CARRIED AWAY

Rev 21v20: 'And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high…'


We can only ever walk with the Lord as long as we are being carried by Him. Most times we are unconscious of it because the Lord does it by His grace and power, but it is a certain fact that we can do nothing apart from Him:

John 15v5: "I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

Acts 17v28: 'For in him we live and move and exist. …'

When we do become conscious of it, it is usually because we have begun to rely on ourselves instead of Him. Other things become what we trust to hold us up, and they always fail us or run dry. When we become conscious of it, we are in particular need of being carried by the Spirit. John was carried by the Spirit for God's purpose at that time, and we too have need to be carried by the Spirit. The only way we can do this is by placing ourselves where the Spirit can lift us up and carry us. This means reading His Word, worshipping, praying and encouraging each other in the faith with fellow believers. When we do this, we begin to consciously realise that He is carrying us and that He is doing so at whatever time and circumstance we're in for His reasons- not only for our spiritual health, but also so that we'll be fruitful in the way that He wants, for Him, His Kingdom and also for our own spiritual health.

Before John was picked up by the Spirit and carried to the mountain God had for him, he had been in the Spirit on the Lord's day (Rev 1v10…). John had been spending time with Jesus in an attitude of waiting and worship. We are always in the Spirit in one sense, but at other times in another sense; communing with Him and worshipping Him. From that place God picked him up, and will pick us up. Where He will lead us, if anywhere, is up to Him, but the most important thing is that we are picked up by Him, so that He'll give us the continued grace so that we'll be able to walk with Him and follow Him. He gives us spiritual desires and a heart that burns for Him, and this can only be given by Him.

Once I had a dream wherein I saw a match box, and along the side of the box it read 'The matches belong to Christ'. Christ sets our hearts burning within us for Him, and He gives us the continued desire to keep walking with Him:

Luke 24v32: They asked each other, "Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?"