In the year that king Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple … Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. Isaiah 6:1, 5.
Isaiah was aware that he had seen the Lord—and that was wonderful—but when he saw the Lord he also saw himself. Revelation happens both ways, and this is how we change. We perceive the image of Jesus Christ, which causes our spirit to be broken before Him, and we are granted repentance and are transformed into the same image, as we behold the lord.
Revelation is a power, it is a force, and God imparts Himself to us through that revelation, but then we have to start walking in it, so that it becomes written upon our heart, so that we don’t forget it.
In the New Testament, Peter said the same thing. The Lord told Simon, Put out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught … And when they had done this, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes; and their nets were breaking; … but Simon Peter, when he saw it, fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord. Luke 5:4b, 6, 8.
Because he saw an act of God, his own heart was revealed to him. Every time that God moves on us we react.
When sinners go to church and leave angry, it is because they are convicted: they see what they are and don’t want to face it.
But usually when people who are hungry for God receive a revelation of the Lord and of themselves, they tend to feel defeated. Instead of leaving the house of God feeling built up, spiritual, and doing fine, they have another reaction: “I’m nothing, I’ll never be able to do anything, I’m no good at all.”
We have to keep our eyes on the Lord, and put off that old man who is already dead through our being in Christ.
What should be your reaction to an inner revelation of yourself? An honesty of heart: Behold, Thou desirest truth in the inward parts; And in the hidden part thou wilt make me to know wisdom. Psalm 51:6.
God wants honesty from within. All of us, because we are human beings, and sons and daughters of Adam and Eve, tend to build a phony image which we present to people and to ourselves. Most of the time we don’t believe it, yet we dwell on it, kidding ourselves along. We deceive ourselves.
The inner revelation God brings has a way of shattering that wall and immediately we are aware that we are transparent to others, and we don’t like it. So we have to learn how we should act.
Take the inner revelations of yourself humbly. Repentance can come quickly and earnestly. Self-condemnation lingers only with people who have not repented thoroughly.
People can see themselves as they are and continually carry self-condemnation, beating themselves down, instead of repenting deeply and thoroughly of what is wrong. That takes away the guilt and casts it upon the Lord, then they can look to God for change. If they don’t, they live with self-condemnation continually; which is the permanent way of life for people who have not repented deeply.
A probe of the inner being is ineffective until people begin to really repent. It is not enough for them to see their need; they must repent and have God meet that need.
A probe is what I call Holy Spirit searching our heart so that it can be renewed from glory to glory!
A probe should cause people to see their need so deeply and honestly that they seek God that deeply in real repentance.
Human nature is shallow; we repent only as much as we have to, then we shut it off; we don’t want to do it anymore. As soon as the pressure is off and we can get by, just exist, it’s all right—“More than conqueror” is an empty phrase.
If we don’t go the route of deep repentance, but repent just enough to get things passable, sooner or later God will blow on it. He can’t be in a thing that is that shallow very long.
The way that you receive revelation of yourself is very important. A Christian has to be a deep repenter, not just repenting to come into Christ; but when you become a Christian you receive in the gift of God, sonship. But as many as received him, to them gave he authority to become the children of God.… John 1:12a.
In every respect, you receive authority to become a son of God. All you have to do, as God exposes the old nature, is to reckon it dead. That’s what the work of the cross included for you; you are to claim it. If it doesn’t seem to work, go back and claim it again. We say “Yes” to God progressively.
That’s a great principle—saying “Yes” as much as you can right now. You will feel as though you’ve done it all, but each day you will find yourself reaching out, ever embracing a deeper dedication to the Lord, saying a more unqualified “Yes” to His will.
This doesn’t come overnight—but it would not take as long as it does if people would take the revelation of their inner selves more honestly and sincerely: not dwell in self-condemnation over it but deeply repent at once and get rid of it.
All experiences with God have a threefold nature. Salvation is an experience, but it is an experience that becomes a process and ultimately becomes a thing of your nature, the true you.
A person can say “I was sanctified,” yet there is a way in which he is constantly being sanctified and will reach a total sanctification later.
Preachers have tried to say that it is either all one experience or it’s a process, but it’s both: we were born of God but are being born into God in many ways every day, and we’ve yet to enter into the greatest birth into God, the glorified body.
Don’t look upon any experience that God works as being final; it has to be progressive and expanding because it is God. It won’t be the end even when we are resurrected in the likeness of Christ; we shall continue to expand.
Anything that God does is a potential of infinite expansion because it takes on the nature of God. A tremendous experience can come that changes everything, yet you will be constantly expanding and growing in it; the experience itself will continue to grow.
You don’t receive all of the Holy Spirit with the initial experience; and when you start to prophesy, that isn’t the end; you expand in it constantly. This is significant.
God reveals Himself to you to whatever extent you are able to bear it, as you seek for it, but the initiative is with you: Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you … James 4:8; Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.… Matthew 5:8. There is a preparation of your own spirit that enables you to see the Lord.
If you believe that false grace message, that says you are already perfect in Christ and you don’t have to do anything, you are deceived.
Who we are in Christ in the realm of the Spirit, has to come into manifestation in the natural realm, through the spiritual law of appropriation.
To have the revelation of the Lord becomes a tremendous need, for it is that which sustains you. If you received only the revelation of yourself and your need you would never go on.
Paul was converted after seeing the Lord, and years later, after shipwreck, having been beaten, stoned, and in prison, finally in the trial for his life, he stood before the governors and said, “I saw Him—and I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision.” It sustained him through a thousand experiences.
The revelation of the Lord is not some shallow, imaginative thing. It is a way in which God conveys Himself. And when He is revealed, that will sustain you through the darkest hours, through many things.
People, instead of praying about their problems, should pray for a revelation of the Lord. They will see their own need in the light of that revelation.
Martin Luther said he wondered if there could be any revelation of sin, or conviction of sin, if there were not first an exaltation of Christ.
How can we know darkness unless we see the light?
Although we are concerned about that which is wrong in people’s lives, we exalt the Lord, and people find themselves convicted and drawn to the Lord.
There has to be revelation of the Lord first, for if people are given only revelation of their sin and need, they never break out of it. They have to see the Lord in order to get the leverage. They see in Him the answer; they see in Him the righteousness. The Holy Spirit comes to convince the world of sin and of righteousness.… because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more. John 16:10. When they see Jesus they see their sin.
Without a revelation of Jesus you don’t see your need, and you wallow in self-condemnation that is false. When you really see Christ, how wonderful He is, you abhor yourself and repent in sackcloth and ashes in the dust of the earth.
You humble yourself. That’s the repentance God wants, which will bring you up to His righteousness. Self-condemnation will lead you to get rid of just enough so that you can live with yourself, and that becomes reformation instead of regeneration. That begins to be your own effort to discipline yourself and do better.
If you are in a position of defeat, begin by praying for the Lord to reveal Himself. “O God, make Yourself real to me!” To begin by trying to repent would be doing it in yourself.
As soon as He makes Himself real to you, repentance will come easily. Otherwise, you will not know what to do. If you know you ought to repent but can’t, ask the Lord to reveal Himself.
That’s why every service begins with worship rather than repentance. Some say, “Now let’s prepare our hearts to worship the Lord.” You can’t.
But as you are worshiping, if you feel conviction, stop and repent. If repentance isn’t needed, you will feel a great joy. If you do need repentance, you will see your need and the repentance will naturally follow. That’s why you need revelation.