Open My Eyes That I May See

In one paragraph

Ron Turpin, a member of First Baptist Jackson whom Pastor Carl described as a marketplace missionary, brought the morning message from 2 Kings 6. He walked through the account of Elisha surrounded by the Syrian army to make the case that the Christian life is meant to be lived with eyes open to what God has already placed around us. The story opens with the king of Syria repeatedly failing to...

Read together

1. 2 Kings 6:10 The king of Israel repeatedly heeded Elisha's warnings and saved himself from Syrian attacks
2. 2 Kings 6:11 The heart of the king of Syria was troubled, suspecting a spy among his servants
3. 2 Kings 6:12 A servant tells the Syrian king that Elisha the prophet tells Israel the words spoken in the king's bedroom
4. 2 Kings 6:13 The Syrian king is told Elisha is in Dothan and sends forces to fetch him
5. 2 Kings 6:14 The Syrian king sends horses, chariots and a great host to surround the city by night
6. 2 Kings 6:15 The servant rises early, goes out and sees the city surrounded by the Syrian army and cries out in alarm
7. Genesis 37:17 Referenced via center column to identify Dothan as the place where Joseph was thrown into a pit by his brothers

Talk about it

1. Roseanne said that when she arrived in Kenya she was 'not a school teacher' but went anyway because God had called her. Has there been a time when God asked you to do something you felt unqualified for? What happened?
2. Ron pointed out that the king of Syria sent his whole army to capture a prophet who already knew they were coming. Where in your own life have you seen someone, or yourself, press forward with a plan that was already exposed as foolish, and what did that reveal about trusting your own strategy over God's?
3. When the servant stepped outside and saw the Syrian army surrounding the city, his first response was panic. Ron asked the group to think about what 'alas, my master' looks like in our own lives. What are the situations today that most quickly move you from confidence to that kind of fear?
4. Elisha's prayer was simply that God would open his servant's eyes to see what was already there. Ron tied this to financial pressure, broken relationships, and grief. Which of those three did you feel most when he described them, and what would it look like practically for you to pray 'open my eyes' in that area?
5. Ron found the ending of the passage puzzling until he saw the theme of Hebrews running through it: better, better, better. He said the meal Elisha provided for the enemy army was a picture of Jesus topping everything that came before. How does seeing Jesus as the one who feeds rather than destroys his enemies change the way you treat people who oppose or frustrate you?