DIVINE REVELATION

“Thus saith the Lord the maker thereof, the LORD that formed it, to establish it; the LORD is his name; call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not”. Jeremiah 33:2-3

Life is a great collection of mysteries, hidden facts and deep secrets. There are hidden facts that relate to each individual with respect to his or her unique destiny. The fulfillment of the divine purpose for which an individual was created, called or saved depends greatly on how these secrets are discovered and unraveled.

The world lies in gross darkness Is. 60:2. It is spiritual darkness that impairs the ability of man to know the right thing to do, the right place to go, the right decision to make and the right time to act. It is so obvious that the economic, educational and political systems of so many nations are fallen apart and yet we lack ideas of what exactly to do in order to redeem the situation. Individuals, families, churches and nations need to get revelation of the things that will empower and position them to attain unto the manifestation of their godly heritage and glorious destinies.

The portion of the scriptures that introduces this article (Jer. 33:3) reveals to us a very significant truth – The Almighty God, the maker and creator of all things has the precise prescription and exact solution for any of life’s challenge, hence He gives the invitation, “………… call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not”. He calls us to seek divine revelation.

The power of divine revelation as it relates to our destinies cannot be over emphasized. In this edition I welcome you to a walk with the Holy Spirit as He leads us to discover and partake of the benefits of this divine treasure.

First, let’s get to know what divine revelation is.

 “Thou will show me the path of life...” Ps. 16:11a. Divine revelation is exposing what are hidden, making known secrets or unveiling mysteries by divine enablement. It is a divine empowerment to see what ordinarily cannot be perceived by the natural senses. In the book of Deuteronomy 29:29 the bible says, “The secret things belong unto the LORD our God……….” Therefore it is by divine enablement that we are able to gain access to the deep secrets of life. The common media through which divine revelation comes to man is either visual, aural or through discernment that is a strong inner perception

•     Visual Revelation: The physical eyes have great limitation. Its visual ability is limited to the physical realm and yet there are so many things going on in the spiritual realm we can be privileged to see. It comes by way of vision or a trance and through dreams (Acts 16:9). Visual revelation is also possible when God enables our natural eyes to discover or see something which we in ourselves would not ordinarily see. Elisha’s servant lacked the assurance of the divine security until his master prayed that his spiritual eyes be opened and he was able to see what his master saw. They were surrounded by chariots and horses of fire. (Ps. 91:11, II Kings 6:17). Likewise there was a reaffirmation of divine providence when Abraham’s eyes were opened to see the ram whose horn was stuck in a thicket (Gen. 22:13) and in Hagar’s case when her eyes were opened to discover a well of water to quench her son’s thirst (Gen 21:19).

•     Aural Revelation:Another medium through which God reveals things is through hearing words supernaturally. It is naturally inaudible and can only be heard by the person(s) the revelation is meant for. In the book of Revelation, John attests to this when he said in Rev. 1:10. “I was in the spirit on the Lord’s day and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet." Before Samuel ever set eyes on Saul God had told him in his ear the previous day that he would send him a man whom he should anoint king over Israel. I Sam.9: 15-17.

•     Inner Perception:This basically involves a divine revelation of God and the things of God. No one can know God except He reveals himself through His word or otherwise Eph. 1:17. It also involves “the eyes of (our) understanding being enlightened” Eph. 1:18. The eyes of Peter’s understanding were enlightened to know that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. Matt. 16:13-17.

Secondly we would explore some benefits of divine revelation:

•     Revelation Gives Direction

    One vital need of man is to know the right path to follow in life to fulfill destiny. So many people face the challenge of not knowing what career to go into, the right place to live, whom to marry, to mention a few, due to lack of divine revelation. The bible says in Isaiah 30:21, “And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee saying, this is the way, walk ye in it, when you turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left”.

•     Revelation Delivers From Anxiety & Worry:

        The life of man is full of anxiety, fear and worry when faced with difficulties.  Due to lack of revelation of the divine provision that is available, so many believers are also plagued with anxiety.The servant of the prophet Elisha was spiritually blind to the heavenly host of soldiers with chariots and horses of fire and as a result he tormented by the fear of Syrian army that surrounded the city. 2 Kings 6:15–17.

