Trevor S. Ferguson
May 31, 2011
2nd Kings 6:12-17 (NKJV)
12 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."
13 So he said, "Go and see where he is, that I may send and get him." And it was told him, saying, "Surely he is in Dothan."
14 Therefore he sent horses and chariots and a great army there, and they came by night and surrounded the city.
15 And when the servant of the man of God arose early and went out, there was an army, surrounding the city with horses and chariots. And his servant said to him, "Alas, my master! What shall we do?"
16 So he answered, "Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them."
17 And Elisha prayed, and said, "LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see." Then 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.
12 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."
13 So he said, "Go and see where he is, that I may send and get him." And it was told him, saying, "Surely he is in Dothan."
14 Therefore he sent horses and chariots and a great army there, and they came by night and surrounded the city.
15 And when the servant of the man of God arose early and went out, there was an army, surrounding the city with horses and chariots. And his servant said to him, "Alas, my master! What shall we do?"
16 So he answered, "Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them."
17 And Elisha prayed, and said, "LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see." Then 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.
Key Phrase: They that are with us are more than they that are with them!
INTRODUCTION
The ability to see is one of the most cherished functions of human life. Sight allows us to appreciate beauty, to recognize obstacles, to chart paths and protects us from environmental dangers. While we recognize that persons who are physically blind learn to function, their functional capacity remains significantly reduced and except in very familiar environments they usually require a person with vision to guide them and protect them from unseen dangers. Lack of vision therefore exposes us to unseen dangers and is often accompanied by great fear. This often leads to paralysis of action and under-achievement because the slightest sound is often elevated to represent insurmountable danger
Spiritual vision can be described as “our capacity to see clearly what God wants us to do and to see the world from his point of view” (Life Application Study Bible). In other words, spiritual vision is "seeing through God’s eyes"! In contemporary society spiritual vision is often not given the same pride of possession as physical vision, but just as lack of physical vision results in great impediments and is associated with much fear, lack of spiritual vision results in paralysis of spiritual activity and overwhelming fear (instead of faith).
Today we look at an encounter between the prophet Elisha and his servant as we reflect on the liberating power of spiritual vision.
EXPOSITION
We are all familiar with Elisha as one of the leading prophets of the Old Testament. We initially meet him as servant to the prophet Elijah and are introduced to his spiritual vision by two of his actions even before he received his prophetic anointing.
The first encounter has to do with his call. When Elijah passed by and cast his mantle upon him, he immediately left the field where he was plowing with oxen and other than requesting time to say good-bye to his parents he was immediately ready to follow Elijah.
The second encounter was at the time when Elijah was to be taken up to heaven. Although the sons of the prophets were apparently trying to warn him that Elijah was to be taken up that day, while the other sons of the prophets saw through their natural eyes, the end of the ministry of Elijah, Elisha through spiritual vision saw the beginning of his own ministry. Therefore while the other prophets were probably advising him to cut his losses and return to plowing with oxen, Elisha was determined to go with Elijah to the last mile of the way. He boldly requested when asked of his desires that he received the double portion of Elijah’s anointing. Elisha went with Elijah until he was taken up to heaven in a whirlwind, then took up Elijah’s mantle, used it to cross Jordan and from thereon went on to become one of the greatest Old Testament prophets.
The story in today’s text recounts one of the great exploits of Elisha. Syria was at war with Israel, but the king of Syria soon found out that every time he made plans to attack Israel, these plans were revealed to Elisha who reported them to the king of Israel. The king of Syria therefore sent an army to capture Elisha. When Elisha’s servant saw the might of the Syrian army he was filled with fear and enquired of Elisha, “What shall we do?” He must have been shocked when Elisha turned and said to him “Don’t be afraid.” “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them”. While the servant was using physical vision to see the hosts of the Syrian army, Elisha through spiritual vision was seeing the even greater host of God’s angelic army. Elisha recognized the paralysis which results from spiritual blindness and therefore prayed that God would open the eyes of the servant. When his eyes were opened he now saw the great host of God’s army, thus liberating him from his great fear.
As we seek to apply this lesson to our present situation I want to share with you three insights that we can glean from spiritual vision:
Insight # 1: God has an army of angels ready to defend and deliver his people
o Psalm 34:7 “ The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.”
o Psalm 91:11-12 “For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.”
Insght #2: The forces of good that are with us are greater than the forces of evil that fight against us
o 2nd Kings 6:16 “… Those who are with us are more than those that are with them”
o Hebrews 12:22-23a “But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn …”
o 1st John 4:4 “… greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.”
Insight #3: The real battle we are fighting is not a physical battle but a spiritual battle. Elisha’s servant was engaged by the physical battle but did not appreciate the deeper spiritual battle.
o Ephesians 6:12 “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
o 2nd Corinthians 10:3-5 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
CONCLUSION
We are engaged in a spiritual battle; therefore we can’t defeat the enemy using natural physical weapons. If we lack spiritual vision we end up paralyzed by fear because the devil will always put on a show of force, even though he knows his army is inferior. We need spiritual vision to liberate us from the fear and paralysis that results from spiritual blindness.
Today some of us may be overcome by the fears and the cares of this life. Like Elisha’s servant we may be asking: Alas my master, what shall I do? Ask God to open your eyes that you may see things from His point of view. You will be pleasantly surprised to find out that “… Those who are with you are more than those that are with them”.
I pray today that God will grant you spiritual vision and liberate you so that you can do exploits for him!
The woman of Revelation 12 is now here. God is precise: It is a woman Rev 12 that delivers the true word John1:1, Rev 12:5, Rev 12:13 who restores Acts 3:21 all things to the world before Christ’s return. This woman exposes the lies of Satan who has deceived the whole world Rev 12:9. This woman creates a new thing in the earth by fulfilling God's promise to Eve Gen 3:15, Jer 31:22, Isa 14:16. Moses and Elijah are together with the word Matt 17:3 they all three are in this one woman. She is like unto Moses Num 12:3. She was raised up Acts 3:22 from the Laodicean church that becomes lukewarm because they refused to hear her Rev 3:14-17. She is bold like Elijah Matt 17:11, Luke 1:17. As Elijah was alone declaring the true God to the people 1 Kings 18:22 so also her witness alone turns the hearts of the fathers to the children Mal 4:5-6 to prepare a people for the Lords return before the great and dreadful day of the Lord Matt 17:3, Luke 9:30. Those who will not hear Acts 3:23 the true word of God she now deliveres to the world free of charge, as a witness, at the heel of time from the wilderness Rev 12:6 will not be allowed inside the walls of God’s coming kingdom from heaven Rev 21. This true testimony of the true value of the blood of the Lamb delivers the truth that not one child of God will be put in a hell fire no matter what their sins. It never entered the heart or mind of God to ever do such a thing Jer 7:31, Jer 19:5. God created evil Isa 45:7 to teach his children the knowledge of good and evil Rom 8:7, Gen 3:22 so that at their resurrection they become a god Matt 22:29-30, Ps 82:6. Prove all things. You cannot rightly judge this unless you read all that has been written by this woman first Pro 18:13. http://minigoodtale.blogspot.com Check out the bruising of Satan and the reason for all of mankind’s sufferings.
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