THE PASTOR’S POINTS
sermon ministry of
CEDAR LODGE BAPTIST CHURCH
Thomasville, NC
A fellowship of faith, family and friendships.
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June 22, 2003
17Then Elisha prayed, "O LORD, open his eyes and let him see!" The LORD opened his servant’s eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire. 2 Kings 6:17 (NLT)
When it comes to movies, anything set in the Victorian era gets my attention. I have watched "Kate and Leopold " (Miramax Films) several times. Leopold is a duke, snatched out of 1876 to the present by a would-be inventor who finds a "crack in time" to travel back and forth.
It is a hilarious situation. The duke is awed by 21st century New York City with its automobiles, televisions, telephones and elevators (which the duke himself invents after he returns to his own time),. The not-so-successful inventor is my hero. Nobody understands or appreciates him. Through an accident he winds up in the hospital, and talking about time-travel lands him in the psyche ward. The hospital shrink incarcerates as a lunatic the only one who can get Leopold back to his own time.
Out of frustration my hero, the inventor, begins talking to one of the nurses about his plight. She listens intently and is drawn into the story. With a sadness and resignation he explains to his audience of one his private epic tale of being misunderstood. He says, "It’s like being a dog that has seen a rainbow. A dog can describe to all the other dogs the beauty and splendor of this colorful heavenly display. But they don’t believe him. Dogs are colorblind. They can’t see rainbows, so they don’t believe him."
In some ways we are like colorblind dogs in spiritual matters. There is so much all around that God wants for us to see of His kingdom and His will; we stare right through the best of it because we are spiritually blind.
Now, spiritual blindness did not just appear in our day; it has been around for a long time. Centuries before the birth of Christ, the enemies of Israel were the Assyrians. The king of Assyria wanted to conquer Israel. God wouldn’t let that happen, so He kept giving prophetic insight about Assyria’s plans to a prophet named Elisha. (This was the same Elisha who had served as prophet-apprentice to Elijah). Elisha would warn the king of Israel, and at each attack, Syria’s army would be routed. Elisha had become a major pain to the king of Assyria.
When the king found out his losses were Elisha’s doing he put a price on the prophet’s head and laid plans to capture him. This was the ancient equivalent of putting enemy faces on a deck of cards, except there was just one face on the whole deck - Elisha! The king made only one mistake…Elisha really wasn’t his enemy, God was! The conflict was not going to be much of a contest.
Dothan (about 60 miles north of Jerusalem near Megiddo, where the final conflict on earth will someday take place) was Elisha’s retreat. As the night fell the prophet and his servant lay down in relative security. (So they thought!)
In the pre-dawn hours Elisha’s servant gets up early to begin the morning chores. That was his job. In our mind’s eye we see the servant dragging out to the well to draw water. He is only half-awake, shuffling along. But, something is not quite right; the early birds and other critters are not making their usual noises. Pushing the sleep away from his eyes he scans the local hillside and his heart stops beating. There, in the morning haze, silhouetted against the first indistinct rays of the dawning sun are Syrian soldiers - a whole army of them standing at ready, spears and bows locked and loaded!
As it turned out, Elisha’s servant Gehazi was spiritually-blind, but his physical eyesight was 20-20. He scrambled into the house and woke Elisha, "Master, Elisha, wake up; the whole Syrian army is out there, and they aren’t happy. Elisha, wake up, man, they’ve got machine-bows and sling missiles…we’re toast!"
There is an interesting side-issue here, in that the name given to the servant, Gehazi, means valley of vision. The man had the name, but he fell short of living-up to his name. He was as spiritually blind as the king of Syria.
Gehazi’s problem was not the reality of the coming battle, but his perception of that reality. He served a Jewish prophet of "Jahweh, God Most High"; he carried the name of spiritual sight, yet knew nothing of vision.
In today’s church you can see the counterpart of Gehazi. Paul characterized them for young Timothy:
5Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
2 Timothy 3:5
Not having spiritual sight is the norm these days. It can be a matter of belonging to a church that preaches walking by faith which is born of spiritual vision, yet living as if faith is non-existent. We claim to serve the God of all authority and power, but we trust our own ways rather than His. As a result, many believers live far below the spiritual poverty line, and some even die prematurely .
What is it like to see with the eyes of faith?
