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Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] I don't know about you, but lately I've been hearing a lot of encouragement about the Lord delivering us from all our troubles, that struggles and difficulties of people going through. Just encouraging words that way, I find.
[00:00:18] And the songs, you know, that he lives.
[00:00:22] And I just want to encourage you. I was working on this message and I sensed that it was in this as well. Talking about we can be encouraged because the Lord knows and none of our sufferings in vain. God will take care of that. And so I just want to encourage you this morning, if you're going through a difficult time, just hang in there, Keep going. That verse that Pastor Paul shared, coming to the throne of grace with confidence in our time of need and that we might find grace. And it's a graceful Savior we serve.
[00:00:52] And so it's all around the world. What I'm talking about here is my title up here, honoring the pathway to a life blessed by God. God wants to honor and bless his people all around the world. We see people from every walk of life that are honored for many different reasons. Some are recognized for their service, others for sacrifice for leadership achievements or positions that they have held. We honor people through ceremonies, public recognition, acts of kindness and gestures of respect.
[00:01:27] And I think about our firefighters and our policemen of our country community here in our city.
[00:01:35] You know, each year there are funerals or memorials held across our country that honor their fallen comrades and recognizing the commitment and sacrifice made by these who have given their lives in service.
[00:01:49] You know, as we look into different ways, as I was looking into different ways that people were honored. As I'm preparing for this, I was reminded of a funeral that I attended for a cousin of mine down in Calgary who was a served as a firefighter in Calgary.
[00:02:05] And as the procession made its way through the streets, I was deeply moved at the sight of the firefighters lined up that looked, you know, forever as far as the eye could see.
[00:02:18] Their uniforms stood as a solemn tribute, and as the casket passed by, they all stood at attention and saluted in unison.
[00:02:26] You know, it was a powerful display of respect and honor for their brother and one that illustrated the bond that they shared, the deep respect that they hold for those who have made the ultimate sacrifice.
[00:02:43] It was a profound and emotional experience for me.
[00:02:47] And these acts of honor, they're powerful.
[00:02:50] And whether they are shown to a fallen hero or expressed during special occasions, they remind us of the courage, the sacrifice and selflessness marked by the life of service.
[00:03:03] Now, I don't know how many of you would remember, old enough to remember, but June 1990, June 28th, Queen Elizabeth visited us here in Red Deer. And the city went out and above and beyond to honor Her Majesty. The streets that her motorcade would travel on in her visit here were all repaved and the crowds gathered, dignitaries welcomed her.
[00:03:28] And I remember at the time I was working and I could see the procession coming, the cars coming, and I was just going over the overpass out south here in Red Deer and I stopped and I. We got out of the truck and we were looking and you know, it's funny what famous people, how it affects us, but you know, I just, I remember straining to see if I could just see, maybe see her arm, like, who cares, you know, really.
[00:03:56] But I remember, you know, it just triggered something of excitement in me for some reason.
[00:04:03] But our city made every effort to honor the Queen.
[00:04:07] And by honoring such individuals, we acknowledge that their lives and actions are worthy of respect and gratitude.
[00:04:16] And think about it, if we can go to such lengths to honor earthly rulers the way that we do all over the world, all the time, how much more should we honor the King of Kings?
[00:04:28] You know, I want to talk this morning about the concept of honour.
[00:04:33] Just as we honor people through our actions and our gestures, there is a much higher calling and it is the call to honor God in every aspect of our lives.
[00:04:45] He shows us this very clearly in the scriptures. We are reverently, we're to reverently honor him from the very core of who we are with everything that is in us.
[00:04:57] You know, we live in what's called a dispensation of grace and we just experience grace. We're encouraged come to the throne of grace with confidence in our time of need. We can be so thankful for that. But at the same time, we've got to remember who God is and we need to have that reverent respect for who he is.
[00:05:17] And we're to give him everything about us. Deuteronomy, it says, and you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all of your strength. You must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today.
[00:05:33] Repeat them again and again to your children.
[00:05:36] Talk about them when you are at home, when you are on the road and when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.
[00:05:43] You know, this is a tall order for us as parents, but it's how real it needs to be within our lives.
