1. Through the illumination of the Word – this is when the Holy Spirit “lights up” a passage of scripture to you and makes it understandable and relevant for you.
2. Through personal revelation that is when the Holy Spirit reveals a truth about Jesus and the Word of God.
3. Through the Rhema Word, the Holy Spirit brings back to memory a scripture that is relevant for a decision or direction to follow in.
4. Through circumstances and opportunities, God can open and close doors as a means of directing your path.
5. Through the “still quiet voice” when God speaks to you either audibly or in your mind giving you direction for or encouragement. 

Hearing God, then what?

As God reveals His will or plan to us, what are we to do with what we know? The simple answer is to “just do it”! In the late ’80s and early ’90s, a well-known slogan for Nike Sneakers was used to almost triple their sales for Nike sneakers. It was, “JUST DO IT!”. In other words, don’t just think about it or talk about it… Just Do It!

When it comes to the things of God many people live in the place of “let’s think about this and see if it really makes sense! If you are waiting for things to make sense you are missing the point of what Faith is! Because faith is spiritual, faith will not necessarily make intellectual sense or make sense in our minds. You see, God is able to see the whole picture you can only see a part. The central issue of faith is, “do you trust God to do what He says He will do”!

Faith is one of those seemingly simple words that gets “thrown around” by Christians. Statements like a measure of faith, get more faith, faith moves mountains, faith as a mustard seed, and finally, faith pleases God. All these statements are scriptural and therefore true and yet it is important that we understand that faith isn’t something you can generate or muster-up in an emergency or on-demand! Faith is an outcome of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. 

To understand faith fully we need to recognize that faith has deep spiritual roots into spiritual terms like righteousness, justification, works, and grace!

When you made your commitment to Jesus Christ there were two spiritual transactions that took place. 

1. You believed that Jesus died for your sins and you are now totally forgiven of ALL your sins, most importantly the “sin” of not believing in Jesus, to begin with.
2. You also believed that although Jesus died on the cross, He rose again and sits at the right hand of the Father in Heaven. 

At the moment you believed you were “Justified” and therefore made “righteous”. Justified in simple terms means that there is no charge against you. You have been found innocent in God’s eyes. Let me explain, as a result of this justification, which by the way is the opposite of condemnation. Before Christ you were condemned now you’ve been justified.  The Holy Spirit came to live in you. The third person of the Godhead is called the “Holy” Spirit because since He is God, He is holy, pure and undefiled. Because of this fact He is able to live in you because you are now a holy place a temple of God. 

Let me express this a different way. Justification is a legal term and means that as far as God is concerned it is as if you never sinned at all. (“Just-if-ied” never sinned). This state of justification means that you are “righteous”. This righteousness, or being right before God, is not of your own effort, but God’s. The moment you believed Grace was in operation, which means that your salvation is a gift of God and that’s what grace means… it is a gift of God. 

Ephesians 2:8-10. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

There are three takeaways that we need to be careful that we don’t miss from Ephesians.

1. We are saved by grace and grace is a gift of God.
2. It is through faith that this grace becomes effective.
3. God has plans for you that He wants you to walk in.

The kind of faith we are talking about is “saving faith” it is the faith by which you became saved. As a result of this salvation, you are justified and not condemned to Hell. This justification also means that you are righteous in God’s eyes, the Holy Spirit living in you. 

Now let’s look at Faith in the context of everyday living as a Christian.

In human history, God has always wanted a people that He could call His own. As in the Garden of Eden before the Fall, He wanted a people that He could fellowship with and a people that would obey Him. In the Old Testament, it was the Jews of Israel; in the New Testament, it was the believers in Jesus Christ. We know that both the Old and New Testaments are 2 separate covenants with God.

Old Testament Covenant– it’s all about the Law. The Law was passed from Moses to the people of Israel and an important point to keep in mind is that the people of Israel agreed to abide by the Law. They agreed to the Ten Commandments and all of the regulations that Moses received from God when Moses was on Mount Sinai (Mount Horeb in Deuteronomy). 

The Hebrew Bible is called the Tanakh. It is composed of three parts; the Law or Torah (the first five books of the Bible [Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy), the Prophets (of which there are 5 major and 12 minor writings), and the rest of the books of the Tanakh which were called the Writings. So, you have the Torah or Law, the Prophets, and the Writings. The entire Christian Old Testament Bible and Hebrew Tanakh, which are the same but in different order of books, are about the Law or Law of Moses.

The Hebrew Law was how the Jewish people could enter into and maintain their righteous relationship with God. Observance of the Law justified the Jew. This observance of the Law meant that there were many things that Jews could do or not do- these were acts or actions and could be described as “works of the Law”. When one of the commandments of the Law was broken an elaborate system of sacrifices was instituted to restore the right relationship with God. 

Here is an interesting thought, was it the strict observance of the Law, the “letter of the Law “so to speak, or the “spirit of the Law that God was looking for? The letter of the Law was by works or the effort of the individual, the spirit of the Law was to walk by faith. You see even the Mosaic Law was intended by God to promote faith in God. 

New Testament Covenant 

The New Testament Covenant is referred to in the book of Hebrews as the “better covenant”. It is better on so many levels as chapters 8,9 and 10 of Hebrews points out. 

