Honour, The Culture of Heaven

Julian Adams • August 3, 2017
As believers, we have a call to bring the Kingdom of Heaven to Earth by the way we treat one another. In this sermon recorded at Harvest Church, Julian teaches us how to discover the value and God-bearing nature of every person we meet.

– Transcript
Julian: Today we carry on our culture series, and I wanna unpack what it means to live in a Culture of Honor. The reason why we’re doing the culture series at Harvest is because we’re not just a people who are on a mission to get somewhere, we’re not just wanting to fulfill a purpose, but we are… although that’s part of what we wanna do. What we do wanna do is know how we’re gonna fulfill our purpose. We wanna create the why, and we’re wanting to create the feel of how we get to where we need to be.

And we know that heaven has a culture doesn’t it? The kingdom of God has a particular culture, it supersedes every other culture on the earth. And we want that culture to be made manifest to be very real and alive here at Harvest. And so we’ve got a few values that we’ve put together that help us describe not just where we’re going, but how we’re gonna get there. Culture really is about the feel of what we do not just what we do, and so we’re wanting to be wise in how we communicate that because there are particular values that undergird our culture that we want to make sure is lived out in every aspect of our lives, and indeed in the great City of Durban and in this Metropolitan of ‎KwaZulu-Natal.

I hope you’re up for that because how many of you know that we don’t come to church? We are the church right, we’re not wanting to build big buildings, we’re wanting to build big people. And part of that means that we’re living in a space and in a way that reflects what heaven is like. And I wanna read a very familiar story to you out of the life of David, as he has a particularly interesting interaction with King Saul.

So 1 Samuel chapter 24, and verse 1. “When Saul returned from following the following the Philistines he was told behold, David is in the wilderness of En Gedi. So Saul took 3,000 men out of all of Israel and went to see David and his men in front of the wild goat’s rocks. And he came to the sheepcotes by the way, and there was a cave, and Saul went in to relieve himself.” And I’ll just leave that there. I’m not quite sure what to do with that one, but it’s in the Bible.

I hope you read scripture like I read scripture, I think that’s hilarious. Anyway, “Now David and his men…” this is even more hilarious and very awkward. “David and his men were sitting in the innermost part of that cave, and the men of David said here is the day of which the Lord said to you Behold I will give you your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it shall seem good to you. Then David arose…” again very awkward. “And skillfully cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. And afterwards, David’s heart struck him because he had cut the corner of Saul’s robe. And he said to his men, the Lord forbid, that I should do this thing to my Lord, the Lord’s anointed to put out my hand against him seeing he is the Lord’s anointed.”

The old King James will say “Touch not the Lord’s anointed.” So David persuaded his men with these words, and did not permit them to touch Saul, and Saul rose up and left the cave and went on his way.” This is a jolly awkward situation to be in. I want you to flip forward into the New Testament into the Epistles if 1 Peter and chapter 2:17. “Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood or the church. Fear God, and honor the emperor.”

Now we wanna unpack what it means to live in the culture of honor, what does it mean for us at Harvest to live in a culture of honor? Now I think that when we begin to understand honor, we’ll begin to understand how we can be a people who subversively change the world around us, how we can be a people who bring something of God’s Kingdom wherever we go. Honor is not just a buzzword in the church at the moment, and I want to highly encourage if you’ve not read “The Culture of Honor” by Danny Silk, I want to encourage you to get the book, download, buy the book, read the book.

It’s really helpful to unpack what it means to live in a culture of honor, and if I had another 10 sessions, we would not have enough time to unpack what honor really means. But when you begin to understand that heaven has a culture in which everything thrives in which there is life, you’ll begin to pick up something of honor that’s in heaven. Indeed honor is the culture in which heaven thrives, and so whenever you read through the Scriptures, particularly where there is a picture or a glimpse into heavenly reality, or what is actually more real than this, you’ll see phrases like glory and honor being thrown around all the time.

You’ll hear phrases like “Glory and honor belong to the Lord,” and indeed, glory and honor to begin with him. Our understanding of honor must be solidly rooted in the reality of his goodness in who he is. And I wanna just to unpack what it means now for us to live in honor, because honor is so vitally important that we see how God operates in Trinity, is based on the principle of honor. Your God is not threatened by Jesus, and Jesus is not threatened by the Holy Spirit. In fact, they prefer one another and make room for one another, as the moment and grace is needed for one another. It’s a beautiful picture.

