{"id":998,"date":"2018-05-08T07:29:42","date_gmt":"2018-05-08T15:29:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/?p=998"},"modified":"2018-05-08T07:29:42","modified_gmt":"2018-05-08T15:29:42","slug":"devotion-revelation-173-6a-one-on-one-with-god-by-god","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/?p=998","title":{"rendered":"Devotion Revelation 17:3-6a One On One With God, By God"},"content":{"rendered":"
Family, I was recently laid off from work due to work reduction.\u00a0 I am not disappointed or frightened.\u00a0 I am not dismayed. However as we are called to pray for each other, I do request your prayers that I may be guided to and see where and what the Lord has provided.\u00a0 Thank you!\u00a0 Praise God!\u00a0 Please note the three verses at the end of this missive.<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/b><\/div>\n
Revelation 17:3a<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit\u00a0into a wilderness.\u201d\u00a0<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

There is, even among outstanding pastors, and also among pastors who believe and allow the operation of the gifts of the Spirit in their church, a veritable lack of understanding of the term \u201cin the Spirit.\u201d \u00a0Dr. Leon Morris, noted scholar, author and commentator, has aptly explained it.\u00a0 In his commentary on Revelation, The Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, he describes it as \u201ca state of exaltation and special receptivity brought about by the Spirit (Page 198 regarding\u00a0Revelation 17:3<\/b>). His explanation of being \u201cin the Spirit\u201d (Page 52, regarding\u00a0Revelation 1:10)<\/b>\u00a0states it as \u201csomething like a trance (Acts 10:10<\/b>).\u00a0 It is certainly a state in which the Seer (Apostle John) is specially open to the Holy Spirit and ready to see visions.\u00a0 In Revelation this expression is used also at\u00a04:2\u00a0<\/b>and\u00a021:10<\/b>.\u00a0 As we consider these words we note that one is not said to be in their own spirit, but in the spirit of God. It is not a condition worked up by the excited emotions, but by submission to the Holy Spirit and a willingness to be led by Him to this place.\u00a0 As it is not an excited pitch of emotion, it is also not a cerebral state of intellect and gathering of knowledge by the force of human will.\u00a0 It is a calling from God to commune with Him and to receive what He wishes to divinely impart at a specific time. (See Samuel lying by the ark of God when God called Samuel to Him in (1 Samuel 3:1-14<\/b>).\u00a0 It is a supernatural communion with our supernatural God.\u00a0 Does it have nothing to do with the will of man but is forcibly imposed on some and not on others?\u00a0 No.\u00a0 As Dr. Morris describes it as a state of exaltation, perhaps it is better said that when one is in a state of seeking and exalting God, when one has learned to put aside the world and to enter into a solitude with God, then the Spirit of God will bless and He will bring the person to a \u201cspecial receptivity.\u201d\u00a0 If one has not been there, one would struggle to understand and explain it. Like it is hard for a child of God to explain their relationship with God to a non-believer, or a parent to explain the love of a child to one who has never had a child, so it is difficult for those who have never experienced this to understand exactly what this is.\u00a0 Certainly, one who has been \u201cin the Spirit\u201d knows what it is and what it is not.\u00a0 A person who has been \u201cin the Spirit\u201d can instantly discern a person attempting to explain this state as either one who has been there and knows, or one who has never been there and only thinks they know.\u00a0 Now, this is not spiritual elitism, it is merely knowledge from one who has traveled there.\u00a0 Sincerely, God offers this to all, but not all desire this, or understand how to get there.\u00a0 Perhaps it may be explained as when one has a special relationship with another and when they are together their souls seem to unite, leaving them enriched from the experience.\u00a0 That may be a feeble example of being \u201cin the Spirit\u201d with Almighty God.\u00a0 Consider the possibilities.\u00a0 Praise God!<\/p>\n

John was carried away into the wilderness.\u00a0 When the people freed from Egypt rebelled against God, after they had seen miracle after miracle that displayed God\u2019s love, faithfulness and almighty ability to save and keep them, He kept them in the wilderness to purify them from doubt and rebellion.\u00a0 He tested them, or proved them.\u00a0 He kept them there till those who had rebelled against Him had died and He could take the next generation into the Promised Land (Numbers 32:13<\/b>).<\/p>\n

Jesus was \u201cled by the Spirit\u201d into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.\u00a0 There He fasted forty days and forty nights.\u00a0 It was only after the physical body of Jesus was weakened from the fast that the devil approached Him with the temptations listed in\u00a0Matthew 4:1-11<\/b>.\u00a0 In both cases, with the Jews and with Jesus, God separated them from the world to fulfill a purpose that He ordained.\u00a0 He prepared Israel for the Promised Land and He prepared Jesus to fulfill His ministry.\u00a0 We best gain perspective of the world when we are separated from it.\u00a0 When surrounded by the voices and sights of the world, we can be confused, or even seduced by it.\u00a0 God will take us into our own wilderness, led by the Spirit.\u00a0 He will separate us to purify us. \u00a0He calls us to the wilderness and to be \u201cin the Spirit\u201d to prepare, equip and instruct us (Isaiah 61:1-2<\/b>).\u00a0 \u00a0He wants us to be in the Spirit and away from the noise of the world and to have the eyes and ears of our hearts and minds open and seeking what He has to say.\u00a0 Such is being \u201cin the Spirit\u201d and brought to a place of wilderness, or oneness with God.\u00a0 Praise our God!\u00a0 How wonderful to be alone with Him and listening for what He says!\u00a0 Oh Family, let no errant teaching prevent us from the personal touch of God via His Holy Spirit.\u00a0 Praise God who perfectly loves us and who perfectly takes care of us.\u00a0 Praise God who desires that we would learn the path to daily seek being \u201cin the Spirit\u201d as He brings us there.\u00a0 Praise God!<\/p>\n

Psalm 150:6<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.\u00a0 Praise the Lord!<\/i><\/p>\n

Micah 7:7<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0But as for me, I watch\u00a0in hope\u00a0for the\u00a0Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear\u00a0me.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

Micah 6:8<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0He has shown You, O man, what\u00a0is\u00a0good; And what does the\u00a0Lord\u00a0require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Family, I was recently laid off from work due to work reduction.\u00a0 I am not disappointed or frightened.\u00a0 I am not dismayed. However as we are called to pray for each other, I do request your prayers that I may be guided to and see where and what the Lord has provided.\u00a0 Thank you!\u00a0 Praise…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1192],"tags":[103,101,94,1874,17,711,2187],"class_list":["post-998","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-devotion","tag-isaiah","tag-matthew","tag-micah","tag-numbers","tag-psalm","tag-revelation","tag-samuel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/998","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=998"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/998\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":999,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/998\/revisions\/999"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=998"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=998"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=998"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}