I believe that God is looking for people who are not only sharing their
revelations with other people, but who empower other people to draw
close to God and get their own revelations. Revelation out of intimacy
is of a different level than second-hand.
In cases of second-hand revelation, I have often seen the revelation
receive more importance than intimacy (e.g.: the faith message,
end-time prophecies, or even the “Purpose message”). People hear these
revelations, which I believe God has given to the whole Body of Christ,
but if there is no relationship involved, they believe that the
revelation is the key thing. They start to forget that faith without
intimacy is nothing, end-times prophecy without Intimacy gets scary,
and purpose without intimacy is simply self-help and humanistic.
The best gift we can give to people before any revelation or
theology is to empower them to intimacy and teach them how to listen to
the revelation God wants to give them on a personal level.
Since Jesus ascended to heaven, we are seated in heavenly places (Eph
2:6) and has raised us up together and made us sit together in the
heavenlies in Christ Jesus. Not just some of us. Not just the leaders,
but we as Christians. That means that he wants to pour out his
revelation on all of us.
This doesn’t mean that we should ignore what God reveals to the broader
Body of Christ through different leaders, but if that is all of the
revelation we get then there is definitely something missing.
Jesus said, “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit
of itself unless it remains in the vine, neither can you unless you
abide in me” (John 15:4). Here it says that without abiding, the
Christian life is not fruitful at all. Abiding means being in close
relationship with our Father in heaven.
If God has called you into leadership and equipping the saints, start
by training people how to get intimate and receive revelation from God.
This is even helpful for them in receiving all the revelation God has
given you, because they start to realize that intimacy is the main key.
To unlock any revelation (yours or theirs), they need intimacy.
God’s goal for the Body of Christ is to grow into maturity.
“We preach Christ, warning people not to add to the Message. We teach
in a spirit of profound common sense so that we can bring each person
to maturity. To be mature is to be basic. Christ! No more, no less.
That’s what I’m working so hard at day after day, year after year,
doing my best with the energy God so generously gives me.” (Col.
1:28-29)
“The former way of doing things, a system of commandments that never
worked out the way it was supposed to, was set aside; the law brought
nothing to maturity. Another way–Jesus!–a way that does work, that
brings us right into the presence of God, is put in its place.” (Heb.
7:18-19)
God is looking for leaders who are secure enough to empower the Body of
Christ–people, who are not afraid of losing their job by empowering
the Body of Christ to receive revelation direct from the throne room.
I believe that we as leaders first have to grow up and understand that
it is not about us and our great revelations, but about Christ and how
to equip his Body for the fullness which Jesus himself provided by
coming down and making a way into the presence of God. We as Leaders
should be like John the Baptist pointing the way to Christ:
There once was a man, his name John, sent by God to point out the way
to the Life-Light. He came to show everyone where to look, who to
believe in. (John 1:6-7)
Prayer:
God please help us to be secure enough to not build our own kingdoms
and ministries but to build yours by empowering the Body to see you and
hear you. I pray for humility to receive the revelations you have given
to others, yet also the eyes of intimacy with you through which we see
every revelation. We ask that independence would not reign in us, but
rather, interdependence. You have made us in a way that we don’t know
everything by ourselves, but that need each other. Give us humility,
because we don’t know everything by ourselves. But also give us
confidence that we might receive God’s secrets through intimacy and
humility.
Nico Deschner is the Youth Pastor of New Life Church in Kelowna, BC.