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You see, what are you doing in I Chronicles 4? You know, I was reading this chapter of my devotions earlier this week, and the Bible says that all scripture is profitable for doctrine, for proof, for correction, for instruction, for the righteousness that the man of God may be thoroughly furnished unto all good works. So we know that every word in the Bible is the Word of God and all of it is profitable. And often I'll find myself, let me just kind of confess to you that when I'm reading through the Bible, my devotions, sometimes I get to that in I Chronicles and I know what's coming and it's these difficult names, these long passages, I mean I Chronicles 4 is just one chapter of several, the very beginning of the book of I Chronicles that has this long genealogy. And there's several others throughout scripture and sometimes the temptation when we get to those is to kind of just skim over it, maybe just read through it as quickly as we can just to kind of get it over with. But the thing is about that is that even in I Chronicles 4, we see these several little phrases, these little stories, these little mentions about specific people kind of scattered in there that there are things in there if we read about them that we can learn from. And one of those people, one of those passages I want to look at specifically is in I Chronicles 4 verse 9 where the Bible reads, And Jabez was more honorable than his brethren, and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bear him with sorrow. And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, O that thou wouldst bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldst keep me from the evil that it may not grieve me. And God granted him that which he requested. So the title of my sermon this morning comes from the beginning of verse 9 where it says that Jabez was more honorable, and that's the title of the sermon this morning, more honorable. You see, some people, as this verse clearly shows us, this is like the second mention when that phrase is used, more honorable. But it shows us in the scripture that some people are more honorable than others. As it says, Jabez was more honorable than his brethren. So the Bible is very clear that there are some people that are to be held in more honor than others. Now, let me just be clear about this because we're living in a society today that just wants to jump on anybody that would suggest that some people are better than others. That's not exactly what I'm saying in terms of value, in terms of their worth before God. But I'm saying that in a human relationship, some people are to receive more honor than others. Now, it's not according to race or ethnicity, and that's something that we need to clarify today because that's a real hot topic, especially these days with everything that's going on out there in the world where race and ethnicity is kind of the sticking point. And we want to be very clear here that when we say that some people are more honorable than others, it's not because we believe, we're not saying that has anything to do with race or where you come from. And I'm just going to read some verses very quickly to you that show us that God is not a racist. And not only is God not a racist, but he's also not a nationalist. He's not somebody who takes great pride in a specific nation or group of people. God's not going to be waving anybody's flag. So I just want to read some of these verses real quick to show us that God confuses us all in the same light in certain terms. The Bible says in Genesis 22, when speaking to Abraham, he said, And in thy seed shall all nations of the earth be blessed. We see that the promise that God gave to Abraham was to all nations. And again, Matthew 24, where Jesus said that the Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations. He said that he gave the command in Matthew 28, Go ye therefore and teach all nations baptizing in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. In Acts 17, verse 24, the Bible says, Neither is worship with men's hands as though he needed anything, seeing if he give life to all and breath and all things, and hath made of one blood all nations of men, for to dwell on the face of the earth. Jumping down to verse 27, that they should seek the Lord if happily they might feel after him and find him, though he be not far from every one of us. So just a few verses here showing us that God is trying to reach out to the entire world, that he has made his promise to all nations. Romans chapter 1, the Bible says, Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated of the Gospel of God, which he had promised to four by his prophets in the Holy Scriptures concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of Holiness by the resurrection from the dead, by whom we had received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name, among whom ye also are called of Jesus Christ. The Bible says in Romans 16, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all, amen, with all of you. It says there in Romans 16 verse 24, it goes on, it says in verse 25, God made note to all nations for the obedience of faith. Revelation chapter 7 verse 9, after this I beheld unto a great multitude which no man could number of all nations and kindreds and people and tongues stood before the throne. So we see that even in heaven before God's throne, a group of people that consist of all nations and kindreds and people and tongues. God is not a racist this morning, God is not a nationalist this morning, and neither should we be, but the fact is, as I've read clearly from scripture, that there are certain people that are considered to be more honorable than others. Revelation 15 verse 2, the Bible says, verse 4, excuse me, who shall not fear before thee our Lord and glorify thy name, for thou only art holy, for all nations shall come and worship before thee. See, we live in a society today that wants to tell us that everybody's equal. You know, equality is the great cry in our society today where everyone wants to be equal, nobody wants to be thought of as any less or have be considered, have anybody be considered better than themselves, and that's the great cry today. But the Bible's clear that some people are more honorable than others. We want everybody to get a participation trophy, there can be no losers today. Well, you know, I'm sorry that's just not the way the world works, there's such a thing as winners and we only know who a winner is when we know what a loser is. So it's very clear that, you know, there is to be losers and there are to be winners and God considers some people to be more honorable than others. But scripture shows us God's view of equality because there is an equality with God and that's the fact that all has sinned and come short of the glory of God. So when it comes in terms of salvation, yes, we are all equals. Jesus said, come unto me all ye that labor. He said that he's not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. It says in the Bible that he will have all men to be saved and that he gave himself a ransom for all. And the Bible says that Christ constraineth us because we thus judge that if one died for all then