Faith To See (Moving From Fear To Faithfulness)
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Introduction
Introduction
Debilitating effects of fear
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1299209/
The Blinding Effects Of Fear
The Blinding Effects Of Fear
Fear can blind the faith of the faithful
Fear Can Disable Faith
Fear of the enemy can inhibit our ability to see the power of God
Transition
Transition
Look to the example of Elisha’s faith to see the availability of God to fight on our behalf.
It is in our passage today that we find the servant of the man of God is fearful of the problem he sees- the horses and chariots and a great army have come by night and surrounded the city.
Fear of the enemy can inhibit our ability to see the power of God
This servant does not have a name, which means he could be anyone who has decided the serve the LORD God and finds their back up against the wall
The servant of the man of God is fearful of the problem he sees
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To make matters worse, the the source of this problem, the reason the servant finds himself in this predicament is primarily due to the faithfulness and vision of the man of God, Elisha, whom he serves
It is not an accident that at the time of our passage that Elisha is the set man of God, a prophet, who can receive a word from the LORD
Look to the example of Elisha’s faith to see the availability of God to fight on our behalf
To fully understand the meaning and purpose of this passage and how to properly apply it in your life, you must know a few things about Elisha...
1 Kings 19
And Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint to be king over Israel, and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint to be prophet in your place.
So he departed from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen in front of him, and he was with the twelfth. Elijah passed by him and cast his cloak upon him. And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, “Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.” And he said to him, “Go back again, for what have I done to you?” And he returned from following him and took the yoke of oxen and sacrificed them and boiled their flesh with the yokes of the oxen and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he arose and went after Elijah and assisted him.
When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask what I shall do for you, before I am taken from you.” And Elisha said, “Please let there be a double portion of your spirit on me.” And he said, “You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it shall be so for you, but if you do not see me, it shall not be so.”
2 Kings 2:9
Then he took the cloak of Elijah that had fallen from him and struck the water, saying, “Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” And when he had struck the water, the water was parted to the one side and to the other, and Elisha went over.
And Elisha said to the king of Israel, “What have I to do with you? Go to the prophets of your father and to the prophets of your mother.” But the king of Israel said to him, “No; it is the Lord who has called these three kings to give them into the hand of Moab.”
2 Kings 3
Now the wife of one of the sons of the prophets cried to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord, but the creditor has come to take my two children to be his slaves.”
2 Kings 4:
One day Elisha went on to Shunem, where a wealthy woman lived, who urged him to eat some food. So whenever he passed that way, he would turn in there to eat food. And she said to her husband, “Behold now, I know that this is a holy man of God who is continually passing our way. Let us make a small room on the roof with walls and put there for him a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp, so that whenever he comes to us, he can go in there.”
When Elisha came into the house, he saw the child lying dead on his bed. So he went in and shut the door behind the two of them and prayed to the Lord.
2 Kings 4
But when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent to the king, saying, “Why have you torn your clothes? Let him come now to me, that he may know that there is a prophet in Israel.” So Naaman came with his horses and chariots and stood at the door of Elisha’s house. And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored, and you shall be clean.”
2 Kings 5:8-
If Elijah is the fearful prophet
Then Elisha is the fearless prophet
Fear Impairs Faith
Fear Impairs Faith
2 Kings 6:15
When the servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. And the servant said, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?”
Fear Can Blind Faith
2 Kings The servant of the man of God only sees the problem
The servant of the man of God can only see the problem
Fear leads us to ask: “What shall we do?”
Fear takes God out of the equation
Fear leads us to seek manmade solutions
Instead of seeking heavenly counsel, we take matters into our own hands
But he has enough sense to go to Elisha, the man of God and ask the question
That’s why you come every Sunday asking, is there a Word from the LORD!
There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.
Love God because the LORD God is a God of love!
Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.
Fear Can Blind Faith
casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
(Transition: Whereas fear can blind faith…)
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The Faithful Possess Godly Vision (Revelation)
The Faithful Possess Godly Vision (Revelation)
He said, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
Elisha sees the plans of the enemy
The enemy cannot see Elisha’s source of power
2 Kings 6:11
And the mind of the king of Syria was greatly troubled because of this thing, and he called his servants and said to them, “Will you not show me who of us is for the king of Israel?” And one of his servants said, “None, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.”
The Faithful Pray (for Others to See)
The Faithful Pray (for Others to See)
Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.” So 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.
Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.
Psalm
1 Peter
casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
And pray for your brother and sister to see what you can see
Elisha sees the plans of the enemy
The enemy cannot see Elisha’s source of power
Elisha sees power of God’s potential
Elisha prays for his servant to see
Elishas knows only the LORD can open his servants eyes
The Faithful Are Perceived (by the LORD)
The Faithful Are Perceived (by the LORD)
And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.
The LORD hears Elisha’s prayer
And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’ ” And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
The LORD hears Elisha’s prayer
The LORD hears Elisha’s prayer
The LORD opens the eyes of the young servant
Elisha prayed to the LORD to strike the enemy with blindness i.e. Elisha prays for the LORD to close the eyes of the enemy
The LORD responded according to Elisha’s request
Elisha prayed to the LORD to open the enemies eyes after taking them to Samaria
The Faithful Practice Mercy & Kindness
The Faithful Practice Mercy & Kindness
Elisha shows the enemy mercy i.e Even though Elisha is connected to the power of the LORD and he has the LORD’s ear, Elisha does not seek his own glory
Blessed are the peacemakers!
Conclusion- Jesus prays for you!
Conclusion- Jesus prays for you!
but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” Peter said to him, “Lord, I am ready to go with you both to prison and to death.” Jesus said, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow this day, until you deny three times that you know me.”
“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” Peter said to him, “Lord, I am ready to go with you both to prison and to death.” Jesus said, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow this day, until you deny three times that you know me.”
For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments.
So Pilate decided that their demand should be granted.