Make Space Week 3: From Rivers to Reservoirs | Pastor David Oliver | Northplace Church

Hello, my name is Brian Jarrett, and my wife Haley and I have had the privilege of pastoring North Place Church in the Dallas-Fort Worth area for almost 20 years. We're one church that meets in multiple locations, even on multiple continents, and today you are one of those locations. The church is not about buildings, it is about people, and we have the privilege today of sharing the hope of the gospel with you right where you are. There is no way I can know exactly what you're going through or dealing with right now, but for almost 30 years I have preached about a God who I know, I am confident, knows you, your struggles, knows the very hairs on your head and the thoughts that you think before you think them, and He is passionately in love with you. And our prayer today is that in our time together you feel our love for you and His presence. And we pray that this time together gives you hope. It's always lit, it won't go out, it's always burning. You've given me joy, it's unspeakable. Joy, undeniable, unexplainable. I got the joy of the Lord. I got a river that's flowing inside. It's full of life, it's ever growing. I got a fire and it's always lit. It won't go out, it's always burning. I got a river that's flowing inside. It's full of life, it's ever growing. I got a fire and it's always lit. It won't go out, it's always burning. You've given me joy, it's unspeakable. Joy, undeniable, unexplainable. I got the joy of the Lord. Down in my heart, deep down in my soul. Uncontainable, insatainable.

I got the joy of the Lord. Come on, is there joy in the room this morning? Let joy fill the room today as we celebrate new life. Joy on the inside. Feels like fire, can't keep it in. And I keep freezing in the midnight. The joy of the Lord is my strength. Come on, can we declare that? Oh, I've got joy on the inside. Feels like fire, can't keep it in. And I keep freezing in the midnight. The joy of the Lord is my strength. Oh, I've got joy. I've got joy on the inside. Feels like fire, can't keep it in. Oh, I keep freezing in the midnight. The joy of the Lord is my strength. Oh, I've got joy. And I've got joy on the inside. Feels like fire, can't keep it in. Oh, I keep freezing in the midnight. The joy of the Lord is my strength. The joy of the Lord is my strength. The joy of the Lord is my strength. And I've got a river that's flowing inside. It's all alive. And it's ever growing. I've got a fire. And it's always lit. It won't go out.

It's always burning. You've given me joy. It's unseekable joy. Undeniable. Unexplainable. Oh, I've got the joy of the Lord. Tone in my heart. Deep down, deep down. Uncontainable. Uncontainable. I've got joy on the inside. Feels like fire, can't keep it in. I keep freezing. ♪ Praising in the midnight ♪ ♪ The joy of the Lord is my strength ♪ ♪ I've got joy, I've got joy ♪ ♪ Holy inside, feels like fire can't keep it in ♪ ♪ So I'll keep praising in the midnight ♪ ♪ The joy of the Lord is my strength ♪ ♪ The joy of the Lord is my strength ♪ ♪ Oh, the joy of the Lord is my strength ♪ ♪ The joy of the Lord is my strength ♪ ♪ The joy of the Lord is my strength ♪ ♪ The joy of the Lord is my strength ♪ ♪ Oh, the world can't take away this joy ♪ ♪ The unspeakable joy in Jesus' name ♪ Amen. Aren't you glad for a joy that transcends every circumstance and situation in this life? Today, we have the privilege of doing something

across our campus families we love to do in every service today. We're baptizing people that are going public in their faith with Jesus Christ. This is an amazing moment for these people, for their families. Look, they have already made Jesus Lord. They've become a part of the family of God, but this is the public declaration of that moment to the world that I am not ashamed of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what this moment is. It is our opportunity to say, you're not just a part of the bigger family, you're a part of our family, and we're welcoming them into this spiritual family. So when they come up out of what we call a watery grave, they're going down and burying what is old and coming to life and what is new in Christ. When they come up out of that watery grave, let them hear the celebration of their spiritual family saying, welcome home, welcome home, welcome home. So Lord, would you just let this be a powerful moment in your presence as we continue in worship. We're joining with the celebration of heaven today, and we're celebrating on earth the power of grace and the story of changed lives. In Jesus' name, amen. Come on, let's worship. ♪♪♪

