Dear Friend, Happy Friday! When I took the class, “Hearing the Voice of God” in Singapore in 2016, Sister Margaret taught the word in Greek, Logos and Rhema. And I got to understand Logos is the Words in the Bible and Rhema is the Words like His audible and/or still small voice, vision, prophecy and so on. Rhema also includes the Scriptures in the Bible that are highlighted to us in a special way. And Rhema does not contradict to Logos. Since I learned the word in the New Testament is originally in Greek either Logos or Rhema, I sometimes searched the blueletterbible online, to see the original text. Today, I would like to share some stories on Rhema. Sister Margaret encourages her students to follow what the Holy Spirit says. She shared one of her stories from a long time ago. She was in a shop and asked the owner to wrap up the thing she bought. While the owner went somewhere to wrap it up, she saw kind of a shrine on the wall of the store, which is an idol. And in the corner of the store, there was the owner’s dog sitting. Then, without hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit, she rebuked the shrine, the idol in Jesus’ name. After the owner came back and gave her the wrapped gift she bought, she turned back toward the door, to leave the store. Then, the dog which she thought was on a leash suddenly attacked her and bit her. She knew it was the backlash from the devil. And she learned that she should have not rebuked the idol without hearing the Holy Spirit. Similarly, she also encouraged her students to share gospel with a certain person, when led by the Holy Spirit. Pastor John Fenn also shared his story that he helped a lady in a mall, when she asked him. I don’t recall all exactly, but I think he sensed she was under the influence of demonic spirit like depression or something. So, he asked the Lord whether He wants him to cast out the evil spirit. And He said to him (I paraphrase it), “No, it’s enough today to be kind to her and help her on what she asked.” So, Pastor John didn’t say anything to cast out the demonic spirit, but continued to run his errands in the mall. A pastor in Europe in my monthly zoom meeting shared his testimony from this year. One day he ordered a material to fix something in his restroom. But the vendor shipped a wrong stuff. And he got to know from the vendor that it would take a year to receive a right one. The vendor made an apology and it offered a free service to set up the material. So, in a year, a man from the vendor came to set up the material in his restroom. While the man was setting it up, the pastor asked the Lord whether He wants him to share the gospel with him. Then, he didn’t feel led to share it so that he simply asked him how his family is doing and so on. Then, the man talked about his son, worrying. His son had insomnia for long and did everything he could, in order to sleep. But nothing helped. So, the pastor said to him, “If he did everything he could, would you want him to try what I would suggest?” Of course, the father would want to do, if only it could help his son. The pastor said to him, “Tell him to pray in Jesus’ name for sleep.” A few days later, the man came to the pastor, bringing his son and shared the wonderful testimony. After his son prayed for sleep in Jesus’ name, he did fall asleep first time in a long while! And the father was marveled and wanted his son to know more about Jesus. Praise the Lord! If the pastor tried to share the gospel with the father in his first meeting, he might not have opened his heart. God knew what problem he had and let the pastor talk about his family rather than jump into sharing the gospel. In all these testimonies, we learn that it is always important for us to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit and listen to His Rhema Words. Sharing gospel and casting out demons are all good and they are the commandment from the Lord, i.e. the written Words, Logos. Yet we can’t do that on our own. There is a right timing, a right way, and a right person to do that. Even Jesus said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner. (John 5:10)” “I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things. (John 8:28)” We know a lame man healed in Acts chapter 3. “And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered the temple; who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms. (Acts 3:2~3)” Jesus could have healed him when He went in and out of the temple, but it was the Father’s will to use Peter in healing him at a later point in time. Friend, we have a heart for the sick, the poor, the captive, unbelievers and so on. But, we can do nothing, apart from the Father’s will. We must ask Him and be sensitive to the Holy Spirit. I like Pastor John Fenn’s saying “Faith is not independent of the Word or of the Lord (the Holy Spirit).” We can’t simply say out of our own will, “In the name of Jesus, do this and do that.” Friend, do you want to hear Rhema clearly? I heard some pastors say, “If you want to hear Rhema, you must know Logos.” I agree with that. If we love Logos, the Word of God, we know what His Ways are and we become sensitive to hearing Rhema. It’s my prayer that you and I love the Word of God, and we hear the voice of the Holy Spirit and obey it. Have a bliss! Yunee It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words (Rhema) that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. (John 6:63) Comments are closed.
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