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Hi, my name is Michelle Steele. Pastor Phillip and I want to thank you for listening to this message from Life of Faith Search. We have more resources available to help you build your faith and bring your world by the Word of God. From our website, lifeofffaith.net, you can connect to our YouTube channel. Watch the live stream feed from our church services. Access books and downloads in our web store and discover more about Life of Faith Church. Producing life city, state, nation, and world. Visit lifeoffaith.net today.

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Let's go over today to Psalm chapter 115. And I want to continue looking at this that we've been uh dealing with the door to more. But even more specifically, we've been looking at this. We taught on it some Wednesday night. The honor that comes from God alone. The honor that comes from God alone. Hallelujah. More, and we've talked about this, and you can go to the YouTube channel or wherever and catch up on all of them if you haven't seen them or if you haven't been here. But more is not just increase. Especially it's not just financial increase. You know, when the Lord said to us, April is the door to more, and he said, the door's cracked open right now. But he said, in April it'll be flung wide open, and I believe it was, and I believe it's still open. But the Lord began to deal with me almost immediately. That's not just finances, that's not just more money, that's not just increase in natural things. And then he reminded me of something how back in 2012 Pastor Caldwell taught for 11 weeks on being exposed to a higher standard. And he dealt with different things in that series. How the anointing was a higher standard, the gospel of the kingdom was a higher standard, these different things. And the Lord said to me one day, he said, The door to more is exposure to a higher standard. It's exposure to a higher standard. Hallelujah. So it's not just casual increase, it requires alignment with God's standard. And we'll deal with one of those today. But when when we think about standards, of course, lots of things uh uh pop into people's minds. But when our desire aligns with God's standard, then that's when more begins to flow. Hallelujah. More requires a higher standard. There has to be something higher, right? It's it's I remember uh him teaching in that series, and he made the statement, he said there is divine healing, but there's divine health. Right? And and the Holy Spirit woke him up that day and and was talking to him about vitamins, of all things, vitamins. And the Holy Spirit said to him, He said, You take vitamins to help you be healthy. He said, but there's vitamins, and then there's a higher standard. Divine health is a higher standard. And so whatever I'm believing for more of, it's exposure to a higher standard. So I can be exposed to a higher standard in my spiritual life, my financial life, uh, the life in my health and my healing, in my family, in my ministry, in a church. I can be exposed to a higher standard. What's the purpose? What's the reason for the existence of a church? What's the reason for the existence of a ministry? If I'm not hitting that higher standard, it's possible for me to exist in a channel and in an area where I'm not exposing myself to more. Hallelujah. Amen. Say that out loud. I want the higher standard. Glory to God. So Psalm 115, verse 14, which is a very familiar verse, but it says, the Lord will increase you more and more, you and your children. And so we we've been defining more, which is the definition is increase, multiplication, or expansion. But here's the thing: that's that's increase, multiplication, and expansion of what you already have. See, if you don't have a thing, it's impossible to give you more of it. I can give you some of it, but I can't give you more of it. If you hand me an empty glass that's never had anything in it, and you say, or a cup, and you say, give me some more coffee, well, you mean more? I'll give you some coffee, but I can't give you more because you haven't had any. So more is more of what God has already done. However, whatever has been flowing in your life, you can expect more of it. Because I'm coming to a higher standard of that thing. Hallelujah. Whatever it is, wherever, wherever you're believing, whatever it is, you're coming to a higher standard. And God's helping us see how do I reach that higher standard? You know, as a local church, we can have services or we can have services the way God wants them. We can come and we can gather, or we can come and gather and receive what God wants us to receive. I can study my word in the morning just out of devotion and just out of habit, or I can study the word and look at it from a higher standard and receive every day what God wants me to see and to know and to grasp. Amen. Because it's a higher standard. When you quit pushing for the higher standard, you miss out on the more. How much more can God do if people are saying, I want the higher standard? I want the more that God has for me in my life. Hallelujah. Say out loud, I want the higher standard. Now, God adds to what he's already done. Because more, as we've said, is often another level of what we've already seen. You know, I hear people and they'll be preaching and teaching, and they'll say, God is doing a new thing. Why, he sure isn't. He's just doing more of what he's always done. Because the things of God never get old. Hallelujah. People may move away from them. People may move away from certain things, but it's not because God's doing something new. Hallelujah. You know, wherever you came from, whatever uh if you if you came out of a denomination that didn't believe in the infilling of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in other tongues, the moment you were exposed to that, that was new to you. But it was not new. It had happened thousands of years ago. He had prophesied it even more years back than that. He said, I'll speak to them. And they'll and and they'll begin to pray and to praise me with stammering lips and unknown tongues. Right? He prophesied that thousands of years before Jesus was ever born on the earth. So when you got filled with the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in other tongues, it was not anything new. It was just more of the God you already had. Oh, hallelujah! You know, every wave that comes in from the ocean, it's not a new wave. You see this wave, now here comes another new wave. It's not a new wave, it's the same wave. Same ocean, same water, same everything. Hallelujah. We might get further light, we might expose ourselves to a higher standard. Listen, there is no new revelation in this word. It's just expanded revelation. It might be new to you, but it's not new. You've just exposed yourself to a higher standard. When you found out that God would save you and deliver you and forgive your sins, wasn't that freeing? Wasn't that a beautiful day? But then you started seeing some other things. He wants to fill me with the Holy Spirit. He wants me to have communion with him. He wants to heal my body. He wants to bless my finances. He wants to revolutionize my life. You weren't, listen, that wasn't something new in God. That was something that was there that you had not yet exposed yourself to. Everything began to turn around. Oh, hallelujah. The higher standard. God is the source of increase. And that word increase means to do again, to do more, or to get