VICTORY OVER THE ENEMY
II Kings 6:1-12
INTRO.- ILL.- Dunblane, Scotland. Dunblane is a small tranquil town at the foot of the Scottish highlands, but it was anything but tranquil on Wednesday, March 13, 1996.
A former Boy Scout leader named Thomas Hamilton armed with four handguns killed or wounded all but one of the 29 kindergarten children playing in the school gym and killed their teacher.
I think he actually killed 16 children, one teacher and then killed himself. Also, twelve other children and two other teachers were wounded.
At 9:30 a.m., Wednesday, March 13, 1996, teacher Gwenne Mayor, 45, was supervising 29 lively youngsters as they ran around the gym and took turns scrambling up the climbing bars. That’s the moment Thomas Hamilton appeared in the doorway and opened fire on them.
Elsewhere in the school, children heard a noise like firecrackers and jumped up from their desks and ran to the windows to see what was going on. Teachers ordered them under their desks. And the principal dialed the police.
School board member, Gerry McDermott said, "Just now, to most people, this is a nightmare. But they will not wake from it."
Five-year old Stewart Weir will never forget the man with the guns. He ran and escaped with only a bullet-grazed leg. His father Robert said, "Stewart said he thought the gunman was shooting at him. He got hit in the leg, so he took a run and just hid with another wee girl. It is lucky the man turned the gun on himself before he got the rest of the kids."
Paramedic, John McEwan told the newspaper reporters, "I can only describe what I saw...as a medieval vision of hell."
"There were little bodies in piles, dotted around the room, and items of children’s clothing like shoes and pumps around the floor."
It was said that Thomas Hamilton, the gunman, was nurturing a grudge. The Boy Scouts expelled him in 1974 for what the association called "unstable and possibly improper behavior following a scout camp."
One 14 year-old boy said that he felt uncomfortable in Hamilton’s presence. He said, "He used to walk me down from the boy’s club and try to invite himself into my house."
Local counselors knew Hamilton as a troublemaker with a grudge. A TROUBLEMAKER WITH A GRUDGE. What a horrible combination!
One newspaper called that incident, "THE SLAUGHTER OF THE INNOCENTS." And it was.
Why did this happen? In a word, SATAN!
John 8:44 Jesus said to the Jewish leaders, "You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning..." The devil is a murderer!
I John 3:12 "Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother..."
The evil one called Satan caused Cain to murder his brother. And Satan is behind every murder that has ever been committed! Actually, the devil is behind ALL the evil that men do!
In our text of II Kings 6 the devil is at work in the King of Aram (or Syria). He is fighting against God’s people and God’s man of the hour, the prophet Elisha.
Elisha is the successor to the flamboyant prophet Elijah. Elisha may not have been as flashy as Elijah was but he got the job done.
By experiencing victory over the King of Aram, he essentially experienced victory over Satan. The big question is: How did Elisha experience victory?
PROP.- Let’s consider what Elisha did, what he knew, and what he saw in order to overcome the enemy.
1- He did the impossible
2- He knew the unknowable
3- He saw the invisible
4- He accomplished the unthinkable
I. HE DID THE IMPOSSIBLE
In verses 1-6, the company of prophets wanted to build a place to live. We could say that they were a bunch of seminary students and Elisha was their professor.
The Living Bible reads this way: "One the seminary students came to Elisha, ‘As you can see, our dormitory is too small. Tell us, as our president, whether we can build a new one down beside the Jordan River, where there are plenty of logs."
As one of the prophets was cutting down trees, the iron axhead fell into the water. He cried out, "It was borrowed!" As in, "Oh no! That’s not mine. It was borrowed!"
ILL.- A rabbi asked a wealthy Jew for a loan of a few dollars. The Jew looked up innocently and asked, "Rabbi, didn’t you say yesterday in your sermon that to loan money on interest is the same as killing a person?"
"What?" the rabbi asked in surprise. "I do not intend to borrow on interest. I merely want a loan."
"Oh, is that it?" the rich Jew retorted. "Then the case is even worse, for in that event I would be killing myself."
Brothers and sisters, it kills some people to loan anything, money or otherwise. I see nothing wrong with it, however. It’s matter of caring about others. It’s a matter of loving. And, of course, sometimes we get took. That’s the risk you take when you love people.
What about borrowing? Did you ever borrow anything from anybody? Lawnmower, garden tools, car, etc. If you borrowed something, in what condition did you return those items? And how quickly did you return them?
Whether we realize it or not, everything we have is borrowed! Huh? How’s that?
