I HEARD FOR MYSELF
John 4:42 And said unto the woman, now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.
How does faith come? It comes from hearing, and hearing from the Word of God (Romans 10:17). When we read the Word of God, the logos, and mix faith with what is said, we can receive the promises of God. I think something has been missing from some people’s faith walk; it is called Rhema. Rhema is a revealed word from the Word of God, and then it is a spoken word from the Word of God. It is how the Word of God becomes a double-edged sword (Hebrews 4:12). The Word does have to come out of your mouth, but first it must be revelation in your heart.
I think this scripture gives us insight into why some people are not receiving, even though the Father wants them to have it. Have what? All the promises of God that are yes and amen in Christ Jesus. In verse 39, it says many believed on Him because of the woman’s testimony, but today’s scripture says that others were not able to believe until they heard Him for themselves. It reminds me of Sarah in the account of how Abraham and Sarah received Isaac, the promise of God. We see the end in Hebrews 11:11 of how Sarah believed God and received strength to conceive Isaac.
When God first made a covenant with Abraham, God promised him an heir from him and Sarah. Abraham believed God and, obviously, told Sarah what God had said; but time went by and nothing happened, so frustrated Sarah told Abraham to have a child with Hagar. What a mess that created. Even today, if we create a big mess, someone might say, “That’s an ‘Ishmael,’” but that was not the plan of God. Abraham even tried to make it be the plan of God, but that was not what God had said. So God told Abraham, “You and Sarah are going to have a son, and his name will be Isaac.” Then, one day during the whole Sodom and Gomorrah situation, God came by Abraham’s place, and Sarah was in the tent. This seems to be the first time Sarah was near the presence of God. God said, and Sarah heard, “About this time next year, you will have a son.” Sarah laughed and basically said, “We don’t even do ‘that’ anymore.” Then God asked Sarah, “Why did you laugh?” Sarah lied and said, “I didn’t laugh.” My point is, this is the first time Sarah heard God for herself, and from that she got a “Rhema.” She now knew God’s will for herself because she heard it for herself. It seems to me you need to turn the logos, the written Word of God, into a Rhema by hearing God for yourself. When you do, you will receive from the Lord.