Behold, and host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servants said unto him, Alas, my master, how shall we do? And he answered, Fear not, for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. And Elisha prayed and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha. And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto the Lord and said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha. He said unto them, This is not the way, neither is this the city. Follow me and I will bring you to the man whom you seek. But he led them to Samaria and it came to pass when they were come into 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 behold, they were in the midst of Samaria. And the king of Israel said unto Elisha when he saw them, my father, shall I smite them? Shall I smite them? And he answered, Thou shalt not smite them. What is thou smite those whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow? Set bread and water before them that they can go to their master. And he prepared great provision for them. And when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away and they went to their master. So the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel. And it came to pass after this that Ben-Hadad, king of Syria, gathered all his hosts and went up and besieged Samaria. And there was a great famine in Samaria, and behold, they besieged it until an ass's head was sold for fourscore pieces of silver and the fourth part of a cab of doves' dung for five pieces of silver. And as the king of Israel was passing upon the wall, there cried a woman unto him, saying, Lord, O King. And he said, If the Lord do not help thee, when shall I help thee? Out of the barn floor or out of the winepress? And the king said unto her, What aileth thee? And she answered, This woman said unto me, Give thy son that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow. So he boiled my son and did eat him. And I said unto her on the next day, Give thy son that we may eat him. and she hath hid her son. And it came to pass, when the king heard the words of the woman, that he rent his clothes, and he passed by upon the wall, and the people looked, and behold, he had sackcloth within upon his flesh. Then he said, O, and more also to me, if the head of Elisha, the son of Shaphat, shall stand on him this day. But Elisha sat in his house, and the elders sat with him, and the king sent a man from before him. But ere the messenger came to him, he said to the elders, See how this son of a murderer hath sent to take away mine head. Look, when this messenger cometh, shut the door and hold him fast at the door. Is not this is not the sound of his master's feet behind him? And while he yet talked with them, behold, the messenger came down unto him and he said, behold, this evil is of the Lord. What should I wait for the longer? And the Lord will add his blessing to the reading of that portion of his own holy and infallible word. Gation, I would invite you once again this morning to turn in your Bibles to Second Kings, chapter six. And with the Lord's help, we're going to be looking at 2 Kings 6, verse 17. And Elisha prayed and said, Lord, I pray Thee, open his eyes that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man. And he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire. Roundabout Elisha. I think this must have been one of the most hopeless situations to find oneself in in all of the Old Testament, especially if you take it from the perspective of the servant of Elisha. The servant of God, Elisha, and you have one unarmed servant. And arrayed against them, this young man discovers, is a mighty army and the hostile forces of a terrible king. To this point, the king of Syria had suffered greatly at the hand of Elisha. He wanted nothing more than to find Elisha and remove him from the earth. Elisha had, by the Lord's strength, by the Spirit's power, supernatural insight into almost every battle strategic move that the king of Syria had. And again, his plans were revealed just before their execution, and the consequence was always tremendous failure and embarrassment and life loss. And so the king of Syria says, there must be a traitor. One of my own must be betraying me as I speak in my secret council in my bedchamber. He can only guess that there's a traitor in the camp. He called his servants and said unto them, will ye not show me which of us is for the king of Israel? And one of his servants said, Lord, O King, but Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel, telleth the King of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy bedchamber. This can't be. And so subtle and so dangerous an enemy must be captured at all costs This was probably and no doubt the thought of the king of Syria. And he discovers that the prophet is in Dothan and the king of Syria sends horses and chariots and a great host. Some commentators believe it was in the realm of 40 to 50 thousand men by night and compass the city about. All gone in the secret of darkness. Finally, the king of Syria thinks, I have him. I'm going to remove him so I can continue to fulfill my own desire, the expansion of my own kingdom in my own name. Well, the morning light revealed the scene before us in all of its wonder and no doubt as that servant left the tent that morning in all of its terror. The servants, we don't know why. The text doesn't tell us. Leaves the place of dwelling. And he discovers that he is surrounded by a massive hospital. And he cries out to the prophet, Alas, my master, how shall we do? In the Hebrew there, it is really A statement of giving up. Look at the battle army that is arrayed against us. And look at us. There is nothing left for us to do. But for that old prophet, no terror fills his heart. He in full faith simply replies, fear not. for they that be with us than they that be with them. And I'm sure that to the mind of that servant, to the heart of that servant, He did not understand those words. Perhaps he was then looking for some distant army, a cloud of dust to find