The New Testament points out that what the Law, under the old covenant, was incapable of producing righteousness. All the Law showed was mankind’s inability to keep the Law perfectly and the sacrificial system introduced by the Levites was unable to produce the kind of change that was permanent and pleasing to God. The Apostle Paul makes it abundantly clear that “we are justified by faith”, and not the Law. 

The weakness of the Law was that it was based upon “works” the human ability to observe the Law. Paul makes it clear in the book of Romans that it is by Grace that we can draw close to God. Works just makes us aware of our inability to keep the Law, in Paul’s words, the Law simply made us aware of how sinful a person was. 

The gift of Jesus Christ to humanity was part of God’s unfolding plan, love and grace to mankind. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved (justified)” John 3:16-17.

We are saved when we believe in Jesus, that is God’s gift. What ties us to Jesus is our faith in Him. Faith in what He accomplished on the cross of Calvary and what He accomplished when He rose again, three days later. Forgiveness of all of our sins, that is we have been justified and made righteous. When Jesus ascended from the grave, the Holy Spirit descended to live in the Believer. 

Our faith is in Jesus and Him alone. What Jesus promised through the Father he will fulfill. Be careful now, our faith is not in the promise, but in the one who makes the promise. It is always about relationship, not cold religion. That is what separates the followers of the Law from the followers of Grace. The Law resulted in Legalism, true Grace results in freedom.

Faith

For some Christians, faith is seen as something to employ in order to get God’s attention. We may have a need, desire or some impending health crisis. Don’t get me wrong when we have needs, we should bring them to the Lord. We are encouraged in the Word to bring our issues to the Lord. But faith is not something we turn to only when we are in trouble. 

Faith is the continual manifestation of our righteousness before God. In other words, I am trying to live in a way that is pleasing to God and therefore I know that I have access to Him. 

It is because of my fellowship or intimacy with God that I am confident, sure that He hears me and will answer me in my time of need. He is my help as I walk by faith in Jesus.  “Paul says in Philippians 2:12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure”.

As in the Garden of Eden, before the Fall, God wants to walk with you and fellowship with you. As you see your relationship with Him in this manner… you will find that your faith will grow and all of the promises that faith brings will be yours.

Thomas A. Edison said, “The reason a lot of people do not recognize opportunity is because it usually goes around wearing overalls looking like hard work”. The challenges that God puts before us will often seem greater than we can accomplish. It is important to remember God doesn’t call the capable He calls the available. If He has “called” you then He will enable and empower you to do His will. 

Realize that some of our important opportunities have a time–line. If we delay a decision, the opportunity may be gone forever. Sometimes our doubts and fears keep us from making a choice that involves change. therefore, the opportunity may be missed. 

I want to remind you of the wisdom found in Proverbs 3:5-12. This is a paraphrase from the Message Bible:

“Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track. Don’t assume that you know it all.

Run to God! Run from evil! Your body will glow with health, your very bones will vibrate with life!

Honor God with everything you own; give him the first and the best. Your barns will burst, your wine vats will brim over.

But don’t, dear friend, resent God’s discipline; don’t sulk under his loving correction. It’s the child he loves that God corrects; a father’s delight is behind all this”.

The bottom line is that God loves you and wants the best for you. His best will lead to meaning and purpose in your life and honor Him.

Some might be surprised that God has a plan or call for your life!

Yes, He has a plan for you! In Psalms 139:16 the psalmist says, “Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed, and in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them”. You see God knew you even before you were born and even then, had a plan established for you. 

Then of course there is Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope”. 

What is so important to realize is that God is for you and not against you. He wants you to prosper in all that you do, because when you follow Jesus Christ it glorifies Father God.

Hearing God and Faith

So, the key to a blessed life is that you must know His plan for you. Because God is spiritual or unseen 2 Cor 5:7 tells us that we must learn to walk by faith and not by sight. Now, what do I mean by walking by Faith? First of all, to walk by faith means that you know God’s plan and purpose for your life, for as someone once said, “Faith is impossible unless the will of God is known”! That’s why hearing from God is so important to success in life. 

The second point is, what are you to have faith in? Your faith should not be in “faith”, meaning that you can’t will your faith into being. You can’t just grit your teeth, clench your fist and make faith a reality. Your faith must be in Jesus Christ and Him alone. Jesus is the one who died for you, cleansed you of your sin, accepted you into the family of God and has given you a purpose for life.  Your faith will grow as you continue in your relationship with Him. Your relationship involves prayer, learning to hear Him, spending time in the Word, and fellowshipping with other believers. 

Faith and the scriptures

You may be encouraged by the scriptures, but your faith cannot be in the words on a page… your faith must be in Jesus and Him alone. There is an interesting episode in John 5:39, Jesus is speaking to the legalistic Jews, who are opposed to Him and He says to them, ”9 You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. 40 But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life”. In other words, the religious Jews were so in love with the scriptures that they forgot who the author of the scriptures was, Jesus- God in the flesh.

The Bible is a book filled with the promises of God some theologians say that there are over 1000 promises, others say that there are over 5000 promises in the Bible, but again our faith is not in the promise, but in the one who makes the promise- God!

Remember if God is for you who could possibly be against you! Listen to what Romans 8 says beginning in verse 31 “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things”? In other words, if God would give us Jesus, why would He hold any good thing back from us? 

