Who is watching you?
When I was growing up, we used to do this thing, you would start a fight, either in a serious way or in a kidding way. The best way to intimidate your opponent was be very aggressive as you moved toward them. Like you will definitely destroy them and start shouting for someone hold you and stop– usually a friend of yours whom you already planned this before hand – your friend would hold you as you struggle from their pre-planned grip so that you can go and destroy your opponent.
The truth is that, we were not even prepared to fight. It was just intimidation and though it worked, other time, the opponent would call out our bluff.
The other kids would be watching and if they were not on the in, they would think you are a bad man. That you were willing to fight that big dude. The truth is, if the other dude attacked me, I would be destroyed.
This evening, we are going to examine our hearts and see which dude we are.
The one that is ready and he is not about that lip service
Or the guy that needs a smoke screen to fake where they are physically / where they are spiritually.
It easy to say that we are walking a Christian life until something happen in our lives.
A time is coming when someone is going to call your bluff and it’s up to you to own up or be exposed.
2 Kings 6:8-17
8 Now the king of Syria was making war against Israel; and he consulted with his servants, saying, “My camp will be in such and such a place.” 9 And the man of God sent to the king of Israel, saying, “Beware that you do not pass this place, for the Syrians are coming down there.” 10 Then the king of Israel sent someone to the place of which the man of God had told him. Thus he warned him, and he was watchful there, not just once or twice.
11 Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was greatly troubled by this thing; and he called his servants and said to them, “Will you not show me which of us is for the king of Israel?”
12 And one of his servants said, “None, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.”
13 So he said, “Go and see where he is, that I may send and get him.”
And it was told him, saying, “Surely he is in Dothan.”
14 Therefore he sent horses and chariots and a great army there, and they came by night and surrounded the city. 15 And when the servant of the man of God arose early and went out, there was an army, surrounding the city with horses and chariots. And his servant said to him, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?”
16 So he answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” 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.
There is this king, and everything that he plans against the Israelites, his plans get busted
He asked all his people. Who has bugged our room? Any listening devices – or back in those days, it was human listening devices
The guys tell Him, there is this dude whom tells what you are doing even in the private quarters of your bedroom. – (I wonder what people would see if God would allow them to see what happens in your home? Be careful when you plan things against Gods people)
The King is mad, he gets tons of chariots and a great army to go and get this guy Elisha
At night they surround the city, and when Elisha’s sword bearer goes to Elisha in a panicking way, Elisha calmly gets up, goes outside and look at the valley and behold a great army.
Now at this point the young man is watching Elisha. What is his next move.
Previous victories
A few verses before, this guy saw Elisha do a miracle, float an axe head.
2 Kings 6:4 They came to the Jordan River and began to cut down trees. 5 As one of them was cutting down a tree, the ax head fell into the water. He cried out, “Oh no, master! It was borrowed!”
6 The man of God asked, “Where did it fall?” When he showed Elisha the place, Elisha cut off a piece of wood. He threw it into the water at that place and made the ax head float. 7 Elisha said, “Pick it up.” The disciple reached for it and picked it up.
He has seen Elisha do miracles before and has seen him live for God.
When he comes to him in a panic…. Alas!! there are two thing that are happening right here
- He knows that if something is going to happen, he better be on Elisha’s side – he knew that he had a really good shot with his master. He had seen him win battle before, so this was going to be ok, maybe
- The young man’s heart is revealed when thing become really big and scarily.
The sword bearer has been a witness of what God was doing through Elisha.
He was always with the Elisha, yet when they were surrounded by the army, He said “Alas, my Master, what are we going to do.
Alas doesn’t sound like we got this. (an expression of grief, pity, or concern.)
See it’s one thing to be with Elisha a great man of God, to spend all the time with him, yet when the battle looks impossible, the true spiritual standing is revealed.
What are we going to do?
Just like in my bluff, what happens when I cannot depend on the person who is holding me, what if I can’t keep up the smoke screen.
What if I can’t pretend anymore that I got it together.
That my house is peaceful, my kids are in the right place, my spouse and I have a great relationship, that we are financially ok.
The floating axes is easy to believe, because it doesn’t affect you directly, but There comes a time, when you are surrounded by the enemy.
What are we going to do? Who is watching and what can they learn from you?
