1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:03,120 OK, we'll grab your Bibles. Meet me in Second Kings chapter 2 00:00:03,120 --> 00:00:08,560 6. Second Kings chapter 6 and verse 3 00:00:08,560 --> 00:00:11,720 8 is where we want to place our fingers. 4 00:00:16,800 --> 00:00:21,720 Second Kings 6 verse 8. Let us just begin reading right 5 00:00:21,720 --> 00:00:26,560 away. Once when the king of Syria was 6 00:00:26,560 --> 00:00:29,640 warring against Israel, he took counsel with his servants, 7 00:00:29,640 --> 00:00:33,480 saying, At such and such a place shall be my camp. 8 00:00:34,240 --> 00:00:37,400 But the man of God sent word to the king of Israel, Beware that 9 00:00:37,400 --> 00:00:41,200 you do not pass this place, for the Syrians are going down 10 00:00:41,200 --> 00:00:43,560 there. And the king of Israel sent to 11 00:00:43,560 --> 00:00:45,960 the place about which the man of God told him. 12 00:00:46,480 --> 00:00:49,760 Thus he used to warn him so that he saved himself there more than 13 00:00:49,760 --> 00:00:52,880 once or twice. And the mind of the king of 14 00:00:52,880 --> 00:00:55,400 Syria was greatly troubled because of this thing. 15 00:00:55,800 --> 00:00:58,720 And he called his servants and said to them, Will you not show 16 00:00:58,720 --> 00:01:01,800 me who of us is for the king of Israel? 17 00:01:02,480 --> 00:01:04,560 And one of his servants said, None, my Lord, O king. 18 00:01:04,560 --> 00:01:08,160 But Elijah the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel 19 00:01:08,160 --> 00:01:10,000 the words that you speak in your bedroom. 20 00:01:11,120 --> 00:01:14,280 And he said, Go and see where he is, that I may send and seize 21 00:01:14,280 --> 00:01:17,480 him. It was told him, Behold, he is 22 00:01:17,480 --> 00:01:20,760 in Dothan. Lord, we ask. 23 00:01:21,200 --> 00:01:24,800 As we've already prayed, but we pray again that you would guide 24 00:01:24,800 --> 00:01:27,200 us through this study and that there will be a special 25 00:01:27,200 --> 00:01:30,680 empowerment behind it. We need Your help. 26 00:01:31,240 --> 00:01:34,880 We dare not assume that we can open Your word and expound it 27 00:01:35,000 --> 00:01:38,360 and preach it and hear it, thinking that we will be 28 00:01:38,360 --> 00:01:40,560 fruitful apart from Your spirits. 29 00:01:40,560 --> 00:01:43,000 Helm. So we ask that you would make 30 00:01:43,000 --> 00:01:47,160 this an impactful time, and that we would see Christ, and that we 31 00:01:47,160 --> 00:01:50,480 would receive your wisdom, and that we would walk out of here 32 00:01:50,480 --> 00:01:53,920 that much closer to Him and that much clearer in our 33 00:01:53,920 --> 00:01:57,480 understanding of who He is. Although we long for you to help 34 00:01:57,480 --> 00:02:00,280 us, and we need you and we committed in the name of your 35 00:02:00,280 --> 00:02:02,640 Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen. 36 00:02:03,560 --> 00:02:09,720 It would be a mistake to interpret this passage in 37 00:02:09,720 --> 00:02:14,320 isolation, and the reason why I say that is because this is not 38 00:02:14,320 --> 00:02:17,000 the first time that the Syrians have been mentioned in 39 00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:22,440 connection to Elisha's ministry. Do you recall the last time that 40 00:02:22,440 --> 00:02:26,760 we engaged with the Syrians when it came to Elisha's story? 41 00:02:26,760 --> 00:02:32,480 Anybody know you can answer? If you do know the answer, you 42 00:02:32,480 --> 00:02:34,000 got to say a little bit louder because I'm a little bit 43 00:02:34,000 --> 00:02:35,920 elevated and you're a little bit far if you're answering from the 44 00:02:35,920 --> 00:02:40,160 back. Naman the Syrian in Second Kings 45 00:02:40,160 --> 00:02:43,640 chapter 5. And so this is not our 46 00:02:43,640 --> 00:02:47,320 introduction to the Syrians interacting with this mighty man 47 00:02:47,320 --> 00:02:50,320 of God. And is understanding that 48 00:02:50,320 --> 00:02:52,520 background helpful to approaching this text? 49 00:02:52,720 --> 00:02:56,840 Absolutely. You're saying why read verse 50 00:02:56,840 --> 00:03:00,040 eight once more. Once when the king of Syria was 51 00:03:00,040 --> 00:03:02,680 warring against Israel, he took counsel with his servants, 52 00:03:02,680 --> 00:03:05,720 saying at such and such a place shall be my camp. 53 00:03:06,400 --> 00:03:10,360 What you and I discover in the opening verse of our study is 54 00:03:10,360 --> 00:03:17,840 the profound ingratitude and the disregard of the King of Syria 55 00:03:17,840 --> 00:03:21,000 towards the people of Israel and more importantly, the God of 56 00:03:21,000 --> 00:03:23,320 Israel. Why? 57 00:03:23,320 --> 00:03:26,880 Because this follows Naaman the Syrian, who was the general of 58 00:03:26,880 --> 00:03:31,160 the army, who was healed miraculously and returned back 59 00:03:31,160 --> 00:03:35,080 to Syria as a new man. And we have to remember that the 60 00:03:35,080 --> 00:03:39,240 king of Syria was well aware of Naaman's condition and how he 61 00:03:39,240 --> 00:03:42,200 was helped by the God of Israel. Remember, it was Naaman who 62 00:03:42,200 --> 00:03:45,480 approached the king of Syria asking him permission to go to 63 00:03:45,480 --> 00:03:48,800 Israel to receive aid. And the king of Syria himself 64 00:03:48,800 --> 00:03:51,440 wrote a letter and gave it to the king of Israel, saying 65 00:03:51,440 --> 00:03:54,160 receive Naaman my servant and help him. 66 00:03:55,640 --> 00:03:59,320 So how do we tie this together? Well, evidently the King of 67 00:03:59,320 --> 00:04:05,120 Syria was not too concerned about Naaman's healing and how 68 00:04:05,120 --> 00:04:07,080 that should change his perspective on the God of 69 00:04:07,080 --> 00:04:10,880 Israel. There was no lasting impression, 70 00:04:10,880 --> 00:04:12,200 if there was any impression at all. 71 00:04:12,840 --> 00:04:15,200 Right here in verse 8 we learned that he's ready to go to war. 72 00:04:15,400 --> 00:04:17,560 Disappointing, yes. Shocking. 73 00:04:17,560 --> 00:04:22,000 It shouldn't be because this is not unique to the King of Syria 74 00:04:22,720 --> 00:04:26,360 throughout the Old Testament. Do we not see it in the Gospel 75 00:04:26,360 --> 00:04:28,880 accounts? Is it not there in present day 76 00:04:28,880 --> 00:04:31,960 experiences? Do we not have stories of this 77 00:04:32,400 --> 00:04:35,560 where people have tasted of the mercy of God, have been even 78 00:04:35,560 --> 00:04:39,320 bathed by His grace, and still are willing to war against Him, 79 00:04:40,520 --> 00:04:43,320 to be cold towards him, indifferent towards him? 80 00:04:46,320 --> 00:04:49,520 There are various degrees to which a man can harden his 81 00:04:49,520 --> 00:04:53,360 heart. And I was reflecting on the king 82 00:04:53,360 --> 00:04:56,080 of Syria the other night, and I was reminded of a passage that 83 00:04:56,080 --> 00:04:59,840 describes one of the severest forms of stubbornness a person 84 00:04:59,840 --> 00:05:00,640 can. Reach. 85 00:05:02,280 --> 00:05:04,680 It's interesting because this word in the Hebrews only found 86 00:05:04,680 --> 00:05:06,280 in two places in all the Old Testament. 87 00:05:06,280 --> 00:05:11,520 It's found in Zechariah 712 as the prophet was reflecting on 88 00:05:11,520 --> 00:05:14,840 the stubbornness of the people, of the people of God. 89 00:05:14,840 --> 00:05:18,560 We're told there in Zechariah 712, they made their hearts 90 00:05:18,560 --> 00:05:23,920 diamond hard, lest they should hear the law and the words that 91 00:05:23,920 --> 00:05:26,360 the Lord of hosts had sent by His Spirit through the former 92 00:05:26,360 --> 00:05:28,760 prophets. Therefore, great anger came from 93 00:05:28,760 --> 00:05:32,840 the Lord of hosts. They made their hearts not hard, 94 00:05:33,120 --> 00:05:37,440 diamond hard. I was reflecting on that. 95 00:05:37,440 --> 00:05:38,840 Why would the word diamond be used? 96 00:05:38,840 --> 00:05:41,560 Until I looked into it and realized that diamonds are one 97 00:05:41,560 --> 00:05:47,520 of the most hard material natural stones in our world. 98 00:05:48,080 --> 00:05:50,040 So out of all the things that God could have used as an 99 00:05:50,040 --> 00:05:52,720 adjective to describe the condition of the heart of the 100 00:05:52,720 --> 00:05:55,600 people of God at this time, He says their hearts are not just 101 00:05:55,600 --> 00:06:01,120 rock hard, diamond hard. And who's responsible for that 102 00:06:01,120 --> 00:06:03,520 kind of state? It was the people. 103 00:06:03,520 --> 00:06:06,120 It says they made their hearts diamond hard. 104 00:06:07,360 --> 00:06:11,120 They have allowed themselves to persistent rejection and 105 00:06:11,120 --> 00:06:16,240 resistance to God's Word, God's power, God's mercy, to the point 106 00:06:16,240 --> 00:06:18,040 where it was virtually impenetrable. 107 00:06:19,520 --> 00:06:24,240 And so do not underestimate how a man or a woman's heart can 108 00:06:24,240 --> 00:06:28,360 become so stiff and calloused to the things of God, despite what 109 00:06:28,360 --> 00:06:31,400 the Lord does for them. That's something that we see 110 00:06:31,400 --> 00:06:34,400 over and over in our Old Testament study, what man is 111 00:06:34,400 --> 00:06:38,400 capable of in their rejection of God and their denial of God. 112 00:06:40,880 --> 00:06:44,400 But despite the strategic and heartless plots of the enemies 113 00:06:44,400 --> 00:06:46,520 of Israel, the people of God were a step ahead. 