In fact, theologians call this word Perichoresis. It speaks of a dance around one another that make room for each other, it’s a beautiful picture of how honor works. Now what glory and honor often are used interchangeably but they mean two different things. Glory is the revelation of someone’s worth or God’s goodness, or God’s worth, but honor is the esteeming of that word. So for example, if I could use this example, when we came into this building… I mean it’s a pretty good building, but it’s not holy right, there’s nothing holy about this building. My aim most Sundays is to get the church out of the building not into the building, amen Julian.

We come and we worship God. There’s a sense the presence of God. Now how many of you have ever been in a room with your back to the door, you’re doing something somebody walks in quietly, but you can sense their presence can’t you? Well, when we worship and we suddenly start to sense the presence of God, it’s like God’s saying here I am I’ve just showed up. It announces that he’s here. Now announcing that someone is here does not do anything for us to get a revelation of who that person is.

And so God doesn’t just come in his presence, he then begins to reveal his glory, his glory is the revelation of his intrinsic goodness. And so the first picture of glory that we see particularly in the Old Testament, is of Moses, and he sees God’s glory pass by him, and the phrase that Moses uses is “The goodness of God passed by me” in connection with his glory. The glory of God is the goodness of God on display, it’s who he is. And we have a response then after encountering his glory to do something with that, and honor is that response. We then esteem his glory, we value his glory, we honor his glory.

You see it is possible to be in the presence of God, and see his glory and still not honor his glory, glory reveals, honor esteems. And what’s beautiful about this picture, actually is that the Bible says in Romans 3:23Open in Logos Bible Software (if available) “That all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” We’ve all fallen short of a revelation of God’s goodness, but now that we have saved, we’ve been restored to that revelation of his goodness. And God is so incredible in his understanding of honor, and how this works that he puts his glory in you, he puts his goodness and worth in you.

You should say hallel-flipping-ujah at that point because that is outrageous, God puts his glory in us, the only reason why we give him glory, is not because we got anything in and of ourselves to him, it’s because he’s put his glory in us. Because we are image bearers of his glory. I find that completely scandalous, it should be shouted from the rooftops that God puts his glory in mankind. And although we are broken images bearers of this glory, we are still image-bearers nonetheless. And the beauty of salvation is and we are now restored to that glory, we get to demonstrate that glory whenever we go.

Honor then means not only that we are honoring God, and I’m gonna unpack this in a moment, but we learn to value one another because of our intrinsic worth before God. How many of you know that Hitler had intrinsic worth before God? How many of you know that the ISIS regime has intrinsic worth before God? It’s got mighty quiet suddenly, but anyway because he created them in his image. I’ll move on quickly.

You see honor is the process by which we esteem what God has put in other irrespective of the things that we are not. Honor celebrates who you are not just who you’re not. We’ll talk about truth-telling in a moment and will help unpack it. But when we begin to understand that in heaven you are honored for who you are, that when we manifest culture on the Earth everything changes. If I can learn to honor you, if we as Harvest can learn to honor one another for who we are, not who we’re not, it’s going to dramatically change this community.

Jesus does this all the time, I don’t know if you noticed but Jesus… and I pray I get this reputation, liked to hang out with sinners. You know I pray that the gossip scandal that hits Durban is that Julian likes hanging out with sinners. That Jesus became of no reputation in order to give honor to the lowest of the low, the broken of the broken. You see the way he deals with women, women were regarded as absolutely nothing in every single encounter with women, Jesus restored honor to them.

And then there’s those filthy tax collectors who like to take our money. You know, the ones that are corrupt, you know the ones who take bribes behind the scene, Jesus used to hang out with them and have meals with them. Can I please get an amen here, because that sounds a lot like our country sometimes, and he restores honor to them. The woman caught in adultery she is in absolute [inaudible 00:12:03] and he honors her. Man alive, wouldn’t it be great if we learned to honor the worst sinners of all sinners. Because that’s how heaven operates, heaven operates in honor because honor is the ability to esteem one highly, and see worth in someone despite who they are not.

David does this with Saul in three ways, firstly he’s in this cave, and he sees Saul, and his natural response is not to kill soul, but to honor God. Until we see God rightly, until we honor him rightly, will not be able to on the one another rightly. You see David is more concerned about what God has said about this person, than is about what he thinks about Saul in that moment.

