Introduction
4762500-561975May 2, 2020Grace Lutheran ChurchEl Paso, TX00May 2, 2020Grace Lutheran ChurchEl Paso, TXWhat is Unseen2 Kings 6:8-23, 2 Corinthians 4:17-18For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:17-18, NIV)IntroductionLet’s talk about what is unseen. When my parents first moved to El Paso, their new neighbors warned them that every morning when they would get dressed, they should shake out their shoes. In that area, there were small scorpions that would occasionally find their way into the houses. Their size and coloring made them hard to see. It didn’t happen often, but when they did get into someone’s house, their favorite hiding spot was inside a shoe – maybe because they felt safe in such a small, dark place. The scorpions were “unseen” but if you didn’t shake out your shoes, they could have a mean sting.Like the scorpions of that time, today the coronavirus is unseen, but has a mean sting. Viruses are so small you need a microscope to see them. If we could only see the virus in the air, or on the hands of an infected person, or on the surfaces of the things around us, then we could keep our distance from those people and avoid touching things that might get us sick. But we can’t see viruses, and that fact escalates all our fears.Thanks be to God that scorpions and viruses are not the only things that are unseen. The Bible tells us that there are many things from God that you can’t see with your physical eyes. 2?Corinthians 4:17-18 says: We fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (NIV) I’d like to share with you several eternal, unseen things.Opening the Eyes2 Kings 6 shows us 3 things that are unseen, but which make all the difference. Allow me to read you the story:Now the king of Aram [Syria] was at war with Israel. After conferring with his officers, he said, “I will set up my camp in such and such a place.”The man of God sent word to the king of Israel: “Beware of passing that place, because the Arameans are going down there.” So the king of Israel checked on the place indicated by the man of God. Time and again Elisha warned the king, so that he was on his guard in such places.This enraged the king of Aram. He summoned his officers and demanded of them, “Tell me! Which of us is on the side of the king of Israel?”“None of us, my lord the king,” said one of his officers, “but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the very words you speak in your bedroom.”“Go, find out where he is,” the king ordered, “so I can send men and capture him.” The report came back: “He is in Dothan.” Then he sent horses and chariots and a strong force there. They went by night and surrounded the city.When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked. [He panicked. Just like many people today are feeling panic.]“Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” [If you don’t remember anything else from this sermon, please remember these words from Elisha: “Don’t be afraid. Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” But who are these people who are with us? We can see very easily all the thousands upon thousands of people infected with the virus. Where are “those who are with us”?]And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.As the enemy came down toward him, Elisha prayed to the Lord, “Strike this army with blindness.” So he struck them with blindness, as Elisha had asked.Elisha told them, “This is not the road and this is not the city. Follow me, and I will lead you to the man you are looking for.” And he led them to Samaria. [It seems like the Lord didn’t just blind them, he confused them.]After they entered the city, Elisha said, “Lord, open the eyes of these men so they can see.” Then the Lord opened their eyes and they looked, and there they were, inside Samaria. When the king of Israel saw them, he asked Elisha, “Shall I kill them, my father? Shall I kill them?”“Do not kill them,” he answered. “Would you kill those you have captured with your own sword or bow? Set food and water before them so that they may eat and drink and then go back to their master.” So he prepared a great feast for them, and after they had finished eating and drinking, he sent them away, and they returned to their master. So the bands from Aram stopped raiding Israel’s territory.That is an encouraging story! Things that are unseen can be very important. This story shows us three things that can’t be seen, but that make all the difference. These three things are present with us today.1. God’s PresenceThe first unseen thing is God’s presence. When Elisha’s servant looked out, the only thing he could see was the enemy soldiers surrounding him, ready to attack. Panic set in. I would have panicked too! Nevertheless, when God opened the servant’s eyes, he realized that there was an angel army on his side. God, the almighty Creator, was with Elisha and his servant.God is with us also. Jesus said, “Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20b, NIV) He is with us always, in the good days and the bad days. Psalm 139:7-8 says that even if we want to, we can’t escape God’s presence: Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. (NIV)We can’t get away from God. But we don’t always recognize his presence with us. There are times when we seem to “feel” God’s presence, for example, when we sing his praises. But there are other times when we don’t feel anything – and yet he is still by our side.It is great to “see” (in a sense) the Lord. As a popular song says: “Open the eyes of my heart, Lord! Open the eyes of my heart! I want to see you…” But often we don’t “see” him very well. Sometimes we have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death. Psalm 23 says that at those times we should not fear, because the Good Shepherd is with us. In these very tough times, we hold to God’s promise that he will be with us even if we don’t see him.2. God’s ProtectionSo the first unseen thing is God’s presence. The second is his protection. In 2 Kings 6, the angels were not