114 00:06:46,520 --> 00:06:50,040 Why? Because we learned that Elijah 115 00:06:50,040 --> 00:06:53,240 was granted supernatural discernment from God. 116 00:06:55,240 --> 00:06:57,680 And it's quite humorous when you actually think about it, because 117 00:06:58,960 --> 00:07:03,760 Elisha becomes the greatest intelligent agency for any 118 00:07:03,760 --> 00:07:06,120 nation in all of world history, single handedly. 119 00:07:07,520 --> 00:07:10,800 You have one man who didn't send any spies, who was in his own 120 00:07:10,800 --> 00:07:14,600 abode and received downloads from God, knowing exactly the 121 00:07:14,600 --> 00:07:17,200 next move that the Syrians would make, and he would tell it to 122 00:07:17,200 --> 00:07:21,400 the king of Israel. And they evaded their enemies 123 00:07:21,400 --> 00:07:26,440 over and over and over again. And it's no wonder that near 124 00:07:26,640 --> 00:07:30,920 Elijah's death, we've seen this more than once in our study of 125 00:07:30,920 --> 00:07:35,080 Second Kings, where he is referred to as the Chariots and 126 00:07:35,080 --> 00:07:39,560 the horsemen of Israel. The Chariots of Israel were 127 00:07:39,560 --> 00:07:42,000 ascribed as a title to this man Why? 128 00:07:42,000 --> 00:07:45,200 Because he was the true defense of the nation, his connection 129 00:07:45,200 --> 00:07:47,760 with God. As a conduit of God, He was able 130 00:07:47,760 --> 00:07:50,280 to truly lead the people and protect the people. 131 00:07:53,160 --> 00:07:55,720 At this moment not only reflects God's omniscience, it also 132 00:07:55,720 --> 00:07:57,920 serves as a megaphone for His mercy. 133 00:07:59,320 --> 00:08:02,400 Why? Because who the King of Israel 134 00:08:02,400 --> 00:08:06,320 was at this time and the apostate condition of the nation 135 00:08:06,320 --> 00:08:08,600 of Israel. They were spiritually sick and 136 00:08:08,600 --> 00:08:11,760 their leadership didn't help. Them by any means. 137 00:08:11,760 --> 00:08:14,400 Does anybody remember who the king of Israel is at this point? 138 00:08:15,520 --> 00:08:17,760 Go to 2nd Kings 31. You get your answer. 139 00:08:20,280 --> 00:08:22,920 In Second Kings Three one we read and the 18th year of 140 00:08:22,920 --> 00:08:27,920 Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, Jeho Ram, the son of Ahab became king 141 00:08:27,920 --> 00:08:30,800 over Israel and Samaria, and he reigned 12 years. 142 00:08:30,800 --> 00:08:35,559 Jeho Ram, the son of Ahab. True, he was not as evil as his 143 00:08:35,559 --> 00:08:37,919 parents, but he was a compromiser. 144 00:08:38,159 --> 00:08:42,159 He worshipped idols. Be that as it may, God did not 145 00:08:42,159 --> 00:08:46,960 completely abandoned his people. That's what you see here, that 146 00:08:46,960 --> 00:08:50,080 the Lord was still willing to offer guidance and warnings, and 147 00:08:50,080 --> 00:08:54,280 through that He was extending in steadfast invitation for the 148 00:08:54,280 --> 00:08:59,240 people to be reconciled to Him over and over and over again. 149 00:08:59,480 --> 00:09:03,800 And this might shock us, but Joe R.E.M. at this point responds 150 00:09:03,800 --> 00:09:05,440 favorably. He actually does the right 151 00:09:05,440 --> 00:09:08,800 thing. So the word of the Lord comes to 152 00:09:08,800 --> 00:09:11,040 him. Don't go there and he doesn't do 153 00:09:11,040 --> 00:09:12,280 it. And we're told there that he 154 00:09:12,280 --> 00:09:15,800 doesn't do that just once or twice, but numerous times. 155 00:09:17,680 --> 00:09:20,120 So Jahrem, he's not the best king. 156 00:09:20,120 --> 00:09:21,520 He's actually one of the worst kings. 157 00:09:21,800 --> 00:09:25,400 That being said, he's still offering us some wisdom in our 158 00:09:25,400 --> 00:09:27,680 walk with the Lord at this at this point, this juncture. 159 00:09:28,080 --> 00:09:29,720 In what way? The main thing I want you to 160 00:09:29,720 --> 00:09:33,480 take away from this man is how his obedience was consistent. 161 00:09:35,760 --> 00:09:38,760 So he saved himself there more than once or twice. 162 00:09:39,040 --> 00:09:45,880 Elisha's warnings were numerous, which required the King of 163 00:09:45,880 --> 00:09:49,280 Israel to trust him every single time. 164 00:09:49,920 --> 00:09:53,680 Understand this, it wouldn't be enough for the King of Israel to 165 00:09:53,680 --> 00:09:58,400 obey 10 times and on the 11th time to have his own way. 166 00:09:59,000 --> 00:10:02,560 It would require him to submit and trust every single time. 167 00:10:05,120 --> 00:10:08,080 And if he didn't, he would put himself in extreme danger. 168 00:10:08,840 --> 00:10:12,240 And I think here there is some wisdom for our walk with Christ. 169 00:10:12,960 --> 00:10:16,120 If you and I want to see God's favor and protection remain in 170 00:10:16,120 --> 00:10:19,640 our lives, then it would be good to view a single act of 171 00:10:19,640 --> 00:10:24,840 disobedience as a deadly threat. A single act of disobedience as 172 00:10:24,840 --> 00:10:26,880 a deadly threat. Listen, if you want to be 173 00:10:26,880 --> 00:10:30,080 serious about holiness and the rewards of holiness, may I say 174 00:10:30,080 --> 00:10:33,080 something to you? You cannot convince yourself 175 00:10:33,280 --> 00:10:37,600 that you can even nibble for a moment on one transgression or 176 00:10:37,600 --> 00:10:41,120 stray away in a season of sin unscathed. 177 00:10:43,360 --> 00:10:46,520 That would be no less foolish than Jeho Ram momentarily 178 00:10:46,520 --> 00:10:49,960 ignoring Elijah's directions. You would think that the king of 179 00:10:49,960 --> 00:10:54,560 Israel would be a fool to obey 7 times and on the eighth time to 180 00:10:54,560 --> 00:10:58,520 depend on his own wisdom to not trust the word of the Lord. 181 00:10:59,760 --> 00:11:02,920 And you and I are called to that same standard of dependency on 182 00:11:02,920 --> 00:11:07,400 God's Word, that in every place, with any person at any time, I'm 183 00:11:07,400 --> 00:11:11,360 going to trust God's Word. I'm not going to open myself to 184 00:11:11,360 --> 00:11:13,200 anything that can put me in danger. 185 00:11:13,440 --> 00:11:17,680 If you and I cease sin that way, we would know greater rewards. 186 00:11:18,640 --> 00:11:21,720 On the path of steadfast obedience is where we find the 187 00:11:21,720 --> 00:11:27,880 treasures of God's blessing and favor and continual shielding. 188 00:11:29,760 --> 00:11:32,400 Yeah, praise God for his grace. That when we do slip and when we 189 00:11:32,400 --> 00:11:34,440 fall, when we're convinced to do otherwise. 190 00:11:34,440 --> 00:11:38,120 But I'm talking about premeditated foolishness. 191 00:11:39,640 --> 00:11:42,320 Of knowing what God's Word has to say about the matter and to 192 00:11:42,320 --> 00:11:49,040 just go the other way. I see the king of Israel here 193 00:11:49,040 --> 00:11:51,720 obeying, and as long as he obeyed, he was safe. 194 00:11:51,720 --> 00:11:53,080 And it's no different for you and I. 195 00:11:54,080 --> 00:11:56,040 So this is what's so moving about this scene. 196 00:11:56,840 --> 00:11:58,400 Verse 10. The king of Israel sent to the 197 00:11:58,400 --> 00:11:59,920 place about which the man of God told him. 198 00:11:59,920 --> 00:12:02,040 Thus he used to warn him so that he was saved there more than 199 00:12:02,040 --> 00:12:04,760 once or twice. Verse 11. 200 00:12:05,320 --> 00:12:07,640 And the mind of the king of Syria was greatly troubled 201 00:12:07,640 --> 00:12:10,280 because of this thing. And he called the servants and 202 00:12:10,280 --> 00:12:13,520 said to them, will you not show me who of us is for the king of 203 00:12:13,520 --> 00:12:15,760 Israel? So look, this is beyond 204 00:12:15,760 --> 00:12:19,960 coincidence now. Once, OK, Twice, OK, three 205 00:12:19,960 --> 00:12:21,200 times. We're not told them the total 206 00:12:21,200 --> 00:12:23,480 amount of times. But it was enough for the the 207 00:12:23,480 --> 00:12:25,200 king of Syria to be like, something's up here. 208 00:12:25,280 --> 00:12:28,840 We got a rat. There is a spy here. 209 00:12:29,040 --> 00:12:32,720 So he called in and all the services, which of you here is 210 00:12:32,720 --> 00:12:37,840 an informant? Here's what's so funny, verse 211 00:12:37,840 --> 00:12:39,640 12. And one of his servants said 212 00:12:39,640 --> 00:12:43,400 unnamed, right? An inferior individual said, 213 00:12:43,400 --> 00:12:46,760 none, my Lord, O king. But Elisha the prophet who is in 214 00:12:46,760 --> 00:12:49,320 Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your 215 00:12:49,320 --> 00:12:52,040 bedroom. Haven't you? 216 00:12:52,040 --> 00:12:55,520 And I seen this consistently in our study of Second Kings, where 217 00:12:55,520 --> 00:12:59,400 you have a servant who has greater spiritual perception 218 00:12:59,400 --> 00:13:01,600 than somebody who was in a high and lofty position. 