Transported in the Spirit.

Transported in the Spirit.

By Ian Johnson

Transportation in the Spirit is a subject that we talk about in private a bit, but only the brave seem to speak about it in the public arena. Since I was a young Christian I have heard people talking about “Phillips Transport”. & I remember marvelling about the testimony of a missionary who had been transported over a swollen river in some Brazilian jungle. In recent times I have experienced transportation in the spirit, always on the Lords errands. I can’t say wither my whole body has been transported or not, but as time goes by the evidence of my transportations or visions are bearing fruit, more about that later.

Paul wasn’t so sure either if he had been carried away in body or just in Spirit, what he was sure of is that it was real and he wrote about it in

2 Corinthians 12:2:4 I was caught up into the third heaven fourteen years ago. Whether my body was there or just my spirit, I don’t know; only God knows. But I do know that I was caught up into paradise and heard things so astounding that they cannot be told.

Probably the most often quoted transportation is that of Phillip as found in the book of Acts. It appears that Phillip was transported to another location in the flesh in an instant. In other words his whole body, soul & spirit were transported.

Acts 8:38-40 So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him.  Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing.  But Philip was found at Azotus. And passing through, he preached in all the cities till he came to Caesarea.

EZEKIEL:
Ezekiel was transported in the now and into the future. He was lifted up in the Spirit and in the flesh, as we can see from some of the following scriptures.

Ezek 3:12 Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard a loud rumbling sound behind me. (May the glory of the Lord be praised in his place!) It was the sound of the wings of the living beings as they brushed against each other and the rumbling of their wheels beneath them. The Spirit lifted me up and took me away

Ezek 8:3 He put out what seemed to be a hand and took me by the hair. Then the Spirit lifted me up into the sky and transported me in a vision of God to Jerusalem.

Ezek 11:1
He put out what seemed to be a hand and took me by the hair. Then the Spirit lifted me up into the sky and transported me in a vision of God to Jerusalem.

Ezek 43:5 Then the Spirit took me up and brought me into the inner courtyard, and the glory of the Lord filled the Temple. And I heard someone speaking to me from within the Temple.

ELIJAH:
We can assume that being transported was a fairly common occurrence for Elijah from the reaction that the prophets had to Elisha when he said that his master had been taken; 2 Kings 2:16-18 They sent out 50 men to look for him saying “Perhaps the Spirit of the Lord has taken him to some mountain or perhaps in some valley.

Also when the servant of Ahab came to Elijah he was afraid that Elijah would be transported somewhere and in the following scripture he expressed his fears.

1 Kings 18:11-12 And now you say, ‘Go, tell your master, “Elijah is here” ’! And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from you, that the Spirit of the Lord will carry you to a place I do not know; so when I go and tell Ahab, and he cannot find you, he will kill me. But I your servant have feared the Lord from my youth.

So biblically and historically Transportation in the Spirit has been a part of the inheritance of the Sons and daughters of God. I’m sure that dreams that are Godly and very vivid are also instances of transportation. From what I’ve been able to glean from Church history it seems to have been quite a common thing, especially right up to the reformation. (and after in the life of some Catholic “Mystics”) It seems that while the reformation was necessary and important there may have been an element of throwing the baby out with the bath water, as far as “Mystical” Christian experiences are concerned.

