Revelation: How to Receive and Apply Consistent Wisdom from God
Revelation is not an endless pursuit of mystery, it’s an ever deepening relationship through which God glorifies himself and moves through you with your collaboration.
Revelation is two-fold; it comes when you have placed attention, time and study in an area and increased your knowledge and understanding. God will use that knowledge to enlighten the eyes of your heart so you are persuaded in faith and it moves beyond just information. Then God helps you understand how to wisely apply that revelation.
Ultimately, revelation is when you see God’s glory, meaning you see things like he sees them.
The reason you don’t allow yourself to receive revelation is because you don’t have the intention to act on what’s being revealed, you won’t let yourself see it. When you are willing to yield to his will, the truth you need will no longer be covered.
The Kingdom has Begun
I’m in the midst of a series about the Kingdom of God. In my last article I established that Daniel and Isaiah prophesied about the coming kingdom. They both confirm that this kingdom will have no end once it comes to earth. Then John verifies that Jesus is the rock that becomes the mountain that grows and consumes the whole world.
The conclusion is that the kingdom of God was brought to earth by Jesus, it began to be established through him, it’s continued to be established through us and it will never end. This raises many questions. The question I’d like to address is “how do we experience or live in this kingdom now?”
Repent and Believe
Living in God’s Kingdom starts with repentance, or changing your mind. Jesus said the kingdom of God is at hand, repent and believe the good news that the kingdom is at hand. He went on to say several things about the kingdom.
Here’s a streamline version of what Jesus said about God’s Kingdom…
You’re going to have to change the way you think because the kingdom is now here, I am the great light that shines in Zebulun and I’m beginning the process of bringing all things in heaven and earth together in me so God’s kingdom will grow and take over all creation. This kingdom won’t come down from Heaven and it won’t be built using external, worldly constructs, it’s in you now. It is increasing and it will never stop increasing.
God places his spirit in us when we believe, that spirit will give us wisdom and revelation so we will experience his fulness in this life.
God Will Speak to You
God will speak to you and lead you to make decisions that will produce spiritual fruit. Jesus said this about how his spirit would speak to you…
John 16:13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.
God’s spirit will not only tell you things, he’ll empower you to take action in those things.
Ephesians 1:16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers 17 and asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in your knowledge of Him. 18 I ask that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know the hope of His calling, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, 19a and the surpassing greatness of His power to us who believe.
I’m building up to a point, you can receive and put into practice consistent wisdom and revelation from God. It may take time to train your heart to recognize his voice. It may take time to discipline yourself to quit asking for thinks and simply acknowledge his character, but if you do, you will build a fruitful life full of righteousness, peace, joy and the fruits of the spirit.
Knowledge, Wisdom & Revelation
KNOWLEDGE in simply knowing information.
WISDOM is the practical application of knowledge.
REVELATION is when the eyes of your heart are enlightened, meaning you see a way to apply knowledge in a new way or for a specific issue.
Revelation is the Greek word apokalypsis, which means to uncover, lay bare, make naked, instruction. The idea is that something becomes clear to you along with the instruction to apply it or DO it. Grace folks need to get over their fear of the word DO, it’s a vital aspect of transformation.
Revelation is not necessarily when God decides to give you new knowledge or information, it’s when your heart sees an aspect of God and what he’s already placed in you through Christ. Revelation is when you see the finished work of Christ in a deeper way or in a more specific way that can be applied to your life. But it must be acted upon to grow in that way of life.
“Revelation is when your heart can see and apply what it could not previously see”
Revelation is not an endless pursuit of mystery, it’s an ever deepening relationship through which God glorifies himself and moves through you with your collaboration.
Revelation is two-fold; it comes when you have placed attention, time and study in an area and increased your knowledge and understanding. God will use that knowledge to enlighten the eyes of your heart so you are persuaded in faith and it moves beyond just information. Then God helps you understand how to wisely apply that revelation. Revelation is when you see God’s glory, meaning you see things like he sees them.
The reason you don’t allow yourself to receive revelation is because you don’t have the intention to act on what’s being revealed, you won’t let yourself see it. When you are willing to yield to his will, the truth you need will no longer be covered.
You must have the intention to put into practice the insight and fresh revelation you perceive to build consistency. What we typically do is ask God for information or for him to move in “prayer,” then when he answers we sit back and evaluate if we believe it will work. Don’t think you do this? Think of a promise for a specific area of your life, really meditate on it and see if you really believe it. His promises are a perpetual revelation of his will for you, go ahead and receive them as such.
