Be Wise: Choose Honour | Living in Alignment With God’s Order

Honour is more than good behaviour; it is spiritual wisdom. In this episode, we reflect on how honour shapes our speech, our response to authority, our treatment of people who cannot reward us, our service, and the way we carry our gifts. With Scriptures including Ephesians 4:29, Romans 13:1–2, Luke 14:12–14, Colossians 3:23–24, and Romans 12:3–8, this message calls us to live in alignment with God’s order before recognition ever comes from men.

Transcript

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It is the wisdom of living in alignment with God's order before recognition ever comes from man. Good morning and welcome to this expression of igniting your day. This morning, we are declaring I choose honor. There are many ways people can choose to live their lives. Some live by ambition, always chasing the next level. Some live by comparison, measuring their worth by what others have or what others have achieved. Some live by convenience, doing only what feels easy or comfortable. Some live by recognition, making decisions based on who will notice, applaud, or reward them. But as believers, we are called to live by higher order. We are not just called to live successfully, we are called to live honorably. Honor is one of the marks of a life that understands God's ways. It shapes our speech, our attitude, our relationships, our service, our response to authority, and even the way we carry the gifts and opportunities God has entrusted to us. Honor is not only seen when people are watching. In fact, the true test of honor often comes when there is no applause, no reward, no recognition, and no immediate advantage. Honor is revealed in how we speak, when we are offended. Honor is revealed in how we serve, when we are unseen. Honor is revealed in how we respond, when we are misunderstood. Honor is seen in how we wait when God has not yet opened the next door. The world often teaches people to demand recognition before they show respect, to prove themselves before they serve, or to withdraw their commitment when they feel overlooked. But the kingdom of God teaches a different wisdom. Honor begins with recognizing God's order and choosing to align with it before men ever celebrate us. This is why honor is more than good behavior. Honor is spiritual wisdom. It is the wisdom of living in alignment with God's order before recognition ever comes from men. When a person walks in honor, they are not merely trying to impress people, they are living with the awareness that God sees, God weighs, God remembers, and God rewards. So this morning we speak honor into our lives, especially this month of July and beyond. I live a life of honor. I do not know how January to June has been for you. I do not know what your assessment of the past six months of the year is, but it is time to apply the wisdom of honor. Honor is the wisdom of living in alignment with God's order before recognition ever comes from men to you. I do not know what God's lifting strategy for you is, but I am sure that before lifting comes, you must learn honor. If you do not learn honor, you may begin to call for men's respect while living in misalignment with God. If you do not learn honor, you may be demanding attention when you are not doing anything significant. So we declare this morning that in this month of July and beyond, honor surrounds us. The atmosphere around us is filled with honor. When people come around us, they see honor. The atmosphere in our homes is filled with honor. In every assignment we do at work, honor is seen in the name of Jesus. My dear friends, you have a new opportunity to recreate the atmosphere around you. Why don't you declare this? Honor this July and beyond. I honor all men around me. I see them the way God sees them. I honor the women around me. I see them the way God sees them. I honor the children around me. I relate with them, bearing in mind that they are precious before God. I choose honor in the name of Jesus. Friends, honor shows in how you speak. Yes, honor shows in how you speak. Honor shows in your choice of words, honor shows in the quality of terms you use, even when talking about simple matters. Ephesians chapter 4, verse 29 says, Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. Friends, let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth. Let what comes from your mouth be useful in edification. Let your words minister grace to everyone that hears you. Colossians chapter 4, verse 6 also says, Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man. That means honor is not only about what you say, it is also about how you answer. It is about the spirit, the tone, and the weight carried by your words. So declare this morning that according to Ephesians 4.29, that your words are useful for edification. When I speak to people, they notice a shift. When I speak to people, something comes from my mouth that is capable of lifting them. When I speak to people, they are lifted. My words heal. Everywhere I go, my words heal. No matter how pained someone is, no matter how beaten down someone is, let every syllable that proceeds out of my mouth bring healing. Jesus said in John 6.63 that the words he speaks are spirit and life. If Jesus lives in me and gives me what to say, then the words I speak should also carry spirit and life. Why don't you declare that in this month of July and beyond, your words impart grace to others? Your words impart grace to others. Your word imparts grace to others in the name of Jesus. Friends, honor does not just show in how you speak, honor shows in how you respond to authority. Yes, honor is seen in the quality of your words, the kind of your conversations you engage in, and also in your response to authority. Romans chapter 13, verse 1 to 2 says, Let every soul be subject to higher powers, for there is no power but of God. The powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God, and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. My dear friends, I don't know the circles in which you function. I do not know how you live your life daily, but declare this morning that you do not resist the ordinance of God. Whether it is coming through an authority or even through a subordinate, you do not refuse or resist the ordinance of God. Declare that the ordinance of God gets full and free expression through you anywhere you find yourself. You will not reject the ordinance of God. You will not refuse the ordinance of God. If any authority is conveying the ordinance of God, you will be seen as a promoter of the ordinance of God in the name of Jesus. Proverbs chapter 12, chapter 25, rather, verse 13 says, As the cold of snow in the time of harvest, so is a faithful messenger to them that send him, for he refresheth the soul of his masters. The first thing here is faithfulness. A faithful messenger refreshes the soul of those who send him. So I declare this morning that I am a faithful steward. No matter what is committed into my hands, I handle it faithfully. I handle it faithfully. The Bible then says the faithful messengers refresh the soul of