Joshua Boyd

Today we finish up the series on Honor.  The true disciple of Christ, the one who desires to mature in their walk with God, is one who has learned to honor God.  If we want God to honor us, we must first honor Him.  How?  We’ve learned over the past few weeks that honor requires

• Humbling ourselves
• Valuing the things that God values
• Giving
• Submitting 
  • to Authority
  • to Each Other
  • to God

Each of these attributes of honor are really actions on our part.  Some actions, like humbling ourselves, can’t be readily seen by others.  You and I can’t see the heart behind the attitude.  The more we mature in our walk with God though, the more we can identify the fruit of the attitude.  In other words, we can see the fruit of humility even if we can’t see the heart decision to be humble.  

Even in giving, the most outward action of honor, we can’t see the heart behind the action.  Jesus stood in the temple one day and watched the people give.  Those who were giving the most money ended up being the ones doing it for show.  It was the one who gave the largest percentage who had the most faith and gave with the right heart.  Jordon’s series on the condition of the heart ties so neatly into this message.  I love when we see the work of the Holy Spirit. 

My Heart and My Ministry Series Part 3
Jordon Gilmore


Jesus emphasized the importance of a regenerated heart, as exemplified by Nicodemus, a religious leader. The Christian life is a process of continuous change and reevaluation, requiring a new heart to enter the kingdom of God. Despite our progress, we should remain open to reevaluating our hearts and embracing a new perspective.

God initiates heart change because of His love for us. He removes our stubborn hearts and replaces them with responsive ones, enabling us to follow His decrees and regulations. This process is essential for effective ministry, as it allows us to serve God with a pure and obedient heart.

God initiates change in our hearts due to His love and desire for His name’s sake. When we fall short, we can pray for a clean heart and renewed spirit, as exemplified by David in Psalms 51. This prayer is essential for all believers, regardless of their spiritual journey.

Repentance is a continuous process of evaluating our hearts and seeking God’s forgiveness. We should not disqualify ourselves from ministry due to perceived heart issues, as God can work through our imperfections. Asking God to search our hearts and critique our thoughts can be uncomfortable, but it leads to growth and a deeper relationship with Him.

Joshua Boyd

This morning we will expand on the topic of honor, especially the attribute of humility that we introduced early in the series. There is no real honor without humility.  Or more precisely, there is no honor of someone else without humility.  Pride honors itself.  It puts its own position, its own way above that of others. 

Jesus, our Master, lived out our example.  He did want He requires of us.  

John 5:19-24, 44

Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God and He will lift you up (1 Peter 5:6).  Honor God and He will honor you.  Honor yourself and despising God leads to God despising you – He resists the proud.  

There is a word that describes the character and actions of humility.  It’s a word that we don’t like to use and many churches won’t even teach on it.  That word is submission.  The Oxford dictionary defines submit: “accept or yield to a superior force or to the authority or will of another person.”  Synonyms include: yield, capitulate, give way, agree, consent, defer.  

Honor requires Submission

This isn’t a popular topic. Too many want the reward but don’t want to take the path to get there.  But it is absolutely necessary in order to truly honor God and honor each other. Anything else is pride disguising itself as humility.  

Words can only hide pride for so long.  Eventually actions – lack of submission – reveals the true attitude.  Others see your behavior long before they hear you talk.  Unfortunately, in this present politically heated world we live in, words quickly become the mechanism for revealing our attitude.  

Jordon Gilmore

Examine the condition of our Heart.

1 Cor. 11:26-29
Out of our hearts flow our ministry

“The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭6‬:‭5‬ ‭

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? “I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.””
‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭17‬:‭9‬-‭10‬ ‭ESV‬‬

The natural state of our hearts is not good

The terrifying reality is that it is entirely possible to serve your entire life with the wrong heart

The Pharisees did ministry with the wrong heart

Matthew 9:1-8
Why do we think evil in our hearts?

Matthew 15:10-20
Isaiah 29:13

1 John 3:19-22

If we take an honest assessment of our hearts, we may not like what we see, but God already knows the state of our heart and still chose us.

Joshua Boyd

God honors, not everyone, those who honor Him.  Too often, believers put the responsibility on God that God has designated to us.  Do you want to be honored?  It isn’t automatic.  It isn’t because of your title, status, family, good works, etc.  You must first honor Him.  But not honoring God isn’t the neutral position—it is the complete opposite.  If you think lightly of Him, His ways, His Word, His commands, he will think lightly – despise – you. Yikes! 

Giving is a key indicator of honor.  When you honor someone, you will give to them, and give to be with them.  That leads us to today’s point:

Honor means Giving

In other words, when you honor something or someone, you will give to it or them—time, energy, money, priority.  Every person who wants to be a disciple of the Master, the Lord, must be a tither, must give offerings.  Without that physical act of giving, there is no honor.  Why do you think we spent so many Sundays this year talking about Biblical Finances.  Where you prioritize your money, is where you prioritize your heart.  

Jordon Gilmore

Topic 1 - God wants our heart
Prov 4:23
“Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭4‬:‭23‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Guard your heart
Ministry = Personal service for God towards men

Matt 22:34-40
Love the Lord with ALL your heart

Prov 3:5-6
Trust the Lord with ALL your heart 

Prov 21:2
The Lord weighs the heart

David
1 Samuel 13:13-14

Jordon Gilmore

Luke 16:1-13

Apart from God’s grace, we really have nowhere to go. Everything we have and everything we are is a gift of unmerited favor.

The unjust steward was using what he had in the present to take care of things he knew would come in the future.

Are we so earthly minded about the use of our time that we fail to use it for the eternal things of God?

Joshua Boyd

Part 2 of our series on honor begins today with some questions: what do you value?  What do you put the highest price on?  

The apostle Paul’s values changed after he encountered the Lord Jesus on the road to Damascus.  

Philippians 3:5-9

The Kingdom of God works by honor. We can restate it this way:  the Kingdom of God works by a value system – one that is much different from the world’s value system.  This might be one of the largest gaps between the two kingdoms.  When you travel the world, you can see differences in culture and laws that show what is valued or prioritized between one nation versus another.  Japanese culture values family heritage, elders and the culture itself.  Here in the US, what would you say that we value?  I know we spend way too much money on entertainment.  

The world ridicules, thinks very little of the things that are the highest value in the kingdom of God.  

1 Corinthians 1:28

God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important.

That means us! We have to realize, like Paul, that our heritage, our education, our occupation mean nothing in the Kingdom of God.  That doesn’t mean God won’t use our education and our occupation for His sake.  It means that we can’t rely on only that to get ahead in this world and especially with God.  When we value eternity more than this world, we start to see what we should honor.   

Joshua Boyd

The Apostle John said “I must decrease that He might increase”.  For us to show honor to a person or our Lord, we have to first humble ourselves and decrease the weight on our side of the scale so that it gives more weight to the one we are honoring.  Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God and He will lift you up.  

Jordon Gilmore 


1 Chronicles 29:11
1. God’s timing is perfect just as His ways are perfect. Ps 18:30
2. What the enemy meant for evil, God has turned around for our good. 
3. “God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭28‬ ‭NLT‬