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Revelation, Participation, Manifestation...RPM. If we are at all
spiritual, we receive some kind of revelation or insight from God at
some point in our lives. Whether from scripture, prophesy, spiritual
writing, a friend, or personal experience God tries to communicate with
us. It is moving from revelation to manifestation that so many of us
fail. We never see the vision, the prophesy, the hope come to pass.
If we can accept revelation as the given, then the key to its
manifestation is our participation. And others fell on good ground; and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred. Mark 4:8 Another name for manifestation might be fruit. In order to bear fruit, reap a harvest, see the manifestation requires seed planted on good ground. Now good ground is not the consequence of fate, destiny, or good fortune. Just as we fertilize the ground, take out the stones, and pull out the weeds, so too, by participating in the word or revelation we can begin to experience the harvest. Jesus in this parable tells us how the devil can snatch away the word before it is planted, how persecution can lead us to forsake the word, or how the cares of this life (participating in the wrong thing) and the lust of other things choke the word. Thus there are certain things to be avoided to bear fruit and have our hearts receptive to the revelation of God. In this parable participation is key in bringing about the revelation of God. Yet is there something positive we can do to foster participation? Hebrews 11:6 gives us a clue: But without faith it is impossible to please him; for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Heb 11:6 There are three things in this citation we need to do to please God and gain our reward or receive the manifestation. We must have faith. We must be diligent. We must seek. "Faith is the substance of things hoped for." Heb. 11:1 To have faith we must have hope in the promises of God. We must have a promise of God for us and we must believe God for that promise. To participate in the revelation, we must speak the promise and make it a part of our very being. It must become a part of us. "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Rom. 10:17 An essential element of receiving the reward is putting our faith in it and making it ours by speaking it and hearing it. The second element is diligence. We must be steadfast, immovable, determined, persistent, undaunted, fixed on our goal, not easily moved away, and completely engaged in the revelation of God. To hear a word and forget about it or be unenthusiastic about it or uncommitted to it, is to not participate in the revelation. To not be diligent means no manifestation, no fruit, and no reward. The third element is seeking. To seek is to look with concentration and attention and purpose. We must train ourselves to concentrate and be aware. Without seeking there is no finding. "Seek and ye shall find." Luke 11:9 We must expect to find or we will not find. "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you." Math. 6:33 "God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him."Heb. 11:6 To seek is necessary in our goal to reap. To seek is to participate in the revelation. Revelation, Participation, Manifestation. Participation is our part. Revelation and manifestation is God’s part. We can participate by not participating in the wrong things. "Look not on the things which are seen, but that which is unseen. For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal." 2Corth. 4:18 We can also participate through faith, diligence, and seeking. To participate is to make the revelation ours in the spirit, and then God can make it visible in the world. God will do his part, will we do ours? |