there just to stand around and watch. They were there to protect. The Bible says: The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them. (Psalm 34:7, NIV)Now, let me be clear. Some people think that if they have enough faith, nothing bad will ever happen to them. So if someone gets sick from the coronavirus, well, they just didn’t have enough faith. If someone doesn’t have money for food since his job was suspended, he didn’t have enough faith.That’s just wrong. People who think that are confused. They just don’t understand that we aren’t in heaven yet. We are here in this world. We have problems. We struggle. The same Psalm 34 also says: The righteous person may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all. (v. 19, NIV) Yes, the Lord delivers us, but often we have to go through many troubles first. Often we have to get through the darkness before we reach the light. We are followers of Jesus, and he suffered in this world before he returned to glory in heaven.But God does protect us in three ways. First, God limits the bad things that we have to face in this life. He does not allow us to be tempted more than we can bear. Very often we don’t even realize all the times that God’s angels have kept us from falling into danger. It happens every day. Of course, when we are suffering, the pain always seems unbearable. But it would be much worse if God did not limit it.Second, when we do have to face bad situations, God gives us strength to get through. He does not abandon us. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed – remember that at that point Jesus had put aside all his powers and privileges as God, and he was facing his coming death on the cross as a human like us. So Jesus prayed to the Father asking that if it were possible, he be spared drinking the bitter “cup” of going to the cross. Now the cross was necessary for our salvation. But even though Jesus had to go through it, the Father sent an angel to strengthen his Son for what was to come. God sustains us, too, in the midst of the storms we face.In third place, God protects us so that neither Satan nor anything in this world can take away our salvation. Eternal life is ours through faith in Christ. The Bible tells us that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. 2 Corinthians 4 says: For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. (v. 17, NIV) When we are in the midst of troubles, they don’t seem “light and momentary”. But in reality our suffering in this world lasts just a short time, and afterwards we will have all of eternity in glory with Christ. Our victory is a sure thing because of Jesus. We just have to go out and fight the battle – but we don’t have to worry about the final outcome.3. God’s PlanSo the first unseen thing is God’s presence; the second is God’s protection. The third is God’s plan. In 2 Kings 6, the Syrians (Arameans) had their own plans, plans to do evil to Elisha and to Israel. But God had other plans. And in the end, it was God’s plans that won out.God brings good out of evil. When Jesus died on the cross, it was because of the evil in human hearts. Jesus was accused falsely, judged through illegal procedures, scorned by jealous people, tortured and killed in spite of being innocent. And yet, his death on the cross brought us forgiveness for everything we’ve ever done wrong. Because of Jesus we have a new life here on earth and we also have eternal life forever with him in glory.In the same way, this virus is a great evil. Not just because of the many people who have been infected, but also for all the economic and social chaos that is affecting everyone. The virus exists because we live in a world that has been twisted as a consequence of human sin. Human beings are the head of all creation, and all creation is suffering as a result of our alienation from God. You can still see the beauty that God created in the beginning, for example, when Maritza and I hiked through the desert yesterday and saw all the flowers in bloom. But nature can also produce hurricanes and droughts and things like this virus, because it is not perfect as it once was.But God still brings good even out of this evil. This bad situation is a call to repent. It is as though God were saying: ‘You want to worship athletes? I will shut down the stadiums. You want to worship musicians, or actors, or celebrities? I will shut down the theaters and concert halls. You want to worship money? I will shut down the economy and collapse the stock market. You take church for granted? I will make it so you can’t go to church for awhile.’ There are people who have turned back to God in the midst of all this tumult. And when people turn to God in repentance, he hears and helps.Furthermore, there are people who, in the midst of all this trouble, have made sacrifices to help others, showing Christ’s love. There is a man in one of my online classes who works at a hospital. He hardly has a chance to do the readings for class, because the hospital has him working more and more overtime with people sick with the virus. We may not be in the hospital but we have opportunities to share our faith that we didn’t have before. The phones are still working. The internet is working. Instead of watching TV reruns on the couch, why not call a friend or a neighbor and encourage them? God has plans to bring good out of this evil.ConclusionSo in conclusion: at first, Elisha’s servant could only see peril and problems. As a result, he was panic-stricken. Just like today.But God through this story is calling us to be like Elisha himself, to fix our “eyes” by faith on the things that are not seen: God’s presence, God’s protection, and God’s plan. Like Elisha, open your eyes in faith. Like Elisha, pray that God will open the eyes of the people around us. Because what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:18b, NIV) Amen.May the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Amen. ................
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