One of the key starting points for us in order to live in the place of honor because you need some honor when you standing in the queue at Home Affairs trust me, is to see through the lens of who God is, I honor him first, therefore I honor everyone else around me. I honor him with my time, I honor him with my worship, I honor him with my finances, I honor him with the way I build relationally to one another. I honor him when I love the poor and the broken, not just in Uzbekistan, not just in Tanzania, but on the streets of Durban.

When I know how to honor him, everyone else becomes a reflector, an image bearer of his glory. You see the reason why we have to love one another, it’s not because we have to like one another but because something of God is in you. Therefore not only do I have the responsibility to love you, I actually have a responsibility to like you, that went over like a lead balloon.

David puts God first in his understanding of honor, and he puts the moment that he could kill Saul into perspective. Listen, Saul was out to destroy David, but he choose to see Saul through the lens of who God is. And God said of this man Saul, “He is anointed.” Brothers and sisters who are we to have a different opinion about the worst sinners of sinners than God does? Honor means that because we love him, and we see him rightly, we see everyone else rightly.

Now I’m not saying this at the expense of truth-telling, because Saul had some issues let’s be honest. This was an insecure leader who used his position as a place of control and authority over people. But here’s the incredible thing is that when we learn to honor people for who they are, and the grace that God is put in them, rather than who they’re not, we join in an agreement with the heavens perspective about them which releases life into us.

Now there are some cultures that have used this particular verse “Touch not the Lord’s anointed” as a platform to solidify position, as a platform to solidify power for personal benefit, rather than for others benefit. And at Harvest, we don’t elevate one position over another, because it’s not about your position at Harvest, it’s about your value. So George who is the lead pastor, George and Lee Ann [SP] who are like the mom and dad of this house, we don’t put them on a pedestal that goes we’re not worthy, here’s double tithe, although they’d like that.

We’re not putting them on a pedestal because of their position as pastors, we honor them because of the grace of God that is in them, we recognize what’s on them. You see pastor, apostle, prophet whatever title was never ever designated to be a title in the Bible, it was designated to be a function.

And that function means that I might be leading in some way or another, but that does not mean I have more authority and power over you, because the only person who has authority over you is Jesus.

And so were not doing hierarchy in this church, but we are giving honor. We recognize the grace and we say that grace that’s on your life I need in my life, and therefore I honor you in a real way. George and Ann don’t have a special parking, they don’t have a little plaque that says, Hi, right Reverend, apostle, and Prophet George and Lee Ann Gulay [SP]” no, we don’t do that. You don’t have to get your prayer needs met by some special group of elite Christians up front, because you have glory in you.

The answer to your prayer, the answer to your need, is not coming to get a special Holy Ghost touch. I don’t why I did the sign of the cross but it looked religious, because the Holy Spirit is in you. So do you wanna devalue the gift that George and Lee Ann are to us? No, we don’t, but we don’t need to do anything more to get God’s blessing, because he’s already given it to us. And when you honor people in the incorrect way it’s called flattery or idolatry.

You see if I’m trying to use the principle of honor to get something for myself, that’s manipulation. It’s trying to manipulate God, listen the point of honor at Harvest is that we all get to do the stuff. We all get to prophesy, trust me you do not need another prophetic word, you just need to do what you heard yesterday you’ll be fine.

You don’t need to get a special prayer cloth from someone, you don’t need to get holy anointed oil from Israel, to get your breakthrough, because your breakthrough already dwells in you, and his name is Jesus. You see the thing is, Saul had the crown, but David had God’s heart. You see honor works by recognizing who he is and then I can rightly recognize who we are, and in that process of honoring one another, everything changes.

You see honor doesn’t ignore weakness, honor chooses to believe the best in the midst of weakness. I get lots of emails from people asking for prophetic words, sometimes I go to some conferences where I get assigned a armor bearer to look after my Bible as if I can’t carry it myself.

And we put ministries on a pedestal in some cultures, in my culture in colored culture, the pastor when he comes to your house like literally, you do everything you can to serve that pastor, that’s idolatry.

