July 12, 2024

The Unseen Realm

The Lord prepared me for the 50-State Tour in several significant ways. One of the most important was by teaching me a principle He called “connecting heaven and earth.” I wrote about it in Releasing the Prophetic Destiny of a Nation. Here is a portion of that chapter:

“‘While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are NOT SEEN; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are NOT SEEN are eternal.’ (2 Corinthians 4:18 NASB)

“‘For we walk by faith, NOT BY SIGHT’ (2 Corinthians 5:7 NASB)

“‘Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things NOT SEEN.’ (Hebrews 11:1 NASB 1995)

“There is a relatively unknown dimension that must be understood in order to fully partner with God and experience the fullness of His blessings. It is the unseen realm of the spirit - invisible yet real, hidden yet very active. Much of what happens on earth is influenced by this realm; certainly anything of eternal significance, or which controls the destinies of people and nations is controlled from there.

“Most people, including Christians, give little thought to this unseen world, though it governs the one we see. Many individuals, especially in cultures such as ours which emphasize higher levels of education and intellectualism, are actually cynical of this arena of invisible activity. However, the Bible is filled with descriptions and accounts of this dimension; in fact, it is the primary story of the Bible, for the Bible is about God. Indeed, apart from this invisible realm, there is no God, satan, angels, demons, fall of humankind, birth of Christ, redemption through the cross, miracles, or the resurrection of the dead. Yet surprisingly, most Christians live their lives giving very little thought to how much this realm affects them, let alone how they can influence it.

“Yet here is an important and inescapable truth: The more we learn to function in the invisible realm of the spirit, recognizing and applying the principles that govern it, the more we can partner with God, positively impact our world, avoid the snares and influence of the evil one, and enjoy the blessings of our salvation. Doing business for the Lord in this invisible arena was the primary purpose of our 50-State Tour.

“A clear biblical example of the invisible realm controlling the natural is found in Second Kings 6:8-23. The king of Aram sent an army to kill Elisha. When Elisha and his servant woke up in the morning, a great army had surrounded them. ‘Alas, my master!’ cried the servant. ‘What shall we do?’

“Elisha, enabled by the Holy Spirit to see into the spirit realm, responded that those on his side were more numerable than his enemies. He then prayed that the eyes of his servant would be opened to see into this spiritual dimension, and God answered his prayer. The servant saw a mighty host of angelic forces, which, at the request of Elisha, proceeded to strike the enemies with temporary blindness. An invisible realm was controlling what occurred in the visible.

“There is great activity, including spiritual warfare, taking place around us in the invisible realm of the spirit all the time. And the key to an overcoming life, partnering with God, and certainly to receiving spiritual breakthrough, is learning to operate in this arena. We often do so without realizing it as we worship, quote Scripture, preach the gospel, pray and fast, do acts of kindness, and perform many other spiritual activities. However, most haven’t learned to intentionally operate in this realm.

“Just before the Tour began, God had been trying to give me a higher level of understanding concerning this spiritual dimension. On one occasion, while studying the subject, I felt impressed to read the five references to ‘heavenly places’ in Ephesians, without reading the in-between verses. What I found was a fascinating sequence sounding like one unbroken passage. Here are the five verses together:

“‘Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ…which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places...and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus…so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places...For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places’ (Ephesians 1:3,20; 2:6; 3:10; 6:12 NASB 1995).

“Taken together, these power-packed verses reveal important truths about operating in this invisible realm of the spirit. First, the Lord informs us that we have been given everything needed to operate in this arena. He then states that Christ has been positioned there with all authority, and we have been seated there with Him, sharing in this authority. This is followed by a declaration that we, the Church, will manifest God’s great wisdom to the opposing forces operating there. And finally, in the last reference, Holy Spirit identifies these invisible forces.

“Shortly thereafter, Holy Spirit gave me a final lesson and reminder concerning the importance of operating in this invisible realm. We had actually begun the Tour and were at our second stop, the state of Oklahoma. Chuck was at the podium and when prophesying, spoke of God opening a door. I immediately began wondering what the natural occurrence might be and what natural door might open. In other words, I was envisioning something occurring in the natural realm that would create an open door of opportunity. I actually pictured in my mind a door opening.

“Instantly, I heard Holy Spirit say, ‘There you go again.’ Being the intelligent person I am, I immediately discerned that I had messed up! ‘The door I’m opening is not a physical or natural occurrence,’ He said. ‘It is a spiritual occurrence and door - in the invisible realm, the heavens. You must learn to go through the spiritual door up there, before you’ll be able to go through the natural door down here.’

“Just as Holy Spirit said this to me, Chuck stated, ‘Let’s bring Dutch up to speak now.’ Then he hesitated. ‘No,’ he said, ‘before he comes up, I need to share one more verse, Revelation 4:1 (NKJV). It reads, “After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, ‘Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.’” Now, Dutch, come and share.’

“I was blown away. Holy Spirit then spoke to me one more time, ‘I'm trying to teach you to move into the heavenly realm in your thinking, listening, praying, and decreeing in order to partner with Me there. If you will learn to do this, as I stated in Ephesians, you will connect Heaven and earth.’

“What an interesting phrase - ‘connecting heaven and earth,’ I thought.

"The Lord concluded by saying, ‘This will give you the results you’re seeking: realignment, restoration, the healing of nations, and the release of My glory.’

Holy Spirit wants to teach all of us to connect heaven and earth. Ask Him for greater revelation in this regard. Let’s do so now.

Pray with me:

Father, we believe in You, though we cannot see You; Your handiwork, proving Your existence, is all around us. We believe in the supernatural, Holy Spirit and His power, angels, and that we are seated positionally with Christ in the heavenly realm. We also believe satan and his demons are real. We ask for greater awareness and understanding of this invisible realm. Remind us of the incredible influence it has over the natural, visible realm we can see and touch. Teach us to operate more effectively in this dimension, thereby connecting heaven and earth.

We know You want to open doors for us in this spiritual realm, giving us access to blessings, provision, and revelation in the natural realm. You also want to open and close doors through us in this realm. Help us to understand how to do this more effectively. Teach us to arrest the powers of darkness working against our children, families, cities, nations, and, yes, ourselves. Give us greater discernment as watchmen, in order to recognize their activities, so we are not taken advantage of. And teach us to work more effectively with Holy Spirit. We ask for these things in Yeshua’s name.

Our decree:

We decree that we will look not only at that which is seen, but also at the unseen and eternal, according to 2 Corinthians 4:18. And in doing so, we will connect heaven and earth.

Click on the link below to watch the full video.

Today’s post was taken from our new book, Releasing the Prophetic Destiny of a Nation. You can find it at DutchSheets.org.