more. So what does that mean? What God has done before, he'll do again. But what will he do? In a greater measure. In a greater measure. Hallelujah. When when uh if if if you remember in Haggai, when the people went back, remember the express purpose that they went back to Jerusalem, to Israel, was to rebuild the temple. And 14 years later, they still haven't got around to it. And so God shows up to them in chapter 1 of Haggai, and he says, Here's the problem. You need to consider your ways. You're making sure that your house is taken care of, but my house lies waste. Now it's not what I'm preaching on, right? But he said, here's the problem. He said, he said, you got you're you're making money and you're putting it in bags with holes in it. He said, you you you you go out and you put much seed in the field and you get little out. You need a lot and you get little. He said, here's the problem. You need to consider your ways. He said, when you consider your ways and you start putting the things of God, you start exposing yourself to a higher standard. You start getting the honor that comes only from God. In Malachi, when he said this, he said, if I'm a father, where's my honor? If I'm a father, where's my honor? He said, and you say, Where have we dishonored you? He said, in your tithes and your offerings. And then what did he say? You bring all of that into the storehouse and what happened. I'll open the windows of heaven, rebuke the devourer. You won't, right? You won't have, you won't have uh vines casting their fruit before the time. What is that? The honor that only comes from God. You can expose yourself to every financial concept that there is. But when you fail to go after the honor that comes only from God, those things will be fleeting. They will be up to the to the the ups and downs of the world. But when you are seeking the honor that comes from God only, there's a stability there, there's a sureness, there's a steadfastness. Because I'm after this higher standard. Amen. Success, I quote my pastor, he said, when you want what God wants, for the same reason God wants it, you'll be successful. So success then is what? Wanting what God wants for the reason he wants it. Say it out loud. I want what God wants for the reason he wants it. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Remember the man, Pastor told the story about the man that came to him, wanted to meet with him, preacher, and he he met with him, and the man said this he said, uh, I'm gonna start a church here in Little Rock. It's gonna be the biggest church in Little Rock, gonna be bigger than anybody's church, bigger than yours, bigger than everybody's. You remember what Pastor said? Go for it. Okay. But what do you get from that statement that man made? What's the first thing you see? What's he after? Big church. Bigger than everybody else's. Is he after the honor that comes only from God? No, in his mind, honor is I got a big church. I got this many people. You know, when that starts being the reason, you need to go get you some jugs of water and go fast and pray for a month and get that sin out of your heart. Because I'm just after what people can see. Amen. He said that went on for about a year, and then the man came back to him and said, I'm leaving that church, going somewhere else, starting another church. Remember what pastor said? You can't. He said, Well, why can't I? It's my church, I can do whatever I want. He said, Well, number one, it's not your church, it's God's church, it's Jesus' church. And number two, what about the people? Man didn't care about the people, didn't care about it being Jesus' church. Oh, hallelujah. You see what I'm saying? He didn't want the honor that came from God only. This is important. Why? Because that's the door to more. You succeed in everything that you're doing when you only want the honor that comes from God. I'm not doing what I'm doing for any other reason except the honor that comes from God. And we're gonna read it in just a minute. He said, Those things you do in private, I will reward openly. But I you have to seek the honor that comes from God only. Oh, hallelujah! A church pursuing God's honor will succeed in its assignment. A church pursuing God's honor will succeed in its assignment. I don't know what every other church is doing in the city. That's not my business. My business is to do what God told me to do and do it the way God told me to do it. Amen. Paul Yong Yi Cho, who built the largest church in the world, is still the largest church in the world. Of course, he's in heaven today. Amen. And God began to tell him what to do. And at the foundation, at the core of that was prayer. Intercessory prayer. Intercessory prayer was so important to him that he built prayer mountain and had intercessory prayer going 24 hours a day. Till the day he died, he was at his church at four o'clock in the morning seeking God, praying. I read an account with a minister that got in an elevator at a conference where he was the main speaker. Uh Young E. Cho was the main speaker. And he said, I was to help him. And he said, I'm a pastor. I'm in the elevator with the man that started the largest church in the world. He said, What do you think I asked him? The same thing I would have asked him. How did you build the largest church in the world? He said, I pray, I hear from heaven, and I do what heaven says. Here's what I'm trying to say. We're not concerned about what they're doing over there or over there or over there or back here. What did God tell us to do? That's where the honor that comes from God only shows up. When you're doing what God told you to do. Hallelujah. You got to hear me. My sphere of influence is severely restricted by my own choosing. I don't ask everybody and their brother, what am I supposed to be doing? I rarely ask anybody, what am I supposed to be doing? I have a prayer closet where I can go and get on my face and ask God, what am I supposed to be doing? If I need instruction, if I need information, if I need wisdom, I've got people that I can go to. But I learned a long time ago, when you get all of the direction and the instruction from God, there's nobody but God that can get the glory, and nobody but God that can get the praise, and nobody but God that can get the honor. We want the honor that only comes from God. Amen. That's exposing yourself to a higher standard. Amen. The honor that comes from God has to be intentionally sought. I have to intentionally seek it. Amen. Look at Matthew chapter six. I believe I'm helping you today. Helping me. Matthew six. Actually, before you go there, let's go to John Chapter Five.

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John chapter five.