[00:05:52] It means so much that I remember with my boys, you know, different circumstances would come up and it would just always opportunities to share, you know, about how we're to handle this with wisdom and how the Word. Where's the Word at in all of this? There's so many opportunities when we're with our kids to be able to share these things and plant these seeds and it's a tall order, but God has given us the grace to do it.
[00:06:18] And like the meticulously paved roads for royalty, our lives must be cultivated to be able to reflect the honour towards God, making a way for his presence to shine through us.
[00:06:32] And so, Lord, we pray that with this word this morning that you would help us to hear what your spirit is saying.
[00:06:38] We thank you Father, that you're moving by your spirit in amongst us and that the seeds are going out and being planted and being watered. And we just commit this time to you and pray that you'd help us to hear what we need to hear, Father, from you. In Jesus name, Amen.
[00:06:55] So these works, these acts of honor that we're looking at here this morning, they're not only going to transform our relationship with Jesus because they will if we commit our lives totally and completely to Him. It is a transformational thing that takes place in our lives. It's not only going to affect us, but it's also going to be inspirational for those around us.
[00:07:17] When we make conscious effort to honor God, to become a testament of his love and faithfulness, you know, this act of worship begins to reshape our perspective, aligning our thoughts and actions to God's values as we engage in practices that glorify Him. Through our words and our daily behaviors, we create an environment where his presence can thrive.
[00:07:46] Our commitment to honoring God is contagious.
[00:07:50] It inspires others to explore their own relationship with Him.
[00:07:54] When friends, family members and co workers witness our faith in action, it can spark a curiosity and to lead them into ask us, what is it, the reason that you have for this hope you seem to have?
[00:08:08] As we navigate life's challenges and triumphs, we must remain steadfast in our commitment to God, knowing that as we do, we not only draw closer to him ourselves, but we also light the way for others to experience his grace as well.
[00:08:26] And it is as we cultivate lives that reflect God's glory that we create a ripple effect that impacts everyone who knows us.
[00:08:34] And if you're feeling tired or weak kneed, I have the perfect verse for you.
[00:08:41] A season in my life when I was really at one of my darkest seasons, like I'm 67 and this was one of my darkest moments of depression that I was going through at the time and I was exhausted and it was hard to keep going.
[00:08:54] What choice do you have to keep going?
[00:08:56] But it was tough and I was exhausted and I was going by the fridge and I remember as I was walking by, I saw this verse on the fridge. And this is for all of you who are really exhausted or tired from the struggles and difficulties that maybe you're facing in life.
[00:09:12] This is the living Bible and it's a pair faced translation that says, so take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your weak knees. Mark out a straight path for your feet so that those who are weak and lame will not fall, but become strong. I remember when I read that verse on the refrigerator. I tell you, it just gave me a lift. It was amazing. It was like, okay, God is aware. God does know that I'm going through difficulty. And it was just so timely for me.
[00:09:42] You know, we don't always understand why we go through these difficulties, but we have to come to the place where we know that God has a purpose for everything.
[00:09:50] And there's another thing that I thought of as I was preparing this message. You know, God doesn't. He's got a reason for everything he does. You know, he's not just floating around and casually not producing like he's productive. He's got a reason for what he's doing.
[00:10:07] So there's a reason why we go through what we do. And we just have to know that he's our father, he loves us, and we can trust him.
[00:10:13] And someone who went through a very difficult time is Beethoven. Here in 1801, at the age of 30, Ludwig van Beethoven, the greatest composer of his day, complained about his diminishing hearing. He struggled to hear singers instruments and eventually became completely deaf.
[00:10:34] For a composer and a pianist, obviously this would seem like an impossible obstacle.
[00:10:40] At first, Beethoven fought against it, continuing to try to perform despite his worsening results.
[00:10:46] Eventually, he stopped performing, but he found a creative way to keep composing.
[00:10:53] Even after going completely deaf, he continued to write music entirely from his imagination.
[00:11:00] And remarkably, his greatest works were composed after he had become deaf.
[00:11:05] Freed from the influences of others, Beethoven developed a style so original that he helped shape an entirely new era of music.
