LORD, OPEN OUR EYES!
2 Kgs. 6:8-17
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR: WHAT THE FISH WEIGHED
1. Doug was in the process of describing a 30 pound bass he'd caught recently after fighting it for three hours, when Bill interrupted his story.
2. "There’s no way I believe you caught a 30 pound bass!” Bill said. “Let me see a picture of that fish!" Doug gave him one.
3. After examining it, Bill said, "From what I see, you’d be lucky if that fish even weighed 10 pounds!"
4. "Well," Doug said with a face of consternation, "A fish can lose an awful lot of weight during three hours of fighting!"
5. In our text today we're going to read about another man whose secrets were exposed by heavenly spying and how this ended up being an "eye-opening" experience for one of God's prophets!
B. TEXT
8 Now the king of Aram was at war with Israel. After conferring with his officers, he said, “I will set up my camp in such and such a place.” 9 The man of God sent word to the king of Israel: “Beware of passing that place, because the Arameans are going down there.” 10 So the king of Israel checked on the place indicated by the man of God. Time and again Elisha warned the king, so that he was on his guard in such places. 11 This enraged the king of Aram. He summoned his officers and demanded of them, “Will you not tell me which of us is on the side of the king of Israel?” 12 “None of us, my lord the king,” said one of his officers, “but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the very words you speak in your bedroom.” 13 “Go, find out where he is,” the king ordered, “so I can send men and capture him.” The report came back: “He is in Dothan.” 14 Then he sent horses and chariots and a strong force there.
They went by night and surrounded the city. 15 When the
servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh, my lord, what shall we do?” the servant asked. 16 “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” 17 And Elisha prayed, “O Lord, open his eyes so he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
C. THESIS
1. We serve a God who is all-powerful! Many times the Enemy has tried to bring down the people of God, but God always frustrates his efforts.
2. Those who have a great God frequently see God do spectacular things. Spiritual vision is important. Why? Because spiritual vision can determine:
a. Your success or failure as a Christian;
b. The scope of the work you'll do for the Lord;
c. Whether you'll be a Giant in the land of Pygmies or a Pygmy in the land of Giants!
3. This morning we're going to look at God's heavenly surveillance, the need for our eyes being opened, and the power of corrected vision.
4. The title of this morning's message is, "Lord, Open Our Eyes!"
I. HEAVENLY SURVEILLANCE
A. REVELATION OF A SPY
1. The King of Aram was conducting “Cat and Mouse” ambushes; but the King of Israel had inside information. The ambushes were foiled.
2. You know, the Holy Spirit can warn us of approaching dangers too, if we stay in communion with God!
3. Strange, that the king of Israel would listen to the Elisha’s WARNINGS OF INVASION, but not HIS WARNINGS ABOUT the danger of his SIN! Be careful you don’t pick and choose which parts of the Word you obey!
4. At a Cabinet meeting, the King of Aram asked,
"... which of you is for the King of Israel? (vs. 11).
5. Shocking revelation: Elisha "tells the King of Israel what you speak in your bedroom" (vs. 12).
6. Modern technology has become pretty intrusive; drones fly around our houses; satellites photograph us; Google Street View takes street-side shots of everything and puts it on the internet! But they can’t see in your house yet!
B. IS YOUR PRIVATE LIFE EXPOSED TO GOD? YES!
1. God knows everything! We can’t think our sins are going undetected. Today there's a lot of people "coming out of the closet." They were never in a closet as far as God was concerned!
2. Scriptures:
a. “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good” Prov. 15:3.
b. “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account” Heb. 4:13.
c. “The Lord….will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts.” 1 Cor. 4:5.
3. HUMOR
a. A Christian boy’s Mom got a bad report about his behavior when she picked him up from a youth outing.
b. As they were driving home, he could feel DOOM hanging over him and asked, “Mom, do you like to fish?” “No.” she said.
c. “Mom, when we ask God to forgive us, He does, doesn’t he?” “Definitely, yes.” “And when he forgives us. He “casts our sins into the depths of the sea,” doesn’t He?” The mom replied, “Definitely Yes.”
d. “I’ve asked God to forgive me. When we get home, you’re not going fishing for those sins are you?” The mother replied, “Definitely, yes!”
