SUMMER SCHOOL ASSIGNMENT 7/31/07
Ezekiel 3:10 .. all My Words that I shall speak to you,
receive in your heart and hear with your ears. And go…
First He speaks, then we receive, (we can get stuck here) next we hear and then we go.
Hear ~ shama
To hear with attention or obedience, to give undivided listening attention.
Perceiving a message or sensing a sound.
To hear as in “shama” is what we practice in the prophetic.
Ears ~ ozen
The organ of hearing. Represents hearing and obedience.
Symbolic ~ a permanent slave had awl put in ear.
~ a cleansed leper had blood and oil put on his right ear lobe
~ blood was put on priest’s right ear lobe
Jeremiah 6:10 To whom shall I speak and give warning, that they may hear?
Behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken.
Behold the Word of the Lord is to them a reproach; they have no delight in it.
Uncircumcised means, covered over. Hard to hear, not pliable in God matters.
Hearken ~ to prick up the ears, like an animal. To sharpen ears, alertness.
Pay attention to, heed.
Word ~ declaration, decree, essential contents of God’s revelations.
Reproach ~ shame, scorn, contempt, blame others, point finger, stigmatize
Have delight ~ to choose to bend, bow, have affection for, find pleasure in,
Feel strong positive attraction for something or someone.
God has this emotion for us.
Word One to receive ~ HONOR ~ yourself.
Last spring, God spoke. He gave me a “summer school assignment”.
It was to honor myself ~ in all ways, at all times, under all circumstances.
I received this assignment with no problem, but working it out has been harder than I thought!
Harder than getting a “word” for someone, for sure.
Harder than carving a quiet time each day to speak with Father.
Harder than being joyful in uncertain and unhappy situations.
This is really, really HARD!
I am still stuck in the “receiving” part of Ez 3:10.
Haven’t graduated to the hearing and going ~ yet ~ but I’m closer.
Walking daily in “honoring myself” is like training for the Olympics!
Discipline, discipline, discipline! Every day, discipline.
Because I know me, I know I don’t deserve honor. I mean… really….
So while I’m in “summer school” I often feel I am walking through life upside down, trying to “see” honor in me. But it isn’t there, no matter how hard I search.
I can’t find it in the natural because it doesn’t exist.
Various life situations are great teachers. In fact, the horrid-er the situation, the greater the teacher. What I’ve learned ~ the major shift from the idealism of my youth ~
is that the most noble and honoring among our human race have a breaking point. Myself most especially included. Each person has a place where honor shifts to self-protection, self-preservation. Sad but true.
For instance, I’ve learned not to say “I could never be an abusive parent.”
Our years in post-adoption counseling exposed us to the most vile children ~ more wicked than anyone’s imagination. We have seen children like this drive the most loving, kind and noble parents to the insanity of divorce, abuse and beyond. When I know that I know this
about myself, how can I honor me? (Are you walking upside down yet?)
As I age, my ability to honor myself grows worse. Continuing knowledge of mankind (which expands with age and experiences) reveals that there is no security in human honor. Truly honorable actions carry a price-tag that eventually outstrip our resources.
In a word, we reach the end of ourselves and can’t pay the piper.
This “summer” assignment has been so hard, so confusing
that I’ve found all kinds of really creative ways to escape it… until this week.
This week, He reminded me that summer is almost over and I’m not exam-ready.
So back to the classroom ~
Webster says “honor” is to regard highly,
to show great respect,
have a keen sense of right and wrong,
adhere to high principles,
be chaste and pure,
have beyond the ordinary priviledges,
to be worthy.
That’s where I break. I am not worthy, you know. My name, how I think of myself when I’m alone, is more like ~ Unworthy.
And that is exactly why He put me in “summer school”,
to unlearn all the things I’ve been taught about humility that disgrace honor.
I have to “place” honor in me, through faith. It’s all about faith. Not faith in me! Faith in Him.
He is able to do abundant beyond all that I can ask or think. He is able. He is faithful.
