THERE’S MORE WITH US, THAN WITH THEM
2 Kgs. 6:16
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR: DOING A GOOD DEED
1. A young pastor (trying to live a holy life) was sitting in a restaurant eating lunch. He opened a letter he’d just received that morning from his mom. As he opened it a twenty-dollar bill fell out. He thought to himself, "Thanks, Mom, I sure needed that right now."
2. He noticed a beggar outside on the sidewalk leaning against the light post. Thinking that the poor man needed the $20 more than he, he crossed out his name on the envelope and wrote across the top in large letters, PERSEVERE!
3. He went out and dropped it as he walked past the man. The man picked it up and read the message and smiled. The next day the same man tapped him on the shoulder and handed him a big wad of bills. Surprised, the young pastor asked him what that was for.
4. The man replied, “These are your winnings. 'Persevere' came in first at the Kentucky Derby yesterday and paid thirty to one.”
B. TEXT
15 When the servant of [Elisha saw] the...army had surrounded the city; [said] “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” 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, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that 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. 18 As the enemy came down toward him, Elisha prayed to the Lord, “Strike this army with blindness.” So he struck them with blindness, as Elisha had asked. 23 So the bands from Aram stopped raiding Israel’s territory.
C. SETTING THE SCENE
1. The King of Aram was trying to ambush the army of Israel. So he secretly moved his troops into Israeli territory. But the prophet Elisha, who operated in the word of knowledge, told the King of Israel where the ambushes would be laid – and to avoid them.
2. The King of Aram found out the intel about his movements was coming from Elisha the prophet, so he sent a large army unit to capture or kill him. Elisha blinded the troops, led them to Samaria (where they became prisoners of war), restored their sight and sent them back to their country in disgrace.
D. THESIS
1. In this message, we’re going to look at three things: 1) Whether the people of God are weak and vulnerable, 2). If God Himself is our shield, and 3). Has God placed an invisible army around His people?
2. Title: “There’s More With Us, Than With Them.”
I. GOD’S PEOPLE LOOK WEAK & VULNERABLE
A. ELISHA & HIS SERVANT UNPROTECTED?
1. People in this world usually conduct their lives according to what they see with their eyes. Invisible things are generally thought to be imagination or superstition.
2. King Ben Hadad II of Aram* thought a spy must be among his officers, for every time he ordered an ambush, Israel seemed to have knowledge of it – they did, through Elisha!
3. Ben Hadad was humorously told, “Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the very words you speak in your bedroom.” (We have that concern today with our phones and computers and the NSA!)
4. From hundreds of miles away, God gave Elisha words of knowledge about what Ben Hadad was planning. “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good” Prov. 15:3.
5. God knows what we’re going to say before we say it. Do we really think we can hide anything from the Lord? Can we outsmart God? How foolish. Job 5:12 says, “He thwarts the plans of the crafty, so that their hands achieve no success.”
6. Ben Hadad decided to send the army and capture him. Israel’s army was too weak and inferior to defend Elisha from attack. Ben Hadad believed a swift surgical strike of a massive army unit under the cover of darkness would capture the prophet and take care of the problem.
7. But you have to wonder, if the prophet knew of all Ben Hadad’s earlier movements, wouldn’t he know about this one too? Surely Ben Hadad knew there was a possibility.
B. CHRISTIANS APPEAR WEAK TODAY
1. Elisha and his servant represent us, the people of God. Are we outnumbered? Outgunned? Weaker than the world? Vulnerable? Defeated? At times it looks that way.
2. You may feel alone and that your enemies outnumber you. In many areas of the world there is persecution of Christians. They suffer, their homes and goods are taken, often they are beaten or killed. Why does God allow persecution? Does God care about His people? Yes, He does!
3. But persecution is part of His plan. Our Lord Jesus suffered and the Apostles told us to be prepared to suffer (Mt. 5:11-12; Phip. 1:29; 2 Tim. 1:8; 2:3; etc.). PURPOSES OF PERSECUTION:
a. Persecution shows you have Christ’s nature in you (1 Pet. 4:14). It’s inevitable that the spirit of the world persecute Christ’s spirit (Gal. 4:29). You’re blessed if you’re persecuted!
b. Peter says that persecution is “judgment beginning at the house of God” (1 Pet. 4:17). God’s judging the world occurs earlier with believers, as God uses persecution to purify us.
c. Our godly lives, allowed to receive the world’s persecution, will justify God before the wicked; even they will praise God for His just dealings (1 Pet. 2:12).
d. The level of rewards we receive in eternity may be determined by our sufferings for Christ (2 Cor. 4:17).
4. Paul and Peter were frequently persecuted for the Gospel, yet they often boasted of how God delivered them out of dangerous situations (2 Cor. 1:10; Phip. 1:19; 2 Tim. 4:17; Acts 12:17.) We can pray for the same deliverance!
II. BUT GOD IS OUR SHIELD
In the scriptures God promises to protect us. We’re His kids, the apple of His eye, the delight of His heart.
A. GOD HIMSELF is a wall of fire round about His people (Zech. 2:5). “No weapon formed against you shall prosper...”
B. THE NAME OF THE LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run into it and are safe” Prov. 18:10.
1. Jesus is PRESENT among us when we gather in His Name, Mt. 18:20.
2. DEMONS FLEE at the name of Jesus, “And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons…” Mk. 16:17.
3. Jesus’ Name brings HEALING, “In My Name…they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover” Mk. 16:18.
4. It’s also the KEY OF GRACE to all of God’s riches in Christ; “You may ask Me for anything in My Name and I will do it” John 14:13.