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And um notice what Jesus says here. John five, verse forty-three. Jesus says, I am come in my Father's name and you do not receive me. If another come in his own name, him you'll receive. Now, how can you believe? Meaning, how can you believe that I am the cho the sent one? How can you believe I'm the Messiah? How can you believe if I'm the Savior? When you receive honor of each other, and do not seek the honor that comes from God only. Well, what was the concept here? There were people there that would not believe in him because of what other religious leaders would say. And he said, So you can't believe because you're more concerned about what so-and-so thinks than what God thinks. You're more concerned with them giving you honor than you are the honor that comes only from God. That imprinted my spirit when he made that statement. He said, The honor that comes from God, notice, only. It only comes from God. Hallelujah. This is the higher standard. The honor that comes from God only. Hallelujah. And he said, you're keeping yourself exposed to this lower standard because you're you're not doing this, because this is the your concern is not the honor that comes from God only. Amen. So it has to be intentionally sought. Now, Matthew 6. And uh verse one. Notice this. He says, Take heed, pay attention, be on the guard, that you do not your alms before men to be seen of them. Otherwise you have no reward of your father which is in heaven. Therefore, when you do your alms, don't sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward. They have their reward. Now understand, this doesn't mean that Jesus is not saying nobody will ever see you give, nobody ever watched you give. I watched all y'all give today. Alright, I don't know what you gave, that's that's none of my business. But here's what he's saying He said they sound trumpets. Right? That was literal trumpets. They would have people blow trumpets before them as They came to give. Right? And he said, notice, he said, don't do that. Why? Because notice what he said. That's your reward. And he said, You have no reward of your father which is in heaven. Hallelujah. That becomes your full reward. When I was looking at this, the Greek says it this way. They have their receipt and the reward in full. So, in other words, when people gave them their honor and gave them their praise, that was all they get. They don't get the honor that comes who? Only from God. Hallelujah. And notice it says, that's it. You're paid in full. That's the reward you get. So people saying, look at them, look what they did, look what how great they are. That's their full payment. And he says, here's what you're missing out on: the honor that only comes from God. Right? Because there's things God cannot reward because the reward has already been given. It's already there. The receipt's already there. It's paid in full. Hallelujah. Listen, that's why one of the worst things that a person can do, that a believer can do, is to try to go around acting spiritual. Because when people start talking about how spiritual you are, that's your reward. That's the receipt. It's paid in full. That's what you get. I used to know a lady that would always point out those little rough spots on her knees. And remind you how much she prayed. You know what her reward was? Those rough spots. I never knew her to get a prayer answered. Right? She spent a lot of time on her knees for nothing. Why? Because her desire was for people to say, what a woman of prayer. What a person of prayer. What a prayer warrior. That's all she got. Amen. Now, if you got rough spots on your knees, there's nothing wrong with that. When she would fast, she'd be sure and tell everybody she was fasting. I've been fasting all day. Well, what does that mean exactly? Here's what it means. She got her reward. Every time somebody said, Oh, she's been fasting all day. Oh, God bless her. She's been fasting all day. She got her reward in full. In full. Amen. Hallelujah. Public praise became their full reward. Amen. So they've received their reward in full. In other words, nothing more can be expected from God. Because it's been paid. I have the receipt. That's it. The honor that comes from God affects things eternally. It will have an eternal effect on my life. And why? Because the reward will just keep going. See, more. Increase. As I'm doing it for God, the honor of God will just keep flowing. And you just walk in the honor of God. You just walk in the honor that comes from God only. I've heard people say, I just, I just I just wish I could preach to more people. Well, that's okay, but why? What's the purpose? What's the reason? Is it just to have more people in the seats? Or is it because you know what you're saying is changing people's lives and you want to point people to Jesus Christ and point them to the victory that's theirs in Christ and the power that's theirs in a spirit-filled life? Listen, it's not about numbers. It's not about who does what or who's where or who has what. It's about who's going after the honor that comes only from God. The greatest changes in my life were when I was pursuing God in ways that nobody ever saw. They never watched me, they never saw it. It was me and Jesus getting down to business wherever we were getting down to business at, and my life was changing. Hallelujah. This is important. Nothing more can be expected from God. Why? Man's honor is temporary. It's temporary. God's honor produces lasting eternal results. God's honor in your life produces eternal change. Forever change. The honor that comes only from God. Remember, your motivation, your motive determines your reward. In everything that you're doing, what's your motive? Why am I doing it? Amen. Why do you want me to build a church? Why do you want me to have a ministry? Why did you send me to Little Rock? What's the purpose? What's the reason? That's got to be my motive. Amen. This is important. Pastor was praying in Southern California. Ed Dufranes, basement bedroom. And he said, the Holy Spirit came in so strong he started crying, started weeping. And you remember what the Lord said to him? He said, I want you to go back to Little Rock, Arkansas. And I want you to raise up a church. And I want you to raise up a spiritual production center. And I want you to produce life, city, state, nation, and world. Right? And he said what I've heard many people say. He said, the first thought that came into my mind is that's where I'm from. That's that's my hometown. I mean, you know, nobody wants to go back to their hometown because everybody knows you. Amen. Why did God choose him? Why did God, he asked God. He said, I'm honored, I'm privileged, but why did you choose me? Because remember what God said? He said, You weren't my first choice, you were seventh. And he said, Well, if you if if if if if you don't mind me asking, you know, what place was I? And he said, Well, you were seventh. And he said, the Lord took him back and showed him all those people that fell. Six ministries that he had asked them to do the same thing and showed them where they got off. And and I will say this, it will suffice. In many of those ministries, the biggest problem was they no longer were seeking the honor that came from God only. God had to find somebody that was not moved by people's opinion of them, not moved by pride, not moved by arrogance, not moved by numbers, not moved by whatever it may have been. He had to find somebody that was only motivated by what the honor from God alone could bring. Amen. Do you see that? Listen, I don't need anybody to tell me I'm powerful. I don't need anybody to tell me I'm a good preacher. I don't need people to pat me on the back. Amen. I'm doing everything I'm doing, I'm doing for God. Amen. If the recognition and the praise from God isn't enough, then I'm in the wrong field. Are you following me? Now I know we're nice to people, and I mean, I do the same thing. Boy, that message blessed me. That's fine. I'm not saying don't do that. What I'm saying is when you get to the place where you're only moved by the honor that comes from God alone, everything else pales in comparison to it. When you don't care if people compliment you, you won't care if people say something ugly about you. If you