This morning I got the chance to hear from John Bevere on the topic of Honor’s Reward. Here are my notes from the session.

2 John 8 – Look to yourselves that we do not lose those things we worked for, but that we may receive a full reward.

John does not just say reward. He specifically says “full reward.” That means there’s a partial reward scenario and a no-reward scenario. God wants you to receive the full reward.

Of course John is speaking about the judgment seat, the bema seat of Christ. We will not be examined on our sins because Christ covered those. We will be judged on our works to build the Kingdom.

Godliness has the promise of the life that now is and is to come. The is to come covers the judgment seat.

Proverbs says the righteous will be rewarded in the earth. As I began meditating on the Gospels I realized some received a full reward, some a partial reward, and some no reward.

Mark 6:5 – Jesus goes to a city looking for the messiah – “Now he could do no mighty work there except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them.”

What really got my attention was that he could do no mighty work. I understand if he would do no mighty work. He says “could” do no mighty work. He was restrained.

We’ve got to know what restrains Jesus, because if we know what restrains him, we’ll know what restrains us.

Mark 6:3-4 – Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of… But Jesus said, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives and in his own house.”

Jesus goes to a familiar passage in Isaiah. Nothing out of the ordinary, they were waiting for the Messiah. But then Jesus drops a bomb. He says, “I am the Messiah.”

It was like a bomb dropped. To them Jesus was the kid down the street.

These people had an image of how messiah would come. It was an image based on Scripture. Isaiah said that the government would be on His shoulders. He was to be a king, a ruler.

But Jesus comes, and he’s got the prostitutes and mafia following him. They say “Hold it, this is not what we expect.”

Many times God will send you what you need in a package you don’t like.

The greek worked for honor there is time – it literally means “a valuing.” The image is one of something valuable, precious or weighty, such as gold. Other definitions: appreciation, esteem, faborable regard, respect.

The antonym is atime, dishonor, meaning to treat as common or ordinary, to not show respect or value.

Honor can be showed in action, word, or thought, but all true honor originates from the heart. God said that people honored me with their actions and lips but not from the heart.

Jesus comes to this city that is looking for the messiah, and the result is that even though he comes with the spirit of God without measure, only a few people get healed. They get a small reward because of honor.

In Luke Jesus is teaching at a large house. As he taught them the power of the Lord was there to heal them. Who is them? The teachers and preachers who were there.

God never wastes anything. That means at least one of them needs to be healed. The law of averages says that if you’ve got a couple hundred people in a room, 6-24 need to be healed.

But no one was healed until the men lowered their friend through the roof on his mat. The teachers and preachers thought, “who is this that forgives sins.”

They got no reward from heaven because they dishonored Jesus in their thoughts.

In Matthew a roman centurion comes to Jesus and asks him to heal his servant. Jesus says he’ll come, but the officer (the conqueror) says to Jesus (the conquered) that I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. I am a man with authority and under authority. My soldiers obey my commands. I know that if you command it, it will happen.

Jesus marveled and said, “I have not found this much faith in all of Israel.” That means more than John the Baptist, more than Mary, more than the 12 apostles.

I would bet this Roman officer heard less scripture than them, but he understood honor.

There was a Greek woman whose daughter was tormented. Jesus and the disciples are resting after a long, hard day of ministry. She comes into the house and pleads with Jesus meaning that Jesus isn’t responding. Jesus essentially calls her a dog.

If she were an American she would have given Jesus an earful. But she looks at him and says, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs eat of the crumbs that fall from the master’s table.” And Jesus healed her daughter.

Those who honored Jesus greatly got a full reward from heaven. Those who honored him a little got a partial reward.

Luke 13:35 – I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”

You will not see Jesus again until you honor the one I send you in my name. Why is this?

John 13 – He who receives (honors) whomever I send receives (honors) Me; and he who receives (honors) Me receives (honors) Him (the Father) who sent me.

Matthew 10:40 – He who receives (honors) you receives (honors) Me, and he who receives (honors) Me receves (honors) Him who sent Me. … And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water (honors them) in the name of a disciple… He shall by no means lose his reward.

Jesus identifies the three levels of people, those over us, our peers, those under us.

1. Those who are in authority over us.
   Four areas of delegated authority in the NT
   1. Civil – For rulers (civil authorities) are not to be feared by those who do good by by those who do evil…because they are God’s servants working for your own good. … That is also why you pay taxes, because the authorities are working for God when they fulfill their duties. Pay then what you owe them; pay them your personal property taxes, and show respect and honor for them all.

      It doesn’t say the ones you like. 1 Peter 2:17, “Fear God. Honor the king.” Peter was talking about Herod Aggripa I. He murdered Christians.

      This is what we say to leaders in America, “You have to first earn my respect.” The fear of God doesn’t say that. We are to honor the authority not the behavior.

   2. Family – Ephesians 6:2-3 Honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with a promise: that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.