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ Let's sing this out. ♪ Bless God, the earth is falling ♪ ♪ Bless God, the world's a-falling ♪ ♪ Bless God, cause He goes before me ♪ ♪ Every chance I get I bless Your name ♪ ♪ Bless God, cause He holds the victory ♪ ♪ Bless God, cause He's always with me ♪ ♪ Bless God, cause He's always worthy ♪ ♪ Every chance I get, oh I bless Your name ♪ Hey! ♪ Every chance I get, oh I bless Your name ♪ ♪ Every chance I get, oh it makes the Lord with me ♪ ♪ Sing if you love His name ♪ ♪ Then lift your voice with me ♪ ♪ Yes, He's worthy of all our praise ♪ ♪ Come on and bring your offering ♪ We sing of His holy name. ♪ Sing if you love His praise ♪

♪ Come on and lift up your holiness ♪ ♪ Yes, He's worthy of all our praise ♪ ♪ Yes, He's worthy of all our praise ♪ ♪ He's worthy of all our praise ♪ ♪ All our praise ♪ ♪ And all I want, Jesus ♪ ♪ And all I want, Lord ♪ ♪ And all, only Jesus ♪ ♪ So take this world and give me ♪ Come on, can we just sing that again, I want Jesus. ♪ And all I want, Jesus ♪ ♪ And all I want, Lord ♪ ♪ And all, only Jesus ♪ ♪ So take this world and give me it ♪ ♪ And no more mixture, give me the God of scripture ♪ ♪ And no more idols or lesser lives ♪ ♪ No substitute will ever do ♪ ♪ There's nothing more I'll ever pursue ♪ Come on, boys, let me sing. ♪ And all I want, Jesus ♪ ♪ And all I want, Lord ♪ ♪ And all, only Jesus ♪ ♪ And all, only Jesus ♪ ♪ So take this world and give me it ♪ ♪ And I surrender until my heart grows tender ♪ ♪ Here be my treasure, my greatest cause ♪ ♪ No substitute will ever do ♪ ♪ And there's nothing more I'll ever pursue ♪ We sing. ♪ Oh, I want Jesus ♪

♪ And all I want, Him ♪ ♪ And all, only Jesus ♪ ♪ So take this world and give me it ♪ ♪ Give the air sing it loud oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh ♪ ♪ I want Jesus oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh I want Him ♪ ♪ Oh oh only Jesus to take this world and give the air ♪ ♪ Take this world and give me air ♪ ♪ Just give me Jesus you're all I want ♪ ♪ Isn't He enough isn't He enough ♪ ♪ Jesus is everything all that I'll ever need ♪ ♪ Isn't He enough isn't He enough ♪ ♪ Jesus my King of kings you satisfy me ♪ ♪ Isn't He enough isn't He enough ♪ ♪ Jesus is everything all that I'll ever need ♪ ♪ Isn't He enough isn't He enough ♪ ♪ Jesus my King of kings you satisfy me oh oh oh oh oh oh ♪ ♪ I want You oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh I want You oh oh oh ♪ ♪ I want Him oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh I want you oh ♪ ♪ Take this boy take this boy take him away take him away take him away ♪ ♪ Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh I want you oh oh oh oh oh ♪ ♪ Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh I want You oh oh oh ♪ ♪ Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh I want You oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh ♪ ♪ Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh I want you oh oh oh ♪ ♪ And oh I want Jesus and oh I want Him and oh only Jesus. So take this world and give me Him. Take this world and give me Him. Take this world and give me Him. North Place, I'm excited for our conversation over the next few moments. I cannot believe it. Week three of our Make Room series that we began just a few weeks ago

with some introductory messages. Small groups have kicked off. How many of you are enjoying your small groups so far? You're making friends, meeting people. God's connecting you with others, growing. It's one of our favorite parts of this journey. But today, I get the privilege. Week one, we talked through this idea of generosity, how honor and generosity are inseparable conversations. Last week, we talked the idea of space and how if we will commit to honor God by making space for Him in our life, when we make space, God fills it. Today, I get to talk to you about this idea of what it means that honor flows. And more specifically, to title this morning's message, I want to speak to you for the next few moments on the subject of from reservoirs to rivers. From reservoirs to rivers. I just said that the entire point of week three is to discuss this main idea, that God wants honor to flow from us in all directions. The problem is, when it comes to honor flowing from us, most people are reservoirs. Honor tends to be something that we hoard or something that we... hole up and keep to ourselves. It's oftentimes the conversation about honor is about our honor, what people think about us, but the call of God on each of our lives is to let honor flow through us, to be marked by a life that honors others. And the tension in this, I really found it quite apparent

