#2 Unseen Resources 2 Kings 6:8-23 & Ephesians 1:18-18

Started this series on the Armor of God last week

-main point was that we live in a culture that believes that the only things that are real

-are things we can see, hear, touch, taste, smell

-and as a result, when we are faced with a challenge, problem, struggle in our lives

-we try to use our human resources to deal with whatever need we have

But God comes along and says, your worldview is missing something…

-there’s more to reality than just what you can see, touch, feel, taste and see

-and that reality is impacting your life whether you recognize or believe in it or not

-it’s a spiritual reality, a realm right here all around us, inhabited by spiritual beings

-there are angels who are on God’s side and do his work

-and then there are demons led by Satan whose only role is to steal/kill & destroy

-and I know it sounds like I’m talking about the latest Hollywood movie, but I’m not

We also said, we shouldn’t be fooled into thinking that this spiritual reality doesn’t exist

-because it impacts us everyday! Our fight is not against flesh and blood!

-anyone ever had something destructive in your life you just felt you couldn’t get a handle on?

-scriptures would teach that if it’s destructive, then the devil and his angels/demons have a hand in it

-they also teach that if we give him a foothold in our lives, he’ll gladly get involved

-I’m not talking about selling your soul to the devil

-I’m talking about the choices we make and when we don’t choose God scriptures say we open ourselves…

But, and this is important, you don’t need to fear this reality if you’re a follower of Christ…

-not because if you’re a follower of Christ you have super powers and can’t be touched by this reality

-but because in the cross & through his resurrection, Jesus has defeated these powers once and for all

-and because he did, you & I can and we need to be strengthened in Jesus continuously (every day)

-because we’re promised that if we resist the devil with Jesus’ strength, what will happen? He will flee!

-and what will happen if you face off with him on your own strength even as a Christian?

-deceive you, beat you up, keep you defeated, accuse you, keep you blind to the truth

So, again, last week’s point…

-there’s a spiritual reality all around us that goes beyond our senses and it affects our lives

-and the only way to face that reality is to be strengthened in Jesus daily – that’s the only way

Today I want to talk about fact that just like there is this Unseen reality all around us…

-to those who follow Christ there are Unseen Resources - Let’s pray!

Again, this is going to sound like something out of the movies, 2 Kings 6:8-23 (read vs. 8-14)

The Arameans are at war with Israel

-the King of Aram is trying to set up ambushes for the King of Israel, but none of his ambushes work

-so the King asks the natural question, who’s the mole? Who’s telling King of Israel what we’re about to do

-and his advisers tell him, there is no mole! Reason King of Israel knows of your plans is Elisha

-Elisha is a prophet who’s getting supernatural knowledge from God about the King of Aram’s plans

-and passing it on to the King of Israel

Now here’s the interesting part, even knowing that Elisha is getting some supernatural knowledge from God

-what does King of Aram do? (sends his Army to capture Elisha and surrounds city where he’s staying)

-does that make sense to you? (why or why not?)

But here’s the interesting part, and this is what we’re not supposed to miss, but we do…

-the King of Aram does exactly what we do a lot of the time

-he tries to deal with a supernatural situation by using natural resources

-we get into problems that get way bigger than we expected them to be

-and a lot of time, instead of looking to God for help or strength, we try to deal with it ourselves…

-and before we know it, we’re in way over our heads

Read v.15 –Elisha’s servant wakes up sees the Army surrounding the city and he has a normal response

-What are we going to do?

-Isn’t that how we respond when we’re in an overwhelming situation we have no human resources for?

But the prophet Elisha has a different response… read v. 16

-what do you think the servant is thinking at this point?

-he’s probably still thinking in a human skills, Elisha knows King of Israel is coming or something like that

read v.17

-Elisha understands there’s more to reality than just what you can grasp with your senses

-so he prays for God to open his servants eyes, so he can see the truth of their situation

-and God does and when his eyes are opened, where he had only seen the Aramean Army

-now he sees, with spiritual eyes, the Aramean Army surrounded by an Army of horses & chariots of fire

Now here’s the point, that army was there before his eyes were opened…

-he didn’t need to be afraid before, problem was…

-before, like us, he thought all there was to reality was what he could see with human eyes

-and like him that’s all the Aramean army can see, so they attack (read 18-23)

So, first the Arameans are blinded

-then they follow Elisha right into Samaria, the heart of the enemy

-then they’re offered a feast and then they’re sent on they’re way

-the result, the Aramean King decides to stop attacking Israel – why?

-they have unseen resources that are greater than his own human resources

-God intervened with unseen spiritual power. Spiritual unseen, but just as real.

-here’s what we can’t miss, Invisible does not mean unreal

Here’s the good news here…

-some of our greatest victories as people and as a church won’t be because we have our act together

-because we are strong, and smart and ready for anything, but because

-God has given us unseen resources but just as real resources

-and he is gracious in using them on our behalf.