         

•     Revelation Increases Faith & Gives Courage

    So many times we lose faith at the sight of problems confronting us. Without revelation, it becomes very difficult for that ‘mustard seed’ faith to develop in us. Matt. 17:20. The great deliverance God wrought for Israel through Gideon began with a revelation God gave. Judges 7:9 – 15. It was on the strength of this revelation he went on with zeal to do great exploits. His little faith received a boost and with just 300 men God gave Israel victory over the innumerable company of enemies.

•     Revelation Delivers from Imminent Danger

    The bible says in Prov. 22:3 and repeats word for word in Prov. 27:12, “A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.” What an amazing truth! A prudent or righteous man gains access to prior notices of impending danger before they manifest. And so by revelation he is able to avoid paths of snares and death. Many lives would have been rescued from auto crashes, plain crashes and ship wreckages if only they saw the impending danger in the realm of the spirit, prayed against it and took positive steps to avoid it. Prov. 1:17 says “surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird”.

•     Revelationhelps us make rightmake right choices. When God send Samuel to go and anoint Him a king amongst the sons of Jesse. God told him he is to anoint the one He (i. e.) would name. Samuel was almost deceived by the stature of Jesse’s older son but he kept hearing what God said about them. When David finally arrived, God said to Samuel “Arise, anoint him: for this is he” 1Sam:1-13.

There are so many benefits of divine revelation. Our lives will experience wholeness and perfection if only we can see, hear and perceive from the divine realm.

·        Revelation Leads to Breakthrough

    Laban had made Jacob serve him fourteen years for his two daughters and had changed his wages ten times. To undo this injustice God gave Jacob a revelation in a dream .Gen. 31:6-12 and this revelation led to his breakthrough Gen. 30:41-43. Many Christians are laboring like elephants and eating like ants sometimes because they are in the wrong business and profession. A revelation from God of what business or profession to go into coupled with diligence and righteousness will definitely lead to stressless breakthrough.

Thirdly, let us see how divine revelation can be accessed.

1.   CALL UPON HIM: God Himself gave an instructionconcerning "the how" toreceiving divine revelation "call upon me...." Jer. 33:3. It is sad to discover that when we pray, we ask for mundane things. Out of ignorance of the position God has placed us,we keep asking for "crumbs". God wants us to be in charge or in control of things. His promise is that when we call on Him, He will answer us and show us great and mighty things that we do not know. He is willing to show us those great things about our lives when we call on him.

2.   SEEK HIM: "And ye shall seek me and find me when ye shall search for me with all your heart." Jer. 29:13. God rewards diligent seekers. Divine enablement to see the invisible and hear the inaudible comes when we seek and find Him (God). We can seek Him through prayers and fasting. When we do our spiritual senses come alive and then we see and hear clearly from God.

3.   STUDY AND MEDITATE UPON HIS WORD: All answers to life’s questions are embedded in the living word of God. Little wonder Davidthe Psalmist cried unto God to open his eyes that he might behold wondrous things from His Word. Ps. 119:18. The greatest source of revelation is the Word of God. Beyond the written letters in different bible versions, is life beneath. It takes divine enablement to gain access to the reality of the truth that brings liberation and empowerment, hence God admonished Joshua to study and meditate upon His word day and night. Joshua 1:8.

4.   SPEND QUALITY TIME IN HIS PRESENCE: Spending time before God is dwelling in His secret place. It is more than just coming to make request or petition. It is spending quality time in intense worship. The kind of worship that will unravel the deep things of God. It is not possible to dwell in His secret place without gaining access to mysteries Ps. 91:1. Moses spent forty days and nights in God’s presence and he returned with the tablets of stone containing the Ten Commandments.

5.  FEAR GOD: To fear God is to depart from iniquity. Psalms 25:14 says the secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him….”  Sin is like a thick cloud that impairs spiritual vision. It inhibits spiritual signals and poses hindrance to divine revelation.When sin is present, we are unable to access God (Is. 59:1-2). The prerequisite for attaining to spiritual heights of revelation according to God's word is clean hands and a pure heart.

Our Christian experience will be so lively, exciting, fulfilling and glorious when are able to access divine mysteries that are of immense benefits to our lives in this kingdom. Let us heartily seek Him like David and other patriarchs of old so we can gain into the deep things of God.

Funso Adedayo