Part 11, 2026 The Year of Our Lord’s Honor
Part 11, The Year of Our Lord’s Honor
April 7, 2026
This is a year when the Lord must be honored more than ever before.
Malachi 1:6 ESV "A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am a father, where is my honor? And if I am a master, where is my fear? says the LORD of hosts to you, O priests, who despise my name. But you say, 'How have we despised your name?'
Isaiah 66:2 BSB Has not My hand made all these things? And so they came into being,” declares the LORD. “This is the one I will esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, who trembles at My word.
God does not engage in false humility.
Proverbs 21:30 NLT No human wisdom or understanding or plan can stand against the LORD.
He knows Himself as the only wise God. He knows that there is no counsel or wisdom against the Lord. He knows that He has no equal. So He respects His own counsel, wisdom and might. To do otherwise, to give others any credit, is to engage in a false humility. Of course God has respect for other people. If they are wise enough to recognize that He alone is wise, He respects them for that. If they take it further and actually trust Him, He respects that. If they choose to obey Him, especially when their own minds, training, culture and lived experience tells them to act differently, He sees that as honor and He honors them for that.
If you observe a pattern here, you will see that God honors those who honor If. You will see that a mark or true wisdom in a man is humility.
The wisest of men are those who are wise enough to recognize the superior wisdom of God and are humble enough to bow before Him.
God has little respect for a man who thinks more highly of himself than he ought to. Such a person displays two character traits that God finds odious… foolishness and pride.
He is foolish who cannot recognize the wisdom of others, especially the incomparably superior wisdom of God. His foolishness is the manure that fertilizes the seed of his pride. The more foolish he is, the more arrogant he is. The more arrogant he becomes, the more foolish he grows. He is stuck in a loop, one that is difficult to break out of.
God is not subject our democratic principles.
In our world today, we have such a love for democracy that we want to apply it everywhere. Democracy is great, but it has its limits. Applied correctly, it is one of the best forms of government.
Equality: Democracy is founded on the belief that all men were created equal. Trying to bring God into our democracy overlooks the fact God is not a creation like us, He is the Creator. The Creator of necessity is greater than His creation. The creation owes its very existence to the Creator and for that reason alone, even without mentioning others, the Creator is superior to His creation and exists in a plane or realm or domain that is completely different.
The rules that apply to the creation do not apply to the Creator.
It is a categorical error to try to put God in the same box as His creations and to try to place Him under the same constraints. Such categorical errors invariably lead to faulty reasonings and wrong conclusions.
Isaiah 29:16 ESV You turn things upside down! Shall the potter be regarded as the clay, that the thing made should say of its maker, "He did not make me"; or the thing formed say of him who formed it, "He has no understanding"?
God does not respect status/title.
All are beneath Him. He that is from above is above all.
John 3:31 ESV He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all.
John 10:29 ESV My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.
Ephesians 1:20-22 ESV that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, [21] far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. [22] And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church,
Some will make the mistake of thinking that since God does not respect position, they too do not have to respect position. And they would be right to hold that opinion, if they were God.
God commanded children to honor their parents who in their humanity were created equal but in their status play a role lesser than only God’s. They are the agents of The Creator in bringing children to life. God is being internally consistent by requiring respect for parents, since without parents there will be no children, similar though much lesser than the relationship between the Creator and His creation.
God, who made everybody equal, raised Moses above his siblings.
Numbers 12:6-8 NKJV Then He said, "Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the LORD, make Myself known to him in a vision; I speak to him in a dream. [7] Not so with My servant Moses; He is faithful in all My house. [8] I speak with him face to face, even plainly, and not in dark sayings; And he sees the form of the LORD. Why then were you not afraid to speak against My servant Moses?"
God does not respect possessions.
1 Corinthians 4:7 NKJV For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?
Jeremiah 9:23-24 NKJV Thus says the LORD: "Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches; [24] But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the LORD, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight," says the LORD.
God respects godly character.
The godly look like God. The godly emulate God’s character.
1 Corinthians 11:1 ESV Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.
Matthew 5:43-48 NKJV "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' [44] But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, [45] that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. [46] For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? [47] And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? [48] Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
Of course emulating God is a big ask. We fail so much at it, that many give up and stop trying. But God honors genuine efforts. He does not grade on a curve, but He can see the difference between the one who honors Him enough to make the attempt and the one who does not.
