Experience the Impossible: Simple Ways to Unleash Heaven's Power on Earth (9 page)

Honor is the atmosphere in which the people of God become their best.

I
ncreasing emphasis has been given in recent years to the subject of honor. In our family and church, we have worked to develop what we call “the culture of honor.” It is more than an action; it is a core value that affects all of life. And as such, its importance is hard to exaggerate.

Honor comes from a heart of excellence. Honor is how we display value. If I had a priceless vase, I probably would not put it on the back patio where it would be exposed to the weather or my young grandchildren. I would create a safe place for it where I could display its beauty for anyone who enters my home. It would have a place of honor.

Honor is one of the clearest expressions of love that I know. It creates a healthful and purposeful environment that enables people to become their best. Consider this: There is an act of honor, and then there is a lifestyle of honor. The latter acts like a greenhouse. It is an environment that enables the plants—the family, workplace or church—to grow more easily. An honorable lifestyle creates the atmosphere that enables the growth of all things good.

Leaders who want a culture of honor so they will be treated better miss the point entirely. That would be like a father or mother coming home from work expecting the whole family to rally around him or her, tending to every need. I used to remind myself on my way home from a day at the office, “Bill, you’re not off work yet. You still have four hours.” In other words, my wife had worked hard all day caring for the children. She needed my love, my help and support. My kids had been without their dad all day, and they wanted and needed to play. As I walked through the door, I could hear the sound of tiny feet running toward me and voices yelling, “Daddy!” It was the most beautiful sound in the whole world. To ignore that and then require them to serve me would have been absolutely heartless and foolish. I hugged and kissed my wife and then wrestled with my kids. Giving them time and pleasure was giving them honor. By honoring them, I got better, too. The difficult issues of the day seemed to disappear in the atmosphere created for the sake of others.

As a leader, I am the one who sets the standard for how honor will be lived out. If my culture of honor is based on corporate structure, it will do nothing more than exalt the greatest at the expense of the least. That is how the
corporate ladder
was formed. Many churches function this way. Honor has become the act of giving to those who are powerful, with special attention for those who have achieved much. Rather, honor should be given before there is the capacity to achieve. It should be given based on who people are, not just what they have done. The infant on my lap and the toddler in my arms are incapable of achieving much. But loving them and giving them honor happens because I see what is yet unseen. The heart that honors others sees things in them that they do not see. It is as though God opens the eyes of the honorable because He can trust them to give the response of love.

A true culture of honor must have impact on the least among us, or it is not really our culture. And because that atmosphere
draws out the potential of people long before they see it in themselves, it has that greenhouse effect. Honor brings out the greatness that lies hidden.

In our homes, places of employment and churches, we “do life” with other believers. Our relationships within these areas are healthier if we approach them with the concept of healthy family life. Once we leave the concept of family, we leave the concept of Kingdom. It is this approach that makes living with honor—the true expression of love—possible.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, You honor me as Your child, even though I do not fully understand all that is meant by that expression of Your great love. By Your grace operating in me, I purpose to honor others into their potential. Please help me to see the moments that I might miss and display Your love in a way that honors people and glorifies You. This is the culture I embrace for the glory of God!

Confession

God Himself has honored me by calling me His own. I did nothing to earn this honor, yet He gives it to me liberally. I declare that it is my privilege to recognize the significance of others and display it through honor. For I know that when I have done this for the least among us, I have done it for God Himself.

Ignorance asks for understanding; unbelief asks for proof.

Z
acharias was John the Baptist’s dad. An angel appeared to him and told him that he and his wife, Elizabeth, would have a son, even though they were beyond their childbearing years. Zacharias could not understand how that was possible. His response to the angel was somewhat shocking: “How can I know this for sure?” Asking for proof was foolish. As a result, he lost the ability to speak until after John was born. Perhaps it was God’s way of not letting him destroy the miracle. More damage has been done through careless speech than probably any of us knows. As the Bible says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue” (Proverbs 18:21).

