2 Kings 6:17 (NKJV) 17 And Elisha prayed, and said, “LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” Then the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
We have been cultivating a mindset that “all things are possible” to him who believes. The devil has worked overtime in the last number of years taking this kind of thinking out of the Christian’s arsenal. He has used the pressures and disappointments of life. He has mixed natural thinking into the church. He has used the lack of a new move of God and the fatigue of many who have been serving God for a long time. All of this and more has produced a church that knows God is still capable but lacks expectation as to what is possible for us in the current situation.
Since faith is the substance of things hoped for and hope is the belief that change is possible in the situation we face, we have had very little for our faith to grab onto. As a result, the church is increasingly dependent on carnal things and less expectant of the supernatural. That has to change if we are going to be the force we must be in this day.
As I was preparing to talk to our church about these things, I realized that there is a term I have not heard in a long time. That is the term “carnal Christian.” We do not want to hurt anyone’s feelings today so we do not say anything that might be construed as “name calling.” However, if we do not use clear language we cannot define the problem and we will not correct it. In the story that took me down this road from Mark 9, Jesus told a grieving father of a sick boy that the problem was not some lack in Jesus ability, it was a lack in the father’s believing.
Mark 9:22-24 (NKJV) 22 And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” 23 Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” 24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”
Taken only on the surface it might seem that Jesus is being very harsh on this father. Many would say, “You shouldn’t attack this man like that. You are saying it is his fault that the boy is still sick! You need to tell him that it’s okay and we just don’t always know what God will do in these situations.”
If Jesus had done that the boy would have remained demon possessed and the father would have ended up grieving far more. Because Jesus confronted the problem the father recognized it and made the changes necessary. “Lord help my unbelief.” The result was the healing of his son!
When we limit our thinking to what is possible in the natural, we are carnal Christians. That means that we are saved but we live by what we see with our eyes not by our faith in God. 2 Corinthians 5:7 tells us a Christian must walk by faith and not by natural sight. Faith in God’s possibilities must be what determines how we deal with and move through life. If we are dominated by the natural in any way, we are carnal Christians. We need to repent of our carnality. We need to go to the Word of God and begin to build faith into our hearts until that is how we walk.
When we use the term “sight” we are not just talking about the physical sense that uses our eyes. We are also talking about natural insight, wisdom and understanding. If we limit ourselves to the natural side of those things we are still carnal. Faith sees beyond what is there in the natural. It does not ignore natural sight, whether in the physical sense or the inward sense. It simply sees beyond that natural into another “dimension.” As such it is able to see things that go beyond the limitations of the flesh.
In the story of which today’s verse is a part, we see two people who see the same scene. One is carnal and the other is able to see beyond the natural into “other possibilities.” The story behind this incident is that Israel and Syria are at war. Syria should be victorious but every time they plan an attack, God reveals their plan to Israel through the Prophet Elisha. The King of Syria finds out how Israel is winning and sends an army to destroy the prophet.
As I was reading this it dawned on me that the same thing is happening today. The devil is terrified that the church will once again begin to believe in God’s possibilities. If we ever do, we will see through every plan he has and easily destroy his attacks against the will of God. The king sent a whole army against one man because he was so afraid of him. The devil will do whatever he can to keep you from believing that all things are possible for the same reason.
One morning the prophet’s servant went out and looked up towards the surrounding hills. As he did, he was terrified. The hillside was covered with enemy soldiers. The servant turned to the prophet and cried out, “What are we going to do now!” I can understand how he felt. The scene before him represented overwhelming impossibility.
We have much the same reaction when we are faced with overwhelming impossibility. It might be a bill that comes in the mail or bad news from the doctor. It might be something to do with our children or a major problem in our marriage. Whatever the impossibility is, we usually react just like the servant. “What do we do now?”
The prophet looked at the same scene and was not at all moved by fear. He said, “Don’t be afraid. There are more with us than against us.”
I can see the servant looking at the mountain and trying to count the enemy. Failing to be able to do that, he counts those that are “with them.” It is not difficult. One, two! Elisha might have seen his confusion and prayed, “Lord, open his eyes so he can see what I see.” When the servant looked again the hill with even more troops. However, the majority of them were angelic troops. There were more with them than against them!
I do not know if Elisha saw the angelic troops in the natural or not. I prefer to think that he did not. I do not think he needed to see them with his physical eyes. He knew they were there by faith. The servant walked by sight and was therefore carnal. The prophet lived in the world that can only be seen by faith. He saw the enemy just as the servant did. He was able to see beyond what the servant saw. He saw by faith and not just by sight.
Seeing by sight alone left only one possibility. They were going to die. Seeing by faith caused the prophet to see the overwhelming impossibility through God’s overwhelming ability. That is what we must rediscover.
1 John 4:4 is a scripture we used to quote all the time. We need to start quoting it again.
1 John 4:4 (NKJV) 4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
If we are limited to natural sight, we will see the greatness of the impossibility before us. If we walk by faith, we will see that there is more power at work for us than anything the devil could bring against us!
(Follow this link to a number of books on Kindle that will help you see God’s possibilities. https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=bill+kiefer)
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