A Sermon
Delivered on Wednesday Evening, October 15th, 2025, by
Evangelist PAUL ACQUAH,
Live on MZ Radio London, London UK.
We live in a world that often approaches a relationship with God like a spiritual vending machine: we insert a prayer and expect an immediate result. But what happens when the desired outcome doesn’t appear? We are left confused, wondering if God is listening or if we have done something wrong. The account of Jesus in His hometown of Nazareth, however, reveals a startling truth: the barrier to receiving God’s power is seldom His unwillingness to give, but often our inability to receive. This inability is rooted in a heart of dishonour and unbelief. When we truly honour God, we position ourselves to receive from Him, for it is through the open hands of a reverent and trusting heart that His blessings flow most freely. Get ready to discover how honouring God positions you to receive everything He has prepared for you in today’s message titled “Honour: The Key to Receiving”.
Be blessed as you listen!
Do you want to receive from God? Then honour Him. God has a lot of things that he wants to give us. there’s a lot of things that he wants to do in our lives, but we have to understand that honour and faith go together. I must believe that Jesus is the Messiah but I also must value him in my heart. I must honour him as able to do in my life, what needs to be done. I don’t just believe and trust him as a person. Yes, that’s important, but I also esteem him as able to heal my body, I honour him as able to prosper me financially, I honour him as able to forgive my sins and wash me clean as white as snow and cleans me from all unrighteousness. So, it’s not just that I trust him to do something for me, but I esteem him as able to do it, and when I honour him in that place, and I trust him with my heart, then I’m in a place where I can receive from God. The Bible describes Jesus as a prophet without honour in his own hometown.
Let’s look at Mark chapter 6 verses 1-6: “Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples. 2 When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed. “Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing? 3 Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph,[a] Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. 4 Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.” 5 He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. 6 He was amazed at their lack of faith.
The Bible says that Jesus couldn’t perform many miracles in his hometown of Nazareth because of the people’s lack of faith in him. They didn’t honour him because they knew him personally and were sceptical, they did not believe he was the Messiah, and their unbelief prevented many miracles from happening there. The bible says that the people of Nazareth took offense at Jesus because they were familiar with him and his family and did not believe he could be the Messiah. They didn’t honour or esteem him as somebody who could do what he says he could do. So Jesus himself said, “A prophet is not without honour except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home” (Mark 6:4). The people of Nazareth had known Jesus since his childhood, making it difficult for them to honour him and see him as anything other than the local carpenter’s son and not the Messiah. Their lack of respect led to a hardening of their hearts and stubbornness, preventing them from accepting his extraordinary works as being from God. Instead of honouring him, Jesus encountered contempt and apathy because of their limited view of him.
We honour God to receive from him and if you don’t, you will hold back your miracle. Their lack of faith created an atmosphere where Jesus was amazed at their unbelief and could not perform many miracles, except for healing a few sick people by laying his hands on them.
Jesus was able, and he was willing, but he could not do it because they could not honour him. Jesus’s power was not limited, but that divine power is often hindered by a lack of human belief and receptiveness. Receptive hearts receive from God. Honour is one of the ways that we receive from God directly and through other people. I cannot receive from another person if I don’t honour and esteem them for who they really are. It is said that “the anointing you respect is what you receive”. You must honour or respect a spiritual gift or anointing to receive its benefits. Disrespecting an anointing or the person God has placed it upon can create a barrier to receiving from that spiritual source. You must respect men and women of God in order to access the spiritual blessings associated with them.
A lot of people receive from great men and women of God because they esteem them. They honour them but I know a lot of people that do not honour some servants of God and cannot esteem them and they don’t receive anything that they have to give. The anointing of the Lord is simply the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in manifestation. All believers who have received the baptism of the Holy Spirit have this anointing. We need to believe and release this anointing, not ask and wait for God to anoint us. 8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be [c]witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8). The Spirit of the Lord is upon believers, because he has anointed us to proclaim the good news of the gospel to the nations and to bring deliverance to the people who are in bondage. He has sent us to heal the sick and cast out demons, but only those who honour or respect the anointing upon our lives will receive from us.
“The anointing you respect is the anointing you receive.”- Whatever you respect is what you receive! That is why God sends us people in our lives to bless us. Their purpose is to bring God’s provision to us because God’s power flows through them. The ones you respect will be able to impart in you what is essential for the next steps to your destiny. For example, the disciples respected Jesus so they were imparted with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-13). Their anointing was dependent on how they respected Jesus. So, allow what you respect to impart what God has destined for you. God has anointed us to bring solution to people’s spiritual problems but only those who honour the anointing on our lives can receive from us. 5 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will follow those who [d]believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 they[e] will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” Mark 16:15-18
Respect leads to reception: Honouring a person or a gift creates an open channel for God’s power to flow through that person to you. Disrespect creates a barrier: On the other hand, rejecting, dishonouring, or speaking ill of a person or an anointing will repel the very blessing you might desire to receive. And as we found out in Mark chapter 6, Jesus was unable to perform many miracles in his hometown due to a lack of honour. It is also applicable to how believers interact with spiritual leaders, implying that respecting their office and calling can lead to receiving from the anointing upon them. Honour is a huge component in terms of our relationship with God. Jesus couldn’t perform many miracles in his hometown of Nazareth because of the people’s refusal to honour him. He couldn’t do mighty works there because of their unbelief and preconceived notions about him, as they knew him as a carpenter’s son and struggled to honour him and accept him as the Messiah. This lack of faith and familiarity bred a hostile and contemptuous attitude, which hindered them from receiving from God.