as I began to research and study for today's message. I was taking some time and just doing some basic searches on the word honor, on quotes regarding on us. Really what I was looking for is there just this good, powerful quote that kind of summarizes it. And there were great ideas on things like reputation and having a legacy or good character, but I found almost nothing about the idea of giving honor to others. Because I think primarily because we live in a society and world where honor is something to be achieved and paraded more than it is shared and given. Yet when we read about honor in God's word, the vast majority of it is about how we give it away to others. And not only in my research was I surprised to find very little about giving honor to others, I was also surprised to find out how much of this idea of giving honor has to do with the great milk tycoons of the late 1800s. And I know I'm not familiar, Pastor David, I don't really know what you're talking about, right? And maybe you've heard of the Borden Legacy or the Borden Dairy Company. If not, I believe more of you will be familiar with their beloved mascot and logo, LC the Cow. You guys know LC the Cow?

Yeah, Borden, it's gotta be good. And I don't even know, I don't drink Borden, but I know LC the Cow, okay? And the Bordens, they started their first milk company in 1857, 30 years later and several million dollars later, which in the late 1800s is quite a significant number. They didn't just have their first company, the Bordens also had their first son named William, William Borden. William grew and after graduating secondary school, William's parents, they sent him on a trip around the world to study and to explore and kind of expose him to different cultures and different things in the world. Unexpectedly though, while traveling, William's heart was moved. His heart was stirred by the things he began to see in other nations and other cultures. Really what he saw consistently was the brokenness and deep need of humanity for a relationship with Jesus. William's heart was moved so much as William was traveling, talking, observing, his heart broke and it kind of birthed this desire in him, he said, to reach the nations that he had just traveled. And later in his life, William studied at Yale where not only did he study, he helped lead prayer movements and prayer groups on campus. By the end of his time in college, a thousand of the 1300 students at Yale were coming to his prayer gatherings. And upon graduating,

instead of stepping out of the family empire, this heir to millions chose to honor the call of God on his life to take the gospel to the hardest places on earth to reach. Specifically, William felt called to reach Muslims in China. On his way to China, he stopped in Cairo, Egypt, to take some time and try to learn Arabic. While he was training there, he did exactly what he did in college. He blessed the seminary students, launched missions, began sharing Christ. But shortly after arriving, William contracted spinal meningitis. And after only a year of arriving in Cairo, William died at the age of 25 years old. And after his death, a three-phrase anecdote is said to have been found written in his Bible from pivotal moments in his journey. The first, whenever he denied the family fortune. The second, when his father told him he would never be an heir to the legacy. And the third, shortly before his death, written in his Bible were these words, no reserves, no retreat, no regrets. No reserves, no retreat, and no regrets. And you may be wondering, Pastor David, what does all of this have to do with giving honor? Really, it has everything to do. do with this idea, because this is a picture of a man

who refused to hoard what God had given him. No reserves, meaning I'll hold nothing back into myself. What could be kept for me will instead be given away. In 25 years, William Borden made more room for God to move through him than many of us will do in a lifetime because he chose to not be a reservoir. He lived his life like a river. He let what God had done in him flow out of him to other people. This is the life God wants each of us to live. This is the life we want to live. We want to be able to end our days and say, I had lived with no reserves, no retreat, and no regrets. We just forget or maybe try hard to not remember that that kind of life comes not by us gaining more, but by giving more of it away. And so we come to this point, how do we live a life like Borden? How do we live without reserves? How do we let the flow of God move in, not just in us, but through us? What does it practically look like to let honor not be holed up in my heart, but flow from me in all directions to everyone everywhere? Now, if you've got a study guide, we've got guides available for this Make Room journey. They're available in the lobby of all of our campuses, but if you're following along or getting ready to start week three,