we're all dead and that he died for all. The Bible is clear that we all need a Savior. So yes, we're all equal in the sense that we are all sinners and we all come short of the glory of God. But my friend, as I've read here in the scripture, we're going to look at some of the places this morning, the Bible is clear that some people are more honorable than others. Now what does it mean to be honorable? Well the definition of honor, or honorable, excuse me, would be being worthy of honor. That's what it means to be honorable. If you are somebody who is honorable, you are somebody who deserves honor. Now what does honor, what does it mean to have honor? It means to be moral or ethical, you know, to be honest, to be righteous, to be principled, to be somebody who does the right thing. That's somebody who is honorable, that's somebody who is to be honored. Now we would think, you know, a lot of people would say that honor is just another term for respect. And I would agree with that. I would say that, you know, to give somebody honor is to respect them. But I would also say that, you know, to honor somebody is taking it a step above just respecting them. It's more than just showing somebody respect, when you honor somebody, it's not just mere respect. I mean respect is a very important thing that we should have towards people, but there are certain people that deserve, I believe, a higher level of respect. For example, if we were going to the courtroom, you know, we would walk into the courthouse and we'd have to go through some kind of security checkpoint, you know, they would wave the wand over us, we'd empty our pockets, take our belt off, and walk through their little machine. And, you know, there's a person there who's watching that, you know, he's some kind of authority. He's got a badge, maybe a gun, you know, he's security, he's an officer there to make sure everybody's safe. Now, would you respect that guy? Would you show that guy respect if you were to walk in there? You obey all of his rules, you know, you empty your pockets, you're going to do what he says. And if he says, hey, turn around and go through that scanner again, we've got to check you one more time, you're going to do it. No one's going to walk in there, anybody with any kind of sense in their head, is going to walk in there and start limping off to the guy. They're going to show that guy respect. But let me ask you something, does that guy get the same level of respect as the judge? When you walk in there, you know, when the bailiff, or not the bailiff, but when that security guard comes to work in the morning and walks up to his little, you know, scanner station, whatever you want to call it, is when he walks up, is there another guy that comes in before him and says, all rise, you know, has everybody in the room stand up so he can walk in? Is he wearing a long robe, you know, to denote that he's, you know, to show that he's distinct from other people, that he is a higher authority? No. But are you going to show that guy respect? Of course you are. Now, when the judge walks in, the bailiff's going to stand there and say, all rise and say something along the lines of, the honorable judge so-and-so presiding, you know, and then he's going to get to his seat and he's going to sit down and then he's going to let you sit down. You may be seated. So the point I'm trying to make here is that you're going to show both those guys respect. You're going to show the guy when you're walking into the courthouse, you're going to show that guy some respect. You might end up in cuffs, you know, or being shown the door, you might even get to your court hearing. But when you stand before the judge, you're going to show him another level of respect. You're probably going to use the word, sir, or your honor. You're going to say things, your honor, anything. It's right there, the title. So it's your Bible, not the Bible, but, you know, just practicality, just, you know, everyday life shows us that some people are to be considered more honorable than others. So it's not just respect. It's just, it's another level of respect. It's above just showing somebody respect. For example, you know, the Bible says that they are to honor thy father and their mother. Now does that mean that they just treat their parents like they do strangers? No, it means they show them a special type of respect. They show them a reverence and respect that even more so than they would others. We don't expect them to, you know, not to say that they're to be disrespectful to anybody else. They should say, yes ma'am, yes sir, thank you, please, they should mind their piece and cues when they're talking to other people. But when they talk to their parents, when they're dealing with their parents, there should be another level of respect there to honor their father and their mother. And it's the same thing with just, you know, as our elders, we would treat our elders differently than we would treat those that are younger than us. You know, people in our own age bracket, people that we have a little more common ground with, we might feel a little bit more comfortable with maybe joking a little bit or just being ourselves a little bit more. But when you have a person who's several decades older than you, there might be a different level of respect that we want to show that person. We want to honor them. That's why the Bible says in Leviticus 19, thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, hoary is still the word for white, so a gray haired man, thou shalt rise up before the hoary head and honor the face of the old man, and fear thy God, I am the Lord. So there was a time when an older person would walk in, everyone would stand up and show that person respect. That's what the Bible is showing us here, that we ought to respect our elders. Now we wouldn't do that if some 8 year old walked in the room and we all stand up and show honor to that 8 year old, he's just starting out a life, we're not even sure he's going to make it yet. But here's somebody who's lived a long life and has accomplished a lot of, hopefully there's somebody that's done a thing in their life that is worthy of respect. Now I will say, I've heard it said and I agree with this, that just because a person is older does not, I mean we should show them respect, but that doesn't mean that we should coddle them or that we should just overlook maybe a past with iniquity. I'm not saying we should ever talk down to that person, we should never disrespect them in any way, but at the same time, a person who's lived a righteous and godly life all those years is worthy of even more respect, even more honor than the person who's just happened to live a long life and maybe had some iniquity a long way. So we see that being honorable, that the Bible's showing us that some people are more honorable than others, now that we understand what it means to be honorable, that it's not just a mere respect but that it's a whole other level of respect, it's something that, it's a greater degree of respect, the question we have to ask ourselves is how do we become honorable? Because that should be something that we desire, we want to be people that are respected, we want to be somebody