Listen to what the apostle Paul writes in Ephesians 3:20, “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us”. In other words, you can’t imagine what God, with all His power and authority, wants to do in you and through you!

Open and closed doors.

Christians often use the phrase, of God that he “opens or closes doors”. When God opens a door it usually means an opportunity to fulfill His plan for you, whereas when He closes a door it means that the path you are thinking of is not part of His plan, or He is not in that plan. In either case, opening and closing doors, is for the fulfillment of His plans for you. Just as a side note, let me remind you that God will never force you to make a decision, right or wrong! Your choices are yours to make.

Coincidence and God-incidence

It is important to distinguish between a co-incidence and a God-incidence. A coincidence is random and can be beneficial or harmful. It is strictly by chance. A God-incidence is, as the name, implies a circumstance God has orchestrated. It is a God “set-up”! Remember, as Romans 8:28 states, “all things work out for good to those who love Him and are called to his purpose. Love in this context means that you obey Him. Called to His purpose means that you sense God’s calling to some purpose he has for you.

Paul, Silas and Timothy

A good scriptural illustration of this is found in Acts 16. The Apostle Paul along with Silas and Timothy were sharing the Gospel in Asia Minor (modern Turkey). They also visited the churches that had been established, during Paul’s first missionary journey. The Bible then says that at some point they were forbidden (the was door closed) by the Holy Spirit to continue preaching the word in Asia or modern Turkey. Then they “tried to go into Bithynia (another area in Turkey), but the Spirit did not permit them”, the door was closed to continue their original plan.

It was in Troas (bordering Greece) that a vision appeared to Paul in the night. The vision was of a man from Macedonia (modern day Greece) who stood and pleaded with him, saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” Now after he had seen the vision, they immediately made their way to Macedonia. You see Paul’s conclusion was that the Lord was calling them to preach the gospel in Macedonia or Greece.

What is so significant about this journey or event is that Paul established 7 important churches in Macedonia or Greece. These are the very same 7 churches mentioned in the Book of Revelation chapter 2 and 3. They are Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.

God’s plan was that the Apostle Paul was to establish these churches in Macedonia! Paul could have resisted the closed door but then he would not have accomplished God’s best! In God, nothing happens by accident.

Personal Testimony

In my life as a Christian, God has invited me to walk through doors of opportunity. I can remember clearly sensing God’s presence and urging to go through the door. To be honest, I wasn’t always filled with faith and boldness. In my case, I always tried to make sure that I wasn’t trying to do something I wanted to do. What I mean is that it wasn’t something that would appeal to my ego. Deception is at the core of ego.

There was always a sense of, “really God”! Is this you, because this isn’t part of my plan. As I stepped through the open door, I would often encounter obstacles. The scriptures state that God is for you, but remember the Devil is against you! Don’t be surprised if it isn’t “smooth sailing”. Don’t quit! 

As an encouragement read 2 Kings 6:15-17. In that account, the prophet Elisha and his servant are being pursued by the King of Syria. They go to sleep in a hut for the night and the next morning the scriptures say, “15 And when the servant of Elisha the man of God arose early and went out, there was an army, surrounding the city with horses and chariots. And his servant said to him, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?”

16 So Elisha answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” 17 And Elisha prayed, and said, “Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha”.

When you are in God’s plan you need to look to the spiritual and see the chariots of fire surrounding you and protecting you. Fear not because greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world!

As a final note once you start the journey into God’s provision for you, don’t turn back. In a sense, you are half-way there! It is the same distance if you go back as it is to go forward, so go forward and fulfill your destiny!

In closing, it is important to note that while God may open or close a door, He will not force you to go through the open door or prevent you from opening a closed door. A very important truth about God is that He has given you Free Will! Faith requires free will, love requires free will, obedience requires free will. 

We always have a choice! Recall Joshua’s words in Joshua 24:15b, “But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” As Joshua made a decision to put his faith in God, I encourage you to do the same. 

Learn to hear God’s voice through the scriptures, the Holy Spirit, through the circumstances of life and allow the peace of God rule (or be the umpire) in your hearts, Colossians 3:15a. This means you need to work through the fear, confusion or doubt. Remember fear, confusion, and doubt are the opposites of Faith.

What Prophecy is not.

Prophecy is one of those terms in Christianity that is often misunderstood. There are at least two incorrect concepts about prophecy. 

The first is that it is a type of “fortune telling” or looking into the future for answers. We are influenced by the media (movies, TV, and books) to believe that it is real and ok.  Prophecy is not “fortune telling” as much as “forth-telling”. Fortune telling is predicting what may happen based on spiritual insight or “gifting”. Prophecy, on the other hand, is stating what God says will happen. The difference may seem slight and the origins may be spiritual in nature for both, BUT and a big but is that fortune telling, is not from God- it is actually demonic.  

The second issue is that we often take the model of a prophet from the Old Testament. God always wants communication with His people, the covenant of the Old Testament was with the Jews. God chooses certain individuals to be His voice among His people. It is clear that the prophets of old did not have the Holy Spirit living in them, but the Holy Spirit of God was “upon” or “on” them. People of the Old Testament went to Prophets and Priest to hear from God.

