You Need An Honor-Appointment
(7 minutes)
On his way to Jerusalem, Jesus had to pass through Jericho. There lived a very wealthy man named Zacchaeus, who supervised all the tax collectors. He was very eager to see Jesus and kept trying to get a look at him through the massive crowd. Since Zacchaeus was a short man and couldn't see over the heads of the people, he ran on ahead of everyone and climbed up a blossoming fig tree to get a glimpse of Jesus as he passed by. When Jesus got to that place, he looked up into the tree and said, "Zacchaeus, hurry on down, for I must stay at your house today! So he scurried down the tree and found himself face-to-face with Jesus. As Jesus left to go with Zacchaeus many in the crowd complained, "Look at this! Of all the people to have dinner with, he's going to eat in the house of a crook." Zacchaeus was amazed over his gracious visit to his home and joyously welcomed Jesus. Zacchaeus stood in front of the Lord and said, "Half of all that I own I will give to the poor. And Lord, if I have cheated anyone, I promise to pay them back four times as much as I stole."
Jesus said to him, "Your repentance shows that today life has come to you and your household, and that you are a true son of Abraham. The Son of Man has come to see out and to give life to those who are lost." (Luke 19:1-10)
Zacchaeus made an appointment with Jesus by way of his honor. Our honor truly is the currency of the Kingdom. Our honor can attract the Kingdom into our lives, and our lack of honor can repel it away.
Jesus said to them, "A prophet is treated with honor everywhere except in his own hometown, among his relatives, and in his own house." He was unable to do any great miracle in Nazareth, except to heal a few sick people by laying his hands upon them. He was amazed at the depth of their unbelief! Then Jesus went out into the different villages and taught the people. (Mark 6:4-6)
Dishonor and unbelief go hand in hand. The Son of God was "unable" to perform any work of power due to the dishonor in the people. Dishonor stripped the influence and impact of the Kingdom away from the town of Nazareth. Do you see it?
Our honor can attract the Kingdom into our lives, and our lack of honor can repel it away. Zacchaeus made an appointment with the King by way of his honor. In a crowd of 15,000+ people, Zacchaeus stood out to Jesus. He was highlighted. Why? Pastor Tim said, "Understand this, Zacchaeus is showing a heart of honor that the 15,000 casually walking with Jesus did not. You can make an appointment with the Lord based on your honor."
Three things are important in the Kingdom: intimacy, honor, and order. They make up the ladder of love that Abba is building inside of us in the wilderness. One side of the ladder is intimacy. The other side is honor. And the rungs in between are order. This ladder establishes Kingdom life in a man and woman. It's the structure that supports the weight of glory, presence, and anointing that we are designed to carry in the earth. Like Pastor Tim said on Sunday, there are degrees of intimacy we share with Yahweh. You can see those degrees in the story above. Thousands of people were okay to casually walk at a distance behind Jesus. But there was one that desired a deeper level of intimacy called face-to-face. Your honor is the gateway into that next degree of intimacy. Zacchaeus breaking away from the crowd, running ahead, and climbing up into the blossoming fig tree was the increase in honor that paved the way for a deeper measure of intimacy. It brought him face-to-face with Jesus.
Is your honor making appointments with the King?
Some of you have been craving a deeper measure of intimacy with the Lord, and the only thing standing in the way is your honor. When your honor matches the value that you're placing on that deeper measure of intimacy, it will be unlocked in your life. It has no choice. The Kingdom is attracted to honor. It will make you stand out in a crowd.
Tomorrow we will talk more about honor and what it looks like, but for now, let's allow Abba to talk to us about how honor is showing up in our lives today. The first form of honor in a relationship is honesty. Our ability to be honest with Yahweh about where we are lays the foundation for higher degrees of honor to come. Maybe your first step towards honor today can be your honest conversation with Abba about where you are, about what honor looks like in your life right now. Be prepared, your honor may not match the value and worth of the Kingdom right now. But that's why Abba is talking to us about it. When Abba comes to walk with us and have a conversation about something, He's not coming to bring shame or condemnation. He's coming with the grace and permission you need to step out of the old and into the new. The fact that He's talking to us about it shows me that there is a special grace in this hour to be transformed by His love into the image of the One we are called to look just like - Yeshua the Christ.
Beloved One, you have a heart of honor inside of you. Past hurts and rejection may have dammed up the flow, but Abba's love can restore everything that's been broken. When your heart is lit up by His pure light and perfect love, honor will be effortless for you, because honor is a part of your original design!
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Worship: "You Restore Everything" by Rick Pino & Abbie Gamboa
Honor: Give Online to The Wilderness Place
Share With Us: We would love to hear how you're encountering Abba in your daily walks. Don't hesitate to share what you're hearing, seeing, or sensing in His presence. Email us here!
