10.01 | Treasure or Rhēma?
Matthew 7
“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”
Matthew 7:24-27
When it comes to the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus finishes big.
Judgementalism, prayer, the countercultural nature of the Kingdom path, a ethical summary of the entire Old Testament, why your heart is like a fruit tree, what true allegiance means, and a quick parable about sensible architecture as a metaphor for the only stable place to live from. It’s rapid-fire teaching, covering huge aspects of the art of living, taking all that Jesus has said so far and landing it in some radical universals for life in His Kingdom.
Some parts of the Scriptures are like this, either bouncing off macro-principles to give many quick-fire micro-applications, or, as here, moving from many specific teachings to establish some crucial universals.
Like when you pray, know that the Father is good and thus will only and always give what is good.
Or, treat others with the honour and truthfulness with which you want to be treated yourself.
Or, if you want good fruit in your life, focus on nurturing the condition of your heart.
Or, there is no foundation for living that is ultimately stable and lasting other than by practising the Way of Jesus of Nazareth.
We could unpack any aspect of these. Every part of these words of Jesus is soaked with truth that will lead you into the life of the Kingdom.
But today we’re going to do something a little different.
We’re going to learn how to read the Bible better.
Whenever we read the Bible, we’re giving the Holy Spirit a chance to speak directly into our lives. He tends to speak to us through the Scriptures in one of two ways.
The more common, in my experience, is what we’ll call the treasure of the heart (Mary, Jesus’ mother, was said to do this beautifully). It is the experience of reading the Scriptures on the days when nothing seems to stand out, and you wonder if you missed something. You most likely didn’t. Instead you are quietly storing those words away. Nothing is wasted with God, and the practice of reading, allowing those words to settle quietly in your soul is far more transformative than you realise. It builds familiarity with the Scriptures, and rubs the words of the Scriptures into your thoughts and words and imagination, filling your mind with material that the Spirit will draw on at will when you most need it. So often, it is the experience of the one who regularly absorbs the Scriptures that the Spirit will bring to mind something read yesterday, last week, or even years before, in the very moment that you need it. Reading the Scripture is like filling your house with treasure. The Spirit will delight to bring out what you are storing up there exactly when it is required.
The second experience is what we’ll call the rhēma. Rhēma is a Greek word, describing a word spoken by a living voice. It is not just a word heard or understood, but a specific idea that hits the exact target for this particular moment. The rhēma is a word that jumps off the page for you today. It is the idea that interrupts you, the life scenario that you now see differently. It is the conviction that you need to change direction in one part of your life, or the shift in how you see yourself, the world, or God. The rhēma is when the Spirit takes something you have just read and hits you square between the eyes. When this happens, this is the word we grab hold of and journey forwards with.
Both are beautiful. Both are gifts. Both are lives building on rock. Both lead us into life in the Kingdom of Jesus.
Reflect:
How did the Spirit choose to establish this word in your heart today?
Treasure? Or rhēma?
Pray:
Father,
Thank you that all things that you give are good,
And that what you gifted me as I read today was exactly what I needed.
Would you establish deep reserves of treasure in my soul,
Letting it grow and blossom and bear fruit,
In the quality of soul that only grows with time.
And would you establish the specific things I need to hear in this moment, this season, this day,
Granting me courage and clarity to live them out in fullness,
That this day be a day lived further into
The reign of Jesus my Lord,
In His Name,
Amen.
Old Testament:
For those also reading the Old Testament, your additional readings are here:
Genesis 24-25 | Psalm 6