here's kind of how this idea of flow is summarized in this week's study guide. It says, honor flows in every direction, up, down, and all around. Honor moves like water. It doesn't stay contained. It seeks every open space, every relationship, every heart willing to receive it. It goes up to authority, down to the overlooked, and all around to peers. So honor, it's not supposed to be static. It's supposed to move. It's not supposed to be something that keeps us comfortable, but something that pushes us to a place like William, a place of no reserves. I'll do whatever I can to share what Christ has done in me and what he's given to me to share that with you, to let it flow from me, open my heart like a river. But not only does it have to flow from us, we need to learn how to let it flow in all three directions. We're gonna spend time today looking briefly at each of those three, because you can't just show honor in one of these areas. It creates dysfunction, and it creates some leaning, some extremes that we wanna avoid in our life. For example, if honor only flows up, it becomes flattery. If honor only flows down, it can become pity. If honor only flows around, it becomes favoritism.

But when we commit, God, I'm gonna let honor flow through me in all directions, it's gonna reflect the heart of God for all people, up, down, and all around. It's not an I feel like a thing. It's not a personality thing. This is God's kingdom designed for living a life of honor. So if we're gonna move from reservoirs to rivers, we need to look at what the Bible has to say about all three of these. So first, let's talk a little bit about what it means for us to honor up. This is typically the most logical because we tend to understand, yeah, I should honor those maybe who have a position of authority in my life. And the Bible is really clear, whether it's a boss or teachers, civil leaders, or parents, Scripture's clear that God designed honor to flow upwards to those that he has placed in authority over us. Romans 13, one says, for there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Now, before I break down the different types of authority figures and spaces where we're called to honor up, there is something I wanna immediately clarify on the front end of this conversation. Honoring up, which is this honoring up, does not mean I am always in agreement

with everything my authority does. It does not mean I always like the decision or understand the direction. All it means is that I simply choose, I will choose to. trust God when he chooses to work in my life through imperfect people. That's all it means. Is that even if I don't agree, even if I don't like the direction, I will choose to honor God by honoring them. Trust that he put them in my life for a reason. That's not to say that I blindly follow my leaders no matter what they say, but it also means that I'm not gonna completely reject authority for the sake of my own personal freedom and individualism. The Bible calls us to walk the middle, to boldly honor authority figures in our life while maintaining that my ultimate allegiance is to Christ. But the Bible does talk consistently about four main areas where we're regularly called to honor up. The first is in our family. Ephesians 6, two through three says, honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with a promise so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth. I want them to leave that scripture up there for a second because notice what it doesn't say.

It doesn't say agree with your father and mother. Notice for my adults in the room, parents said, amen. For my adults in the room, it doesn't even say you have to always do what they want. Part of honoring your parents is redefining what honor looks like in your relationship with them from season to season. But honoring your parents and respecting their position in your life, that never changes. And I understand that that can be a challenge for some of us more than others. Maybe you're here today and you have a difficult or even estranged relationship with your parents. If that's you, can I tell you, the text doesn't even say that you have to like them. It doesn't have to say, it doesn't say you have to have warm feelings about them, but you can refuse to slander. You can refuse to drag their name through the mud. You can refuse to let bitterness so define you and creep into your heart that you can't even be in the same room as them without thinking about all the hateful and negative things. There's a way to do that and still honor them because even if nothing else, can we praise God for the miracle that he used them to bring you into this world? And that matters, that matters.

And so there's a way to honor them, even if I don't agree or like it. So we honor those in authority over us and our family, but second, we're also called to honor up in our job. Now, I can already hear you. Not me, I have a great boss. Okay, I have the best boss. He's amazing. I really do have the best boss. But I can hear you. Hey, Pastor David, you don't know my boss, my manager, how they talk to me, how they treat me. They ask for too much, give me too little, take credit for everything in between. All the work that I, and you may be right. But if those things are impacting the way you speak about them or execute your work, can I encourage you? You're working for the wrong boss. Not in the sense of it's time to go find another one, but in your heart. Look at the words of Paul in Colossians. Colossians 3.22 says, bondservants obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not just on the outside, not by the way of eye service as people pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. Why? Whatever you do, work heartily as for the Lord