The same angel showed up to speak to Mary, the chosen one, to tell her she would give birth to the Christ Child. She, too, had little understanding of how it could be possible since she was a virgin. But instead of asking for proof, she asked for understanding. The angel of the Lord responded to her kindly and gave her instructions about what lay directly ahead in her life.

We all lack understanding for some of life’s greatest challenges. Trust in the One who is trustworthy is what makes these situations not only bearable, but a platform for personal advancement in our faith. While the Scriptures instruct us to pursue wisdom and understanding, the prevailing focus of the believer’s life is trust. This is a most essential ingredient of our lives. There is no relationship with God without trust.

Some cultures exalt skepticism as a virtue. Their greatest fear is being gullible or misled. The fear of being wrong prevents them from ever really being right. Such a deception sells books to the fearful, but does little to shape the course of history through bold faith for the glory of God. Skepticism masquerades as wisdom and is applauded by those without experience. To maintain their own positions, they question the rights of others to continue moving forward. In some church cultures, this kind of approach to God is treasured, as scary as that seems. It is a self-affirming approach to the supernatural that basically denies God’s involvement in the day-to-day issues of our lives. And anyone who seems to think that God actually cares about such things is quickly marked as delusional. This is a group that asks for proof.

To recognize personal need and ask for wisdom is a genuine virtue. This comes out of humility, which is the mandatory approach before the almighty God. Such a place of trust generally precedes the understanding being asked for. This childlike approach makes room for the God of the Bible to be the God of our everyday lives.

Most people pray, in one form or another. But sometimes those prayers are nothing more than demands made of God, telling Him how He should prove Himself so we know for sure; and without such evidence, we will not obey. God cannot be held hostage to our demands for action, no matter how strong we think the biblical promise might be. Being a follower of Jesus is not a contract with a business associate; it is a relationship with
God, who makes Himself known to those who seek Him. To seek the Lord is to seek His will, for we cannot want
the Lord
without wanting His rule. This is the heart of the yielded child of God. We long for understanding of mysteries, but at the same time, we embrace the privilege of obeying Him, regardless of how little we understand.

Prayer

Father, forgive me for all the times I tried to get You to prove Yourself before I was willing to obey. Please help me to hear clearly what Your will is, and give me the grace to obey boldly, even when I am fearful. I want You to receive all the glory for making this kind of lifestyle possible for me.

Confession

I will hold on to hope in every situation, for the God of all hope is my Father. I will no longer exalt skepticism; nor will I entertain the notion that unbelief is normal. I am a believing believer. And my new nature is one of great boldness and faith.

When Paul told us to prophesy according to our faith, he revealed why so many negative prophetic words are released.

T
he Church should have the greatest hope, joy and love on the planet. Such a people should enjoy life the most—living in the pleasure of the Lord. Jesus accomplished all that was necessary for us to live in this posture. That does not mean we are a people without problems and challenges. We know that is not correct. But in all things we are victorious in Christ. When we lose hope for life, we are set up to view tomorrow with very anemic faith.

I mentioned earlier the strange thing that has happened to the heart and mind of the Church in this generation: Believers have learned to become encouraged through bad news. Tragedy and crises are the gauge by which the Church determines that we are in the last days. And since the last days culminate in the return of the Lord, tragedy becomes a source of encouragement.

It is often forgotten that the prophet who said “darkness will cover the earth” also said “His glory will appear upon you.
Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising” (Isaiah 60:2–3). Those are statements of incredible hope and promise. And they far outweigh the darkness addressed in that chapter. The absence of hope often blinds our eyes to what Scripture says of our glorious future. The verses announcing difficulty are profoundly overshadowed by the verses of great promise, in the same way that light is superior to darkness.

When our mindsets are fixed on tragedy as a sign of the times, we become encouraged through such tragedy. When we apply that mindset to our approach to life, we see how our prophetic utterances are affected. It is possible for our faith to be aimed at the wrong target, which adversely affects the prophetic ministry. The result is that we declare truth about prevailing darkness in a situation, but we fail to speak the further revelation that could help change that situation. It is true that prophecy foretells the future, but it also plants seeds of change, creating hope and faith in the hearts of those who see God’s intentions on the earth.