219 00:13:03,800 --> 00:13:07,560 Didn't we see that in Second Kings chapter 5, where it was a 220 00:13:07,760 --> 00:13:11,800 slave girl from Israel who was kidnapped from our home that 221 00:13:11,800 --> 00:13:15,120 told Naaman the Syrian, I know somebody who can help you with 222 00:13:15,120 --> 00:13:19,360 your leprosy. Was it not a servant of one of 223 00:13:19,360 --> 00:13:21,760 the kings? When the coalition of kings, 224 00:13:22,080 --> 00:13:24,800 including the king of Judah and Israel, went out to fight 225 00:13:24,800 --> 00:13:26,480 against the Moabites and they were wandering in the 226 00:13:26,480 --> 00:13:29,760 wilderness, they got lost. It was a servant who said, I 227 00:13:29,760 --> 00:13:32,120 know where we can find Elijah and he can help us. 228 00:13:33,320 --> 00:13:35,520 Like you can't ignore that. It's a constant thing that 229 00:13:35,520 --> 00:13:40,720 appears in our study, reminding you and I that to be lowly in 230 00:13:40,720 --> 00:13:44,120 the natural but rich in the spiritual is a greater advantage 231 00:13:44,120 --> 00:13:46,720 than those who are noble in this life but are deficient in the 232 00:13:46,720 --> 00:13:50,040 soul. Who cares about what people 233 00:13:50,040 --> 00:13:53,960 achieve in this life if they're bankrupt spiritually be rich 234 00:13:53,960 --> 00:13:55,800 towards God. I was reading now in my in my 235 00:13:55,800 --> 00:13:59,400 own personal reading of Luke and Luke chapter 12 with that man in 236 00:13:59,400 --> 00:14:03,200 that parable boasted about expanding his homes and retiring 237 00:14:03,200 --> 00:14:06,640 early and relaxing. And God calls that man a fool. 238 00:14:07,720 --> 00:14:10,680 Anybody is a fool who invests so much in this life but is 239 00:14:10,680 --> 00:14:13,240 bankrupt towards God. And that's why he said such as a 240 00:14:13,240 --> 00:14:17,000 man who is not rich towards God, it's possible to be rich in this 241 00:14:17,000 --> 00:14:19,280 life, but to be poor in the spirit. 242 00:14:20,040 --> 00:14:23,200 I'm not interested in that. I want to be rich towards him no 243 00:14:23,200 --> 00:14:24,760 matter what it costs me in this life. 244 00:14:25,480 --> 00:14:27,440 But you know what I thought when I was reflecting on this? 245 00:14:28,680 --> 00:14:31,120 How did the Syrian servant know about Elijah in this way? 246 00:14:32,400 --> 00:14:37,320 How now? We're not told, but I have an 247 00:14:37,320 --> 00:14:39,400 inclination to believe that it had to do something with name in 248 00:14:39,400 --> 00:14:42,360 the Syrian. This is just speculation, but I 249 00:14:42,360 --> 00:14:44,560 think it's a safe one that when name in return. 250 00:14:44,560 --> 00:14:47,560 Remember he returned with a plan to not be ashamed of his 251 00:14:47,560 --> 00:14:50,200 devotion to Yahweh. He would make an altar, it would 252 00:14:50,200 --> 00:14:52,280 be public. He was not afraid to declare 253 00:14:52,280 --> 00:14:54,040 that his allegiance would be to the true God. 254 00:14:54,040 --> 00:14:55,840 And I wonder if the servant heard the. 255 00:14:55,840 --> 00:15:00,520 Testimony of name in the Syrian and I made an impression on him 256 00:15:00,520 --> 00:15:04,600 enough for him to be familiar with the man of God and what God 257 00:15:04,600 --> 00:15:09,000 was able to do through a man. It's just a wonderful reminder 258 00:15:09,000 --> 00:15:15,240 of what our testimonies can do. So he says, listen, the prophet, 259 00:15:15,480 --> 00:15:17,600 he hears your conversation in your own bedroom. 260 00:15:19,120 --> 00:15:20,880 Now you would think that would humble somebody, right? 261 00:15:20,880 --> 00:15:24,960 You would think that would cause him to say, I must know which 262 00:15:24,960 --> 00:15:29,040 God is able to give this kind of ability to His people. 263 00:15:29,640 --> 00:15:30,960 What do you see? Verse 13? 264 00:15:31,280 --> 00:15:34,520 And he said, go and see where he is, that I may send and seize 265 00:15:34,520 --> 00:15:39,600 him. It was told him, behold, he is 266 00:15:39,600 --> 00:15:42,840 in Dauphin. Hold on to that. 267 00:15:43,640 --> 00:15:46,320 Remember we talked about this in previous studies that when a 268 00:15:46,320 --> 00:15:49,280 place appears, the name of a town or city or region appears 269 00:15:49,280 --> 00:15:52,040 in your Bibles. To not disregard it to nothing 270 00:15:52,040 --> 00:15:56,920 is just a historical footnote. No, look at it and consider it. 271 00:15:56,920 --> 00:16:00,080 Meditate on it. So I remember stumbling upon 272 00:16:00,080 --> 00:16:03,680 this Dothan years ago and thought to myself, that's not a 273 00:16:03,680 --> 00:16:06,960 familiar place in the Bible. Now, we're not going to explore 274 00:16:06,960 --> 00:16:08,320 this now. We're going to come back to in a 275 00:16:08,320 --> 00:16:09,800 moment. We have to continue and you'll 276 00:16:09,800 --> 00:16:12,160 see why. But I just want to remind you of 277 00:16:12,160 --> 00:16:15,440 that discipline. Don't skip over names. 278 00:16:15,640 --> 00:16:19,320 Don't skip over cities and towns and you'll see why This is just 279 00:16:19,320 --> 00:16:23,080 going to be another example of why the discipline of seeking 280 00:16:23,080 --> 00:16:26,480 deeper things in the word of God will reward you greatly. 281 00:16:26,520 --> 00:16:29,080 But let's come to verse 15. When the servant of the man of 282 00:16:29,080 --> 00:16:32,520 God rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army 283 00:16:32,520 --> 00:16:36,280 with horses and Chariots was all around the city. 284 00:16:36,760 --> 00:16:40,240 And the servant said, Alas, my master, what shall we? 285 00:16:40,240 --> 00:16:43,840 Do, he said. Do not be afraid, for those who 286 00:16:43,840 --> 00:16:47,240 are with us are more than those who are with them. 287 00:16:49,840 --> 00:16:55,600 So you have two men here. We have the servant of the man 288 00:16:55,600 --> 00:16:57,920 of God. That can't be Gehazi. 289 00:16:57,920 --> 00:17:00,240 Why? Because he's an outcast now. 290 00:17:01,120 --> 00:17:03,760 He's crippled and riddled with leprosy. 291 00:17:04,480 --> 00:17:07,680 So this is someone who replaced him, at least temporarily. 292 00:17:08,319 --> 00:17:10,640 We have the. Servant of the man of God, and 293 00:17:10,640 --> 00:17:15,839 we have Elijah with him. And I want you to realize that 294 00:17:15,839 --> 00:17:18,160 they were both standing in the same geographical location. 295 00:17:19,359 --> 00:17:21,880 They were both both facing the same threat. 296 00:17:21,960 --> 00:17:24,160 And you can even argue that Elisha was experiencing a 297 00:17:24,160 --> 00:17:27,480 greater danger than the servant because they were coming after 298 00:17:27,480 --> 00:17:30,400 him. And lastly, they both serve the 299 00:17:30,400 --> 00:17:34,880 same God, but there was one main difference and it was a very 300 00:17:34,880 --> 00:17:37,760 important difference. They had totally different 301 00:17:37,760 --> 00:17:42,520 outlooks, totally different perspectives. 302 00:17:44,480 --> 00:17:47,160 Totally different revelations that were set before their 303 00:17:47,160 --> 00:17:52,360 vision. The same surprise, the same 304 00:17:52,360 --> 00:17:55,680 challenge, the same difficulty, but two different viewpoints 305 00:17:56,240 --> 00:17:59,840 that cause them to interpret the situation so. 306 00:17:59,840 --> 00:18:02,360 Differently, and I want to say it's the same for Christians 307 00:18:02,360 --> 00:18:10,160 today, that you can have two Christian college students at 308 00:18:10,160 --> 00:18:13,320 the same school with the same temptations and the same crowd, 309 00:18:14,040 --> 00:18:18,240 one succumbing to the pulls of the world and another 310 00:18:18,240 --> 00:18:19,320 overcoming. Why? 311 00:18:20,560 --> 00:18:22,720 Because they have two different understandings. 312 00:18:24,520 --> 00:18:28,760 You can have married couples, and if you do counseling with 313 00:18:28,760 --> 00:18:30,880 married couples long enough, you'll realize that their 314 00:18:30,880 --> 00:18:36,120 problems are not very unique. The strains are very similar and 315 00:18:36,120 --> 00:18:39,480 yet you can have some parties who are willing to in faith and 316 00:18:39,480 --> 00:18:43,680 trust in God's wisdom. Achieve reconciliation while 317 00:18:43,680 --> 00:18:48,640 others crumble. You can have two very wealthy 318 00:18:48,640 --> 00:18:51,040 Christians unusually successful in this life. 319 00:18:51,480 --> 00:18:55,280 One is able to live for eternity and not make mammon their God, 320 00:18:55,600 --> 00:18:59,400 and the other can be completely ensnared to the point of 321 00:19:00,000 --> 00:19:01,600 spiritual destruction. Why? 322 00:19:01,960 --> 00:19:04,760 Because of an understanding. And not just an understanding, 323 00:19:04,760 --> 00:19:09,440 but a willingness to frame your outlook with that understanding. 324 00:19:11,000 --> 00:19:14,200 You have the servant of God looking at the same thing, and 325 00:19:14,200 --> 00:19:17,160 you have the man of God looking at the same thing, two different 326 00:19:17,160 --> 00:19:21,040 conclusions. And the servant of God was 327 00:19:21,040 --> 00:19:26,480 visibly fearful, panicked. His eyes were widened as he woke 328 00:19:26,480 --> 00:19:30,080 up early that day, ready to do his chores and his duties as an 329 00:19:30,080 --> 00:19:33,120 assistant to the prophet. And he looks out and he hears 330 00:19:33,120 --> 00:19:37,960 the distant rumblings and an unusual scene of the hills being 331 00:19:37,960 --> 00:19:42,160 littered with Chariots, perhaps even at sometimes hearing the 332 00:19:42,160 --> 00:19:46,280 chants for Elijah's name and learning very quickly. 333 00:19:46,280 --> 00:19:50,680 We're outnumbered here. And so he panics. 334 00:19:51,440 --> 00:19:54,800 And what's so moving is right away we get a a striking 335 00:19:54,800 --> 00:20:02,240 contrast with the man of God who is calm with an other worldly 336 00:20:02,240 --> 00:20:07,320 kind of tranquility when he looks at the servant of God says 337 00:20:07,320 --> 00:20:08,280 don't be. Afraid. 338 00:20:09,360 --> 00:20:13,240 I mean, it's impossible to read Elijah's response with any other 339 00:20:13,240 --> 00:20:15,040 kind of tone. Don't be afraid. 