To unlearn false humility lessons is to make room for the truth about honor.
To learn the truth about honor prepares me to make room to honor you.
When I honor you, I honor Him.
So simple on paper, so hard to jump the hurdle of honoring myself.
As He brings me back to this assignment over and over again, I begin to understand 2 profound things.
1) With nearly every breath we take, we practice some form of honor.
2) There are only 2 forms of honor to choose from; honoring or dishonoring.
To dis-honor means we “not” everything Webster says about honor.
NOT regard highly,
NOT show great respect,
NOT have a keen sense of right and wrong,
NOT adhere to high principles,
NOT be chaste and pure,
NOT have beyond the ordinary privileges,
NOT be worthy.
Compare this to piano lessons. Whatever we practice, we excel in.
In practicing dis-honor over ourselves, we excel in dis-honoring others.
Don’t fool yourself.
If you dishonor yourself, you will excel in dishonoring God. Period.
You will be unable to honor others. All your attempts at honoring will be Satan’s mimic, which is flattery. Icky. Icky. Icky.
Honor YOU first, and then true honor will shine from you to others and to God.
So simple, even a child can do it. (dis-honor or honor)
Honor verses Dishonor. They really do verse each other.
And what we practice, we get good at. Really good at.
Two stories of extraordinary honor.
********************************************
1) “Eddie couldn’t believe his own success.
He lived in a gated, secure mansion in one of the most exclusive sections of Chicago. He drove new cars, ate in the best restaurants and traveled in style. Servants took care of the estate and the grounds. His wife and children had the very best of everything. Eddie was a brilliant attorney who succeeded beyond his wildest dreams. There was just one problem. He was crooked.
Eddie’s only client was the notorious gangster, Al Capone. It was Eddie who kept Capone out of jail. Eddie was personally sickened by the violence and murders, but he was in too far to ever back out.
Eddie had a young son whom he loved with all his heart. He wanted the very best for his boy. His son was a natural leader with a love for life. His young son worshiped his dad and respected him with every ounce of his being. But Eddie knew one day that respect would be lost. That’s what kept eating at him.
Eventually it was the factor that caused him to make the decision that would cost him his life. Eddie wanted a better life for his son. So he decided to do the only thing he could do to get back his integrity. He went to the police and told them the truth. It was Eddie who gave the IRS all of Capone’s financial records. With that information, Capone was finished.
But so was Eddie. Just months after doing the right thing, he died in a blaze of machine gun fire on a Chicago street. But.. he died leaving his son an example of doing the right thing - no matter what the cost. He wanted to give his son a better life. he wanted to prepare his son to handle the challenges that he would one day face in life. it was the hardest decision that he ever made. But it was the best decision he ever made.
2) O’Hare International Airport is one of the busiest in the world.
A small memorial, located between 2 terminals, honors the memory of Butch O’Hare.
Butch was the first ace of WWII and the first naval aviator to be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.
This young pilot was out on a mission with his squadron when he noticed that his fuel was dangerously low. Apparently, someone had made a mistake and not topped off his fuel tank. He radioed his flight commander and was ordered to return to the ship. As he was doing so, he saw in the distance a squadron of Japanese fighters headed toward the American fleet. Unable to warn the fleet of the coming attack, he turned his plane into the Japanese squadron, firing with everything he had.
Flying in and out of the Japanese squadron, he picked off plane after plane until he was out of ammunition. Then he dove into the wing or tail of a plane, attempting to disable it. the Japanese squadron cut off the attack and turned back. It was a miracle that Butch was able to return to the ship. The gun camera recorded the entire event ~ Butch had taken out 5 enemy fighter planes.
A year later, Butch died in another dogfight. This courageous young man, in the prime of life, died in a blaze of bullets that throttled his plane and his body. Butch O’Hare died that day just as his father had died before him in a torrent of bullets on a cold Chicago street. Butch O’Hare died a hero, and so did his father, Eddie O’Hare. It was the courage of his father in standing against evil that gave Butch the mission and purpose in life to do the same.
