Distance Devotions – April 20, 2020
Revelation 1:10, 11 – I was in the Spirit
Revelation 1:10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, 11 Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book….
John the Beloved, the last living of the apostles was exiled to the Isle of Patmos for a period of time. It must have been hard for an old man to endure. Some have postulated there were salt mines there and he worked in them. I believe that he was very much alone as far as human contact. All of us have learned a little something with the various government orders concerning our moving about and the need for and enjoyment of human contact. Living “off the grid” only has attraction if it is by choice and not enforced by law. I, for one, enjoy the fellowship of the saints at church. I enjoy moving about my community and freely associating with friends. Just as we have had that limited these past six weeks, John was set aside from church services and Christian friends. He had no internet to use and no cellphone to contact anyone. He was very much alone.
But, John was only alone as far as human contact. The Emperor had ordered his exile, but the Emperor could not order God into exile away from John. We read John saying, “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day…. (Revelation 1:10) How glorious it is to know that though men may shun me or exile me, my God will still be with me. Everything we read in the book of the Revelation keys off of this one truth, I was in the Spirit. Until you and I learn from the Spirit Himself how to enter His presence, we are going to miss out on a lot of spiritual blessings. Now don’t think that any kind of meditation or semi-mystical activity is what the Bible is speaking of here. No! It is an opening of the soul to the Creator-Redeemer God who loves us. It is entering into His presence with holy joy and reverence listening for the still, small voice of God. In this instance, the voice became so loud that it had the ring of a trumpet in its clarity and volume.
Where are you on the Lord’s Day? Are you in the spirit, or, sadly are you somewhere else? I’ve heard all the excuses you can imagine: “I worship God while fishing…We have devotions at the ballfield…My yard needed work…My car needed….” What have you missed by not being in the spirit? Surely if you are in the spirit, you will want to be with God’s people. Church attendance is a barometer of your spirituality. It is patently obvious that the Spirit of God is not going to lead you to neglect the New Testament church. No one is so spiritual that they do not need church, the corporate worship of their God and King. If you get in the spirit, you will be in your place. 24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: 25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. (Hebrews 10:24, 25)