Change through Revelation
Changing is the most difficult thing in the world. Changing my attitude and my behavior. Changing how I see and perceive things. Changing the filter through which I see things and that defines my world view and how I live my life. Changing these things is one of the hardest things you will ever do.
The filter or prism that we look through defines how we see life and can change how we see God. If you were raised to believe that God is angry with you, that is how you will view God and it will affect your actions. If you were raised in an abusive home, that will affect how you see - and possibly treat your own family. The Bible gives us an amazing way to change how we see things. It doesn’t really matter how we see things because many times our prism is not reality. It’s our perception. We see certain things and they become our reality. But when I change the way I see things, I can discover God’s reality - discover the truth and discover how God sees. To start out this new year, we are going to shift the prism we look through and stop living in an environment that never allows us to tap in to what God has for us.
Paul was the master of seeing that people’s lives could be changed by seeing things through God’s eyes. He was amazing leader, because he didn’t see people as they were, but as they could become. You have to take a leadership responsibility of your own life, and everyone in this context is a leader. You have to make difficult decisions about your own life, and nothing around you can change your life. But you with God can bring monumental change. Every one of us how the power to make incredible shifts and changes in our lives, and find ourselves living in a totally different environment - a God environment - a place where God designed for us to live. It is the same world you are living in - we just change our prism so that we can better represent God to the world.
Colossians 1:6 - The same good news that came to you is going out all over the world, and it is changing lives everywhere. God is into change. Jesus is the Gospel - the good news - and the act of God sending Jesus in itself is change. When you have an encounter with God or meet God, you change. It changed your life “the first day you heard and understood.” This doesn’t mean that everything is suddenly different in our lives. Hearing or even having an initial conversation with Jesus does not change much in the natural. It changes a lot in the spiritual. When the Gospel is heard and understood and becomes truth - then change begins to happen.
v9 - We continued to pray for you that God would give you complete understanding of what God wants to do with your life. It isn’t just your redemption - your initial encounter. Finding faith in Christ as your Lord and Savior is the easy part. A lot of times people find Jesus in a time of crisis. Allowing God to work in our lives and change our lives is the difficult part. Our humanity is a tyrant and causes us to struggle with things in this life. We start to drift away from how God sees things and back toward the way I see things. That is why God says this Word is like food - it is feeding you. When you drift away from the God’s words, you begin to drift back and impede change and progress. We have to stay connected to God and the saints, to be sharpened, challenged and held accountable so that we can continue to move forward. When you are living around people who believe the same, you all move together. It is also smart to listen to people that know more than you and learn from them. Always listen to people who have fruit.
Truth and revelation - Paul brought one of the most powerful revelations and life builders ever brought to earth - v9 - I pray that God will give you complete understanding of what He wants to do and make you wise with spiritual wisdom. v10 - Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord. Once you have an encounter, wisdom and understanding begin to come and you begin to live a life that pleases the Lord. Now when we mess up, God still loves us - that’s what grace is for. But the more I get to know God, the less I want to let Him down. The more of His heart that is revealed to me, the more I want to live up to His vision for me.
Ephesians 1:16 - What do you want to do this year? What do you want to see change? Put God first, and He will help you in all areas of your life. “I have never stopped thanking God for you, and I have never stopped praying for you that God will give you spiritual wisdom and understanding, that you might grow in your knowledge of God. I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the wonderful future that He has promised to those He has called.”
This is all talking about getting a revelation. A revelation is truth revealed. When truth is revealed, it changes your behavior. Not in your mind - that is understanding. What happens in your mind is never enough to change behavior. Revelation is truth revealed in the spirit. Change begins with revelation. A revelation stays alive in you forever. Once you get a revelation, it doesn’t matter what happens around you or what your circumstances are, they won’t change your belief, your faith or your behavior. Revelation is foundational - it is the foundation to rebuild your life. Revelation brings knowledge alive and makes it usable - the truth that changes your perspective and causes change.
