Higher Realms of Authority by C. R. Oliver (best ereader for textbooks .txt) 📕

Higher Realms of Authority

Introduction: I want to begin this study by looking into a passage in 2 Kings. The biblical account shows the frustration of the King of Syria in trying to do battle with Israel, because Elisha was telling Israel the battle plans of their enemy before they were executed. In a search for a traitor among his troops, he discovers that Israel's prophet is able to hear even his bedroom discussions and supernaturally knows his secrets. To stop the flow of this information, the Syrian monarch sent a large army to surround the city where the prophet resided. It is at this point we hear the dismay of Elisha's servant boy in seeing the contingent of soldiers and armor on the horizon.

2 Kings 6:15-18
15 And when the servant of the man of God arose early and went out, there was an army, surrounding the city with horses and chariots. And his servant said to him, "Alas, my master! What shall we do?" 

16 So he answered, "Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them." 17 And Elisha prayed, and said, "LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see." Then the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. 18 So when the Syrians came down to him, Elisha prayed to the LORD, and said, "Strike this people, I pray, with blindness." And He struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.

Aside from the beneficence of Elisha toward those sent to harm him, the point of this passage for our study is three-fold. First, there is the declaration of faith, "Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them." Second, is the opening of the eyes of the servant in order to see into the Spirit realm. Third, is the will of the prophet brought to pass by the Almighty. 

Most of these three elements never are considerations in our thoughts or even deemed relevant to our life situations. We don't expect God to show up this way. We have assigned such occasions to the Old Testament or, in some cases, New Testament phenomena. We are skeptical of His power toward us and say, "Prophets may have had special treatment, but not us." Who says? Our eyes are as dimmed as the servant boy's. Our prayer should be, "Lord, open my eyes that I may see into the real reality." 

The world has a force which seeks to determine "reality" and define our "circumstances." That force is the enemy of God and has fear and unbelief oozing out of every crack. We are led to believe there is no hope for a nation, no relief from the "clear and present danger." But God! Elisha's servant boy had an eye opening experience that surely colored the rest of his days. Never again would he take surface situations as fact. He would look beyond and see the plan and the power of God. The lad learned to "step up into the God realm." So, must we! 

Somehow, the church has relegated God to the human factor; He has been made in our image. His power has been challenged by science and technology. The Creator is seen as one reduced in resources and plundered by the "unexpected." Not so! 

Lord, open our eyes! 

It is time to expect angels and voices and heavenly intervention. It is time to declare what we want to happen and, like Elisha, expect it to be done. Is this too presumptive? Is it better to rehearse what is happening according to the media or confess what we desire over the landscape of our lives? 

Elisha saw God send a great army which struck his enemies blind. But sometimes, Jehovah just sends a noise. Sometimes just a noise is enough. Let us review the passage:

2 Kings 7:6-8
For the LORD had caused the army of the Syrians to hear the noise of chariots and the noise of horses - the noise of a great army; so they said to one another, "Look, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites and the kings of the Egyptians to attack us!" 7 Therefore they arose and fled at twilight, and left the camp intact - their tents, their horses, and their donkeys - and they fled for their lives. 8 And when these lepers came to the outskirts of the camp, they went into one tent and ate and drank, and carried from it silver and gold and clothing, and went and hid them; then they came back and entered another tent, and carried some from there also, and went and hid it. 
NKJV 

Solomon wrote:

The wicked flee when no one pursues,
But the righteous are bold as a lion.
          Proverbs 28:1

When the lepers reviewed the handiwork of the Lord, they were amazed and consequently the turn of events verified what the prophet had spoken. Those were the days of the super supernatural. Why not again? Our prayers and confessions should affirm our belief in the overcoming power of God to marshal heaven in our behalf, but do they? 

We must consider the higher reaches of Him who declares, "I am the most high." How can a populous, who says they are saints, be content elsewhere when God beckons them to sit in heavenly places? When Paul wrote, "He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places by Christ Jesus," did He mean for us to grovel under the hand of the oppressor? 
Habakkuk declared, when all the worldly aspects of economy failed and national malfeasance had localized to his neighborhood, "He (God) will make me to walk in all my High Hills." Let us possess our high places! 

Somebody shout! 

