Eternity Daily Bible Study
(A ministry of Eternity Christian Fellowship)
Walking In The Spirit - 35
Studies in this series can also be found online at www.globalchristians.org/walkspirit/
Topic: Different Types of Heavenly Downloads
Date: 29th August 2009
There are at least four kinds of downloads from Heaven that I can detect in Scripture:
1.Downloads that change the way we think at a deep level such as those that give us a much greater awareness of God's love or which give us a far deeper knowledge of Christ. Paul often prays for this kind of wisdom to be given to the early Christian churches (Ephesians 1:17-19; Philippians 1:9; Colossians 1:9,10)
2.Downloads that impart specific wisdom and skill such as building the Tabernacle or the wisdom given to Solomon about justice and various kinds of other matters
3.Downloads which impart knowledge that solves immediate problems: such as God telling Daniel what Nebuchadnezzar 's dream was, or pointing out a tree to Moses that would turn the bitter waters sweet.
4.Prophetic downloads of the rhema word of God that expose the hearts and minds of people or which reveal the plans and purposes of God. (We will examine this in more detail in the next study)
All of these types of downloads are given by the one Holy Spirit, for the glory of God, for the edification of the saints, and for the building up of the Church.
Because they are from the same source they must all work together. It is not a matter of picking and choosing which kind of wisdom that you prefer. You must ask, seek and knock , in prayer, for the wisdom you need for the work that you are called to do.
Now some may feel that they have sufficient wisdom. Perhaps you have a M. Div. Or even a Ph.D. - and praise the Lord that you do! But that will not show you the answers to many of the situations that you will encounter in life. You may have to deal with a suicidal person, or with a demon or with some very complex ministry situation. When you get the feeling that you are 'swamped' and 'in over your head' and unable to cope, then you should cry out to the Lord for a heavenly download of wisdom that will turn everything around.
The first way that God may turn everything around is by changing you! In particular God may change your beliefs and perspective on things, renewing your mind so that you see situations through His eyes and with His love, grace and eternal patience. Most crises either disappear or become much smaller when viewed from the Lord's perspective. We learn that He is faithful and that His grace will be sufficient for us, even in our extreme weakness:
2 Corinthians 12:9-10 MKJV (9) And He said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore I will rather glory in my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may overshadow me.
The second way that God may change everything around is by giving you a new skill. By downloading something into your system that you can use over and over again. You may be a naturally shy person but God may turn you into a great preacher, or you may be unlearned but God may open up the Scriptures to you so that you 'have the Bible in your blood'.
The third way that God may change everything is by giving you specific, immediate knowledge that defies explanation but which solves the problem at hand. You may know what someone is thinking, or where they need healing, or what the desires of their heart are, or God may give you a piece of knowledge 'out of the blue' on how to fix something. You may 'just know' that someone is dangerous or you may be able to repair a marriage by suddenly knowing where the real problem lies.
Fourthly God may allow you to speak a prophetic word into a situation. God may give you the gift of New Testament prophecy for the building up of the church. This is the ability to speak His 'rhema word' into specific life and ministry situations. The 'rhema word' is a s spoken word, utterance, or saying that is given by God the Holy Spirit. Rhema is used 40 times in the New Testament:
It is referred to by Jesus during the Temptation in the Wilderness:
Matthew 4:4 MKJV But He answered and said, It is written, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word (rhema) that proceeds out of the mouth of God."
Rhema includes the words that Christ spoke during His ministry:
John 3:34 MKJV For He whom God has sent speaks the Words (rhemata) of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure.
Luke 7:1 MKJV And when He had ended all His words (rhemata) in the ears of the people, He entered into Capernaum.
and to the words spoke by the angels to the shepherds at Jesus' birth:
Luke 2:17-19 MKJV And seeing, they publicly told about the word spoken to them concerning this Child. (18) And all those who heard marveled about the things spoken to them by the shepherds. (19) But Mary kept all these sayings, meditating in her heart.
And the rhema word brings eternal life:
John 6:63-68 MKJV It is the Spirit that makes alive, the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit and are life. ... Then Jesus said to the Twelve, Do you also wish to go away? (68) Then Simon Peter answered Him, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the Words of eternal life.
The rhema word can only be perceived by the spiritually receptive:
John 8:47 MKJV He who is of God hears God's Words. Therefore you do not hear them because you are not of God.
And listening to and abiding in God's rhema word opens up possibilities in prayer:
John 15:7 MKJV If you abide in Me, and My Words abide in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done to you.
Peter and the apostles then went and preached the rhema word that brought life:
Acts 5:19-20 MKJV But the angel of the Lord opened the prison doors by night and brought them out, and said, (20) Go! Stand and speak all the words of this Life to the people in the temple.
The 'rhema word' (when used in its theological sense which is the vast majority of the time) is the word that strikes home, the word that brings eternal life, the preached word of power and transformation. It is the anointed word of God, like the words that fell from the lips of Jesus and the apostles. It is the special word of spiritual wisdom that is downloaded directly from heaven. More on this in the next study.
BRIEF ADDENDUM FOR THOSE WHO LIKE GREEK
The very general word for “Word” or saying is logos. Logos (and its direct derivatives) are used around 302 times in the Greek New Testament. Logos is employed for all sorts of purposes. It can mean Christ as the eternal word of God, or it can mean a saying or teaching of Scripture. Logos can also refer to a spoken reply of Jesus or a statement by one of the bible characters. Logos is the all-inclusive umbrella term for communication and can even include some 'rhema words'. Thus rhema is a distinct sub-set of logos.
The written Scriptures are generally referred to by the terms gramma (as in letter writing) or graphe (specifically Scriptures) these words are used some 66 times in the New Testament - of which 52 refer to the Bible or portions thereof.
There is also considerable overlap and interaction since Jesus is the logos and the Bible speaks of Christ and Christ speaks the rhema word into situations and the rhema words of Christ when written down in the gospels became the Bible – and so on.
Blessings,
John Edmiston (johned@aibi.ph)
Pastor – Eternity Christian Fellowship
Chairman/ CEO Cybermissions
http://www.eternitychristian.com
http://www.cybermissions.org
PLEASE PRAY FOR THE ONLINE MINISTRY OF JOHN & MINDA EDMISTON – to get our prayer points fill out our sign up form.
For details on how to support this ministry of God's Word : http://www.aibi.ph/articles/donate_main.htm
REFER OTHERS: If this devotional is a blessing to you, maybe you have a friend or family member that would like to start receiving this daily bible study. You can forward this to them, and they can use the following link to subscribe. http://www.aibi.ph/eternity/
EBOOKS & ARCHIVES: http://www.aibi.ph/eternity/
You are receiving this email because you either subscribed on the website, or sent an email to the subscribe address. We do not subscribe people without their consent.