20/20 Vision
Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 1 viewNotes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
My fellow prognosticators of the word, I greet you in the mighty name of Jesus!
As we prepare our hearts for Gods Word, I summon your senses and invite your intellect to the book of 2 Kings chapter 6:8-16 and it is there that The Holy Spirit has highlighted our context for our sermonic time together this morning.
Scripture
Scripture
When the king of Aram was waging war against Israel, he conferred with his servants, “My camp will be at such and such a place.”
But the man of God sent word to the king of Israel: “Be careful passing by this place, for the Arameans are going down there.” Consequently, the king of Israel sent word to the place the man of God had told him about. The man of God repeatedly warned the king, so the king would be on his guard.
The king of Aram was enraged because of this matter, and he called his servants and demanded of them, “Tell me, which one of us is for the king of Israel?”
One of his servants said, “No one, my lord the king. Elisha, the prophet in Israel, tells the king of Israel even the words you speak in your bedroom.”
So the king said, “Go and see where he is, so I can send men to capture him.”
When he was told, “Elisha is in Dothan,” he sent horses, chariots, and a massive army there. They went by night and surrounded the city.
When the servant of the man of God got up early and went out, he discovered an army with horses and chariots surrounding the city. So he asked Elisha, “Oh, my master, what are we to do?”
Elisha said, “Don’t be afraid, for those who are with us outnumber those who are with them.”
Application
Application
In our text for consideration, Elisha serves and performs his function as the man of God, Prophet of the Most High.
He is charged with pointing God’s people to the true character of God in every situation.
In the text we find that: God’s Enemies make Strategic Plans to attack God People
Look back with me to verse 8-10
When the king of Aram was waging war against Israel, he conferred with his servants, “My camp will be at such and such a place.”
But the man of God sent word to the king of Israel: “Be careful passing by this place, for the Arameans are going down there.” Consequently, the king of Israel sent word to the place the man of God had told him about. The man of God repeatedly warned the king, so the king would be on his guard.
Notice in these verses We find a people who is challenged by repeated attacks by relentless king
We also see in verse 9 that God is always one step head with Divine Counter Intelligence
As the text continues we find that King Aram then became Angry because he could not control the situation
The king of Aram was enraged because of this matter, and he called his servants and demanded of them, “Tell me, which one of us is for the king of Israel?”
Even the King’s Servants had insights to the almighty power of God by saying in verse 12:
One of his servants said, “No one, my lord the king. Elisha, the prophet in Israel, tells the king of Israel even the words you speak in your bedroom.”
Take Note: When you are connected to God, the secrets of the enemy will be exposed
What the enemy wants private, the lord will make public
When the enemy sets up an ambush, the lord will divert your path
When the enemy is plotting against Gods people, even the words they speak in their bedrooms will be revealed
This is an issue of espionage, of which the spy is God.
God cannot be locked out of your enemy’s plans.
The enemy cannot have a meeting God doesn’t know about.
Even when the enemy does not invite God, God invites himself.
And God is your enemy’s spy.
And So God has relayed intel to the Prophet Elisha
So the King came up with a new plan and strategy, if I can’t take out the people, I’ll take out the Prophet
The King launched an all out assault on the Prophet, because if he could take out the Prophet he could take out the Nation.
So the King says in verse 13
So the king said, “Go and see where he is, so I can send men to capture him.”
When he was told, “Elisha is in Dothan,” he sent horses, chariots, and a massive army there. They went by night and surrounded the city.
Here is the Theological thrust of the text:
Those who are spiritually gifted (like the Prophet) can be targets of attacks because your gift exposes the plans of the enemy.
When you flow in the gift and the anointing that God has given you, it will get the attention of the enemy and he will rise up the minute you decide that you are going to do what God has empowered you to do, what he called you to, what you were appointed to do, what he birthed to do.
The only thing that it is doing is attracting the attention of the adversary, and while you are trying to serve God, all he is doing is attacking you.
That’s why we often times find ourselves under attack because any time your gift is working for the glory of God, here comes attacks.
For some people who may not know what I’m talking about, and may not understand what it’s like to be attacked,
perhaps it’s because, instead of you being attacked you are attached to the enemy and maybe carrying out attacks on his behalf.
Here's another thing from the text, when the enemy is out to destroy you, he will send everything in his arsenal to take you out, "But if God be for us who can be against us!"
When the King’s army arrived the servant to the prophet informed Elisha about their circumstances
When the servant of the man of God got up early and went out, he discovered an army with horses and chariots surrounding the city. So he asked Elisha, “Oh, my master, what are we to do?”