don't care if people compliment you, then it won't bother you if they say something negative. Because we're after the honor. See, understand why does that negative thing bother me? Because look at look at the way they're talking to me. But you got the honor from God. Why does that matter? Amen. Oh, glory. Say out loud, I want the honor that comes from God only. Notice verse 5 of Matthew chapter 6. And when you pray, don't be as the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues in the corners of the streets that they may be seen amen. Truly I say to you, they have their reward. But when you pray, enter into your closet, shut the door, pray to your father which is in secret, and your father that sees in secret, what will he do? Reward you openly. Is that what he said? Over and over again in these verses, Jesus uses the word hypocrites. And I know that can be a real derogatory term, especially, you know, how you use it, you hypocrite. I mean, right? But here's what it means it's the Greek word hypocrites, and it means actor on a stage. A person that acts from behind a mask. It can mean pretender or actor. And so, in other words, in this context, what he's saying is they're out there in the marketplace and they're praying loud prayers and long prayers, but they're just acting. They're pretending. He said, if you really mean it, get alone with me. Right? I will never know how long anybody in here prays because I'm not asking. That's between you and God. Now, see, we're talking about more and the honor that comes from God only. How much more do I want? And what did he say? And your father sees what? He sees what? In private, and what will he do? Reward you how? Openly. So when people see the blessings of God on your life, it is evident that you're doing something privately that God can reward you openly for. When people see the blessings on a church, they can say those people are doing something that nobody is seeing, but the honor that comes from God only is on their ministry. Hallelujah. Amen. And he said, here's what the actors do. They pray to be seen. And what's the key there? That's their reward. They saw you praying. Amen. What's God's promise here? The Father sees in secret. And he rewards you openly. Amen. You know, I've heard wonderful messages, you know, about the quiet years and the years when nobody knew you. Uh-huh. That's when you were doing all those private, secret things that God could reward openly. Now don't get in the open reward season and forget that God did it. That's what you were after. You were after the honor that comes from God only. Amen. Hallelujah. I had a guy one time I was I was ministering at a conference. And uh he made the statement, he's a good friend of mine, and he said, you know, uh he would bring a group to our church, and he said, uh, you know, if if you go to Philip and Michelle's church, at that time we only had one. He said, it's full, it's packed out. He said, but it's not as large as you would think it was with the caliber of ministry that they have. And he said, I know they they minister on some bigger stages, and I've had people basically say, Well, how'd that make you feel that he said that about your church? Didn't make me feel anyway. I'm where God told me to be. I'm after the honor that comes from God alone. If if you lay now, understand how I'm saying this. If you're doing what God told you to do, the way God told you to do it, He'll reward that. You can't get into all these other things. When you when you go to when a pastor chases church growth seminars, this key to growth and that key to growth, and do this, little dab here and a little dab there, do this, do that, put this in operation, do this, do that. Then if growth comes, who gets the credit? Seemed to me I could take it because of all the changes I made. But when you're praying and you're seeking God, God tells you what you need to do. And you seek him privately, and he rewards you as only he can openly. Amen. Hallelujah. So his promise is what he sees in secret and he rewards openly. So the question then is why do I serve? Why do I give? Why do I want influence or opportunity? Hallelujah. I heard a minister tell a story one time. He had been invited to a uh a deal with a uh a bunch of politicians, and he was gonna go, and and and some of them were his friends, and some of them he knew, and and he was gonna go and he was looking forward to it. And the Lord asked him, he said, Why do you want to go to that? And he said, You know, I rehearsed that with the Lord. He said, Well, because you know, my friends and and and this, that, and the other. And he said, Then the Lord spoke to him and said, No, you want to go because you want to be seen. Because you like rubbing shoulders with the elite, you like being at the head table. Now, I know this man very, very well, very personal, and and is a very humble individual. But here's the thing: the Lord was checking something. I'm giving you these opportunities, but you need to keep in your mind the honor that goes. Why do you want God to prosper you? Do we want God to prosper us just so we can have a bigger house, a nicer car, more stuff? See, I've got to be checking these things. There's nothing wrong with a big house, nice car, more stuff. There's nothing wrong with that. That's God's plan. Ecclesiastes says that God's plan is to have good days and enjoy the rewards of your labor. You've you've come to this church long enough, you know we preach that. God wants you to have good things. But I've got to be checking. What why do I want that? Why am I going after that? Why is that such a big deal to me? Or did I just want the honor that comes from God only? That's why Paul wrote, and he said, you need to charge them that are rich in this world. And he said, one of the things to charge them is that they don't start assuming that gain is godliness. Because it's not. Amen. Am I helping you? When your private life pleases God, he reveals it publicly. That's the higher standard. So why do I serve to honor God? Why do I give? To honor God. Why do I want influence, prosperity? To honor God. Why do I want opportunity? To honor God. Hallelujah. Now, look at Matthew 6, you're right there, Matthew 6, verse 16. Now he's talked about praying, giving and praying. And now notice, moreover, when you fast, be not as the hypocrite of a sad countenance, for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear to men to fast. Truly I say to you, they have their reward. They have payment in full. But when you fast, anoint your head with oil, wash your face that you appear not unto men to fast. Now, now notice, he's not saying, don't tell anybody you're fasting. He said, Don't run around looking ugly and, you know, with a disfigured face, and you haven't combed your hair or shaved, or ladies, put on your makeup. Right? He said, all they gotta look at do is look at you and think, hmm, they're fasting. He said, if that's what you do, you have your reward. What did he say? He said, here's what you do: anoint your head, wash your face, clean up, act like nothing's going on. If somebody asks you if you're fasting, don't act spiritual and say, Well, I can't say that right there, you just said you were. Just look at him and say, No, I'm fasting. Yeah, but I'm not supposed to tell anybody. It's not what he said. He said, Don't run around looking all. Because, right? Because what's gonna happen? You're running around looking that way, somebody's gonna say, What's wrong? Why are you okay? Everything, well, yeah, I'm