II Kings 6:15-17
Do
you have vision problems?
Millions
of people in this country
have problems with their eyesight
that requires surgeries, glasses or
contacts
You
don’t have to have vision
problems to miss seeing something
There
are some reasons why we
might miss seeing things:
• Weren’t looking for it
• Distractions
• Requires more focus than we give
• Didn’t know what to look for
• Eyes were not open
The
Old Testament tells of a story of
a young man who was not able to see
what was right in front of him
In
II Kings 6, the King of Syria was
attempting to make war with Israel…
The
Syrian army surrounded Dothan,
where Elisha lived
His
servant discovered it and was
greatly afraid
Listen
to what Elisha says in vs.
16-17…
This
young man simply needed to
open his eyes to what God was doing
at that time
Are
there things that God has set
right in front of us today that we do
not see?
Perhaps
we need to open our eyes to
some things that God would have us
recognize in our lives today
What
are those things?
1. The
Goodness of God
• It’s very easy to take things for granted
in our lives
• There are certain things that we have
become “used to”
• When we go to a cabin in the woods
without a telephone, TV, or computer
we call that “roughing it”
1. The
Goodness of God
• Perhaps we fail to see the goodness of
God in our lives (Js. 1:17)
• We may call it the “blessings” from God
• Our problem may be where our focus
lies
• We often focus on the negative things,
i.e. what is going wrong
1. The
Goodness of God
• We are commanded over and over in
scripture to be thankful to God
(Ps. 100:4; Rom. 1:21; Phil. 4:6; Col. 3:15)
• In order to be thankful I must recognize
my blessings
• We need to open our eyes to what God
has done for us (Ps. 34:8; 119:18; Ti. 3:4)
2. Needs
of Others
• One thing that we fail to see often is the
hurt, pain, or need that others have
• Christ was known for the compassion
He had on those who were needy
• He was able to see the hurt, pain, and
the needs that people had
2. Needs
of Others
• Christ wanted you and I to be able to
see the same thing (Matt. 25:34-46)
• Jesus said that there will always be
opportunity to help others (Matt. 26:11)
• Paul said that as we have opportunity
that we should do good to all, but
especially Christians (Gal. 6:10)
2. Needs
of Others
• Paul said that we should “rejoice with
those who rejoice, and weep with those
who weep” (Rom. 12:15)
• “And if one member suffers, all the
members suffer with it; or if one
member is honored, all the members
rejoice with it” (I Cor. 12:26)
3. Our
Resources
• Like Moses, we often fail to see the
resources that we have at hand
• God asked Moses, “What is that in your
hand? (Ex. 4:2)
• It was simply a rod, but God used it for
a powerful illustration to the Israelites
3. Our
Resources
• We have things at our disposal today
that could help others
• We have God’s word, time, material
goods, prayer, a pen and pad, a phone
• We need to open our eyes to what God
has given us to bless others with
4. Power
of Prayer
• There are times it seems that we are
blinded to the true power of prayer
• It could be unbelief, or maybe we just
forget what the Bible teaches about
prayer
• This is evident when we realize that we
aren’t praying like we should
4. Power
of Prayer
• The only people that might not need to
pray would be those whose lives are
perfect and everyone they know has
lives that are perfect
• Even that person would need to pray to
thank God for their “perfect” lives
• I haven’t found that person yet…
4. Power
of Prayer
• James says a good bit about the need
for prayer and the power of prayer
• 5:13-18
• “casting all your care upon Him, for He
cares for you” (I Pet. 5:7)
• Philippians 4:6-7
5. Heavenly
Reward
• Too many times in this life Christians
lose sight of the true reward
• It’s so easy to be distracted by the
rewards offered in this life that come
from serving Satan
• Demas is an example of this very thing
(II Tim. 4:10)
5. Heavenly
Reward
• Hebrews 11:24-27 speaks of Moses and
his decision between an earthly reward
and a heavenly one
• Hebrews 12:2 tells us to keep our eyes
focused on Jesus, who also traded glory
of this world for the Father’s will