      I can’t think of two better promises, a long and successful life. If cancer comes into your house, you can rebuke it and say, “I have a promise from God for long life.”

      When my kids were little I forbid them from watching G-rated movies where the kids dishonored their parents.

      Deuteronomy 27:16 Cursed his he who dishonors his father or his mother. All the people shall say, Amen.

      God put the 10 Commandments in the order of importance. Would you say murder is serious? Yes, number 6. Adultery? Number 7. Dishonoring your mother and father is number 5.

      I personally believe God sees dishonoring your mother and father is a more serious sin than murder, stealing, and adultery. Look at the blessing for Jacob’s sons? Ruben was the only one who wasn’t honored according to birth order. He dishonored Jacob even though his brothers killed people in cold blood.

   3. Social (Bosses, teachers, coaches, etc.) – 1 Timothy 6:1 Let as many as are servants (students, employees, athletes) under the yoke count their own masters (teachers, bosses, coaches) worthy of all honor, that the name of God and the doctrine be not blasphemed.

      The Bible says you serve your bosses as unto the lord, not as men-pleasers.

   4. Church – This is the one Jesus was specifically referring to when he said “prophet.”
      1 Thessalonians 5:12 – Dear brothers and sisters, honor those who are your leaders in the Lord’s work.

      I see friends who do miracles in Africa but come to America and a few headaches get healed.

      When I go to Africa, I receive incredible honor. We’ve confused worship and honor. We will only worship Jesus Christ, but we will honor those two whom honor is due.

      So they get their eyes opened. They get their headaches healed.

      1 Timothy 5:17-18 – Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine. For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzles an ox while it walks on the grain. A worker deserves its wages.”

      Basically, the church leaders who do their job well are worthy of double pay.

      I have been to churches that don’t do what the Bible says. They pay their pastors modestly. The businessmen/women and families are constantly struggling.

      Then I go to churches that pay their pastors really well. And the opposite is true.

      The mindset is that the churches that pay their pastors modestly want more for missions and outreach. They’re giving hundreds of thousands to missions and outreach.

      The ones that pay their pastors well, they’re giving millions.

      Dr. Cho has 830,000 members in his church in Korea. He started his church in a dump. Asian dumps are hideous. Today he has over 50,000 million and billionaires in his congregation. Both times I hosted him, he had 20 businessmen travelling with him. They paid for everything, and they would not sit down until he did.

      Americans are some of the hardest people on the planet to preach the Gospel to because we are trying to understand Kingdom principles with a democratic mindset. Democracy is great for America, but if you try to related to God with a democratic mindset, you will not even connect.

      I understand that we live in a cool age. I was just in a meeting this week and someone asked me if my generation was the one that ever grew up. I love it. I really didn’t like the scary, three-piece suit age. I’m great with that. I believe we need to be relevant.

      However, when I was a youth pastor the cool kid came up to me and asked me to be his buddy because his last youth pastor was his buddy. He had been fired because he built the entire youth group on activities.

      I asked him if he wanted a youth pastor’s reward or a buddy’s reward. He said a youth pastor’s reward. I said “Good,” and walked away.

2. Our Peers
   Matthew 10:41 – And he who receives (honors) a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward.”

   A pastor in my hometown hired one of my key staff members out from under me without even talking to me about it. It took me two days to forgive him. God told me to give him the new watch I bought on vacation.

   I called him after I was over the anger. We talked it out. I asked him if I could come by. I gave him my watch. He said, “I just told my wife I needed a watch last week.” I said, “enjoy it.”

   He and I are still friends. The woman we hired to replaced the one who left, brought us into 17 new languages (it was a translation position) in 9 months. The other woman had brought us into 5 new languages, which was already a great job.

   I am the most read Christian author in Iran. The second in Ukraine. Three of my books are bestsellers in Korea. Millions of people are being blessed. Do you know why? I honored a peer who dishonored me.

   Jesus said if you love those who love you

3. Those Entrusted to Us
   Matthew 10:42 – And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water (honors them) in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward.

   Husbands you are to honor your wives. The Bible says that if you don’t God will not hear your prayers.

   I look at the way some parents talk to their children. It’s so degrading. We constantly affirmed our boys. You cannot believe the rewards we’ve received because we honored our children.

   Whole Foods is my favorite grocery store. I’m there once or twice a day at home. I had a friend in town. He said, “Does every person in this store know you?” I said yes, because I talk to them. I care for the people there. They don’t know I’m a preacher or author or speaker, and I don’t want them to know.

   One of the cashiers who’s line I always went through shut down her line to come tell me she would miss me because she had to move and go live with her grandmother.

Why do we honor people? Because we recognize the greatest price in the universe was paid. Your temptation is going to be to go be nice to everybody. And that’s going to last for about a week. You’ve got to get it in your heart.

Related posts:

1. John Bevere at Capital City Church