Maybe you’re thinking to yourself, your right Ed, still sounds like a movie…

-but here’s what you miss, countless people will tell stories like this in our day

-Who knows Brother Andrews story? (God’s Smuggler)

-smuggled car fulls of Bible to communist countries for years (get to borders and pray for blindness)

Just so we don’t miss this…

-this isn’t like Alladin’s lamp, figure out the secret and you have God’s power to do as you please

-God’s unseen resources are for the building of his Kingdom

-Real Christians are still persecuted and suffer/ die from diseases that affect everyone else

Point is this, We live in a reality that is both physical & spiritual, seen and unseen

-and don’t miss this, Jesus Christ has total authority over all of it

-Read Ephesians 1:18-23

Elisha Prayed for God to open his servants eyes so he could see the spiritual/true reality around them

-and here Paul prays the same prayer for the Ephesians and all Christians

-open the eyes of our heart that we might see the real things that are not visible through our normal eyes

-what things?

He prays we might see the hope to which we have been called & riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints.

-you and I have been called to a hope that Jesus Christ has won for us on the cross & through resurrection

-there is a day coming when all of creation will be united in harmony and unity under Jesus Christ.

-and we have a hope and inheritance that's rooted in that event, in that day.

-This is real even though we can't see it.

And then Paul talks about his incomparably great power at work for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and set him above every power and dominion, every name, every title in this age and also in the age to come

-again, that kind of power is power that we can't see, but it is real

-and is available to us as we live our lives here – that’s the power we can be strengthened in/call upon

-but if we’re going to see it, our eyes need to be open and it's a spiritual thing that God has to do in us

The question is this, how do you tap into God’s unseen resources?

-the answer might surprise you, you might even struggle with believing it

-but you tap into God’s unseen resources, first and foremost, by one thing alone, (ideas?) PRAYER!

I hope that’s not a let down! But I think the church/we look for other ways to get God’s resources

-but without prayer you will not see the depth of God’s presence in this world

-without prayer we will not exp. God’s unseen resources personally or corporately in any great measure

-I say in any great measure because God’s gracious

-and God will give us a taste here and there, to try and create a thirst in our hearts

-but without prayer we will constantly default to our own abilities to deal with the challenges of life

-rather than call on God for his resources to deal with those same challenges

Prayer will, almost always, lead to some kind of action.

-Prayer may lead us to change something in our lives.

-Prayer may lead us to have a difficult conversation with someone we just don't want to talk to

-Prayer might lead us to forgive someone, to serve in a new way.

-prayer is the most important step to experiencing and being a channel of God's unseen resources

We read last week, that we are in a spiritual Battle and that Satan your & my enemy is out to deceive us…

-and one of the things he’s doing a great job in the life of the church is to deceive about the value of prayer

-he convinces us that if we can’t see it, it isn’t real, so prayer is not real because you’re talking to yourself

-he convinces us that prayer is just boring, convinces us we don’t know how to do it well enough

-and so we give up on prayer or we settle for quick prayer (we prayed about this – 1 minute)

-let me say again, prayer is the greatest tool to access God’s unseen resources

We have a purpose, to show the love of Jesus in action

-I’d like to say that’s a great purpose to have – we should be showing Jesus’ love in action

-but I also want to say this purpose comes with a danger

That danger is that we can end up living out our purpose on our own terms, w/our own resources alone

-the question is, if this is our purpose, what tools are we going to use to do this?

-is it going to be our great personality? Is it our incredible intelligence? Our ability to argue well?

-is it our lack of fatigue in serving under any circumstances?

I want to remind us that living out God’s purpose is bigger than that.

-It's light and dark. It's death and life. It's the power of Satan and the power of God.

-It’s a battle and We need unseen resources if we are going to be seriously in it

-But we are unable to face that in the power that we have inside of us naturally, BUT…

But we are not alone. Jesus Christ came to destroy the works of the devil. And he did it!

-he did it through the cross and the resurrection, He is victorious.

-He is seated at the right hand of God.

-He is far above all rule and authority, power and dominion and every title that can be given in this age and

also the age to come.

Jesus Christ has won the battle.

-It is Jesus that calls us in to the battle and he gives us gives us unseen, but real and powerful resources

-unseen resources to fight those battles and to destroy strongholds in our & other people’s lives

But to see these resources

-to see the effect of these resources in our own lives and…

-the lives of people around us we are going to have to re-learn how to pray.

-we’re going to have to maybe recognize some wrong beliefs we’ve accepted about prayer

-most of all we’re just going to have to believe prayer is the biggest resource we have to connect with God

-and we’re just going to have to do it – to pray

-because to the measure that you do it, is the measure you’ll experience God’s unseen resources

Pray