By Apostle Joy

Deuteronomy 5:16

Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the LORD your God is giving you.

The reason why I have to teach on the law of honor is right infront of us on this scripture, “that it may be well with thee and that you may have a long life.” The reason why I have to teach on the law of honor, is because I desire that it may go well with you and I also desire that you may live long.

Just looking at the package that comes with honor from this scripture, it is a subject that we should not rush. It is a subject that should be discussed in depth because every person might be praying for one thing, that it may go well with them. We are not told what exactly will go well in that land. However, it is clear that when you honor it shall go well with thee, which means that it is a blank cheque. Once you honor, that which you want to go well with you shall go well with you. Whether this is your profession or your career and it has been your prayer that it may go well with you, when the honor requirement is satisfied it shall go well with thee. If you wanted your marriage to be addressed and to flow and this is your prayer to say may it go well with me in the area of marriage. If the honor requirement is satisfied, may I say it shall go well with thee. Maybe you are praying for your health that it may go well with thee, you must know that if the honor requirement is satisfied it shall also go well with thee in your health.

In one way or the other every person has this prayer although it may be different in terms of context and relevance. But everyonehas something that they are asking God for that it may go well with them. The scripture that we have read has an instruction or a condition and a promise. If the condition is satisfied then the promise will be fulfilled. It shall go well with thee. There is a certain gentleman who was 26 years old and he was asked how long he would want to live and he said even if I get to my forties. They asked a man that was 49 and he said 70 is not bad. They asked a man that was 71 and he said 100 is a good figure. This means that every person looks forward to live long, longer than they have lived and none of us is praying to die anytime soon. Everyone no matter the evil we have seen under the sun, we are praying to God that we may live long. We are seeing that the promise is coming if the honor requirement is satisfied. We are seeing that God will also prolong our days, God will also gives us long life.

May I make this as a declaration? This teaching is coming to you so that you escape premature death and so that you may live long. May I declare in the mighty name of Jesus, long life shall be your portion in Jesus’ mighty name, amen. Hoping to live long is not a strategy to live long. Hoping that things may go well is not a strategy for success. I wish things would fall in place and I will make millions. I wish things would fall in place and I would get a good job. Hoping and wishing is not a good strategy for success. You have to take a certain action for you to be rewarded by a certain result. If you are expecting something and you are doing nothing you are simply setting yourself up for disappointment. You have to understand what they call the law of cause and effect, that for every action taken there is a consequence whether the consequence is positive or negative but you have to know that every action you take, it is going to result to something. If you take no action, taking no action is action itself. You have to know that you are sowing nothing and you are going to have a harvest of nothing happening in your life. You remember what the Bible says if you sow nothing you will reap nothing. If you sow wind you are going to harvest a whirlwind. I want this to sink in your mind and harvest before I proceed.

Hoping and wishing is not a strategy for success. We have these people that are in that box which is called the “do nothing” strategy where all that they are doing is wishing that tomorrow may become a better day. But when we ask them what are you doing for tomorrow to become better? If you are sick and you sleep hoping that tomorrow will be better, you may wake up tomorrow being worse. If you hope you are going to wake up better tomorrow then you are supposed to take some medication before you sleep or you are supposed to receive prayer. It means that your hope is backed up by a certain action and that is the hope that can not be cut off. That is the expectation that can not be cut off. You can not live your life expecting that the environment somehow and at some point is going to reward you or change the course of your life. If you are doing nothing do not expect something.

You are seriously accusing us pastors in the streets saying that the anointing is not working. No, you have to work for the anointing that you have received to produce results. I know everyone of us knows that we are in the year of evidence and possibly you do not have any evidence to show for the year. All that you are saying to people is the year of evidence I am waiting and I am hoping. We will close the year and change the theme before anything happens to you because nothing will happen to people who are functioning in the “do nothing” strategy. Hoping and wishing is not a strategy for change.

When you are in a place where things are happening you may spend 38 years and nothing will be happening to you. Jesus arrived in John 5,  at the pool of Bethsaida and there was a gentleman that had been there for 38 years and Jesus asked him ‘do you want to be well?’ The man said to Jesus ‘my problem is that when the waters are stirred I do not have a man to push me into the water.’ Just from the introduction, the man was there for 38 years, he was not leaving the place because he was sure that things were happening in that place. If you are in a place where things are happening and the things are not happening to you do not accuse the place, you have to introspect. Every conference people are standing here saying that we built houses, I am driving a new car, I opened a new company. You are in a church where things are happening. You saw some people coming to church skinny and now they are obese because of the blessing of God, now they have a different problem. They are not malnourished. They are fighting a different devil from abundance but then look at yourself you have nothing to show. There are certain blessings that do not manifest if the condition is not satisfied.

Deuteronomy 28:2

And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God.

All these blessings shall come on thee. Blessings are somewhere and they have to come if thou shall hearken.

So there is a condition.

