Family of God: Re: [FamilyofGod] Keeping Secrets

Thanx Micheal amen

On Tue Feb 15th, 2011 7:36 AM EST Michael J. Knight wrote:

>
>Keeping Secrets
>
>
>You know how you can read a Bible verse a million times and still not
>know what it means, until one day the truth really hits home?
>
>There is one concept in the Bible that I have struggled with repeatedly
>over the last four years and that is keeping spiritual things a secret.
>There are several instances in the Gospels when Jesus commanded
>witnesses not to tell of His greatness. Sometimes this meant not
>revealing a physical healing (Matthew 8:4, the leper; Mark 7:36, a deaf
>and mute man; Mark 8:25-26, a blind man; Luke 5:14, the leper; Luke
>8:56, dead girl raised from the dead). In each of these cases, the
>healed person was not to tell anyone of what had been done to them.
>
>Sometimes the secret is a heightened spiritual understanding. Several
>times Jesus told his disciples not to reveal that he was in fact the
>Christ, the Son of God (see Matthew 16:20, Mark 8:30, Luke 9:21).
>
>Another type of spiritual understanding might come in the form of a
>vision. Both Matthew 17:9 and Mark 9:9 talk about the transfiguration of
>Jesus on the mountain. In each case, the disciples see Jesus, Moses, and
>Elijah. On this mountain, Jesus reveals His glory. On the way down from
>the mountain, Jesus warns them not to tell about the things they had
>just seen.
>
>Why would Jesus during His ministry ask certain witnesses not to tell of
>His greatness, His power, His will? And why would He ask us as witnesses
>today to keep our lips sealed about these same heavenly revelations?
>
>It is All in God's Timing
>
>I think there are several reasons why this was the case. One reason is
>timing. We know that God's ways are not our ways, according to Isaiah
>55:8 (Boy, do I know that!). God's timing is everything and it is
>evident throughout Scripture. In Genesis 18:14 God promises that Sarah
>will become pregnant at God's appointed time. Ecclesiastes talks about a
>time for everything. In Matthew 26:18, shortly before his death, Jesus
>talks about His appointed time being near. Revelation talks about the
>end of time. Whether you look in the Old Testament or you look in the
>New Testament, you will find that timing is a key concept. It was key to
>God's plan; it was key to the ministry of Jesus; it is key to our
>ministry as Christians here on earth
>
>With this is mind, then, the Holy Spirit often urges us to keep quiet
>because the timing of that revelation is not appropriate. God's ways are
>not our ways.
>
>Think about it: Both the field and the sower have to be ready before the
>seed can be planted and faith can be birthed. Therefore, both those who
>are receiving our new revelation and those of us who are revealing
>important stuff need to be ready for what God is doing.
>
>A Plowed Field
>
>Let me tell you about my experiences. I have had prophetic dreams that I
>believe will come to pass in God's timing. But I have learned now not to
>reveal all spiritual things until I get the green light from God. You
>see, sometimes we are not ready for the responses we might get, even
>from Christians, concerning the things we have heard or seen or
>experienced.
>
>When others are not ready to hear the things that we have heard from the
>Lord or see the things the Lord has revealed to us, whether we are right
>or not is not the ultimate question at this point. We can throw pearls
>of wisdom to others, but if it isn't God's protocol for us to reveal
>that wisdom, it is going to get trampled. If the timing is wrong, we
>might just be accused of being self-righteous, holier-than-thou, a
>little "weird," or dead wrong. Pushing the issue is only going to get us
>and others frustrated or angry. Discord can be one result. Another
>result can be doubt. We might get such a negative reaction from others
>that we doubt that God even spoke to us. Once doubt has crept into our
>hearts, Satan can steal that seed of revelation.
>
>In our excitement, we forget that believers are all at different levels
>of spiritual maturity. We need to be cautious not to cause others to
>stumble who might not understand the things we do yet. God wants to
>protect us from the disbelief of others and He also wants to make sure
>we are strong enough to handle opposition when we do need to tell of His
>works.
>
>Being a Responsible Sower
>
>Sometimes at the core of this dire need to reveal are personal
>insecurities and pride. I know I am often tempted now as I was then to
>divulge spiritual things so that others will consider me a worthy and
>mature Christian and would think well of me. I want to be considered a
>sage. But anytime my motivation is for my own praise, my way of pleasing
>man over God, I have overstepped the line.
>
>When our self-worth rests in responses from others, watch out. Your
>faith is going to shake if the response is negative. And without faith,
>we can't believe God. Without faith we won't act on the things God
>reveals. And without faith, we are not going to be the light that will
>bring others to Christ.
>
>If God says no when we want to spill our guts, don't take it too hard.
>It may just be God's way of training us up in wisdom and patience. He is
>making us strong and steady and totally under His authority. Let God
>regain control of those lips. Humble yourself before the Lord, and He
>will exalt you in due season.
>
