VISION FOR 2024
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!"
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.”...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. Title; "Vision for 2024"
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! (Unless the NSA taps your phone or computer).
B. IS YOUR PRIVATE LIFE EXPOSED TO GOD?
1. God knows everything! We can’t think our sins are going undetected. If God knew what BenHadad was speaking in his bedroom, does He know YOUR deepest secrets? Yes! But most of are ignorant that’s there’s not one thought or word we say that isn’t known by God, but the Assyrian knew it!
2. Scriptures: “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good” Prov. 15:3. “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. “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. GOING TO HIS FIRST CONFESSION...A nervous seven-year-old grandson asked his mom what he could expect. "Confession is where you tell all the bad things you've done to the priest," she told him. He looked relieved; "Good. I haven't done anything bad to the priest."
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 or his people 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 doing 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. Spiritual sight isn’t just about seeing angels.
5. It’s about recognizing the enemy opposing us by temptations, subtle thoughts, inferiority complexes, depressions, difficult circumstances, etc.
D. 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. ILLUS.: HEALED BY OBEDIENCE
1. Missionary Sidney Wilson told of how he "prayed through" to become a missionary.
2. “I wanted to do it at church, but I was too embarrassed. So I went out to the side of a canal and began talking to God.
3. I prayed right through lunch, right through Sunday afternoon, and on into the evening. And still I had not reached a point where I was willing to accept God's plan for my life.
4. After I asked, "What is it, Lord? What am I holding back? Then I finally had my answer.
5. My "yes" to God had always been a "yes, but….I'm not educated.” “Yes, but I'm lame.”
6. Finally, I finally said, "Yes" without qualification. "I'll go, Lord," I said.
7. "No matter what; whenever, wherever, however You want me, I'll go. And I'll begin this very minute. Lord, as I stand up from this place, and as I take my first step forward, will You consider that this is a step toward complete obedience to You? I'll call it the Step of Yes."
8. I stood up. I took a stride forward. And in that moment there was a sharp wrench in the lame leg. In horror I turned to my crippled ankle.
9. Slowly and very cautiously I began walking home, and as I walked, one verse of Scripture came to my mind: "Going, they were healed."
10. That evening he was gloriously healed. He walked 12 kilometers that night. The following week he applied for Missionary Training in Glasgow. [Open Doors, Brother Andrew with John & Elizabeth Sherrill, The Narrow Road].
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?