I’m not talking about neglecting who we are, and who God is as, but as a church, we all have a part to play. You see the second thing I love about David is that he understood that honor was not for his benefit, it was for the benefit of everyone else. And so in that moment when he could have killed Saul, he realized that if I honor this man, my rulership which is coming to me soon will release honor on everyone who’s alongside of me, so that the favor that’s on my life is the favor that comes on to everyone else’s life.

You see it’s easy to insult, it’s easy to join the chorus of the world, it’s easy to gossip, it’s easy to point out weakness, it is a different thing to go looking for gold in the midst of rubbish. And here’s the incredible thing I love this, these men say, “The prophetic word is coming to pass. God said you can do as you see fit to your enemies.” But David sees through that and he says, “Saul is not my enemy, he’s anointed by God.” That challenges me to the core, because there are some people that I wanna karate chop in the head.

But you see I realize that because honor is on me and in me because the only way you get to understand someone else’s worth is by rightly seeing him, and rightly understanding who you are.

Because you love your neighbor as you love yourself, and if you don’t know that you’ve got intrinsic worth to God, that even if you did nothing significant for God ever again, you still have intrinsic worth, you still have honor, you still have a measure of his glory in you even if you did nothing that would still be true of you.

See when I get that, it means how I treat my friends, that means how I treat Julian well. Means to honor him not because of what he can do, but because he’s got intrinsic worth and glory, and value to the Father. And because the Father values me it’s easy to value him.

David could have killed Saul and he would be rightly justified, but David sees through that and he realizes that the honor that God has put on me to be king, if I extended well right now, it means that all of my subjects come in to honor and come under the same favor that’s on me. Because here’s the deal, if David killed so in that moment, those men would have had an example of what to do when David start messing up in his leadership.

You see leadership is not gonna be perfect, your friends are not gonna be perfect, but you’re gonna have to make a choice to honor them in the midst of it. It’s not denying what they’re doing wrong, it’s not denying their weakness, it’s just choosing to say in the midst of the weakness… and listen when you understand honor, you realize that everyone is powerful, and so you can have brave conversations with them. And I wanna say this particularly in church because I see a lot of people going around saying, “I’m so offended by church, I’m offended by that leadership, do you know what they did to me?”

Here’s the truth of friends, offense is never given it’s always taken. And when you understand your worth, you realize that you can be unoffendable. There’s nothing you can do that can offend me because I have a choice to pick up that offense or not. Somebody say “Amen.” so if you are in offense, I want to encourage you, build a bridge and get over it. Because it doesn’t matter where you are you’ll pick up offense because offense is connected to a wrong perception of who you are, and who the person is. Do you know that God can never get disillusioned or disappointed with you, because he never had any illusions about you in the first place. Doesn’t deny truth-telling but chooses to honor in the midst of weakness.

Third thing that I love about David is honor makes space for everyone. You see the reason why we’re doing church nonhierarchically, the reason why we’re doing this culture series, is because there are so many gifts, so many anointing’s, so many graces in this church, indeed every single person under the sound of my voice, you have a grace from God, you have a gift from God.

And we wanna create space where we all get to be who we need to be without feeling threatened by who someone else is. Because in a culture of honor, when one person wins a victory we all win a victory. It means that when Ann [SP] does a killer worship moment and glory clouds appear and gold dust appears, we don’t go, I wish I was the worship leader on that stage today. We celebrate his victory, as if it’s our victory, because honor makes room for everyone.

No one needs to be threatened, well their gift’s a little bit bigger than mine because at the end, God is not gonna evaluate who you are in comparison to anyone else. He’s gonna evaluate what he’s given you for your life, and for your season. Honor makes room for everyone, and you see this with David. David is not threatened. The Bible says, “He had famous men join his army,” and he’s not going I better keep them under control, we don’t want them getting too much freedom here. Because they might try to usurp my freedom.

Brothers and sisters, whether or not you’re up front here is irrelevant, because your worth does not change according to your position. Your worth is intrinsically a revelation of God’s goodness and nothing can change that irrespective of your position. That’s such good news, and at Harvest relationships are never in negotiation, we love each other irrespective of what we do. They might be some evaluation around what we do but your intrinsic worth will always be the same, because you’re an image bearer of God, and you’ve got glory in you, therefore I honor you.