I Cor. 4:7 LB "What are you so puffed up about? What do you have that God hasn’t given you? And if all you have is from God, why act as though you are so great, and as though you have accomplished something on your own?"
In a very real sense, everything we have is borrowed from God. God is the giver of all good gifts and we are merely the managers or caretakers of these good gifts.
ILL.- As one man put it, "I drive the Lord’s care. I spend the Lord’s money. I eat the Lord’s food. I live in the Lord’s house. I enjoy the Lord’s luxuries, etc."
You need to take good care of what God has loaned you. Try not to lose it or abuse it.
What was it that Elisha did that was so impossible? HE MADE THAT IRON AXHEAD FLOAT!
V. 6 "Elisha cut a stick and threw it there, and made the iron float."
Don’t you know that Elisha just pulled a David Copperfield trick on those guys?! Or perhaps he just picked it up with that stick and we are not told the whole story. WRONG! HE DID NEITHER OF THOSE THINGS!
God’s Word says that he made that iron axhead float! Did Elisha really do that? NO, GOD DID IT!
ILL.- The songwriter said it this way:
God any rivers you think are uncrossable?
Got any mountains you can’t tunnel through?
God specializes in things tho’t impossible;
He does the things others cannot do.
Jerm. 32:17 "Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. NOTHING IS TOO HARD FOR YOU."
Jerm. 32:27 The Lord spoke and said, "I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. IS ANYTHING TOO HARD FOR ME?"
He who flung the stars into space can easily make an iron axhead float!
ARE THERE ANY SEEMINGLY IMPOSSIBLE SITUATIONS IN YOUR LIFE? A trouble marriage? A destroyed romance? A terrible habit you can’t overcome? A prodigal child who refuses to come home? A family feud? Financial woes? Failing health? Work worries?
Whatever your impossible situation is, you need to give that situation to God in complete faith, knowing that nothing is impossible for Him to handle or change!
If you want to experience victory over the enemy, any enemy, you must give your impossible situation to God! And, of course, we’re all guilty of failing to do this at times or with certain situations.
Is there any secret to giving God our impossible situations? Not really. It’s a matter of talking to God about it and trying as best we can to leave it with Him, praying, "Father, here’s the deal. I’m not happy about it. Please deal with it. Please handle this, calm this, cure this, take care of this. I’m helpless. I am weak, but you are strong. You love when I don’t. You forgive when I don’t. Change my heart. I’m asking in the name of Jesus, please do something about this."
Ps. 37:1, 3, 4, 5 "Do not fret because of evil....trust in the Lord and do good....delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart....commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this."
Elisha did the impossible with God’s help and we can too!
II. HE KNEW THE UNKNOWABLE
Vss. 8-12 8 "Now the King of Aram was at war with Israel."
ILL.- For several years a lawyer and a doctor had regularly played golf together. They were evenly matched, and there was a keen sense of rivalry. Then one spring the lawyer’s game suddenly improved so much that the doctor was losing regularly. The doctor’s efforts to improve his own game were unsuccessful, but finally he came up with an idea.
At a bookstore he picked out three "how-to-play" golf books, and sent them to the lawyer for a birthday present. It wasn’t long before they were evenly matched again.
Brothers and sisters, everybody has a strategy for winning at their game, be it golf, baseball, soccer, or even war.
Anybody at war will have a certain strategy. The king said, "I will set up my camp in such and such a place." And every time he moved his camp, Elisha knew about it and told the King of Israel. And of course, this enraged the King of Aram. He thought somebody in his camp was a traitor, a spy, a secret agent of sorts.
One of Aram’s officers said to his king, "Elisha tells the King of Israel everything you speak in your bedroom."
Elisha must have bugged the King’s bedroom! Surely that’s how he knew every move he and his army made.
Wouldn’t it be nice to know every move your enemy is going to make? In war, that would just about cinch the victory. And wouldn’t that be great for a football team? Victory would practically be assured.
It must be that somehow Elisha had bugged the King’s bedroom!
ILL.- One time a doctor of theology shared a seat with a small boy on a train. The boy was holding a Sunday School book. "Do you go to Sunday School?" the man asked. "Yes, sir" the boy replied.
The doctor of theology thought he would have some fun with the boy and asked him, "Tell me where God is and I’ll give you an apple." The boy looked at the man and said, "I will give you a whole barrel of apples if you tell me where God is not."
ILL.- Dr. John Baillie made it a practice to open his course on the doctrine of God at Edinburgh University with these words: "Gentlemen, we must remember that in discussing God we cannot talk about Him without His hearing every word we say. We may be able to talk about our fellows behind their backs, but God is everywhere, yes, even in this classroom. Therefore, in all of our discussions we must be aware of His infinite presence and talk about Him, as it were, before His face."