[00:11:15] Beethoven, you know, like he was in such a dark place in his life and yet, you know, God can see ahead of us. And you know, when we're in our darkest moment and it's just, you cannot see daylight. You live enough years, you realize when you're in this dark moment that, you know, the sun Will shine again. I remember having to tell I, you know, not that long ago, telling myself, okay, the sun will come up. The sun will shine again. You know, we have got to tell ourselves that.
[00:11:43] And when we face loss or experience weakness or hardship, it's a natural thing that we resist and complain. And with a strong sense of resistance, you know, we squirm under it. We don't like it when it begins to happen in our lives.
[00:11:56] It's completely natural that we an expected response of the struggle as God teaches us what's really important in life. See, that's what God is trying to work out in us as he allows us to go through these difficulties.
[00:12:10] What's important in life. And oftentimes, you know, when we go to the doctor and we gotta wait for news and we're processing all this, what if, you know, and then we start thinking about what really is important in life, you know, so we need to know that God is always at work. And he's always at work for our good.
[00:12:27] We know that we do good to keep in mind that God is doing good on our behalf. All things work together for good to those that love him. And remember that he is our Father, God, the creator of all things. I have a feeling I'm behind. Oh, I'm not.
[00:12:45] Creator of all things will use our limitations to silence the distractions around us, to deepen his work within us.
[00:12:54] Sometimes our greatest influence comes because of our weakness, not despite our weakness.
[00:13:00] God encourages us. He says, my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.
[00:13:08] We see this, you know, through the scriptures, that God's word, God and his kingdom is just about opposite in every area of this world. You know, like Jesus dying on a cross, it seemed like defeat.
[00:13:22] But God, you know, like his kingdom, we need to learn about his kingdom. Beethoven's greatest masterpieces were written after he became completely deaf.
[00:13:32] What was a devastating loss for Beethoven became the platform for his greatest influence too many times. We believe that the blessed life means there are no trials and difficulties supposed to be happening in my life.
[00:13:46] But the blessed scripture teaches us something quite different than that. That the blessed life is not the absence of trials, but the blessed life is being able to honor God, have peace and joy in spite of our difficulties.
[00:14:00] Following Christ is not for the faint of heart. Jesus says, back up.
[00:14:10] Not for the faint of heart. The gateway to life is very narrow. It's not just narrow, it's very narrow.
[00:14:17] And the road is difficult and only a few ever find it.
[00:14:25] I want to be on that Road, the road to life.
[00:14:29] The path of obedience is rarely the easiest path, but it is always the path of God's blessing.
[00:14:36] Joseph, he found God's favor in prison.
[00:14:40] Daniel experienced God's presence in the lion's den.
[00:14:45] Jesus, like he could go on through pretty much every Bible character of their trials and their difficulties and, and how they found peace in the midst of their difficulty and how God was shown faithful Jesus was exalted through the cross again and again. Scripture teaches the same truth. He says that those who honor God, who honor me, I will honor. But those who despise me will be disgraced.
[00:15:14] Deep within every human heart there's a longing for significance.
[00:15:19] You know, we want our lives to count. We want to know that we've lived our lives for something greater than ourselves.
[00:15:26] And the good news is that the life which honors God is never wasted because God has promised that those who honor him will in his perfect time and in his perfect way be honored by him. And we want God's favorite. We want God's favor in our lives. We want God's favor in our family's lives, our kids lives.
[00:15:47] We want God to honor us in our future.
[00:15:50] And this is, you know, it's a profound principle and it's found right from Genesis to Revelation that God honors those who honor him.
[00:16:00] Throughout the Scriptures we see ordinary people choosing God's glory over God's glory and his will over personal gain or comfort.
[00:16:11] And we see this in the book of Hebrews, chapter 10, spoken of so clearly here. Think back on those early days when you first learned about Christ.
[00:16:20] Remember how you remained faithful even when it meant terrible suffering.
[00:16:26] Sometimes you were exposed to public ridicule and were beaten. And sometimes you helped others who were suffering the same things. You suffered along with those who were thrown into jail.
[00:16:37] And when all you owned was taken from you, you accepted it with joy.
[00:16:42] You knew there were better things waiting for you that will last forever.
[00:16:48] They accepted it with joy.
[00:16:51] You know, the heroes of the faith spoken of in chapter 11 are amazing examples of men and women choosing to honor God with their very lives.
[00:17:01] Each person teaches us what it means to live the truly blessed life.
