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Chapter Five

Changing Glasses

Offense in the Kingdom is like kryptonite to Superman, but honor is like spinach to Popeye. Honor brings power. Honor is the electricity inside the conduit. Let me show you two contrasting examples of how we can release the power to flow in and through us to transform our world.

My first example is Jesus. He could do no great miracles in his hometown of Nazareth, because of the people’s offense—the lack of honor—of unbelief. These people watched Him grow up. They knew Him only by the flesh, and did not honor him as a prophet, much less as the Son of God. Their attitude was basically, “We know him. This is just Mary’s son. We know his brothers and sisters. Who does he think he is?” (Mark 6:1-3a).

So they were offended by Him. But Jesus said to them,

“A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house.” Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. And He marveled because of their unbelief.

– Mark 6:3b-6a

Even Jesus Himself could not release the power of the Kingdom among these folks, because of the presence of offense and the absence of honor. Without honor there is no faith. Honor proves the existence of faith. If they had believed, they would have honored Him! Taking offense at Him actually stymied the Son of the Living God! Offense in the Kingdom is like kryptonite to Superman.

Conversely, honor is like spinach to Popeye. The faith released by honor can take a weakling, and turn him into a powerhouse. In Matthew 15, we see an example of such faith in the Canaanite woman. She wasn’t even part of the Abrahamic covenant; she was a Gentile not a Jew. Her demon-possessed daughter desper...

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...in verse 35, it implies women really shouldn’t even learn in church.

If they desire to learn anything, let them ask their own husbands at home, for it is improper for a woman to speak in church.

So women couldn’t even ask a question in church. The traditional interpretation of these verses indicate that a woman is not allowed to even ask a question in a church meeting! The literal meaning of this passage appears to give the instruction that a woman is to make no sound when the church gathers! Do you really think that’s God’s heart, or could something else be meant in this passage. The question is “what?” If the obvious meaning is not what is meant, and we know it is not because such practice would be impractical and contrary to the law of love, then what does Paul mean by such restrictive rules? Let’s look at this more closely in the next chapter of this book.