>And listen to me: One of the harsh realities of communing with God is
>that some of the things we see and hear are simply not to be shared with
>anyone. Sometimes it is for us alone. Sometimes it is simply a way to
>build our faith, bring us comfort, bring us back to God. We might not
>know why, but God has His reasons.
>
>It is so tempting to believe that God's plan is all up to us and that we
>must reveal God's plans to others, so that God will move. But beloved
>ones, we don't make anything happen. Everything begins and ends with
>Jesus Christ. God's ways always prevail.
>
>The whole point is that if what you have seen and heard and experienced
>is truly from God, then it will come to pass and the Lord will be
>vindicated. We don't have to do that for God. God can use us to show the
>world His power, but we are merely instruments. He allows us to be a
>part of bringing others to a new understanding of spiritual things, but
>we should not speak on our own. This is not our personal crusade. It is
>the Lord Jesus Christ.
>
>Know that when those fruits are evident in your life, when you have gone
>up the mountain and the glory of the Lord is seen upon your face, if God
>wishes to use you, people will come to you. They will ask.
>
>As hard as it is for many of us to keep quiet, if we do and God allows
>us to tell of His wonders at the appropriate time, it will be in
>humility and God will get the glory. Others will see Jesus Christ, and
>that should always be our desire.
>
>A Lesson From Joseph
>
>If we need one full-length example of the positives and negatives of
>revealing God's will, the visions God has given us, take a look at
>Joseph, the revealer of dreams and visions.
>
>Usually, when we think of Joseph, we remember how he managed to
>interpret the king's dreams and not only get out of prison and escape
>death, but be placed in the king's courts, and later governor. This guy
>got an awesome promotion! When Joseph revealed the mysteries in those
>royal dreams, he got the royal treatment.
>
>But, before we start concentrating on the good stuff, let's turn back s
>to Genesis 37, when Joseph was first starting out. Joseph might have
>been a powerful, influential man in the end, but he had a problem with
>his mouth -- he just couldn't keep the good things of God a secret. You
>would think Joseph would have gotten the idea that wisdom in the case
>with his brothers was to keep a secret, but he didn't.
>
>In Genesis 37:5, the Scripture says that Joseph had a dream about
>sheaves of grain bowing down to him. Joseph's brothers questioned the
>dream saying, "Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule
>us?" It says further, "They hated him all the more because of his dream
>and what he had said" (v. 8, emphasis mine).
>
>OK, so Joseph lost points with his siblings. But that didn't keep him
>from telling his next dream. And this time, dad got a bit irritated. In
>Joseph's next dream, he saw the sun and moon and eleven stars bowing
>down to him (v. 9). This upset Joseph's father so much he became
>indignant: "What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your
>brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?" (v. 10).
>And of course Joseph's brothers were thinking Joseph was just plain
>arrogant and egotistical. They called him "that dreamer" (v. 19).
>
>Well, we know that Joseph was speaking the truth and he truly was
>hearing from God as far as what he saw. But here is something that I
>think Joseph missed: Did God want that information revealed just then?
>What would have happened if Joseph kept this nugget of truth to himself.
>After all, if what he heard and saw was truly God, would it not come to
>pass since God is always faithful to His promises?
>
>If I can project a minute, I just wonder if life for Joseph wouldn't
>have been easier if he had kept his mouth shut. If Joseph never gave his
>brothers more of a reason to make them hate him, would he still have
>been sold into slavery, thrown into prison? Or would he have bypassed
>that whole period of suffering and gone straight from being the youngest
>son to being a leader of the nation? I cannot say for sure, but it does
>make me think.
>
>Fortunately for Joseph and for us, we as Christians can mess up,
>sometimes royally, and still gain God's blessings for us. See, God is
>faithful, even when we aren't. We don't corrupt God's plans. We just
>sidetrack them until we come back under His authority. Therefore, if you
>are one like Joseph, like me, like so many of us Christians who haven't
>quite gotten a hold of the responsibility of keeping the things of God a
>secret until the proper time, take heart. God forgives; God restores.
>And He will bring wisdom to you if and when you are in doubt. All you
>have to do is ask God: Is this something I can share now, ever? Who do I
>tell? What must my attitude be while revealing these things?
>
>Don't bypass this crucial step. It could save you a life of misery,
>being mocked for being a "dreamer", or even save you from causing
>someone to stumble.
>
>Remember
>Only one life, will soon be past,
>Only what is done, for Christ will last.
>
>The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the
>communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen. (2 Corinthians
>13:14)
>
>Love & Prayers,
>
>Michael J. Knight.
>
>http://groups.yahoo.com/group/A-C-T-S/
><http://groups.yahoo.com/group/A-C-T-S/>
>
>What we are is God's gift to us. What we become is our gift to God.
>