YOU NEED A MAN PART 1

YOU NEED A MAN   PART 1

Many times people fail to realise that men are major channels of changes. For anything to happen to man many times it has to be through another man (note that men in this article is generic therefore  refers to both men and women) . Even for God to reach men, He uses men. We have many people who have missed out from God because they fail to identify their answer in men. When the Lord wants to lift a man, He sends men to you. You are a product of the men in your life. In this series we will be looking at honour for men.  Your ability  to identify and retain the right people in your life is a major key to your success. It takes men to be lifted. First let’s look at what honour is.

WHAT IS HONOUR?
To get the right definition of this word honour, let’s look at the scriptures.  The word to honour is  from the Greek word, timaō. It means to  estimate, fix the value, to honour, to have in honour, to revere, venerate.   This word is from another word called timios which means as of great price, precious, esteemed. So to honour someone is to price someone of value. It is to fix price on someone or something. It is to regard or treat someone with respect or regard. One key thing in honour is IDENTIFICATION. It is your ability to identify and Mark a difference for someone that will cause you to honour the person. In the Scriptures we are told to HONOUR ALL. There is always a reason why someone should be honoured.
1peter 2 : 17  Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king
Romans 12 :  10  Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;
Honour has to do with preferences. We are to prefer one another. Place value on people. There are different ways we show honour. We can show honour by loving someone. We can show honour by giving to someone. You can also honour by sacrificing  time and meeting someone’s need. The level of honour you should show varies from one person to another. In this series, we will look at showing honour to unbelievers, to believers  and to ministers of the gospel.

Many times the man that carries the answer you are looking for doesn't look  like it. Many people have missed out from their answers because they fail to recognise the right people. Let’s look at this story of Naaman in  2 Kings chapter 5.
1  Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable, because by him the LORD had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper. note
2  And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman's wife. note
3  And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy. note note
4  And one went in, and told his lord, saying, Thus and thus said the maid that is of the land of Israel.
5  And the king of Syria said, Go to, go, and I will send a letter unto the king of Israel. And he departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment. note
6  And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, Now when this letter is come unto thee, behold, I have therewith sent Naaman my servant to thee, that thou mayest recover him of his leprosy.
7  And it came to pass, when the king of Israel had read the letter, that he rent his clothes, and said, Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy? wherefore consider, I pray you, and see how he seeketh a quarrel against me.
8  And it was so, when Elisha the man of God had heard that the king of Israel had rent his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, Wherefore hast thou rent thy clothes? let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.
9  So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha.
10  And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean.
11  But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the LORD his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper. note note
12  Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage. note
13  And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?
14  Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.

Here we see that Naaman was  suffering from leprosy. First it took a man to tell Naaman of the Solution . It was the slave girl in her house that told him of a prophet in Israel that can heal him.  Notice that if the maid has not revealed the Solution, there is a possibility  that Naaman would have died in his sickness. Many times people flatter themselves by saying that if you loose a man sent to you, you can get other men. This is not always true. You may not get another, Even if you will do, it may take a long time. Realise that the answer you have been looking for in your business, marriage, ministry and other areas is in men. In the case of Naaman it was in Elisha. These things are written for our admonitions so we can learn. 
When Naaman met Elisha, he already has a preconceived notion of how he wants Elisha to attend to him. He was quite disappointed when he got otherwise. So many times when our helps come as men, they may not look like it. But as a believer, you must follow your heart and look beyond the physical. Naaman was focused on the nature of the  river and the way he wants the prophet to attend to him. Notice verse 10 to 12. Naaman was very angry at his answer to his problem. Do you know how many things you have lost because you got offended with what would have been your solution.  Many times It is wisdom to calm down. One thing that destroys relationships is preconceived notions. You have set your mind on how you want everyone to respond to you. It is so bad that you even in your mind choose how the anointed of God should minister to you.  If not for the servant of Naaman who called his attention to his foolishness to reject his answer.  That is  lack of honour.

WHY WE MUST HONOUR UNBELIEVERS
As new creatures in Christ , we must learn to honour and love unbelievers. In as much as we are not to be yoked with them in their evil deeds, we must honour them. The main reason for this honour is that God saw enough honour in them to die for them. Before you abuse and write off that sinner, that prostitute, that killer, remember that it was for that same person God became man so as to die for the person.
Romans 5:  8  But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
God demonstrated His love for mankind by dying for sinners.  So when you see a sinner, you should not be thinking of killing the person but saving the person. God wants sinners saved. What I am actually saying is that person you see as a worst enemy is a candidate of salvation.  That particular person is worth the blood of Jesus. So he deserves honour from you. When you see a prostitute in the act of sin, you have to know that she is worth the blood of Jesus. Also remember that you were once an enemy too. You may not have committed as much sin as the person, but there was a time you were a sinner without Christ.

In summary, in your search for God and your honour for God, you must realise that God is seen in man. This does not mean that we should dishonour God. You don’t need to despise everyone around you because of your trust in God. Neither should you put your trust in man. Many people deceive themselves by saying it is not all about men. You must realise that even for God to reach men, He uses Men. Like the example   we gave of Naaman and Elisha. Many times you can loose things from God if you don’t value men. Imagine praying for God to favour You and you are rude to everyone around you. Even when God lays it in the persons heart to favour You, your attitude to the man can hinder it. God cannot override the will of men. Never forget that. HONOUR the men around you. Many of the prayers you made to God is answered by God sending men to you.  

In the subsequent parts of this series we would look at honour for fellow believers and honour for ministers of the gospel that is honour for the anointed.

By OBIAZIKWOR EMEKE MODESTY

I hope this blesses you? Do well to share to  your friends and contacts.