What does this mean for Harvest? And this is where I wanted to just unpack it a little bit. Well firstly the thing about David and him saying “I will not touch the Lord’s anointed” is that that principle in the New Testament means that we are all anointed. There’s not one especially anointed person, we are all anointed, the Bible says in 1 John, “That you have an anointing from the Holy One that dwells in you.” It means we are all of equal value here at Harvest, we might have different functions according to the grace of God gives us, but we all have equal value and we’re going for what is best in our family.

George and Lee Ann, mum and dad, lead as were this family, we’re looking for what’s best for our family. And that’s how we make decisions, and sometimes it means that Jason at the back might have more prominence than Johnno [SP] in the front. And we don’t get insecure and go oh my gosh, because we all realize we’re anointed, were all gifted

Not only that it means that we celebrate who you are, not who you are not. And by celebrating…help me here on this one Jesus, I don’t mean tolerate. We don’t tolerate one another at Harvest, we celebrate one another. We go you are amazing, you’re phenomenal, you’re outrageous, we love each other. We celebrate when people take risks even if it fails. Like I just did at the beginning it was a little you know, lesson in real life.

And we don’t just go, oh that’s nice, what we wanna do away with at Harvest if you don’t mind is what I call the golf clap. You know what golf clap is, well done, jolly good show, great shot, do it again if you can. I hate golf claps, we’re gonna celebrate people as if the Sharks actually scored a try. I’ve got a confession to make, I’m actually a Stormers supporter, but I’ve just ordered my first Shark jumper. The Lord is moving.

We’re gonna celebrate people and you know what, we’re gonna celebrate them even before they’ve done anything. So here’s the deal, when people get up here to preach, I wanna ask you to celebrate that preacher as if they gave the world’s best sermon before they’ve even preached. So when people get up here faith is built in their heart to give you the best. And I want us to practice that. In a moment we’re gonna honor someone and here’s the deal, I don’t want you to be all nice and churchy. Okay heaven is loud, if you don’t like the loudness of our music, God bless you when you get to heaven, you will need a glorified body to handle that sound, his voice is like the sound of many rushing waters.

I’ll just move on quickly, the sound guys will come and pay me something at the end. But here’s the deal, friends, we’re gonna stand to our feet in a moment and we’re gonna celebrate this person as if as if they are just absolutely amazing because they are. And it doesn’t matter what you think of them, today we’re gonna celebrate them. And here’s how we’re gonna do, I’m first gonna talk about who they really are. I’m not gonna lie, I’m gonna fabric, I’m not gonna… I just wanna illustrate how we do honor in this church.

And I really wanna honor Lee Ann Gulay, hold on hold your applause because in a moment we’re gonna so embarrass her she’s not gonna know what to do. And here’s why I want to honor her, this is how honor works. She has served in this church alongside George, looking after three children in order to facilitate what God is doing in George and in this community. She prays for him, she often gets things behind the scenes in terms of pastoring and loving people who not many other people see. She came into this meeting this morning saying “There are a few guests who didn’t know what the time was but I connected with them,” there not many people who do that.

Not only that, she has had to walk through some really difficult seasons in this church alongside George, and she’s had to hold her tongue, when I would have just karate chopped everyone and said you wanna criticize me, let me show you how I can criticize. But she’s not done that, she held herself in poise in order to honor the people in this church, more importantly, to honor George and God. And so I want us to celebrate Lee Ann, and I want to ask you to right now stand to your feet whoopi [SP] cheer and embarrass her, with the honor and the goodness of God, because of a life that is served well in this church. Would you do that, please? You can do a little better than that, keep going, keep going, keep going, keep going some more, keep going some more, and some more, and some more. Now how many of you feel really depressed right now? How many you feel… do you see what honor does, can you sense a life in this room?

Everyone: Yes.

Julian: So we honor you, Lee Ann, we know there’s a price that you paid, and no one else has seen and we say thank you, for doing that. Take your seats, I’m nearly done, I promise. Do you know the Bible calls us to outdo one another in honor? Can you sense the tangible presence of God here right now? That’s because honor has been demonstrated. If you don’t know Lee Ann, she’s one of the leaders at this church, George and Lee Ann lead this church, one of the pastors here.

She’s not just pastors wife, by the way, she’s got her own gift, and her own anointing which she serves in this church with. But here’s the deal friends when we live in this place of honor, an atmosphere of heaven is released, so to demonstrate that right now. There is someone I think you’re a lady I think you’re on my left side, you walked in with some pain today, I think something to do with your neck maybe. If you begin to move that right now, you’ll see that the pain is either lifted, or it’s completely lifting, or it’s completely gone.