The profound implication of Paul’s statement is that our faith influences what we prophesy. Declarations out of our faith affect the outcome of events.

Is it possible to become a people who, while not ignorant of the darkness in this world, live as the antidote? Is it possible for us to live aware of the devil’s devices without becoming overly devil conscious? Is it possible to be so possessed with the promises of God that no matter what happens around us, we speak with the hope that Jesus made possible through His resurrection?

I believe it is. And I think it is time for all of us to heed Paul’s cry to prophesy according to our faith. May our decrees come from
great
faith for all that Jesus provided.

Prayer

Father, please help me not to be ignorant of the devil’s tricks and devices. But I also need help not to make that my focus. I want to be
a person who carries promise into every situation. Help me always to be more impressed with Your answers and promises than any of the tragedies that happen in the world. By Your grace I purpose not to become simply a broadcaster of evil, but to live as a part of the answer for my generation. Help me to be a person of infectious hope.

Confession

Jesus is the reason for hope. He is my hope, my future and my victor. All things that pertain to life belong to me because of His accomplishments at Calvary. I refuse to be impressed with the devil. God’s promises are greater than any conflict or challenge, be it personal or international. I am a person with ever-increasing hope, and I will speak accordingly.

God does not look for worship; He looks for worshipers.

G
od is not an egotist in need of affirmation. He is not trying to help His approval ratings on planet earth and, therefore, commanding us to tell Him how good He is. God is quite secure in who He is. He does not look for worship. But He does look for worshipers. There is a difference.

Consider this: God is love. And love always chooses the best. He could want nothing better for us than for us to be worshipers because we always become like whatever we worship. There is nothing better that He could want for us than for us to become like Him. That is love, true love.

Genuine worship is a transformational experience. This is where the follower of Jesus encounters God, the glorious One. Certainly a part of that experience is our offering of thanksgiving and praise. That becomes the prelude. It is not the warm-ups, in the sense that it is the practice before the real game. Offering thanksgiving and praise is a wonderful part of our call as “priests unto the Lord.” We have the distinct privilege of ministering to Him with these sacrifices. But God responds to our offerings. It is good to remember that fire, the manifest
presence of Jesus in the Holy Spirit, always falls on sacrifice. In Psalm 22:3, we find the idea that God inhabits our praise. The picture becomes increasingly clear: As we minister to Him, we encounter Him. The only logical response to this encounter with the presence of God is worship.

The concept of worship as a transformational experience applies to the worship of false gods, too, whether in the form of self-promotion or an actual idol. In Psalm 115, the writer makes it clear that idols have eyes, but they cannot see, etc. And so it is with those who worship them. They lose the ability to see and discern right from wrong. They have become like what they worship.

As we encounter His glorious presence, we are changed. Changed from glory to glory. It is stated that “when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is” (1 John 3:2). This statement refers to a future event. But the principle remains: Seeing Him changes us. Perhaps that is what the apostle Paul was talking about when he said, “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18). Notice he says that we are transformed into the same glorious image of God that we behold, from glory to glory. We become like the one we worship. The point is that it is the glory that transforms a life more profoundly than anything else available to us as believers.

There is no greater privilege for the believer than to encounter His face. This is the ultimate call. And those who behold Him, in whatever measure He allows, are given the grace increasingly to become like Him.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, I thank You for the wonderful privilege of loving and worshiping You. Thank You that Jesus qualified me for this
honor. Help me always to recognize You above the busyness and activities involved with my faith. My heart’s desire is to honor You with all I am and to be like Your glorious Son, Jesus Christ. I ask these things that You may glorified.

Confession

Jesus qualified me as a priest unto God. I am welcomed into His glorious presence to minister to Him in the same way that Jesus is welcomed into His presence, for I am in Christ. I declare that God has predestined me to be like Jesus, and this privilege of worship is a part of His plan. So I live for God to be exalted in and through my life in all I am and all I do.