that there is some great army coming to their rescue. Maybe they were hidden somewhere in the hills or in the valley by the river, or perhaps in the trees somewhere. Where is this great army? He sees nothing. All he sees is the great army against them. But we find here that he is looking with natural eyes. They that be with us, Elisha says, in the tested confidence of his character, are more than they that be with them. And then Elisha cries, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes that he may see And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha." Dear congregation, we read these stories We've heard them since we were children. The narrative that we're looking at this morning is probably not new to any one of us. But do we know something of the experience of this young man? Do we really, truly understand that there is an unseen world? Children, did you know that if the Lord desired this, if He wanted to, He could open our eyes and we would see gathered with us here this morning, right now, in this very place, the angels of God worshipping with us? That's what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 11. Because of the angels. Because of the angels. There is a world that is just beyond the veil of the dimensions in which we live. And I dare say that the Word of God teaches us that that moves about our world and beyond our world, but it is very real. It's not some distant place. It is with us here and now. This passage is teaching us of another world, just beyond the veil of our own. We can't see it. We can't hear it. We can't smell it, taste it or touch it. But it is real. It is as real. It is because it is the eternal, more than the world that you and I inhabit right now. Do you find that hard to believe? Children, do you understand that? That there is a world just beyond this veil that is more real than this world? It's the realm of the eternal. It is the hereafter. And we don't properly understand that our world is the world of shadows. This is the fleeting place. We believe that the unseen world is the shadow and this is the reality, but we are greatly, greatly mistaken. Because heaven and earth is going to pass away. But the eternal shall abide forever. If the Spirit of God would draw the curtains from our natural eyes, this present shadow would melt into an unseen reality. And dear ones, listen very carefully. It is a world that you will see so very, very soon. Oh, that we would truly believe that. That we would understand that this world in which we live is going to pass away and we will enter an eternal day or an eternal night. Only that world is the true, for eternity always triumphs time. The eternal outstrips what we think now reality is. This is what our passage is teaching. We are so earthly minded by nature. We need to be careful that we're not too critical of the servant boy. The young man is described in our passage of Elisha. This young man could see nothing else but what was immediately in front of him, what he could see with his eyes and hear with his ears. He simply saw the Syrian host with the horses and the chariots compass about him and he said, it is over. It is finished. There is no help. There is no hope for us. And is this not a true parable for us? We talk, and I think too casually in the church, about living by faith and not by sight. It's one of the passages that is so common in the vocabulary of the church that I think sometimes we need to put a moratorium on that phrase. Do we really understand what it says and what it means? Dear ones, people don't walk by faith and not by sight. Only those who have had their eyes open, their spiritual eyes open, do this. Take for instance the life of a single week or day in our own congregation. It would be very different if this world were all that we had. If there was not a hereafter, if there wasn't something beyond what we experience on a daily basis in our lives today, if there were no judgment and no eternity, we have to let this question rest on our conscience. We have to let it press upon us. If you knew today that there was no eternal, how would you live? What do I do and what do I refrain from doing simply because of that unseen world, which revelation, which the gospel discloses to me? Well, first, there's the busyness of life. And I've mentioned this to you as a congregation and individually many times, that moving from where we moved from to here, we are amazed. sometimes feel overwhelmed at the busyness of life here. It's a real thing. We understand that. A large part of the time and of the attention of most is engaged and engrossed here and now. from an early morning until a late night, busy about their career or their trade or their profession, which gives them the necessities and the comforts of this life. And there isn't anything inherently or innately wrong with that. But do we pause often enough and reflect often enough that these things are all of this world? That in 75 years, 100 years, none of it is going to matter? These things have to do with the furnishing of life, with food and clothing necessary, yes. Even with blessing and benefit, that's true. Sometimes with the relief from pain and medicine from sickness, necessary. But we live so much in the here and now. We are so much like the servant of Elisha, we do not see beyond. And as important as some of these things are to our immediate circumstances, they have no direct view to anything beyond. And then there are the pleasures of this life. It's eating and drinking. It's relaxation and resting. interaction with neighbors and friends and family. It's cheerful summer campfires. Human affection and domestic love. These, again, are real things. Again, nothing wrong with these things. We can't discount them. We can't ignore them. But do we truly understand and realize that they too are all of this realm? But dear one, it should not define you. What you do, who your friends are, should not define you. because there is another world. They belong to this life and they will stay in this life. They have no obvious