The Battle to Keep Revelation

by Daymond Geary

Does truth fade with time? Some may respond “absolutely not.” Maybe if the question were rephrased your answer would be in the affirmative. Does the principle of, “use it or lose it” apply to truth? Can you remember a time that you heard a message preached, read a story or a Scripture, and you were so inspired that you were sure this would change your life forever. Time passed, however, and you could hardly remember the genesis of your inspiration? Like muscle loss and memory loss, if we build up these areas and do not use them, we are subject to lose what was gained.

At a church meeting as prayer was being offered for her fellow church-member by the guest speaker, a woman cried out, ”don’t pray for him, he leaks.” That same problem is facing us today. We leak and no matter how important or precious the ingredients are, we all have a tendency to lose great revelation and inspiration. Somehow we must learn to retain precious truths that were sent to change our lives.

There are a few Bible passages that come to mind when searching for answers on retaining truth. “Buy the truth, and do not sell it, also wisdom and instruction and understanding.” (Proverbs 23:23)^*

With the Christmas season still strong in our memories, the idea of buying something should be easy to relate to. Cost equals time and effort. Simply stated we must put time and effort into receiving truth. Now, you are reading this article in February after the credit cards bills have come in. If you didn’t before, you understand the effort side a little more now. You bought the gifts in December and now it could take months or even years to pay those credit cards off. It is certainly the same with truth, effort is involved in retaining until we have it “paid off” and it becomes part of who we are.

(Mark 4:15-20) ¹⁵And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts. ¹⁶ These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; ¹⁷ and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word's sake, immediately they stumble. ¹⁸ Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, ¹⁹ and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. ²⁰But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirty-fold, some sixty, and some a hundred." *

Jesus used the parable of sowing seed to illustrate one’s capabilities of receiving truth or losing it. The first three examples showed truths that were lost to the enemy, shallowness, and/or world attachment. Only in the last example of good ground was truth retained.

The Greek word Paradechomai is translated as the word accept. Its definition from The Strong’s Bible Concordance is: 1) to receive, take up, take upon one's self 2) to admit i.e. not to reject, to accept, receive a) of a son: to acknowledge as one's own. So to restate part of verse twenty using the original language, it could read; “those who hear the word and take up that word as there own and walk in action will not lose the truth but shall have increase from thirty times up to a hundred times more.” What a gift God gives to us!

My prayer is that we all receive more revelation about our precious Jesus and His life within us. As these revelations are received may we each retain the truths and become productive with them so that the world might be impacted by our faith and faithfulness.

Inspiration

The Battle to Keep Revelation