The Spirit of Honour

There is nothing as desperately needed as the spirit of honour

The word honour comes from the word “kabad” which means weight, it is a measurement used to give any object the weight that is worth its place. You should never serve if you have no honour for God and for men.

That honour teaches us to hold God in high regard and as such we extend that same weight to the men and women we serve and oversee. As such it is possible to honour someone you do not see eye to eye with, you dont need to share the same opinion with me to honour me. In fact, true honour is manifest when we have differences. Honour ultimately celebrates and accepts differences

Honour and respect are two different things. Respect is an attitude while honour is a demonstration. This means that you can never honour me, if you do not respect me. As a result of the respect that you have for me, it creates a posture, an attitude of honour that allows you to receive me with the same heart. Most of us fail to honour God because we simply do not respect him…. Let that sink in for a moment……..

You can not tap into the anointing of a man of God if you do not honour them. Honour will either give you a fragrance or an odour.

Psa 138:2 Honour begins with God. God honours His words above His name. Every time you spend time praying you are honouring God. Honour is something God requires from His people.

Honour is a culture.

Our culture of honour is seen in how we speak about our leaders and peers– The spirit of familiarity is the key reason why most leaders are failing because they show no honour for their leaders. You can never speak ill of your leader/peer and claim to have honour for God.

Our honour is seen in our obedience to instruction– particularly when you are in disagreement with an instruction.. Please note that any leader who instructs you to do something abusive or unbiblical is not our measure. We are talking about people who simply view things differently and instead choose to dishonour that word because it is in contrast with their views. It demonstrates that you value your opinion over others and in some cases, God.

Our honour is seen in how we carry out our duties. Honour comes from understanding the weight of the words spoken over you and completely reacting to it, even when they are not there. Jesus is speaking to the Centurion in Matthew 8, the Centurion says “just say the word, and my servant will be healed For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell one to go, and he goes; and another to come, and he comes. I tell my servant to do something, and he does it.” The principle is that a word given is to be honoured as if the one who spoke it is watching over it. This is how God feels even about his word, it is just a word but creation honours God by fulfilling his word, as if he is actually there performing it himself. You dishonour God when you cannot fulfil a duty that you have committed to. God requires that you honour your duties, commitments, pledges and assignments as if you are accountable to God himself.

Reward is directly correlated to honour. You cannot be rewarded in the kingdom without understanding the sacrifice of honour. So many leaders are doing things with a spirit of dishonour and as a result they have no reward. God does not reward us for things done but for what we have committed and the state of our hearts as we performed these things. Matt 10:41; 2 John 1:8 The kingdom of God is about rewards, your level of reward is dependent on the level of honour you deal to the Man of God in your midst. Familiarity is the enemy of the anointing. Honouring your Pastor means honouring the mantle of God upon their life. Mal 1:6 The place God is taking you will depend on the Pastor God has placed before you. God is about to flourish you but you need to discern and identify and honour those God will send your way.

The mantle you respect and honour is the mantle you will partake of. Every encounter with a Man of God will move you into your place of destiny. When Elisha connected to the grace of Elijah, he became a prophet, in the same way, your ability to discern the new season will depend on the grace you extend to your Pastor.

1 Sam 9:6-9 The anointing is pulled when faith is exercised. The gift of Honour released the answer. Honour is something that is given, it is not demanded. Not only will you honour your pastor, you should also honour your bosses. Honour will pave a way and promote you. When you honour God, He will honour you. People will honour the call of God upon your life. How you handle the man of God will determine what you handle in life.

 How do we create a culture of honour at Ascend Church?

• Obedience – listen and obey instructions. God will never bless what you birth in the flesh, he blesses what you birth in the spirit. Your recognition of the calling and vision will lead you into success and the blessing of God is released over your life.
• Prayer – The culture of prayer is a powerful tool to show honour. We honour God when we set aside time to pray, and commune with him. We also honour our leaders by committing them and praying for them.
• Words – Your words must speak life to others always. Declare right words. Be honourable with your words. Your character will always outweigh your gifts. Sometimes we claim to honour people and yet we are reckless with how we speak about and to them.
• Thoughts – Ps 19:14 There is nothing more dangerous than evil intentions that are hidden while someone pretends to be a man/woman of honour. Jesus lived, walked and spoke to Judas everyday, but while all of these miracles were happening Judas had unsanctified thoughts and intentions towards him. When Jesus is anointed, Judas was criticising his management and priorities. As far as he was concerned Jesus was misled and Judas’ own idea was noble. He says “we could have given this to the needy” That sounds reasonable and noble but his own thoughts were festering in dishonour, which is why it was wrong. Sometimes you can have a better idea but if your thoughts are unsanctified that festers a heart of dishonour.
• Service – I do not have a lot to say here… You cannot serve a man you cannot honour.
• Excellence – Half hearted work, half hearted commitment, heart hearted service, is a sign that you don’t honour the heart of what is being done.

Every season of your life is connected to an individual. Your Pastor is the voice of God to deliver you to your next stage in life, and the right posture will unlock the full extent of what God wants to unlock in the season of submission.