In Holy Scripture there appears the phrase, the just shall live by faith three times .
For clarification, Paul takes it a step further:
(For we walk by faith, not by sight:) 2 Corinthians 5:7
The implication then, is that trusting God by faith (spiritual vision) must be superior to living by sight. God has called every believer to live and move in faith. That means we must trust Him. Gehazi, in his spiritually-blind condition had to trust Elisha in order to see the protection of God’s angels. We must also have faith every day if we are to see God’s care for us.
How do you do that? It sounds much easier said than done; it is! Seeing with the eyes of faith means we must major on being what God called us to be. That has less to do with what we DO than WHO WE ARE! Essentially, it means we ARE four realities about the believer in Jesus Christ who walks by faith, and not by sight:
Reality #1. We Have Been Changed
Knowing God means having a personal relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ. Do you know Him? Do you have a changed nature? Do you walk with Him? These are questions that have specific answers. Those who have been changed know it.
A street preacher was speaking to a crowd about Jesus. A man interrupted and shouted how he didn’t believe in Jesus, God, hell or judgment, because he’d never seen God. Another man spoke up: "Friends, you say there is a building over there, and a bus that stops here twice a day, and that grass grows in the yard across the street. That is untrue; and you yourselves don’t exist either, because I’ve never seen you. You see I am blind. And the more I say you don’t exist, while others can plainly see, just proves I’m blind."
The bad news is that those who refuse to be changed refuse God. The good news is that everyone can repent of his or her sins and be changed - saved by the grace of God through the invitation Jesus extended by His death, burial and resurrection.
Gehazi couldn’t see because Gehazi didn’t trust. That is the essence of being saved, my friend. Those who trust in Jesus will be changed. The difference is a matter of life and death - eternal life and death! And when you allow Jesus to change you, you will walk by faith, not sight. But your faith will change you from that "colorblind dog" state, to one who sees the rainbow of God’s love. When it comes to walking by faith, one reality is that we have been changed. Another…
Reality #2. We Change Our Ways When They are Different than His Ways
Have you ever heard any of these statements:
God is selfish! Have you ever heard that?
How about this one: God is foolish.
Or this: God is dumb.
Of course you have never heard those from any serious person. As His creation we know innately that God is above those human traits. Walking by faith, and seeing with the eyes of faith means we are changeable creatures, and we leave those things behind when we discover they are different from His ways.
The wonderful part about being a child of God is that although we must cooperate with Him in the change process, it is He who does the change work in us. For me, smoking cigarettes was evil. I considered it a bad habit and a bad witness. Yet, still, I smoked between 2 and 3 packs a day! I tried to quit about seventeen quadrillion times….a day! All of that was fruitless and an exercise in futility. Russell was addicted, and I could not quit. I knew it was bad for my health and my witness, and, well, frankly, my breath wasn’t enhanced by the results either. (Elizabeth has never been too fond of kissing an ashtray).
I did finally quit; I have not smoked since 1977. Want to pat me on the back? No need; it wasn’t I who quit…it was Christ in me who changed me. It happened when I finally linked-up with what Jesus said:
The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. John 10:10
Jesus showed me that things which kill the body, soul and spirit are not His ways. Cigarettes fall in that category (and so does over-eating, inactivity and not taking your blood pressure medication). In 1977 I admitted that I was not the one with the power; I prayed, Lord, I need so much help with this I can’t ever see me quitting, so I’m going to turn it all over to you. If you will take this habit from me, I won’t have another excuse left to not serve you. For a long time it was a day-by-day prayer. Elizabeth joined me in my prayer and desire to follow Jesus into life - I was so nervous and cranky without my nicotine, she knew without supernatural intervention she was going to kill me!
I was a changed man, saved by the Lord Jesus’ death on the cross, and when I saw the difference in my ways compared to His ways, I wanted that change also, and He gave it to me. There are more areas I (and you) need to conquer, but it is a process - He’s still working on - and in - us! We’ve been changed, change our ways, and…
Reality #3. We Change Our Focus When Our Focus is Different than His Desire
Many people begin the walk in faith with their eyes on the eternal. They make a good start following Jesus by faith. But it is so easy to look around and get distracted. Do you recall Peter stepping out of the boat? His focus was on walking on that water through the storm to Jesus. Then he took his eyes off the Lord and began to notice the raging storm waters around him. He began to sink like I swim!
