II Kings 61517 Open Your Eyes Do you have vision problems Millions of people in this country have problems with their eyesight that requires surgeries glasses or contacts You dont have to have ID: 593811
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Slide1
Open Your Eyes
II Kings 6:15-17Slide2
Open Your Eyes
Do you have vision problems?
Millions of people in this country have problems with their eyesight that requires surgeries, glasses or contacts
You don’t have to have
vision
problems to miss seeing somethingSlide3
Open Your Eyes
There are some reasons why we might miss seeing things:
Weren’t looking for it
Distractions
Requires more focus than we give
Didn’t know what to look for
Eyes were not openSlide4
Open Your Eyes
The Old Testament tells of a story of a young man who was not able to see what was right in front of him
In II Kings 6, the King of Syria was attempting to make war with Israel…
The Syrian army surrounded Dothan, where Elisha livedSlide5
Open Your Eyes
His servant discovered it and was greatly afraid
Listen to what Elisha says in vs.
16-17…
This young man simply needed to open his eyes to what God was doing at that timeSlide6
Open Your Eyes
Are there things that God has set right
in
front
of us today that we do not
see
?
Perhaps we need to open our eyes to some things that God would have us recognize in our lives today
What are those things?Slide7
Open Your Eyes
1. The
Goodness
of God
It’s very easy to take things for
granted
in our lives
There are certain things that we have become “used to”
When we go to a cabin in the woods without a telephone, TV, or computer we call that “roughing it”Slide8
Open Your Eyes
1. The Goodness of God
Perhaps we fail to see the goodness of God in our lives (Js. 1:17)
We may call it the “blessings” from God
Our problem may be where our focus lies
We often focus on the negative things, i.e. what is going wrongSlide9
Open Your Eyes
1. The Goodness of God
We are commanded over and over in scripture to be
thankful
to God
(Ps. 100:4; Rom. 1:21; Phil. 4:6; Col. 3:15)
In order to be thankful I must
recognize
my blessings
We need to
open
our
eyes
to what God has done for us (Ps. 34:8; 119:18; Ti. 3:4)Slide10
Open Your Eyes
2.
Needs
of Others
One thing that we fail to see often is the hurt, pain, or need that others have
Christ was known for the
compassion
He had on those who were needy
He was able to see the hurt, pain, and the needs that people hadSlide11
Open Your Eyes
2. Needs of Others
Christ wanted you and I to be able to see the same thing (Matt. 25:34-46)
Jesus said that there will always be
opportunity
to help others (Matt. 26:11)
Paul said that as we have opportunity that we should do good to all, but especially Christians (Gal. 6:10)Slide12
Open Your Eyes
2. Needs of Others
Paul said that we should “rejoice with those who rejoice, and
weep
with those who
weep
” (Rom. 12:15)
“And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it” (I Cor. 12:26)Slide13
Open Your Eyes
3. Our
Resources
Like Moses, we often fail to see the resources that we have at hand
God asked
Moses
, “What is that in your
hand
? (Ex. 4:2)
It was simply a rod, but God used it for a powerful illustration to the IsraelitesSlide14
Open Your Eyes
3. Our Resources
We have things at our disposal today that could help others
We have God’s word,
time
, material goods,
prayer
, a pen and pad, a
phone
We need to open our eyes to what God has given us to bless others withSlide15
Open Your Eyes
4.
Power
of
Prayer
There are times it seems that we are blinded to the true power of prayer
It could be
unbelief
, or maybe we just
forget
what the Bible teaches about prayer
This is evident when we realize that we aren’t praying like we shouldSlide16
Open Your Eyes
4. Power of Prayer
The only people that might not need to pray would be those whose lives are perfect and everyone they know has lives that are perfect
Even that person would need to pray to thank God for their “perfect” lives
I haven’t found that person yet…Slide17
Open Your Eyes
4. Power of Prayer
James
says a good bit about the need for prayer and the power of prayer
5:13-18
“casting all your
care
upon Him, for He
cares
for you” (I Pet. 5:7)
Philippians 4:6-7Slide18
Open Your Eyes
5.
Heavenly
Reward
Too many times in this life Christians lose sight of the true reward
It’s so easy to be
distracted
by the rewards offered in this life that come from serving
Satan
Demas
is an example of this very thing (II Tim. 4:10)Slide19
Open Your Eyes
5. Heavenly Reward
Hebrews 11:24-27 speaks of
Moses
and his decision between an earthly reward and a heavenly one
Hebrews 12:2 tells us to keep our eyes focused on Jesus, who also traded glory of this world for the Father’s will