It is a certainty that MARTIN DE PORRES (d. 1639) spent all his Christian life at a Monastery in Lima, Peru; yet, according to reliable witnesses, he was seen at different times in Mexico, China, Japan, Africa, the Philippine Islands and perhaps even in France. The accounts of these Transportations are well authenticated, especially that which took place in Mexico City. A merchant who had resided in Lima and was a good friend of Martin went on business to Mexico City, but before leaving he visited his friend to implore his prayers for a safe journey and success in his business undertakings. Upon his arrival in Mexico he became desperately ill. At the height of his sufferings he asked, "O my God! Why isn't my good friend Brother Martin here to take care of me when I am so desperately ill?" Immediately the Saint was beside him. The sick man, full of questions about the Saint's providential arrival, was told, "I just arrived." After ministering to the merchant, setting the room in order and prescribing a medicinal draught, Martin reassured the merchant that he would soon recover. The saintly Dominican then disappeared as mysteriously as he had arrived. The merchant promptly returned to health, and hoping to thank his benefactor, whom he thought was visiting Mexico City, he tried to locate him. He first visited the Dominican friars at their monastery, but learned that they had not been visited by anyone from Lima. He went to the residence of the Archbishop of Mexico, but without success. After inquiring at hostels and inns he learned that no one could give him information about his friend. It was not until the merchant returned to Lima that he understood what had taken place. After telling his story to the priests of Martins monastery, he learned that Br. Martin had never left Peru.

MARY OF AGREDA (d. 1665), a humble nun who spent forty-six years in the Convent of the Conception in Agreda, Spain. Not only was she transported across Spain and Portugal, but she also crossed an ocean to visit another continent that was known as America. Her final destination was New Mexico and the Indians of an isolated tribe. The event took place in the following manner. One day in the year 1620, while rapt in ecstasy, Maria was transported to New Mexico, where she was commanded by Jesus to teach the Indians. She spoke in her native Spanish, but was nevertheless understood; she, in turn, understood the language of the Indians. Because they did not know her name, the Indians called her the "Lady in Blue" because of the blue mantle she wore over her habit. When she awoke from her ecstasy she found herself in the convent in Agreda. Two reports of a nun teaching the Indians reached Don Francisco Manzoy Zuniga, Archbishop of Mexico. One report was from Agreda's own confessor, Fray Sebastian Marcilla, who contacted the Archbishop to learn if Mary of Agreda's report to him that she had been transported to the Indian Territory was correct. The other report came from missionaries who related how the Indians sought them out under the direction of a Lady in Blue. To determine the truth of these reports the Archbishop assigned Fray Alonzo de Benavides of the Franciscan Order to investigate. Fray Benavides was then the director of the missionaries who laboured from Texas to the Pacific. One day in the year 1629 Fray Benavides was sitting outside the Isleta Mission when a group of fifty Indians from an unknown tribe approached him and asked that he send missionaries to their territory. In his letters to King Philip IV of Spain, Fray Benavides revealed that the Indians had travelled a great distance from a place called Titlas, or Texas, and that they knew where to find the friars from the directions given them by a Lady in Blue who had taught them about Jesus Christ. Two missionaries were sent back with the Indians. These holy men found the Indians well instructed in the Faith and baptized the entire tribe. After searching for eleven years, Fray Benavides finally found the mysterious nun, not in America, but in Spain. On his return to Spain in 1630, he visited the Superior General of his order, Fr. Bernardine of Siena. It was he who told Fray Benavides that the Lady in Blue was Sr. Maria of the convent in Agreda. Realizing that the nun, out of humility, would not reveal her secret to him, she was placed under obedience to tell all she knew about the visits to America. In the presence of her confessor, Fray Benavides questioned her in regard to the various peculiarities of the province in New Mexico. She described the customs of the different tribes of Indians, the nature of the climate and other details. Fray Benavides later wrote that "she convinced me absolutely by describing to me all the things in New Mexico as I have seen them myself, as well as by other details which I shall keep within my soul, although the Nun never left the convent it seemed certain that she had been to New Mexico.

FRANCIS XAVIER (d. 1552) is regarded as one of the Church's most illustrious missionaries. He was born of noble parents and was by nature refined, aristocratic and ambitious. He was for a time professor of philosophy at the University of Paris, where he met St. Ignatius Loyola and became one of that Saint's original seven followers. His missionary career began in 1540, when he journeyed to the East Indies. Within ten years he had made successful visits to Ceylon, India, Malaya and Japan. He performed many miracles and exercised many mystical gifts, including that of transportation. He is reported to have been at several places at the same time preaching to the natives. So carefully witnessed were these transportations and so numerous were they that one biographer admits that the "Transportations which are related in the story of St. Francis Xavier would seem to be of quite ordinary occurrence."
Historical accounts taken from: Mysteries Marvels Miracles by Joan Carroll Cruz

DREAMS & TRANSPORTATION.
Have you ever woken up from a very vivid Godly dream and thought! "Wow that dream was so real I felt as if I were there" I have long believed that perhaps some times in the spirit we are.

