In Costa Rica, we helped prepare for the church service. We swept and mopped floors, cleaned bathrooms, and placed the chairs in position. After about an hour of work, we had an hour of downtime before the service began. This particular Sunday, I retrieved my Bible, and I found a quiet spot on a bench under a tree. The sun was peeking through the branches, and the wind blew against my skin; I knew God was present.
“Lord, please speak to me today. I am in need of your wisdom,” I prayed.
I knew my way of learning was no longer effective. At home, I would rely on the Church to pour wisdom into the words I read, and that was how I grew. I learned from the Pastor’s relationship with Papa, but I rarely sought the Lord on my own. On the race, I rarely understand what is being spoken in a church service. The language is either altogether different and I think of other things during the service, or I hear a message through broken English which typically lacks revelation for me.
“Lord, please speak to me today. I am in need of your wisdom,” I repeated. I needed to hear directly from Him; I craved it!
I opened to 1 Peter. I read it in ways I had not read it before; it felt tangible and full of life! I arrived at a specific verse and I couldn’t help but drop the Bible to my lap and automatically look up and smile. I read:
“Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.” 1 Peter 2:16
As this verse left my mouth, Papa poured a sermon into my head. As I looked up, I could vividly see the words flow into my head which included truth, examples, related verses…etc. It was a fully detailed and PERFECT sermon downloaded into my head from Him. I couldn’t help but look up to Him and grin like a child! I knew what I was thinking was not of my own thoughts, because I had never heard these things before! It was all new!
The Revelation (not in its fullness)
As I read the above verse, the Lord showed me there are two types of freedom:
- Freedom from sin
- Freedom to live in communion with God
This idea was supported as I read other verses:
“…the creation itself will be set free (1) from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom (2) of the glory of the children of God.” Romans 8:21
“For freedom (2) Christ set us free (1)…” Galatians 5:1
He revealed to me that I have been living my life in thanksgiving for the freedom from sin and bondage. I thank God for breaking those chains and for the death & resurrection of Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, I have stopped there. I had not stepped into the second level of freedom! Because of the freedom from sin, I have the freedom to be in His presence and have a relationship with Him!
God brought to mind the culture of the High Priests. During the days of the Old Testament, “regular” people were not able to enter the most holy, inner places of the temple. Only the holiest people – High Priest – were able to enter the presence of God… “to act on behalf of men in relation to God to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.” (Hebrews 5:1)
Now that we were given freedom from sin through Jesus Christ, the veil was torn (Matthew 27:51) and we now have complete freedom to be in relationship with Papa without a human intercessor.
Wow! Freedom is more than I thought!
Soon, we were called into the Sanctuary because church was about to begin. I was still in amazement about what had just happened. Not but a few moments later, my team leader flipped around in her chair and said we needed someone from our group to give a brief testimony about something we have been learning during the offering portion of the service. I immediately said, “I’ll do it! He just gave me a revelation I can share!”
The time for the offering arrived, and I was invited to the front.
I set my Bible on the pulpit, and I spoke. I felt like I stumbled over every word. It was being translated to Spanish, so I had some breaks between sentences to gather my thoughts, but nothing came to mind! After just a few moments, I walked back to my seat with my tail between my legs. I felt like I had failed. He gave me the most beautiful revelation, and I wasn’t able to share it in its fullness.
Later on, I received positive feedback from my team and the church staff, and I was a little bewildered.
“…if you only knew what He REALLY shared with me!” I thought.
One of my teammates spoke to me about the situation. She said it was full of wisdom. It was simple, but it made sense and left an impact. “Maybe that huge revelation was given to you so you would say YES to speaking in front of the church,” she said, “and instead of having a perfectly prepared sermon, He allowed you to forget it, so you had to rely on Him for the words to say.”
I know this to be true. Usually when I leave a conversation or sermon that is from the Lord, I don’t remember much about what I said. I know that is the Holy Spirit speaking and not me. When the Spirit speaks, our soul (mind) does not know what is happening.
He gave me the vision of a message, and not only did I learn about the freedom I need to step into, I was provided an opportunity to exercise that freedom of service even when I didn’t know what to say. I spoke in front of a church, and He used me to teach people more about who He is. Thank you, Abba Father.
Soon, I found myself worshiping the Lord in public without worrying about what other people were doing or what I may look like amidst them. I was solely focused on being with the Lord: arms out, knees bowed, etc. I used this as a catalyst for my new life with the Lord focused on the freedom I have by being His child and simply operating out of a place of relationship with Him.
The next morning, just after sunrise, I was baptized in the ocean at Jaco Beach, Costa Rica. This is my new covenant with Him: living in freedom (2) because I am free (1).