340 00:20:16,160 --> 00:20:19,320 There are more with us than those that are before us. 341 00:20:21,080 --> 00:20:25,240 Now I'm thinking, and I'm looking at this, wondering, how 342 00:20:25,240 --> 00:20:29,400 was this man able? You can't fake this. 343 00:20:29,800 --> 00:20:35,360 How was this man able to respond with such a serenity, A serenity 344 00:20:35,360 --> 00:20:38,600 that was able to not just help him, but help others? 345 00:20:39,360 --> 00:20:41,920 And I'll tell you this, it was because of revelation that he 346 00:20:41,920 --> 00:20:44,000 possessed that was able to stabilize his heart. 347 00:20:46,040 --> 00:20:49,800 I was looking at Elijah earlier today and his posture was a 348 00:20:49,800 --> 00:20:52,880 clear reflection of one of the greatest practical promises that 349 00:20:52,880 --> 00:20:57,480 you can find in the Old Testament, Isaiah 26, verse 350 00:20:57,480 --> 00:21:01,120 three. You keep him in perfect peace 351 00:21:01,320 --> 00:21:06,960 whose mind is stayed on you. Now, if you read that carefully, 352 00:21:06,960 --> 00:21:11,240 you'll learn that this is. A verse that is outlining an 353 00:21:11,560 --> 00:21:15,680 equation. Man has a responsibility, and 354 00:21:15,680 --> 00:21:17,960 that contingency will determine God's reward. 355 00:21:19,600 --> 00:21:23,000 You keep him in perfect peace. Who's the one who grants this 356 00:21:23,000 --> 00:21:23,920 peace? God? 357 00:21:24,440 --> 00:21:26,200 You keep it. And it's not just any ordinary 358 00:21:26,200 --> 00:21:29,200 peace. It's a perfect peace now. 359 00:21:29,200 --> 00:21:32,480 Either the Bible is exaggerating or God's word is true and every 360 00:21:32,480 --> 00:21:35,360 man be a liar. You keep them in perfect peace. 361 00:21:35,360 --> 00:21:38,120 What does perfect peace means? It means that it is a peace that 362 00:21:38,120 --> 00:21:42,520 is accessible and applicable to any situation that you can draw 363 00:21:42,520 --> 00:21:44,840 from this peace. You can experience this, this 364 00:21:44,880 --> 00:21:49,760 stability anywhere, anytime, before anyone for anything. 365 00:21:52,000 --> 00:21:58,520 The best quality of peace God is willing to grant upon this for 366 00:21:58,520 --> 00:22:00,120 those whose mind is stayed on you. 367 00:22:01,880 --> 00:22:03,240 So here's how you understand this. 368 00:22:03,280 --> 00:22:08,600 Unbroken peace from God is granted to those who have 369 00:22:08,600 --> 00:22:14,880 unbroken meditation on God. Unbroken peace from God can only 370 00:22:14,880 --> 00:22:19,520 be achieved through unbroken meditation on the Lord. 371 00:22:22,240 --> 00:22:26,360 Elisha saw something. Elisha lived in a reality that 372 00:22:26,360 --> 00:22:31,040 the servant hasn't yet arrived to and that's OK because he's 373 00:22:31,040 --> 00:22:35,640 learning, he's growing, and he had the right teacher in his 374 00:22:35,640 --> 00:22:39,200 life. So here's the thing, you have to 375 00:22:39,200 --> 00:22:42,840 understand what you believe will ultimately determine how you 376 00:22:42,840 --> 00:22:46,800 behave. And I, and I can't again help 377 00:22:46,800 --> 00:22:50,880 but look at a verse like Isaiah 26 three and feel the 378 00:22:50,880 --> 00:22:55,720 responsibility of feeding. My mind and my heart, the truths 379 00:22:55,720 --> 00:22:58,840 of who God is. And not just checking off a box, 380 00:22:58,840 --> 00:23:01,960 saying I read my Bible this morning, but living with that 381 00:23:01,960 --> 00:23:05,640 meditation, singing about those truths, discussing it with 382 00:23:05,640 --> 00:23:07,720 people who actually have a relationship with God. 383 00:23:07,880 --> 00:23:09,600 And you can't have a relationship with God if you 384 00:23:09,600 --> 00:23:10,880 don't have a relationship with the word of God. 385 00:23:11,440 --> 00:23:14,880 Impossible, Impossible. People who have a low view of 386 00:23:14,880 --> 00:23:16,080 the Bible have a low view of God. 387 00:23:16,080 --> 00:23:17,360 No matter what what else they say. 388 00:23:18,920 --> 00:23:23,040 This is the means by which we get to know God, not through 389 00:23:23,040 --> 00:23:26,160 your experiences, as wonderful as experiences are, it's 390 00:23:26,160 --> 00:23:28,560 primarily through His Word. And through His Word will you 391 00:23:28,560 --> 00:23:31,760 know experiences and one of those experiences, a perfect 392 00:23:31,760 --> 00:23:35,280 peace through unbroken meditation on Him. 393 00:23:37,640 --> 00:23:40,520 You stop thinking about the Lord and including Him beyond just a 394 00:23:40,520 --> 00:23:42,520 little bit of time in the morning or at night. 395 00:23:42,760 --> 00:23:45,320 You make more room for things to invade and to live there that 396 00:23:45,320 --> 00:23:48,280 shouldn't be living there. And so here's Elijah 397 00:23:48,280 --> 00:23:52,960 demonstrating, I believe, what it means to live with that lens 398 00:23:53,360 --> 00:23:56,160 of who God is, what He's able to do, who I am in him. 399 00:23:56,160 --> 00:23:58,840 And he's about to teach this young servant what that looks 400 00:23:58,840 --> 00:24:00,360 like. But you know, you can't move on 401 00:24:00,360 --> 00:24:04,480 without considering more inspiring traits from this 402 00:24:04,480 --> 00:24:07,000 prophet. Because here's what I've learned 403 00:24:07,000 --> 00:24:08,560 about Elijah in our past few weeks. 404 00:24:09,320 --> 00:24:11,720 And so many of these scenes where he interacts with people 405 00:24:11,720 --> 00:24:14,760 and performs miracles, he does it in a spirit of compassion, 406 00:24:16,080 --> 00:24:18,760 rich compassion. So he doesn't look at the 407 00:24:18,760 --> 00:24:21,440 servant, right? We don't know how long he was 408 00:24:21,440 --> 00:24:24,280 enrolled in this program, but he surely knew about Elijah long 409 00:24:24,280 --> 00:24:26,880 enough to actually consider it to begin with or to be hired by 410 00:24:26,880 --> 00:24:28,720 Elijah. But you don't see the man of 411 00:24:28,720 --> 00:24:29,720 God. Look at him saying, hey, what's 412 00:24:29,720 --> 00:24:32,400 wrong with you man? Now, you haven't learned 413 00:24:32,400 --> 00:24:33,640 already. You haven't seen things already. 414 00:24:33,640 --> 00:24:36,880 You haven't heard who I am. He doesn't do any of that. 415 00:24:39,080 --> 00:24:43,080 He patiently instructs him. He gently guides him. 416 00:24:43,880 --> 00:24:45,720 Now, there are times where rebuke is necessary. 417 00:24:45,880 --> 00:24:46,880 You know how I know that? Because. 418 00:24:46,880 --> 00:24:49,600 Jesus did it. So there's some people who 419 00:24:49,600 --> 00:24:52,280 think, I mean, there's some people who think that you should 420 00:24:52,280 --> 00:24:54,240 never correct, you should never confront that. 421 00:24:55,240 --> 00:24:59,440 What Bible are you reading? With all due respect, Jesus, 422 00:24:59,440 --> 00:25:02,200 even with his closest disciples who failed to learn things that 423 00:25:02,200 --> 00:25:04,560 he told them over and over again, received from time to 424 00:25:04,560 --> 00:25:08,560 time stern rebuke. But that's not applicable here 425 00:25:08,560 --> 00:25:11,960 because you have this young new assistant who's just starting 426 00:25:11,960 --> 00:25:14,600 out. And Elijah shows each of us. 427 00:25:14,960 --> 00:25:19,080 Who might be a little bit more spiritually mature than another 428 00:25:19,080 --> 00:25:22,320 person to be patient, to be kind. 429 00:25:23,040 --> 00:25:24,960 And there are, there are a lot of people I know who are very 430 00:25:24,960 --> 00:25:29,120 spiritually knowledgeable and have a grasp on things that 431 00:25:29,120 --> 00:25:31,160 don't necessarily demonstrate that. 432 00:25:31,440 --> 00:25:38,040 And Elijah here is a rebuke to us to be patient and listen. 433 00:25:38,160 --> 00:25:40,640 His tenderness and care is not just sown in how he speaks to 434 00:25:40,640 --> 00:25:42,440 the servant. Listen very carefully. 435 00:25:42,680 --> 00:25:48,560 It's shown in how he speaks to God about the servant being 436 00:25:48,560 --> 00:25:50,720 patient, understanding, willingness to teach to those 437 00:25:50,720 --> 00:25:53,000 who are willingness to learn is one thing. 438 00:25:53,720 --> 00:25:56,880 But I'm telling you now that Elijah teaches us that love for 439 00:25:56,880 --> 00:26:02,000 our brethren is also shown in how we speak to God on their 440 00:26:02,000 --> 00:26:08,160 behalf. Notice what he does verse 17. 441 00:26:08,800 --> 00:26:13,680 Then Elisha prayed and said, O Lord, please open his eyes that 442 00:26:13,680 --> 00:26:16,640 he may see. So the Lord opened the eyes of 443 00:26:16,640 --> 00:26:21,000 the young man and he saw. And behold, the mountain was 444 00:26:21,000 --> 00:26:24,600 full of horses and Chariots of fire all around Elisha. 445 00:26:28,240 --> 00:26:33,600 Here's how I'm convicted by this Lord, I don't just see with 446 00:26:33,600 --> 00:26:35,440 Elisha. I see it with the Apostle Paul, 447 00:26:35,440 --> 00:26:38,520 with virtually every church that he engaged and interacted with. 448 00:26:39,200 --> 00:26:41,000 He didn't just instruct him. He didn't just teach him. 449 00:26:41,000 --> 00:26:43,840 He prayed for them over and over again. 450 00:26:44,840 --> 00:26:48,400 And Lord, help me come to the place where I love my fellow 451 00:26:48,400 --> 00:26:50,600 brother and sister enough, where I'm willing to bring their needs 452 00:26:50,600 --> 00:26:52,360 and their weaknesses before your throne. 