connection with anything beyond the grave, anything spiritual, anything heavenly, anything eternal. They are the trials of life. In fact, I would say, humanly speaking, nothing seems so real as the touch of pain. Nothing so instantly fatal to frivolity or vanity, nothing so firm in its grip on its import for the moment is pain. But one ache of pain, one throbbing pulse, one sensitive nerve is enough to shrink our world, and to make us live for the time in that moment. And if that's true for the body, it's no less true for the mind. Those that suffer from plagues and even illness of the mind and of the conscience, an intense desire for some object of ambition, one great anxiety or pain for welfare, keen personal fear of danger or shame or loss. It's enough to fill our whole being for us to be consumed by it, to go to bed with it. And if we can sleep, wake up with it. It occupies every thought and it causes us to forget that we are not only creatures of time, but dear ones, we are creatures The present, it hems us in. It blocks us up so we are blind to the realities which are not of this earth. They're not of sense and time. And so the narrative before us is designed to show us how very near another world is. of another life. And what is needed is an opening of the eyes. This morning is what you need. And I dare say it is what I need. Lord, open our eyes that we may see It was an opening of the eyes that was needed to show this young man a whole creation of existence and armies unseen and unsuspected until that moment. And he saw the horses and chariots of fire, these supernatural surroundings on every side of the dwelling. But it wasn't until prayer that his eyes were open. Lord, I pray Thee, open his eyes. Has that ever been a prayer of your own heart? Lord, I pray Thee, open my eyes that I may see. Dear one, have you ever seen the great purpose of the Eternal? Have you ever seen Christ in all of his beauty? As the wise that you may see a majestic, full pardoning, sin forgiving Savior. That is having your eyes opened to the purpose of the eternal. And I'm afraid that some of you here do not know that. I know you've been raised well. You've been taught well. You've been catechized and well instructed. But when I speak to you about the eternal, there is no anxiousness in your heart. that you still only see with natural eyes, that you know nothing more of this world and you desire nothing more of this world, that you know this story, but you do not know this story, because the Lord has never opened your eyes. Oh, that the Lord would open some eyes this morning. To be able to see so very near. The gospel of saving grace so very near. The saving power of the Spirit by the means of grace effectually applied to the heart so very near, if you could just see it. You can see it for your own soul. Some of you know what I'm talking about. For you who have had your eyes open to the unseen world of saving grace in Christ, there is a craving and a yearning after peace that this world can't give. A sense of want and a sense of desire. It's a sense of Longing for a satisfaction, a belief in truth that is a hungering and a thirsting after righteousness. As it were, up toward a world surrounding and overlooking this world. A world separated by a thin partition of matter. That you know one day will be removed and will be taken down. Do you know something of the overlap even now? Because there have been times when the Lord has visited you and He has opened your eyes. And later on too in life, as long as there is one shadow of truth in a man's heart, one relic of feeling of who He is by nature and how beautiful a Savior Christ is, how often He does not wake with a start from the sleep of this world, and become conscious for a moment or two of the hollowness of being all too much, given wholly to this earth, that there are times when the Spirit of God will shake the soul Sometimes it's a bitter disappointment. Sometimes it's a cherished hope or an idol of ambition that is crushed in pieces before him that makes him say in his heart, this world is false and this world is fallacious and this world is lying and there must be something true. There must be something beyond this, besides it. Conscious of a life that is beyond time, He is brought again to the beauty of a patient Christ. And then he realizes in a moment how much of his true identity and his true life is actually hidden in secret. And what a poor and miserable creature you are today if your life consists wholly in who you are in this world and what you do and the enjoyment and pleasures of this life. And I pity you with a godly pity. But when the eyes are open, when the eyes are opened and true sight is given, And this is not only true for the servant of Elisha who saw for the first time the other world. It is true for the natural mind as well. When the word of God comes and by the working of the spirit opens the eyes of the blind. So they see the glory of a sin forgiving redeemer and savior. We can't take away the thrust of this passage. It's true for everyone here in this room this morning. Dear ones, it must be the Lord that opens the eyes. It's true for you older members who have been in this congregation your whole life. Your eyes must be opened. It is the same and likewise true for you, mom and dad. And you, young person, and you, little children, my prayer, Lord, open their eyes. All of these eternal souls, that they may see that they may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about. You know, we are as a congregation about to conduct an outreach local area for vacation Bible school. Teachers, can this not be our prayer for our children? Can this not be our banner for this year? In all of our preparation and planning that we would bring it back to this central theme. Lord, open their eyes. And then recognize that God alone can open the eyes. That we can lead the blind, but we cannot make them see. Because I can put truth in front of you in the preaching of the Word and in the reading of the Word. But I can do no more. It is the Spirit of God