You Have the Authority to Honor

[podcast]http://www.revkwon.com/podcast/authority-honor.mp3[/podcast] We start a brand new series this morning called “authority.” Our generation has a problem with authority. In church and in state we use the word “authority” in different ways, some positive and some negative. The meaning of authority, then, varies considerably according to the context within which the discourse is taking place. Regardless of the way we use the word, the practical question we must answer is: how does it affect others? Why is this so important? Because, you and I, it doesn’t matter how old or how insignificant we may feel—actually have a certain authority bestowed upon us by God and that is a responsibility we need to be accountable for. That’s exactly what we’re going to be doing over the next four weeks. We’re going to be trying to practice ways of exercising our authority in this world. Before we begin then, we must go over the definition of the word. “What is authority?” Can anybody define it for me?

• The dictionary defines “authority” as the power to influence others, especially because of one’s position or one’s recognized knowledge about something.
• Biblically, “authority” is the freedom to decide or a right to act without hindrance. All such authority begins with God, for there is no authority except from God. This means that God gives people the freedom and right to do so. If God gives us the freedom to do and act without hindrance, then we must explore facets of that authority in our lives. That is to say, “how?”
• How authority is exercised is the most important: an individual exercising authority does so, not out of external constraint, but out of the conviction that God created all to live under His authority. Conviction is a belief that a person holds to be true.

So then, how do we have the authority, which is the power to influence others, in terms of honor? I mean, have we ever thought about what authority we need for honor? Either to have it or to give it? We hear it so often—whenever we’re in trouble or if our parents want us to agree with them, they say that one of the Ten Commandments is to “honor thy mother and father.” Politicians use the word by saying, “give honor to Caesar, render to Caesar, what is Caesar’s.” What is honor, then? Somebody define it please.

• Honor is an internal attitude of respect, courtesy, and reverence, it should be accompanied by appropriate action or obedience.
• The source of all honor is God on the basis of his position as sovereign Creator and of his character as a loving Father.

What does all of this mean for us then, as Christ followers? It’s simple: We have the authority, by God, to give honor without hindrance. I’m going to explain what and how that works in just a minute. [story about honoring people who disagree with me] [Gulliver’s Travels – the Liliuptians] Let’s go to our Bible passage and try to understand this from Jesus’ perspective though. Matthew 25:34-40. ³⁴ “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶ I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ ³⁷ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹ When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ ⁴⁰ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ (NIV) Write this down, this is your first blank: Honoring God requires charity toward others. You see that in verse 40? Underline it: “…whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” Charity is voluntarily loving when there is no reason to do so.  We give God respect and reverence when we are charitable toward others. I’m going to share with you four ways we can be charitable, and therefore exercise our authority to honor God and people. All of it comes from this passage we just read. This is an incredible analogy Jesus gives about how people use their authority to give honor. First way we give honor is this: Feeding the hungry means helping others know Jesus better! In verse 35, Jesus says, “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat… by now, you probably know that Jesus wasn’t literally by metaphorically. We use our authority to give honor to God and to other by influencing them to know Jesus better. We talked about this all summer, but we said that we are on a mission to be witnesses of Jesus Christ, that’s why we were created. Jesus says that there are people out there in the world who are hungry to know God. We have the authority to honor God and to honor them by giving people who are hungry for God a way to satiate that hunger for God. That’s why we sponsor kids in two regions where the gospel is not prevalent, so that at least some who are hungry for God can have an opportunity to experience Jesus’ love. That is why we go on mission trips, why we do VBS, why we have church service, why we pray, why give offering—so that people who are hungry for Jesus can have God’s word. Look at what Jesus says to Satan after his 40 day fast when Satan tempts him to ask God for food: Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Matt 4:4) This means that we have to make sure that when people who are longing for God approach us, that we tell them about Jesus, or invite them to church. That’s how we feed the hungry. How many opportunities have we all collectively lost to do this? Every week, I try to share the good news with people who are hungry for God. Every time somebody asks me how they can get spiritually fat, I explain the gospel to them. I say, listen to my podcast, let’s read the Bible, etc. How can you feed the hungry? The second way we give honor is by Quenching thirst is about bringing God’s absolute reality for people to experience on Earth. CS Lewis, the guy who wrote the “Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” says, “We drink at broken cisterns. And we eat bread which does not satisfy. If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.” He was just quoting Jesus when Jesus was at the well in Samaria. ¹³ Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, ¹⁴ but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:13-14) The drink that we are offering is Jesus. We have the authority, or the right, the power, to honor, and give reverence to God and to people by sharing the living water [Holy Spirit] that flows within us (John 7:39). The Holy Spirit is the living water which gives us the ability to do all things in Jesus. We learned this in the beginning of our Acts series. The Holy Spirit gives us the ability to change the circumstances of people here on earth. We give honor to God by sharing that absolute reality with people. Third way, Inviting strangers and clothing them is about loving others as yourself because they are really neighbors. I want to recognize here that there are no such thing as outsiders. Let’s look at the story that Jesus tells about the Good Samaritan. He was telling this story to a lawyer who wanted to narrow down the list of people he needed to love. But Jesus says no way—that is not how you or I should live. But the authority we are given is to honor people all people by recognizing that they could be one of us. ³³ But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. ³⁴ He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. (Luke 10:33-34) We have the power to do this now. What if we took the time to stop being selfish and obnoxious and greedy and annoying and started thinking about somebody else for once. And I don’t mean think about them and what they will think of you if you fart in the face or something. I’m talking about thinking about how you can help somebody who is on the outside looking in—somebody who doesn’t fit in, and/or doesn’t deserve it. What if you treated them like you would treat you. The point Jesus is making to the lawyer who asked Jesus, “who is my neighbor?” is simple—your neighbor is everyone you can help. You have the authority to honor God and others by loving others as yourself. The last way we use our authority to honor is by: Visiting the sick and the imprisoned means that our lives are living sacrifices to God. This piggy back’s off the last point, but it is simple enough. It means that we have the freedom and right (or authority) to go out of our way to do something for somebody else. We honor God and other people by living sacrificially in the name of God. ³⁵ And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ (Luke 10:35) Here’s where I end the sermon. I want to make sure you know that you have power right now. All of you have power to influence others because you all have authority from God. You should all know that you need to believe that God created you to live free without hindrance under God and with God. That’s why Jesus had to come and save us from our sins. What we do with that authority is a different question altogether; but at least for today and this week, I want us to all to focus on giving honor to God and to other people by acting with authority to be honorable—that is to say acting in respect, courtesy and reverence and appropriate action to a loving father. Some of us start school this week, others return to work after a long weekend, but I want you to try using your authority to give honor to people. I want you to think about what that looks like for you practically. Jesus says that when we give honor to other people, it’s look giving him the honor. Be honorable. Let’s pray.