The primary message a Prophet brings.

Another important point is that Old Testament Prophets were primarily used by God to give direction to the rulers or kings of the Old Covenant. Here are some examples of those Prophets, Eli, Samuel, and Nathan?

Prophecy and Prophets were very important to Israel. The evidence of their importance is in the fact that 17 of the Old Testament books (Major and Minor Prophets) were inspired and written by Prophets. The primary function of these prophets was to warn the people of Israel to the consequences of walking away from Him and worshipping other gods.

New Covenant Prophets and Prophecy.

As New Covenant believers we don’t see the same emphasis on prophets as in the Old Testament. This can be understood by the fact that as believers in Jesus Christ His Holy Spirit lives continuously in us, not simply upon or onus on certain occasions. 

God has chosen to speak to us directly about His plans. I am not saying that prophecy is unimportant today, but it has a different function and that is primarily to confirm what God has already said. 

It appears that prophecy has two functions in the new testament:

1. to confirm what God has said
2. to build up an individual. 1 Corinthians 14:3 “But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men”. 

Prophecy can be for an individual (1 Cor 12) as well as for a group of believers as in the local church.

I need to be careful here, I am not saying that New Testament prophecy is only personal prophecy, God can and does use the prophetic gift to speak to the Church in general.

The New Testament makes it clear that prophecy is a spiritual gift and part of God’s plan to communicate with us: 

1. Romans 12:6 “Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith”. 
2. 1 Corinthians 12:10, “to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills”.
3. 1 Corinthians 14:1 “Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy”.
4. 1 Timothy 4:14 “Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership”.
5. 2 Peter 1:19-21, “And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; 20 knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, 21 for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit”.

Three parts of Prophecy:

In practical terms, we can see that prophecy has three parts, revelation, interpretation and application. This is true of the New Testament as well as Old Testament prophecy. 

1. Revelation-This is the actual impartation from the Holy Spirit to whoever receives the prophecy, it may be:
   1. audible (as in a voice), 
   1. visual as in a vision, 
   1. in dreams, 
   1. and in messengers (Angels). 
   1. In other words, God is communicating to us His plan and purpose.

• Interpretation –Since the Revelation may be symbolic, it means the prophet must interpret the message that is being conveyed. In other words, what is God saying?

• Application –The prophet or the one the prophecy is for must interpret the prophecy in other works what do you do with the interpretation? This is often the most difficult part because there may be a subjective clouding or influence by the person’s own point of view. There may be more than one way to interpret and therefore apply. 

Old Testament Examples

Joseph’s Dream

A very important account of Jacob’s son Joseph is given in Genesis Chapter 37. Remember Jacob had 12 sons and God changed Jacob’s name to Israel. So this is a significant account of one of those sons, Joseph.

At the time Joseph was the youngest son and Jacob’s favorite. His other brothers “hated him” (verse 4) because he was the favored one. As time goes on Joseph has a prophetic dream and he shares the dream with his brothers. The following is the prophetic dream: ”5 Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more. 6 So he said to them, “Please hear this dream which I have dreamed: 7 There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Then behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and indeed your sheaves stood all around and bowed down to my sheaf. 8 And his brothers said to him, “Shall you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words”. 

As you can see, they could not see the truth because their hatred clouded their minds. So, from that day forward all they could think about was how to get rid of him first by killing him but eventually selling Joseph into slavery. 

Later when Joseph becomes the second most powerful man in Egypt the brothers, in fact, bow down to him. Joseph then rescues the family from sure death and brings them into Egypt.

You see, this is the point, God’s word was fulfilled. Joseph knew it from the beginning, his family came to know it in the end. 

Another example, Nathan confronts King David.

Another example is in the life of King David. In this case, a Prophet named Nathan confronts David with the truth. Remember David is described by God, “as a man after my own heart”. despite this closeness between God and David, David sinned before God in the situation with Bathsheba.

You may recall in 2 Samuel 11, David used his authority as King to seduce the wife of one of his soldiers, Uriah. Uriah wife was Bathsheba. She became pregnant. What follows is a tragic story of ruthlessness and betrayal on David’s part. King David sent Uriah on a suicide mission upon which he is killed. Then King David takes Bathsheba to be his wife. 

Obviously, God was displeased with David’s treachery and sin. God sends Nathan the prophet to confront David. Nathan tells a story about a rich man and a simple farmer with only one lamb. To make a long story short (read the passage) the rich man takes the poor man’s lamb and uses the lamb in a banquet meal. 

Upon hearing this story, David replies in 2 Samuel 12:5  “ So David’s anger was greatly aroused against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this shall surely die! 6 And he shall restore fourfold for the lamb, because he did this thing and because he had no pity.” To which Nathan replies, “You are the man!”

Nathan then prophesizes that King David will experience war and bloodshed against his kingdom and that the child born of Bathsheba will die.

History shows that what was prophesized by Nathan all comes to pass.

Now for a New Testament Example

We see another example in Acts 21, a prophet by the name of Agabus meets with the Apostle Paul. In very dramatic fashion he takes Paul’s belt and ties his own hands and feet. And says, “Thus says the Holy Spirit, ‘So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’”

Now when the friends of Paul heard this prophetic word, they pleaded with him not to go up to Jerusalem”. (Wrong application!)