fasting. Shandi. Nope. He said, now you've got payment in full. This affects everything. Because the answer to why is found here. Why am I doing that? Amen. What why do we want a big church? Why do we want a bigger building? Why do we want more influence? Why do we want to be on TV more? Why do we want all these outlets? See, not just me, the body. We've got to answer that question so that we can receive the honor that comes from God only. Because God has said, I want you to go and be a light to that city. I want you to raise up that spiritual production center. I want to deliver the city into your hands for the preaching of the gospel. But I've got to have people that want the honor that comes only from me. Hallelujah. Glory to God. All of these things, the the giving, the praying, the fasting, can all be counterfeit. Why? Because motive, not activity, determines reward. It's the motive, not the activity. Hallelujah. Because I can forfeit God's honor while appearing spiritual. And I can I can forfeit God's honor. What's the goal? A reward, the honor that comes from God only. That's the goal. The honor that comes from God only. Hallelujah. That's the higher standard. Amen. And uh I got a couple of the verses, but in uh in his uh book, Saving Our Cities, there's a couple comments I wanted to read. Because Pastor Caldwell made the statement, he said, Once a commitment is made, choice is gone. Once a commitment is made, choice is gone. There is no more deciding to do something or not. Changing our minds is no longer a factor. The doing of the commitment is what becomes important. We have to learn to avoid anything that comes to distract us away from our commitment to what God has asked us to do. Why? Because we're after the honor that comes from God only. So God says, I want you to commit to this, I want you to do this. See, this covers every area, this covers everything in the church. God says, I want you to be a part of that team. I want you to be a part of this that's going on. I want you to be an usher. I want you to be a greeter. I want you to be on the praise team. I want you to do whatever. You name it. All right. Now, if you agree, now that's a commitment. And you're there for no other reason but what? The honor that comes from God alone. I'm not there for anybody to say how faithful I am. I'm not there for anybody to say how wonderful I am or how great I am. I'm there because I want the honor that comes from God alone. And what we just read, once a commitment is made, choice is gone. Why? Because I want the honor that comes. From God alone. Amen. When we make the commitment to reach our city for God, every obstacle imaginable comes to distract us. The key to the heart of God and to commitment comes in the form of continuance. Continuing to do what God said. That's the key. Why? I want the honor that comes from God. When a person doesn't care about the honor that comes from God, quitting is always an option. I was talking to one of our pastoral staff the other day. We were having a not Zoom, a Teams meeting, Microsoft Teams. And I was talking to them. We were talking about some different things. And he said, he made this statement. He said, Well, if there's one thing that you've taught us, it's this when the challenge is there, when the pressure's on, you push harder. Well, you do. Because we want the honor that comes from God only. Now he said he said something else. Can I read this to you? He said, God will never build on the vision he has given us if we're not able to continue in the principles of the word that we've learned. God will never be able to build on the vision that he's given us if we don't continue in the principles of the word that we've learned. He could not give us more responsibility. Why? We'd be unable to see it through. Unable to see it through. When you want the honor that comes only from God, you just see it through. It's not how we're going to do it, it's not if we do it. It's not if, it's not are we, it's yet we're going to do it. I may not see how. I don't see everything, all the ends meeting. I don't see all the I's dotted or the T's crossed, but we're committed to what God wants because that's what we're here for. The honor that comes only from God. Amen. He said, God may give us a vision of what he wants from ten years down the road, but it takes continuance today to get there successfully. How long do we have to continue? Forever. We need a new mindset if we're to ever do anything for God in our cities. And that's what that's what kept coming up to me. We got to have a mindset of I want the honor that comes from God only. See, this comes down to the minute things in my life. Why are you going to the church that you're going to? Because you want the honor that comes from God only. Well, you know, you all believe the same way that I believe. Well, that's great, but why are you here? Because you believe God asks you to be here. Well, if you believe God asks you to be here, then whose honor are you after? The honor that comes from God only. So what will God do? What will God do as you stay with and where God told you to be? He will reward you openly. He'll reward me for going to church where he told me, yeah, because that's called obedience. I want the honor that comes from God only. Hallelujah. Glory to God. He said, there is no shut-off time. We don't quint when a prayer is answered. We don't stop when a need is met. This is an ongoing thing. It's a lifestyle. It's forever. Say out loud, it's forever. Go to 1 Samuel. God honors those that honor Him. 1 Samuel 2. Now you'll remember this. Hannah, of course, had been praying for a son. And you'll remember God heard her prayer. She became pregnant with Samuel. Samuel was born. She said, You give me a son, and I'll give him back to you. And so she took him back after she had weaned him and he had grown. She took him back, and he's staying with Eli. And you remember Eli had two sons, Hophne and Phinehas. And the Bible says they were sons of Belial. They were worthless individuals, is what that means. And they were doing all kinds of things. They were sinning. And I won't get into all the sin that they were getting into, because that's a whole nother message. But uh a man of God came to Eli. And in verse 20, we see the gist of what he said. Or verse 30, excuse me. He said, Wherefore the Lord God of Israel said, I said indeed unto your house and the house of your father, that if they would walk before me, for that they would walk before me forever. But now the Lord says, Be it far from me. Now people say, but I thought God didn't change his mind. These are conditional things. See, this honor that comes from God only is conditional. What's it based on? What I do in private. Is that right? You pray in private, I'll reward you openly. You give in private, I'll reward you openly. You fast in private, I'll reward you openly. So why am I praying to honor God? Why am I fasting to honor God? Why am I giving to honor God? And what does God that I honor do for me? Rewards me openly. That's why the Lord told me one time, He said, Never apologize for the blessings that I've given you in your life. Never apologize for them. He said, Drive the car you want to drive, live in the house you want to live in, and never apologize for it. He said, That's between you and me. And that's it. So whatever you're driving, wherever you're living, ever how nice it is, ever how big it is, ever how much it costs, don't apologize for it. That's between you and