So if that’s you I think you’re on my left side here, you came in with pain, is that you sir? Sorry this is your left, yeah, this is my left your right, but I feel it’s actually in this side not that side, sorry. If you came in with a bit of pain, I want you to check that out, and if you know the pain is lifting or if not completely lifted just wave your hand at me very quickly. I’m not trying to embarrass you but God has just healed someone. You might be somewhere else in the building just quickly wave your hand at me, there we go. The two ladies in this section who came in with some pain, and now it’s lifting or it’s lifted can we celebrate that?

Now notice I didn’t pray for that, heaven was just released and so healing happens in the atmosphere of heaven because of honor. Let’s outdo one another in honor, honor looks like generosity. I want us to live in a place of outrageous honor, being generous with one another and outdoing in our generosity. In my previous church the Kings Arms in England, one of the things that we did as a church was treasure hunts in order to bless people in our church for finance. So we’d ask God where we needed to go, who we needed to give it to.

And it broke something of a poverty mentality of our church because honor values the work of someone. When I got engaged to Katya, I looked for the most expensive ring I could find within my budget, because I wanted to express value. Honor goes hand in hand with generosity because what you value you will give to. If you value this community, look outrageously out give one another and bless one another.

Won’t it be fun. No one needs to know, you just slip 5000 Rand into someone else’s pocket and bless them. I mean can’t you say this [inaudible 00:37:13] we’ll talk about generosity. Katya and I have learned that if you give generously you live abundantly, it works.

Let’s be super generous, not just with our money but with our encouragement, let’s encourage one another because honor works in the context of encouragement. Encouragement didn’t mean to lie to one another, it didn’t say something that they’re not, but you can find something about someone that you can encourage them irrespective of who they are. I used to do this in England, you know, in England because it’s so gray so often, a lot of the people that work particularly in checkouts at the local shop are a bit grumpy you know, they’re just unhappy. Which I understand because they’re inside, its gray, it’s miserable and no one really says thank you very often. Not all English people are like that. Leo sitting in front she’s a very happy English lady.

But I’ve learned that if you can just encourage someone with a thank you, or I appreciate what you’re doing, or here’s a chocolate, it’s incredible. Because you see in the UK, they don’t pack for you, you have to pack for yourself, I know that’s quite a shock isn’t it? I learned… you see how honor works sometimes. I’m like I get there I go ma’am thank you, so much for serving me you, are really doing me such a great service today just doing this. I know it’s your job, but I can’t imagine that it’s always the most fun, and you probably get some really unhappy customers, and I just wanna say thank you. In fact, here’s a chocolate just to bless you, just put it through the till because I want you to be blessed today, and have a good day.

Well it’s incredible what happens, it’s like they get back some steel in their backs and they’re like “Why thank you, sir, I’m gonna help you pack today,” and off they go packing. Now I obviously don’t just do it to get them to help pack, but it’s incredible. You know, honor just begins with simplicity of respecting and saying thank you.

Two last points and then we’ll be done, actually one last point. That verse in 1 Peter that I read says “Honor everyone.” You see it’s easy to talk about honor for us as a family at Harvest, but actually, the requirement honor is for everyone. It means everyone, it means the person who’s serving you at Home Affairs. Like I’ve just had this experience. I don’t wanna honor Home Affairs at that point, I want to burn Home Affairs down at that point. But I have a choice to value them for who they are.

The Bible says, “Honor the emperor.” Shikabazuka on this one. How many of you have learned how to Jacob Zuma? David could have killed Saul, but he recognized that God in his sovereignty put Saul as king over Israel at that moment. When you have a cup of coffee, and someone brings up good old JZ in the conversation, what’s your first response? I was chatting to someone earlier who said he knows Jacob Zuma, and he said to me, “In those early days he was a powerful revolutionary who wanted freedom for people.” Now I don’t know where he’s at the moment, what I do know is that somewhere in all of that there is someone of intrinsic worth before God

And the Bible calls me to honor our Emperor. When that was written, it was in a persecuted church context. Peter would later on go to be crucified upside down we’re not persecuted yet. It’s gone very quiet in this charismatic church, today. How are we honoring him on our Facebook media posts? How are we honoring one another on our Facebook media posts? Because you see in the Kingdom honor works from the lowest to the highest. Jesus honors the lowest in society as if they’re the highest in society.