Applying Revelation
Try this process when praying over a specific area of your life, the goal is to hear from God a specific adjustment you need to make or a specific action you need to take. It may come in the form of scripture, a testimony you remember, a visual you perceive, a thought that seems like you own, a remembrance from a sermon, it’s endless really. The point is, once the revelation rises, ACT!
Here’s the process:
Acknowledge God in your heart and spirit
Connect to the emotions of general thankfulness for his presence, whether you feel it or not
Walk through this prayer from Ephesians 3:14-21. Pause a moment after each sentence and let its reality sink in.
I bow my heart to you Father, the God of all mankind and all of creation.
You are my Lord, my God, my Father and my friend.
In this moment, you are strengthening me in my inner man out of your very own glorious and unlimited riches.
You are supplying grace deep within my heart directly from your spirit.
As your spirit strengthens me and influences me with your grace, I make room in my heart for Christ.
I do not limit the degree of influence Christ has within me.
By your spirit, Christ dwells within me, his power is in me, his righteousness is in me, his power is in me, I am alive because he lives through me.
All of this is true because you love me Father. My response is to love you back. I can feel love for you rising up in my heart as a fruit of the love you have planted in me through Christ.
I am one with you. My heart draws on your love for me.
I understand and experience the love you have for me. It is planted in me and extends in every direction from me, making me whole.
As I experience your love for me, my emotions are healed, my physical body is made whole, my mind is renewed to my identity in you.
This love never ends, you never stop pouring your love and grace through me. This love is better than information I could understand about you.
I am at peace. You are at peace with me.
I am filled with your fulness. I am filled with your spirit. I am filled with your love for me and for others. I am complete in you.
You desire good things for me, far beyond anything I can ask for or imagine. I yield to your influence within me. Shape me my lord, mold me into your image Jesus. I trust you. By your power that works in me, I am seeing your will accomplished in my life. I trust that what you want for me and want to do through me is satisfying and rewarding. I love your will for me. I get out of the way to allow you to live through me.
To you be all the glory in this temple that you are building for your glory, amen.
Now be quiet
Notice if your mind drifts to specific areas of your life
Write down any passages that come to mind, or any insight at all regardless of the memory.
Decide in your heart that you will act on this revelation
Make a plan to take steps
Be consistent
If you make this a consistent and disciplined way of prayer for you, you are no longer subjected to trying to decipher God’s will from your external circumstances. Making this shift in prayer places the emphasis on Christ within you and the function of his spirit to lead you in a mature and fruitful way. You will no longer be moved by what you see, you will be moved by the indwelling spirit of God, and he will always move you into life and blessings, for his glory.
This TOOL FOR TRANSFORMATION will help you consistently hear God’s instructions and apply his wisdom.
Length: 20 Minutes
God's Kingdom Is Increasing
What do you think about when you hear of “the Kingdom of God?” Do you think about the future, in Heaven with God forever? Or do you think about how we are connected to and operate in his kingdom now? Both maybe? It’s both for me.
Look at this progression of passages. The point of aligning them in this order is to show one simple truth, Jesus brought the kingdom with him and it’s been increasing ever since. A great light has come!
Mark 1:14 After the arrest of John, Jesus went into Galilee and proclaimed the gospel of God. 15 “The time is fulfilled,” He said, “and the kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe in the gospel!”
What Gospel? The Gospel that the kingdom of God is near. When he says repent and believe the Gospel, he’s saying, “you’re going to have to change the way you think because God’s kingdom is now in the earth. You are part of it, it’s in you and it will now begin to increase.”
What do you think about when you hear of “the Kingdom of God?” Do you think about the future, in Heaven with God forever? Or do you think about how we are connected to and operate in his kingdom now? Both maybe? It’s both for me.
Look at this progression of passages. The point of aligning them in this order is to show one simple truth, Jesus brought the kingdom with him and it’s been increasing ever since. A great light has come!
Mark 1:14 After the arrest of John, Jesus went into Galilee and proclaimed the gospel of God. 15 “The time is fulfilled,” He said, “and the kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe in the gospel!”
What Gospel? The Gospel that the kingdom of God is near. When he says repent and believe the Gospel, he’s saying, “you’re going to have to change the way you think because God’s kingdom is now in the earth. You are part of it, it’s in you and it will now begin to increase.”
The next passage from Daniel is part of Daniel’s interpretation of the king of Babylon’s dream.
