Honour One Another. In the Bible, we're told to honour all people. But what does this mean? How can we honour someone who is different from us, or who has done something that we don't agree with? It's not always easy to honour those closest to us. We may not like them, or agree with them. But honouring one another is something that God calls us to do. Learn how you can honour one another in this message.
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Have you ever found it difficult to honour someone?
If you haven’t, you haven’t lived long enough knowing that when you follow Christ, it means you’re called to honour all people.
That doesn’t mean we don’t confront things that hurt others or keep them from finding God. Jesus did that when he cleansed the temple… twice. John records the first time he took his time to make a whip and chase everyone out of the court of the gentiles - which was the place non-jewish people could seek God. He said,
John 2:16 NLT Then, going over to the people who sold doves, he told them, “Get these things out of here. Stop turning my Father’s house into a marketplace!”
Temple’s Court of the Gentiles had very recently—perhaps as recently as A. D. 30—also been made available for such commerce; it appears that Caiaphas, the current High Priest, was responsible for this development.
Jesus was not confronting an ancient custom, but to an innovation introduced by the leader of those who opposed him
Matthew, Mark and Luke record the time Jesus did it again, during the passover when he would die.
Look at how each writer describes the event.
All three mention Jesus’ language was a little more harsh. Let me give you what Mark writes. Mark tells us after the triumphal entry he looked around and went back to Bethany because it was already late in the afternoon. The next morning on the way back to the temple, he cursed the fig tree.
Mark 11:17 NLT He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves.”
That’s more aggressive than the first time. It was intentional. It was strategic. It was to make a point. It wan’t enough for the Romans to come in force and put down an uprising, it was enough to get himself killed.
Mark 11:12 Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out all the people buying and selling animals for sacrifice. He knocked over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves.
Money changers were people who performed a needed service, but everyone knew they were cheats. Money with the face of a foreign god, or emperor made God, was not acceptable for the temple of YHWH. But you know - even today - you lose percentage coming and going. It was worse at the temple.
The ones selling doves…doves were the offering of the ones who couldn’t afford more. And Jesus was flipping over their chairs calling them a bunch of thieves.
Matthew mentions after this that
Matthew 21:14 The blind and the lame came to him in the Temple, and he healed them.
So he comes in intentionally. He targets what offends God. And then He starts healing people who were there to beg from others.
Then the teachers and leaders were indignant enough to come to him and tell him to stop what the children were saying.
Matthew 21:15-17 NLT The leading priests and the teachers of religious law saw these wonderful miracles and heard even the children in the Temple shouting, “Praise God for the Son of David.”
But the leaders were indignant. They asked Jesus, “Do you hear what these children are saying?”
“Yes,” Jesus replied. “Haven’t you ever read the Scriptures? For they say, ‘You have taught children and infants to give you praise.’” Then he returned to Bethany, where he stayed overnight.
Luke makes it clear that these events - the triumphal entry, the flipping over tables that confronted the ruling of Caiaphas, and the praise even from children for what He had done…these things help push Jewish leaders to kill Jesus.
Luke 19:47-48 After that, he taught daily in the Temple, but the leading priests, the teachers of religious law, and the other leaders of the people began planning how to kill him. But they could think of nothing, because all the people hung on every word he said.
So Jesus cleared them out with a whip at the start of His ministry, now at the end of His ministry He returns on a donkey and they lay palm branches and coats down. Then he comes in and starts flipping the tables, begins healing people and confronts the ones who want to confront him.
Why would I start a message called “Honour One Another” by looking at Jesus cleansing the temple?
That’s a great question. I asked it myself many times this week.
I was wrestling with this sermon for a while.
You see, I wanted to talk about how Jesus honoured his disciples when he cleaned them with His words.
I wanted to say, “Jesus honoured all people”. But I couldn’t get off my image of him cleansing the temple.
How is that Jesus honouring others?
Maybe a better question is WHO was Jesus honouring?
The first time John records, Jesus took the time to make the whip. It was intentional and strategic. It was the first passover at the start of His ministry and He sent a message to Caiaphas, and everyone who felt excluded by the High Priest’s new way of doing things.
The second time. It was also intentional, it was also strategic. Jesus left in the afternoon and came back the next day. Jesus was on God’s timetable. It was that passover he needed to die.
His ministry was only three years long. The Passover in the middle, he was in Galilee - walking on water and feeding the five thousand. He was far away from Jerusalem because it wasn’t his time.