and not for men, knowing that from the Lord, you will receive the inheritance as your reward. Why? Because you're not serving your boss, you're serving the Lord Christ. So there's actually a way that in my job, I can honor the person who's over me, primarily by understanding my real boss told me to. I honor you because my real boss has asked me to be his light in my workplace. Because my real boss has asked me to show the world what it looks like to follow him and work with integrity, because the Lord is my reward and my promotion. I'm serving him. So we honor up with our family, we honor up in our jobs, but we're also called to honor up number three, in our church. Look at these two scriptures, Hebrews 13, 17 and context is talking about church structure and he's encouraging. urging the church to obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls as those who will have to give an account. Hold on to that word, as those who have to give an account. Let them do this, let them lead you, watch over you with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you. So when you just really gotta let your pastor know

how you feel all the time, according to Hebrew, it ain't no advantage to you to make your pastor's life miserable, okay? I'm just telling, like, but there's a reason. Why? Because they're accountable for something bigger. Look at what it says in 1 Timothy 5, 17. The elders who direct the affairs of the church are well, well are, the elders who direct the affairs of the church are well, excuse me, are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. That's a double honor. So the leaders of our church, specifically our pastor and our elders, according to the text, are not just worthy of honor, but if they lead well, are worthy of double honor. Are you grateful to be a part of a church that can confidently say, we are led well, and we have a pastor and an eldership team and a leadership team that are worthy of double honor? Come on, are you grateful for that? Because it's not always the case. It's not always how it works, but there's a reason. Notice, we said, hang on to that word. There's a reason. You don't give your spiritual leaders double honor just because they have a title, but because according to Hebrews, they're accountable to God for your soul. We honor them because they carry the weight of our life.

So I want you to really think about it. In this conversation, who has the greater responsibility? My responsibility is to honor my spiritual leadership, but my spiritual leadership's responsibility is to stand before God for the way they shepherded me. When I consider that, it makes me wanna pray for our pastor. When I consider that, it makes me grateful for our elders, grateful for this spiritual family, to pray and lift up our church, to go to God on their behalf. Give them wisdom, give them discernment, and help them help us as they follow you, Jesus. We're called to honor up in family, in work, at church, but finally, number four, in civil areas, in government. And now I know the real reason why Pastor Brian wanted me to preach this message today. Let's go back to Romans 13. There's a couple key verses in here. Romans 13, verse one, let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, so because of that, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. Jump down to verse four. For the one in authority is God's servant for your good.

Jump down to verse six. This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servant who give their full time to governing. I hate that scripture. But the next one's important. Give to everyone what you owe them. If you owe taxes, pay taxes. If revenue, then revenue, but watch the shift he makes. If respect, then respect. If honor, then honor. We don't have time for the sermon. Notice too, there's a difference between respect and honor. I don't have to always respect your decision, your choice, to honor you. Here's what the scripture is saying, exactly that. I don't have to always like or agree with my governing authorities, but I honor them because of the position they hold as God's servant. If God is, listen to this logically, if God is all powerful, that means everyone in a position of power is operating on delegated authority. And because of that, they're deserving of my honor. That doesn't mean they even steward that delegated authority well or biblically. It doesn't even mean they recognize that their authority is delegated. But it does give me confidence that the Lord is in control,

which means I may not have liked the last president. I may not like this one. I may not like everything that's happening in the world. I may like all of it. I don't know where you stand, what you are. Have your convictions. Speak your convictions, but make sure to live them out honorably. Make sure that you live them out in a way that glorifies and honors the weight of leadership God has placed on a person and that doesn't ruin your reputation. reputation as a follower of Jesus in the way you communicate and live out those convictions. I won't lie, a few months ago when I knew I was preaching this message, I knew I was gonna have to teach on this scripture. And it felt like every week leading up to this message, this part of the sermon got more and more complicated. Honestly, to the point where I'm trying to figure out how do I get around the honor up conversation without having to address this. But as I did, I felt the quiet conviction of the Holy Spirit and felt the Lord speak to my heart. David, my word and commands are true 100% of the time or they aren't true at all. If we can't live this out now, we can't ever. And if there was ever a moment where the world needed an example of what it means to disagree and still be honorable,