I find it fascinating… five more minutes I promise. That when I go into some people’s homes that I’ll stand in the kitchen, and they will not introduce me to their domestic helper at all. As if that domestic helper is inconsequential, as is he or she is not a person. Katya and I have made a decision to live in this place of honor, which means for us we have cut back on our own comfort in terms of having a domestic helper seven days a week, because we don’t just wanna pay minimum wage because paying minimum wage is not honoring that domestic helper. Because no one can live on minimum wage in South Africa.

And so we cut back, said we can pay a better salary to our domestic helper, so that she can put her kids through school, so that he can have good food, so she doesn’t have to miss a meal during the week, it’s gone so quiet suddenly. This is where honor works, because the Bible says, “Honor everyone.” Honor works when a woman who’s just had an abortion walks through our doors and we love her as if she never did anything that would destroy her life or her family.

This is what people need to feel when they walk into Harvest. It means that when a man or woman with same-sex attraction walks into this house they feel loved because in this house, you don’t have to believe, behave in order to belong. In the house, you belong before you need to behave or believe. In this house, we love sinners, because we all were once… see honor doesn’t just work when it’s all nice because we like each other, you see honor only works in the context of disagreement.

It’s most manifested when John and I have a disagreement, and I don’t like what he says to me, but in that moment I think you know what, I don’t agree with what you’re saying, but I really love you, and I honor you, because you’ve got worth before God. We have to honor everyone in every way irrespective of who they are, and what they’ve done wrong. I’m not… please hear me I’m not saying we deny what’s going wrong in our country. I’m just saying we choose to believe what heaven says about our country, over and above what any administration could accomplish or not accomplish.

Brothers and sisters honor is the way heaven works, and it’s a high value in this church. Would we honor one another, would we be a people who bless one another, and encourage one another “Outdo each other in honor” the Bible says, and would we honor every single person? I wanna say that in South Africa one of the greatest strongholds is around service industry. Can I encourage you to create a subversive message of honor, for those who serve you at restaurant, at Home Affairs, your petrol attendant, whoever it is, would you go over the top in honor?

So when people hear about these groups of people in Umhlanga that they go in Umhlanga everyone seems to be really nice, and it’s because Harvesters were out doing one another in honor. Will you stand to your feet, please? I don’t know about you, but hearing a message like this, make me fall to my knees and say God give me some more grace please [inaudible 00:45:42] for me. I was so challenged because I had a bad attitude this week to a driver who cut us off, and I had to restrain myself. But honor looks like something, and I wanna look like someone who honors those around me.

Why don’t you close your eyes, Father we thank you, for your goodness, we thank you for all that you are. Would you release grace for us to live in a place of honor, would you release grace for us to live in a place that values people because of their intrinsic worth, not because of what they are for us, or what they can do for us, but simply because of who they are in you? We thank you for what you’ve done.

Here’s what I really want you to do if you are a parent of a child in kids work, would you outrageously and overwhelmingly bless Tracy, and her team when you go up? And just give them the hugest thank you, and just honor them. Heck if you wanna give them money, give them some money, do something to express your honor to them. Would you do that for me? Because we want every department in our church to feel honored and loved for the way that they serve, not because we have to, but because this is what family does, this is who we are.