Then Paul answered, “What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” So, when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, “The will of the Lord be done.”

What is critical to understanding in this event is to see that Paul already had a word from the Lord in the previous chapter. Chapter 20 starting at 22, “And see, now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there, 23 except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me. 

As you can see, when the prophet Agabus spoke, Paul knew it was of the Lord. But Agabus’ interpretation was for Paul not to go to Jerusalem. However, Paul has already received a word form the lord that he was to go to Jerusalem in despite the danger that would befall him. That is why he didn’t let the cries of his friends dissuade him from his mission.

Conclusion

When you receive personal prophecy, it should be something that the Lord has already spoken to you about. Prophecy should be the confirmation of what you know God has said. Now it is also possible that the prophetic word reveals something that you are not aware of previously. In that case just “ponder it in your heart” until further revelations are made to you.

All prophecy must end with the individual asking with assurance the key question of, “Lord what are you saying to me…!”.

Then the Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 2, 

9 But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” 10 But (and a very big but) God has revealed them to us through His Spirit…

Then in verse 12

Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.

Verse 14

But the natural man (not born-again) does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

And finally, in verse 16

For “who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

Can you see it now, everything God wants us to know He reveals to us through His Holy Spirit, who lives in us!

Illumination and Rhema

Now recently we have been talking about how God speaks to us. In Episode 5 we introduced the idea of the Illumination of scripture by the Holy Spirit. In Episode 6 we talked about the power of “recalled” scriptures as we discussed the difference between the Logos word and the Rhema Word. 

Personal Revelation

There is a third way in which Jesus reveals, through His Holy Spirit, His truths to us and it is called Personal Revelation. Personal revelation is when you have a sudden insight into a truth that you could not have figured out yourself. 

It is not intellectual understanding, but it is an “ah-ha” moment when you see the truth and the truth sets you free from lies or untruths that have kept you blinded or in bondage. This revelation is divine in nature, that means it come from God. Jesus said to those who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed, and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” John 8:31.

I’ve chosen three examples or cases of divine personal revelation to help give us insight into what it is.

Case 1, Revelations of Paul in Galatians

Paul’s history: 

1. born after the crucifixion of Jesus, 
2. originally called Saul of Tarsus, 
3. a Pharisee, 
4. converted on the road to Damascus, Syria (Acts 9), 
5. now known as Paul. 
6. Wrote 13 of the books or Epistles of the New Testament.
7. New Testament 27 books, 4 gospels, 1 rev, 22 epistles, 13 by Paul
8. Apparently by Personal Revelation as we will see.

Galatians 1:

11 But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. 12 For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ.

13 For you have heard of my former conduct in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it. 14 And I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries in my own nation, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers.

15 But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, 16 to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood, 17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went to Arabia, and returned again to Damascus.

18 Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter and remained with him fifteen days. 19 But I saw none of the other apostles except James, the Lord’s brother. 20 (Now concerning the things which I write to you, indeed, before God, I do not lie.)

21 Afterward I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. 22 And I was unknown by face to the churches of Judea which were in Christ. 23 But they were hearing only, “He who formerly persecuted us now preaches the faith which he once tried to destroy.” 24 And they glorified God in me.

Galatians 2:1 Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and also took Titus with me. 2 And I went up by revelation, and communicated to them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to those who were of reputation, lest by any means I might run, or had run, in vain.

Communion…

Another example regarding Paul is the revelation of communion, one of the two ordinances given by Jesus, the other is baptism.

1 Cor 11:23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; 

24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” 

Case 2, Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ the Messiah in Matthew 16:13-19

13 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?”

14 So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”

16 Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

17 Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 

18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.

Peter had a divine personal revelation! He didn’t figure it out using logic, he simply knew the truth! The deity of Christ is a truth known only by divine revelation.

Case 3, “Doubting Thomas”, John 20:24-29.

The first time the risen Jesus appeared to the Disciples, the disciple Thomas was absent. Later the disciples said to Thomas, “We have seen the Lord.” Thomas replies, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” Thomas demanded proof before he would believe.

Eight days later the disciples were together again, and while Thomas was with them Jesus appeared in there midst, and said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing and Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” 

In the simple statement, “My Lord and my God!” Thomas understood through personal revelation Jesus was God! Notice that Thomas didn’t say my Messiah, or Christ, or savior or deliverer! He says “my God!” (Joseph and Mary Christ?)

Now I will agree that seeing the Risen Jesus would help us with our faith in Him, but listen to what verse says, 29 Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

 So, what is Personal revelation? It is when God through the Holy Spirit gives you the grace to believe (or have faith) in the revealing or revelation of His Truth. The truth is that Jesus is God and eternal life is found only in Him. He really is the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6).

My prayer for you is that you would receive the personal revelation that “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 

I’ve said all of this to make this point- interpersonal love involves communication. For instance, in a human love relationship, the deepest communication is an exchange of ideas about living your lives for each other’s good. This loving communication is a dialogue, which means that as one speaks the other listens and then the other speaks as the other listens. This is genuine communication it is a dialogue between two, not a monologue. 

It is reasonable then to believe that God wants to communicate with us. As He speaks to us, we should be listening, when we speak to Him, He is listening. Because God is Spirit and we have a spirit our communication with God is Spiritual. 

