A Revelation

It's a fascinating thing. Here at Bethel we have a Bible reading plan as part of our course readings. We started with the gospels and now we're going into the epistles. At first, I was reading out of duty. I wanted to tick the boxes with integrity that I had completed the readings, but I was not yet captured by the Word. I have more of an awareness now about reading with the Spirit and expecting Him to reveal something new or relevant to me. My interest in the Word has picked up. But over these past few weeks we've been reading a text book called "Grasping God's Word" and this is, surprisingly, where my reading has deepened. It was after the chapters on reading sentences, paragraphs and discourses where I discovered the most insight. These chapters teach the reader to analyse the language first. Not the meaning at this stage, but the words. Look for and identify things such as figures of speech, repetition, cause and effect, pronouns and who they're referring to, active or passive or future verbs and so on. At first I thought this was a waste of time and I did the assignments because I had to. But then the next day when I read my Bible, I started looking into these features. I started noticing them and paying attention. And I was pleasantly surprised to find out that I started understanding the scripture more realistically. I was engaging with the text. I felt like the Bible was finally alive!! All through the analysis of language. Weird. But cool!

So now the Bible readings have become less of a chore and more fun. It's funny because I wasn't even trying to enjoy it - I was just doing my homework. I didn't even read the text book that diligently. I just did the bare minimum. Yet God still desires to meet me. He doesn't care about how much homework I do - He just wants a chance to hang out. And it was in  my morning Bible reading time that I received this revelation that I would like to share with you all! First, let's read Galatians 1:11-17

"I [Paul] want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ. 

For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. But when God, who set me apart from my mother's womb and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, my immediate response was not to consult any human being. I did not go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went to Arabia. Later I returned to Damascus."

First - Paul didn't receive the gospel from any man. This is definitely not prescriptive for us in every setting, but it struck me. Paul is saying this to the Galatians because they started believing silly things - another gospel. Paul was letting them know that what he was preaching them had come straight from the horse's mouth, so to speak. But sometimes I forget that people can receive a revelation of Jesus through the Holy Spirit - without humans delivering the message. At times I'm skeptical when I hear the experiences of these people, and I'm concerned with what doctrine they believe in, or if they believe enough to be fully saved, or if they've prayed 'the prayer'. I started wondering why we get so caught up in all these 'extras'. Sure, they might be important things to know - but if they were essential for the person to know right then and there - then I'd like to trust the Holy Spirit to reveal the necessary doctrine to people in the right time. It's my job to be sensitive to Holy Spirit to ask what I can share with the person that is going to outwork God's love in their life. It's my job to encourage them; not burden them. I wonder if this is why Paul said, "my immediate response was not to consult any human being."

Joseph's Dreams 

Let's think about this for a bit. Joseph in the Bible had his dreams of him family bowing down to him. He told his family about this and his brothers hated him and his father rebuked him. Now we had no idea of knowing how things would have worked out differently - but I suspect that if Joseph had have kept those dreams to himself, then maybe his rise to royalty would have followed a different path? Jesus had to lead the blind man outside the village to heal him. Why? I suspect that the unbelief in the village at Bethsaida was holding the man back from his healing. After the man was healed Jesus told him, "Don't go and tell anyone in the village." That's weird. Unless the people had the power to talk him out of his miracle... Life and death is in the power of the tongue.

Jesus had to lead the
man outside the village

Jesus had people in his village not believe he was the Messiah because he was familiar to them. People tried to get him to prove who he was on demand. Even satan tried, "If you are the son of God..." He tried to get Jesus to perform for what was already his. Just a few verses earlier the Heavens were rent and a voice from Heaven declared that Jesus was God's son. Jesus knew who he was and when satan tried to get him to prove it - there was no need. He had the dove, or presence of God on his shoulder. He knew his identity. But what about the rest of us? We're still on that journey. How many times do our past mistakes come back to haunt us? How many people out there refuse to accept that we have changed - still believing in what our actions told them we were? The first thing the devil does is try to take away our identity as children of the Most High. He tries to get us to doubt what Jesus has done for us. Then once we're on that track - he takes his hands off the wheel and our shame or guilt or introspection will click us into cruise control all the way down, down, down. No wonder Paul didn't go to human counsel right away. In a matter of days he went from murdering and imprisoning Christians to preaching to them and teaching them the gospel! I'm not naive enough to expect that all the Christian leaders would have been like, "Oh, cool! Great to see you Saul, oh sorry, you go by Paul now. Um, ok, well, here is my family - they're all here because they're so excited that you've changed. Wow. Praise God." Yeah right. That's the oldest trick in the book. It took Paul over three years before he met with any of the apostles!! Sure, he would have had some interaction with Christian leaders - but think about it. They only had letters and word of mouth. The initial chain of contact would have been very slow moving. And people would have been on watch waiting for Paul to show his true colours for a while. There was a good reason why Paul didn't talk to any humans about this for a while, outside of what the Spirit was leading him to do. There's a good chance they could have turned him against his conversion. There's a good chance he could have started doubting what God was calling him into. 

Sometimes God will reveal something to us that is not ready to be shared with other humans. We don't know why - and most of the time we don't need to know why. It's the sovereignty of God to be mysterious and our excitement to seek Him out. It's important to ask Holy Spirit if what He is revealing is for sharing or treasuring. Many leaders I respect will tell testimonies that include them holding on to revelations for years before sharing them. Dreams are tricky because we want to share the excitement with others, but then sometimes people aren't at the same part of their journey as you and can just as easily (unintentionally) talk you out of your dreams. I'm learning to ask the One who exists outside of time. The One who can see all things at once in all eternity. Who better to ask than the One who can give you the best option for that time? It's a new level of dependence that I'm discovering. Not because I'm incapable, but because I want to live the best life I can - and why would I not ask advice from the all-knowing One? 

I love this journey I'm on. It's exciting. It's unpredictable. It's intimate. It's revelatory. It's unbelievable. And the best thing is - you can have it too. Don't waste time 'getting right' with God - Jesus already did that part for you. Just open up your heart and say, "Daddy God, what do you want to tell me today?" And just listen and believe.

What is Holy Spirit revealing to you?