Some prayers that you are praying are not your prayers. You are not allowed to say I am the head and not the tail. I am above and not beneath. I am blessed and not cursed. It looks like you did not read this verse because all those demands you are making are for people that have hearkened unto the voice, for people that have obeyed the voice. You are not allowed to say ‘I am blessed in the city and out of the city’ because all these blessings you are talking about have a condition. Has the condition been satisfied first? You are talking to people saying I have evoked Deuteronomy 28 yes I am blessed in the city and blessed out of the city. I am above and not beneath, I am the head and not the tail. But are you the person that should pray that prayer?

Have you hearkened unto the voice? Have you obeyed God? If you see the word “if” know that there is a condition. The moment you see that word you should know that this is the condition of everything that follows. You can make affirmations of Deuteronomy 28, make confessions, you can demand it or command it but you still find yourself the tail because you are not satisfying the condition of obedience. You can not satisfy conditions of curses and expect to receive a blessing. Blessings follow certain decisions. A decision and a choice of obeying and serving God attracts a blessing. Do you know that there are people who expect to be blessed by simply attending or appearing in church?

Job 36:11

If they obey and serve him, they will spend the rest of their days in prosperity and their years in contentment.

“If”, that’s the condition because if you do not do the ‘if’ then do not demand the promise. “If they obey and serve Him they shall spend their days in prosperity and their years in pleasures.” People want prosperity and pleasures but they do not want to focus on obedience and serving. People say ‘I just want to be part of that church, I do not want to participate in the activities. I love the Word. I go there, I listen to the Word then I pray on my own. I do my life, I do not get too involved in many things.’ It means that you have also defined and determined the extent of the promises that you will receive. Have you been concentrating on the condition or just on the promises and the rewards? We are in a microwave generation where people are expecting to be rewarded in micro seconds. They want to withdraw without making deposits. They want to receive and we are to blame sometimes as pastors because we just come to the people and say today you are receiving. God is giving you things right now and yet 5 of the 500 people will receive because they are satisfying the condition.

The only things that happen if you do not satisfy the condition are called miracles. A miracle breaks all protocols but a miracle can not be a lifestyle. A miracle is dangerous because it is always proceeded by a crisis. There will never be a miracle without a crisis. It is a crisis first and then a miracle. If you love a lifestyle of miracles then you love a lifestyle of crises. You get into crisis you are desperate and then suddenly the Lord shows up. But some of us want a life of blessings. A life of blessings is like miracles connected together without any episode of crisis. How does that happen? A blessing has a formula. There is an ‘if’.

Now there are two schools of thought when it comes to Christianity. There are two types of churches. There is a church that gives you hope without a strategy, where you get into the church the pastor or apostle or prophet is declaring your doors will open. For sure they open some of those doors but you do not know how the door has opened so everytime you go to that church and you wait for the pastor or prophet. If he does not do what he did last time then there is a problem because you know he just has to declare and when he is declaring, doors open and if he does not on that day then you are disappointed.

Then the second kind of church is one where the pastor teaches you how to, where you know the condition and if you satisfy the condition even if he does not declare, doors open. You need to become a connecting Christian more than a Christian that needs to be contacted physically. When you are contacted you should satisfy the condition of a physical contact. Have you satisfied the condition? You know that it is not a problem for us to lay hands, the spirit itself is intelligent enough to know that this is not the man or this man is the man.

Jesus would ask them of the condition. A man appeared before Jesus saying his son is sick in Matthew 17:15. ‘It happens often when he is attacked he sometimes falls into the fire and the water. I brought my son to the disciples and they could not cast out the spirit.’ Jesus asked, “do you believe?” That was the condition. Even those who were healed without having a conversation with Jesus, He would then confirm later to say ‘your faith has healed you.’ This means that even the miracle itself has a condition where you have to believe. The problem that causes most of us to get into crisis is of demanding rewards and promises of which the conditions we have not satisfied. A good church must teach you what you should do.

In the book of John chapter 2 there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, that Jesus attended. The wine ran out and Mary, His mother spoke to Him and Jesus performed a miracle. People drank the wine and they were all amazed by such a demonstration of the gift of faith. Such a miracle, but a man called Nicodemus in chapter 3 felt the lesson was not over, the essentials that make me successful have not yet been satisfied. In John chapter  3, he pursued Jesus at night and said ‘I know that you are a teacher from God because no one would do the things that You did.’ Nicodemus is confirming that he derived that Jesus is a teacher not because Jesus had taught but because he had seen Him doing the things. Now Nicodemus has arrived and is talking to Jesus and he is telling him all this and he went on to say on verse 3 that says, “Jesus answered and said unto him, “verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” So just for recognizing the kingdom you need to be born again.

When you get into a church and the pastor does not teach “how?” it is a problem because even if I am not with you, you must know how to make money. You must know how to cast out an evil spirit. You must know how to speak in tongues and to pray. This is the reason why Jesus was not just praying for them but He would often take them for prayer. At that time He then taught them ‘this is how you should pray’ because you must know how to do it. What I am about to show you on the law of honor is how to use honor to your advantage for prosperity and long life, that it may be well with thee.

