The people did not receive Christ’s full reward because they did not honor Him. And because of that, He left and went on to another place. It has been said that familiarity breeds contempt, which could also be stated as familiarity leads to dishonor.
The better we know someone, the more likely we are to find fault with him or her. If we know an individual well enough, it is easy to stop respecting them, which is exactly what happened in Jesus’ hometown. Because of familiarity, they did not respect Him as a prophet, and therefore He couldn’t do any miracles there.
We need to be careful not to engage in familiarity in any arena of our life. We can’t become too familiar with those who teach the Word of God (“He no longer impresses me”), with the message of the Word of God itself (“I’ve heard that so many times before; I already know that”), or that we just no longer appreciate the significance of the Word of God (“I’m just not getting fed anymore”). If we do this, we may cut ourselves off from a powerful message, we may cut ourselves off from miracles (Jesus only healed a few), and, worst of all, Jesus might leave. Because of contempt and dishonor, we can lose access to receiving the full blessings of Christ.
Whom Do We Honor?
Let’s look one more time at how we are to honor. Jesus told His disciples, “I tell you, you will not see Me again until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord'” (Luke 13:35, NIV). And again He said, “He who receives (honors) whomever I send receives (honors) Me; and he who receives (honors) Me receives (honors) Him (the Father) who sent Me” (John 13:20, NKJV).
When we expound on these Scriptures and replace the word “receives” with “honors,” the message becomes clear. First and foremost, we are to honor God. And we are also to honor “those whom He sends.” Everyone and everything else that we honor will flow from us as vessels of honor.
Paul wrote to Timothy: “If anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work” (2 Timothy 2:21).
Visualize yourself and others as the finest and most exquisite vessels of china in the entire world. Would you fill those vessels with trash? Of course not. And neither would the Lord.
In order to be filled with the glory of God, we must learn to express honor from the depths of our hearts. We desperately need the glory, as it eclipses everything – there’s no cancer in the glory, no slander, no poverty, and no sin. But we must remember that if there is no honor, then there will be no glory.
Reprinted from The Elijah List. Paulette Reed is a powerful preacher, prophetic minister, encourager, and author. She is a full-time revivalist/evangelist. Her passion is to share the love of Christ and unite people to the inexplicable love of our heavenly Father, exhorting them to arise and shine! She is an extremely accurate prophetess who has been raised up to bring hope and healing to the body of Christ. Without a vision the people perish, so the Lord is using this handmaiden as His mouthpiece to speak forth individual and corporate vision, catapulting people into their destinies. Paulette loves to see God’s people awakened and proclaim the active extension of the kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. She ministers in the revival anointing accompanied by revelatory ministry, healing, miracles, signs and wonders. Reach out to Paulette Reed by email or through her website.