************************ taken from fantastic book, “King Me’, by Steve Farrar. (study guide)
Honor and dishonor. We excel where we practice.
Back to summer school ~
Ezekiel 3:10 .. all My Words that I shall speak to you,
receive in your heart and hear with your ears. And go…
Word Two to receive ~ HONOR ~ others.
Once I heard Word One, and put it into practice (thankfully He doesn’t demand perfection
before releasing more!) I was ready to extend that SAME honor to others.
Realize that it is truly impossible to honor someone else if you dis-honor yourself.
Part of this honoring is to take no one for granted.
Over and over, Father tells me this. He has embraced it with large quotation marks that will not stop shouting. Treat each person as if you may not behold them again. Hold each moment, each second, as a priceless gift of honor. He is honoring us with life ~ we need to honor each other in the same way. Following His example, we are to honor…all things… for He is Lord of all.
Each of us was born for a purpose. We are not accidents. You are not an accident!
You are uniquely, divinely and exquisitely designed to bring the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, much honor. You are here in this time zone for a purpose. You exist for a reason. An honorable reason.
We need to understand how Father God feels about us.
Dad is on my team. He doesn’t pressure me to be someone else.
Dad likes the way I’m wired ~ He wired me!!
Dad believes I will fulfill the purpose I’m created for.
Clearly, nothing is impossible because He will help me accomplish all things,
if I choose to honor Him ~ by believing in myself ~ and what He can do in me.
Word Three to receive ~ find the Boundary of your Belief.
Matthew 26:31-35
Jesus speaks to His disciples (us) about how they will soon run away and leave Him alone.
They all ALL deny it! “We will DIE with YOU, Jesus!”
They are sincerity itself. As sincere as sincere can get. They believe what they are saying, totally. And honestly, they were as sincere as they could be at that time, at that moment, on that day.
Jesus accepted their ability to stay with Him (to leave Him). He knew exactly when and how each one would reach the limit of their human resources ~ when and how they would be crushed and scattered as they hit their individual human breaking points ~ when and how they would fail to do what they sincerely said they would be able to do.
In these verses, Jesus revealed the limit of their ability. None of them could understand it.
None could “receive” what He said. What He revealed was the Boundary of their Belief and none of them were aware that they had any boundaries.
Boundary ~ anything marking a limit, or border.
A limit in territory, an enclosed area, surrounding wall
The farthest extremity of a thing.
2 Cor 7:14 I have great confidence in you. I take great pride in you. I am greatly encouraged in all our troubles ~my joy knows no boundaries!!
No boundaries!
Boundary-less ~ boundless, limitless, vast, expansive ~ eternal ~ horizonless
The sky is not even the limit! There is no NO limit for you!
Ask Him for bigger boundaries (the Jabez prayer works here, expand my boundaries!)
Don’t tell me the theology of what you believe about God.
(Talk about sighing… I’m so tired of all this opinion stuff! Hot air hot air hot air…)
Tell me instead, what do you expect God to do in your city!
What is Him doing in your home? Today, not someday.
In your heart ~ right now?
Don’t quote me your favorite scriptures.
(Another boring and pointless mind activity unless it is a NOW scripture.)
Instead, tell me what God says to you this moment!
What did you and God do yesterday? I’m so interested to know!!
What do you expect to do with Him today?
Narnia book series ~ Reep-A-Cheep ~ in the last scene, this tiny mouse of infinite courage gets in a small canoe and sets east…. To the land of the King, Aslan. He has no boundaries. This guy is the only one who is never afraid, never defeated, never hopeless. He has no boundaries and he is immense with honor. He is the most noble, honorable character, outside of Aslan, in the entire series! In fact, his honor-attitude gets him in situations over his head many times. And this isn’t because he is short. It is because he is honor-filled, which is offensive to many Christians.
He has been to the “Summer School of Honor”. 
And he graduated.
With honors !
And after graduation, Reep-A-Cheep went!
And go…. Reep-A-Cheep… you filled with honor person. Go!
