In turbulent times the Word of God is a rock where we can rest our hope and focus our minds. The news can give us some of the story, but will never give us the whole story.. Huh? What do you mean pastor?
We who are spiritual should see the world and ourselves with different eyes. We see a whole picture - the big picture - while others are blind to it. In fact, the bible has much to say about seeing and being blind. In some cases the reference is to the actual faculty of sight. But often "seeing" is a metaphor for perceiving or understanding with the mind.
In Eph 6 and other places, Paul mentions that our battle is not with flesh and blood, but behind all of this is the reality of a spiritual realm of darkness with its organization and hierarchy and influence. It is invisible to the human eye, just like dark matter and atoms, but it is real and its effects are observable. CNN will never mention the spiritual battle influencing the earthly one!
In 2 Kings 6, we see the fear of Elisha's servant and the confidence of Elisha. One has understanding of spiritual things and the reality of the other does not include it. Spiritual sight gave Elisha confidence in his own turbulent times. Maybe God wants to open our eyes to a reality the news will never address. Believe it or not, I have a bugs bunny illustration for this tonight!
Finally....Elisha ends up leading the entire Syrian army right into Samaria, the northern capital. The whole army could be destroyed in a great victory. But that is not what happens. What takes place is rather unbelievable and instructive. For the rest of the story....you will have to view and see!
Steve
2 Kings 6
June 10, 2020 • Pastor Steve Feden
2 Kings 1
April 22, 2020 • Pastor Steve Feden
2 Kings is really just a continuation of 1 Kings and a historical-spiritual look at the rise and fall of a kingdom. That kingdom, of course, is Israel. 1 Kings was dominated by Solomon and the building of a temple and a kingdom so grand that the Queen of Sheba was stunned by it. Things were going really well. 1 Kings also introduced us the great Elijah the prophet whose role it was to challenge Israel to get right with God and turn away from the false religious worship they had adopted. 2 Kings is the culmination of the direction that began with Solomon in n 1 Kings. It is a sad but instructive history of what happens when God's people turn their backs, and hearts, on Him. Despite warnings and opportunities, their culture of idolatry had run amok! 2 Kings opens with the miracle working Elisha and tracks the demise of both the northern and southern kingdoms. Israel (north) carried away by the Assyrians and Judah (south) carted off by the Babylonians. The beautiful temple of 1 Kings is robbed and burned down. By the end we will wonder, "Is God through with His people forever? Is there any hope for their future?" Our God is the same yesterday, today, and forever! Watch and See! Steve
2 Kings 2
April 29, 2020 • Pastor Steve Feden
We have a really interesting OT passage and more to follow as we march through the history of Israel! Second Kings Chapter 2 is the well known story of Elijah being "taken up" into heaven. He is one of a very elite group of people (only two I believe) who are taken to heaven without actually dying! Can you think of the other one? When the rapture of the church happens, everyone who is living at the time will experience the same thing. Paul says that "we shall not all sleep (die), but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the blink of an eye...." (1 Cor 15). We will also talk more about the ancient "schools of the prophets" initiated by Samuel and carried on by Elijah and Elisha. At a time when the nation was at its worst spiritually, there were a lot of young people playing music and declaring the word of God. Schools of ministry existed at Gilgal, Bethel, Jericho, Samaria, Ramah, and Carmel. What was it like to be in ministry? What was the relationship between Elijah, Elisha, and the ministry training schools? http://and.....there is a surprising incident at the end of the chapter. See what happens when you make fun of bald men of http://god....if you can "bear" to see it! …. Watch and See.... Steve
2 Kings 3
May 6, 2020 • Pastor Steve Feden
In this message we will cover 2 Kings 3. So, what do a guitar and a shovel have in common? They are both important tools in this powerful chapter! With Elijah off the scene, Elisha begins to fill his mantle, so to speak. He goes from being a servant of the prophet to being the prophet himself. Do you think some people had a hard time accepting his new role? With a "three king coalition" heading out to put Moab in their place, the army faces dire -- or rather "drier" -- straights! No water anywhere. They would be thirsty, then fatigued. This progresses to headache, irritability, loss of coordination and confusion. For anyone that is a bad scenario, but for an army heading into http://battle....it's a death sentence. Enter Elisha and the word of God. What does Elisha tell them to do? Well, he says, it's not going to rain, but tell your army to fill the valley with ditches. Living on a farm, I have dug more post holes and water line trenches than I care to think about. Blistered hands and hard Fluvanna soil are not great for digging in! Now God tells a dehydrating army to expend their valuable energy on preparation for what comes next. The Lord has been speaking to my heart in this COVID season. 2 Kings 3 will help me explain what I believe our Father is doing during this time. It is extremely relevant to our current situation. Faith and God's word move us to expend energy in preparation! How does this apply to you specifically? How does this apply to our currently somewhat quarantined church? Ok, the shovel I can see, but what about the guitar??? For that you will have to......... Watch and See! Steve