by David Scott Robertson
"I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better" (Ephesians 1:17).
* * *
Every person on planet Earth, I believe, needs to "get a revelation" of at least 5 things:
1. A REVELATION OF THE LOVE OF GOD
Thousands of books have been written, countless sermons preached, and innumerable living examples of the love of God in action exist in the world today. I think every man and woman, boy and girl, needs to know that God loves them.
The fact that there is a God, and He has chosen to allow Himself to be known, is a mystery too great to unravel. Who can grasp how an infinite God and a finite human being can get together?
Not only is God omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent, but He declares of Himself that GOD IS LOVE (1 John 4:8). He could be all-powerful and not loving; He could be all-knowing and not loving; He could be present everywhere at once but not loving. But He's not.
"One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard: that you, O God, are strong, and that you, O Lord, are loving. Surely you will reward each person according to what he has done" (Psalm 62:11-12).
The love of God is as flawless and perfect and unconditional and absolute as God is Himself. God has a message today for those who have an ear to hear it:
"…I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness" (Jeremiah 31:3).
To discern this truth and the four to follow will require what the Apostle Paul wrote about to a group of believers at a church in Ephesus, "the Spirit of wisdom and revelation…" Eph. 1:17).
2. A REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST
God's ultimate expression of His love for mankind is personified in the Lord Jesus Christ.
"The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven" (Hebrews 1:3).
It is only through Christ that we can experience the love of God. Almighty God revealed His heart when His Spirit dictated the following words to the Apostle John as he penned the gospel that bears his name:
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him" (John 3:16-17).
Like Father, like Son.
"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).
The revelation of who Jesus is - literally - determines our salvation and whether or not we qualify for eternal life. To know Christ is to know God, for only through Jesus can we know and experience God's love and plan for our lives.
If we ever truly get a revelation of who Jesus Christ is, and who we are "in Christ," then matters of authority, destiny, calling, purpose, provision, and so on will all fall neatly into place (Matthew 6:33).
To be sure, it is massively important that we get a revelation of Jesus Christ.
3. A REVELATION OF THE CROSS
The third revelation I believe humankind needs is a revelation of the cross. Apart from this revelation, even Christ-followers cannot fully realize their potential in God's plan for the ages.
Mel Gibson went a long way in visually portraying the sufferings of Jesus on the cross in his now famous movie "The Passion of the Christ." But the physical torture associated with Jesus' death is not the full revelation. There's much, much more.
Fewer books have been written and fewer sermons preached on this subject than the love of God, nevertheless, the revelation of the cross is one of the most potent and powerful messages that every citizen of earth must receive.
For it's on the cross of Jesus Christ, and this cross alone, that divine blood was shed. The blood of the thief on the left and the right of Jesus that dark day on Golgotha's hill wouldn't do. The blood of incalculable other poor, unfortunate souls murdered or martyred on crosses throughout history wouldn't do. Only holy blood would do. And Jesus, the One whom the Bible identifies as "the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world" (Revelation 13:8) voluntarily offering His holy blood to God as the perfect sacrifice for our sin. God's Son was dead, accepting the death penalty for the likes of you and me.
Now we can come TO THE CROSS to receive forgiveness of our sins. Next we come THROUGH THE CROSS to receive healing for our damaged emotions and deliverance from our addictions. Then we get ON THE CROSS to crucify our fleshly carnality and begin a process of sanctification whereby we are formed into disciples of Jesus. Finally, we TAKE UP OUR CROSS, denying our earthly agendas, goals, and dreams, and follow Him.
Friends, we need a fresh revelation of the cross in order to apply God's full repair on our sin-warped bodies, souls, and spirits and become refurbished back to the Manufacturer's original specifications.
4. A REVELATION OF THE MULTITUDES
Once we are saved and healed and whole, we need to get a revelation of the multitudes.
"And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things" (Mark 6:34 KJV).
