's what he wants to bring to you. On that day, I will act and you will cheer it upon the wicked as if they were dust under your feet. I love this. Because some of y'all are weirded out that I just talked about cats and calves, okay, you're like, I'm a man, I'm a man. Well, the next verse speaks to your manliness, and you will tread upon the wicked, you will tread upon your enemy, as if they were dust on the sole of your shoe. Hallelujah. Everybody. Come on, man. That's a good day. Some of you are like, Oh, I can't really live for God, because it's not quite manly enough for me. How much more manly does it get? Then you're able to curve stop the enemy of your soul. I'm not talking about just anybody. I'm not talking about inciting violence. I'm talking about stepping up in the Spirit and be the man that you're called to be. That's what I'm talking about. Don't come at me talking about Oh, Pastor Matt is condoning violence. No, he's not. No, he's not. But some of us are getting our tails with because we do not take the spiritual authority that God has given us. Making the wicked dust under our feet, says the Lord of Heaven's Armies, remember to obey the law of Moses, my servant, we're not doing away with the law of Moses, Jesus came to fulfill the Law of Moses, we are still accountable for the old law, we are still responsible for the old law. However, we do not make ourselves blessed or holy. It's the Spirit of God that does it, he fulfills the law. And so we can live in the fullness of the law through the person of Jesus Christ. Look, I'm sending you, the prophet Elijah, before the great and dreadful day of the Lord arrives. And here's what some people believe. Some people believe that, as the scriptures say that, Elijah will come and he'll preach in person and Moses to come and preach in person. And there are still some others that say, You know what, it's the Spirit of God that will rise up in you, and we are all prophets, to the generations. And then there are others that believe maybe it's a little bit of both. And I gotta be honest with you, I tend to lean toward the ladder, it's a little bit of both. I don't believe that God can't do something supernatural. I believe if he wants to bring Elijah back and have him preach, he can do that Moses preach, if he wants to do he can do that. I'm not gonna say God, you can't do that. I'm not going to limit God. But I'm also not going to let myself off the hook and say, there's no responsibility in me through the person of Jesus and the power of the cross. And the person of the Holy Spirit, there's responsibility for me to I cannot just wait until something supernatural takes place. Maybe God wants to do the supernatural through me. Maybe he wants to do it through you. Which I think is exciting. I believe that this is the way that God wants to bless us. With a supernatural ability to preach, teach, live and share the good news of Jesus Christ in a way that not only changes our life and our world, but the lives in the world of those around us in a way that will turn heart hearts back to the heart of God. I believe that there can be a prophetic edge in the way that we preach and the way that we teach and the way that we live in the way that we work in the way that we play. today. I believe that it's this edge that will draw people who are far close, I believe that it's this edge that will take the heart heart and break it so that it's soft and turns back to the heart of God. I believe that it's this edge that creates us sons and daughters. And can I tell you something so you don't get weirded out prophetic simply means saying what God's saying after you hear what he's saying. And then ministering in it and ministering it in a way that helps people understand and see God turn our hearts back to God. It doesn't necessarily mean that you're a profit. Okay? Some people might go on your profit, your profit, your profit, your buy, everybody's a profit. Nice, not the case, everybody. You might have a prophetic spirit on the inside of you, according to the Spirit of God, but it doesn't necessarily make you a prophet. It just means you're hearing what God's saying and you're saying what God's saying in a way that it inspires other people. And it's from that place that verse six continues, it says his preaching, some say his preaching. Remember, it's not necessarily the preaching of alive Sure, is the preaching of the person who is inspired by the Spirit of God, their preaching, and it's not just the guy with the microphone, it might be the guy with the business, it might be the guy that's coaching the team, I might be the captain of the team. It doesn't necessarily mean you're leaving from a stage it means that you're leading from the stage of your life, wherever that may be. God has gifted you to do something significant and and through the hearts and lives of people. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, preaching about the goodness of God that leads people to repentance. How many of y'all know that if you want to see people come close to God, it's probably a bad idea to be mean to him. I mean, like, and I'm not against, you know, well, I guess I have kind of against preaching this way. But the Bible says it is the goodness of God that leads people to repentance. It's not me telling you, you're hell bound. It's not me telling you you're a dirty rotten scoundrel, you already know that. You know what I'm saying? I already know that. I already know that apart from Jesus, there's no hope for me. There's nobody in the world that is a worst critic of me than me. So why on earth would I use my platform when I use my preaching what I use my opportunity to make you feel more guilt.