453 00:26:56,440 --> 00:27:02,080 And it's not just a quick thought that Elisha offers up. 454 00:27:03,080 --> 00:27:05,120 It's not just a duty that he fulfills. 455 00:27:05,120 --> 00:27:09,080 You can sense the earnestness. Look at the language. 456 00:27:09,120 --> 00:27:13,960 Oh Lord, please, that's sincerity, that's longing. 457 00:27:15,280 --> 00:27:17,960 And so I want to lovingly challenge all of us to re 458 00:27:17,960 --> 00:27:23,600 examine our love for people, not just with our practical deeds, 459 00:27:23,600 --> 00:27:27,200 which I think is very important, but also in our willingness to 460 00:27:27,200 --> 00:27:29,120 pray. Pray for them. 461 00:27:29,640 --> 00:27:33,720 And what a valuable lesson for leaders, including parents, 462 00:27:34,120 --> 00:27:38,200 because Elisha reminds us here that there are certain levels of 463 00:27:38,200 --> 00:27:42,680 transformation that can only be achieved when we pray for 464 00:27:42,680 --> 00:27:46,720 people. I'm not sure exactly how verse 465 00:27:46,720 --> 00:27:53,600 16 led to verse 17, but it makes me wonder that after Elisha 466 00:27:53,600 --> 00:27:55,720 telling him not to be afraid, that he didn't necessarily get 467 00:27:55,720 --> 00:27:58,720 the reaction he was hoping for. Do not be afraid. 468 00:27:58,720 --> 00:28:01,600 Verse 16, right? And then we don't know what 469 00:28:01,600 --> 00:28:03,320 happens with a young man, but look at verse 17. 470 00:28:03,320 --> 00:28:08,160 Then Elijah prayed and said, so I wonder if Elijah still saw 471 00:28:08,160 --> 00:28:11,720 this man visibly disturbed. And so he lifts his eyes to 472 00:28:11,720 --> 00:28:13,960 heaven, says, Lord, can you help him? 473 00:28:15,360 --> 00:28:21,560 Can you open his eyes? So may we also learn to reserve 474 00:28:21,560 --> 00:28:26,000 our energy that after trying to convince and seeing people 475 00:28:26,000 --> 00:28:30,840 convicted even to no avail, to come to God on their behalf 476 00:28:31,000 --> 00:28:36,960 instead a preacher who's not alive. 477 00:28:38,560 --> 00:28:41,560 Most of my favorite ministers are no longer alive. 478 00:28:42,720 --> 00:28:45,600 But this man said it's one thing. 479 00:28:45,800 --> 00:28:49,720 It's 1 honor to speak to men on behalf of God. 480 00:28:50,080 --> 00:28:52,600 It's a whole other honor to speak to God on behalf of men, 481 00:28:54,600 --> 00:28:58,400 and Elijah here shows us that. Not that we have a a permission 482 00:28:58,400 --> 00:29:02,040 to cop out from dealing with people or matters directly, but 483 00:29:02,040 --> 00:29:05,200 to have this understanding that apart from God intervening, 484 00:29:05,360 --> 00:29:08,920 apart from God moving apart from God enabling, apart from God's 485 00:29:08,920 --> 00:29:12,080 hand on someone's mind or heart. We won't see what we want to 486 00:29:12,080 --> 00:29:15,840 see. Here's a wonderful model. 487 00:29:16,160 --> 00:29:19,840 I'm I'm speaking to you and we have we have the reason to 488 00:29:19,840 --> 00:29:22,280 believe here that maybe nothing was achieved in that. 489 00:29:22,480 --> 00:29:25,920 Now let me speak to God for you and ask the God what? 490 00:29:25,920 --> 00:29:28,800 Open your eyes and God is willing to answer that prayer. 491 00:29:29,240 --> 00:29:31,400 Look at Paul's prayers very carefully, specifically in 492 00:29:31,400 --> 00:29:33,840 Ephesians 1, where he asked that the eyes of the hearts of the 493 00:29:33,840 --> 00:29:37,920 Ephesians may be opened. So we have permission to pray 494 00:29:37,920 --> 00:29:40,880 those kind of prayers. It's a prayer that's prayed 495 00:29:40,960 --> 00:29:44,400 every Friday and every Sunday before anybody gets behind this 496 00:29:44,400 --> 00:29:46,800 pulpit, open the eyes of the people. 497 00:29:47,760 --> 00:29:50,960 Men can only go so far with other men, but when men connects 498 00:29:50,960 --> 00:29:55,040 with God, all miracles can take. Place Now what does the servant 499 00:29:55,040 --> 00:29:57,720 see after Elijah prays? Read it again with me in verse 500 00:29:57,720 --> 00:30:00,360 17. The latter portion, the 501 00:30:00,360 --> 00:30:05,680 mountain, was full of horses and Chariots of fire all around 502 00:30:05,880 --> 00:30:08,480 Elijah. Now in the past when I read this 503 00:30:08,480 --> 00:30:15,200 part, I usually imagined that when the eyes of this young man 504 00:30:15,200 --> 00:30:16,760 were open to the spiritual realm. 505 00:30:17,040 --> 00:30:20,040 And this is a good reminder for each of us that there is a realm 506 00:30:20,040 --> 00:30:22,640 that parallels this world, right? 507 00:30:22,640 --> 00:30:25,400 There are things happening beyond our senses, beyond our 508 00:30:25,400 --> 00:30:30,600 immediate understanding behind the scenes, 24/7, right? 509 00:30:31,240 --> 00:30:33,440 And we're seeing that here. We're just getting a glimpse a 510 00:30:33,440 --> 00:30:34,800 little. Window into that world. 511 00:30:35,600 --> 00:30:38,440 But this is how I always imagined that when the eyes of 512 00:30:38,440 --> 00:30:41,560 this young man were opened, he he looked out and he saw the 513 00:30:41,560 --> 00:30:44,880 hills covered. The surrounding mountains 514 00:30:44,880 --> 00:30:48,560 littered, enveloping the city, standing in the, you know, this 515 00:30:48,560 --> 00:30:52,480 translucent kind of army standing in the midst of the 516 00:30:52,480 --> 00:30:56,800 Syrians and outnumbering them. But it's more glorious than 517 00:30:56,800 --> 00:30:58,800 that. It wasn't just this young man 518 00:30:58,800 --> 00:31:02,280 looking under the distance and seeing a canopy of soldiers 519 00:31:02,280 --> 00:31:07,880 covering the enemies of Israel. These horses and Chariots of 520 00:31:07,880 --> 00:31:09,960 fire. We're not surrounding the city. 521 00:31:09,960 --> 00:31:13,040 They were surrounding Elisha. Did you see that? 522 00:31:13,560 --> 00:31:16,200 Look again. The mountain was full of horses 523 00:31:16,280 --> 00:31:21,920 and Chariots of fire all around. Not Dauphin Elijah. 524 00:31:23,200 --> 00:31:26,160 So imagine this. You have this sea of angelic 525 00:31:26,160 --> 00:31:30,640 beings orbiting around the man of God and extending outward to 526 00:31:30,640 --> 00:31:32,320 the hills. That's what he saw. 527 00:31:32,720 --> 00:31:34,400 So it wasn't wow, Look out there. 528 00:31:34,400 --> 00:31:37,200 It was whoa, whoa, whoa. Right here. 529 00:31:41,440 --> 00:31:44,040 And what was it I saw? Horses and Chariots of fire. 530 00:31:44,040 --> 00:31:46,560 Have we seen those for the first time here or have we seen them 531 00:31:46,560 --> 00:31:50,040 before? We've seen them before when God 532 00:31:50,040 --> 00:31:55,760 dispatched the same kind of beings to transport Elijah into 533 00:31:55,760 --> 00:31:59,200 heaven. And So what do we see here? 534 00:31:59,200 --> 00:32:01,920 There's a lesson here. There's a principle here that 535 00:32:01,920 --> 00:32:07,120 the horses and Chariots of fire that protected Elijah from death 536 00:32:07,160 --> 00:32:08,840 as he's being translated into heaven. 537 00:32:09,320 --> 00:32:12,040 Are the same ones who are now protecting Elisha from 538 00:32:13,200 --> 00:32:16,920 potentially being killed. And this is a consistent 539 00:32:16,920 --> 00:32:21,000 support, underscoring a principle that God's protection 540 00:32:21,160 --> 00:32:27,240 extends to his chosen servants, ensuring their safety every 541 00:32:27,240 --> 00:32:32,280 moment, every single moment. And so you see Elisha receiving 542 00:32:32,280 --> 00:32:34,520 the similar kind of divine intervention. 543 00:32:34,880 --> 00:32:37,360 But I want to show you how it wasn't just limited to these two 544 00:32:37,360 --> 00:32:41,440 amazing prophets of God. So where was this miracle taking 545 00:32:41,440 --> 00:32:45,200 place? The name Dauphin Dauphin. 546 00:32:47,040 --> 00:32:49,320 And I look at that and, and I remember this is years ago 547 00:32:49,360 --> 00:32:52,880 looking at that, saying, why have I not seen this place 548 00:32:52,880 --> 00:32:55,600 before? And I'm, I'm not saying every 549 00:32:55,600 --> 00:32:57,280 single region that's mentioned, you're going to arrive to these 550 00:32:57,280 --> 00:33:00,400 kind of conclusions, but this is the case here. 551 00:33:01,680 --> 00:33:04,320 There's only one other place in all of the Old Testament where 552 00:33:04,320 --> 00:33:06,800 Dothan is brought up. Now I'm not going to. 553 00:33:07,560 --> 00:33:09,280 Mention it right away. I'm going to give you a chance 554 00:33:09,280 --> 00:33:10,720 to answer without looking at your Bibles. 555 00:33:11,360 --> 00:33:12,840 Even if you do, it would take a while, I think. 556 00:33:13,680 --> 00:33:15,520 Does anybody know where Dothan is mentioned in the Hebrew 557 00:33:15,520 --> 00:33:18,120 Scriptures? Wow, that was quick. 558 00:33:20,240 --> 00:33:22,120 Did everybody know that was Genesis? 559 00:33:23,320 --> 00:33:25,320 Good, Wonderful. Yes, Genesis, but we're 560 00:33:25,320 --> 00:33:28,400 specifically in Genesis. OK, Wow, I was. 561 00:33:30,160 --> 00:33:34,040 Expecting a little bit more of a delay there, let's turn there. 562 00:33:34,040 --> 00:33:36,760 Genesis 37. The only other. 563 00:33:36,760 --> 00:33:38,120 Place where Dothan is brought up. 564 00:33:41,560 --> 00:33:53,780 Genesis 37 verse 16 Joseph was sent by his father to seek for 565 00:33:53,780 --> 00:33:59,580 his brothers and he bumps into a man who gives him directions. 566 00:33:59,860 --> 00:34:02,580 Verse 16 of Genesis 37 I am seeking my brothers. 