Let Us Hear
What the Spirit Is Saying
by Joyce Rankin

"But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,  Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloak forbid not to take thy coat also"  (Luke 6:27-29).

We are not here to bear witness of ourselves. We are here to bear witness of Jesus the Christ. We are here to show forth the Son, who Himself said,  I do what I have seen the Father do and I speak that which I have heard the Father speak.   But I say unto you which hear... (Luke 6:27).  ...unto you which hear...  Not everyone that receives the sound waves into their ears hears what the Lord Jesus is saying. We can hear with our outer ears but completely miss hearing with our inner most Spiritual ear. Brother Rankin tells of a man who stood up in the middle of a service and said he did not believe the prosperity message. Brother Rankin told him, Don’t worry about it. It isn’t for you. It is for believers. The man was not hearing with the Spiritual ear.
So here in Luke 6:27 are instructions for HEARERS in the kingdom. These instructions come directly from the mouth of  Jesus. If you have a red letter edition of the Bible, these words are in red letters. These are words of direction and instruction from our Saviour. These words (since Jesus spoke that which He heard the Father speak) come from our Father. These words reflect HIS desire for how we should act. "Love your enemies." We can say, while in church, in the presence of God and other believers, "Oh, I do love my enemies." But Monday morning during a coffee break when others are talking about everyone who has wronged them, we might not feel the same way we felt in Church. After all, we want something to talk about also. We don't want to be left out of the conversation so we drudge up some past experiences with people who have wronged us, aggravated us, hurt our feelings, or put us down in some way. We tell about the cleaners who broke our buttons and wouldn't give us satisfaction so we won't go there any more, the doctor who charged us too much for that last office call, that guy on the freeway who cut in on us endangering our life so we tried to chase him down and run him off the road (probably putting ourselves in greater danger than he did by cutting in on us).

What happened to "If someone smite you on the one cheek, turn to him the other ? Have we become dull of hearing that we no longer listen to the simple commands of our Lord and Saviour? We have found they are not so simple to obey in this day of: "I am worth it." "I owe it to myself." or "If it feels right, go for it." Our Lord Jesus showed the way in that he did not defend Himself. He was here for a purpose. His anger was for the wrong being done the Father, not Himself. But we get tired of being run over and misused. We get tired of being taken advantage of every time we turn around. We get tired of the unfair prices, lack of service, and refusal for anyone to take responsibility today. That is when we need that love of the Father, loving when only He can love.

Natural common sense seems to have become a thing of the past. I hear of men traveling across the nation getting paid big money for giving the kind of advice we received at home from our Dad who had only an eighth grade education. But we have access to something even greater than common sense that will carry us through this life. We have the love of Jesus. We need it activated in our lives when we encounter the many aggravations every day that try the salvation we have come to value so highly. We must be careful or the voices and sights around us will distract us and lead us off in some direction other than that which the Lord desires for us. If we are hearing what the Spirit is saying to us, let us apply it to our lives. There are many more scriptures that encourage us and instruct us in this direction   away from our  self  and toward others.

Let us look at the Beatitudes. Matthew 5:1-12,  And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.  Notice verse 11 that says you are blessed when men shall revile you and persecute you and say all manner of evil against you falsely for His sake. He tells us to REJOICE and be EXCEEDING glad: for great is our reward in heaven.

Perhaps part of our problem is that we are many times persecuted, not for the Lord's sake, but because we have been selfish or unwise for our own sake, trying to promote ourselves. Another problem is when we have not been wronged, we only feel we have been because we did not get our way or someone did not agree with us.

In I Peter 4:12-13 we find these words,  Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.  We are told here in verse 12,  Think it not strange.  Why do we wonder,  Why is this happening to me?  when the word of God tells us quite specifically in verse 13,  Rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's suffering that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.
 
Think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, AS THOUGH SOME STRANGE THING HAPPENED UNTO YOU.  These trials we come up against should not seem strange to us. They are a part of our walk with Jesus because there IS an enemy who opposes all the good that Jesus has done for us. We cannot effectively war against such an enemy if we live a soft and pampered life. We become spoiled so easily when everything is given us, when there are no obstacles, and when there are no challenges. We tend to make up our own challenges and become detoured into a land of self-gratification heaping treasures upon ourselves and our family and our friends. The trials and challenges the Lord has us encounter are to lead us into the land of the living so that we might be a pleasure to our Father and a blessing to those He desires to bless.

Paul encourages us in Romans 8:28, "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to those who are the called according to his purpose."

How often we have used this verse to comfort ourselves and how often we have gotten tired of being reminded that all things work together for good. How amazed I was one day to see the words "we know." This is something we should KNOW. When we actually KNOW something, we do not spend nearly as much time trying to figure it out. When I drop a book and it lands on the floor, I am not puzzled at the fact that it landed on the floor instead of the ceiling. I don't look for the meaning of it, or try to make sense out of it, or question the logic of it. I pick it up and go on. Yet, the least little thing happens to us and we cry and whine and carry on as though some strange thing has happened to us. We worry, pray for hours, seek counseling, search the word or tell everyone we come in contact with how hard we have it. Worse yet are all the flimsy excuses we make to justify ourselves and the rash judgments others make. We must always make sure we are in obedience to God; but if we can believe, if we can hear, if we can trust the Word of God, and if we will keep ourselves in remembrance of those things which the Father has seen fit to have put in print and preserved for us, we will think it not strange. We will know that all things work for the good of those called..., Rejoice, be exceeding glad... blessed are ye....

I know that things so horrid and unexpected can happen to people that indeed it seems as though some strange alien being has taken control of our life, but that is our natural carnal thinking. The Spirit would say to you and to me all the above scriptures and even more. That is where we must desire to live! IN the Spirit. Only in Jesus do we find hope, faith building words of life, and life eternal. There truly is life after death. When you feel you have been mortally wounded by family or best friend or church member, remember that your life is in Jesus. It is His word, His faith, and His righteousness that will resurrect you to go on another day. He is that spring of living water that can well up within you when it seems all hope is gone. We must trust Him! We must believe that His word is truth. We must hear His instruction and then go on to do for others that which He has so freely done for us. Dare to be a Daniel. Dare to stand. Dare to live another day walking in God's word and honoring it above all the words you hear from man.

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JOYCE RANKIN
PO BOX 17255
SAN ANTONIO TX 78217-0255

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