The Fruits of Faith
Notes
Transcript
SLIDE: Pic of Mulberry
I didn’t know that this is what a mulberry looks like - BUT - recently I was standing in line at a Store in Strongsville...
And I look down - and i see a bag near the check-out - and it says “MULBERRY” on it.
I stopped - and my brain automatically started singing the song...
And I thought - OK, wow - I guess a Mulberry is a REAL thing.
Well that got me looking into this now - because I was intrigued...
And I come to find out - they look like - Blackberries.
EXCEPT - blackberries are more = SWEET
Where mulberries - taste more like a vegetable!
to which I say - EGGHHHH
No - I like veggies - just certain ones.
With that said - today we’re going to REVISIT our text from LAST week - and dive into some FRUITS of Faith.
Let’s read thru the portion of text we’ll focus on - and then circle back to see what we see....
15 When the servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. And the servant said, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?”
16 He said, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
17 Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.” So 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.
18 And when the Syrians came down against him, Elisha prayed to the Lord and said, “Please strike this people with blindness.” So he struck them with blindness in accordance with the prayer of Elisha.
19 And Elisha said to them, “This is not the way, and this is not the city. Follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom you seek.” And he led them to Samaria.
20 As soon as they entered Samaria, Elisha said, “O Lord, open the eyes of these men, that they may see.” So the Lord opened their eyes and they saw, and behold, they were in the midst of Samaria.
21 As soon as the king of Israel saw them, he said to Elisha, “My father, shall I strike them down? Shall I strike them down?”
22 He answered, “You shall not strike them down. Would you strike down those whom you have taken captive with your sword and with your bow? Set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink and go to their master.”
23 So he prepared for them a great feast, and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. And the Syrians did not come again on raids into the land of Israel.
If you remember - Elisha’s servant - INITIALLY - was not able to SEE the Army of God all around Elisha and him.
Instead - what did he see...
15 When the servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. And the servant said, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?”
So the servant here - ONLY sees the enemy.
And in ONLY seeing the enemy - he becomes - afraid!
SO Elisha steps up and PRAYS for him to = SEE
16 He said, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
17 Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.” So 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.
What we saw last week - was that based on this next verse ...
7 for we walk by faith, not by sight.
We saw that Spiritual Sight - would be the opposite of Physical sight - and THEREFORE -
Spiritual Sight - would be...
SLIDE: Fruit of Faith: Spiritual Sight to See God’s Presence in the Trial
Fruit of Faith
Fruit of Faith
17 Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.” So 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.
What came with this FAITH?
Sight to SEE God’s presence in the TRIAL
And if we EVER WANT TO KNOW that God is with us - it’s IN A TRIAL.
It’s IN the trial - that we feel the WEIGHT of it all...
The weight of the unknown...
The weight of the “out-of-reach”
The weight of the - ODDS against us!
When that servant looked out that morning and SAW an ARMY of men - AGAINST him...
He didn’t know what to do...
He said - “ALAS Master - what do we do?
But when He saw - REALITY...
He KNEW...”Ok, God is here.”
He’s NOT TOO BUSY - with other things...
[“before the Lord” = in the presence of the Lord]
5 The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth.
11 You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
28 But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all your works.
So WHAT IS faith?
1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
or - the EVIDENCE of things not seen!
But think thru that word - EVIDENCE...
The word - and it’s MEANING - IMPLIES something...
It implies that there’s an UNDERSTANDING of CONTEXT!
What do I mean?
We (as believers) - LOOK UP to the sky....the stars…the sunset…the solar eclipse
And we have SPIRITUAL SIGHT - to SEE those things in correlation with Psalm 19 - 1
1 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
And so - the SKY ABOVE - is evidence of God...
The SKY - POINTS to God… WE believe!
BUT - That’s what FAITH DOES!
FAITH - - SEES the sky as - EVIDENCE of God!
Which MEANS - NOT EVERYONE - sees it that way...
WHY?