God. That's the honor that comes from God only. Amen. But here's what he said. Notice what he said. He said, now be it far from me. And this is conditional. Conditional on what? That you do the right thing. And you remember what they were doing? They were committing fornication with women that came to the temple. They were taken by force, the offerings, they were despising the offerings and the way that God said they needed to be given. And he said, I told you, I spoke years ago to your fathers, and I said that your lineage should walk before me forever. He said, Not now. Why? What'd he say? Because those that honor me, I will honor. And those that lightly esteem me will be lightly esteemed. Is that right? Those that honor me, I will honor. Amen. In the Little Rock church, when I get in a place that I can do it, I'll have it up there too. You walk in the Kansas location, and over the stage is those that honor me, I will honor. I learned that a long time ago. You want to know why that's so big to me? I realize something. I realize I'm not smart enough to do what God wants me to do. You add all my education up, and it'll come to about a thimbleful. I'm not wise enough. I'm not smart enough to do what God told us to do. I know that I'm the person that God brought from the trash heap and set up and made us who we are, whatever you think we are. I realize this. Amen. He said, You honor me, and what will he do? Honor you. The concept of honor is this weightiness. Honor means weight, it means weightiness, heaviness. In other words, when what God asks us carries weight with us, then what I do carries weight with God. When God says, I want you to go start a church, or I want you to do this, or I want you to do that, and we walk in honor with God, we his weight carries, his word carries weight, then our effort carries weight with God. Hallelujah. A lot of people, what they're doing carries no weight. Because it God's God's word about it doesn't carry any weight. Hallelujah. And he said specifically, he said, specifically, those that honor me, I will honor. That's a higher standard. That's the honor that comes only from God. And when a church, a body, a preacher, a pastor, an individual, when they enter into that, it covers everything that they're doing. Hallelujah. You'll remember, you don't have to turn there, but you'll remember Saul in 1 Samuel 15, 17. God had told him in 1 Samuel 15, 1, he said, I want you to go and I want you to destroy Amalek because of what they did when the people came into the promised land. You'll remember? Amalek came around behind them, did a flanking maneuver, and struck the old and the weak. Right? Cowards. And God said, Because of what they did, I want you to go. Basically he's saying, and exercise judgment on them. And Saul went. And you know, Saul probably, they probably killed thousands of people that day. The Bible says that they did that. But what did God say? He said, I want you to go, and I want you to put an end to every living thing. Is that right? And he came back. And God spoke to Samuel. And he said, He hadn't done what's right. And he found out where he was and he went and met him. And what'd Saul do? He met him and he said, Yeah, I performed what the Lord told me to do. And there's messages that have been preached on this over the years. Remember Samuel? He said, Then what's this bleeding of sheep that I hear? If you did what the Lord told you to do. And remember what he said? He said, It was the people that uh uh they wanted it, and so because they wanted it, you know, I gave in to them and blah, blah, blah. Here's what I want to get to. He was speaking to him, and uh he made a statement, and he said, he talked about how the Lord had raised him up, and he made a statement. He said, When you were little in your own eyes. Remember? And again, you don't have to turn there, but 1 Samuel 9, 26. Saul's out looking for some lost donkeys. And his and his partner, Saul didn't even think of this. His his servant that was with him said, There's a man of God in this city. Said, let's go and inquire of him. And remember, Saul said, I don't have any money. And the guy said, I got a few pennies. We'll give him this. So they went, and what had the Lord told Samuel? He said, There's one gonna come, and when he comes, you rise and anoint him, because that's my that's the king. That's the captain of my people. And Saul came in, and Samuel told him where the donkeys were. He said, Everything's all right. He said, Your father's looking for you, been looking for you for a few days. And he said, But right here in my presence is the Lord's anointing, and you're anointed to be the captain over God's host and over his people. And what did Saul say? Don't say that about me. That's not me. And Samuel had to say to him, he said, Well, here's what's gonna happen. You're gonna I'm gonna anoint you, and you're gonna go on down the road, and you're gonna run into some prophets, and you're gonna prophesy. And when you do, you'll be changed into another man. Glory to God. And it says he went down the road, and sure enough, he encountered them, and he prophesied and was changed into another man. And then one of the most beautiful passages of scripture, it says, and that there were men that God had touched their heart, and that they went home with Saul. Right? So Samuel tells him, You're gonna be the Lord's anointed. And Saul goes, Not me. I'm from the smallest tribe in Israel, and I'm my family's the least in that tribe. Remember, I told you people said about me, you're the bottom of the barrel. You've always been the bottom of the barrel in this family, and you always will be. I learned right then. Then I'm what I'm doing is not for you. If God has chosen the bottom of the barrel, then he must be a bottom of the barrel God, and he must care about who's on the bottom of the barrel. It doesn't matter what they said about you, it doesn't matter what they said about where you came from or your ministry or your style or ever what they said. God saw it. God knew it was there, he knew where he found you, he knew where you were, and he said, I want to use you anyway if you'll just go after the honor that comes from me only. Glory to God. Then they came to anoint him in public. And everybody's saying, Where is he at? Samuel said, Go find him. He's hiding in the stuff. Well, it had to be a lot of stuff because he was head and shoulders taller than anybody in Israel. He said, That's the Lord's anointing. Here's what I want you to see. He said, When you were small in your own eyes, when you realized you couldn't do this, when you realized you didn't have the knowledge and you didn't have the education and you didn't have the abilities, when you realized there were people that were more suited for this than you were, he said, the Lord called you and the Lord anointed you. Why? Partly mostly because of your heart, because you were willing to realize I can't do this. Why did God, we talked about it Wednesday night, why did God honor Solomon so much? Because Solomon went to him and he didn't ask him for riches, he didn't ask him for victories militarily. He said, Give me a wise and understanding heart so that I can lead these your people because I'm just a little child. I don't even know how to go out and how to come in. And it says that the Lord appeared to Solomon in the night, and he said, Listen, I've heard your request and I've granted you a wise and an understanding heart. And he said, But here's what I've also granted you I've granted