Honor releases anointing. Dishonor always limits us from receiving what Jesus has sent us.
Honor releases what Jesus sends through leaders. Dishonor limits what He sends us. We often demand Jesus give us directly what He has designed for us to receive through leaders.
We dishonor His leadership when we dishonor His strategy for leadership. We dishonor Jesus when we demand that He do things the way we design.
I have noticed a dishonor displayed by people wishing to be able to claim that everything in their lives and ministries comes “directly from God” without any human leadership involved. They will sometimes allow for a really famous international leader’s touch, but they do so when that international leader has no direct responsibility in their lives and ministry, to avoid direct accountability.
Jesus sends something to us through leaders because we need accountability for what He sends us from the leaders through whom He makes this available. They are sent to release an anointing and are the very ones to whom we need to make ourselves accountable for that anointing. In other words, Jesus knows that putting that anointing upon us directly – “I got this from Jesus so I’m only accountable to Him” – leaves us without the accountability absolutely necessary for having that anointing. In reality, they don’t have the anointing they think they have.
I remember one particular leader who would always avoid receiving ministry when I was laying hands upon people so that she could continue to characterize her anointing as coming directly from Jesus. In that way, she hoped to avoid accountability. She, in fact, avoided receiving fresh anointing and new anointing.
She proved to be a dismal failure at leadership simply because she failed this important leadership test; because of dishonor and a lack of honor, she lacked the very anointing she wished to claim. Because she refused accountability to the ones who would release it, she attempted to show that she had an anointing she didn’t have. Everybody but her could see that she lacked this anointing, so they didn’t honor her at that level – failure to honor results in a failure to be honored.
She demanded a level of honor she wasn’t due because she refused to give a level of honor Jesus asked her to give. She was demanding honor while refusing to give honor.
Life emptied out right in front of her, and all the honor she demanded escaped her because she was never positioned to function and receive it.
Spiritual Sources for Natural Inheritances
Honor begins with sources and originations. Honoring parents because they give you life brings a promise of long life. Honoring parents through whom you receive inheritance brings a promise that the inheritance will produce for you.
In the kingdom, honor begins with sources and originations. Honoring spiritual fathers because they give you what Jesus sent them to impart brings a promise that your spiritual life will expand in your generation. Honoring spiritual fathers through whom you receive ministry and spiritual inheritance brings a promise that the ministry you have will have life and your natural inheritance will expand in your generation. Yes, spiritual inheritance anoints you for natural inheritance.
If you insist upon receiving something without inheriting it, you will short circuit the relationship needed to prepare and position you for inheritance. And, the spiritual relationships that would cause what you carry to produce its highest are necessary to you functioning at the highest.
I have had spiritual inheritance for which spiritual fathers have prepared and positioned me who were not the sources of the inheritance, per se. That is, I carry unfulfilled purposes inherited naturally for which Jesus gave me spiritual fathering; the inheritance came naturally but the fathering came spiritually.
In this way, natural limits are removed from the possibility that I am prepared and positioned to bring those inheritances to fullness in my generation. If I refuse to honor, the natural and spiritual inheritance may only function with limitation: the limits of my success can be measured in the limits of my honor.
