Bears, Fire, and Authority.

This morning I  was reading 2 Kings 1-2.
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20kings%201-2&version=NKJV
(Here is the link if you want to check it out.)

These passages got me to thinking about authority.
Here is the deal.
Part 1:
A king decides to send some men to consult a fake God to see if he will recover from an injury. Elijah intercepts them and says that because you tried to consult a fake God, You will die. So Elijah decides to take a rest under a tree. The king then sends a captain and 50 soldiers to bring Elijah to him. Elijah gets scared and calls down fire on them. This happens again. When the 3rd set comes, the captain pleads for his men's and his life. God sends an Angel to Elijah and tells him to go.

Part 2:
Elijah is taken up to heaven. Before this Elisha makes a deal that if he sees Elijah go, then he will get a double portion of Elijah spirit. Elijah is taken and Elisha sees, and receives the double portion.

Part 3:
Elisha is walking along, some youths call him a bald man, he curses them and 2 bears come and kill them.
 

My Thoughts:
Elijah and Elisha, great men, incredible authority, but they were crazy! Killing people because you are scared or offended seems a bit extreme. How did they get this authority? Of course God gave it to them, but I don't feel like God is a smiter. How did they know that God would allow them to do that? And who was Elijah to say if Elisha could have a portion of his spirit. Do we have that Authority?

I then reflected over the New Testament and how the disciples had Authority to heal, cast out demons, speak in tongues,  (or vanish in Phillips case), or touch things and people could be healed by them. Where is that Authority today? Do we have it? How do we become confident in it?

Clearly authority seems to be important in our lives. Through out the old and new testament Authority is woven through God's followers. Both the prophets and the disciples possessed it.

Jesus said we were given all Authority over all the earth. Let's embrace this authority God has given us and give him the Glory!