Plan & Purpose
Pastor Alex Hall | November 16, 2025
The Key That Unlocks Everything: Understanding the Power of Honor
There's a question that echoes through countless hearts: "Why isn't my life working the way I hoped?" We work hard, we show up, we do the right things—or at least we think we do—yet something feels blocked. Provision seems just out of reach. Breakthrough feels delayed. Relationships strain under invisible weight.
What if the answer isn't found in working harder, but in discovering a key we've been overlooking?
The Ancient Principle We've Forgotten
In Leviticus 19, God gave His people a curious instruction about fruit trees. When they planted trees, they couldn't eat the fruit for the first three years. In the fourth year, all the fruit belonged to God—it was holy, a praise to Him. Only in the fifth year could they finally enjoy the harvest for themselves.
Imagine the frustration. You're hungry. You need provision. The fruit is right there, growing on your own trees. Yet God says, "Wait. Honor me first."
This isn't about God being controlling or withholding. It's about establishing a fundamental truth: **Honor unlocks provision.**
When we honor God with the first fruits—whether that's our time, our resources, or our obedience—we're acknowledging something crucial. We're declaring that He is the source, the provider, the one who makes all things grow. We're resisting the temptation to believe that our own hands, our own wisdom, our own efforts are what sustain us.
The Story of Abram's Choice
After Abram rescued his nephew Lot from captivity, defeating multiple kings with just 318 men, he had a choice to make. Melchizedek, the priest of God Most High, came out to bless him, reminding Abram: "Blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand."
Abram could have taken credit. He could have kept all the spoils of war. Instead, he gave Melchizedek a tithe—ten percent of everything. And when the king of Sodom offered him riches, Abram refused, declaring he wouldn't take even a thread or a sandal strap, "lest you should say, 'I have made Abram rich.'"
Abram understood something profound: **The one you honor is the one you acknowledge as your source.**
Every time we tithe, every time we give God the first and the best, we're making a declaration. We're saying, "You are my provider. You are my deliverer. Everything I have comes from You." It's not manipulation or a formula to get God to do what we want. It's alignment with a spiritual reality—that honor positions us to receive from the One who holds all authority.
When Authority Feels Wrong
Here's where it gets uncomfortable. Scripture tells us clearly: "Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God" (Romans 13:1).
That includes the boss who seems incompetent. The spouse who frustrates you. The leader whose decisions you question. The government official whose policies you oppose.
The natural response is resistance. "You don't understand who I have to deal with. You don't know what they're like. They don't deserve my honor."
But here's the spiritual reality we often miss: **When you honor the authority God has established, you're actually honoring God Himself.**
You're not doing it for them. You're doing it "heartily, as to the Lord and not to men" (Colossians 3:23). And when you resist authority—unless it directly contradicts God's Word—you're actually resisting God's ordinance and bringing judgment on yourself.
Could this be why life feels so hard? Why doors won't open? Why provision seems blocked? Perhaps it's not that God is withholding—it's that we're resisting the very structure He's established for our blessing.
The Seduction of Rebellion
Rebellion never announces itself honestly. It doesn't knock on your door and say, "Hi, I'm here to destroy your life." Instead, it whispers reasonable-sounding alternatives.
In Judges 9, Abimelech asked the people of Shechem, "Which is better for you, that all seventy sons reign over you, or that one reign over you? Remember that I am your own flesh and bone."
It sounded practical. Logical. Better. But it was rebellion dressed up as wisdom. Abimelech hired worthless men and murdered his seventy brothers to take a shortcut to power. And while things seemed to work for a season, eventually both he and those who followed him were consumed by the very fire of rebellion they had ignited.
**Rebellion always feels like a shortcut, but it leads to destruction.**
Maybe it's the coworker who listens to your complaints about your spouse and says, "If I were married to you, I'd treat you better." Maybe it's the friend who validates your frustration with your church leadership. Maybe it's the voice in your own head that says, "You deserve better than this. You don't have to submit to that."
The Parable of the Trees
The trees once went looking for a king. They approached the olive tree first: "Reign over us." But the olive tree refused: "Should I cease giving my oil, with which they honor God and men, and go to sway over trees?"
The fig tree said the same: "Should I cease my sweetness and my good fruit?"
The vine declined as well: "Should I cease my new wine, which cheers both God and men?"
Finally, the trees went to the bramble—a worthless bush used only for kindling—and the bramble said yes. "Come and take shelter in my shade. But if not, let fire come out of the bramble and devour the cedars of Lebanon."
The cedar trees of Lebanon grow 60 to 100 feet tall, majestic and strong. Yet here they were, bowing down to a bush that was created only to be burned.
**When we settle for authorities we think we can control, we end up consumed by the very thing we elevated.**
Living With No Secrets
James 5:16 offers a radical path to healing: "Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed."
Many of us wonder why we're sick, why we're struggling, why breakthrough hasn't come. Could it be that we're carrying secrets? Hidden sins, unconfessed struggles, areas of dishonor we've never brought into the light?
There's extraordinary freedom in living life with no secrets. When we confess—not just to God, but to trusted brothers and sisters—we step out of darkness into light. And in that light, healing flows.
The Reward of Honor
Here's the beautiful promise: **There is a reward for those who walk in honor.**
God raised up Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to positions of influence in a pagan kingdom. Why? Because they honored God even when it was costly, even when it didn't make sense, even when everyone around them bowed to idols.
Honor sets you apart. It positions you for promotion. It opens doors that striving and manipulation never could.
The woman who honors her husband—even when he's not yet walking with God—creates an atmosphere where transformation can happen. The employee who honors a difficult boss positions himself for supernatural favor. The person who honors God with their first fruits unlocks provision that defies natural explanation.
Your Key Today
If life feels blocked, if provision seems delayed, if you're frustrated and restless, perhaps the key you're looking for is honor.
Who have you been dishonoring? Your spouse? Your boss? Your leaders? The authorities in your life? Most importantly, have you been honoring God with your first fruits, your time, your obedience?
Honor isn't just a nice principle. It's a spiritual key that unlocks everything God wants to release in your life. Stop looking for shortcuts. Stop settling for the bramble. Step back into alignment with God's established order.
The fifth year is coming. The harvest is coming. But first comes the fourth year—when everything belongs to God, when it's all a holy praise to Him.
Honor Him today. Watch what He unlocks tomorrow.