4. SOLUTION? Proverbs 28:13, "He that covers his sins shall not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them shall have mercy."
C. NIGHT ASSUALT ON ELISHA
1. The King of Aram sent a large force of black ops to surround Elisha by night, and bring him dead or alive.
2. Elisha wasn’t in a fortress and had no army guarding him. So why the large army? Why the attempted secrecy?
3. If Elisha knew all his former plans, wouldn’t he know about the king’s plans to arrest him? He’s clueless!
4. Those who fight against God, his people, and prophet, don’t know what they’re doing.
D. MESSING WITH THE WRONG PEOPLE
1. I remember hearing a story about an American General who was vacationing in South America. While sightseeing at a remote location, he was captured by 50 guerrillas and taken to their mountain hideout.
2. The leader of the guerrillas, a Colonel, said, "Well, Mr. big shot American! We now have YOU at our mercy. In this country, WE are the big power. Now, WE called the shots. And your people will never be able to find you at this secret location!"
3. The American General laughed and said, "You have no idea who you are messing with. All generals have locator chips on their bodies.”
4. “I can guarantee you, that right now over 500 special ops Delta force soldiers are closing in on this location. Satellites are now examining the terrain surrounding this cave. Attack helicopters are moving into position. Spy planes are circling above us. It is not I who am in danger, Col., but you and your men.”
5. “I suggest you surrender to me immediately before it's too late and every one of you are dead men! I give you ten minutes!"
II. THE SERVANT’S FRIGHT & FREEDOM
A. THE FRIGHT OF ELSHA’S SERVANT
1. The servant woke up and heard the noise of a vast army at the base of the giant hill they were on. Men chopping wood & starting fires to cook breakfast. Horses whinnying, chariots rattling, men shouting.
2. What were all these 10,000s of soldiers at this remote location? The realization sent a chill down the servant’s back: they were there to kill or capture Elisha & his servant.
B. ELISHA’S COMFORT TO THE YOUNG MAN
TWO THINGS ELISHA DID:
1. WORD OF COMFORT. Vs. 16; “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
2. PRAYED FOR SIGHT. Vs. 17, “And Elisha prayed, ‘O Lord, open his eyes so he may see.’”
C. WE’RE NOT AWARE OF OUR OWN BLINDNESS
1. Elisha’s servant wasn’t aware he was blind to spiritual things. There IS a spiritual realm that may be seen with spiritual eyes.
2. If we could see into that realm, our whole perspective of what’s important would change.
3. Paul prayed for Christians to see into that realm; “that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened” Eph. 1:18.
4. HELEN KELLER.
a. Someone once said to Helen Keller, "What a pity you have no sight."
b. She answered, "Yes, but what a pity that so many who do have sight cannot see!" How true. Many with eyes are blind.
D. RECOG. THE ENEMY IN HIS MANY DISGUISES
1. Spiritual sight isn’t just about seeing angels.
2. It’s about recognizing the enemy opposing us by temptations, subtle thoughts, inferiority complexes, depressions, difficult circumstances, etc.
E. WHY ELISHA PRAYED FOR SIGHT
1. Why did Elisha pray for him?
a. He could have just told him everything would be alright.
b. But Elisha wanted him to have a "first-hand" experience. God wants you too to have a personal experience of the supernatural
2. This vision caused the man to no longer be afraid of the besieging army.
3. Charles Schultz, in his Peanuts comic strip, showed a conversation between Lucy and Charlie Brown. Lucy said that life is like a deck chair. Some place it so they can see where they are going to go; some place it so they can see where they have been; and some place it so they can see where they are at present. Charlie Brown replied, "I can't even get my chair unfolded!"
III. POWER OF CORRECTED VISION
A. VISION OF THE POWER OF GOD
1. We know how the young man felt before his eyes were opened:
a. “We’re defeated.”
b. "We have so little compared to them!" Or,
c. "Wow! It looks like God’s dropped the ball!”