567 00:34:02,580 --> 00:34:06,140 He said tell me please where they are pastoring the flock. 568 00:34:06,140 --> 00:34:09,500 And the man said, they have gone away, for I heard them say, let 569 00:34:09,500 --> 00:34:12,639 us go to Dauphin. So Joseph went after his 570 00:34:12,639 --> 00:34:14,080 brothers and found them at Dolphin. 571 00:34:15,000 --> 00:34:18,159 By the way, this is personally one of my favorite examples of 572 00:34:18,159 --> 00:34:21,679 Providence in the Old Testament. If that man had not been there 573 00:34:21,920 --> 00:34:24,480 and gave him these instructions, who knows what would have become 574 00:34:24,480 --> 00:34:26,960 of Joseph's future? But because that man was right 575 00:34:26,960 --> 00:34:29,560 there at the right time and gave those specific instructions, 576 00:34:29,719 --> 00:34:31,320 that's what turned Joseph's life around. 577 00:34:32,440 --> 00:34:34,239 There are no coincidences in the will of God. 578 00:34:35,239 --> 00:34:36,800 So here's this man who says, yeah, actually, I heard that 579 00:34:36,800 --> 00:34:39,199 they were going to Dolphin. And do you remember what happens 580 00:34:39,360 --> 00:34:42,159 when he arrives at Dolphin? The brothers take him and they 581 00:34:42,159 --> 00:34:44,880 throw him into a pit, and they leave him there like a wild 582 00:34:44,880 --> 00:34:47,719 animal. And it was in Dauphin where 583 00:34:47,880 --> 00:34:53,000 Joseph tasted the venomous envy, the murderous jealousy of his 584 00:34:53,000 --> 00:34:55,600 own relatives. So listen. 585 00:34:57,040 --> 00:34:59,000 There are only two places where Dauphin is mentioned in the Old 586 00:34:59,000 --> 00:35:01,760 Testament. So now, now, now, now, now, this 587 00:35:01,760 --> 00:35:03,880 is where it gets exciting. I step back and I think about 588 00:35:03,880 --> 00:35:07,320 Elijah and what I read about Elijah in Second King 6 and I 589 00:35:07,320 --> 00:35:08,680 say, Lord, is there something here? 590 00:35:08,680 --> 00:35:10,320 And surely there is, because in Dauphin. 591 00:35:10,800 --> 00:35:13,680 With Elijah, it was a place where he was ambushed by the 592 00:35:13,680 --> 00:35:17,160 enemy in Dothan. For Joseph, it was a place where 593 00:35:17,160 --> 00:35:22,920 he was abandoned by his family. And I believe that the divine 594 00:35:22,920 --> 00:35:26,200 protection that wrapped around Elijah was no less true for 595 00:35:26,200 --> 00:35:32,520 Joseph when he was in Dothan hundreds of years before saying, 596 00:35:32,520 --> 00:35:34,200 can you prove that? I can prove that you're still in 597 00:35:34,200 --> 00:35:38,200 Genesis, right? Go to Genesis 49 and look at the 598 00:35:38,200 --> 00:35:44,360 prophecy that was granted to Joseph when Jacob was ready to 599 00:35:44,360 --> 00:35:48,160 go and be with his father's, Genesis 4922. 600 00:35:51,680 --> 00:35:55,680 Joseph is a fruitful bow, a fruitful bow by spring. 601 00:35:56,280 --> 00:35:58,040 A bow is like the main branch of a tree. 602 00:35:58,400 --> 00:36:02,320 His branches run over the wall. The Archers listened to this 603 00:36:02,320 --> 00:36:04,720 language. The Archers bitterly attacked 604 00:36:04,720 --> 00:36:07,840 him, shot at him and harassed him severely. 605 00:36:07,840 --> 00:36:12,600 Yet his bow remained unmoved. His arms were made agile by the. 606 00:36:12,600 --> 00:36:14,640 Hands of the mighty one of Jacob. 607 00:36:15,960 --> 00:36:18,720 From there is the shepherd, the stone of Israel. 608 00:36:20,680 --> 00:36:22,320 So here's when I learned that the. 609 00:36:22,320 --> 00:36:25,080 Truth about this place called Dothan, mentioned only twice in 610 00:36:25,360 --> 00:36:29,120 all of the Old Testament, is that God is with us at all 611 00:36:29,120 --> 00:36:33,840 times, in all places, through every experience. 612 00:36:34,400 --> 00:36:39,080 When that experience is being betrayed by our loved ones or 613 00:36:39,080 --> 00:36:43,280 being attacked by those who are enemies, the Lord is there. 614 00:36:43,840 --> 00:36:47,520 He was there with Joseph. He was there for Elijah. 615 00:36:48,640 --> 00:36:52,160 He is with you. Psalm 125 verse two. 616 00:36:52,160 --> 00:36:54,560 You don't have to turn there, but as the mountains surround 617 00:36:54,560 --> 00:36:58,760 Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people from this time forth 618 00:36:58,760 --> 00:37:05,680 and forever more. So why are you afraid? 619 00:37:07,680 --> 00:37:09,720 You know, it's one thing to look at these things and be moved by 620 00:37:09,720 --> 00:37:11,920 them when you see the connection and the promise is another thing 621 00:37:11,920 --> 00:37:16,920 when you experience being outnumbered by enemies and 622 00:37:16,920 --> 00:37:19,800 serving ministry long enough and you'll know a few share of 623 00:37:19,800 --> 00:37:23,080 enemies. I can tell you with great 624 00:37:23,080 --> 00:37:25,080 confidence, not just by the authority of the Word of God, 625 00:37:25,080 --> 00:37:27,840 which is my primary way of communicating this truth, but by 626 00:37:27,840 --> 00:37:31,800 way of experience that I've seen the Lord surround my life. 627 00:37:32,640 --> 00:37:35,840 And I pray that he always will. And I pray that you would know 628 00:37:35,840 --> 00:37:38,920 that, especially when you need that truth the most. 629 00:37:42,200 --> 00:37:46,800 So what happens next? Because the miracle doesn't end 630 00:37:46,800 --> 00:37:48,840 here. Verse 18. 631 00:37:50,320 --> 00:37:53,840 And when the Syrians came down against him, Elisha prayed to 632 00:37:53,840 --> 00:37:57,480 the Lord and said, please strike this people with blindness. 633 00:37:57,880 --> 00:38:01,040 So the armies of Syria came rolling down those hills at some 634 00:38:01,040 --> 00:38:06,440 point like a freak tsunami ready to crash into Dothan. 635 00:38:07,600 --> 00:38:11,400 And Elisha is unfazed by it. I wonder what that looked like. 636 00:38:13,440 --> 00:38:17,760 And he prays again and again. This is just another humorous 637 00:38:17,760 --> 00:38:20,600 thing. So in the verse preceding this 638 00:38:20,600 --> 00:38:23,240 he prays for his servants eyes to be open. 639 00:38:23,240 --> 00:38:25,480 And in the following verse, he prays for the eyes of thousands 640 00:38:25,480 --> 00:38:29,480 of people to be blind. What are you supposed to take 641 00:38:29,480 --> 00:38:30,600 from that? Here's what you're supposed to 642 00:38:30,600 --> 00:38:32,760 take from that. The power of prayer, the prayer 643 00:38:32,760 --> 00:38:35,480 of the righteous can open the eyes of one man and close the 644 00:38:35,480 --> 00:38:41,320 eyes of 10,000. No matter who or what you pray 645 00:38:41,320 --> 00:38:43,560 about, God is willing to do as long as it's according to his 646 00:38:43,560 --> 00:38:46,320 will. And it shows what God is capable 647 00:38:46,320 --> 00:38:48,080 of doing. He's, he's able of opening eyes 648 00:38:48,080 --> 00:38:55,120 and he's able of closing eyes. So you have this army coming 649 00:38:55,120 --> 00:38:58,040 against a man who had something greater than Chariots, greater 650 00:38:58,040 --> 00:39:00,480 than javelins, greater than bows. 651 00:39:00,520 --> 00:39:05,840 Prayer and God hurt him. And if we didn't know this 652 00:39:05,840 --> 00:39:08,120 story, perhaps we would think that the next thing that Elisha 653 00:39:08,120 --> 00:39:12,320 would pray for is maybe some form of humiliation or some kind 654 00:39:12,320 --> 00:39:16,240 of show before he would ask those invisible Chariots and 655 00:39:16,240 --> 00:39:21,680 horses to slay these enemies. But the miracle is greater than 656 00:39:21,680 --> 00:39:23,960 that. So these men experienced this 657 00:39:23,960 --> 00:39:26,200 temporary blindness, and I don't think it was a complete 658 00:39:26,200 --> 00:39:29,560 blindness because they were able to grope their way towards this 659 00:39:29,560 --> 00:39:32,320 next destination, but it was enough for them to not make 660 00:39:32,320 --> 00:39:34,600 sense of what's happening or understand who's before them. 661 00:39:35,320 --> 00:39:37,720 So Elijah prays that they would be struck with blindness. 662 00:39:37,720 --> 00:39:39,600 And we're told here at the end of verse 18. 663 00:39:39,600 --> 00:39:42,280 So we struck them with blindness in accordance with the prayer of 664 00:39:42,280 --> 00:39:43,960 Elijah. Look at that last part in 665 00:39:43,960 --> 00:39:49,800 accordance with the prayer of Elijah and what happens next? 666 00:39:52,320 --> 00:39:54,240 What would you do? If you're in Elijah's position, 667 00:39:56,040 --> 00:39:57,320 here's what he does. Verse 19. 668 00:39:57,320 --> 00:40:00,320 And Elijah said to them, this is not the way and this is not the 669 00:40:00,320 --> 00:40:02,760 city. Follow me and I will bring you 670 00:40:02,760 --> 00:40:06,760 to the man whom you seek. Some people really try to get 671 00:40:06,760 --> 00:40:09,240 clever and say, look at Elijah. He's supposed to be a man of God 672 00:40:09,240 --> 00:40:11,400 and he's lying to the Syrians. He's not lying. 673 00:40:11,600 --> 00:40:13,560 He left Dolphin and he's going somewhere else and he's saying, 674 00:40:13,560 --> 00:40:15,240 you want me to come and follow me? 675 00:40:15,240 --> 00:40:19,040 See how simple that is? People are really desperate to 676 00:40:19,040 --> 00:40:21,080 try to criticize the word of God. 677 00:40:23,320 --> 00:40:26,080 And where did he lead them? And he led them to Samaria. 