We need relationship and revelation to access the things of God. A relationship with God begins with receiving Jesus into our hearts as Savior. It continues to grow as we spend time with Him by reading and studying His Word, by prayer and worship, as we surrender to His Lordship, learn to trust Him, and walk in the Spirit. God created humankind for His glory and praise (Isaiah 43:7, 21). Worship is recognizing God’s worth and responding accordingly (Revelation 4:11). We must have a revelation of who He is! He loves to reveal Himself as our Savior, Healer, Deliverer, Provider, and Protector. Jesus came to show us the Father (John 14:9), and He is the living Word (John 1:1, 14).
What does revelation mean? It is a surprising, previously unknown, and secret fact, or the divine or supernatural disclosure to humans of something relating to human existence or the world, an unveiling. The Bible has the answers to humanity’s questions about life and purpose. It reveals God’s plan for humankind and his redemption through Jesus Christ. God also reveals Himself and His invisible attributes through nature as the Creator (Romans 1:19-20; Acts 14:17; Psalm 19:1-4). God wants us to know Him and His purpose for our lives (Genesis 1:26-28; 2:7; Psalm 139:13-18).
“The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.” Deuteronomy 29:29 (NKJV)
God shares His mysteries and removes the veil, which brings revelation (Daniel 2:22, 28, 47; Job 12:22; Ephesians 3:1-21). It is the Holy Spirit that brings revelation and understanding. He also provides us with the wisdom on how to apply it to our lives (Isaiah 11:2).
Last week we looked at dreams and their interpretations and saw that God is always speaking. He speaks through His Word, the Rhema Word of Christ, the inward witness of the Holy Spirit and His gifts (word of knowledge, word of wisdom, prophecy, tongues, and interpretation of tongues), dreams and visions, and in nature. Kim Clement states that when God speaks to you, it is “truth being revealed to you at the right time, right place, right season for the right reason so that we can bring it into existence in time and space” (from Revelation Series Lesson One, What is spiritual revelation?). But God needs us to deliver what He has revealed into existence through speaking, decreeing, prophesying, praying, and acting on it.
The Holy Spirit has something to say prophetically that accurately describes or predicts our future through prophecy and prophetic dreams. God speaks through His prophets to speak into our destiny (Amos 3:7; 2 Chronicles 20:20). He who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men (1 Corinthians 14:3). The Bible is a book of prophecies (Hebrews 1:1; 2 Peter 1:21; Revelation 1:1 – 3). We see through prophecy where we are to be, so we know we are going to get there as we hold onto God’s Word.
Our Scripture verse this week declares that we will be happy when we hear the Word of the Lord and keep or obey it (Proverbs 29:18). His Word is life, Spirit, truth, wisdom, instruction, etc. His Word reveals our heart (Hebrews 4:12). The pure in heart are blessed and will see God (Matthew 5:8). To be pure in heart means that our minds, motives, and principles are genuine, not just that our outward actions look good. Man looks at the external, but God looks at the heart. To see God is to be in His presence and to see Him as He is; to be His friend and have His favor upon us.
God says in Hosea 4:6; My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. We need to experience a revelation at the heart level personally. We all need a revelation or vision for our future. Without it, we are left to our own devices, and we go our way (Proverbs 29:18). We will get discouraged, become idle and complacent, and seek after other things which become idols that bring us into bondage.
We have a relationship with God and not just a list of dos and don’ts. We keep His law or Word because we love Him (John 15:10-15; 1 John 4:7-10). Ask the Holy Spirit to bring revelation to you concerning God’s love, goodness, provision, guidance, or whatever you may need. When we follow His Word and keep it, we will be blessed!
Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things from Your law. Psalm 119:18 (NKJV)
We need to ask the Holy Spirit to give us a more profound revelation of Jesus. Revelation brings a new level of authority and a new level of faith. When we have a revelation of who we are in Christ and who He is in us, we can receive and walk in our spiritual inheritance (Ephesians 1:3; Colossians 1:12; Galatians 5:22-23; 1 John 4:4; Romans 8:11; 2 Peter 1:3). . Jesus has provided our inheritance through His death on the cross and resurrection, but we need to receive and obtain it, i.e., salvation, healing, deliverance, provision, prosperity, preservation, etc. It may involve spiritual warfare (Luke 10:19; Matthew 18:18) because the enemy doesn’t want us to know what we have in Christ or for us to walk in the promises of God for our lives (2 Corinthians 1:20; Colossians 2:15).
We, as the body of Christ, are to release God’s truth and revelation to those around us and the nations of the earth. We release revelation through dreams, visions, prophetic Words, and by sharing our testimony (Revelation 19:10). However, we are not to believe that every word spoken is from God. The Bible declares that in these last days, there will be false prophets that will arise and speak words, dreams, and visions that God did not send in an attempt to deceive us and draw us away from God and the truth (Jeremiah 23:16; Matthew 7:15; 24:11, 24; 2 Peter 2:1; 1 John 4:1-6).
We are to discern the spirit behind it if it is of God or not (1 John 4:1; 1 Thessalonians 5:21). Other prophets can judge the word (1 Corinthians 14:29-33). There is wisdom in submitting the word, dream, or vision that you have had to other prophets before releasing it and allowing it to go viral! When there isn’t an understanding or revelation, it can cause fear and confusion, which is not of God (1 Corinthians 14:33; 2 Timothy 1:7).
It is time to pick up our inheritance, walk-in His promises, and the breakthrough that He has ordained for us today! The Holy Spirit is our guarantee (Ephesians 1:11-14). The revelation that we receive by the Holy Spirit will not only bring breakthroughs in our lives but to the lives of those around us. We are the extension of Jesus’s hands, reaching out to the world. We are to be Jesus to our world, to touch them with His grace, mercy, healing, deliverance, and salvation. We are to take the gospel into our neighborhoods, communities, and beyond to touch and change lives by showing His love (Mark 16:15 – 16; John 15:12).
Be intentional about extending His love. It might mean making a phone call to someone isolated and feeling lonely; to bring some groceries to someone who isn’t able to go out to get them or even to pay for them. Encourage or comfort someone with a Word from the Lord today. Be salt and light (Matthew 5:13-16)! The Spirit of God is in you (Daniel 5:14;1 Corinthians 3:16; Galatians 4:6)!
Prayer
That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power. Ephesians 1:17-19 (NKJV)
Living the Abundant Life 