They don’t have - - FAITH
They LOOK at the SAME sky - the same stars - the SAME SOLAR ECLIPSE...
YET - instead of SEEING those things in relation to Psalm 19 -1
…they SEE those things in relation to Romans 1-
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.
20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
WITHOUT FAITH - we don’t SEE God’s creation as having COME from GOD!
We don’t SEE creation - as EVIDENCE of - HIM!
But that’s what FAITH DOES!
It allows us to SEE God’s presence… the EVIDENCE of God in our lives
FAITH opened the servant of Elisha’s eyes - to SEE the presence of God in his trial.
**Williams’ Trial - we kept praying that God and His army who was FOR Brian - was much MORE than those who were against him.
And again - this is what Faith does...
It gives us SIGHT to see God - in our lives.
But that’s not all we see in our text...
15 When the servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. And the servant said, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?”
16 He said, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
Here in v16 - what is Elisha’s first command to his servant?
he says - DO NOT be afraid!
And then he provides the REASON why.
And so - Up to this point...
FAITH - had brought with it - SIGHT...
Sight to see God’s presence in the trial...
NOW - we see it brings something else...
SLIDE: Fruit of Faith: Peace Knowing God Provides in the Midst of Trials
Fruit of Faith
Fruit of Faith
if we look back at v16 - we see something Elisha says to the servant...
16 He said, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
“Do not be afraid”
In other words - “Be FEARless”...
And if you remember when we looked closely at the account of Peter walking on water - we should know WHY Elisha would have said - DON’T be AFRAID!
Think about the connection between FEAR - and - PEACE
How do they connect?
When we’re AFRAID.... do we have PEACE?
When we have PEACE - are we AFRAID?
Peter’s on the water - ON the water -
he TAKES a step...
takes ANOTHER - ON the water!
And then -
30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.”
31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
He was ON the water - HOW? - We’ll see!
He became AFRAID…v30
And then - HE SANK!
v31 - Jesus says - O you of LITTLE - FAITH.
When FEAR RISES - FAITH decreases!
When FAITH rises - FEAR decreases!
And so - AGAIN - when Elisha - says to the servant - Don’t be AFRAID...
he’s saying - HAVE - FAITH!
A fruit of FAITH - is fearlessness!
And that’s what the apostle Paul experienced -
When he was in PRISON… and writing the book of Philippians...
He said this...
12 I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel,
13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ.
14 And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.
Do you hear it?
IMPRISONMENT here - led to an INCREASE in - FAITH...
Which led to an INCREASE in - BOLDNESS (fearlessness)
If you find yourself - ALWAYS AFRAID ...
of what that person might say if you speak up for Jesus...
of what your boss might think
of what your neighbor might say
of getting rejected
of looking like an idiot to the world
of being humiliated...
FOR CHRIST...
Then you need - - what? - - MORE FAITH!
because FAITH - brings with it - fearlessness!
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
And THIS is what ELISHA LIVED OUT!
if GOD and HIS ARMY is on that MOUNTAINSIDE - WHO CAN BE AGAINST US!!!!!???
SYRIA?
LOLLOLLLOLOLOL
**The Movie - RISEN (explain - that the movie is extra-biblical)
Bartholemew is being questioned by a Roman Soldier in charge of the execution of Christ.
Christ is dead at this point and Rome is looking for the disciples, because Christ’s body is no longer in the tomb.
PLAY CLIP!
What do we see here?
We see - FEARLESSNESS!
Fear of death?
NO
Because FAITH was ACTIVE
And John speaks to this...
19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
It says the disciples were - afraid -
Jesus shows up - and says - PEACE to you.
How many of us could use - Jesus showing up in our situation - right now - and saying...
“peace be with you”?
What needs to happen for us to FEEL MORE of this peace?
We need more - - FAITH
How do we pursue MORE faith?
SLIDE:
We pursue more faith by pursuing more of God’s word.
And if we DO this...
We’ll find another fruit of faith...
17 Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.” So 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.