you riches, and I've granted you honor, and I've granted you wisdom, so that there'll be no king wise like you before or after you, and so rich and wealthy and so powerful that no king before you and no king after you will match you. He just wanted wisdom and understanding, but he got the honor that came from God only. Amen. When you were little in your own eyes. I got time to tell you this story. I remember years ago. We were close to a couple that pastored a church, that pastored a church in Florida. And uh at one time it was the fastest growing church in America. At one time it was the third largest church in America. And uh we were close to them, both of them preached in our church. Uh one of them several times, the other not several, but sometimes. Uh I was very close friends with their chief associate, and and uh he ministered in our church a lot. And I remember that church started in a storefront. A storefront. Wouldn't even seat a hundred people. Storefront. And here was what God had called them to minister evangelism and restoration. His favorite statement was put sneakers to the gospel. Go into all the world and preach the gospel. His favorite statement was somebody's got to drive the bus. Amen. And and and he was known for that city where they lived in his prayer walks. He would get up three or four o'clock in the morning and walk the city and just ask God for the city and pray in the Holy Ghost over the city. Ask God for those that nobody else wanted. Ask God for people that needed help in their life. And God answered, boy, God answered. And they outgrew that that uh uh storefront and they couldn't find a building, so they bought a tent. Put up a tent, seat three, four, five hundred people. We know even in Florida it gets a little cold in the winter, and and so they're out there in the winter and their coats and gloves. R.W. Schambach preached in that tent in his coat. But that they're growing. And so then they they found an inflatable dome that they could blow up. And this dome seated probably six, seven hundred people. And they're having two or three services a Sunday. I mean, when you went to that church, it looked like the thing was breathing. It was just alive. And he's praying and he's seeking God. And I noticed something about him. Both of them would talk consistently about where they came from and how they were not qualified to do what God wanted them to do, how their lives were messed up before they came to Jesus. And life was just a mess. But then they found Christ. He was a backslidden Church of God preacher, and God found him and put him back in the ministry. Amen. And and and so they're in this dome. And then they they they found uh uh what used to be a uh what's it called ginger ale factory. And and they went and and and got that. And it it was at that time they were the fastest growing church in America. And I I I used to I used to fly down there during the uh the week at times. And I'd I'd go and just kind of shadow in in the office and and see how things were run. I want to see how this ministry's run. And I remember one time I started noticing things change. We used to take a group to that church every year. They had uh uh a week-long thing, we would call it a camp meeting. It wasn't just a camp meeting for them, it was it was it was other things. I mean, they had they taught people how to do certain things. And every year they started off with the reason for their existence. And man, I took, uh Pastor Michelle took a group of women one year, I took the men the next year, and we went, and I was there with some men, some leaders, and we're sitting in that room. That room was probably half the size of this, and and one of their meeting rooms. Whew! And the spouse got up and she started preaching. She preached a message called Standing Between the Living and the Dead. And she was known to preach that message, and she she preached about how the church was called to stand before the living and the dead, my God. The power of God hit me. I was laying on my face. I looked at all the men that came with me, they were weeping. The power of God was all over their life. It was the listen, if if you've ever experienced the tangible presence of the Holy Spirit, I mean like he is sitting right next to you with his hand on your knee. That's where we were. This was not a joke, this was the power of God. And that that just pervaded every aspect of that ministry. And everybody was saying the same thing evangelism and restoration. And you couldn't go five minutes without one of the two of them saying, we don't qualify to do anything that God's asked us to do. And they would tell preachers, they would tell preachers that had two folks, it doesn't matter if you've only got two people. If you take what God has put in your hand and you go try to make an effort, God will make it work. Amen. And so it was this was not just something we knew of. We were very closely associated with these people. We've been in their home. They we we we've been very close to them. And I went one week, I flew down, and I was there in the office, and the minute I got there, something was different. Well, the ministry had started growing, expanding. Television, they were all over TV. Every, you name them, TBN, Day Star, any of them that you can think of. They were they were on two or three, four, four times a day. And I was sitting in the staff meeting, and what used to be so palpable of the presence of the Holy Spirit, now it was more, how do we look bigger? One of the main questions was I was watching our television program, one of them said, and they said the camera was going over our sanctuary, and boy, we look small. How can we look bigger? We need to look bigger. And a person that used to tell you, they said, Yeah, we'll we'll we'll come to your church, and we said. Well, you know, what's the honor and what do you require? We don't require anything. We just want to preach the gospel. We would just want to see people saved. And now, now this has been some years ago. And then it was fine, you know, we wrote a letter and invited them. Oh, our standards have changed. And now it's it's $10,000 to come speak. And listen, there's nothing wrong with $10,000. Listen, if you fly your own plane and you do that, that's a small amount. But here's what I'm trying to say. It went from I'm a messed up person that God found, that God touched, that God changed their life, and I just want to help other people be free, to now I got all of this going on, and I got all of this going on, and now I got I got to charge this and I got to do this. Amen. And I left there and I called my wife and I said, I don't know what it is, something's different. Something's different. It's just not the same. Well, it's just a year or so later, a couple years later, they got a divorce. And next thing you know, the church is in bankruptcy. He backslid, fell away, went away from the Lord. And she became just a shell of her former self. Now, what's the difference? At one point, they were after the honor that comes from God only. And what did God do? Nobody knew he was doing those prayer walks. Nobody knew that he would walk the city for two or three hours and pray. Nobody knew that. Nobody knew the times they were fasting and seeking the Lord. Well, what did God do? He rewarded them openly with the largest church in America, fastest growing church in America. The prayer that was going on behind the scenes. Now contrast that. I remember the first time I came to Little Rock. First