• Gospel of John 4:24 “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

When we hear the word worship most people think of music as in worship music, but in truth, worship of God means to surrender or submit to Him and His direction for your life. 

• Rom 12:1 says, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service (worship)”. 

God knows what you need!

Because God is omniscient or all-knowing and He loves us we understand that God knows best what we need in order to live the abundant victorious life. As we mature in Christ, we begin to recognize what pleases God and what displeases Him. We begin to understand that God is at work, through His Holy Spirit, to make us more and more like Jesus in character. After all, Jesus is God with flesh on. Jesus represents God for us, and Jesus has given his life as an example of unconditional love. He has also given us His words which are found in the Bible so that we might have a handbook, so to speak, for Godly living. 

Faith opens the door to spiritual life

We learn that the Bible is filled with God’s promises to us and that we receive those promises by faith. Now faith is not just believing with your mind, faith is acting or doing what you believe has been done in the spirit realm! Listen to the definition of faith found in Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen”.

An appropriate question here is, how do I get that kind of faith? Well good news, the Bible shows us the way.

• Romans 10:17 “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word (Rhema) of God”.

Hopefully, you now can see how important the Bible is.

1. It contains the message of the Gospel, or salvation.
2. It gives us “objective” direction for life. In other words the teaches what pleases God for everyone.
3. It reveals what God has promised us. Some say over 5000 promises are found in the Word of God.
4. It shows us that the only way to please God is by faith and then He tells you how to get faith.
5. Finally, God can use it to “speak” to you, subjectively, for your situation or circumstances. 

Remember faith is the key to the spiritual realm.

• Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Receiving Jesus into our lives means that there has been a spiritual re-birth and we are now destined for Heaven. However, our soul or mind is being renewed and that takes time. It can take a lot of time or a short amount of time. It really depends upon your willingness to “press into His Word” and learn to hear the voice of God. After all, God’s spirit lives in you, as a matter of fact, God says that you are the temple of the Holy Spirit. (1 Cor 6:19)

It’s almost like we are bringing our mind and soul into alignment with what has happened in the spirit. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new”.

As Christians we are all eager to hear the voice of God in our lives. We want to walk in His blessings We realize that God’s ways and thoughts are higher than ours and because we want to see change in our lives. 

Recap illumination

One of the ways that God speaks to us, as I mentioned in the last post, is through the “illumination” of scripture. This means that while you are “reading” the Bible a scripture verse or phrase seems to speak to you as a personal message about a question, thought or decision. The word illumination is used because it is as if the Holy Spirit causes the scripture to be a light to our decision. 

• Psalms 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path”.

Obviously, you can’t walk around with the Bible in your face throughout the day hoping for illumination, but the Holy Spirit can also bring to remembrance something you have read in the past. When this happens, it is called a Rhema word. Let me explain.

The Word

The Bible or Scriptures if often referred to as the “Word”. The word “word” can have several meanings in the New Testament. It can stand for the Living Word- Jesus. 

• John 1:1-2, 14 “1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us…”. In this sense the scripture is clearly equating Jesus with the word, the living Word!

Logos and Rhema

Then, of course, the word “word” can also stand for the scriptures themselves as in the “Word of God”! When the word “word” is used to stand for the Bible, you need to know that there are actually two words that are translated from the original Greek of the New Testament as “word”; and they are “Logos” and “Rhema”. 

Both of these Greek words are translated as “word” in English. You really can’t tell which word is being used in the English version of the Bible. A really simple, and I mean simple, definition of the two words are; Logos is the written word and Rhema is the spoken word. 

Keep in mind that the Holy Spirit wants to build the character of Christ into your life and He will do that using the Logos and Rhema of God.

Logos – objective

The logos word is the “objective” truths that apply to all Believers of Christ. They describe the character and nature of God. What pleases Him and what doesn’t. It describes His faithfulness to His people and the fact He wants to bless them. 

Rhema – subjective

The Rhema word is “subjective” it is still truth, but now it is applicable to circumstances, situations, and decisions a Believer is facing at the moment. 

Some scriptural facts:

We are promised, by Jesus, that the Helper- the Holy Spirit will teach us all things and bring to remembrance all the things Jesus has taught and said (John 14:26). 

• The following verse in Romans 10:17 states that, “…faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word (Rhema) of God”.

• Also, in Matthew 4:4 Jesus said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word (Rhema) that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” So, as you can see Rhema is spoken, whereas Logos is written.

• In John 6:63 Jesus says, “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”. The Rhema word is spiritual and life giving!

When you read the Bible, you are reading the Logos Word. When you are in a situation that requires an answer, solution, encouragement or decision… and then you recall a scripture that provides direction, that is a Rhema Word! The Holy Spirit is speaking to you through the recalled scriptures.

Obviously the more of the Logos Word you put in your mind and spirit the more the Holy Spirit can draw on in everyday life. Hence, the importance of spending time in the bible every day. 

Your spirit never tires

Now I know that there are times when we read, and we are bored or distracted and can’t remember what we read ten minutes later… your mind may be a thousand miles away. Nevertheless, your spirit is absorbing the spiritual food found in the Word! Your spirit never tires, gets sleepy or bored! Don’t underestimate the power of the written Word-Logos to come back as a spoken Word-Rhema by the Holy Spirit.