can we say it's right now? And the church is called by God to be that example to the world. So no matter the area, it doesn't always mean I agree in authority, it just means I understand when I honor you in my life, I'm ultimately honoring the God who stands above you. But honor doesn't only flow up, it also flows down. If honoring up is about alignment with God's chosen authority, then honoring down is about following in the footsteps of Jesus. Because the clearest picture in human history the clearest picture in human history of honor flowing down is Jesus. Mark 10 45 says, the son of man came not to be served but to serve. In John 13, the night before his crucifixion, moments before his betrayal, hours before the worst moments of his life, Jesus did not demand or reserve the honor that he was due for himself. The night before he's betrayed, it says he gets down and washes his disciples feet. He takes the lowest seat in the house. This means that honor flowing down is not about charity, it's about Christ likeness. Honoring doesn't just look like Christ, Jesus actually says it's a way you honor him directly. He goes as far in Matthew 25 40 as to tell us, truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least

of these brothers and sisters of mine, you actually did it for me. The least of these you did for me. When Jesus says the least of these, he isn't talking about class or financial position or even influence in culture. The least of these is the one you don't naturally see. Who's the least of these to you? Who do you overlook? Who do you brush off? Who do you maybe see as beneath you or maybe not beneath you, but just not as important? Because when you choose to see that person and honor them, you're honoring Christ. Not because they can repay you, but because Christ himself identifies with them. And by identifying with them, it also means honoring down can't be about pity, obligation or serving because it makes me feel good about myself. That's still reservoir behavior. That's pride dressed up as compassion. You can't honor and serve someone that you secretly think is beneath you. So if we're talking about honoring down, it's actually understanding, no, no, no. It's not that I'm more important than you, so I'm in a position to serve you. It's understanding that Christ, the one who deserved all honor, chose to honor me instead.

And because he honored me, I can give it away freely and let the flow of honor go in every direction in my life. So we honor up, we honor down. And then finally, number three, we honor all around. This may be consistently one of the harder places to let the flow of honor happen in our life because we live in a culture that has trained us to reduce people. Screens have made it easy to dehumanize the person on the other side of us. When we look at our peers, we don't see image bearers anymore. We may mean to, but we don't. We may think we don't think this way, but secretly there's this going on in our hearts. If you act like me, you're honorable. If you think like me and go where I go and do what I do, you're respectable. If you look like me and agree with me, then I'll honor you. But can I tell you very clearly this mindset approach, subtle, sometimes not even intentional, breaks the heart of God. Because in the Bible, he calls something good and he calls something pleasant to him. He describes it as good and pleasant. I want you to see what it says in Psalms 133, 1-3. It says, Hold how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity.

He gives an analogy. It is like precious oil on the head running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes. It's like the dew of Hermon which falls on the mountains of Zion. For there, where there's unity, where there's honor amongst peers and equals when the brothers dwell this way, God doesn't hope for a blessing. God doesn't wish there could be. God has commanded the blessing, life forevermore. God commands a blessing, not where everyone agrees, looks the same, is identical, but where his people honor each other in unity. And the psalmist gives this illustration of the oil and with the oil coming down the head of the priest and oil in many ways symbolize the blessing and anointing and favor of God on a person. And it says that when we live this way, it's like oil running down from the head of the priest to his beard, to the bottom of the robe. Another translation says it like this. When the brothers live this way, it's like fine oil poured on the head, which flows down Aaron's beard and then flows down his garments. So there's not just a flow of honor through me. The flow of honor through me gives me an opportunity to experience a flow of blessing.

The problem is when I don't understand this, when I don't feel God near me and when I feel distant from him and I don't feel like he's working, he's moving, what I typically tend to do is I blame the culture, I blame people, we blame whoever we can think of for the lack of that in our life. But maybe there's a call to stop and examine ourselves, to stop and go, where have I blocked the blessing of God by refusing to walk in unity and honor? Because when honor flows up, down and all around, blessing flows like oil. When I choose to let the flow of honor come through me in all directions, there's a blessing that flows into my life. There are two really famous bodies of water in the Middle East that are both connected to the same river, the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. The Jordan River flows through both of them. The Sea of Galilee, you can kind of see there in the surrounding areas that the Jordan River kind of feeds into it and water flows from all around it. There's not just an inlet, there's outlets for that water to come from. And because of that, it's really quite a habited area. There's villages, fish live here, there's vegetation, you can see the greenery all around the Sea of Galilee because it allows for flow in and through it. But further south, the same Jordan River flows into a different body of water,