that's honorable, we want to reach the end of our lives, we want to be the old whore-haired man that others would stand up in front of and be worthy of that honor. How do we become honorable? Well if you would turn to 2 Samuel 23 and we'll start to look at the answer to this question of how do we become honorable, 2 Samuel 23 and verse 20, 2 Samuel 23 and verse 20, the Bible reads, And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man of Calziel, who had done many acts, he slew two lions like men of Boath. He went down also and slew a lion in the midst of a pit in the time of snow. And he slew an Egyptian, a goodly man, and the Egyptian had a spear in his hand, but he went down to him with a staff and plucked out the spear of the Egyptian's hand and slew him with his own spear. These things did Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and had the name among the three mighty. He was more honorable than the thirty, but attained not to the first three, hence David sent him over the guard. So here's a man that the Bible says was more honorable than the thirty. So Benaiah had an honorable name. So here's a guy who's considered honorable in the Bible. So what is it, how do we become honorable? What makes it Benaiah honorable? Well, it's the things that he did. It's his accomplishments. That's what made Benaiah honorable. The Bible says that he slew a lion in the midst of a time of snow and he slew an Egyptian you know, plucked with his own spear. He went down to the staff and knocked the spear of the guy and he slew him with his own spear. So we see that he did these great acts and that's what made him honorable. And that's what we see even in society, we see that people are often honored for their own accomplishments. I think immediately of the Olympics. People dedicate their lives to some sport and they strive and they work hard and they're just dedicated and they get the chance to go and compete and represent their country. And when they do that, if they do well and they succeed and they come in first place, they receive that gold medal. They medal in the Olympics. They're given honor. They're stood up in front of everybody and they sing their national anthem and at least I think they're still doing that. It's been a while since I've seen the Olympics, but I'm sure they're still doing that, right? Not much has changed there, I'm sure. But the point I'm trying to make is that they were honored for what they did. It wasn't just, you know, they were honored just for the sake of honoring something. There was something that they specifically, that they had to do, just as Benaiah here, there were specific acts that are mentioned here when then it says he was more honorable than the 30. So the point I'm trying to make here is how do we become honorable, well it's through our actions. It's through what we do. It's through what we accomplish with our life. That's what's going to make us more honorable. That's what's going to get us to the end of our life and we're going to be able to say that is an honorable man, that is an honorable woman, that is somebody who has accomplished something with their life. Bible says in John 12-24, verily, verily, I say to you, Jesus speaking here, except a corn of wheat falls to the ground and dies and abideth alone, but if it die it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it, and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life and eternal. If any man serve me, let him follow me, and where I am, there shall also my servant be. If any man serve me, him will my Father honor. You see these Olympians, they strive hard to receive the honor from men. That's what they want. But here Jesus is telling us that we can even be honored of the Father in heaven, of God in heaven to honor us. And how was it done? How was it accomplished? Jesus said if any man serve me, let him follow me, and where I am, there also shall my servant be. He said if any man serve me, him will my Father honor. So to be honored by God and receive honor, that really means something. Can you imagine being honored by anybody greater than God? I mean that's the greatest honor that can be bestowed upon a person, is that we be honored of God. And how was it done? Through service. Through serving the Lord. But notice here in this verse, it's not something that comes easy. Just as those Olympians that go out and work hard, you think of these guys, whatever sporting event they're in, they train very hard. Years go into it, they're very strict with their diet. They're on a physical, they have a training routine that they have to follow very strictly. There's certain things in their life that they don't allow themselves to do, they're very disciplined people. It comes at a great cost to them for them to achieve that honor that they have in the Olympics. And if we're going to be honored of God the Father, we better understand that there's a cost, there's a discipline that's required to serving God if we're going to receive that honor. And the way to receive that honor is through service. Jesus said that we ought to hate our life. He said, he that loveth his life shall lose it, and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. So he's saying here that if you want to be honored of the Father, you have to come to the point where you hate your life. Now I don't think what he's saying is that we have to walk around like Eeyore, all mopey looking for our tail with a storm cloud over our head, and oh, I just hate myself so much, you know, this self-deprecating attitude. That's not what he's saying. What he's saying is in terms of comparison, because he says, he that loveth his life shall lose it, and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it. So in terms of comparison, because our life, we can get so wrapped up in it, the lust of the eyes and lust of the flesh and the pride of life, the things of the world and our own lives. The Bible says that a fool hath no joy, but that his heart may discover itself. You know, that's what people do, they want to live their own life, they want to just, you know, live for today, they want to get the fullness out of life, and it's all about what they're going to do for themselves and them enjoying their life. And they love their lives. But the Bible says here that if we want to be honored, if we want to receive honor from God, if we're going to serve Jesus Christ, we have to understand that we need to hate our life in this world, to that point, to that degree, that we're willing to say, you know, count it as nothing, being willing even to lay down our lives, if so called upon. So we have to consider the cost of the honor of the Father. We need to hate our life, we need to follow the Lord Jesus. He said, if any man serve me, he said, if any man serve me, let him follow me. So there's a leading that has to take place, there's somebody that we have to, somebody's example that we have to follow if we want to receive this honor from the Father, if we want to be more honorable, then we're going to have to follow Jesus Christ. What does it mean to follow Jesus? Well, it means to do the works that He did. What were the things that Jesus did? You know, the number one thing Jesus did while He was in this earth was