II Kings 6:15-17

 Do you have vision problems?  Millions of people in this country have problems with their eyesight that requires surgeries, glasses or contacts  You don’t have to have vision problems to miss seeing something

 There are some reasons why we might miss seeing things: Weren’t looking for it Distractions Requires more focus than we give Didn’t know what to look for Eyes were not open

 The Old Testament tells of a story of a young man who was not able to see what was right in front of him  In II Kings 6, the King of Syria was attempting to make war with Israel…  The Syrian army surrounded Dothan, where Elisha lived

 His servant discovered it and was greatly afraid  Listen to what Elisha says in vs …  This young man simply needed to open his eyes to what God was doing at that time

 Are there things that God has set right in front of us today that we do not see?  Perhaps we need to open our eyes to some things that God would have us recognize in our lives today  What are those things?

 1. The Goodness of God It’s very easy to take things for granted in our lives There are certain things that we have become “used to” When we go to a cabin in the woods without a telephone, TV, or computer we call that “roughing it”

 1. The Goodness of God Perhaps we fail to see the goodness of God in our lives (Js. 1:17) We may call it the “blessings” from God Our problem may be where our focus lies We often focus on the negative things, i.e. what is going wrong

 1. The Goodness of God We are commanded over and over in scripture to be thankful to God (Ps. 100:4; Rom. 1:21; Phil. 4:6; Col. 3:15) In order to be thankful I must recognize my blessings We need to open our eyes to what God has done for us (Ps. 34:8; 119:18; Ti. 3:4)

 2. Needs of Others One thing that we fail to see often is the hurt, pain, or need that others have Christ was known for the compassion He had on those who were needy He was able to see the hurt, pain, and the needs that people had

 2. Needs of Others Christ wanted you and I to be able to see the same thing (Matt. 25:34-46) Jesus said that there will always be opportunity to help others (Matt. 26:11) Paul said that as we have opportunity that we should do good to all, but especially Christians (Gal. 6:10)

 2. Needs of Others Paul said that we should “rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep” (Rom. 12:15) “And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it” (I Cor. 12:26)

 3. Our Resources Like Moses, we often fail to see the resources that we have at hand God asked Moses, “What is that in your hand? (Ex. 4:2) It was simply a rod, but God used it for a powerful illustration to the Israelites

 3. Our Resources We have things at our disposal today that could help others We have God’s word, time, material goods, prayer, a pen and pad, a phone We need to open our eyes to what God has given us to bless others with

 4. Power of Prayer There are times it seems that we are blinded to the true power of prayer It could be unbelief, or maybe we just forget what the Bible teaches about prayer This is evident when we realize that we aren’t praying like we should

 4. Power of Prayer The only people that might not need to pray would be those whose lives are perfect and everyone they know has lives that are perfect Even that person would need to pray to thank God for their “perfect” lives I haven’t found that person yet…

 4. Power of Prayer James says a good bit about the need for prayer and the power of prayer 5:13-18 “casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you” (I Pet. 5:7) Philippians 4:6-7

 5. Heavenly Reward Too many times in this life Christians lose sight of the true reward It’s so easy to be distracted by the rewards offered in this life that come from serving Satan Demas is an example of this very thing (II Tim. 4:10)

 5. Heavenly Reward Hebrews 11:24-27 speaks of Moses and his decision between an earthly reward and a heavenly one Hebrews 12:2 tells us to keep our eyes focused on Jesus, who also traded glory of this world for the Father’s will