When was the last time you were at the mall's food court and looked around at all the people and were "moved with compassion?" The sea of people you and I swim with may look good, smell good, and boast of many material possessions - but apart from God they are all spiritually wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked (Revelation 3:17).
We need a revelation of the "depth of lost-ness" of the human race. If you are a Christian, you are outnumbered by vast hordes of people who don't know and cannot experience the love of God.
Larry Stockstill, pastor of one of the largest cell churches in America, says that if the number of lost people in the world were to form a single file line (so close that you could barely get a piece of paper between them) the number of unsaved people would stretch forty times around the earth!
We need a revelation of the multitudes! It will take such a revelation to move us out of our comfort zones and into the harvest fields! It will take such a revelation to get us past our fear of rejection and offending someone. It will take such a revelation for us to believe that God actually wants to use us (yeah, I'm talking to you)!
YOU are the one He's after to make a difference at your workplace! YOU are the one He's after to become a change-agent at your school! YOU are the one He's after to become a world-changer through your church! But unless you receive this truth by revelation you will never be moved to compassion enough to do something about it.
One time, one Man, the God-Man, Jesus Christ, made such a difference that all time is now measured by His appearance on the earth (B.C. / A.D.). Now, God desires to use you and me, filled with the love of God, born-again by the Spirit through Jesus, restored through the power of the cross, and sent out by the Great Commission to "win souls and make disciples" (Matthew 28:19-20).
Everything has been provided, the only question is: Will you do your part?
5. A REVELATION OF THE JUDGMENT OF GOD OF SIN
Lastly, I think, everybody needs a revelation of sin and the coming judgment.
Gentlemen, you may know which teams are playing in Monday Night Football this coming week but did you know that judgment is coming on the world? Ladies, you may know which stores are having their annual half-off sale this week, but did you know that judgment is coming on the world? You and I may know a lot of things that don't really matter in the scope of eternity, but do we realize that "it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment" (Hebrews 9:27)?
All sin requires payment. Nobody gets away with anything. Everybody at some point will have to deal with every sinful thought they've ever thought, every sinful word they've ever said, and everything sinful deed they've ever done. If you are reading this and you have yet to get a revelation of who Jesus is, may I tell you that He is God's only provision for dealing with your sin problem? On the cross Jesus dealt with it so effectively that you will actually be excused from God's righteous judgment against it if you place your trust and faith in Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Just like a coin has two sides, so God's character is multi-faceted. While it is true that His attributes include loving kindness and tender mercy, patience and long suffering, grace and gentleness, the sobering fact remains that there is the other side of the coin. That is, one day when God sees fit, He will execute judgment on the ungodly.
"Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men: "See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have done in the ungodly way, and of all the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against him" (Jude 1:14-15).
Hell is as real as heaven. Hell is as bad and undesirable as heaven is good and desirable. Both are beyond our ability to comprehend and precisely the reason we need a revelation to get it.
This is one of the reasons I believe God wrote in His love letter to mankind, the Bible, "…I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation" (2 Corinthians 6:2).
From cradle to grave there is no more important decision that we can make than to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of our lives. In so doing, we can rest assured that the five revelations that I mentioned here (and many more to be sure) will be made known to you at the proper time.
I have observed, though, that revelations usually go hand in hand with your desire to obtain them. As hungry people seek out food, so spiritually hungry people seek out God. Revelation is not far from any of us for it is God's pleasure to give revelation even to the children who play at our feet.
Personally, I would love to have a revelation of what heaven will be like in greater detail than the Bible describes or to have revelation knowledge of how angels serve as ministering spirits to those that will inherit salvation. These would be great but not at the expense of knowing these five basic revelations that I described today.
My encouragement to you is to ask God to make this all real to you and to show you through the Spirit of wisdom and revelation where you can find yourself in these points. As you do, I believe that God will reveal more truths to you!
"However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him"--but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God" (1 Corinthians 2:9-10).
DSR
10/18/04