Daniel 2:44 “In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. 45 This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands—a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces. “The great God has shown the king what will take place in the future. The dream is true and its interpretation is trustworthy.”
The rock that destroys all the world’s kingdoms will be cast into the earth, and once it’s in the earth it will continue to grow into a mountain that fills the whole earth. When is that rock cast into the earth and when does God set up his increasing kingdom that will never be destroyed? Stay with me, we’ll get there.
Matthew quotes Isaiah and acknowledges that the arrival of Jesus is the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy about the eternal, increasing kingdom of God.
Matthew 4:12 When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he withdrew to Galilee. 13 Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali— 14 to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah: 15 “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles— 16 the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” 17 From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
What did Isaiah say? Notice the language about the timing of the kingdom.
Isaiah 9:1 Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan— 2 The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.
Skip to verse 6.
Isaiah 9:6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.
!!!IMPORTANT!!!
From that time on and forever! From the time that the people saw a great light, and forever forward, God is establishing and upholding his kingdom!
From that time on and forever
It’s important to rightly divide the Word of God regarding the initiation and the subsequent establishment of God’s kingdom. The undeniable conclusion is this, you don’t have to wait on a future arrival of God’s kingdom, you’re in it now! And it will just keep growing. Make sure it’s growing in you.
The Kingdom of God and You
After the resurrection we see Jesus acknowledge that he’s the king of God’s kingdom and he has all authority.
Matthew 28:18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Then we see that we are “raised with him.” This phrase does not refer to being resurrected with him, this is a statement of authority. Christ gives us his authority, as ambassadors of his kingdom, fully backed by God to represent him.
Ephesians 2:6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ
Jesus acknowledges sharing his authority with us.
Matthew 16:19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
We’re in his kingdom now.
Colossians 1:12 and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. 13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Put It All Together
God planted his kingdom in this earth through Christ. Jesus is the rock that will become a mountain that will fill the whole earth. He is the mustard seed that will become a tree that fills the whole earth. His kingdom has come and it’s not going anywhere.
God is in control of establishing his kingdom but we have a role. We are his church, the body of Christ, through which God’s holy temple is being built in the earth.
God is establishing his kingdom through his church and he is sharing his kingdom with his church.
Ephesians 2:19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
How To Yield To His Kingdom
What is the nature of God’s kingdom and how do we interact with it now?
Luke 17:20 Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, 21 nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst.”
This is incredibly challenging. There is coming a time when Christ will physically return and rule on this earth. Until then, the kingdom is IN YOU!! Yes, it’s in you! It’s in you because God has used the life/blood of Christ to cleanse you. He gave you a new heart. And he joined his spirit to you, you are one with him just as Jesus prayed in John 17.
You are currently responsible for stewarding the kingdom within you so it will grow out of you.
Luke 13:18 Then Jesus asked, “What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? 19 It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds perched in its branches.” 20 Again he asked, “What shall I compare the kingdom of God to? 21 It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds a of flour until it worked all through the dough.”
Your heart is the dough, your mind is the dough. How do you kneed the yeast of the kingdom into your heart, mind and emotions? What is it that shifts your focus and positions your heart to yield to the influence of his kingdom within you? Is it worship, is it nature, it is praying for others, is it serving people, is it listening to your children laugh…what works for you?
Many folks think of miracles, wonders and the gifts of the spirit when they speak of God’s kingdom growing through you, but it’s first and foremost righteousness, peace and joy in your own heart and soul.
If you want to experience the kingdom now, on this planet, in its current form, allow God’s righteousness to transform you, allow his peace to guard your heart so you’ll be led by him, and allow his joy to strengthen you so you’ll walk in his power.
Kingdom living has more to do with you experiencing the transformative power of his grace than outward displays of power. Outward power is a small part of kingdom living, but it’s not primary. The primary goal of God’s kingdom in you is to shape you into the image of God’s dear son. God wants to love people through you. The more you allow yourself to be shaped by him, the more you’ll experience the fruit of his indwelling kingdom and the more you will will reflect his kingdom into this earth.
I will stay on the topic for a few weeks. Stay tuned as I write more about the heart and the parable of the seed. I’ll also touch on the nature of reality and the dominion of mankind to gain more kingdom insight. I’ll use illustrations from quantum physics once we get to the parts about mankind’s dominion.
Until then, keep your eyes on Jesus and allow his kingdom, his righteousness, peace and joy to increase within you!