I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, what thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia,......
....And i turned to see THE VOICE THAT SPAKE with me." (Rev1:10-12. Emphasis mine)
Beloved, as we continue on this study of the Speaking voice, we saw the voice that speaks, we went ahead to explore the illumination that comes by seeing the voice. In this part 3, we move further in our journey to look at how John responded to this voice. He "TURNED" to see the voice. God has always in all ages in his relationship with men found a way to hide his personality from his seekers. We saw him doing the same with moses in Ex3:1-4 where he lit a fire to attract moses and hid himself.
"And moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him..."
"And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it,....(Isaiah 30:21)
He, John was in the spirit, Wow! what a great place to be in. A Hallowed place. The spirit realm is a reality that we should be very familiar with. It is a realm that puts us in a position to access spiritual things. Spiritual diligence in prayers, separation and fasting can put us on this pedestal. But from what we see here, John moved to exceed this. John was in the spirit on the Lord's day (on a fasting day), and he got something. Life in the spirit is not a wasted venture. No one accesses this life and Iives this realm that will leave empty. It is a certainty that we will get something from his presence. For John, he heard a "great voice". But he didn't stop there. Christians who claim that God is not speaking to them should start living the spirit life. When one access that realm certainly he must access his voice. Jesus said the words I speak unto you are spirit and life. (John 6:63). The carnal man cannot receive spiritual things.
Are you walking in the spirit? When last did you hear him? When last did you access the spirit and stayed there? I discovered that the reason for spiritual weakness in the body of Christ today is the fact that many so called Christians only profess to know him and confess his word but few access the spirit realm. That world I speak of is filled with diverse depths unknown to the natural man. It's a realm to be practised and dwell in. It's a natural posture of spirit man. When you are in that realm your spirit man is at home. It can navigate and touch spiritual matter in a tangible manner and brings you into your true consciousness and realities hidden from the human eyes. But despite all this, our brother John refused to give up. He took one step further.
Understand this, if John had left with what he heard he would have given that voice expression by what he saw. Do you know that the hearing and sight signals cannot be separated. They intermingle. In Genesis 1:1-31, God was saying "let there be, he also examined and accessed it by saying and God saw that it was good. Let's understand first of all that John was exiled to an island called "patmos". What is an island? It's an expanse of land surrounded by waters. It means that if you are on an island, I can tell by prediction what your view or gaze may likely be on. You are either seeing a massive body of water with its deep rumblings and waves or just sandy beach, or d clouds with sun, moon and stars, and maybe surrounding trees. This means that John would give expression to the voice he heard by the elements I mentioned. If John has ran with the voice he heard without encountering the presence maybe the presentation of revelations would have been in a different manner. It meant that John may likely miss the interpretation of the revelations and visions which was given him.
It's important to note that John wasn't eager to just bolt away like many us do today. He had to do something the almighty God may have to initiate us to do If we must be ready to go for him or speak for him. "John turned in the
n of the voice" Is it possible that one can be in the spirit realm and still lack the coordinates to locate God. Coordinates in geography represents a combination of longtiude/latitude points represented in degrees, minutes and seconds in a geographical map. Why did John turn? The answer is the key to obtaining a divine encounter with Jesus. He wanted to know the source of the voice. Whenever you hear a sermon or a word and it touches you, it's emanating from somewhere and not your pastor's own. It's coming from somewhere and somebody, have u turned to see who? It was when John turned that he saw Jesus. He said "and being turned, I saw....one like unto d son of man".... JESUS SHOWED UP. When you turn he will never hide from you.
From scriptures, I have come to discover that God sets up events and circumstances which he uses to turn man to meet him. Exodus 3:1-4, moses had to turn aside. And when he did, he saw.....
For a user of this blog reading this piece now, you have been hearing words and God's voice but all God's attempt to get your attention and break you down in his presence and introduce himself to you has proved abortive. What has gotten your attention so much that the Almighty has failed to distract you so that you can turn and see him. Has the charismatic skills of your pastor or leader overshadowed the beauty of his presence? Has the glory seekers in your congregation diverted your view away from your master for selfish gains? Has the unending empty church activities all but eroded your quiet intimacy and hunger to know him? All the forwardness in us that makes us to be edgy in his presence to rush off must be dealt with. That overzealous spirit that will rather repreach message severally until it expires rather than wait to see him and recieve a fresh introduction of him must be let go. That pride that pushes you to keep showing yourself and arrogating the accolades of men for your public display, you may be deceiving us with your so-called loquacious words of wisdom but it's clear that you are yet to see him. I don't care the title you bear you have not seen him. Look behind you now, he's still standing there. Waiting for you to turn. Just turn. May you go beyond just hearing him to seeing him........ John saw Jesus in His glorified state. Halleluia!
Notice that when he heard him he got an introduction of Jesus saying "I AM" , but when he turned and saw him, he reintroduced himself again. The one that you heard saying "I am", is now standing in front of you and repeating again saying "I AM". But the experience was different. Now he can see him. I want to categorically say that John's revelation on that island wouldn't have been complete without an introduction of Jesus in person. Notice also that after Rev1, John had other revelations of Jesus in 4:1-11 and 19:11-16. But guess what, he didn't have to turn again. He has paid his price. Some price you pay gets you the whole package, while in some other cases, you may be required to make more sacrifices. As true disciples, we must endeavour at all costs to regularly encounter him. Finally, I know you are a great orator and skilled with words, I know you have heard voices as of trumpets in the past, I know you are a man very eloquent and not miserly in speech, but I dare ask you today, have you seen him lately? He is still standing behind you speaking and longing that you turn aside and see him. Let us all turn today and see him. His name is Jesus.
"And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart" (Jer 29:13)
Heavenly father, Grant me the grace to search and never to stop seeking till I search you out in Jesus name.
Watch out for the coming "seekers series".....
God bless you richly.
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