preach the Gospel. He went out and reached others with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, Jesus went out and saw souls saved. He was a soul winner. And that's what we need to do. We need to do the works that He did. If we're going to follow Jesus, if we're going to serve Him, and if we're going to be honored to the Father, then we need to do the works that He did. What He did was go out and save souls and that's what we need to do, we need to go out and preach the Gospel. You see, Benaiah, another lesson we can learn here from Benaiah in 2 Samuel 23, is that yes, he was an honorable man, but I don't believe that he set out to seek that honor. Benaiah did not seek that honor that was given him. He just did what he thought he should do, he just did what he knew he should do. He was doing what he knew to do and honor came to him. He didn't go out seeking honor. That wasn't his motivation. Because if you notice there in verse 20 it says, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man. So the Bible is saying here, that I believe it's talking about his grandfather, because Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, Jehoiada the son of a valiant man of Cabsule, who had done many acts. And so what we see here is that there's this lineage of valiant men leading up to Benaiah. What does it mean to be valiant? Well just to be courageous, being able to go out and do, and dare to do great things, you know, like he did here, to slay a lion in a snowy pit. You know, and that's really something. Did he really even need to go down in that pit? I mean he could have, he could have stood at the top with a spear, he could have shot it from the above, but the Bible says that he went down into the pit and he was valiant. He was a man who wanted to do big things, he was a man who wanted to do great things for God. He was valiant and he was courageous. So that was what Benaiah did, that was just his character, that was just his makeup, that's just who he was. He was the son of a valiant man. He was just following the example that he had seen in his father and I believe even in his grandfather. And as a result, because he lived his life that way, because he had that mindset and that attitude, that honor came to him, just through him being himself. He did not specifically go out seeking for honor. You see we should not seek honor for the sake of being honored, because that would be a very proud thing to do. If we're just seeking, you know what, I'm just going to go out and make a big name for myself. I'm going to go out there and just make myself, everybody's going to know who I am, and you know when my name comes out of their mouth and what people are just going to, they're going to tremble. They're going to think, wow. When I walk into the room everybody's going to stand up and just, you know, I'm going to be like that judge, all rise, you know I'm going to walk in. That's not what we should seek. That's not the kind of attitude that we should have. We should not seek honor. We should just do what we know to do that is right, we should just do the right thing. And yes be valiant, yes be courageous, yes be bold, in doing the right thing, and if honor comes, it comes, but if not, if not, don't seek honor for the sake of being honored, you should be humble. If you would turn over to Luke chapter 14 verse 7, Luke chapter 14, Benaiah did not seek honor, he was doing what he knew, and honor came to him, he was a humble man, though he was a valiant man, he was the son of a valiant man. Luke chapter 14 and verse 7, the Bible says, And he, Jesus, put forth a parable to them which were bidden, when he marked how they chose the chief room, saying to them, When thou art bidden of any man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest room, lest a more honorable man than thou be bidden of him. And he that bade thee, and him come and sing to thee, give this man place, and thou will begin with shame to take the lowest room. So now, art bidden, go and sit in the lowest room, that when he that bade thee cometh he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher, then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meet with thee. For whosoever shall exalt them himself shall be abased, and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. So the Bible is really clear that if we want to receive honor, we shouldn't go seeking for it, we should let it come to us. The Bible says that if we seek to exalt ourselves, if we go out looking to be honored among the others, then we're going to be abased. The Bible says he that humbled himself shall be exalted. The Bible says that only the humble are those that will be honored. Proverbs 18, before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honor is humility. Another verse showing us that if we want to be honored, we need to be humble. We shouldn't go seeking honor for honor's sake. Proverbs 29 verse 23, a man's pride shall bring him lo, but honor shall uphold the humble in spirit. See, it's the humble man that's going to be upheld by his honor. You see, the humble understand that all honor comes from God. If honor comes from God, God's going to give it on His terms. If we want the honor that the Father gives, then we have to understand that it's going to come to us when He sees fit and on the way when He sees fit. And the Bible is very clear that if we're proud, if we exalt ourselves, if we lift ourselves up in pride and seek honor for honor's sake, that we'll be abased. That honor will not come, but actually the exact opposite, we'll be dishonored. But if we're humble, if we're of lowly mind, if we seek to serve God because it's the right thing to do, the Bible says that if we have a humble spirit, we will be exalted in due time, that God will lift us up. Because we need to understand, as any truly humble person does, that true honor only comes from God. That's what I'm trying to say. The Bible says in Deuteronomy 26, Thou hast avouch'd the Lord this day to be thy God, and to walk in His ways, and to keep His statutes, and His commandments, and His judgments, and to hearken unto His voice. The Lord that avouch'd thee this day to be His peculiar people, as He hath promised, that thou shouldest keep all His commandments, and to make thee high above all nations which He hath made, in praise, and in name, and in honor, that thou mayst be an unholy people in Lord thy God, as He hath spoken. So it is God that is going to make us high, it is God that is going to honor us above other nations, in praise, in name, and in honor. It comes from God. David understood it. In 1 Chronicles 29, Wherefore David blessed the Lord before the congregation, and said, Blessed be thou, Lord God of Israel, our Father, for ever and ever. Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty. For all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine, thine is the kingdom, O Lord. And thou art exalted as head above all, both riches and honor come of thee, and thou reignest over all. So we see a great man of God like David was one who understood. I mean, David, who knew very well where he came from, that he was just a shepherd boy, that he was one who just followed the sheep, he was one that was taken out of the sheep coat and exalted, not because that he sought that position, but because he was of a humble spirit and God, in due time, lifted him up and honored him in the sight of the people. The Bible says, By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches and honor and life. You see, we shouldn't regard the honor of man because it's vain and it's fleeting. Those Olympians there, can you even tell me who won a gold medal in the last Olympics? I mean, I'm sure there's some people that can, but it's like, you know, these people that get so into like the sports, like the NFL, the Super Bowl. I love, I used to do this every now and then, when I was a little bit more of a wise guy, I would go to these people and I would say, they would be all excited about some sports team. I'd say, Hey, who won the Super Bowl last year? They could answer that usually. Well, what about the year before that? What about the year before that? Who won the Super Bowl five years ago? I don't think anybody can know that. They can probably get their phone out and Google it, right? The point I'm trying to make here is, you know, when you win the Super Bowl, that's a big deal. I mean, they bring out the trophy, they fill up everybody rushing the field, they're spraying champagne in the locker room, there's confetti everywhere, and they go to their hometown, they have this big parade. The team's all, you know, for like a week, everyone's just so excited that our team won the Super Bowl. Well, that's the honor that comes from man. It's fleeting and it's vain. And in a few years, people won't even remember who it was that won. We'll just be on to the next one, and the next one, and the next one. Jesus said in John 5, 41, if you would turn to John 5, 41. John 5, 41. Actually, just turn to 1 Corinthians 12. I'll read for you from John 5, turn to 1 Corinthians 12. John 5, Jesus said, I receive not honor from men, but I know ye, that ye have not the love of God in you. I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not. If another shall come in his own name, him he will receive. How can he believe, which receive honor of one of another, and seek not the honor that cometh from God only? So Jesus is showing us that there's an honor that comes from God only, and that man's honor really means nothing. It's temporal. It has no eternal value. That's the problem with seeking honor that comes from man and not honor that comes from God. It has no eternal value. First Peter 1 says, wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season if need be ye are in heaviness, through manyfold temptations, that the trial of your faith be much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory. That appearing of Jesus Christ. So if we want to be honored before God, if we want to receive the honor that comes from God only, if we want to be honored of the Father, we're going to have to serve Jesus Christ and we have to also understand we're going to be willing to endure manyfold temptations, a trial of our faith perhaps, and that honor comes at the end of our life when our faith will be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. So we see what it takes to be honored. It's going to take a humble spirit. It's going to take an understanding that true honor comes from God and that we should seek God's honor and be willing to hate our lives in the sense that we don't value it in this world but that we value it in what it can bring us in eternity, that we dedicate our lives to doing the things that Jesus did and then we can receive the honor that comes from God at the appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ. So I guess the next question we would ask ourselves now that we understand what honor is and what it takes to be an honorable person, to be considered more honorable than others, the question is why should we even desire to be honorable? Why is it that we should desire to be more honorable than another? It almost sounds like a pompous or arrogant statement. You know, like I said, we shouldn't set out to seek honor for honor's sake, but we should strive to live a life that if God so chose to honor us, He could do it. There would be nothing in our life that He could look at and say, you know, I would love to honor this person, but they're just too wrapped up in this or that or they got this and that in their life and I just can't honor them. That's what we should seek, to be that humble person who's going to serve God and if God so chooses to honor us in time, that He's able to do it. And if not, then that's fine too. We understand what our motivations are. But why should we desire to be honorable? Why is it that we should even consider it something good to have happen to us? Well the number one, one of the main reasons is that we should desire to be honorable because it benefits the body of Christ. Romans 12 9 says, Let love be without simulation, abort that which is evil, cleave that which is good, be kindly affectionate to one another and with brotherly love, in honor preferring one another. That we should prefer one another in honor, that we should exalt others, we should esteem other better than ourselves, as the scripture says. That's why we should seek to be honorable people. Because having that kind of attitude, we can honor others and we can benefit the body of Christ. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians chapter 12 verse 12, For as the body is one and hath many members, and all members of that one body being many are one body, so also is Christ. For by one spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free, and have been all made to drink into one spirit. For the body is not one member but many. If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, am I not of the body? Is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body, is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole body were hearing, where were the smelling? But now hath God set the members, every one of them, in the body, as it hath pleased him. And if they were all one member, where were the body? But now are they members yet one body, and the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee, nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. Nay, much more these members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary. And those members of the body, which we think to be less honorable, upon these we bestow a more abundant honor, and our uncommonly parts have more abundant comeliness. For our accompanying parts have no need, but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honor to that part which lacketh, that there should be no schism in the body, with the body that the members should have the same care, one for another, and that one member suffereth, all members suffer with it. Or if one member be honored, all members rejoice with it. We should seek to be honorable people, or people that can be honored, and we should seek to honor others also, that are worthy of honor, because that benefits the body of Christ. You see, when one member is honored, the whole body benefits. So the question is, you know, moving on here, we see and understand why to be honored, why we should seek to be honorable people, why we should seek to honor