2. Imagine the thrill that went through this young man when he saw – not just horses and chariots – but…
3. RANK UPON RANK OF GIANT WARRIOR ANGELS, IN FULL ARMOR, surrounding Elisha. Each had his war horse and chariot. UNUSUAL: THEY WERE BURNING WITH FIRE!
4. These were no ordinary warriors; they couldn’t be wounded with sword, spear, or arrow! Their fire was both dreadful and devouring. One of them could put 185,000 humans to death (Isa. 37:36).
5. I'm sure the young man suddenly felt invincible. We would too. Praise God -- we are!
6. Comparison? The Army of Syrians (the devil's forces) which had struck terror, now seemed puny and weak in comparison.
B. VISION OF HOW NEAR IS GOD’S PROVISION OF DELIVERANCE
1. Do you need a miracle? We need to have our eyes opened that our miracle is available, & step out and claim it. Our miracle is already near at hand. Don't let what you see discourage you. God is far greater than your problem.
2. "Greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world." 1 John 4:4. "I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me" Phip. 4:13. "No weapon that is formed against me shall prosper" Isa. 54:17. "Be not afraid... for the battle is not yours, but God's" 2 Chron. 20:15. "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you" James 4:7. "If God be for us, who can be against us?"
3. JESUS’ INCOMPARABLE VISION -- "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all nations us?"
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION: CAN'T JUST SIT AROUND
1. Larry Walters led a fairly boring normal life as a truck driver in southern California until the fateful day of July 2nd, 1982. On that day, Larry turned himself into a legend.
2. You see, ever since he was a boy Larry had dreamed of flying, but the US Air Force had turned him down from
becoming a pilot due to his bad eyesight. After he was discharged from the military, he sat in his backyard watching jets fly overhead. It was torture to be a man who felt the need to fly.
3. One day he could stand it no longer and so he hatched a scheme while sitting outside in his Sears lawnchair. He went out and purchased 45 weather balloons from an Army-Navy surplus store, tied them to his tethered lawnchair which he dubbed the Inspiration I.
4. He then filled the four-foot-diameter balloons with helium. Then he strapped himself into his lawnchair with some sandwiches, a six-pack of Miller Lite, and a pellet gun. He figured he would pop a few of the many balloons when it was time to descend.
5. Larry's plan was to sever the anchor and lazily float up to a height of about 30 feet above his back yard, where he would enjoy a few hours of flight before coming back down. But unfortunately, Larry knew a lot more about truck driving than physics, and so things didn't work out quite as Larry planned.
6. When his friends cut the cord anchoring the lawnchair to his Jeep, he did not float lazily up to 30 feet. Instead, he streaked into the LA sky as if shot from a cannon, pulled by the lift of 42 helium balloons holding 33 cubic feet of helium each. He didn't level off at 100 feet, nor did he level off at 1,000 feet. After climbing and climbing, he finally leveled off at 16,000 feet.
7. At that height he felt he couldn't risk shooting any of the balloons, lest he unbalance the load and really find himself in trouble. So he stayed there, drifting cold and frightened with his beer and sandwiches, three miles above the ground for more than 14 hours.
8. He crossed the primary approach corridor of LAX. Imagine the surprise of the air traffic controller when she was informed by Trans World and Delta Airlines pilots that they just passed a man floating in his lawn chair. Eventually Larry gathered the nerve to shoot a few balloons and slowly descended.
9. Unfortunately the hanging tethers tangled and caught in a power line, blacking out a Long Beach neighborhood for twenty minutes. But Larry finally got back on the ground, where he was arrested by waiting members of the LAPD.
10. As he was led away in handcuffs, a reporter dispatched to cover the daring feat asked him why he had done it. Larry replied nonchalantly, "A man can't just sit around." (Source: Bill Scott, "Boat Potatoes" 7/15/08)
B. THE CALL
1. The next 12 months is a blank book; what will you write in it? Mediocre or great things?
2. Church, we need our eyes opened -- to the enemies devices & to the reality of God’s delivering power!
3. Why was God with Elisha? Because Elisha was on the Lord's side. If we get unmistakably on God's side then we can be assured of divine aid in our time of need.
4. Are you on God's side? How many of you want God to open your eyes?