Your Story Matters: Here's Why

By Julian Adams • January 3, 2025
We are living in a world of dramatic change. The relentless pace of development often leaves us breathless and exhausted. The demand for innovative ways of communicating, inventing, and staying ahead of cultural trends can feel daunting and demoralizing. It can push us into a space where we find ourselves trying to copy rather than be authentic, to imitate rather than create. This pressure can lead us to believe that we need to be more creative, and that our individual stories do not matter. But nothing could be further from the truth. Your story, no matter how small, matters and is powerful. One of the remarkable aspects of ancient manuscripts, like the Bible, is that they tell the stories of individuals whose lives may seem small and insignificant. Yet, God chose to make their lives a memorial of what He could do with a life that the world deems insignificant. The incredible power of the gospel is that it changes lives one at a time. God is as interested in the individual story as He is in redeeming the cosmos. The aim of the gospel is not just dealing with personal sin; it is about restoring individuals to a relationship with a kind Father. In his book Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis beautifully said, "The Son of God became a man to enable men to become sons of God." Justification addresses our standing before God, but our adoption invites us into a relationship with the Father. It allows us to partake of who He is and to live in a place of deep joy from who He is. Romans 3:23 reminds us that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Many of us forget that the work of salvation has turned this verse around. Through Jesus, we have been restored to the glory of God. One description of the word "glory" refers to the divine quality, the unspoken manifestation of God, and splendor. It is the revelation of God's intrinsic worth and beauty. Do you see that? We have been restored to His divine quality, splendor, and beauty. In a world where it can be easy to feel like just another face in the crowd, remember that your story is significant. Your experiences, your journey, and your voice matter. Embrace the unique narrative God has given you and let it shine. You are not just a spectator; you are a vital participant in God's grand story. Your authenticity, creativity, and individuality are valuable. As you navigate the rapid changes of our world, hold on to the truth that your story has power and purpose. God sees you, knows you, and has a plan for your life that is uniquely yours. Let us celebrate the beauty and significance of each individual story, knowing that together, we contribute to a tapestry of divine splendor and glory.

Pursuing Wholeness: My Journey from Rejection to Healing

By Julian Adams • July 17, 2024
Rejection is a powerful force that can shape the trajectory of our lives, often in ways we don't fully realize until much later. For me, this journey began in childhood. I was born with a cleft palate, which affected my ability to speak, and coupled with my passionate devotion to Jesus, I faced daily ridicule and rejection throughout my school years. My speech and my fervent faith made me a target, and I found myself isolated and misunderstood. Despite the rejection, something beautiful began to grow within me: a deep and abiding friendship with Jesus. Through profound encounters with the Lord, I began to walk in the prophetic. This newfound gift led me to public ministry, where I started releasing prophetic words. However, beneath the surface, I was carrying an immense amount of pain that I hadn't dealt with. This pain manifested as a lifestyle of performance, driven by the need for acceptance and validation. Though I was a new creation in Christ, I was living as if I were still bound by my old wounds. In Matthew 23:27-28 (MSG), Jesus describes the Pharisees as "manicured grave plots, grass clipped and the flowers bright, but six feet down it's all rotting bones and worm-eaten flesh. People look at you and think you're saints, but beneath the skin, you're total frauds." These words struck a chord with me because I realized I was living like a professional Pharisee. Outwardly, I appeared to have it all together, but inside, I was disconnected from the healing process that God wanted to take me through. This disconnect had a significant impact on my prophetic ministry. My words, especially those concerning sin, were often harsh and unkind, reflecting my damaged perspective of myself and the world. It wasn't until I began to address my heart issues that my approach to the prophetic truly changed. God started speaking to me about the connection between my gift, my performance, and my worth. Through this process, He took me back to moments of pain and difficulty from my childhood and even into my adult life. In one profound moment, God said to me, "Son, I want you to grow up and be a child." This statement might seem paradoxical, but it revealed a crucial truth: the posture of the kingdom is one of childlike fascination and trust. My journey into sonship transformed how I viewed the prophetic and how I ministered to others. No longer driven by judgment and legalism, I began to approach people with love, kindness, and the heart of the Father. Understanding my identity as a beloved child of God allowed me to see others through His eyes. This shift not only brought healing to my heart but also enabled me to minister more effectively and compassionately. Rejection and pain had shaped my early years, but God's love and healing power brought me to a place of wholeness. This journey has taught me that dealing with our heart issues is essential for authentic and impactful ministry. As we pursue wholeness, we open ourselves to deeper intimacy with God and greater effectiveness in serving His people. If you find yourself struggling with similar issues of rejection, pain, or performance, I encourage you to invite God into those wounded places. Allow Him to heal and transform you, just as He did for me. Embrace the posture of childlike wonder and trust, knowing that you are deeply loved and valued by your Heavenly Father. In this place of wholeness, you will find the freedom to live and minister authentically, reflecting the heart of God to a world in need.

Four Practices for Hearing God's Voice

By Julian Adams • July 21, 2023
In my years of teaching people the prophetic and how to hear God's voice, I've learned several practices that help people hear Him. Here are a few of my most helpful!
More Posts
Share by: