We Need a Revelation Not a Resolution (Abundant Life) 

We all know the weakness of resolutions all too well. Resolutions bring anything but abundant life, they bring disappointment from the onset knowing we will likely fail. To help illustrate my point you have to know about The Line (given in The Rest of The Gospel)

ETERNAL (unseen) 

_________________________________________________________

TEMPORAL (seen)

A ‘resolution’ is found in the TEMPORAL realm. A ‘revelation’ in the ETERNAL realm. Where do you want to live? A key point to understand is this: 

The only One who can live the Christian life is Christ. 

This is why we need the power of prayer and the power of trusting God. What does trusting God look like? It looks like a willing spirit. Wide open to do what God has given us to do. The great news is that when we are born again, we have Christ in us. First, pray for a revelation, and then trust in “Christ in you the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27). As we do, we find that we can stop striving in the temporal and tap in to the eternal. We have access. (Ephesians 2:18-19)

Have you ever been frustrated in life? Living in the temporal is part of life. You cannot escape it. In fact, all the way back to the Mosaic Law, Romans 5:20 says of it, “The law was added so that the trespass might increase…” Frustration has a purpose from God. Romans 7:12 says, “the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good.” Since it is perfect, it is impossible to live up to. And that is the purpose of the law — to reveal our need for a Savior, we cannot save ourselves. We need Jesus. Legalism and law-based living do not work. It only leads to frustration. 

“We are meant to be frustrated when we’re trying to produce something we’re incapable of producing. It’s the goodness of God to let us be frustrated. If God were to interrupt our frustration before we were completely frustrated, we would think, ‘I’ve learned how to do it, I’m not frustrated anymore.’ But we wouldn’t have learned anything. 

—Pastor Dan Stone

So God says, ‘go ahead with your plan, your program, your self-help books, your Christian literature. After you’ve tried it all, in your effort to achieve the Christian life, when (not if) you’ve come to your end, you’ll be ready to be taught by My Spirit…’ That’s where revelation begins. 

The Spirit teaches us by first bringing us to a place where we begin to ask spirit questions. Before this we asked flesh questions, and flesh questions get flesh answers. Spirit questions get Spirit answers as the power of the Holy Spirit is unleashed within us—and answers comes quickly when you ask the right questions because; 

The answer always is. 

I know that’s not a proper sentence. But, the answer always is. (present tense). We simply need to catch up to the answer. The answer is a Person who lives in us. Do you trust Him? Our failures to live the Christian life brings us into knowing Him as our life. We don’t need a resolution. We don’t need another plan or method or strategy. We need to live out of who already is. Truth: And I cannot reveal it to you. I can give you information/truth. You have to be willing and also pray. You have to step out in faith. It is your faith that saves you, not the faith of anyone else. 

“Truth is never discovered or learned; it is revealed and illuminated by the Holy Spirit.” 

— H.T. Blackaby

A fact I’ve come to recognize after 20 years in church work: congregations have put too much weight on their pastors. As a result pastors have carried too much weight for their congregations. Expectations can be the base of great evil, when your expectations are in the wrong person. The answer always is. And He (the Holy Spirit) lives in us. How does the Spirit give us the answer? It starts in a mystery the world does not understand; 

1 Corinthians 2:9 As it is written: no eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him. 

Paul is NOT speaking of the sweet by-and-by of heaven, He’s talking about right now—what God has prepared (present tense) for us in this life presently! 

1 Corinthians 2:10 But God has revealed it to us by His Spirit. The Spirit searches all things even the deep things of God. 

We are all interested in the deep things of God. This is where our questions arise. There is not one Believer that doesn’t want to go deeper in their understanding of God. 

1 Corinthians 2:11 For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man’s spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 

To simplify, what it says is: ‘No one knows God but God.’ This puts us in a touch spot! Because if God doesn’t tell us, we’re never going to know! “Knowing” is a Spirit word. The Spirit of God is the real knower. Knowing is an action of the Spirit. He doesn’t just know about, He knows. Our spirit is our knower in us. But we are dependent on the Spirit of God because only He knows God. Only Christ can live the Christian life. 

1 Corinthians 2:12 We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. 

To understand is to know. It’s not enough to ‘know about.’ To know about brings separation. A sense that, ‘God’s up there; I’m down here.’ This leaves us trying hard to make this life work. We will ask for His help of course. But we’re busy trying to turn our lives around and make ourselves look like Christ. The answer isn’t to know about what God has freely given us. When we know union, then we understand that His life looks like us. And this is where it gets much easier for us. Because Christ will look like us as we live our life. It’s easy to be yourself isn’t it? It is when you know who you are! 

It is healing to know, “I’m not the problem.” 

Maybe you need to say that aloud. Try it, ‘I am not the problem.’ What is the problem? There are two problems we face as believers. 1) Lies. 2) Flesh. When we believe a lie about ourselves it produces emotions that we then act out on – flesh. The message that Jesus preached and called Paul to preach was this very amazing truth. A mystery made known. 

In John 14:9 Jesus says, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father.” To the religious elites this was blasphemy! ‘You can’t say that you and the Father are one! Keep the law and your life will look like God’s.’ But this was only flesh, human effort. And in our own strength we will never attain what God has given us in His Son, Jesus. Human effort brings separation. In Christ we have union. This was the mystery that Christ came to preach. In one aspect we are trying to earn, the other is freely given. The Holy Spirit teaches us what God has freely given.  And according to John 10:10 it is abundant life.

We must then understand that our job as spiritual leaders is; to illustrate, to personalize, to underscore, to be human instruments. It is NOT our job to be The Teacher! ‘Because if I can teach you something, somebody else can un-teach you. If I can change your mind, somebody else can re-change your mind. But if the Spirit of God changes your mind, you are established in that truth.’

1. The job of those who are spiritual is to offer information, that is, to present truth. 

It will help you, but it will fail you. Because you can’t walk it in your effort for long before you come to an end, exhausted. You’ll get discouraged trying to live out the truth in your own strength, until you finally get to the point of understanding “Christ in you.” Until then the ‘help’ we offer will fade. Have you experienced a God-movement, only to step right back into your-movement right after that service, bible study, retreat, or mission trips? Why do they all fade after the fact? Because you’ve not yet learned to trust in “Christ in you.”

2. The job of the Spirit is to bring you a revelation 

This is where true help comes from. Sadly, life gets messy. And in the mess things get noisy. The first voice that’s drowned out is the quiet but powerful voice of God, a whisper. 

3. The job of the hearer is to ask Spirit questions and pray Spirit prayers. 

Flesh questions get flesh answers. Since you’re experiencing this thing right now, you need an answer. But what happens when we wait on the Lord? Spirit questions get Spirit answers. Ephesians 1:17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better. Start personalizing this prayer for yourself: ‘Father, give me the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, so that I may know You better.’ Start personalizing it for others too; ‘Father, give [name] the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, so that they may know You better.’ 

4. The work of God is then manifested through transformation

When the Holy Spirit shows us truth, there is lasting fruitfulness. 1 Corinthians 3:7 neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth. ‘Neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything’

Yet, look what we’ve done in our churches. We’ve put all the expectation on our pastors. And pastors believe it, so we carry all your expectations. Yet, all we are is a vessel. We are not the power, we just have the power. But so do you! We are here to equip you with that truth. If you don’t have this understanding then we are nothing more than Old Testament priests. And your dependance on the spiritual life is dependent on your connection to the pastor and your attendance. How on earth are we then supposed to “Go, into all the world,” if we can’t personally go one week, or one day, without needing a spiritual crutch in our life? 

This is not to say church isn’t important. It’s vital. The church needs to get back to discipleship. 

Jesus purpose was discipleship

John 17:4 I glorified You on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. 

Note that the word “accomplished” is past tense. Jesus said with His own two lips, “I have now accomplished what You (Father) gave me to do.” And this is the revelation! Jesus was not yet crucified when He said this. So what was Jesus’ purpose in coming? Most Christians, young and old, will say, ‘to die on the cross for our sins.’ They are not wrong. That comes with it, gloriously. But, Jesus’ true purpose was to bring life! What did He do to “accomplish” that? Discipleship. 

We’re so busy fighting the enemy that we’re not living the abundant life given us. 

We no longer need to be sin conscious anymore, be righteous conscious instead. Too many Believers are living FOR Christ, when we should be living FROM Christ. Romans 5:10 For while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

“Much more,” is the theme of Romans 5

It is the mystery made known! We don’t need to pray for God to give it. Rather, we need to understand It’s already been given. Will you step into that trust? He wants you to live in that abundant life. 

If you have not trusted Christ as Savior and/or don’t know your destiny upon death, email me. zach@zachrasmusson.com