others, and we know what it means to be honored, and we understand that there are more, there are people that are more honorable than others, the Bible makes it very clear. So the question then is, who should we honor? Who is it that we should seek to honor in our lives? Well you know, first of all, we should just seek to honor people in general, because honor again, you know, is a greater degree of respect. So to say we should honor people, we should say, you know, it's just to say, you know, we should have respect. We should be respectable. The Bible says in 1 Peter chapter 2 verse 17, honor all men, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king. And if you would, turn there to 1 Peter chapter 2. So the Bible is telling us right here in 1 Peter chapter 2 that we are to honor all men. Who is it that we should honor? Who is it that we should show respect to in our lives? Bible says we should honor all men. Now notice the arc of respect in this verse. I thought this was interesting. Bible says honor all men, right? That's just kind of like common courtesy to strangers. That's something that we could do on a day to day basis, looking people in the eye, saying hello, you know, being polite to others, you know, in the line at the grocery store, being polite, you know, at the stoplight in traffic, you know, letting people merge on the highway. I know that's something I bring up a lot in these sermons, but, you know, hey, that's my life. You know, I can only speak those things which I've seen and heard, so. But that's a place where we can be honorable to all men, where we can show respect to other people. It's just in our day to day lives, by being nice, by being courteous, by being respectful, we can honor all men. So that would be common courtesy to strangers, but notice that he takes it up another notch. He says, honor all men, then he says, love the brotherhood. The Bible says that we should do good to all men, but especially to those of the household of faith. So, yes, we should be honorable and respect others, but when it comes to the brethren, when it comes to those in our local church, the Bible says that we should love the brotherhood. Are you going to say necessarily that you love every person you pass in the street? You know, that you'd be willing to lay down your life? I mean, they're not even your friend. The Bible says no greater love hath any man than this, that a man should lay down his life for his friends. Would you do that for just a complete stranger? But we are to love the brotherhood. You know, we should be willing to go above and beyond just common courtesy for those that are of the faith. Then notice this. It takes up, so he starts out, honor all men, love the brotherhood, and then it comes to the height of the ark, fear God. Now this is the most sincere form of respect, is fear. I mean, if you really honor somebody, if you really respect somebody to the degree of fear, I mean, to where you're going to tremble at their presence, I mean, is that not a form of showing reverence and respect to somebody if you fear them? I mean, you hold their opinion of you in high regard. You have great concern for their attitude towards you if it's to the point where you're afraid of this person. The Bible says fear God. Anyone who can take you out deserves to be feared and respected, right? I mean, God can take us out, right? I mean, kids, listen up, I brought you in, take you out, I'm just kidding. But that's the kind of, that's the level of respect that we ought to have for God. It's even more that we should honor God, yeah, we should even fear God. I mean, it's even above, it's not, cause some people say, you know, there's this, I've heard people say, well, fear, fearing God just means respect God, no, because it says to come before his throne with fear and trembling. You know, God is somebody that we ought to fear, that we have to be afraid of. When John, you know, who will lean on the Lord's bosom, the disciple whom the Lord loved on this earth, when Jesus Christ walked on this earth. When he saw him in his glorified form, when we read about it in the book of Revelation, the Bible says that he fell at his face as one dead. It was the same person, but he fell at his face as one dead. And God had, the Lord Jesus had to come to him and say, you know, fear not, you know, and stand him on his feet. That's the level of respect that we should have for God at the point where we would fear and tremble before him. And then I love it because it goes, you know, honor all men, love the brotherhood, fear God, and then boom, right back down to the level at the beginning where it says honor the king. And I love that because when it says honor the king, it's just back to honor all men. It's back to that same general respect of courtesy. You know, yeah, we should honor the king, we should show him the respect and the reverence that's due him, but, you know, we shouldn't fear them in the sense that we would God. And it's just funny because, you know, a lot of patriots, and even, you know, Baptists today, even independent fundamental Baptists, they seem to get this confused in their mind. They take honor of the king and fear God and almost kind of switch it around. I mean, they'll pay God his due respect, you know, they'll honor him, but boy, they're afraid of the government. Boy, they're afraid of, you know, of coming across as unpatriotic. You know, if you cut me, I'll bleed red, white, and blue, brother. You know, they got the flags up and they're just, you know, they fear the government more than anybody. That's why they're afraid to preach the things that need to be preached. They're afraid to be seen as unpatriotic. But notice that God says, you know, it's honor all men, love the brother, fear God, honor the king. That's the arc of respect here in this verse. So we see that, you know, we're to honor all men. Who else should be honored? We should honor our employers. Those are other people that we should honor. The Bible says in 1 Timothy 6, go ahead and turn to Titus chapter 2, 1 Timothy 6, 1, let as many sermons as are under the oak count their own masters worthy of all honor, that the name of God and his doctors be not blasphemed. You see, how you treat God is a reflection of your faith. We should count our own masters worthy of all honor. It doesn't say honor them if you just determine them to be honorable. It says you should count them, count your masters, that's your boss, worthy of all honor. Why? Because they deserve it? They probably do. I mean, they're the ones that are, you know, they're cutting you a check in every week. They're the one that's giving you a job. But also, as it says there, that the name of God and his doctrine be not blasphemed. You see, how we treat our boss is going to be a reflection of our faith. Funny story about this verse, I was memorizing the book of 1 Timothy chapter 6 and I had it written on a 3x5 card and in my work I have an invoice holder, like a big aluminum case that has all the invoices that we fill out and somehow, you know, I had these cards with me and I'd keep them in there and they got mixed up in the shuffle with those invoices. And I turned in a big stack of filled out invoices in the office. We have like