Faith Series #2 Faith from Hearing
After getting into many churches that are part of charismatic movement, I had witnessed so many miracles from so many mighty men of God. I saw demons get cast out, blind eyes opened, dead been raised up, and supernatural provisions to church needs. I wondered if I could have their faith, that will be wonderful! But where can I find such faith?
ENGLISH - BASICS
YTM
9/6/20265 min read
So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
(Romans 10:17, KJV)
After I had witnessed so many wonderful testimonies in people’s life. That really provoked my “jealousy” towards their faith in their life. In some extent, I was little “mad” at them as if I am the second-class of Christians. To be more “annoyed”, many of these people will say, “oh, God is not respect of a person, if I can do it, then you can do it too!” I thought, well, I need to figure this out!
One day, I was listening to Pastor Derek Prince’s teaching. He was sharing his testimony of how he got healed through faith in God. He mentioned that he has similar struggle of lack of faith in the beginning. Because he knows God will heal him if he has faith in Him, but he could not. Then he was reminded a Bible verse: Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (Romans 10:17) Then his faith journey started from there.
His understanding and usage of this verse was so new to me. I grow up in the evangelical churches, and I have hardly heard any pastors to interpret this verse from this angle. The context of Romans chapter 10 is about the salvation of Israelites. I am sure many people from the evangelical circle will consider it is used out of context if we use this verse for faith building. Will this argument stand?
First of all, evangelical churches had done great job in preaching the message of Jesus for our salvation. If you grew up in a Baptist church, you will understand what I am saying. You probably will hear the gospel message of Jesus died on the cross to save me as a sinner almost every Sunday. But messages of healing the sick, casting out demons, raising the dead, and divine provisions are rarely preached. As such messages can be easily labeled as “prosperity gospels”. But I believe this is a deception from the enemy.
Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen. He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.” (Mark 16:14-18)
If we look at Luke 16:17 to 18, it's clear that our Lord Jesus said miracles and wonders will follow those who believe. If this is the case, can I use Romans 10:17 to build "that-kind-of-faith", which such signs will follow us? If I have no faith to lay my hands and see my family members get healed, how will I have confidence to pray for a sick person whom I just met at Walmart?
The NLT version of Bible of Romans 10:17 says: faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ. Many people know the “Good News of the Christ”, which is, Jesus died on the cross for our sin, if we place our faith in Him, we will be saved and go to heaven after we died. But many people may have not heard the “Good News about Christ”, which is Jesus died on the cross for our sin, if we place our faith in Him, we will be saved from the power of the sin and consequence of the sin. Jesus died, buried, and raised again from the death and now He gives the authority to His believers, so "whoever believes" in Him can heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out the demons, and set the captives free. Not only they will go to heaven after their death, while they are still on earth, they will experience the kingdom of God and also bring the kingdom of God to many other who are under the oppression of the devil, under the bondage of the sins, and under the torment of the sickness. And that is "my version" of the salvation of Jesus Christ, and that is Good News!
From the NLT’s standpoint, faith comes from the hearing the Good News about Christ. For those who lack of faith, the key question we need to ask, what content of Good News about Christ are you hearing? What the message will you bring to the world with “your version of Christ”?
If we dig deeper into the direct translation from the Greek text of this verse. It basically says: faith comes from “what we heard”, and “what we heard” is from the “rhema word” of Christ. To make it short: faith comes from the “rhema word” of Christ.
We know Christ is the eternal Logos of the God (John 1:1), and Jesus Christ is the Logos become flesh on earth (John 1:14). But many people are not aware of the “rhema word”. In classical Greek, a ”rhema” was simply an utterance, a statement, or a word spoken aloud. The core meaning of “rhema” refers to a specific word or message spoken directly to a person at a precise moment.
“Rhema” appears roughly 70 times in the Greek New Testament, most of them are translated as word. An example is in Matthew 4:4: "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word [rhema] that proceeds from the mouth of God." This highlights an active, spoken word direct to the person at a precise moment. Many years ago, I did not understand this bible verse at all. I memorized many Bible verses, but without the living relationship with God, guidance of Holly Spirit, such “knowing” did not bring me life, but religious death like in a Pharisee. You see, the group of people who killed Jesus were not those who knows nothing about the Old Testament but the religious leaders who knows their Bible very well. But they rejected the “rhema” of Lord Jesus’s teaching.
It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words [rhema] that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. (John 6:63, KJV)
Why we do not live by bread alone? Because Lord Jesus said, His “rhema” words are "spirit and life". We are sprits with bodies. Our physical body needs “bread” to live, but our spirit needs “rhema” to live.
Then, what this has to do with faith? You see, when God’s “rhema” hit you at a precise moment when you need to pray for someone. Not only the “rhema” tells you what to do, it also “sustains” you with His power and His grace at that exact time. His "rhema" words enables us and help us in our weakness because they carry life. Because of this, at that moment, you will have “confidence” to do whatever He tells you to do. This is called “faith” in that moment of action.
If you want to have faith, then spend more time with Holly Spirit and God. Try to learn to hear and discern His voice. So, when you call on His name, then you wait for His “rhema”. When you hear His “rhema”, then faith comes.
Oh, My Lord Jesus, My God, please help me to hear your living words!