After these things I saw, and behold, a door opened in heaven, and the first voice that I heard, a voice as of a trumpet speaking with me, one saying, Come up hither, and I will show thee the things which must come to pass hereafter. Revelation 4:1 ASV

It seems knowing the depths of the heart of God involves a ‘come up hither’ to meet Him. Yes, Jesus came down to earth to reconcile man with God and He’s done that for all who receive and choose to remain in Him. Being content with doing nothing else about working out your salvation (Philippians 2:12) though is remaining a baby spiritually (1 Peter 2:2; Hebrews 5:12-13). Would you want to leave this earth one day and on arrival in Heaven, find out it was possible to have known God beyond the level you did? Remember, the purpose of is life is to KNOW GOD! (John 17:3)

However, it seems a deeper foundation in God involves a ‘come up hither’. In our Bible text, John the Beloved was told to ‘Come up hither’ by a voice, i.e. to leave the level he was at, so that he’ll be shown things that would happen hereafter. Such a special invitation provides insight into the purposes and plans of God.

When John was told to come up hither to see, this is what happened:

“And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.” Revelation 4:2 KJV

It comes across to me that there is a certain state that one must be in to access the deep things of God, denoted by the phrase ‘and immediately i was in the spirit‘; being carnal doesn’t help (Romans 8:7; James 4:4). Having wondered many times what ‘being in the Spirit’ meant, i got a bit satisfied with one Bible teacher’s definition: ‘being more conscious of the spiritual rather than the physical’ (would love to hear your views also). One way i’ve identified to ‘be in the Spirit’ from Scripture is to spend time praying in the Spirit [praying in tongues – 1 Corinthians 14:14] until such a point that the mind is silent. At such points, your spirit man is charged per se, and can hear and/or perceive what God – the Father of all Spirits – is saying to you (Hebrews 12:9; Proverbs 20:27).

You don’t have to await a formal invitation to ‘come up hither’; you can decide to go deeper with God anytime you choose. I believe God is asking you to move into a deeper, thriving relationship with Him. Would you?

God bless you🙂

© Lydia Ndagilaya for PneumaWord

#DailyWordSnippet #WordSnippet #Encouragement #Bible #WordOfGod #JESUS #PneumaWord

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