on the wall, we have like a little slot where you stick them in there and then my boss would come through every once in a while and he'd collect them and do his paperwork with them. Well, one day I went in there and turned in an invoice and I find 1 Timothy 6, my memory verse card, in that invoice holder, in that slot in the office, that had gotten mixed up with the invoices and my boss found it and I'm sure he read it and then he put it back in there for me to retrieve it. He never brought it up but I thought, man, what a great, if there's any Bible verse I wanted my boss to find out I was memorizing, it's that one. Where it says, let as many servants as are under the account of their own masters worthy of all honor. Let the name of God and his doctrine be not blasphemed. And I'm really glad that he found it because it kind of put me on my toes, like, boy, he knows that I'm memorizing this verse, you know, he read it and he's saying, well, Corbin's X, Y, and Z and he's supposed to be kind of me worthy of all honor, let's see if he follows through on it. You know what I mean? So I thought it was great that he found that verse because how we treat our boss is a reflection of our faith. You know, it's going to say a lot about who we are as Christians, you know, if we're lazy and we talk back, because you're there in Titus chapter 2 it says this in verse 9, exhort servants to be obedient unto their own masters and to please them well in all things, not answering again, not purloining but showing all good fidelity that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things. But it says they're not answering again, you know, one way to honor your boss is to not talk back to him. You shouldn't talk back to your boss. It's funny because there's a guy at work and my boss even brought it up to me, we were in the shop one day and we were working on this car, getting this car re-keyed and we had to make a key for it and we had to program a new key and he's having a hard time and there's all these different machines, he hooked up to it to get the key to read to the car's computer. My boss and this other guy were talking about it and it was one of those days where it was like 112, 113, it was a hot day out in the parking lot and he says, well, I wonder if this machine would work if we hooked this one up if it would do the job and I'll never forget this kid, this young kid, looks at him and goes, yeah, maybe he says go try it. He says that to the boss, he says go try it. He says to the boss, a man who's been in this industry for over 40 years, a man who's 60 years old, you know, more than twice this kid's age, he tells him, just without even thinking about it, just off the cuff, just comes out of his mouth, you go try it. And I was kind of, I wasn't in eyesight, but I could hear it, I remember just shaking my head. And I thought about this first, I thought about not answering yet, not purloining, not talking back to your boss and my boss was like, I could hear him, he's like, no, you go try it. And then he came back and he's a real good natured guy, real patient, real understanding and he said, he just looked at me and we both kind of smiled and he laughed, he says, you hear that? I'm like, hey, he's like, he told me to go out there and do it. I said, I don't know what to tell you, the kid's got to learn, you know. So that's the thing, you know, the Bible's clear here, that's because bosses, they take note of that kind of stuff. They take note of your attitude. You know, you come in with a sad face, with an attitude, or you're talking back, you're not being obedient. You know, the Bible says that we are to honor our masters, that the name of God and his doctrine be not blessed me. We shouldn't, you know, we shouldn't talk back, you know, and let me pick on myself a little bit. I remember when I, back in Michigan years ago, when I was like a young man, not that I'm not a young man now, but I was like early 20s, I was probably 22, 23, and I had gotten a job with the man who was my pastor at that time, and he was a roofer, and he took me under his wing to kind of show me how to be, how to work and stuff like that, and he gave me a job with him in his roofing business, and I remember one of the first jobs I was on, he told me to go cut this plywood, cut something, and he had, you know, he had the saw there, and it was on a big, on saw horses, and there was a piece of plywood underneath of it, and I took the other piece of plywood that he had cut, and I set it up on that table, and I took that saw and I cut, and I cut through the plywood I was supposed to cut, but then I also cut through the wood that was making up his table, that his table consisted of, and he got after it, and he was like, Corbin, why are you cutting that, and I remember just looking at it and saying, these were my words, I said, you can go buy another one, that was what I talked about, you want to talk about talking back, but that was, you know, I hadn't learned these lessons yet, and I remember he stopped what he was doing, and he was like, go home, he told me, right then and there, he said, just go home, get off my job site, you know, I don't know how many times that guy should have fired me, but he didn't, he's very patient, and I got, you know, and of course I wasn't, I didn't realize the error of my ways, I just started talking back even more in my own mind, and I started to storm off, he's like, wait, wait, wait, come back, you know, we went into the garage of the home we were working on, he said, listen, do you understand what you just did, do you understand your attitude, do you understand why I can't just go, that you're costing me money when you're cutting wood, you shouldn't, you know, and he tried to teach me these lessons, so these are things that we have to learn, these are things that people need to understand that we should not, you know, we should count our employers, we should count our masters worthy of honor, those are people that we should esteem as more honorable than others, we shouldn't argue with them even when we are right, even when you know, when the boss says, well, I thought I told you X, Y, and Z, and you're knowing your mind, and you know you're right, nope, and I remember talking about my wife, it's about the other day, a while back, how I knew that he had misspoken, or something was misunderstood, and that I was in the right, and that he corrected, that he was kind of getting after me, I just said, okay, you're right, I agreed with him, even though I was right, because I didn't want to talk back, I didn't want to come across as I was purloining her, you know, being, talking back, answering back again to my boss, I wanted to honor him, you know, so that's the kind of attitude we need to have with our employers, who else should be honored, who's another person in our lives that we should esteem worthy of all honor, well, our spouses, you know, if we have wives or husbands, the Bible's very clear, the Bible says in Ephesians 5, nevertheless, let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself, and see that the wife, she reverence her husband, so reverence is another way of esteeming somebody worthy of respect, or showing them honor, and let me tell you something, a