The Bible says the Spirit of God doesn't condemn it. He convicts. And he brings us back to the heart of the Father, where we may have become hard hearted because somebody preached the gospel to us in a way that turned us off, or we put up a wall. What about starting to hear about the goodness of God, that God doesn't want you to live your life in a curse. God wants you to live your life in a blessing. But the only way to do that is to learn to honor the Father and lead people to a place where they can honor the Father. Because when you preach like that everybody's spirit Inspire. It will turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and turn the hearts of children to their fathers. And when that happens, there will no longer be a curse, there will only be a blessing.
That's good news, everybody. I got a few thoughts on what it looks like to live our lives in a way of honor. That introduces this type of preaching to the masses. I don't know about you, but I think that this is the type of preaching that people should experience. The type of preaching that is an invitation for you to make a decision. I want that God I want that God. I know the separated from him. I'm gonna type I'm in a tough spot. But man, I want that God, I want to experience that God. I believe that's the type of preaching that we're supposed to move forward in. And so here are a few. Here's a portion of Scripture that I just want to encourage you with from Ephesians chapter number six on this Father's Day, you're ready for it. Look at your neighbor and say I'm ready for it. Look at your other neighbor and say I don't know if you're ready for children so say Children, obey your parents because you belong to the Lord all the parents said Amen. Say it like you mean it. For this is the right thing to do some say, Amen. Honor your father and your mothers and all the moms and dads said Amen. This is the first commandment with a promise if you honor your father and mother, things will go well for you and you'll have a long life here on Earth. Let's say Shazam. I want to have a long life. Everybody says but I don't know if I like my mom.
Fathers do not provoke your children to anger by the way that you treat them rather bring them up with discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord fathers, mothers, parents, leaders, coaches, business leaders, owners, executives. Anybody that finds themselves in a position of leadership on any level, listen to my voice, this is for you. There are choices that we need to make to lead the way to lead Lead the way can I encourage you, you've got what it takes. If God has given you a position of leadership, if you are a mother, God's given you a position of leadership, if your father God's given you a position of leadership, if you lead in any capacity, God has gifted you to lead in that place, don't say, I'm less than I am, embrace the opportunity, embrace the possibility and begin to lead in the right way, not the wrong way. It is an honor to lead. And the way that we embrace this honor is first by honoring God. But it's also about honoring ourselves. And it's honoring those who are following our lead as well. Were called to live on our lives. And that's what the prophet Malika was talking about. Swear the Apostle Paul is writing to the church at Ephesus said, Hey, listen, there's a opportunity for you to instill infuse a culture of honor, so that heart hearts can be turned toward the father. But I don't know about you, culturally, the vast majority of us. Most of us have lived without fathers present. Or maybe those of us who live with fathers present we lived with fathers who were neglectful, maybe abusive.
Statistics prove
that the majority of fathers don't even know how to father. Because just the fact that you make a baby doesn't make you a father. And just the fact that you're in a position to lead doesn't make you a leader. And so what is the option, the option is honor, we got to honor God so that we can go what God's called us to go, we've got to implement three practices that will honor God and courage, a culture of honor in our family, business, workplace or team settings. And here's the first of the three that Paul encourages us with, he says, Don't provoke, don't provoke, don't provoke. And a lot of us will read that don't provoke. So we don't do anything. Because we don't want to do the wrong thing. No, no, what you got to do is the right thing, and you've got to encourage, well, we don't want to provoke them to anger. So we don't do anything, but then you also don't encourage them in the behavior that you're hoping to see from them. And the reality is, many of us don't encourage that way. Because we've never been encouraged that way. And we feel as though we're working from a deficit, which many of us are, but can I tell you your deficit is no longer your excuse? Your deficit is no longer your excuse. That was okay until now. But now you're accountable for what you know. And now it's yours to know, I gotta go find out how to lead. Because God put me in this position as a father as a husband, God put me in a position as a pastor or a business leader, as a teammate, a captain or whatever, God put me in this position. And as God put me in this position, I've never seen anybody do it, right. So I need to find some people who have done it right. And I need to begin to ask them questions. So that I can encourage the right way. It's no longer an excuse to not do for others just because somebody didn't do for you. Imagine my kids showing up. Say, sorry, brother. Nobody did this for me. So you're on your own. say to my wife, sorry, I never saw this. I never saw this done. Well, I don't know what to do. So I don't do anything. Can I tell you what the conversation was? Often, hey, can you give us grace? We've never done this before. But we're finding out how can you give me grace? I've never been a husband before. But I'm gonna find out how to do this. Right. And so we found a marriage mentors, people who we thought, man, their marriage, I want to get something from their marriage. And I said, Hey, can we buy your coffee? Can we get your coke? Can we can we sit down with you and ask you some