678 00:40:26,080 --> 00:40:28,640 That's the headquarters. That's where the king of Israel 679 00:40:28,640 --> 00:40:30,840 is going to be. And the king of Israel is going 680 00:40:30,840 --> 00:40:33,400 to get a surprise himself. Look at verse 20. 681 00:40:33,720 --> 00:40:37,080 And as soon as they entered Samaria, Elijah said, O Lord, 682 00:40:37,280 --> 00:40:39,960 open the eyes of these men that they may see. 683 00:40:40,480 --> 00:40:42,680 So the Lord opened their eyes and they saw. 684 00:40:42,680 --> 00:40:45,200 And behold, they were in the midst of Samaria. 685 00:40:46,600 --> 00:40:49,440 And as. As soon as the king of Israel 686 00:40:49,440 --> 00:40:52,120 saw them, he said to Elijah, My father, shall I strike them 687 00:40:52,120 --> 00:40:53,960 down? Shall I strike them down? 688 00:40:53,960 --> 00:40:55,960 So the king doesn't even know what to do here. 689 00:40:56,120 --> 00:41:01,080 And notice again, Jeremy has a problem, but he still respects 690 00:41:01,080 --> 00:41:02,360 the prophet, at least at this point. 691 00:41:02,360 --> 00:41:04,640 My father, that's a, that's a, that's a term of endearment. 692 00:41:04,640 --> 00:41:07,200 That's a term of honor. My father, what do I do here? 693 00:41:07,720 --> 00:41:10,000 The natural thing to do is to slay them, kill them. 694 00:41:10,000 --> 00:41:11,720 They try to kill you over and over again. 695 00:41:12,920 --> 00:41:16,720 And the king receives a rebuke. From the man of God, he 696 00:41:16,720 --> 00:41:18,400 answered, You shall not strike them down. 697 00:41:18,400 --> 00:41:21,560 Would you strike down those whom you have taken captive with your 698 00:41:21,560 --> 00:41:26,360 sword and with your bow? Set bread and water before them, 699 00:41:27,000 --> 00:41:29,600 that they may eat and drink and go to their master. 700 00:41:30,400 --> 00:41:34,200 So he prepared for them a great feast, and when they had eaten 701 00:41:34,200 --> 00:41:37,760 and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. 702 00:41:38,200 --> 00:41:42,200 And the Syrians did not come again on raids into the land of 703 00:41:42,200 --> 00:41:50,360 Israel. So Elijah here prays that they 704 00:41:50,360 --> 00:41:53,560 would be blind, leads them into Samaria, prays that their eyes 705 00:41:53,560 --> 00:41:57,600 would be open. And we're moved by that miracle, 706 00:41:57,600 --> 00:41:58,680 right? It's very amazing. 707 00:41:58,680 --> 00:42:01,200 Like whatever Elijah said, the Lord did it. 708 00:42:02,200 --> 00:42:04,680 But please understand that the miracle here is beyond the 709 00:42:04,680 --> 00:42:06,400 physical restoration of their sight. 710 00:42:07,560 --> 00:42:11,160 The miracle here is that their eyes would be opened to the 711 00:42:11,160 --> 00:42:16,720 mercy and the compassion of the God that Elijah served, not just 712 00:42:16,720 --> 00:42:19,240 to see again, but to see something about the true God. 713 00:42:22,040 --> 00:42:24,440 And when the Syrians realized that Elisha and the king of 714 00:42:24,440 --> 00:42:27,840 Israel responded with a feast instead of a fight, they were 715 00:42:28,000 --> 00:42:31,840 baffled. Think about this. 716 00:42:32,560 --> 00:42:35,800 The instruction from the king of Syria was go and seize him, 717 00:42:35,920 --> 00:42:37,640 right? They wanted to get Elisha and 718 00:42:38,440 --> 00:42:40,480 probably kill him, probably interrogate and probably in 719 00:42:40,480 --> 00:42:41,280 prison. We don't know. 720 00:42:42,480 --> 00:42:44,960 How many men does it take to seize one person? 721 00:42:46,000 --> 00:42:48,440 A little excessive to send an entire army, isn't it? 722 00:42:50,480 --> 00:42:56,160 But I wonder if the people of Syria were aware of what God has 723 00:42:56,160 --> 00:42:59,960 done on behalf of His prophets and not for them to be a little 724 00:42:59,960 --> 00:43:02,200 bit cautious in the way they approach this situation. 725 00:43:02,400 --> 00:43:06,120 Do you remember what happened to the people who were sent by the 726 00:43:06,120 --> 00:43:09,080 king of Israel to arrest Elijah in Second Kings chapter 1? 727 00:43:09,560 --> 00:43:11,880 He was there on the top of the hill and he sends captain after 728 00:43:11,880 --> 00:43:14,800 captain with a band of 50 men. And all it took was one word 729 00:43:14,800 --> 00:43:17,200 from Elijah and fire came down from heaven and consumed them 730 00:43:17,200 --> 00:43:21,400 and turned them into ash. So I wonder if with a little 731 00:43:21,400 --> 00:43:24,880 Intel that they got about Elijah and who his predecessor was, 732 00:43:25,080 --> 00:43:29,160 that they were being very, very strategic here, Maybe we should 733 00:43:29,160 --> 00:43:33,160 send more than five 5500. Let's send thousands so that 734 00:43:33,280 --> 00:43:35,840 even if God does intervene from heaven, we'll have some kind of 735 00:43:35,840 --> 00:43:40,840 a fighting chance. They don't encounter a fight. 736 00:43:41,720 --> 00:43:44,080 They don't encounter fire from heaven. 737 00:43:44,640 --> 00:43:50,560 They're invited to a feast. Well, let me say it this way. 738 00:43:50,960 --> 00:43:55,040 There was a kind of fire that was sent in this moment. 739 00:43:56,840 --> 00:43:57,720 Same. What are you talking about? 740 00:43:58,440 --> 00:44:01,600 As much as Elijah here is standing out. 741 00:44:01,600 --> 00:44:04,040 As. He's reflecting the mercy and 742 00:44:04,040 --> 00:44:05,920 compassion of God. He is also obeying the word of 743 00:44:05,920 --> 00:44:07,880 God saying what are you talking about? 744 00:44:08,240 --> 00:44:11,840 I'm talking about a verse that another king wrote down that 745 00:44:11,840 --> 00:44:14,320 gave instruction about situations like this. 746 00:44:14,680 --> 00:44:22,360 Proverbs 25, verse 21, some more Proverbs from King Solomon and 747 00:44:22,360 --> 00:44:25,680 consider these two verses and how they connected this 748 00:44:25,880 --> 00:44:31,400 experience. We know these verses in the New 749 00:44:31,400 --> 00:44:34,760 Testament, but they originated in the old Proverbs 2521. 750 00:44:34,760 --> 00:44:39,240 If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat, and if he is 751 00:44:39,240 --> 00:44:41,160 thirsty, give him water to drink. 752 00:44:42,040 --> 00:44:44,280 For you will heap burning coals on his head. 753 00:44:44,280 --> 00:44:45,600 That's the fire I'm talking about. 754 00:44:47,040 --> 00:44:50,600 For you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will 755 00:44:50,600 --> 00:44:54,680 reward you. The Lord will reward you. 756 00:44:54,680 --> 00:44:57,280 You know what that verse teaches, teaches many things. 757 00:44:57,280 --> 00:45:01,560 One of them is if you really want to make a lasting mark on 758 00:45:01,560 --> 00:45:05,360 your enemies, be strategic in your kindness. 759 00:45:06,160 --> 00:45:07,680 This is really, really difficult. 760 00:45:08,080 --> 00:45:10,160 This is extremely demanding and challenging. 761 00:45:10,160 --> 00:45:13,400 It requires the help of the Holy Spirit to even entertain the 762 00:45:13,400 --> 00:45:20,000 first step. But notice this, that to go out 763 00:45:20,000 --> 00:45:21,840 of your way to act, I mean, think about this. 764 00:45:22,160 --> 00:45:24,280 If you really want to apply the Bible, this is what this verse 765 00:45:24,280 --> 00:45:26,480 is. Demanding of us, people who have 766 00:45:26,720 --> 00:45:31,400 hurt you have sought your harm. The way God wants you to respond 767 00:45:31,400 --> 00:45:35,920 is to think back and to not rehearse their harm, but to 768 00:45:35,920 --> 00:45:40,600 actually plan a way to respond to them with love. 769 00:45:40,600 --> 00:45:46,640 That when the opportunity arises, that you would move in 770 00:45:46,640 --> 00:45:50,760 that opportunity in a way to actually melt them with mercy. 771 00:45:54,640 --> 00:45:56,680 And what's the incentive here? God will reward you. 772 00:45:58,040 --> 00:46:02,280 Now the the the burning coals on their head speaks of the the the 773 00:46:02,840 --> 00:46:05,440 the piercing power of conviction. 774 00:46:05,440 --> 00:46:11,520 Potentially them being so moved by their lack of mercy and and 775 00:46:11,520 --> 00:46:14,280 response. Seeing your mercy there's 776 00:46:14,320 --> 00:46:17,200 creates a clash that creates a. Cutting a pricking of the heart. 777 00:46:18,240 --> 00:46:20,640 That doesn't necessarily mean that there's a promise there of 778 00:46:20,640 --> 00:46:25,320 conversion or even repentance necessarily, but the incentive 779 00:46:25,320 --> 00:46:28,840 is God will reward you. God will see that and he will, 780 00:46:28,920 --> 00:46:33,160 He will be pleased with that. And here's what Elijah is doing. 781 00:46:33,160 --> 00:46:35,760 Elijah is doing something very profound, something that we've 782 00:46:35,760 --> 00:46:38,600 seen over and over with his miracles, that they would be 783 00:46:38,600 --> 00:46:41,520 recorded in Holy Scripture and that generations following would 784 00:46:41,520 --> 00:46:43,600 read about them. Not just seeing what God is able 785 00:46:43,600 --> 00:46:48,960 to do in His power, but God's heart for the Gentiles and for 786 00:46:48,960 --> 00:46:51,640 those who are outside of covenant with Him and those who 787 00:46:51,640 --> 00:46:54,320 are lost and blind, not just in this physical instance, but 788 00:46:54,320 --> 00:46:57,640 spiritually. And so as we're going through 789 00:46:57,640 --> 00:47:00,600 the Old Testament, we're seeing more and more instances of 790 00:47:00,600 --> 00:47:05,840 gospel preparation that in different periods of redemptive 791 00:47:05,840 --> 00:47:08,720 history, God is making his ultimate desire known that I'm 792 00:47:08,720 --> 00:47:11,400 willing to reach out beyond these borders and I'm willing to 793 00:47:11,400 --> 00:47:13,880 touch a people that are not from the seat of Abraham. 