We do that. We begin well, walk in faith, focused on Jesus.
Then we see troubles…
we see hatred and violence like the riots up in Michigan this week…
we see those not doing like we think they ought,
and, instead of following the Savior we turn to our own ways again. What you are is determined in large part by what you see. A buzzard flies over the landscape. On that landscape are all the wonderful things God has created, roses, beautiful trees and meadows, wonderful mountains and rivers and the joy of life. But a buzzard is looking for corpses, dead stuff. His eyes are not open to all of God’s goodness - he is in the habit of looking for a rotting carcass. The desire of God is for you to focus on things above:
8Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Philippians 4:8 Changed, Changing our ways and our focus, and…
Reality #4. We Change Our Fear of Events and People to Faith in Our King
It is entirely logical to NOT fear; do you believe that? It may sound illogical, but doesn’t it make sense when you are reminded that God is always in control…of everything? When some circumstance seems to threaten your peace, joy and even your life, remember God is really in control.
One summer night during a severe thunderstorm a mother was tucking her small son into bed. She was about to turn the light off when he asked in a trembling voice, "Mommy, will you stay with me in my room all night?" The mother smiled and gave him a warm, reassuring hug and said tenderly, "I can’t dear; I have to sleep in Daddy’s room with him tonight." A long silence followed. At last the quietness was broken by the boy’s shaky little voice: "Daddy’s a big sissy!"
It is good to be reminded that whatever happens falls in one of two categories:
a. Some things happen because God allows them - because they are good for us, and He is training us to deal with things that will help others.
b. Some things Satan throws in our way to tempt us, and God will deal with them if we just trust Him.
As a small child I recall coming home from a holiday at my cousin’s house. It was a long - yea, verily, never-ending ride home, late in the dark. I laid my head down on the back seat. In the darkness the movements of the car were unsettling, even frightening. (Dad’s a good driver, but the night and zooming cars go bump in the night to a child). With each bump, curve, or braking motion I imagined the car was wildly out of control. But, finally I did drift off to sleep; it only happened when I remembered that it was Dad who was driving. He always got us home. And for any situation, it is our Heavenly Father who is in control. He’ll get us home!
What did you bring into God’s house with you this morning?
Have you got a thousand cares and enemies on every side?
Are you sick of living?
Does it seem as if life has wadded you up like a sheet of loose-leaf paper and tossed you at the wastebasket of Hell?
Are you fearful? Does life scare you?
Are there enemies stalking you today?
Is it poverty or sickness?
Is there loneliness in your life?
Or some nagging sin you just can’t seem to let go of, or defeat or shame?
Are you angry, confused?
Most of us try to put on some façade to bluff our way through the day, just get through. God is not into that. He knows your hurts and your weakness much better than you do. Why don’t you let Him change you, change your ways and focus, and transform your fears into faith?
This altar stands as a beginning place for you to surrender your life to Him and let Him begin making the changes. Perfect people are not allowed there, only humble people who realize they need Jesus much more than any one else’s approval.
Dothan was the place where Gehazi’s eyes were opened by the prayer of a prophet. It was a miraculous rescue, and the heroes won. Beloved, it is sometimes a different story. Dothan is only mentioned one other time in the Bible -- when Joseph’s brothers sold their blood kin into slavery; two very different outcomes (or so it seems)…but the same Lord in all the circumstances.
There is a legend of the Eyebright Flower. The legend holds that if you find it and rub your eyes with its petals you will see all the unseen wonders of the world, become rich and satisfied; all your troubles and fears will be gone. That, of course is a fable, only a fantasy - but Jesus Christ does offer the way to dispel all the fears, and if you will turn to HIM - you will see with the eyes of faith that the host of Heaven is for you…and then who could stand against you.
There is no eyebright flower here at this altar, but there is Jesus, and the welcome arms of this congregation. I promise you today that if you sense you are one of those colorblind dogs, and that rainbow of God’s love is what you want more than anything, you’ll find it at the end of a prayer and public confession of faith in Jesus and what He has done for you. He will open your eyes
Open our eyes, Lord, we want to see Jesus
Reach out and touch Him, and tell Him we love Him.
Open our eyes, Lord