18 And when the Syrians came down against him, Elisha prayed to the Lord and said, “Please strike this people with blindness.” So he struck them with blindness in accordance with the prayer of Elisha.
Here’s what we’re going to see in this portion...
SLIDE: Fruit of Faith: Wisdom to Rest in God’s Strength Through the Trial
Fruit of Faith
Fruit of Faith
Notice what Elisha DOES - as an example to his servant...
AFTER he tells him to FEAR NOT - and KNOW that God is WITH THEM!
16 He said, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
17 Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.” So 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.
Think through this...
Elisha PRAYED that his servant would receive the SIGHT to SEE that God’s ARMY was with them!
…that God was ON THEIR SIDE...
And so IN THAT - you MIGHT think - ok, God is WITH US...
WE’RE GONNA BE STRONG NOW - and ACCOMPLISH this THING...
We’re NOW CONVINCED that WE have the power to WIN this fight!!
That’s NOT what Elisha does...
Instead - v17 starts how??
ELISHA - PRAYED!!
So think about it!
Having sight to SEE God’s Providence, and PEACE knowing God was there with them - ELISHA RELIED - - on God!
he PRAYED to God!
He didn’t think - OK, God’s on our side - Let’s STROLL OUT to the enemy - and SHOW THEM WHAT’S UP!!
Let’s SHOW THEM HOW STRONG WE ARE!!
No - Elisha displayed - WISDOM -
In RESTING in GOD’S STRENGTH...
God’s POWER...
…And STILL - - PRAYING to HIM!
v18
18 And when the Syrians came down against him, Elisha prayed to the Lord and said, “Please strike this people with blindness.” So he struck them with blindness in accordance with the prayer of Elisha.
Elisha here - in COMPLETE reliance on God
I think we can fall into times where - AS BELIEVERS - we get AHEAD of God...
And we maybe make some ASSUMPTIONS...
We maybe begin to - PLAY GOD ourselves...
And we begin to FALL AWAY from PRAYER.
Prayer becomes - - Expendable...
SLIDE:
When we’re not relying on God’s strength/power to get us through, we will rely on our own strength/power.
And if you remember our sermon from Easter Sunday - an AGENT of FALLEN FAITH - is self-confidence!
It’s good that we remind ourselves all the time of this truth...
5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
Can we RELY on OURSELVES - - for ANYTHING??
FAITH - bears fruit.
And as we’ve seen today...
SUMMARY
Fruit of Faith:
Spiritual Sight to See God’s Presence Through Trials
Peace Knowing God Provides in the Midst of Trials
Wisdom to Rest in God’s Strength Through Trials
SIGHT to SEE (from blindness to sight)
PEACE knowing (From fear to peace)
WISDOM to REST in God’s strength (From not knowing what to do - to God-powered prayer)
And FAITH in this instance - brought not only...
Sight to see
Peace to know
And Wisdom to rest ...
But it also brought this...
18 And when the Syrians came down against him, Elisha prayed to the Lord and said, “Please strike this people with blindness.” So he struck them with blindness in accordance with the prayer of Elisha.
19 And Elisha said to them, “This is not the way, and this is not the city. Follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom you seek.” And he led them to Samaria.
20 As soon as they entered Samaria, Elisha said, “O Lord, open the eyes of these men, that they may see.” So the Lord opened their eyes and they saw, and behold, they were in the midst of Samaria.
21 As soon as the king of Israel saw them, he said to Elisha, “My father, shall I strike them down? Shall I strike them down?”
22 He answered, “You shall not strike them down. Would you strike down those whom you have taken captive with your sword and with your bow? Set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink and go to their master.”
23 So he prepared for them a great feast, and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. And the Syrians did not come again on raids into the land of Israel.
The Syrians did not come again on raids into the land of Israel.
Blessing came on the other side of - the pursuit of FAITH!
May we pursue it - together!
Let’s pray!
Which means - ALL fruits of faith - will come as we pursue more of God’s word.