If you have cash you can go and buy the product and go with it. If you do not have cash, you can collect the product and then you pay as you are using it. I am saying this because I do not want you to go and satisfy the condition. I will pray for you and you can go and satisfy the condition after I have prayed. You obey and you serve him but you know that already I was given a blessing that you must not lose. A blessing that can be maintained by obeying and serving. Do you have something that you want to go well? Certainly? If you know it, that thing that you know, may it go well with thee. Listen, this is what the law of honor says. I borrowed it from Dr M. Murdoch, “your future is determined by who you choose to honor, and if you fail in your life, it will be because of a person you have chosen to dishonor.”

There are points to note.

Honor itself is having high regard and respect for an opinion or an office of another. It is honoring doctors, engineers, lawyers, pastors and apostles in their offices, having that esteem, respect, high regard for the office of another. Apart from the office even honoring their opinion and if you choose the right person you want to honor then your success will be hinged upon the precepts and the ideas of things that that person teaches you. You can not fight honor and win. You can not be a success when you are full of dishonor. This is one thing that is difficult as you get more educated. When you go to school what you are taught is to have an independent thinking pattern. Whatever Isaac Newton said about the law of motion you are supposed to criticize it. If whatever you are writing, whether it is an essay if you do not have your own mind, if you do not even disagree with it, you have to have your own arguments. However, to a certain extent if you do not then become wise from your education you will launch yourself into dishonor where you will then question certain standards that God has put in place for your advantage.

I will give you an example, honor your father and your mother so that it may be well with you and you may have long life. Then you decide that you do not want to honor your parents, and remember this honor you are not told to honor a father who did not leave you or who stayed with you all the way. You are not told to honor a father who has a monogamy or polygamy. You are not told to honor a father who is Christian, just your father and mother.

Honor them!

You are not told to honor a good parent, even the bad parent has to be honored. If you decide not to honor them because of your reasons, we will meet you in heaven later. You will leave us here, you will go early. Early departure to heaven is a disappointment. Dying early is a tragedy not only for the one who has died but for those left behind. Your family becomes vulnerable to danger and evil in your absence. You need to see your children grow and see even their children’s children. For that to happen you know that the requirement has to be satisfied. If you get into a competitive environment you should know that honor prevails, dishonor fails. We are what we are because we have chosen people to honor. Sadly, there are people who do not know how to honor, they have what we call the familiarity syndrome where people lose value because of proximity and some of them they call it freedom of speech. They comment on any and everything. Spirituality is not politics. In politics we comment on anything, we say anything and we are enjoying that’s why they call it a dirty game. When it is life now when you open your mouth to speak be careful of the words that proceed out of your mouth.

Honor is a seed of access. You sow honor, doors of access will be opened for you. You plant honor in the soil that God commands you, you gain access to blessings. Honor can not just be demonstrated in words but also in actions. Honor and dishonor are determinants of long life. When you use your phone in a meeting, it is either a symbol of honor or dishonor. You could be documenting or showing you prefer talking to someone who is not there. You will see that that person who chats on their phone will find it hard to succeed it life. The definition of success is what the Bible said that it ‘may go well with thee.’ You are given access to prosperity and blessing by the honor you give. Highest levels of dishonoring God is of answering messages while in church. God promised to talk to us in church not to call us and you are telling Him there’s someone I prefer to be with when I am with You. Smart people are careful to know who to take where. There are certain errors that people make in high places. You are called for an appointment with a great person and you bring a friend. The one you invited was not invited. The one you trusted is not trusted yet.

Do you remember Joseph when he was invited by Pharaoh to the palace in Genesis 41:14? He shaved his beard. It was a cultural and normal practise for Israelite men to keep their beard but it was an abomination to the Egyptians. When you are appearing before a king your beard should be shaved. He had nothing to lose since he was already in jail. He shaved to honor Pharaoh. When he got there, you must not take it as if the shaving did not participate. When honor is given there is a reward from the person who has been honored. When you receive a prophet in the name of the prophet, you receive the prophet’s reward (Matthew 10:41).  When you go to the king and you honor the king as a king, you then receive the king’s reward. Every man has a reward that he can only release when the honor requirement is satisfied. Do you have actions that show that you are honorable? Are your actions honorable? If you fail it will be because of a person that you have chosen to dishonor.

When yu come from another church we do not ask you why. You just come and we love you. We do not ask because we do not want to participate in dishonor. Dishonor is dishonor. A pastor must have stability and focus, no matter the things that will be happening mainitain your message, be composed, deliver the Word.You have to choose who to honor. That is a very important decision that you have to make in your life because when you honor a person unwaveringly his principles that you obviously know that are from God, God will bless thee. A man in 2 Kings 5 was told to go and baptize himself in the river Jordan seven times and he preferred other rivers. But he was cured by doing it and honored the instruction. If he had gone to other rivers he would have come out with his leprosy. It was not Jordan, it was honoring the instruction of the prophet.