Revealed

Do you believe Jesus IS revelation?  And why would God do this?  Good questions!

One of my professors in college told the class ... "My task is not to impress you with what I know.  My task is to impart to you as much of my knowledge as possible."  I liked that professor.  He made the subject matter human, understandable and applicable.  I still use things I learned from him.  Ironically, his name was Dr. Lord.

Revelation 1:1-2 says, "A Revelation of Jesus, the Messiah, to make plain to His servants what is about to happen.  He published and delivered it by angel to His servant, John.  And John told everything he saw: God's Word, the witness of Jesus Christ." We can learn some good things from this little passage.

I hear lots of people who say they have difficulty understanding God's Word, especially The Revelation.  There is a clue in this verse, but it is a convicting clue.  It is the word, servant.  The book is written ... well conveyed ... by John as John heard it from the angel and as God intended for us to see it.  But it is sent to God's servants.  Those who are into serving God.  Those to whom Jesus is Lord.  Those who are submissive to God in their willingness to open their hearts, minds and lives so that God can speak to them.

Here are 3 questions about God's revealed word:

1. Whom do you serve?  With your time?  With your creativity?  With your energy?  With your resources?  If you want to know about God's revelation, you need to be willing to serve Jesus.  Being in the posture of servanthood places you in the position of hearing, seeing and learning God's word.

2. Are you servant-minded enough to work through the Bible's context to know what it actually says?  Jesus tells stories that were meaningful to 1st Century Jews.  Jesus is revealed through the journey of a Hebrew nation through the world in which they lived.  Do you read God's word in the world view of 2023 America, or do you understand that we are contextually removed from the world John writes about?  If you do, you are missing much in translation.  Bible Study is both work and openness to God.

3. Remember that John is presented here as a servant.  John is confounded by things that he sees and reports.  But he reports them anyway.  He tells 7 churches where they stand with the true and living God.  As any prophet, that truth is stark to John and (I am sure) to the churches who receive truth from a God who loves them but wants them to thrive, not fail.  John, the servant, bears the weighty words and faithfully speaks truth to his world.

If you want to receive revelation, serve .. submit ... open yourself.  Jesus came, not to impress you with what He knows (because all things were made through Him).  He came to impart His word into His servants, so that they could do what John did ... tell all we know from God and witness to God's Word, revealed in Jesus Christ!