C. HIS WORD...
1. “...is our shield and buckler” Ps 91:4.
2. The Word of God is a weapon. Jesus used the Word of God when battling Satan the 40 days of fasting. It’s necessary we commit the Word to memory. It’s the “Sword of the Spirit!”
3. The Bible contains the ultimate power of the universe.
D. CHRIST’S BLOOD is an offensive weapon
1. The Blood CANCELS THE POWER of Sin! When you plead the Blood of Christ in prayer against the enemy, he has to flee!
2. The Blood is the FORCE FIELD the enemy can’t penetrate; Satan can’t cross the “bloodline;” Ps. 78:49. The Death-Angel in Egypt had to pass over the houses of those who had the Blood on them! Plead the Blood over your homes, your cars, your businesses, your families, etc. and the enemy has to leave them alone! Keep at it – Saints of God!
3. The Blood ENABLES US TO OVERCOME SATAN --“And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony,” Rev. 12:11.
4. So you see, God has placed many safeguards around us: He Himself plus all the other arsenal of spiritual weaponry.
III. ANGELIC PROTECTION IS AVAILABLE
A. GOD HAS ASSIGNED ANGELS TO PROTECT US
1. Elisha already knew of God’s divine escort, but when his servant’s eyes were opened, he too saw it. Christians should be aware of their reality; they’re mentioned 294 times in the Bible!
2. They are servants of the heirs of salvation. Their job is to look after and protect us! Ps. 34:7 says, “The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.”
B. EXAMPLES OF ANGELIC INTERVENTION
1. a. Abraham was stopped from slaying his son Isaac when an Angel called to him from heaven.
b. The Pillar of Fire which stood between the Egyptian Army and the Israelites, when crossing the Red Sea, was an Angel.
c. An Angel stopped Balaam, called Gideon, fed Elijah, put 185,000 Assyrians to death, and shut the lion's mouth from eating Daniel!
2. There are 182 mentions of angels in the New Testament!
a. 4X they came to Jesus’ step-father Joseph.
b. 18X angels played a part in Jesus’ life (Mt. 4:11; 26:53; 28:2,5; Mk. 1:13; Lk. 1:26,28,30,34,35,38; 2:9-10,13,15,21;22:43; 24:23; John 20:12).
c. 22X Jesus mentioned angels while teaching.
C. IT SHOULD CAUSE US NOT TO BE AFRAID
1. The first words of Elisha to his servant were; “Don’t be afraid.” He follows it up with, “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” (vs. 16) He means God’s angels (on Elisha’s side), and fallen angels (on the side of the Arameans).
2. The great blessing and comfort is, that Satan was only able to induce 1/3 of the angels to follow him (Rev. 12:4; Dan. 8:10). This means that 2/3s of the angels are on God’s side – TWICE AS MANY! Praise God! Not that God needs any angels to “keep” us.
3. GOD HIMSELF IS OUR KEEPER! “Behold, he that keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep” Ps. 121:4. So we need not be afraid, as Ps. 91 says, of the “terror by night,” the “pestilence that stalks in the darkness,” nor the “plague that destroys at midday”
4. “The Lord is my refuge” – “no harm will overtake you....For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.” (Ps. 91:5-6, 9-11).
5. Our Lord Jesus wasn’t afraid when the Jews and Pontius Pilate threatened Him. He knew He could call 12 legions of angels to set Him free (Mt. 26:53). He chose to give His life!
6. Paul wasn’t afraid in the storm because an angel of God told him he would be spared & all those in the ship with him (Acts 27:23). WE SHOULD NEVER BE AFRAID FOR OUR GOD IS WITH US and even has angels around us!
D. GOD USED BLINDNESS AS A MERCY
1. God/Elisha could have put Ben Hadad’s soldiers to death, but God chose to only temporarily blind them, out of mercy.
2. This is what God also did with Saul of Tarsus and Elymas the sorcerer. God is a merciful God! He wants our salvation not our destruction! Praise God!
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION: SAVED FROM THE TRAIN
1. Carolin Kanagaraj was returning from her friend Jene's house to her home about six o'clock in the evening. To return to her house, she had to catch a train, get down from it, and then catch a bus. It’s a long trip; it takes between one and two hours.
2. She said of one trip, “I got down from the train, and crossed the track, without seeing the signal. (I do not advise anyone to do this; for we are taught in the Bible to obey the rules set by the government!)
3. “Suddenly, my leg got caught in the track. I was not able to pull my leg out. "O God!" No one was near me. But I cried to the Lord: "Send Your angels!" A train was nearing me. I closed my eyes. I don't know what happened in those few seconds.”
4. “Someone pulled me out. I was out of the track. When I opened my eyes, no one was there. I praised God. God will deliver us by His angels when we fear Him.
5. Psalm 34:7 – “The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them” (NIV).
B. THE CALL
1. If you’re facing some hardship today, I want you to know “There’s more with us than with them!” The power backing you up as a Christian if far superior than all that the world can muster. Don’t be afraid! God is with you!
2. How many of you feel like you’re fighting your battle alone? God says, “‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s!” 2 Chron. 20:15.
3. Paul said, “We are more than conquerors through him who loved us” Rom. 8:37. John said, “Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world” (1 Jn. 4:4). Let’s claim the victory tonight!
[*The King of Israel was Jehoram (reigning 849-842 B.C.) and the King of Aram was Hadadezer (Ben Hadad II), reigning 865–842 BC.]
