The Rhema

In Old Testament scriptures when man encountered God, it was such an impactful experience that people would set up altars to commemorate the moment. Erecting objects dedicated to God was a way to show the world what God had done (or said) and a way to encourage and bring people to remembrance. The encounter was so powerful that not only were altars built to serve as reminders, but the people erecting them were radically changed. The result of hearing God speak changed everything. It had the ability to shift people's direction - their hearts, their mindsets, their ways - and set them on a God ordained destiny that had a magnificent ripple effect on eternity. The result of hearing God speak still changes everything. So friends, consider this blog post my altar. I hope in sharing how I've experienced the rhema will encourage you to press into God and want to experience the rhema for yourself.

What is the rhema? It is the spoken word of God - an utterance or what has been declared. There are three Greek terms for the "word of God" in our translated bibles - the graphe, the logos, and the rhema. How these three words are used in the text are incredibly important to understand. The graphe are the "writings of God". When scripture (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20) uses the Greek word graphe to refer to the Word of God, what it's defining are the "writings" of God (Evans, 124). This is the literal book that we hold - the bible. The logos is the message of the graphe - message of the book. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1). Jesus is called the Logos in this passage because He was sent as God's messenger to present God to human beings and to embody His message to us (Evans, 125). The rhema is the specific declaration concerning the message of the written word. The rhema is what God uses to speak to your specific situation. It's when you're reading your graphe and you come across a passage that jumps off the page at you and embeds itself in your heart. All of a sudden you're given wisdom for the decision that you've been asking the Lord about. Suddenly you're given clarity on a situation that might have seemed murky before. Strongholds come down with the rhema. When one experiences it, forgiveness despite the circumstance is normal. Hope is breathed into impossible situations. The rhema cuts through the fog and shifts the spiritual atmosphere around you changing everything in its wake. It is powerful and effective and on the other side of it is breakthrough. When Paul talks about the spiritual armor one must continually put on - namely the "sword of the spirit" (Ephesians 6:17), he is talking about the rhema. This is the only offensive piece in the armory! It serves as an absolute kill shot to the devil and his schemes. I can imagine after Jesus exited the wilderness, albeit thirsty and hungry, he had a little pep to His holy step knowing the devil had just been defeated by the rhema (Matthew 4). Which alludes to my altar and the reason for sharing it.

For the past three or so months, I've been engaged in intense spiritual warfare that has primarily been played out in my mind, emotions, and will. Satan has used various tactics and schemes to try and take me out rendering me useless in the kingdom of God. I've noticed old sin habits starting to creep their way back into my life, a nonchalant attitude towards quiet time with Jesus, and subtle changes in my attitude towards the church. Certain external things have happened as well contributing to this that have compounded on one another adding insult to injury. It's felt like a prolonged fog, a spiritual slump if you will. This week God kept bringing the book of James to mind. Since I'm in the thick of Romans right now, James wasn't really on my radar, but ok, sure. James 4:7, boom, "Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil. And the devil will flee". This was my rhema moment. A passage that I can't tell you how many times I've read but God knew I needed to read it again. It was in this moment that these words leapt off the page and God showed me how I've been exalting myself by my disobedience and how that worked hand in hand with not resisting the devil but rather entertaining him leaving him permission to hang around. Who wants to leave a good party? No wonder the fog, the feelings of uselessness and apathy. God, in his mercy and goodness, showed me how submitting to Him is humility and how the opposite of humility is exaltation of oneself. There have been convictions from the Holy Spirit that I have not heeded or I will heed them for a time only to justify myself back into them. And if I'm being honest, the reason for my justification to these "heedings" is because they didn't come with an explanation. God oftentimes doesn't give me the why behind His directives. Instead He leaves me with the choice to believe what He says without knowing the why and obey or not believe and disobey. James 4:17 mentions that for the person who knows the right thing to do, but fails to do it, to him it is sin. Because I've been willfully walking in disobedience to directives I know God has given me, I have effectually exalted myself above God. In a sense I've told God that He doesn't know what He's talking about and my ways are better. From there it's a downward fall and entertaining the devil is commonplace. Only when we submit to God can we resist the devil and see him flee. This seems so elementary, but when you're in the fog of warfare it is far from it.

It's only by the rhema of God that the truth is dissected and revealed. Just like a sword does, it cuts you to the heart and there's no mistaking the voice of God speaking to the exact situation you're in. When this happens there is no more justifying. There is no more questioning. There is no more wondering if God really said it. The only option at this point is radical obedience precursed by tears and genuine repentance. When you experience the rhema, the last thing you do is keep it to yourself. The altars always follow.

*excerpts taken from "Victory in Spiritual Warfare - Outfitting yourself for the battle" by Dr. Tony Evans.