Ephesians 4:1 – So I, the prisoner for the Lord, appeal to you to live a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called [that is, to live a life that exhibits godly character, moral courage, personal integrity, and mature behavior—a life that expresses gratitude to God for your salvation
What do we need to do to make sure that we are living a life worth of our high calling?
Do it first.
We will have to see the Chariots first before we can point them out to someone else.
“ 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.
Elisha had to see the Chariots of fire before he could point them out to the sword bearer.
He had a strong relationship with God and this allowed him to have confidence in God. It was then easy to point out the chariots of fire to someone else because he was living a life worth his calling.
We are so quick to tell other people how they should do a certain thing, how they should live their lives, how you will overcome this and that
Yet we can’t show them what we are seeing because, we are blinded by fear, by our own desires. Desires to be right all the time, to control every situation, to have power.
If we don’t have an intimate personal relationship with God, we will not see the chariots and we won’t be in a position to point it out to anyone else.
I wonder what people would see if God opened their eyes to see what you see? Would they see God mighty army surrounding you, would they see victory or would they see defeat beating you down?
Who is watching? See even if the sword bearer was scared, he knew who he had to call. He had seen Elisha victories and knew that Elisha would have a solution.
He had a choice, to run away or go tell the other people in his camp.
We are not immune – We might look down on this young man and say- I would have been ok with the guy that split the water and walked on across the river.
Check this out: Mark 4:35-41
35 As evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” 36 So they took Jesus in the boat and started out, leaving the crowds behind (although other boats followed). 37 But soon a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water.
38 Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?”
The disciples were with Jesus, yet when the storm came, their hearts were revealed.
They may have looked as if they had it together when other people looked at them, however they when big storm came in, their fear gave in.
Who is watching you? What are they seeing when the boat start rocking, the wind gets crazier and it looks like death and destruction is imminent
Psalms 139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.
Let’s ask God to expose our hearts and start dealing with those hidden things in our lives.
Teaching moment
2 Kings 6:18-20
18 So when the Syrians came down to him, Elisha prayed to the Lord, and said, “Strike this people, I pray, with blindness.” And He struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.
19 Now Elisha said to them, “This is not the way, nor is this the city. Follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom you seek.” But he led them to Samaria.
20 So it was, when they had come to Samaria, that Elisha said, “Lord, open the eyes of these men, that they may see.” And the Lord opened their eyes, and they saw; and there they were, inside Samaria!
21 Now when the king of Israel saw them, he said to Elisha, “My father, shall I kill them? Shall I kill them?”
22 But he answered, “You shall not kill them. Would you kill those whom you have taken captive with your sword and your bow? Set food and water before them, that they may eat and drink and go to their master.” 23 Then he prepared a great feast for them; and after they ate and drank, he sent them away and they went to their master. So the bands of Syrian raiders came no more into the land of Israel.
He leads them into Samaria, and at that moment decides to feed them and send them home. – The bible is super exciting – Think about the stories on both ends.
What are you teaching those who are watching you?
Elisha teaches the young man a few things
- You have to be willing to look at the direction that is being pointed, the young man had to look to see the army. Obedience
- The battle belongs to God.
- The power of forgiveness – “so the bands of Syrian raiders came no more in to the land of Israel
All this without even sitting him down to educate him. He learnt from watching him. Who is watching you? And what are they learning?
Our lives
We have to be careful how we live our lives. Someone is watching. How you live your life matters.
Elisha followed Elijah and saw what how he lived. When Elijah was taken away, Elisha received the power Elijah had x 2
The disciples watched Jesus and got filled with the same power that Jesus had and much more
The opposite is also true…
1 King 22:51-53 – 51 Ahaziah the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and he reigned two years over Israel. 52 He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and walked in the way of his father and in the way of his mother and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin.
This is just one example of people who followed and did what they saw other before them do.
Who is watching you and what are they learning from you?
- You kids? Your husband? Your wife? Your family? You co-worker. The list is endless….
- Am not talking about what you want them to see, what are they really learning from you?
At some point someone is going to call your bluff, and no amount of good deeds, good service, classed or groups will be good enough to hinder you from being exposed.
How you live your life matters. The truth is – You are being watched and people are going to learn from you.
They are going to learn from you what to do or what not to do.
What are they going to see?
Who is watching you?