794 00:47:15,880 --> 00:47:18,080 So this is the deeper thing of this miracle here. 795 00:47:18,080 --> 00:47:19,760 It's not. It's not just look what God can 796 00:47:19,760 --> 00:47:20,720 do. Yeah, it's wonderful. 797 00:47:20,720 --> 00:47:23,360 But what's the message behind the miracle? 798 00:47:24,520 --> 00:47:26,200 And there are many of them, as we just learned. 799 00:47:26,960 --> 00:47:29,360 And there is a gospel truth in here, is there not? 800 00:47:29,600 --> 00:47:32,360 That you have these people warring against the man of God 801 00:47:32,360 --> 00:47:40,160 who represents God on earth, the anointed 1 of this time, and the 802 00:47:40,160 --> 00:47:43,720 warring against him, the rebelling, Though experiencing 803 00:47:44,200 --> 00:47:48,400 the common graces of life, you still put up arms against this 804 00:47:48,400 --> 00:47:51,280 God. And how does God respond? 805 00:47:52,080 --> 00:47:56,600 He leads you to a banquet. He leads you to a feast of 806 00:47:56,600 --> 00:48:00,000 forgiveness. He brings you to the foot of the 807 00:48:00,000 --> 00:48:05,320 cross, and he invites you to be reconciled to him. 808 00:48:06,640 --> 00:48:07,840 And look at this wonderful picture. 809 00:48:07,840 --> 00:48:11,200 You have the king who says, kill them, should I kill them? 810 00:48:12,120 --> 00:48:17,080 And you have an intercessor who says no, give them mercy. 811 00:48:18,120 --> 00:48:21,120 And so even in this vignette, you have Christ, where though we 812 00:48:21,120 --> 00:48:23,120 deserve the wrath of God, says no. 813 00:48:23,120 --> 00:48:25,680 I want to extend friendship with these enemies. 814 00:48:26,120 --> 00:48:28,080 I want to establish a covenant with these ones. 815 00:48:28,280 --> 00:48:31,080 But just 10 seconds ago, they were willing to slice your head 816 00:48:31,080 --> 00:48:31,880 up. I know. 817 00:48:31,880 --> 00:48:36,360 But this is my heart. Yes, they're physically blind in 818 00:48:36,360 --> 00:48:39,040 the distance, but there's a deeper blindness at play here. 819 00:48:39,800 --> 00:48:42,440 And I want them to know that I'm willing to forgive them still, 820 00:48:42,440 --> 00:48:44,520 no matter what their history or their record looks like. 821 00:48:45,760 --> 00:48:48,680 And when you experience the mercy of God in the person of 822 00:48:48,720 --> 00:48:52,560 Jesus Christ, you should have the same reaction that these men 823 00:48:52,560 --> 00:48:53,800 did. What happens? 824 00:48:53,880 --> 00:48:56,000 We're told at the end of our study that they never made a 825 00:48:56,000 --> 00:48:59,600 raid on them again. When you truly taste of God's 826 00:48:59,600 --> 00:49:02,520 mercy, you're changed. You're changed. 827 00:49:02,520 --> 00:49:06,560 You're a different person. You can't go back to the things 828 00:49:06,960 --> 00:49:10,880 that once positioned you to experience God's judgment. 829 00:49:12,080 --> 00:49:14,840 You relinquish them, you repent of them now, and you walk 830 00:49:14,960 --> 00:49:17,320 differently. Why do you walk differently? 831 00:49:17,320 --> 00:49:19,640 I say this all the time to people who never heard the 832 00:49:19,640 --> 00:49:21,960 gospel. I don't live the way I live. 833 00:49:21,960 --> 00:49:24,200 I don't do what I do to earn God's grace. 834 00:49:24,280 --> 00:49:28,080 I do it because of God's grace. I walk differently because I 835 00:49:28,080 --> 00:49:31,960 tasted of His forgiveness. How could I not give myself over 836 00:49:31,960 --> 00:49:35,600 to Him completely? So how many people put the cart 837 00:49:35,600 --> 00:49:38,480 before the horse? So even in this do we see 838 00:49:38,480 --> 00:49:40,880 something so wonderful, something that's applicable to 839 00:49:40,880 --> 00:49:43,320 the spiritual world, the spiritual realm, the spiritual 840 00:49:43,680 --> 00:49:49,520 realities of who we are? You sinned against God 841 00:49:49,760 --> 00:49:54,320 offensively, disgustingly. And Elijah here shows us that he 842 00:49:54,320 --> 00:50:00,280 leads his people not into wrath, but into fellowship, not into 843 00:50:00,280 --> 00:50:03,000 judgement, but into reconciliation. 844 00:50:05,520 --> 00:50:07,440 I really wonder what that feast was like. 845 00:50:08,880 --> 00:50:10,920 Must have been very uncomfortable in the beginning. 846 00:50:11,640 --> 00:50:13,440 I wonder if they looked over the shoulders like are they just 847 00:50:13,440 --> 00:50:15,280 fattening us up before they slaughter us? 848 00:50:15,920 --> 00:50:17,760 What is this trickery? No, it wasn't. 849 00:50:19,080 --> 00:50:22,160 Imagine they ate together and at some point Elisha and the king 850 00:50:22,160 --> 00:50:24,560 looked at him, said, we're glad that you can join us. 851 00:50:24,840 --> 00:50:28,280 You can go back home. What was that walk like back 852 00:50:28,280 --> 00:50:31,080 home? What was the conversations like? 853 00:50:32,800 --> 00:50:35,800 See before this. The Syrians, I'm sure, discussed 854 00:50:35,800 --> 00:50:38,440 how the God of Israel healed one of their generals, Naman. 855 00:50:38,520 --> 00:50:40,480 And I believe that Naman wasn't a part of this expedition. 856 00:50:40,480 --> 00:50:44,480 There's no way he was. So there's this murmurings that 857 00:50:44,480 --> 00:50:47,400 the God of Israel healed, but what was it like when these guys 858 00:50:47,400 --> 00:50:50,440 got back home? How did they explain this one? 859 00:50:53,120 --> 00:50:55,920 I I wish that the story with the Syrians ended here, but we're 860 00:50:55,920 --> 00:50:59,520 going to learn in the coming weeks that just like the King of 861 00:50:59,520 --> 00:51:03,120 Syria, there wasn't a lasting impression. 862 00:51:04,600 --> 00:51:07,000 And again, we're going to be reminded that there are those 863 00:51:07,000 --> 00:51:09,480 who can genuinely experience something of the grace of Jesus 864 00:51:09,480 --> 00:51:12,760 Christ. Some were not moved to begin 865 00:51:12,760 --> 00:51:17,120 with, and some were temporarily moved only to return back to 866 00:51:17,120 --> 00:51:19,080 their ways may never be so of us. 867 00:51:20,560 --> 00:51:22,680 I hope that if you truly experienced what Christ did on 868 00:51:22,680 --> 00:51:27,080 the cross, you would never go back and that you would always 869 00:51:27,080 --> 00:51:31,480 remember the kindness that was extended to you while you're 870 00:51:31,480 --> 00:51:34,480 enemies of God. Christ came and died for you. 871 00:51:35,040 --> 00:51:37,160 This is who we are in Jesus Christ. 872 00:51:37,160 --> 00:51:40,160 This is who God is. And I pray that it would move 873 00:51:40,840 --> 00:51:42,280 you once more. Let's pray. 874 00:51:58,290 --> 00:52:00,970 Oh please, I beg you, take the time to meditate on these 875 00:52:00,970 --> 00:52:03,810 truths. I don't, I don't want to abort 876 00:52:03,810 --> 00:52:05,330 this. I don't want to just speed 877 00:52:05,330 --> 00:52:07,090 through it. I want us to take the time to 878 00:52:07,090 --> 00:52:09,570 relish in it. So you know the praise team will 879 00:52:09,570 --> 00:52:13,840 come up in a moment, but truly, truly, truly, truly reflect and 880 00:52:13,840 --> 00:52:16,440 talk to the Lord. Thank Him for these truths. 881 00:52:16,440 --> 00:52:20,360 Thank Him for who He is. Apply the warnings. 882 00:52:20,360 --> 00:52:35,280 Rejoice in the promises of it. Lord, words can't express. 883 00:52:37,040 --> 00:52:42,600 Your word is amazing. Thank You that every time we 884 00:52:42,600 --> 00:52:46,600 come to it, we receive another miracle that our eyes are open 885 00:52:46,640 --> 00:52:51,120 yet again and our vision is clear and her perception is more 886 00:52:51,120 --> 00:52:52,880 precise. Though we thank you for this 887 00:52:52,880 --> 00:52:55,120 word. It is your voice. 888 00:52:56,240 --> 00:52:58,680 It's not just black ink on white pages. 889 00:52:58,680 --> 00:53:02,040 It is spirit. There's power behind these words 890 00:53:02,040 --> 00:53:05,080 and in these words. And we felt the force of it 891 00:53:05,080 --> 00:53:08,640 tonight. And we pray that we would not be 892 00:53:08,640 --> 00:53:12,160 like the Syrians in this story where we we taste of something 893 00:53:12,160 --> 00:53:17,120 only to to forget and to return to all ways. 894 00:53:17,120 --> 00:53:19,520 We ask, oh God, that you would change us like you changed 895 00:53:19,520 --> 00:53:22,680 Jacob, that we wouldn't walk the same, that you would give us a 896 00:53:22,680 --> 00:53:28,360 holy limp leaving this place. We need you to you need, we need 897 00:53:28,360 --> 00:53:29,880 you to help us to live like this. 898 00:53:29,880 --> 00:53:35,680 Lord, that you would etch these things in our hearts, the 899 00:53:35,680 --> 00:53:38,440 tablets of our hearts, O Lord, would never forget these truths. 900 00:53:38,440 --> 00:53:42,000 May you do it by your spirit. Lord, we do thank you, we honor 901 00:53:42,000 --> 00:53:44,920 you, we glorify you. We can spend all night just 902 00:53:45,960 --> 00:53:50,280 glorifying you for how you spoke to us through this message 903 00:53:50,280 --> 00:53:54,200 tonight. Receive these songs, Lord, as we 904 00:53:54,200 --> 00:53:57,160 say thank you in Jesus name, Amen. 905 00:53:58,040 --> 00:53:59,160 Let's stand and sing to the Lord. 906 00:53:59,160 --> 00:54:00,800 Give him glory and honor and thanks.