THOSE WHO RULE OVER US
Tuesday – August 7, 2018, Av 26, 5778
Greetings and welcome back to this course correcting and faith building Bible Study from the Bible Book of Hebrews. Our God is so very good, giving us all that is needed for a successful life now and forever! When will we realize that the Word of God is the most important and powerful thing to exist and it is in our mouths. When spoken in faith, the faith we inherited from God, in love (the fuel or power of faith), led of the Holy Spirit we get the God kind of results. However, never forget that this process, our walk in the earth and beyond, is a partnership, we have a part and God has a part. If we neglect our part He doesn’t just swoop in and do it for us. If we are stuck, perhaps we are not doing our part. Now, let’s read our primary Bible text for this study aloud, putting it in our mouth, our eyes, and our ears.
Hebrews 13:5-8 (KJV)
5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
6 So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.
7 Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation.
8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
Today I will be picking up with the seventh verse and start by dealing with the phrase “Remember them which have the rule over you”. Our natural man will rebel at that very phrase and then perhaps our spirit man will kick in and say well don’t be so quick and submit to God. This leaves out human spiritual authority all together. I know that probably does not reflect your thoughts just mine. Now, if you or I are looking for the perfect spiritual leader to submit too you can probably stop looking right now for they may not exist in the earth. If we are looking for a spiritual leader with flawless doctrine we can probably cease with that search as well. If we are looking for a spiritual leader that is transparent, correcting their own thoughts, words, and ways as led of the Spirit where needed, we may have the right person. I am sure we all recognize that we are all on a journey, always upward, and always forward, with our hand in the Hand of the Savior.
Before we take a closer look at the word “rule” I want to remind us all that we allow someone to rule over us, it is always in the end our choice. God created us as freewill creations. God has never made any person do something, He always honors our choices. Now, of course our bad choices have consequences just as our good choices have consequences. In the secular or the world, we might say cause and effect, in the Kingdom we might say sowing and reaping, all the same law. As we think about this thing about being ruled we might think about it in the context of visiting someone’s home. When in anothers home we honor their ways of doing things even though we might not approve of it all, we submit to their rule. I think most of us do that without giving it a second thought if we were taught good manners. Now, let’s take a closer look at what the Holy Spirit is saying to us through the writer of Hebrews. The Greek word translated to English as “rule” is transliterated as ‘hegeomar’ meaning to lead, go before, go first, or lead the way according to The Complete Word Study Dictionary – New Testament. According to Strong’s Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary this word means to lead; by implication to bring, drive, go, pass (time), or induce to be, bring (forth), carry, (let) go, keep, lead away, or be open. So, as we study this and meditate upon it we see that it is someone who is leading by example and providing an opportunity for us to go forward in the Lord. We choose to follow or not. These people in our lives who “rule” do so by speaking the Word of God over us. We will be dealing with this again a little later in the chapter.
As we look further into this verse let me present us the same verse in two another Bible translation.
Hebrews 13:7 (HCSB)
7 Remember your leaders who have spoken God’s word to you. As you carefully observe the outcome of their lives, imitate their faith.
Hebrews 13:7 (ESV)
7 Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.
I think we can quickly see that this throws a whole different light on the verse as a whole and especially the latter part of the verse. These translations emphasize the need to look at how the Word of God is working in their lives. The implication being, if it is not working it is either not the right Word or they do not have faith in the Word preached. When I say it is not the “right Word” I am saying they may be teaching the tradition of men or doctrines of demons. If the outcome of their way of life reflects the gospel preached we can do well to imitate it. As you no doubt know at this point the word “conversation” in the King James Version has to do with behavior.
Until our next publication, I speak this Scriptural prayer for your life right now, receive it in the name of Jesus, confess it, and walk it out with thanksgiving.
Ephesians 1:16-18 (KJV)
16 Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;
17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:
18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
By: Dr. David Wood, Author, Bible Teacher, and Prophetic Voice
PARTNERSHIP AND GIVING – Those of you who are not Partners of this Ministry and you find this ministry to be of value to you and perhaps others with whom you share it, we ask you to consider becoming Partners. A Partner is one who prays for the Ministry on a regular basis and contributes to the Ministry on a regular basis (monthly, quarterly, annually). Thank you and may the Lord be pleased with your decision.
CONTACT E-MAIL: pastordavidwood@gmail.com
BLOG: https://awakeariseandtriumphministries.org
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/awakearisetriumphministries
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/PastorDavidWood
MAILING ADDRESS: 10 Village Green Circle, Oakland, Maine 04963
MY BOOKS: https://awakeariseandtriumphministries.org/shop/
