Honor's Reward - John Bevere
Chapter 3 - "Full Reward" - Notes
Recap:
This is our second session studying through the book by John Bevere called "Honor's Reward". We learned last week what honor means. To honor; is to hold someone or something in high regard; to consider someone as precious and valuable.
We have been reminded and encouraged to, "Look to yourselves, that we do not lost those things we worked for, but that we may receive a full reward." 2 John 8
Last time we learned about making the choice to honor because the bible tells us so; these choices are life defining-moments that can lead to full, partial or no rewards. We discussed partial and no reward scenarios.
Chapter 3 summary:
Full reward biblical scenarios John Bevere mentions are; the roman centurion, the gentile woman with the demon-possessed daughter, and the woman with the alabaster box.
A biblical example of someone who received a full reward is the story of the roman centurion, found in Matthew 8:5-13. The centurion simply stated that his servant was paralyzed and suffering terribly, yet upon Jesus's response to come and heal the servant, the centurion requests for Jesus to "say the word". Because just as the centurion gives orders to the soldiers under his command, he knew that Jesus had authority over all creation and that his servant would be healed. The roman centurion had a root of motivation to honor in his heart; in Luke 7:1-10 the centurion gave honor to Jesus and he understood Jesus' authority as he states "I, too, am a man set under authority" (verse 8). The centurion understood the authority of Jesus and rendered Him respect which demonstrated great faith. As is says in Hebrews 11:6 - "without faith it is impossible to please God". The verse goes on to say, "whoever draws near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."
Another example of someone who received a full reward is the gentile women with a demon-possessed daughter, found in Mark 7:24-30. She honored Jesus by falling at his feet, begging Him to heal her daughter, and responding to him with honor even when there was an opportunity for offense. In Mark 7:27-28 it says, "[Jesus] said to her, "let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs." But she answered him, "Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs."" As John Bevere puts its, "no matter how you slice the pie, it's coming out the same... Jesus called her a dog!" Yet in her desperation, her response still honored Jesus and her daughter was healed.
The third example mentioned in this chapter is found in Mark 14:3-9, when Jesus was anointed at Bethany by a woman with an alabaster box of costly oil. Without going into much detail, she honored Jesus through her actions. As is says in John 13:20, "whoever received the one I send received me, and whoever received me receives the one who sent me." Jesus was sent to us by God, and the woman in Mark 14 highly esteemed and honored Jesus through anointing him with costly oil. This was a tangible way to honored the Father; we honor Father God through the treatment of His Son, Jesus.
Honor is something we steward, and it is key to receiving from heaven. There is an honor principle - a principle is a fundamental truth that we must live by - when we honor Jesus, we are honoring Father God. The opposite is also true: if we dishonor Jesus, we are dishonoring the Father, and He will consider us as insignificant and will treat us with contempt. As it says in John 5:23 "that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him." As well as in 1 Samuel 2:30 "those who honor me I will honor, and those who despise me shall be lightly esteemed."
Thoughts:
Honor is an attitude which flows from our hearts. Honor can be show in action, thought, and words. We must consider the way we treat others - those in authority, on our level and under our authority - and realize how we honor (or dishonor) them, reflects our honor (or dishonor) towards Christ.