[00:17:07] We also see this lived out in the book of Philemon. Philemon's a one chapter book that's between the book of Titus and the book of Hebrews. And Philemon was a man who had a church in his residence, a house church.
[00:17:21] And he had a slave named Onesmith who ran away for unknown reasons, but disgruntled probably because runaway slave. The discipline for them Was not pleasant.
[00:17:36] And it's not known if he searched Paul out, knew of Paul or he met Paul in Rome. But whatever it was, Paul challenged him. I believe in, you know, whether he led him to the Lord and he gave his life to Christ or he recommitted his life to Christ and changed his attitude about his life and his circumstances, all of that's unclear. But it's obvious that he had change of heart because he chooses to do what was right. And that was to go back to Philemon. Paul encouraged him to to go back to his master Philemon. And so with a letter in hand, which is the book of Philemon and it's a good little read, if you take that and read that after this and it all just sort of comes to light for you that with this letter in hand, it is addressed to Philemon. And one Smith he returns to his master.
[00:18:26] And you know, it's important to understand that Philemon knew that going back to his master could mean it's potentially his death or being sold to another master. He didn't know what the consequences were going to be. But once Smith was aware of all of this and he was willing to go back to Philemon regardless of the price that he was going to have to pay, you know, I believe that he was choosing to honor the Apostle Paul when his challenge to go back to Philemon and honoring Jesus and going back to his master Philemon, whatever happened wand Smith, I believe was experiencing a new freedom in his life. He was running away from slavery, got saved and recognized that he was set free and he could go back and serve as a slave in freedom within himself. I think if we could grab a hold of that concept that true freedom comes in Jesus and walking with him more so than any of our circumstances being eased up.
[00:19:26] Once Mitz had come to the conclusion of the same conclusion of the Heroes of the faith in chapter 11, he knew that ultimately there were better things waiting for him that were going to last forever.
[00:19:39] True freedom is not experienced in anything that this world has to offer. The freedom is experienced in submitting ourselves to the lordship of Jesus and the plan that he has for each one of us because he's got a plan for each one of our lives. And then so what does it mean to honor God?
[00:19:59] To honor God means to give him weight, the worth, the reverence and the first place in our lives.
[00:20:07] And a simple biblical definition, to honor God is to treat him as highest worth by loving him and trusting him and obeying him and seeking to glorify Him. In every area of our lives, honoring God begins with this decision.
[00:20:26] The first decision I have to make is, will I surrender my will to the will of the Father?
[00:20:33] Am I willing to say yes to the lordship of Jesus to come into my life and take over my life and be Lord of my life and over everything about me?
[00:20:42] You know, I make this decision quite often, you know, just in bed. Lord, be Lord of my life. I surrender my life over and over and over again.
[00:20:55] And repent. And surrender. Repent and thank him for his faithfulness, his goodness, his mercy.
[00:21:01] But it's a practice that I believe that we as believers need to make consistent in our lives. Thank you, Jesus, for saving my soul.
[00:21:10] Am I willing to say yes to his lordship?
[00:21:13] Or is what I want in life more important to me?
[00:21:17] Scripture is very clear. When the Apostle Paul writes to Corinthians and he says, so whether you eat or you drink, whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
[00:21:27] If you profess to be a believer in your workplace and everywhere else for that matter, it automatically puts a big target on you.
[00:21:35] And you can be guaranteed that people will be watching your every move.
[00:21:40] And really, they should be able to watch our every move.
[00:21:44] Jesus says that his followers were the light of the world.
[00:21:49] They're the salt of the earth. They're a city on a hill.
[00:21:54] Paul says that we are the people of the way.
[00:21:58] And then all of a sudden, what you say and how you react to pressure situations in your job site or in your families, how you treat your family, how you treat your spouse, your kids, and even your dog matters all of a sudden, because people are watching you. You say you are a follower of Christ.
[00:22:17] We have to ask ourselves, am I the real thing?
[00:22:21] It's so easy to talk the talk, but it is our actions and our reactions that speak the loudest.
[00:22:29] What do people see in you?
[00:22:32] What do people hear in you?
[00:22:36] What does your spouse see in you?
[00:22:39] What do your kids see and hear?
