Pastor Julie Mullins of Florida's Christ Fellowship Church warned her audience that honoring God is mostly "missing" in today's culture and that Christians are participating in the world's "poison."
Mullins, who leads a congregation of over 30,000 people across a dozen campuses in South Florida with her husband Todd, warned in her sermon that dishonoring or demeaning God and other people could result in unanswered prayers and doors to blessing being "slammed" shut.
She informed the congregation that people presently live in a fully countercultural environment. All they have to do is turn on the television or go on social media to see contempt and dishonor at an all-time high. People are dismissing others simply because they disagree with them. They're shouting words of discouragement and disparagement over people's lives, which is obstructing God's work.
Warning Against Being Numbed By Today's Toxic Culture
Christians have become so numbed to the toxicity that they have, in many cases, become a part of it, the pastor noted. Honor is nearly completely lacking in contemporary culture, according to Mullins, yet it is "everywhere in Scripture." She said the issue of honor appears 147 times in the Bible. And, she pointed out, most references to respect in the Bible are about how to treat others.
Mullins pointed out that the Bible states, "Those who honor me, I will honor," the Christian Post noted. Christians, she continued, aren't expected to revere God just for the reward, but as a spiritual principle. God tends to benefit people who honor Him, she explained, because honoring God opens the door to a spiritual legacy that will outlast Christians.
She encouraged, "Christians can respect God by honoring others." People who are honored are valued greatly, regarded highly, and treated as valuable and significant, according to Mullins. And Christians could begin with their closest relatives, she said, including how spouses should treat one another in marriage and how children should obey their parents.
Mullins believes that honor should extend to the world at large. Referencing Romans 13, the passage can mean to honor also the nation's authorities. Christians, according to Mullins, may not always agree with all policies and actions. People can, nevertheless, differ without dishonoring one another. When it's difficult for Christians to express honorable words, adopt a posture of prayer for the leaders.
Also Read: Pastor Warns Christians Of Missing The Point When Sharing The Gospel To Unbelievers
The Cause of Dishonoring God
One of the reasons for today's culture's epidemic of dishonor, according to the pastor, is that people have forgotten to appreciate God, His ways, and His work.
Mullins believes that "an atmosphere of disgrace" will "block" God's "blessing, His favor, and supernatural work in our relationships and lives," as she has witnessed in her 35 years of ministry and even in Mark 6, where people mocked Jesus for being a "carpenter's kid."
She explained how this atmosphere of [dishonor] might truly close the door on everything Jesus wants to bring into our families and churches. Dishonor, she claimed, is derived from the Greek word "Atimos," which means 'to treat as common and usual.' It does not imply meanness, harshness, or rudeness.
She clarified that at the time, people treated Jesus as ordinary. He may look like any other youngster on the block, but Jesus is not one of them. Reality, on the other hand, states that humans can have a personal relationship with the Creator of the universe, which is far from ordinary.
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