ILL.- Edwin Booth said, "There is no door through which God cannot see."
Brothers and sisters, God knew what was going on in the enemies’ camp, in the king’s bedroom, and somehow He revealed it to His prophet Elisha!
God also knows today what is going on in the enemies’ camp today and in a sense, He has revealed it to us!
And we can know what is going on if we will pay close attention to God’s Word! A close study of God’s Word can help us to know the strategy of our enemy and experience victory over him!
II Cor. 2:11 "We are not unaware of his (Satan’s) schemes."
1- Elisha did the impossible (with God’s help)
2- Elisha knew the unknowable (with God’s help)
III. HE SAW THE INVISIBLE
Vss. 13-17 When Elisha’s servant got up early in the morning and went outside, he was afraid! All he could see was the enemy’s army surrounding them!
ILL.- Two explorers were on a jungle safari when suddenly a ferocious lion jumped in front of them. "Keep calm" the first explorer whispered. "Remember what we read in that book on wild animals? If you stand perfectly still and look the lion in the eye, he will turn and run." "Sure," replied his companion. "You’ve read the book, and I’ve read the book. But has the lion read the book?"
People often become paralyzed by fear because the enemy often looks so big, so enormous, so monstrous, so vicious!
ILL.- About 10 to 12 years ago, ex-heavyweight Boxing champ of the world, Smokin’ Joe Frazier, came to southern Illinois. He was brought into Anna, IL, to promote some new business in town. And I bet someone paid some big bucks to bring him to town.
I took son Shane downtown to meet Smokin’ Joe. I was amazed when I shook hands with Joe. Joe was not a big boxer by heavyweight standards, but his hands were huge!
At that particular time, Joe’s son, Marvis Frazier had started boxing as a heavyweight and looked to be pretty good. That is, until he met Mike Tyson in the ring. Mike Tyson knocked out Marvis Frazier in about 30 seconds of the first round.
I asked Joe about his son Marvis and he said, "I think the Lord showed Marvis that he’d better get in another business besides boxing." Then he laughed.
I saw that fight between Marvis Frazier and Mike Tyson and when Marvis stepped into the ring, you could sense he was going to lose that fight! HE HAD A LOOK OF FEAR ON HIS FACE!
Fear of the enemy often paralyzes us to the point that we can’t do anything! Elisha’s servant looked at what he thought were overwhelming odds and was afraid. He said, "What are we going to do?"
BUT ELISHA WAS NOT AFRAID! He saw the invisible! He saw the invisible army of God! And it was much bigger than the army of the Arameans.
Then Elisha prayed that his servant’s eyes would be opened and see the Lord’s army too. And he did.
ELISHA WALKED BY FAITH, NOT BY SIGHT. He could see more by faith than his servant could see with his eyes.
ILL.- Small of stature David should have been afraid of the giant Goliath who was either 7 feet tall or 9 feet tall, as some versions read. Either way, he was a giant to small David. But David wasn’t afraid! He saw the invisible power of God!
I Sam. 17:45 David said to Goliath, "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, who you have defiled."
ILL.- Those three Hebrew boys, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, should have feared King Nebuchadnezzar, but they didn’t!
Dan. 3:17 "If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O King."
Those boys walked by faith! They could see the invisible God!
WHAT ABOUT YOU? What do you see when your back is against the wall? When the enemy has you cornered?
John 16:33 "In this world you will have trouble, but take heart! (or do not be afraid) I have overcome the world."
When the enemy has us cornered we need to see Jesus! We need to walk by faith in Him who overcomes everything!
1- Elisha did the impossible
2- He knew the unknowable
3- He saw the invisible
IV. HE ACCOMPLISHED THE UNTHINKABLE
Vss. 18-23 Elisha was able to overcome the enemy! We can do more than we think we can! Especially, with God’s help!
ILL.- A little boy said, "I’m not old enough to play baseball or football. I’m not eight years old yet. My mom told me when I started playing baseball I wasn’t going to be able to run fast because I had an operation. I told mom I wouldn’t need to run that fast. When I play baseball, I’ll just hit them out of the park. Then I’ll be able to walk."
That’s the spirit! That’s the spirit of Elisha! It’s that "can do" spirit that comes from the Lord.