[00:22:43] You know, it's so vital that our kids see the real thing. If we care about the souls and salvation of our kids, they have to see the real thing.
[00:22:53] What does God say about the situation?
[00:22:56] Scripture says that the multitude of counselors. There's wisdom that's found in the multitude of counselors. You know, if you're not sure, find mature believers and meet with people, pray together, you know, as you're going through life and, you know, try to do things the way that God is showing you, because he'll show you. And then do that, and then you will see the fruit of that in the long run, you know, there's a motto that I used to hear, you know, do it. And I didn't hear from my parents, do as I say, not as I do.
[00:23:29] But you know, is that what we feel for our kids? Okay, kids, do you just do as I say.
[00:23:34] And you know, even though you're doing things and they're seeing things, they're hearing things, your language, whatever it is, they see that that has an impact.
[00:23:42] Do as I do, not as I just as I say.
[00:23:46] My parents, they were descendants out west here, out in the Brimby Bentley area, descendants of homesteaders. So like I'm related to everybody west of in Bentley and west and north to Rimby and in those areas. And as a result I'm related to everybody.
[00:24:08] And so my roots are, they go deep out that way. And when our families recognize God's hand, like my parents, my sisters, my brother, myself, we all became Christians all right around the same time, along with a lot of other people.
[00:24:25] And when we became Christians, you know, like it wasn't just going to church and saying a prayer and going home and nothing changes in our lives.
[00:24:35] People, not just like many people at this time in the mid-80s, early-80s, their lives, they were being converted. They were going from being a drinking, cussing, carrying on kind of a person to a person that doesn't drink and doesn't swear. And they're working to eliminate all this stuff in their lives. So when people were becoming Christians at that time, people were noticing in the community of Rimby and Bentley and the countryside because people weren't just, they were going from being this kind of a person to this kind of a person, it was noticeable. So when we became Christians as a family, like it was all at different times, but it was around the same, you know, within a couple years. And when we became Christians, God fearing believers, a lot of people in those areas took notice of this.
[00:25:23] And then it probably doesn't help that me being open with my faith and passionate about what God had done for me, it stirred up a few things out that way with family and relatives don't preach at me kind of stuff. But I've never wanted to hide what Jesus has done for me and I, you know, and what he's done for the world. I just felt like I needed to tell people whether they liked it or not. I tried to be graceful, maybe not at first, but I learned to have a little wisdom in ensuring my father faith.
[00:25:51] But I've wanted to share what Jesus has done because it's amazing because my life was converted. I went from here to here, you know, from darkness to light.
[00:26:03] And when you have that kind of amazing transformation take place in your life, you want to share it because it's like, wow. It's like the light just comes on.
[00:26:12] So as a result, I've had an opportunity to prayerfully share the gospel at a number of weddings and funerals all around the countryside out there. And as of late, my funerals for my sister and both my parents in the last couple of years, three years or so, which to me was just a powerful privilege to be able to lead these funerals out there.
[00:26:34] Being my family, I felt the freedom to share just a little bit more.
[00:26:40] I don't know what you'd say aggressively the gospel message. Out of the salvation and the testimony of my family's lives and the lives that they lived, I could share their story for them. And it was just a real good, clear presentation of the gospel.
[00:26:58] As a hockey coach out there for 12 years, I coached hockey. And I also faced a little bit of criticism here.
[00:27:06] And believe it or not, it was for. I was working with these kids for teaching them self control and respect and proper conduct.
[00:27:14] And I didn't allow the kids to swear and lose their temper or mistreat one another.
[00:27:20] And it's amazing, but it didn't always sit well with everybody. There's a few people that didn't like that kind of thing. They didn't like the fact that I was not allowing their kids to swear.
[00:27:32] I would put them on the bench if I heard them swear, but that's just the way life is. You know, if you're going to make a stand for anything, there's going to be opposition, there's going to be a resistance to. To that somewhere. And we can't be threatened by that or worry about that.
[00:27:47] Some hoped that it would be real and most of them did and really appreciated it. But there were those others who didn't want it to be true.
[00:27:55] They just wanted to see us fail. Myself and a couple other people that were coaching with me.
[00:28:01] That's why I've always felt so deeply the need to pay attention to my attitude and my response under pressure in life.