Come Up Higher:

Adam and Eve conversed with the Lord God Almighty every evening.

Enoch walked with God and got on such a high place he just stayed.

Noah spoke with the Lord and his deliverance came.

Abraham entertained Melchizedek and the blessing came.

Job searched for reasons in the darkness of his oppression and wound up in a deliverance meeting with the Most High.

Elijah stood on a mount and called for fire to come down and fire did.

Elisha raised a lad from the dead and defied death's grip.

Isaiah saw the heavens open and the glory of God when King Uzziah died.

Ezekiel saw two visions: first, the heavens opened and the creatures of God were visible. In a second vision, he saw the new Temple and the New Jerusalem.

John, the Revelator, went into the presence of God on the Sabbath and saw things that are yet to be done.

Tell me now; just how far is heaven from earth? Tell me how there is no answer to your problem. Explain to me why these, whose visages hang in the Hebrews 11 hall of fame, are different than you and me? 

Our hearts need to burn within us like those on the Emmaus Road --for the Lord is in our presence. The Bible says He is never far from us. He is speaking revelation and light to us and it is His initiative. We must be more open to these higher aspects of our faith than we currently display. We need to repent of selling God short, of limiting His power and determining His boundaries in our lives. It is time we experienced a refreshing renewal of just who He is! 

Paul's Damascus Road confrontation marked him forever. 

The heavenly vision showed him how close heaven is to earth. He confesses, in 2 Corinthians 12, that the huge amount of revelation that came to him began with his understanding of that proximity. After all, when the Philippian earthquake shook down prison walls, he knew it was not his singing ability--but his confidence in the closeness of his God. 

Simon's visit by the angel in prison and the doors that opened by themselves was a "boldness booster" for the man of faith. After all, he had already been challenged on the Sea of Galilee to think higher, walk higher, yeah to walk on water. His experiences with the Most High affected his ministry. He remembered pulling up the fish overload with straining nets and knew heaven is never far away from his need. When the sheet lowered, he was aware that revelation was taking place on his spiritual plate. Listen, how many experiences will it take for us to come into the super supernatural? 

Jesus' miracles poured out from a mind linked with God's power and ability. He knew He could change anything. He told us, "greater miracles will you do." When are we going to realize we can change anything too? Paul said we have the mind of Christ. John 14 is about being linked to Jesus in the same way He is linked with God, the Father. (My prayer is for forgiveness. My prayer is a confession that I have lived beneath the level that His grace has provided.) 

Azotus events are not just for Philip. A higher level of physics was ordered for him! Did it affect his ministry or boost his ego as the first to fly-no, he knew of Elijah's whirlwind chariot and Jesus' departure on a cloud. God will call into effect a higher order of physics when we need it. Look at Joshua's sun standing still. It is Him who orders this universe, not the climatologist or the EPA. 

Jacob could tell us a thing or two about the super supernatural. There is similarity between Jacob's wrestling angel and Daniel's angel wrestling with the dark spirits over Babylon. Both angels were on duty to man. Both angels contended for a human. Both angels knew their place was to carry out the will of God. When the Bible says in James that we have ministering angels to assist us-they may be called upon without impunity. 

Our considerations about God's willingness to aid us must be lifted. We must learn to trust less on our reasoning and more on the closeness of heaven's provision for us. Ravens are still available. Cruses of oil are still available. The prophet's hand is still within reach. Loaves and fishes are still in the hands of God's servants. Gold is still in the belly of the catch. The healing waters are near for Naaman's need. "Rise up and walk" can still be voiced. There is still enough mud to apply to blinded eyes. The voice of many waters has not been silenced. The mulberry tree can still rustle. The shout of saints can still bring down Jericho walls! Heaven is near! 

Yes, it is true; His ways and thoughts are higher than ours, but they are not un-transferable to us. Have we not experienced those about us who understand the rich things of the Lord and enter conversation deeper than others? Is it not a delight to our inner person to convey some of the treasures that have been given to us and hear from them those things the Spirit has imparted? Well, the Lord waits for us to come up, to tread some areas hidden from most but available to His saints. He desires to bring us into His counsel and allow fellowship with those who exceed our grandest mind.

Jeremiah 29:11-14
11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon Me and go and pray