Today, I want to talk to you about Bethel. The Biblical Bethel, I mean. The place where Jacob had a dream? Yes, that Bethel.

Usually, when we think about Bethel, we often think about it, merely as the place where Jacob met God. True as that may be, I found that it may not be robust enough in definition. 

Instead, there are three things I found that defined Bethel:

1. Bethel was a place where God was hidden in plain sight, and his dominion expressed

There are three parts to that statement. First of all, Bethel was in plain sight. Second, God was present in Bethel. That plus the fact that Jacob actually encountered God at Bethel, advertises to us that God was not just at Bethel, but it was a place where He could be revealed. Third, it was not just his omnipresent presence at Bethel, it was his manifest presence. His activities were being carried out. So, regardless of whether man was aware or unaware of it, there was spiritual activity going on at Bethel. It was Holy ground. It was a place under God's dominion, where God's kingdom was expressed and his realities could be experienced.

Bethel, because it was a ‘mere’ spot on the road was a place that many people interacted with. But ordinary as it was, it was a place under God's dominion. It most likely wasn't everyone who interacted with Bethel that had a revelation of God's presence. But since Bethel was a place under God's dominion, it means that whether or not people were aware of God's presence, when they came to Bethel, they were under the influence and governance of God's kingdom. It's like moving from one country to another, or one state to another. Whether or not you knew who the governor was, you were immediately brought under their rule and the laws and resources of that location now apply to you. Maybe not completely but to a great degree, since you were not brought into the economy as a citizen.

It's like, whether people knew it or not, whether God was revealed to them or not, every time they interfaced with Bethel, they were interfacing with God's dominion and the possibility of revelation in everyday life. 

Bethel, even though regular, by all logical respects, was no ordinary place. It was a place impregnated with possibilities.

2. Bethel was a place where God was revealed 

Even though God had always been at that location and his dominion had always been expressed in that place, Bethel did not become Bethel until Jacob named it so. And Jacob only named it after he had an encounter. Therefore, the reality of God being hidden in plain sight was not sufficient to define Bethel. Possibility was not all it was about. Bethel was not just where God could've been revealed, it was where God was revealed. Bethel was not only where God was hidden in plain sight and his influence felt, it was where a man came under the influence of his kingdom and then was brought to the conscious, cognitive awareness of God, his existence, his identity, his person and his presence. It was not just a place with subconscious, subliminal potential, it was a place of acknowledgeable activity. Potential became kinetic. Not only could people meet God, people did meet God.

But it didn't end at just revelation. Revelation sponsored conviction. The revelation of God stamped or imprinted in the heart as conviction. That conviction then led to an acknowledgement and a confession: Indeed God was here and I knew it not.

So, at Bethel God is revealed, experienced and encountered. Leading to a quickening unto conscious recognition and conviction followed by acknowledgement and confession.

3. By the discerning, God could be discerned

“Indeed God was here and I knew it not.”

Jacob advertised to us, that he could have known. Therefore, Bethel is not just a place where God was hidden, active or revealed. It is a place where God could be discerned and perceived by anyone sensitive enough to recognise him.

There are times when we will be Sinai. There must be those times. There must be that conscious ascension into that plane. There must be active evangelism, times when God is not hidden at all, but very publicly brandished.

Sinai was a place of utmost spiritual expression. All spiritual muscles were exercised and displayed. But you see, Sinai was not a place of dwelling. It was a mountain, a place to which there was ascension. It must always be descended from. It was not a place for everyday life. So waiting for only those times of great spectacular activity for God to be showcased through us, would be denying God the opportunity of our everyday lives. 

I want to be the house of God. I want to be Bethel. The place where God is hidden in plain sight and can be revealed. The place where God is revealed.

I want my whole life, spirit, soul and body to express and display in full intensity, the extent of what was deposited in my spirit at salvation. I want to migrate the fullness of the lordship of Jesus from just my spirit, to my soul, and ultimately my body. I want every spiritual growth I experience to reflect in my soul and body too. So that regardless of what context you meet me or what part of me you come across, it would be Christ nonetheless.

Even when I am not consciously trying to do anything, when all I do is shake your hand or all you do is be within the radar of my atmosphere, you are under the influence and dominion of Christ. His kingdom come upon you, his will be done on earth concerning you, as it is in heaven. You are brought into the jurisdiction of his dominion by your mere proximity to me.

So if there is addiction, it ends. If there's sickness or infirmity, it disappears. If there's witchcraft or demonic oppression, it ceases. If there is charm, if there's divination, if there's sorcery, it loses potency.

But it doesn't end there. You're not only brought into the radar of dominion, you meet/encounter God. You're brought into conscious conviction by revelation of him. You not only get from him, you meet Him. And the conviction from that experience sponsors an acknowledgement in your heart and a confession with your mouth, that Jesus is Lord. So much so, that one unbeliever would tell the other, “don't sit beside that girl if you don't want to become a christian. Everyone who sits with her ends up falling in love with Jesus.”

Finally, I may seem like just an ordinary regular smart person, but to the discerning, I want to be unmistakable in my identity. To the discerning, I want to be discerned. I don't want to be confused for anything else. I am a child of God. I don't want that to be too hard to figure out. I want that to be very obvious to anyone who seeks to probe. I want the life of God to be discernible through me and everything that comes from me. Regular by all respects to the average man, recognisable by the saints and by the devil as a child of God in character and in power.

You know what's interesting? We're all called to this life. We're all called to ascend to Sinai but be Bethel. To invade earth with heaven and it's culture.

And what's more?

We can infuse this life into places and spaces and things that can then bring about the administration of God's dominion without requiring as much in-the-moment participation from us. Like with Peter's shadow. Like with prayer mountains. Thinking about the anointing working through physical objects doesn't seem farfetched to us. But I dare extend that to intangible things like digital products and mind products. That everyone who walks into a firm you own, or interacts with an idea you create or execute, a product you make, a business model you formulate, a drug you administer, words you write, a paper you write on, would come in contact with the dominion of God's kingdom. And they stand a chance at a revelation of him. 

NB: There have been times where God met people without exactly being preached to. Like with Paul. But those times are exceptions, rather than the norm. So, nothing substitutes for evangelism. But our call to kingdom life goes beyond just evangelism, it's that your whole life is mission. And everything about you, is the mission field. It's all supposed to be ministry- to God and to man.

I close with this quote:

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ within me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ at my right, Christ at my left, Christ in breadth, Christ in length, Christ in height.

Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me, Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks to me, Christ in the eye of every man that sees me, Christ in the ear of every man that hears me.

-Saint Patrick