I was thinking his cleansing of the temple was a spur of the moment reaction to injustice. NO
First off, anger isn’t sin. We’re told to not sin in our anger. Ephesians 4:26 It’s OK to be offended by what offends God, because what offends God is anything that hurts us or draws us away from him or keeps others from finding him. That’s the definition of sin, anything that hurts us, or draws us away from him or keeps others from finding him…basically anything that hurts us or hurts others.
We’re to confront sin, not opinions we disagree with.
The court of the gentiles was the closest place non-jewish people could get to God. And people who cheated others, did their business there. They cut off people’s access to God by what they did and where they were.
Jesus was honouring the Father when he intentionally and strategically cleansed the temple both times.
We may think we are honouring others by not confronting sin, but most the time we’re excusing ourselves from the tough conversations.
I want to have those conversation in relationship. I want to speak the truth in love. But I also teach how to honour when you excommunicate people and hand them over to satan, so, they can be taught not to blaspheme.
When we honour one another we need to honour God first. If we don’t honour God, the honour we show others, can seem a lot like blowing smoke.
Who we are to Honour
It’s easy for us to honour the honourable. We come by it naturally to esteem those worthy of respect.
But specifically , we’re told to honour our parents (Exodus 20:12) our wife (1 Peter 3:7), widows (1 Timothy 5:3 ), one another (Romans 12:10) , all people and kings and everyone in authority (1 Peter 2:17).
These people may not be worthy of honour.
- Peter wrote we should honour kings and the king he wrote about who would have him executed.
You may have people who should be worthy of honour treat you without honour.
- Our prime minister has labeled my views as extremist. I still need to honour him. Do you know how difficult it is NOT to share some memes and articles at times?
It’s tough to honour people who have chosen to treat you dishonourably
It’s easier to see the dishonourable the closer we are to them.
Jesus said only in his home town is a prophet without honour (Mark 6:1-6).
We judge those we know the best, the most harshly.
Does this really matter?
That’s another great question, I’m so glad you asked.
Yes it matters. Because one of the One Another commands in scripture is for us to honour one another above ourselves (Romans 12:10).
We live in a world that any conversation can devolve into an argument. Even the most trivial statements have people passionately fighting for it and against it. People are offended and highly offendable. And it’s not just in the world, it’s always - in my lifetime - been in the church.
We just don’t honour the ones who don’t do anything ever to upset us. We need to honour the ones God has put us together with, and as you know… life gets messy.
We see each other’s warts. We see the mistakes. We have a history with each other. And most of us, most the time, could honestly say “It takes less to tick me off (I’m sorry - ‘trigger me’) than it used to.”
And we need to honour one another above ourselves.
What does that look like? How can we practically do it?
Let’s see if can follow the example of Christ.
Jesus honoured his disciples…even when they did things that likely embarrass him.
Johns records, In the last time of teaching his disciples that Jesus talks about the vine and branches.
Cleaned disciples with His word
John 15:1-3 HCSB
“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vineyard keeper. Every branch in Me that does not produce fruit He removes, and He prunes every branch that produces fruit so that it will produce more fruit. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.
Let’s see how He used his words to trim back growth that not in line with his will.
James and John calling down fire;
Luke 9:51-56
As the time drew near for him to ascend to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. He sent messengers ahead to a Samaritan village to prepare for his arrival. But the people of the village did not welcome Jesus because he was on his way to Jerusalem. When James and John saw this, they said to Jesus, “Lord, should we call down fire from heaven to burn them up?” But Jesus turned and rebuked them. So they went on to another village.
Some manuscripts add an expanded conclusion to verse 55 and an additional sentence in verse 56: And he said, “You don’t realize what your hearts are like. 56 For the Son of Man has not come to destroy people’s lives, but to save them.”
We don’t know how Jesus rebuked them, but The Chosen series has a scene how it might have gone down…
[[Sons of Thunder video]]
Trim: Jesus rebuked them. He cleansed them with his word.
Or the time James and John asked to sit at right and left;
[[Request of James and John]]
Trim: the greatest among you needs to be the servant of all
Thomas doubting
[[Doubting Thomas]]
Trim: Blessed are those who do not see yet still believe
Peter Rebuking
Peter has the revelation that Jesus is the Christ, and 5 verses later is telling Jesus that He is wrong about being crucified. He agrees with Satan’s temptation to take the easy way out, don’t go through the cross. Jesus’ words were harsh, but most times we’re trimmed it seems harsh.
Trim: Get behind me Satan!
Jesus cleansed them, cleaned them, trimmed them with his word.