Elisha said, “Don’t be afraid, for those who are with us outnumber those who are with them.”
Then Elisha prayed, “Lord, please open his eyes and let him see.” So the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he saw that the mountain was covered with horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
The servants problem here is that his outlook on his outward circumstances led to panic
Listen to me this morning, In the text, Elisha had to release his servant from the fear of the presence of the enemy.
His servant was afraid because the presence of the enemy was unexpected.
Stuff we can anticipate don’t scare us.
It’s the stuff that happen that we were not expecting and did not plan for is what strikes fear into the heart of Gods people
He felt that they were Vulnerable and out numbered
Some churches can’t move forward because of generational fear.
Some fear comes in the form of traditions, they are afraid of doing things differently and so in fear they stay stagnant and die.
Just because you’re surrounded by the enemy, doesn’t mean you have to stay here in fear.
We cannot remain where we are paralyzed in fear.
The reason why the servant was scared and fearful was because he had help he could not see
The prophet explains to the servant that he was making what he CAN SEE bigger than what he CAN'T SEE
He was majoring in the minor
The Prophet Elisha is saying even if there is a plan, even if there is something we can do, I can’t move on it until I can push you past your fear.
Because if there is a plan and you are still walking in fear, you will never move in the plan because fear causes paralysis
Fear doesn’t just cause paralysis. It also causes blindness.
Fear doesn’t allow you to see all of the options.
Dr Tony Evans puts it this way: If what you see, is all you see, Then you are not seeing all there is to be seen
Once the servant was are released from fear, the prophet could now reveal the source of his help.
His Blindness needed to be removed
And This is what I want to anchor on today:
Once our blindness is removed, we too can see the power of God at work protecting His people
Sometimes a christians we have 20/20 vision on the problem, but are blinded to the solution in Christ Jesus
When your eyes are closed, it may look like you are out numbered
When your eyes are closed it may look like all hope is lost
When your eyes are closed it may look like you are going to lose the battle
When your eyes are closed you can’t see the salvation of the Lord
When your eyes are closed all we see is problems
When your eyes are closed all we see is our circumstances
But when God opens our eyes we see that it is our enemy that is surrounded
When God opens our eyes we solutions to our problems
When God opens our eyes we see that there are more with us, than there are with them
When God opens our eyes we know that the weapons will form, but they will not prosper
When God opens our eyes we will see the enemy attack but we won’t be harmed
I want us to keep this in mind: Elisha did not pray that God would change the situation, His only request was that his servant could see the reality of the situation.
This extraordinary 20/20 vision is so important. It is a reminder to us that invisible forces of God are watching over and protecting us.
Notice that Elisha asked for the servants eyes to be open and not the army. You don’t have to always show off your resources.
So when the army finally got close to them, the text says
When the Arameans came against him, Elisha prayed to the Lord, “Please strike this nation with blindness.” So he struck them with blindness, according to Elisha’s word.
What does this teach us: The same God that opened our eyes, is God enough to blind the eyes of the enemy
When the text started, the enemy could see and the servant was blind, but by the time God showed up the servant could see and the enemy was blinded
Then Elisha said to them, “This is not the way, and this is not the city. Follow me, and I will take you to the man you’re looking for.” And he led them to Samaria. When they entered Samaria, Elisha said, “Lord, open these men’s eyes and let them see.” So the Lord opened their eyes, and they saw that they were in the middle of Samaria.
When the king of Israel saw them, he said to Elisha, “Should I kill them, should I kill them, my father?”
Elisha replied, “Don’t kill them. Do you kill those you have captured with your sword or your bow? Set food and water in front of them so they can eat and drink and go to their master.”
So he prepared a big feast for them. When they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. The Aramean raiders did not come into Israel’s land again.
The end of this amazing text teaches us a number of things:
The same God that opened our eyes is God enough to flip the script and turn us from victims to deliverers
In the World in which we live we need 20/20 vision. Vision in the World & Vision in the Spirit
When we have 20/20 vision we can see that God's Promises are true
What are his promises?
I will certainly hide my face on that day because of all the evil they have done by turning to other gods.
God is our refuge and strength,
a helper who is always found
in times of trouble.
Haven’t I commanded you: be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
One who is righteous has many adversities,
but the Lord rescues him from them all.
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us.
So I Challenge You Today!
Fear not, stand firm, and SEE the salvation of the Lord!