God differentiates between people based on their character.
Malachi 3:16-18 NKJV Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another, And the LORD listened and heard them; So a book of remembrance was written before Him For those who fear the LORD And who meditate on His name. [17] "They shall be Mine," says the LORD of hosts, "On the day that I make them My jewels. And I will spare them As a man spares his own son who serves him." [18] Then you shall again discern Between the righteous and the wicked, Between one who serves God And one who does not serve Him.
God spared Abimelech
Genesis 20:1-6 NKJV And Abraham journeyed from there to the South, and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur, and stayed in Gerar. [2] Now Abraham said of Sarah his wife, "She is my sister." And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. [3] But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, "Indeed you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man's wife." [4] But Abimelech had not come near her; and he said, "Lord, will You slay a righteous nation also? [5] Did he not say to me, 'She is my sister'? And she, even she herself said, 'He is my brother.' In the integrity of my heart and innocence of my hands I have done this." [6] And God said to him in a dream, "Yes, I know that you did this in the integrity of your heart. For I also withheld you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her.
Noah, Job, Daniel: three men whom God respected according to Ezekiel 14.
Ezekiel 14:14,18,20 NKJV
[14]Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness," says the Lord GOD.
[18] even though these three men were in it, as I live," says the Lord GOD, "they would deliver neither sons nor daughters, but only they themselves would be delivered.
[20] even though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live," says the Lord GOD, "they would deliver neither son nor daughter; they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness."
Order Your Life So God Can Respect You
The best way to honor God is to endeavor to be like Him.
We say things like, "When I grow up, I want to be just like you.” If said sincerely, it is a high compliment. It means we see some qualities that we approve of but we're approaching our approval, not from a superior standpoint, rather from the standpoint of a humble admirer, that's why we say we want to become like that when we grow up.
Luke 6:40 ESV A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher.
Matthew 5:44-45 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, [45] that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
There is a luciferian way of emulating God.
Prideful attempt to be like God in power and glory but not in character.
Isaiah 14:12-15 ESV "How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! [13] You said in your heart, 'I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; [14] I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.' [15] But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit.
Ezekiel 28:12-19 ESV "Son of man, raise a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say to him, Thus says the Lord GOD: "You were the signet of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. [13] You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle; and crafted in gold were your settings and your engravings. On the day that you were created they were prepared. [14] You were an anointed guardian cherub. I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God; in the midst of the stones of fire you walked. [15] You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, till unrighteousness was found in you. [16] In the abundance of your trade you were filled with violence in your midst, and you sinned; so I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God, and I destroyed you, O guardian cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. [17] Your heart was proud because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. I cast you to the ground; I exposed you before kings, to feast their eyes on you. [18] By the multitude of your iniquities, in the unrighteousness of your trade you profaned your sanctuaries; so I brought fire out from your midst; it consumed you, and I turned you to ashes on the earth in the sight of all who saw you. [19] All who know you among the peoples are appalled at you; you have come to a dreadful end and shall be no more forever."
God mentioned these three Old Testament saints by name, long after their deaths. God, who cannot lie, testified of them.
He distinguished them from everybody else, even from their own biological children, because of their character. Character can be taught, but it cannot be inherited.
God’s Testimony of Noah
Genesis 6:8-10 NKJV But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. [9] This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God. [10] And Noah begot three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
God’s Testimony of Job
Job 1:8 ESV And the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?"
Testimony of Daniel by his enemies
Daniel 6:3-5 ESV Then this Daniel became distinguished above all the other high officials and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him. And the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom. [4] Then the high officials and the satraps sought to find a ground for complaint against Daniel with regard to the kingdom, but they could find no ground for complaint or any fault, because he was faithful, and no error or fault was found in him. [5] Then these men said, "We shall not find any ground for complaint against this Daniel unless we find it in connection with the law of his God."
Regardless of their stations, they three walked with God. Waking with Hod denoted agreement with God.
Amos 3:3 NKJV Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?
Leviticus 19:1-2 ESV And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, [2] "Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.
Too many of God's children are not walking with God. They think they are but they are not. If you are trying to get God to agree with you, your point of view, your desires and wishes, instead of humbly saying, “Nevertheless, not my will but yours be done,” you are not walking with God. What you are attempting to achieve is for God to walk with you.