The good news is he cleanses us with His word as well. You and I can become less offended by others as we hear Him speak in His word and His presence.
Have you been spending time in His word?
Have you been spending time in his presence?
I find I don’t when I’m living offended at Him. But that’s not the point of the message today, just a little something to prick the conscious. Maybe Holy Spirit will us it to “Trim”
Today, I want to get to how we can practically and with Holy Spirit’s help Honour One Another.
How to Honour One Another
Holy Spirit empowers us to Honour all people. We can’t do it without His help. We can’t even honour one another without him empowering us to accomplish every good work prompted by faith.
Honour One Another Tool - LISTEN
The challenge: we talk at about 225 words/minute. We can listen at 500 words/minute. Our minds fill in the other 275 words if we’re not intentional and strategic.
The good news is you don’t have worry about showing someone you’re paying attention, if in fact you are paying attention. If you can do 1 of these things in your next conversation, you’ll start having better conversations.
L - Learn to be present Romans 12:10
I - Ignore pontification Proverbs 27:14
S - Segue with open questions Ephesians 4:29
T - Tune into Holy Spirit Galatians 5:25
E - Enjoy the interaction Romans 1:12
N - Nurture amazement 1 Thessalonians 5:11
L - Learn to be present
Romans 12:10 Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honouring each other.
Be present. Be in that moment. Don’t be half in it and half out of it.
Tip:
Put down the phone. Turn off notifications. Don’t walk away until conversation is over. You’re not listening if your down the hall doing something that popped into your head. If you can’t be present, reschedule.
Can I be present for this conversation?
I - Ignore pontification
Proverbs 27:14 A loud and cheerful greeting early in the morning will be taken as a curse!
You may know more than the person you’re talking to could ever know about a topic. Don’t pontificate. Assume you have something to learn. People don’t care about how much you know until they know how much you care.
Tip:
“True listening involves the setting aside of oneself” M Scott Peck
Can I keep my mouth shut and let them speak?
S - Segue with open questions
Ephesians 4:29 Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.
Have you ever noticed how many questions Jesus asked? Even though Jesus knew all things (John 16:30)—including people’s hearts (John 2:24–25)—he still asked over 300 questions in the Gospels.
What do you want me to do for you? (Matt 20:32).
Do you believe I can do this? (Matt 9:28).
Do you not yet understand? (Matt 16:8).
Why were you looking for me? (Luke 2:49).
What are you thinking in your hearts? (Luke 5:22).
How is it that you seek praise from one another and not seek the praise that comes from God? (John 5:44).
As Stephen Covey observed,
“Most people don’t listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.”
Don’t assume your experience is there experience. It tends to shut people down. Segue with open-ended questions.
Tip:
Complicated questions bring back simple answers. Simple questions bring more thoughtful responses.
“How did you feel?” vs “You must have been terrified.”
How can I draw them out?
T - Tune into Holy Spirit
Galatians 5:25 Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.
Be led by compassion. Ask yourself and Holy Spirit - What does God love about them?
Encourage them with what your compassion unlocks.
Tip:
Go with the flow. Don’t hold onto a question for a part of the conversation that’s been moved on from.
What does God love about them?
E - Enjoy the interaction
Romans 1:12 When we get together, I want to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours.
People respond to being heard. We like being seen and validated. It’s a joy to see the other enjoy the conversation.
Tip:
Stay out of the weeds. You can fact check later.
Try not to repeat yourself. It’s condescending and boring.
If you don’t know, say that you don’t know. Talk should not be cheap.
Do they seem to be enjoying the conversation?
N - Nurture amazement
1 Thessalonians 5:11
So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.
Be teachable. Be brief. Be interested in the other. Be prepared to be amazed. You’ll be encouraged as you encourage others, you’ll be blessed as you bless others.
Tip:
Seek to understand, not just be understood.
What have I learned and experienced?
It takes effort and energy to pay attention to someone. But if you can’t do that you’re not in a conversation, you’re just two people talking out barely related sentences in the same place.
L - Learn to be present Can I be present for this conversation?
I - Ignore pontification Can I keep my mouth shut and let them speak?
S - Segue with open questions How can I draw them out?
T - Tune into Holy Spirit What does God love about them?
E - Enjoy the interaction Do they seem to be enjoying the conversation?
N - Nurture amazement What have I learned and experienced?
If you can focus on one of these things, you’ll be having better conversations. You’ll be learning how to practically and powerfully Honour One Another. Try it out before we leave today.
Can I pray?
Blessing
Romans 15:5-6 May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus. Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
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