questions? How are you doing this right with parents? Hey, how are you doing this right now that we're parenting in a new season? How are you doing this? Right? Because me not having somebody to lead me is not an excuse for me to look at my kids and say sorry, y'all. Because then I'm asking them to figure out what I should have figured out as their father. And I think that's how we really honor God. We really honor God by stepping up and taking responsibility of the leadership that He's given us. Where are you leading in the season? And you're saying sorry, y'all Who Could you call? Who could you do? And you might not know them. But what if you reached out to them and say, Hey, man, I love the way that you're leaving this business? Could you? Could I ask you some questions? Can you? Can we set up a 30 minute phone call and ask you some questions? How are you doing this? We've got to be willing to humble ourselves in honor of God, so that we can honor the position he's placed us in and lead the way. Does that make sense? Everybody, don't provoke, encourage, don't provoke encouraged in the way that you encouraged by practicing. Practicing making it right. The second thing is this is discipline often, so you don't provoke. But you discipline, often. So not only do you encourage the way to go, you go the way yourself. See, many of us don't discipline our kids, we don't bring correction to people we work with or the team that we're leading, or whatever the case may be. Because the Bible says that it's the righteous that are as bold as lions. And when we're asking or demanding, or expecting somebody to do something we've never been willing to do. That we've only got so much ground to stand on. How can I possibly encourage my kids in purity? If I'm not operating in purity? How can I possibly operate and encourage my family in financial wisdom? If I'm not operating in financial wisdom? We don't discipline because we're not discipline ourselves. Because when God disciplines us, we push back and say, well, well, how am I? Not being honest? How am I robbing from you? And then we're upset with our kids. But we can't do anything about it. Because we got no ground to stand on. We haven't discipline ourselves. Discipline show the way. Show the way. Here's the question that I think we should all ask ourselves, as parents, as leaders, teammates, whatever the case may be a question we should all ask ourselves, Am I asking? Am I encouraging something that I've been willing to do. And if it's not, you might not be doing it in this season. But if it's not something that you were willing to do at some point, then you probably should reconcile that in your heart first, so that you can discipline and show the way to your kids, which is point number three, instruct, always instruct OS. So we want to encourage the way by not provoking and encouraging, we want to go the way by offering discipline often bring in correction. But we want to instruct always, which is show the way. Show the way. And the only way to show the way is by giving direction. And I know it's super unpopular to do this, especially in parenting, because from the time kids can walk and talk, we've been convinced by culture that we should just let them parent themselves.
Well, the little Johnny doesn't want to do it. So we're not going to instruct or give direction to Little Johnny, little Johnny is, can tell you a little Johnny, little Johnny is going to run all over you for your whole life. And then little Johnny is going to run all over his wife for her whole life for as long as she'll stay. You're not doing anybody any favors by not bringing instruction. But I understand. I understand it's hard to give instruction when instruction was never given to you. But at some point, you got to step up. You got to say the cycle breaks now. It's done here. Can I tell you something? If your two year old refuses to listen to you, they're going to refuse to listen to God when they're 12. Or when they're 22. The rule in our house was always listened to first time, always.
Why? Not?
Because I needed them to listen to me. But they needed to listen to me. So that when God began to speak, they would listen. If they can't listen to a parent that is looking them in their face saying No ma'am. No, sir. That how on earth are they going to listen to a God that they can't say? Come on moms, dads. Come on parents. Come on teachers. Come on business leaders. We're not doing anybody any favors by getting frustrated with them. We can't continue to blame them. This is our deficit. We've got to commit to training them. I gotta commit to training my children. I got to commit to training my staff. I got to commit to training the people that are doing life with me. And if I don't have what it takes to to Train them. I've got to go learn from somebody else so that I can train them. It's no longer an excuse for me to operate and I can't be frustrated. I've got to learn. And God has given us the ability to learn. And man what an honor it is to learn what an honor it is to grow. Some of you might be in a season of life like me. Kids are almost out of the house. Is it too late? No, it's not too late. Start now. Well, my kids are grown. They're out of the house. It's too late. No, it's not too late. Start now. Start now. Start now. Ask God what it would be appropriate for you in the season your grandparent I don't know. It'd be a grandparent, call a grandparent who you who you observe and you admire and say can I ask you? You know, a few questions. Can I buy your coffee? I've seen you with your grandkids you you're always your grandkids are always at your house. I love that. I wish I wish my grandkids were at my house. Can I ask you some questions? You see somebody that you admire, you can I can ask you some questions and let him speak any. I think that honors God. And as we honor God, we're honoring ourselves and we can honor those around us to grow and to move forward. Honor is an area that God will bless.
Thanks again for listening to today's message. For more information on all that God's doing at Mercy city, or to share how the message has impacted your life. Visit us online at Mercy City DOT church or on social media.