ILL.- William James wrote, "Everyone knows on any given day that there are energies slumbering in him which the incitements of that day do not call forth. Compared with what we ought to be, we are only half awake. Our fires are damped, our drafts are checked. We are making use of only a small part of our possible mental and physical resources. Stating the thing broadly, the human individual lives far within his limits; he possesses powers of various sorts he habitually fails to use."
ILL.- It was said that Thomas Edison’s teachers said he was too stupid to learn anything.
- Albert Einstein did not speak until he was four years old and didn’t read until he was seven. His teacher described him as "mentally slow..."
- Walt Disney was fired by a newspaper for his lack of ideas.
- After Fred Astaire’s first screen test, the memo read, "Can’t act. Slightly bald. Can dance a little!"
What this amounts to is this: WE CAN DO MORE THAN WE THINK WE CAN! Everyone has the potential to do more! Physically, mentally, and spiritually!
What was this unthinkable thing that Elisha accomplished? HE OVERCAME THE ENEMY! But he did it differently that most people would.
V. 18 "Elisha prayed to the Lord, ‘Strike these people with blindness..." And the Lord did. Then Elisha led them right into Samaria, which was exactly where they did not want to be!
I’m not suggesting that we pray for God to strike our enemies with blindness. Or perhaps "Strike ‘em, Lord, keep ‘em from hurting me," etc.
I do believe, however, that we must saturate our lives with prayer if we are going to be victorious over the evil one of this world! THERE IS NO VICTORY WITHOUT DEPENDENCE ON GOD!
II Cor. 9:3-4 "For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds."
The world, in its wisdom, thinks in terms of education and intelligence, money and influence, etc. but we think in terms of God’s power and love, His mercy and grace! And His weapons are stronger, mightier!
Mark 1:35 "Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed."
Why did Jesus do that? Because His weapons were not the weapons of this world! His weapon was the power of prayer! His weapon was the help of His Father! His weapon was Almighty God!
Elisha overcome the enemy also by doing something that most people would never do. HE ACTED WITH KINDNESS TOWARD HIS ENEMIES! Normally, we do not think of doing our enemies a favor, but Elisha did!
The King of Israel was going to kill the armies of Aram but Elisha said, "Let’s give them food and let them go home." Vs. 22
And as a result, they stopped raiding the people of Israel. ELISHA KILLED HIS ENEMY WITH KINDNESS! How strange! How unordinary! How like God!
Rom. 12:20-21 "If you enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head. DO NOT BE OVERCOME BY EVIL, BUT OVERCOME EVIL WITH GOOD."
Elisha was an overcomer. We can be too. With God’s help and in God’s way.
CONCLUSION-----------------------------------------
ILL.- Michael Chang is his name. For nearly a decade, this atypical, 5’ 9" 26-year-old has been God’s ambassador to the tennis world and beyond. Although Chang showed promise as a teenager on the tennis circuit, his now-legendary 1989 French Open victory shocked everyone, himself included. Tennis fans know the story well.
Chang, at age 17, wasn’t supposed to advance beyond the round of 16 players, considering his opponent was Ivan Lendl, the highest-ranked player in the world. After losing the first two sets to Lendl, Chang used innovative defensive strategies to come from behind and win the next three sets, despite battling leg cramps and exhaustion.
Then, as if one incredible upset were not enough, he pulled another improbable, come-from-behind victory over Stefan Edberg to capture the title of French Open champion, the youngest man ever to win a Grand Slam tournament. World Tennis magazine described his performance in Paris as "tennis’s purest example of intelligence."
But Chang has another explanation, one that has stayed consistent through the years since he gave his life to Jesus Christ: "I wasn’t playing out there. Jesus Christ is alive and well!" Chang believes his continued success is testimony to something-or Someone-else entirely.
"People sometimes ask me, ’Don’t you wish you were bigger?’ There’s a reason God made me 5-foot-9 in a world where the average height of players is 6-foot-2. If I’m able to go out and win a tournament, it’s really to God’s glory. It obviously has nothing to do with my height or anything else."
"I felt God used me to show the world that you don’t always have to be bigger or stronger to come out on top. When the Lord is with you and wants you to be victorious, you will be."
Although Chang has experienced victory over the years, he hasn’t captured another Grand Slam title. However, knowing God, Michael assesses his success by different measures.
"It’s not essential that I win another Grand Slam or become number one, although certainly it would be nice to do either or both of those things. Success for me is using my talents in the way that God wants me to use them. When you touch people in a Christ-like way, it lasts a lifetime. That’s the way success should be defined."
1- Elisha did the impossible
2- He knew the unknowable
3- He saw the invisible
4- He accomplished the unthinkable.
So did Michael Chang. And so can you. There is victory in Jesus!