A personal example.

Remember I said that the Holy Spirit wants to build the character of Christ into your life. A long time ago before I entered into the ministry, I was one of those persons that felt obligated to speak whenever there was a pause or silence in a meeting. The result was that people rarely listened to what I had to say. Then the Holy Spirit would help me “catch my tongue” by recalling a verse I had read in Proverbs 10:19, which states that talking too much leads to foolishness, but a person who is silent is viewed as wise. So, I decided to trust the Rhema word and began to listen more and speak less and over time, as the scripture promised, I found that people would wait for my input and most of all value it. Now, this is a simple example, but the Rhema word works! If you will trust the Logos word!

As you continue to spend time in the Bible you will find the Holy Spirit applying His Rhema Word to you in more and more situations in everyday life. As it says in 2 Peter 1:3, He has given us everything we need for life and godliness.

God Bless you as you allow the Rhema Word of God to speak to you this week.

Wisdom from the Bible

The Bible teaches that there is a process of gaining wisdom. The steps to gaining wisdom are most often described in this sequence: 

• get knowledge, 
• gain understanding, 
• obtain wisdom. 

Knowledge – The Building Blocks of Wisdom

Knowledge represents a person’s acquired truths or facts about life. This accumulation of knowledge can happen in several ways. Through personal experience, thought or learning from the experiences of others. 

The greatest truths that a person can possess with the mind or learn through experience are, of course, truths about God.

True knowledge about God cannot be gained by human reason alone. It is only fully acquired as God shows Himself to a person through His Word, aided by the Holy Spirit.

The Process of Gaining Knowledge

Most of us begin our life in Christ with virtually no knowledge of the Bible. We have no background to build upon, so gaining knowledge requires a great amount of work. This also means that we may have many things to unlearn; wrong understandings, bad habits, worldly mindsets. 

Slowly but surely, as we study God’s Word, we accumulate facts and information; the names of the books of the Bible, bible characters, biblical events, and stories. We are collecting the building materialneeded to build a structure that will help us to stand firm in this life. 

As born-again believers, we also have the assistance of a great Helper. We have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, the Holy Spirit reveals the truth about God as we study the Bible. Prior to receiving Christ as our Savior, we read the Bible only with our natural minds. But now we are spiritual, and we have been given the mind of Christ.

The Holy Spirit enlightens our eyes and mind to passages in the Scriptures that are relevant to our situation and circumstances. We begin to see and understand scripture passages that we may not have noticed before. We recognize the life and power that accompanies the Word of God. Our passion for God and His Word begins to burn with greater fervor. 

Rhema And Logos

The Bible refers to itself as “The Word”. “Word” in the New Testament is derived from two Greek words, logosand rhema. The word logosmeans “written word”, or an expression of thought. The word rhemameans “spoken word”, or a word uttered in speech or writing. Both terms, rhema, andlogosare used throughout the New Testament. I will have more to say about this in the next episode.

The Bible reveals that its own words are living and able to discern both the thoughts of our mind and the motives of our heart. God is able to speak to us through the Bible, His living Word. God can speak to us about general principles for life. And He can speak to us about personal matters or circumstances. That is the reason why it is so important for us to daily read the written Word for it is the building material for our foundation in Christ. 

Understanding – The Mortar of Wisdom

“Understanding” represents the desire to use the knowledge we have of God to know and serve Him. 

As we continue to accumulate information (knowledge), we begin to seek connections between the collection of facts, dates, and stories. The Holy Spirit is actively at work illuminating or enlightening our understanding.

As we study and pray, the Holy Spirit begins to teach us the concepts or principles of God’s Word. This helps us to connect our fragments of knowledge together into a cohesive structure. When this begins to occur, the Scriptures will make much more sense to us. We will gain a much fuller understanding of the Truth. This “personal revelation” is what helps the Bible, in all of its parts, to fit together and make spiritual sense.

Wisdom – The Application of Understanding

Wisdom represents more than knowledge and understanding. Wisdom is knowing what pleases God and then doing it. 

Many think that just having knowledge and understanding of God are enough. But from God’s point of view, there is a further step to take. And that step is wisdom. 

Wisdom is the knowledge and understanding of God being correctly applied, with correct motives, to everyday life.

As I have said it is not enough to simply hear and understand the Word of God. We are called to be do-ersof the Word who are motivated by pure hearts. 

Being “do-ers of the Word” many times requires faith and it is this kind of faith that pleases God (Hebrews 11:6). This is what it really means to be led by the Holy Spirit. The Bible provides the knowledge, the Holy Spirit gives us an understanding of the Bible, and again the Holy Spirit leads us to do the Word. Ultimately, we must choose to actually apply and do the Word of God.

All three aspects – knowledge, understanding and wisdom – require effort on our part. But we must also receive the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit illuminates the Scriptures for knowledge, the Holy Spirit gives us personal revelation for understanding, the Holy Spirit leads us to be do-ers the Word, stirring up our faith. It is this faith that will release the full blessings of God upon our lives. 