[00:28:10] Whether it was coaching or running a business or working projects out that way.
[00:28:14] I was very conscious that I wanted to honor God.
[00:28:18] I lived my life so that I wasn't the cause of anybody to stumble. I'm sure I know that I was not perfect and I can think of. I think of one. But you know that I chose to do the wrong attitude and do the wrong response. And I've regretted it to this day. It's a funny thing. It was just a little thing, but it still bugs me.
[00:28:40] But it's no small thing to say that Jesus Christ is Lord of our lives.
[00:28:45] It's a serious claim, and it calls for a serious commitment in us.
[00:28:49] We are so responsible to be good witnesses to our communities. If we're proclaiming to be believers and there's, you know, automatic expectations in people's minds that don't know the Lord, and even people that do know the Lord, if we're just boldly expressing that we are followers of Jesus, there's just an automatic expectation of what our lives should look like.
[00:29:12] Honoring God means trusting him when difficulties come. We make the choice, by the grace of God, to believe that God is good, that he is wise, and he is working on our behalf for his purposes, which are always good.
[00:29:28] He's a good, good father. That beautiful song.
[00:29:33] So faith in hard times brings honor to God.
[00:29:37] Real faith cannot be faked. Eventually we break if we don't have a reason to hang on.
[00:29:44] It is as we walk out everyday, devoted life of Christ, consciously spending time with Jesus, that we grow in our understanding of who he is and how we can know him better.
[00:29:56] And it is by being attached to the vine that we grow in the supernatural ability to be able to trust Jesus in difficult times because we learn that he's faithful. We learn that his ways are not ours, our thoughts are not His. And we discover that there's a different way to think.
[00:30:14] It is a way to think that allows our minds to be transformed by the Word.
[00:30:20] And this is a work that God does in us as we live to honor Him.
[00:30:27] The Good News says, give yourself to God, trust in him, and he will help you. And he will make your righteousness shine like the noonday sun. Like, he's going to do this for us. It's amazing.
[00:30:39] And as followers of Jesus, we're called to bear spiritual fruits and reflect his character. We are no longer living for our own praise, but for His.
[00:30:49] And when we commit our lives, our worries, and our plans to Jesus, we're acknowledging that he, he is the One who deserves all the glory.
[00:31:00] As Paul wrote to the Colossians, he says, whatever you do or say, do it as representatives of the Lord.
[00:31:07] A lot of construction workers could hear this verse, whatever you do and say, like, I was always surprised that the people would come onto the construction site and, you know, they'd be talking and saying that they're a believer. And then the next minute, you know, I'm cussing and swearing and just carrying on. Just unreal. And it's always just got my goat when I was out there.
[00:31:33] When one person honors God, the effects reach children, grandchildren, church communities, and even nations.
[00:31:44] You know, that's the impact we have. And a lot of times, we don't even recognize it. A life devoted to God's honor leaves a legacy long after that life is gone. Jesus honored the Father by willingly going to the cross, and he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal's death on the cross.
[00:32:08] To the natural mind, the cross appeared to be a defeat.
[00:32:12] But Corinthians says it rightly. And it says, the message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction. But we who are being saved know it is the power of God.
[00:32:23] Because Jesus honored the Father completely. The Father exalted him completely.
[00:32:28] Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all names. The Old Testament, Moses.
[00:32:36] He's speaking on behalf of God. He's challenging God's people. He's saying, I've set before you life and death, blessing and cursing.
[00:32:44] Therefore choose life.
[00:32:47] It's a choice that each one of us gets to make. You know, I've heard it, that God is not sending anyone to hell.
[00:32:54] He's calling everybody to heaven.
[00:32:57] But it's our choice. Whether we want to spend eternity with the Lord or not, that's our choice.
[00:33:02] Jesus presents to us very clearly that there's still only two choices.
[00:33:08] Jesus spoke of two roads, two gates, two foundations, two harvests and two destinies.
[00:33:17] And so, as we wrap up, I want to close with this story here, this illustration.
[00:33:23] It's a powerful illustration of what it means to honor God and the ripple effect that it can have through the generations that follow us.
[00:33:31] In the early 1900s, Harper, a guy named John Harper, was a preacher in Scotland dedicated to making disciples and sharing the message of Jesus.