An event in the life of a member of our Church and testimony from someone in another country who was also in the dream will bless you greatly. (Because the person who has been saved is in the middle of an Islamic family and in danger I will not include the country or the names)

The man who had the dream, which he said was so vivid he felt like he had been there. He explained that when he was younger he had a friendship with a family who were Muslim, The Children loved him and called him uncle. Almost 20 years have passed since He immigrated to New Zealand and although they have had spasmodic contact by phone or letter, the families have not seen each other in that time.

In the dream the man saw himself standing at the side of the bed of one of the women of the family. She was very sick it was obvious, and in the dream the man shared with her the love of Jesus, and his willingness to heal her. She allowed him to pray for her and in the dream it seems she was healed, and also it seems she came to an understanding of Jesus and the salvation available to her. The dream ended, and the man Awoke thinking about the amazing dream. This was around 5 in the morning. If this was all that occurred you would say that it was an encouraging dream. But what transpired next was the miracle. At 9am the man received an international phone call from the young woman he had seen in the dream. She was healed, bedridden for 8 months and chronically ill for 18 months she was healed! And she said she had no way to explain it but, she had seen the man she called “Uncle” standing at her side in the night and praying for her, she wanted to accept Jesus as her saviour and that was the reason for the phone call. She was able to tell the man exactly what he had said and exactly what had occurred. The Lord has miraculously touched this woman and transformed her life through a Godly man living in another country. Transportation!

Church history seems to be full of transportation in the spirit and such events, but it seems in this day of reason and communication sophistication, that Christians don't seek to allow the Lord to move in such ways. I feel now is the time to move in the power of the supernatural realm to overcome the works of the evil one. If there are barriers of politics and religion stopping us taking the gospel into areas, then we need to start believing for a release of the power of Godly transportations.

As I said in the beginning the instances of transportation I have experienced have been for a Godly purpose, and over a period of time I have observed the fruit of my encounters..

For instance In about July 2006 and again in March 2007 I was taken to Portugal (see link for details http://www.papelim.org.nz/page12.html ) The fruit of which has been the development of a link with a ministry in Portugal which is seeing hundreds come to the Lord. I have been able to speak into that ministry with some authority because I have seen into the future and I have seen the revival that is currently in its infancy in that Land.

Also in July 2006 I was transported into many parts of NZ and saw the purpose of God for different parts of the country. I have seen news items since that time which have confirmed what I saw unfolding nearly two years later.

In June this year I was transported and saw a circle of fire which represented an outbreak of revival in parts of NZ. There were many things shown to me at this time which are currently unfolding. Interestingly the invitations I am getting to minister at the moment are all inside that circle.

There are many other instances which I’m not currently free to speak about and I am not sharing any of this to boost myself or the ministry up, rather it is an encouragement to the Sons & daughters of the Lord to be open to the possibility of being transported, either by Chariot, or dream, or vision or even in body. The enemies of the Lord will only be stopped in their tracks when we start to use the weapons of our warfare to their full extent. As an army, we the sons & daughters of the Lord have weapons which are mighty to the pulling down of strongholds.

If you need to see what you are facing in the spirit transportation is one of your weapons. In a war room situation it’s like stealth recognisance. Even for those who through injury or age can no longer go into the harvest field, this will add a new dimension to your prayers and even in some cases to your evangelistic endeavour. Closed countries need no longer be considered closed and inaccessible places can become accessible.

It’s not about joy rides; it’s all about winning a world for Christ; using Gods weapons.Transportation is a mighty weapon and I am sure the Church in these last hours will see it happening more and more.

IAN JOHNSON
ianjohn@xtra.co.nz
www.papelim.org.nz