Last week, we were reminded that when we put our faith in Jesus and receive His salvation, we transition from being enemies of God to friends of God. Jesus said:
John 15:15
I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.
It’s awe-inspiring to stop and realize that the God of all of the universe is not only our friend, but that He freely and joyfully shares with us.
He doesn’t just boss us around and tell us what to do, He reveals His own thoughts and heart behind why we are called to do certain things.
This makes us not obedient servants, but willing children and co-heirs who enjoy doing what we can to see God’s will done here on the earth even as it is in Heaven. Not only does serving God become a joy, but it is a joy for God to share His secrets with us!
Luke 10:21
At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.
In fact, it was for this very reason that Jesus so often taught using parables.
Matthew 13:10-17
10 The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?”
11 He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. 12 Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables:
“Though seeing, they do not see;
though hearing, they do not hear or understand.
14 In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:
“‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding;
you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.
15 For this people’s heart has become calloused;
they hardly hear with their ears,
and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them.’
16 But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. 17 For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.
It is amazing how God can hide things in plain sight. I mentioned last week about the sky full of stars that disappear with the sunrise.
I’ll never forget the first time that I looked at clear water taken from a pond under a microscope! Although it looks like just a drop of water, thousands of living creatures come plainly into view.
Invisible yet clearly seen… What a paradox!
Romans 1:20
Since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
What we need in order to see things more fully and more correctly is a helper. A helper equips us to clearly see invisible things.
A microscope for the tiny things, a telescope for the far away things, an x-ray for bones within, a cat scan or MRI for the soft tissues within, sonar for the things below, radar for the things around, thermal for the temperature of things, and so on…
Praise be to God, He has given us such a helper to see things as He sees them! The Holy Spirit!
We’ll turn now to one of my favorite seers. This guy went through some incredibly difficult times, but was able to keep his faith and live rightly as he walked through them.
He did this after being forced out of his home, away from his family, and among a very ungodly people. He was forced to take on the name of a foreign god and to learn their language and culture and to personally serve the king who was the cause of it all. He was Daniel.
God has a plan and purpose for good even when we are forced through difficult circumstances.
How can dirty dishes get clean without sending in detergent? How can darkness ever be transformed without sending in light? How can evil and wicked people ever become good without sending someone to share the good news about Jesus?
God was about to bring revelation both to this evil, arrogant king as well as to His friend, Daniel.
Daniel 2:1-6
1 In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; his mind was troubled and he could not sleep. 2 So the king summoned the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers to tell him what he had dreamed. When they came in and stood before the king, 3 he said to them, “I have had a dream that troubles me and I want to know what it means.”
4 Then the astrologers answered the king, “May the king live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will interpret it.”
5 The king replied to the astrologers, “This is what I have firmly decided: If you do not tell me what my dream was and interpret it, I will have you cut into pieces and your houses turned into piles of rubble. 6 But if you tell me the dream and explain it, you will receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. So tell me the dream and interpret it for me.”
Obviously, none of them could, so the king was enraged and gave an order that all the wise men in his kingdom be executed. This included Daniel.
Daniel went to the king and was granted time to interpret the dream. Daniel and his three friends cried out to God for mercy to reveal this mystery so that lives might be saved.
God answered their prayers!
Daniel 2:26-28
26 The king asked Daniel (also called Belteshazzar), “Are you able to tell me what I saw in my dream and interpret it?”
27 Daniel replied, “No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about, 28 but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries. He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to come. Your dream and the visions that passed through your mind as you were lying in bed are these:
As Daniel explained, on our own, we lack knowledge and understanding and wisdom. We need a helper to clearly see what is otherwise invisible. We need a helper to bring us revelation.
Even under the Old covenant, even before the outpouring on the day of Pentecost, Holy Spirit was bringing revelation of Kingdom secrets to God’s people. Even a wicked and arrogant king was able to recognize this. He said:
Daniel 4:8-9
8 Finally, Daniel came into my presence and I told him the dream. (He is called Belteshazzar, after the name of my god, and the spirit of the holy gods is in him.) 9 I said, “Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you, and no mystery is too difficult for you. Here is my dream; interpret it for me.
Daniel was able to serve the king and to reveal dreams and the interpretation of those dreams because the Spirit of the One, True, Living God brought the revelation to him. That same Spirit dwells in you and I and all those whom have received Jesus’ salvation!
Jesus said:
John 16:12-1512 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”The Holy Spirit guides us into all truth revealing things that are invisible and unknown to us, but clearly seen by God. The Holy Spirit is our helper to reveal these things sort of like a spiritual microscope or telescope or x-ray.
There are countless ways that Holy Spirit can share revelation with us as well. It can be through dreams or visions or thoughts popping into our minds or an audible voice or just about any other way the He can get our attention.
There are a few things to keep in mind, though. It can be easy to get the Holy Spirit’s guidance confused with our own thoughts or imagination.
First, Holy Spirit’s revelation will not contradict God’s written word nor His character and nature.
Second, there will always be room for us to try and complete what is revealed. We cannot possibly contain the full revelation of all truth. What is revealed to us while we live in these temporary tents of bodies will only ever be in part.
1 Corinthians 13:9;129 For we know in part and we prophesy in part,12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.Only knowing or seeing part of something is difficult for us. We innately try to fill in the missing pieces and that is where human error comes into play.
We have to trust that God is revealing all that we need to know for now and not to add to it.
Thirdly, and perhaps the more difficult reality, is that Holy Spirit will not reveal something to us that removes our need for faith.
To reveal enough to us that we no longer need to walk by faith is to steal away from us a blessing and a great reward! God is not a thief! God wants to bless and reward us! That’s why His righteous live not by sight, but by faith!
Hebrews 10:35-39 TPT
35 So don’t lose your bold, courageous faith, for you are destined for a great reward!
36 You need the strength of endurance to reveal the poetry of God’s will and then you receive the promise in full. 37 For soon and very soon, “The One who is appearing will come without delay!”
38 And he also says, “My righteous ones will live from my faith. But if fear holds them back, my soul is not content with them!”
39 But we are certainly not those who are held back by fear and perish; we are among those who have faith and experience true life!
When it comes to God’s revelation, we need to seek it, not be fearful, and above all, be FAITHful with what we have been given. As Jesus said earlier:
Matthew 13:11-12
…the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. 12 Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.
Stay curious, seek God continually, and remain aware and receptive to the guidance of Holy Spirit. God has hidden secret things right out in the open in plain sight! Through our helper, the Holy Spirit, we can see and understand from God’s perspective.
Psalms 19:1-4
1 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. 2 Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. 3 They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. 4 Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun.
We are friends of God and it brings Him joy to reveal Kingdom secrets to us. Seek them, value them, and faithfully steward them. Live life trusting Him to reveal just enough for us to obediently follow Him to the next step of our faith-filled adventure with Him!