Come Up Higher Kay Keith Peebles February 3, 2017 17.03
My youngest grandson is 5 years old. He is active and alert and wants to be a part of everything. His two siblings are 15 and 12 and he loves getting involved in all the action when it is age appropriate.
We often plan a fun event like going to the zoo. The crowds tower over our 5-year-old grandson blocking his view. His dad will pick him up when he is unable to see and set him on his shoulders. He is then able to have a bird’s eye view of the activities. At this higher vantage point, he towers above everyone else and he can clearly see what’s going on.
It is much like standing on the tallest peak in a mountain range. One can easily see the valleys and mountains for miles. Looking from a mountaintop allows us to see details which are not visible from any other perspective.
God gave the Apostle John a vision or “Revelation” of the future while he was exiled on the Isle of Patmos, after the death and resurrection of Jesus. Revelation 4:1-2 records, “After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven, And the first voice which I had heard addressing me like [the calling of] a war trumpet said, ‘Come up here, and I will show you what must take place in the future.’ At once I came under the [Holy] Spirit’s power, and behold a throne stood in heaven with One seated on the throne!” (See also Ezekiel 1:26).
John had the eyesight and insight to see what was going on around him. He had seen Jesus’ ministry up close and personal for the three years He ministered on earth. He also witnessed the crucifixion of Jesus standing with His mother Mary at the foot of the cross. He had witnessed the birth of the Church. He also saw the transformation of Saul of Tarsus who persecuted and killed the new believers. Through Jesus’ intervention, he became the beloved Apostle Paul who wrote the majority of the New Testament. Exiled for his faith, John was unable to see or hear from others what had been happening since he was re-located to a deserted island. God wanted John to see far beyond his generation and the Holy Spirit of God beckoned him to come up higher. He was invited to see everything from God’s vantagepoint. He saw God’s throne in the highest heaven “with One seated on the throne” like Ezekiel had seen centuries before.
Earth is a warzone between good and evil. Viewing the battlefield on the earth’s level obscures our ability to be perfectly objective. It clouds our capability to clearly discern how the battle is going and sometimes hides information that would be pertinent to our day to day activities. We can become so embroiled in the battle that we forget the Lord has called us to come up higher to get His perspective and His battle plan.
It is the earthly realm where Satan afflicts mankind, working diligently to defeat the people of God through discouragement, sickness, doubt and fear. He is a predator who stalks his enemy and when he has weakened him through oppression, he charges his victim to make the kill. Fear is our greatest enemy. Fear that is entertained in the mind minimizes God and magnifies the power of the enemy. Fear keeps us fighting our foe on his ground, the earthly realm instead of using the weapons God has given us for victory. God has given us weapons which come from the heavenly realm: the throne of all power and might upon which the Lord God is seated. We waste our time fighting with emotions, past memories of failures and condemning thoughts which weaken our resolve. Fear is a door that gives more ability to the enemy than to God. Fear is also a sign that we are in battle. The enemy speaks his fearful prognosis for our lives but it is not God’s plan for us! Fear is the feeling attached to the enemies’ words. We must not accept His plan for our lives pulling down his words and replacing them with God’s.
When we begin to magnify God, placing him in the Highest Place where He rules and reigns, the enemy begins to shrink before our eyes. Perceiving God’s throne in the highest parts of heaven above all principalities and powers builds our faith in Him. Ephesians 1:18-21 “By having the eyes of your heart flooded with light, so that you can know and understand the hope to which He has called you, and how rich is His glorious inheritance in the saints (His set-apart ones). And [so that you can know and understand] what is the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His power in and for us who believe, as demonstrated in the working of His mighty strength, Which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His [own] right hand in the heavenly [places], Far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and every name that is named [above every title that can be conferred], not only in this age and in this world, but also in the age and the world which are to come.”
Knowing God is for us, our faith rises and we can see the battle from a strategic and advantageous position. Romans 8:31 promises us, “What then shall we say to [all] this? If God is for us, who [can be] against us? [Who can be our foe, if God is on our side? Psalm 118:6 David declares, “The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?”
God has given us weapons which will render victory to the saints (God’s people) when used correctly. Our weapons are His blood, His word, faith, prayer and declarations of His word/will, etc. One of our most powerful yet overlooked weapon is His invitation to be seated with Him in heavenly places next to Jesus. Through His Throne of Grace we are invited to come boldly to God. Hebrews 4:16 “Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God’s unmerited favor to us sinners) that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find grace to help in good time for every need [appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it].
Our Daddy God has invited us to “Come Up Higher” to gain His perspective over our battles. We are not weak when we place our trust in Him. We are strong when we reject the lies and plans of the enemy for our lives and proclaim the Word of God and declare God’s will for His children. By placing God Higher, seated upon His throne above all that can possibly come against us, our faith increases and when we pray according to His will in His name, it is done!
We are defeated when we pay attention to the devil and look only at our abilities. We become victors when we see God on the Highest Throne where He rules in absolute power and might, trusting Him for our victory. There is no need to fight our battles at the earthly realm where we cannot win. God is calling us to “Come Up Higher”! There, as if we are perched upon His shoulders, we can see the battle clearly and use His spiritual weapons which He has given us. Seated with Christ in the place of authority we then become more than conquerors through Christ Jesus.
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