Revelation

And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.(Genesis 18: 17 – 19)

I was recently talking with a minister friend when he made a statement that made this truth hit me like a ton of bricks.

God does not just reveal things. He has a purpose for the same. And that purpose determines the tool (person) He will use.

In short, God does not reveal things just so that someone can pick that signal.

Another thing we see in these verses is that the revelation is not made from the prompting or prayer of the minister or prophet, if we can call Abraham that. In fact he was not even aware such a thing was happening.

The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant. (Psalm 25: 14)

God looks at what one will do with that revelation. He looks at the outcome of the ministry from that revelation.

You see, revelation is not a resource stream. God never releases a revelation to make us rich.

God releases revelation for the purpose of preparing the coming generation to know and serve Him.

Once that purpose is changed, He stops releasing fresh revelation, leaving the revelational expert grasping at straws to explain made up revelations or walking in past revelations by repackaging it to appear fresh.

Incidentally, the easiest way to lose revelation is to seek after self-interest because it cuts the stream from the intended recipients, making me a peddler of revelation.

If I make revelation into a book or song that someone must buy to access, I have simply killed the revelation, however valid it might have been. If I must be invited to a conference to receive honorarium to release the revelation; if I am constrained only to my congregation because it pays me well, it is possible that I will lose access to the source of the revelation. And it is because peddling revelation must block some of the intended recipients from accessing it.

And the spiritually alert can easily know when the revelation stream dries up.

Then the drama begins. The performer must demonstrate that they are still in and not rejected. They must continue being relevant, if only to continue enjoying those morsels. And that because they are not ready, even willing to repent as it will mean foregoing that privilege past revelation offered.

Do you wonder why all of a sudden a degree has become such an urgent need for pastors who have been ministering for decades? Incidentally, why should a pastor study corporate management and leadership yet for years had been successfully leading using God’s revelation?

Many times it is because the stream dried and they are scared to admit it. They must therefore thoroughly train in the flesh to cover up that deficiency. And they must eat.

I am not in any way saying or implying that studying and degrees are wrong. I am just wondering whether God, who called you from earthly engagements (job, studies) has backed down on His call to demand that you go back into what He called you from.

I believe I must have a very express and clear order from God to consider going back to what He called me from. And it is because I know the flesh longs to go back there and the world applies pressure on me to get there because it knows it will emasculate the call. And I deal with that pressure on all fronts.

As an example, some years ago God told me that I should not be selling my books even though I was giving way more than I sold as God was directing me to get His message to the people He led me to. Is it not interesting that to date the pressure continues increasing with people always offering to buy books even when I tell them I do not sell? And incidentally most times I release a book I am in such a dire financial need that it almost becomes imperative to sell instead of give.

I will not compromise my stream by going back to what I was called from just because everybody thinks it makes more sense than the folly of obedience. And you remember that Abraham chose to forego his rights in the Sodom rescue and Lot’s issues because of that. On the same page Gehazi inherited more than the sensible right he was unwilling to forfeit.

I wonder why churches that used to grow their ministers have to outsource for them. I wonder why churches that raised their singing teams must hire professionals to lead them into ‘worship’. I wonder why churches invite politicians to dedicate their churches (I am not even talking about raising money for building). I wonder why churches that prided themselves on their simplicity develop very complex doctrinal positions that the majority can’t be able to grasp. I wonder why churches have flocked to traditions they had demonized in their enlightenment. I wonder why some churches hold on to crazy, weird traditions without a basis in scripture or even sense.

Chances are that they overgrew revelation by becoming too familiar with the Revelator. They forgot who they were in relation to the Revelator and assumed He will continue revealing even when they started abusing the revelations and using them to their advantage.

Then the revelation stream dried. And some of them did not even realize it as they had created a rail for revelation to flow through, probably a person or structure. Of course revelation overshot that rail as it can’t be constrained. But people continued being fixated with that rail, completely forgetting the revelation that necessitated it in the first place. That rail became as important, if not more, than the revelation.

A study of cults will show you that many started as genuine believers. Then they elevated their structure (probably doctrinal position) or leader above themselves. They became subservient to them. The leaders in turn believed they were extra since that was the way they were treated, of course due to their accuracy in accessing revelation. And we know God hates that.

They therefore started creating revelation when God stopped His and corrupting scripture to support their weird machinations. Of course their followers, since they had surrendered their relationship with God and His word continued following people and structures that had lost the plot. Human nature being what it is, the new cultists grew in their corruption.

Any revelation that does not lead to obedience to God is not of God. Any revelation that does not lead the believer to crave and search the scriptures is not of God. Any revelation that makes me feel good instead of pursue holiness is not of God. And any revelation that leads me to treat the tool of the revelation as special is not of God.

No prophet created their own name. They all pointed to God. Elijah, after clearing the idolatrous priests did not start a church. He simply pointed people to God and left.

If the reason you attend church is because so and so is preaching, you are lost, probably beyond redemption as the charlatan you are following has no sense to lead you to Christ. You see he would rather you accompany him to hell than repent for feeding from revelation. And he will hate it if you will connect with God as he will lose his rotten clout, and food.

That is why my posts are not popular. I am calling people to connect to God directly through the scriptures and not through people, however anointed they may be. And they hit those superstars hard. No wonder they hate me for it as I am fighting to snatch food from their mouths.

But I have to be careful to maintain my revelation stream by being faithful to the Revelator and His revelation so that I do not become like them. I do not want to force revelation. That is why I would rather walk hungry in revelation than party with kings without it. And it is sad that those kings, though they will recognize you for revelation could kill your fidelity to it by honoring you for it. Who doesn’t love revelation? Remember Elisha was positively recognized by three different kingdoms, two of them idolatrous?

It is therefore not surprising that your revelation could take you places, because it will. It is what you do when you get there that determines whether the stream will dry or continue in its freshness and life giving agenda.

Remember that Balaam lost the plot the closer he walked with Barak? Being recognized from far and wide as God’s prophet and being able to access revelation even without needing to close his eyes was not enough insurance against the pampering of a king. The young prophet from Judah who gave prophecy centuries ahead of time so accurately was unable to resist the flattery of an older prophet who had lost the plot.

Your revelation will open doors. But it could be doors of your doom if not handled correctly, especially if self rears its ugly head – and sadly it will always do.

That book will open doors, that song will open doors; especially if they are the product of revelation (of course not revelation from the stomach). You did them by the express revelation and order from heaven. Relax, those doors will open. Those doors must open.

Only be careful to ensure that you are not the focus of all that glitz. Afford the revelation its rightful place. And the rightful place is pointing people to Christ and His word.