man wants nothing more in his house than to be respected, I've heard it said, and that is the truth. You know, a man can live in squalor, a man can live a very poor and meek and meager existence, but if he has the respect of a godly woman, he can feel like a king, and that's just the truth. The Bible says in 1 Peter 3.7 that it goes both ways, that the woman either reverence her husband, but also, in 1 Peter 3.7, the Bible says, likewise, he husbands dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honor unto the wife as under the weaker vessel. So a wife, a mother, who is a weaker vessel, and somebody who has a lot of very important duties in their life, you know, motherhood, despite what the world will tell us, is an incredibly important job. I would say it's probably the most important job on the face of the earth, because the mother is the one who's raising the next generation, the mother is the one who's instilling the children values and understanding, and should be teaching them the word of God, is the mother, she spends the most time with children. And she's the weaker vessel. Now I don't know, I mean, I've been around, and I'm at home for more than eight hours, I'm ready to go. I'm ready to get back out in the field, and I don't know how my wife does it, I really don't. It's a hard job. It's a very difficult job, and they are the weaker vessel, you know, they're not the stronger one, they're the one that probably has a more demanding job, and therefore, you know, because of that set of circumstances that they're in, we should honor them, we should give them honor. 1 Timothy 5, if you would turn to 1 Timothy 5, the Bible says, you know, that there's another group of people that we ought to honor in our lives. We should honor our employers, we should honor other men, we should honor, you know, our fellow human beings, we should honor, you know, just people in general, we should be respectful and courteous, our employers, our spouses. But let me end with one last group here, where the Bible says that we should honor our pastors and other men of God. And let me say this, this is something that in this movement seems to be, I wouldn't say by and large, but there's been, you know, especially lately, there's just, it's just, it's been wanting, that people need to understand that just because our pastors are, the majority of them are younger men, does not mean that they're any less worthy of the honor that they are due. The Bible says, let the elders that rule well be kind of worthy of double honor. It doesn't say that about any other person in the Bible, doesn't say that there's anybody else in the scripture that I know of, where it says that they're not only worthy of honor, but that they are worthy of double honor, especially they who labor in the Word of Doctrine. It says that they are worthy of double honor. So how much honor is that? Well, let me just put it this way, however much honor you think a man of God is, is worth, whatever, whatever worth or merit he has in terms of honor, however much you determine that to be, double it. That's how much. It says double honor. Whatever you think he's worthy of, just double it. And you'll probably be there, hopefully. It says, especially they who labor in the Word of Doctrine. You know why we should give preachers and pastors and men of God double honor? Because I don't know if, you know, a lot of people need to realize this, but a biblically sound preacher, someone who's preaching correct doctrine, someone who's laboring in the Word and doctrine, someone who's preaching the whole counsel of God, not holding back, not trimming the message, but preaching it straight and strong, that person's a rare find. It's a rare find to find a preacher who'll get up behind the pulpit, open up the Word of God, and say, Thus saith the Lord, on any page, any line of the Bible, not afraid to preach the whole thing, and tell it like it is. That's a rare find today, and if there's anybody that's worthy of double honor, it's that man. The Bible says in the same passage that we are not to receive an accusation against a man of God. And that's the problem, is that we have people that will come in and it's amazing to me, they'll give lip service, and they'll praise the man of God up one side and down the other, but as soon as he rebukes them, as soon as he gets after their sin, or calls them out of their false doctrine, or throws them out of his church, they just turn into raiders, just overnight. And the problem is that any idiot can make a YouTube video today. Anybody can go out there and make some stupid YouTube video and just rail on the man of God. And that's what the Bible says, whether you agree with him or not is worthy of double honor. Now if you've got a problem with the pastor, if you've got a problem and you get kicked out of church or you quit the church, just do yourself a favor, don't go make a YouTube video. Just keep your mouth shut. And at least give him that much respect. And another thing is that when we come across these people, if we hear somebody who's railing on the man of God, we ought to rebuke these false accusers, these people that are, you know, now at the same time, I don't think you should give them an ear, but if you happen upon it, you know, like church, if you say, well, you know, pastor so-and-so, this and that, and you say, hey, wait a minute, buddy, you're supposed to be giving that guy double honor. You know, you need to shut your mouth or go deal with it, because, you know, where are your witnesses at? You know, you're making this accusation, you got a few more witnesses, let's go talk to them. That's the kind of attitude that we should have. That's what we need, especially in this movement, because we've seen a lot lately of people who just don't understand what it means to honor the man of God. So let me conclude with this. The Bible's showing us, you know, how to be honorable, why we should desire to be honorable, who is to be honored, who is, you know, more honorable than others. And the point is this, is that honor is something that exists on a spectrum. You know, we've seen that it ranges from just common courtesy all the way up to the fear of God. And, you know, in those midpoints on that spectrum, we see that we're to honor employers, our brethren, preachers, spouses. And we see that being honorable is something that's going to benefit not only ourselves but those around us. It's going to benefit the body of Christ and something that, you know, if we seek honor properly through humility, it's something that's going to bring us, it's going to benefit us. And that it only comes through humility. The Bible says in Matthew 20, but Jesus called them and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you. But whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister, and whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant, even as the son of man came not to be minish done unto, but to minister and to give his life a ransom for many. If we want to be great, if we want to be considered great and to be considered more honorable than others, then we have to have the attitude of a servant and one who's willing to esteem other better than himself. Let's go ahead and pray.