his masters. So I declare, I refresh the soul of my masters. The memory of me will always bring them joy. The thought of me will always bring them joy. No matter what I choose, no matter where I choose to serve, wow, my image, whenever it comes to their mind, their emotion changes for joy. Yes, joy comes to their heart whenever they remember me in the name of Jesus. My dear friends, honor also shows in how you treat people who cannot reward you. Honor does not just show in how you speak, honor does not just show in how you respond to authority, honor also shows in how you treat people who cannot reward you. In this life, there are people who have what it takes to reward you when you do certain things, but there are also people whose reward is not within their capacity. Ah, yes, there are people whose reward is not within their capacity. What you do for them may be above their pay grade, they cannot reward you. When you meet such people, when you serve such people, when you treat such people, when you respond to such people, honor shows in how you handle them. Luke chapter 14, verse 12 to 14 says, Then said he also to him that bade him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy neighbors, lest they also bid thee again, and a recompense be made thee. But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maid, the lame, the blind, and thou shalt be blessed, for they cannot recompense thee, for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just. Friends, this passage reminds us of a kingdom attitude. God makes his Son to shine, to rise rather, on both the good and the bad. Luke chapter 6, verse 36 says, Be ye therefore merciful, as your father is merciful. So pray for yourself this morning. I am not selective, I am like my father. I am good to all. I offer my best. I offer my best to all. I do not serve, I do not reserve my best only for those who can reward me. There are those who can pay me back, but there are also those who do not have what it takes to pay me back, even if they desire to do so. Yes, declare this morning that in this month of July and beyond, honor shows in the way you treat those who cannot pay you back. Come rain, come shine, I am offering my best. Come rain, come shine, I am offering my best to anyone who is before me. Friends, this is important because while this may sound religious, there is also something about personal development that we must learn from this charge. Honor shows in how you treat people who cannot reward you. Many times people are energetic before those who can pay them back. They are full of life before those who can reward them. But when they stand before people who do not have what it takes to pay for their services, they suddenly become tired. While that may look like conservation of energy or conservation of resources for profit, it may also reveal inconsistency. It may mean that you are not a consistent person. It may mean that people cannot come to you and meet the same quality you have advertised about yourself. It means that the idea of excellence you have presented is not always reliable. Why don't you pray this morning that you are a consistent person? Whether someone can pay you back or not, that you always be a light shining brightly and shining with intensity. Galatians chapter 6, verse 9. It says, And let us not be weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap if we faint not. Declare this this morning that you will not be willing in well-doing, whether people have what it takes to pay or not, that you continue to shine intensely. When you are before those who cannot pay you, it may look as if you are trying to maximize profit by holding back, but it may also mean you are inconsistent. So declare, I am consistent, I am consistent in the name of Jesus. Friends, honor also shows in the way you serve. Honor does not just show in how you speak, honor does not just show in how you respond to authority, honor does not just show in how you treat people who cannot reward you, honor shows in how you serve. Colossians chapter 3, verse 23 to 24 says, And whoso whatsoever ye do, do it hurtily as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that the Lord, knowing that of the Lord shall ye receive the reward of inheritance, for ye serve the Lord Christ. Whatever you do, do it hurtily as unto the Lord and not unto men. A friend once made a statement close to me. He said, How will you prepare for an exam if you know that it is the all-knowing God who will mark your script? That question has weight. How would you serve if you remembered that God is the one who sees the work? How would you prepare if you knew the all-knowing God will mark the script? So I charge you this morning: whatever you do, do it heartily unto the Lord and not unto men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of inheritance, for you serve the Lord Christ. Pray this morning. I will not just be consistent in my engagements, I will be thorough. I will not just be consistent, I will be intense. I give my assignment all that it requires. I do it as if there is no more opportunity tomorrow. Declare this morning that you are not just consistent, you are intense. Declare that you do all things as unto the Lord. Hallelujah. Friends, honor shows in how you carry your gifts. Yes, honor shows in how you carry your gifts. Let me read Romans chapter 12, verse 3 to 8 to you. The Bible says, For I say through the grace given to me to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function. So we being many are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them. If prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith, or ministry, let us use it in our ministry. He who teaches in teaching, he who exalts in exhortation, he who gives with liberality, he who leads with diligence, he who shows mercy with cheerfulness. Honor shows in how you carry your gifts, friends. To carry this message into prayer, let's consider Ephesians chapter 4, verse 1, where Apostle Paul urges believers to walk worthy of the calling with which they have been called. The message is simple. Live a life that is worthy of your calling. There is a quality of life your calling requires. There is a standard of life your assignment requires. Live a life worthy of your calling. Why don't you declare this morning that everywhere you go, you live a life that is worthy of your calling? In this month of July and beyond, declare that you live a life that is worthy of the designations the Lord has given you. You live a life that is worthy of the assignments the Lord has given you. Nothing in the quality of life you live will pollute the assignment God has given you in the name of Jesus. Nothing in the quality of life I live will pollute the assignment God has given me in the name of Jesus. I choose to live a life that promotes the calling I carry in the name of Jesus. So, my dear friends, I encourage you this morning, choose honor. Be wise, choose honor. Honor is the wisdom of living in alignment with God's order before recognition ever comes from men to you. I am wishing you this morning an amazing day ahead, friends. God bless you,