flows into the Dead Sea. And you can see surrounding the area, there's no greenery, there's nothing around, there's actually no villages there, it's uninhabitable by any wildlife and vegetation. It's called the Dead Sea for a reason. The same source, the Dead Sea has no outlet. You'd think by hoarding all the resources from the Jordan, that this would be the one that's full of life. But the one that lives is the one that lets that life flow through it. Because being a reservoir, keeping it all to ourself doesn't produce the results we think it will. And I think some of us are spiritually frustrated just because we've gotten used to being reservoirs. We're praying and asking God for more, more blessing, more favor, more peace, more anointing, more honor, and we're not getting an answer. And maybe the question shouldn't be, God, why isn't it flowing in? But instead, God, where and when did it stop flowing out? In my boss, in my marriage, with my kids, in my job, like where did it stop flowing out? Because here's the good news. The Jordan never stops. He's always pouring out blessing. He's always honoring us. He's always lifting us up. Why? Because scripture actually says, Jesus, right now, Jesus, right now, interceding for you,

praying for you, lifting up your name in heaven. The source of honor and blessing in your life has never dried up. up or did we forget that this great King calls himself living water, that this great King is compared to a river that will never run dry, that the Bible says this great King of ours loves us so much, loved us so much that he was willing to give his life for us. He doesn't just have a flow of honor into us. His life never stops flowing into us and over us because the blood that flowed from his hands, feet, and brow is always working in your life. We talk about a flow of honor like it starts with us, but the Christian life never begins with how well you could honor, with how well the flow works to you, but that it comes freely to you from Jesus. As we leave here and go try to live lives of honor, let us not forget that when he found us, we were the least of these, that when he found us, we were not impressive, we were not powerful, we were not righteous, we were not honorable, but the honorable one chose to honor us by grace through the flow of his blood that saves us and because of that flow, we can now extend honor to other people. That's how William Borden was able to do it.

How could someone leave millions to give honor to the least of these, to let honor flow through him in all directions? Because he understood this. At his funeral, his family chose to conclude the time with a hymn that shaped him and defined his life. And the words of that hymn say, see from his head, his hands, his feet, sorrow and love flow mingled down. Did ever such love and sorrow meet or thorns compose so rich a crown? Borden understood there's a never ending flow in my life. And it's the blood of Jesus, the love of Jesus. And because I have that endless supply, access to a never ending river, I can give it freely to you. Would you stand with me across this room? I'm gonna invite our prayer team to makes their way forward right now. If you have any need in your life, you need prayer over. Maybe it's in one of those areas, an area where you're struggling up, down or around you. It'd be our honor to pray with you about that area. Maybe today you need to put your faith in Jesus like that young William Borden did. Receive the flow of his mercy, of his grace and of his forgiveness and let that fuel you and fill you with hope today. Whatever your need may be, we're here to serve you, to walk alongside of you.

But as we go, would we ask the Lord God, help us to receive your love freely, your precious flow. Lord, would it wash over us anew and would it empower us to live lives like a river, extending that same mercy, grace, love and honor to other people. Lord, would you help us do that to honor you, to honor others up, down, all around in every area. Would you give us the strength, the faith and the courage to do so. And as we go, Lord, I ask that you would bless them and keep them. Make your face shine down upon them. Be gracious to them. Turn your countenance their direction and give them peace. In Jesus name, amen. These altars are open today. God bless you. Hey friends, I just wanted to spend a second with you at the end of this message today and just encourage you. If in some way you've made a spiritual decision, maybe you've given your life to Christ today. You've recently given your life to Christ. You wanna talk to somebody about giving your life to Christ. Our team would love to help you. We're on the Pando app and have several ministries into various prisons because God has called us to you.

We have a heart for forgotten people and forgotten places. And that means we serve widows and we serve orphans and we serve special needs kids. And God has given us a heart for men and women in the prison system, because I believe Jesus died for you. He has a plan and a purpose for your life. And we wanna help you know that and discover that. There is an address on the screen that you can communicate with us. We have a team of people that would love to hear from you, especially if you've made a decision to follow Jesus so that we can resource you and point you to tools that can help you grow. Just know that we're praying over you and we're genuinely honored that you've taken time to watch our channel and these messages from North Place Church.