Pastor Kevin Murphy
St. Mathew Lutheran Church
Matthew 16:15-17 NKJV He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven
I want to declare today as the day we give God thanks for one of the greatest gifts God’s ever given us – revelation. If I were to ask you the question, “What has God revealed to you over the course of your life?” I would be willing to bet that the list would be as long as the things for which “we can give God thanks and praise.”
Without revelation we would not know that Jesus was God’s incarnate Son. Without revelation we wouldn’t have the Scriptures to teach us “everything that [Jesus] has commanded.” Without revelation we would have no knowledge of the gifts and abilities God has placed in our lives to make a Kingdom difference in the world. Without revelation, we’d be stuck in our sins and completely without hope. Revelation’s a big deal isn’t it?
Jesus says that revelation is a gift that comes with a Covenant relationship with God the Father. Being smart or educated can’t get you there. In others words (my interpretation of the revelation) all of our human abilities (intelligence and imagination, two of humankind’s greatest sources of pride) can’t get us to revelation. Revelation is a gift which our Heavenly Father gives to us as his Covenant partners. It is only because of revelation that we can “confess that Jesus is Lord and believe in our hearts that God raised him from the dead.” Without revelation there is no salvation.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for the precious gift of revelation. You have revealed to us what we could not discover for ourselves – your amazing grace, love and mercy found only in Jesus Christ, the Son of the loving Father. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Amen.
I always feel sad for those that do not know and feel the Lord in their hearts. They have not received this gift of revelation that I am so thankful for. I never thought about this as revelation until reading it here but it makes perfect sense. When the Holy Spirit comes upon you prompting you to move, act, speak, etc., that is a revelation, He is revealing what it is He wants you to do.
What an awesome God we have who lives in His children to not only reveal but to direct, strengthen, comfort, assure and be with us in relationship forever! “Thank you Father”.
Kevin,
My family and I just returned from a trip to Death Valley. While there we attended a presentation where a Ranger presented details about all the amazing animals that live there and come out at night.
Throughout the talk, the Ranger referred to how well each animal had adapted to life in the desert and how evolution made it all possible – inlcuding a particular mouse who’s kidneys can recycle his body fluids.
I came away amazed at the wonders of God’s creation and the uniqueness of each design feature – from the bat’s echolocation to the scorpian’s special coating to retain moisture.
But what amazed me the most was how unable the Ranger was to see God’s hand in creation. Being so well versed in all this information about the desert animals, yet completely unable to see His handiwork. This made me very sad for the Ranger and everyone presenting and listening to similar talks in all of our National Parks.
It also makes me wonder how much God has revealed to us about Himself and the work that He is doing around us that we simply cannot see. In some ways I’m just as blind as the Ranger.
Lord, please give me ears that hear and eyes that truly see You today. Amen.