[00:33:42] His life was marked by unwavering faith and a commitment to honor God in everything that he did.
[00:33:48] Harper's life took an unexpected turn when he aborted the Titanic in 1912. As he set sail for America that fateful night when the Titanic sank and it hit the icebergs, chaos ensued.
[00:34:05] Amidst the panic and the fear as people were scrambling to escape, Harper's faith shone brightly.
[00:34:12] Instead of focusing on his own survival, he honored God by reaching out to those around him.
[00:34:19] He gave his life jacket to a fellow passenger, urging him to believe in Jesus for salvation.
[00:34:25] As the ship sank, Harper was seen swimming icy waters, encouraging others to put their trust in Christ.
[00:34:32] Survivors later recounted how Harper's final moments were spent honoring God by proclaiming the gospel.
[00:34:42] One survivor testified, I'm alive today because of John Harper.
[00:34:47] He had every reason to save himself, yet he chose to honor God and the gospel message until the very end.
[00:34:54] The testimonies of John Harper, his courage, faith, impacted lives, leading to countless conversions.
[00:35:03] His legacy of honor echoed through the decades, inspiring ordinary people to reflect Christ in extraordinary circumstances.
[00:35:12] As we consider our own lives here this morning, you know, I want to remind us of every act that we can do that we need to think about.
[00:35:24] Am I honoring God?
[00:35:27] Am I honoring God through my worship, obedience, or my treatment of others?
[00:35:35] These things can create a legacy and can impart so many people down the generations.
[00:35:45] So in light of the call of God calling us to honor him, we need to stop and ask ourselves, is it a priority for me in my life to bring honor to God?
[00:35:58] Will you pave the way for his presence in your life?
[00:36:03] Because when we honor God and we partner with him in his work, we leave a legacy just as John Harper did so many years ago. God has promised that those who honor him, he will honor. And that promise remains unchanged.
[00:36:22] At Calvary. Jesus took the curse so that we might have eternal life.
[00:36:27] And it starts with a decision, will I receive this gift of eternal life? You know, maybe you have received the gift of eternal life, and maybe you have walked away from God. Maybe you haven't been to church for a while. Maybe you first time being here.
[00:36:42] Jesus is saying that to all who received him, he's given the right to be called the children of God.
[00:36:49] There it is. There. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. Children born not of natural descent nor of human decision were a husband's will, but born of God.
[00:37:05] That term you heard a lot about back in the 80s, born again, you know, John 3:16. Think of that colored fuzzy hat at the hockey games that guy was always wearing. John 3:16.
[00:37:18] So when we leave here this morning, remember this.
[00:37:23] To honor God is to recognize his infinite worth and respond by giving him first place in every area of your life.
[00:37:33] And with that, I'd have us stand as we close in prayer.
[00:37:40] You know, it's a beautiful thing, this cross, this coming to the throne of grace.
[00:37:48] You know, it's a beautiful thing that's always open to us. And I pray that you take advantage of that and do that Regularly because that's how we get through this life.
[00:37:59] And we repent for the things that we need to repent for. And we get up and we keep going and just keep on walking with the Lord, dealing with our stuff.
[00:38:10] So if you don't know Jesus Christ, if you've never made a commitment to him, I want to know. You're invited to come down to the front after the service is over. People are leaving. I'll be down here. I would love to introduce you to Jesus and he will make himself known to you because he's alive and real.
[00:38:27] And Lord, I pray for the of the rest rest of us, Lord God, that as we go this week that we would think about our lives and everything we think, everything we do, we say our reactions Lord God, that people around us, Lord, if we're proclaiming to be your people that there's an expectation and we need to pay attention to that and we love, Lord, that the fruit of our life with you is all the good fruits, the fruit of joy and patience and kindness and goodness, all the good stuff. So we commit our lives to you and pray, Lord, shine through us and give us the words and the wisdom, Lord, to reach out to save the lost.
[00:39:04] Pray for the westerner days Lord God, give us all a desire and a passion to come to the westerner days with an idea of maybe I can witness to one person.
[00:39:12] Lord, just help us to be about your business. Bless your people. Reveal yourself to us. More and more we pray in Jesus name.
[00:39:20] Amen. God bless you as you go.