In the last episode, we answered the question, “Does the Bible speak?” The conclusion was that the Bible does speak, but not in ways we might think. The statement that the Bible speaks is a metaphor. It doesn’t actually have an audible voice. however, the Bible is able to produce the same effect as the spoken word, it communicates or conveys information from the Holy Spirit of God. 

In John 10:1-6 Jesus makes the statement that “my sheep know my voice…”. The born-again Believers throughout the world have the spiritual ability to hear His voice because we are His sheep. As believers, we just need to know what to look or listen for in His voice, for in most cases it is not an audible voice. I need to be careful here, the Holy Spirit can speak in an audible voice. The Holy Spirit is God and can do anything He wants, but it is not the most common experience that individuals have. While an audible voice may not be the most common way that God “speaks”, He is able to produce the same effect through His Word, the Bible!

In the previous episode, I mentioned how illumination of the Bible works as we are reading the Bible. Bible scholars use the term “illumination of the scriptures”to mean that as we read the Bible certain verses or phrases come “alive” or seem to “jump off the page” and are relevant to what we are going through in life or our growth in maturity as a Christian. 

While you are reading it’s as if you can identify with the person, place or situation in the Bible and it “seems” to be “speaking” to you. It is a sudden flash insight into understanding. A verse you may have read before that didn’t make sense or didn’t seem particularly significant all of a sudden “comes alive” with meaning. That is an example of the “illumination” of the Holy Spirit of His Word. It is as if the Holy Spirit were saying, this is important for you! Remember it is the Holy Spirit of God who inspired the words of the Bible in the first place and He can best bring insight for you. After all, He knows best what you need.  

In the last episode I also mentioned my personal experience with my anger issues and how reading the verse in James 1:19 “So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God”. The instant I read it the Bible seemed to say to me, “you have an anger issue- deal with it because I am not pleased with it”. Now someone else could read that same verse and agree with it, but in my case, it was like facing a crossroad in my life and I had to decide which way I was going to go. 

Relying on Spiritual voices without the Bible

Before I go any further, I want to address an issue I have heard some people say and it is this. “I am a Christian and I can hear from God, so I don’t need the Bible”! Since we are talking about spiritual communication that statement is true, but there is a catch. Which spirit are you listening to? God is not the only spirit who can influence or “speak” to you. 

1. There is our own spirit and it often encourages you to do what you wanted to do in the first place. It will often place the issue on someone else. A spouse, friend, coworker or neighbor. Your spirit never sees the problem as residing in you. Obviously, if it were God’s spirit His focus would be on you, to transform you into the likeness of Jesus Christ.
2. Then there is the issue of Satan or the Devil who is a spiritual entity and therefore can communicate with the spirit of human beings. If you have a picture of some ugly demonic being with horns and a tail, you would be wrong. The devil is slick and cunning. The Bible teaches that the devil is an incredible liar… John 8:44. By that I mean he is most convincing; deception is his game and he knows how to appeal to weaknesses of human beings. Another important consideration is that the Devil can come disguised as an angel of light… 2 Cor 11:14. This means that he can appear as innocent, caring and looking out for your interest and well-being. Throughout the ages, he has deceived multitudes.

This is where the Bible is so critical. Through it, we learn the character and nature of God. In essence, the Bible is our “compass” in determining if what we are “hearing” is of God, self or the Devil. 

Here are a couple of principles that the Bible teaches that are good to use as a measure of the kind of spirit that is trying to influence you.

1. God is omnipotent- this means that God is all powerful and nothing is more powerful than Him. This also means that nothing is impossible with Him. So, any “voice” that speaks to your situation as impossible to resolve by God, is a LIE!
2. God is omniscient- this means that God knows everything that can be known. This also means that nothing is hidden from Him. There is no secret that God does not know. He knows your inner thoughts and motives. You can’t outwit him or outplay Him because He can see right through you.
3. God is omnipresent- this means that He is everywhere at once. So, you can’t hide from Him. As a Believer His Holy Spirit is with you and in you, no matter where you go- He is there. 
4. God cannot lie- this means that since every word in the Bible is from Him, we should look at the Bible as a book of promises. If God said it “He will perform it” or it will come to pass. God will never violate His own word. This brings an interesting thought to mind. Over the last two thousand years, there have been many predicting the return of Jesus Christ, or the Second Coming. Even Jesus’ disciples asked this question in Matthew 24:3 “Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” Yet Jesus clearly states in Matthew 24:36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only”. In other words, the Bible shows that no one can know or figure out when He will return and yet many have publicly given the time and date for His return only to be disappointed and humiliated. I am sure they read that scripture. But instead believed that they had a revelation from God. Remember Satan comes disguised as an “Angel of Light” in an attempt to deceive the Believers. God does not lie- if He said it, it will be.
5. God is good- this means that He is always good. I know in this world there is much that is tragic and even evil. It would be easy to believe that God is responsible for at least in part for all that, but He is not! God is not good and then sometimes bad. He is pure light and goodness. We do live in a “fallen world” which means that the evil in the world is the consequence of people over the ages following their own heart and disobeying God.  God gave us a free-will to choose good or evil, throughout the ages, many have chosen evil and all the consequences that come with disbelieving and disobeying God are present in the world today. 

Closing

Another way in which the Bible or Word of God can speak in situations that require a decision, direction or encouragement, is through a RHEMA word. More about that in our next post.