that must open your eyes. To give sight must be one of the greatest miracles that Christ ever performed because it points, it demonstrates, it is a parable and a metaphor of the naturally blinded heart of man. The man that is born blind, his darkness is a part of him. John 9.32 says, Since the world began, it was not heard that any man opened the eyes of one born blind. So the opening of the eyes is set down in the Word of God as, yes, even a covenant blessing. That means, dear ones, it is for children as well. Isaiah 42, 6 and 7, the Lord hath given His Son for a covenant of the people to what? To open the blind eyes. Satan counterfeited this in the garden when he said, your eyes shall be opened and ye shall be as gods. But it is God alone that can make any man see Christ. It is a work of the Holy Spirit. A man passes out of the life of sight into the light of faith by that opening of the eyes. As our text tells us, Lord, open his eyes that he may see. That till then, like the disciples on their way to Emmaus, That men and women and boys and girls may have Christ, as it were, walking beside them and never see Him. How can this be? First, because God is telling us that He will open the eyes of whom He will. Being made in God's likeness, we are not originally deaf to the voice of God. We are not originally blind to His workings, but sin has changed us. It has altered us so that we are by nature deaf and blind. But there is more. It is also because we do not wish to be part of the seeing people. That we desire to be part of the earth and earthly things. That if our eyes were open to the horses and chariots of fire, we would have to change our life. We would have to live as if heaven were real, as if God were present, as if we were here on this earth, only strangers and pilgrims. And for this, so many are not prepared or ready. Because by nature, we must have the pleasures of this world. And you say in your heart, young person, when they are exhausted, I will turn to something better. Listen to me. They will never be exhausted. You will never be full of this world. ever satisfy. And so the Lord must open the eyes, does that mean that a pastor and a preacher should give off preaching? No, to keep on preaching. in the earnest hope and in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, that you would discover that in the life of faith alone, in rest and peace in Christ, that you will never begin to know God. You can know nothing of heart's rest, nothing of peace in the face of this world that is an enemy. And the enemy that you do not clearly see, and that is the enemy of your own heart, That I come in resting in Christ. The congregation, I see in some of you, a great restlessness. There is no peace. When I talk to you and I see you, There's no peace. Lord, I pray Thee, open her eyes, open his eyes, that they may see. You say then, how are these eyes opened? It is the Lord who opens the eyes. We know that. But even the Lord works by means. Just those means that He has given to give sight to the blind. It is the Word of Christ. It is the Gospel. It is the law in the Gospel. And it is prayer. Elisha prayed and said, Lord, I pray Thee, Open his eyes and you will say, yes, but Elijah was a righteous man and the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man. I know. And if they look. I'm no Elijah. And so I pray and as I do, I strike the water with the mantle and I say, Where is the God of Elijah? Where is the God of Elijah that he may do it? I read no condition of merit or human fitness appended to the great character of the gospel promise that says, ask and ye shall receive, seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened. Lord, open their eyes that they may see. And, oh, we must especially pray this for our children. You know, it's amazing here is Elisha was not settled to have his own peace. He had that. to have his own confidence in Jehovah and his own comfort. He was not settled in that. He desired for his servant boy also, Lord, I pray Thee. And that phrase, I pray Thee, is the phrase of a beggar. It would be beyond simple formulation of a good way of addressing God. Elijah wanted the eyes opened as his eyes had been opened. That mom and dad, whatever the Lord may have shown Himself to you, do you not beg that of the Lord? To any soul that is in Christ, they desire nothing more than for the eyes of those in their care to have their natural ones open to the supernatural. And so he prayed and he prayed earnestly. He prayed with the feelings of his heart and he prayed that he might see. The beauty is this, dear ones, that God answers those prayers. He's done it in a moment. There are so many miracles in the New Testament where he opened the eyes of blind men. He especially opens the eyes of the young. The Lord opens the eyes of the young man. And so, congregation, can this not be my prayer for you? Can this not be the prayer for ourselves? For our children? And as we look this week, ministering to those children who are in our own congregation and our own neighborhood, we are going to place before them the life of Christ. Teachers, that it would not just be information about that beautiful character, but that in all of your teaching and your instruction, that you would be saying, Lord, open their eyes. And may we pray that as a congregation for ourselves and for those in our care and see if He will not do it. Amen. Let us pray. gracious and eternal Lord, how we need that spiritual sight. Not only for the first time by regeneration and saving faith, but how we need it on a daily basis in the busyness of this world. May we see and be reminded time and again of that which is just beyond the veil of distance to the eternal world. That each one of us here this morning and each one upon this earth has one foot in time and one in eternity. That this world is but a brief half hour in time. It is a mist and a vapor. Help us to redeem it. Work in our own hearts by faith. And give us a desire to pray earnestly for others. To open their eyes that they may see. This forsake. Amen.