time I ever met Pastor Carl. Well, we were up here to record. And he had never met me. He had met my wife. He had never met me. And so we were there and we met and he said, he asked me the question. He said, Well, would you like to look around the campus? Well, of course. I want to. And and notice he didn't grab somebody and say, hey, take them around the campus. He took me. And everything, everything, everything, God did it. God did it. God did it. In that whole trip around the campus, I never heard one time, we did this, we did that, we did the other. God did it. When you want something lasting, you go after the honor that comes only from God. Amen. Those who honor me, I will honor. So God's things have to carry weight in our lives. What's the result? Those that honor God receive honor that only God can give. We're not just trying to be honored, but we understand that in honoring God, there's a reciprocal honor that comes to us. So the door to more is open. But it opens fully to those that embrace the higher standard. Hallelujah. So it's a it's a it's a it's a purity of motive, it's a depth of devotion, it's a pursuit of God's honor alone. Hallelujah. Because we can't just be satisfied with the praise of people. We've got to pursue the honor that comes from God alone. You know, I've been seeking the Lord. I've even talked to my wife about this. You know, I don't care about anything else. I just want to do what God wants me to do. And I know that sounds elementary, but I remember early in our ministry, early, we weren't in the ministry, we were we were seeking God for what he wanted. When I would get up early in the morning and I would just go pray, and the only thing I would say was, God, I I just want what you want for our lives. That's what I want. Now, how do we get there? Because I want what you want. Amen. I told my wife, we were standing in our home. And I said, you know, here's the thing. I don't care about any of this. I don't care about any of it. I I just I want to always remain that person that would go down the basement of that little rental house and say, I only want what you want for our lives. What do you want for us? I want the move of God that God promised. I want the glory of God to be poured out on his people. I want the change in people's lives. I'm not talking about working up some emotional response or something like that. I'm talking about the glory of God in such a manner that it changes people's life. I don't care what anybody thinks about me. I don't care what my friends think. I don't care what my enemies think. I don't care what anybody thinks about me. I'm going after the things of God. If they disagree with me, they can disagree with me. I didn't sign up for this to be accepted by everybody. I signed up in this thing to be accepted by God and to receive his honor alone. Hallelujah. And when that becomes the purpose, when that becomes the plan, when that becomes the pursuit, then everything in your life begins to take on that atmosphere of God being in everything that you're doing. Hallelujah. Amen. So you can call us whatever you want: charismatic, spirit-filled, word of faith, whatever you want to call us. Here's what I'd prefer you call us a church that's after the honor that comes from God only. Because that's what's important. Oh, hallelujah. So the praise of people doesn't satisfy it's pursuing the honor that comes from God only. Amen. Hallelujah. Now, why is that so important? That's the door to more. Paul wrote the church in Galatia, and he made a statement to them. He said, I'm concerned. And he said, Here's why I'm concerned. He said, I think you've moved away from the simplicity of the gospel. What is the simplicity of the gospel? Jesus saves, Jesus heals, Jesus delivers, and Jesus is coming back. That's the simplicity of the gospel. Whatever you need, Jesus will help you. And if the Lord didn't put it on our table, I don't want it. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Do you believe that? This is that folks, this is the answer. This is why we can stand up here and say, look, your children, they're going to come to Jesus. We're going to see it. Why are we going to see it? Because we're seeking the honor that comes from God only. When a body begins to say, I just want the honor that comes from God only. I don't care if anybody calls me to preach in another conference. I could care less. I'm telling you, we got so many preachers that just run around, pat each other on the back. My conference, your conference, their conference, Joe Schmoe's conference, Billy Bob's conference, Ramon's conference. What are we doing? Why are we at the conference? Why are we there? I mean, is it just because I'm such a great preacher, or because we're after the honor that comes from God only? I was talking to Brother Larry about the camp meetings at Agape, and he made a statement to me. And I don't think, Brother Larry, I don't think you'll mind me saying it, but he made a statement to me. He said, I used to take my vacation around that camp meeting because it was so powerful. It was so life-changing. See, that's that's I want the honor that comes from God only. Do you see this? I I want what God wants. God, if you want me to go. I told my wife, I said, I will never accept another invitation to a conference that I don't pray about at least a few days. I won't do it. Because I want what you want. We got to cover Arkansas. Amen. We got to touch the city. I'm going to be traveling to some cities that the Lord's been talking to me about this coming up week. I'm going to be taking some of my days and going and just walking the city and just praying in the Holy Ghost and finding out what God wants me to do. Well, how are you going to do it? Have no idea. But he said, if you please me privately, I'll reward you openly. And so that's what we're going to get done. Amen. Hallelujah. So that's how, and that just keeps coming in my spirit. That's how we know families are going to be saved. That's how we know they're going to be sitting there beside you in church, grandkids, kids, whoever it is. How do we know that? Because you're honoring God. You're after the honor that comes from God only. Amen. Let's bow our heads today, shall we? Praise the Lord. Father, we've ministered from your word today these things that you would have us to say and to do and to understand. And we thank you, Father, that as we pursue the honor that comes from you only, that according to your word, you honor us, Father. And we're not just looking for open honor, but we understand that that's the reciprocal to what you would have us to do and to see and to understand. Now, Father, in the name of Jesus, I pray, if there's one, Father, watching online, that's away from you, that's not born again, that's not received Jesus as their Lord and Savior, that Father, they would do that in the name of Jesus and make this thing right today. Father, I pray in the name of Jesus that they would make you their Lord. Just say this out loud. Say, Father, in the name of Jesus, I believe that Jesus came to the earth, that he lived a perfect life, that he died on the cross for my sin and rose again on the third day. And he's alive today, interceding for me. Now, with my mouth, I confess him, and I believe in my heart that he's my Lord. I receive my salvation in the name of Jesus. Amen. Hallelujah. God is good to us. I say, God is good to us. Tell your neighbor, I want the honor that comes from God only. Oh, hallelujah. God is so good to us. Amen.