Sermon Outline - Pastor Thomas Robb

I am using as my text this morning 2 Kings 6:8-17

“Then the king of Syria warred against Israel, and took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place shall be my camp. 9 And the man of God sent unto the king of Israel, saying, Beware that thou pass not such a place; for thither the Syrians are come down. 10 And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of, and saved himself there, not once nor twice. 11 Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for this thing; and he called his servants, and said unto them, Will ye not shew me which of us is for the king of Israel? 12 And one of his servants said, None, my lord, O king: but Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel, telleth the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy bedchamber. 13 And he said, Go and spy where he is, that I may send and fetch him. And it was told him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothan. 14 Therefore sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a great host: and they came by night, and compassed the city about. 15 And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do? 16 And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. 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 round about Elisha.”

There are certainly times when we feel oppressed and begin to feel all is lost. It appears we are surrounded by the enemy.

We look at the great might that is risen against us. There are many examples we could name. There are many examples you could name. In television we see a multi-million dollar industry that has almost become the exclusive tool of the enemy. It surrounds us daily. In every home, television seems to dominate the lives of the people. Television is guilty of promoting anti-Christian values such as race-mixing, pornography and of course the homosexual agenda.

We are surrounded by such programming as Queer Eye for the Straight Guy or Queer Nation

* list more examples here.....

The Disney Channel has developed some of the worst programming imaginable which bombards young kids with the glories of race-mixing. A recent movie put out by Disney is called Catch that Kid. This is a movie designed to attract a young audience of preteens. The movie features a young girl and two boys, one white and the other black. Throughout the movie there are scenes in which the girl is trying to decide which of the two boys she likes the most.

MTV has announced that they will begin a cable TV network to promote the homosexual agenda. The new network will be advertiser-supported and will be offered as part of the "basic" package by cable networks.

The network is scheduled to begin operating on February 17, 2005. Tom Freston, CEO of MTV networks. "We have big plans and hopes for LOGO (the new homosexual network) and I'm thrilled to finally announce its arrival," MTV is owned by Viacom, which also owns CBS, Showtime, VH1, Comedy Central, and TV Land.

• The U.S. Customs Service estimates that there are more than 100,000 Web sites offering child pornography. One study found a 345% increase in the number of child pornography sites over a five month period.

• More than 20,000 images of child pornography are posted on the Internet every week.

• More babies and toddlers are appearing on the Net and the abuse is getting worse. It is more torturous and sadistic than it was before. The typical age of children is between six and 12, but the profile is getting younger

City approves public Muslim prayer calls
The City Council of Hamtramck, Michigan, has given approval to a mosque’s request to broadcast Muslim calls to prayer on loudspeakers. The Bangladeshi al-Islah Mosque will air the messages five times a day

Court issues stunning scholarship ruling
Christian leaders were staggered by a February decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, which stated that colleges and universities can refuse to grant taxpayer-funded scholarships to Christians who are pursuing a degree in theology.

The case, Locke v. Davey, revolved around Washington State resident Joshua Davey, a student at Northwest College, an accredited school associated with the Assemblies of God. Davey had gone through the same process of obtaining a scholarship as any other student. But when education officials learned that Davey intended to pursue a degree in pastoral ministries, it refused to grant the scholarship, based upon state law. Davey sued, claiming that he was being discriminated against on the basis of his religious beliefs.

In a 7-2 decision, the high court said the state of Washington had the right to exclude students like Davey because the Constitution forbids governments from establishing religion.

In politics we face the enemy which attempts to undermine the racial foundation of America. George Bush is supposed to be a Christian and a conservative yet it seems he will promote every effort to bring aliens into our country. And it seems we are powerless to stop them.

We are anxious over the matter. We are angered by those who have betrayed us. And yet we must keep out spirit calm. God has the power to command all things.

As Christians we must keep our eye upon Jesus Christ. God is faithful and will remain faithful. It is our nation and the people of our nation that has become unfaithful.

Certainly we are aware and must believe that God has the power to change and command his creation. While he walked here on earth he commanded the sea and wind to be calm. He Commanded the water to be turned into wine. He commanded death to release Lazarus.

Yet, for the most part, throughout the history of our people God simply worked through men and women of faith.

And that is what we must do. God could strike the forces of evil and destroy them in the twinkle of an eye.

When Elishia was at the city of Dothan. They looked up and saw they were surrounded by the army of Syria. The servant of Elisha was terribly afraid - all he could see was the soldiers of Syria. However, Elisha could see God’s heavenly hosts and he prayed that his servant would have his eyes opened so he too could see the mighty army of God.

There are three things I want us to take from this passage.

1) The enemies of God are surrounding the saints of God

2) There are some, like Elishia’s servant, who can only see the enemy and are frightened by them.

3) There are some like Elishia, who do not see the army of the enemy but instead see the army of God.

There may be some who see the enemy that is all about us. They are aware of those which seems to delight in the destruction of the our nation as well as the destruction of our people. They see the enemy which has surrounded our nation, surrounded our schools, surrounded our entertainment - but they are often brought to despair.

There are two great messages in the Bible, there is the message in which God calls a nation to repent and there is the message in which God calls men and women to repent. The Bible tells us that the nation that forgets God will be turned into hell. But the Bible also tells that as individuals we must also turn our hearts to the Lord.

*The story of the broken candle

Each recorded sermon is listened to by people across America each month.

I don’t know all these people other than the fact I do know many are like the servant of Elisha who see the enemy on the hill. But I don’t know how deep and how wide their faith is. I can’t see inside their heart.

Romans 3:23 says, “for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”

You see we are often like the servant of Elisia. In his natural eyesight he was fearful and afraid and saw no hope. He cried unto Elishia what can we do?

Those who see the heartache and troubles upon the nation are often perplexed and are saying what can we do?

Most people listening to this sermon, either because you are here today or you are listening to this sermon by tape are aware our nation is in trouble. The things I mentioned about the homosexuals, illegal aliens and the race-mixing propaganda of the enemy causes you great concern. This is the enemy that destroys the nation.

But for others it is simply the fact they have never given their heart and lives to the Lord. They want God to rule the nation, but they fail to let God rule their lives. For that reason they bring upon them despair.

Perhaps they are like the broken candle.

It isn’t that they are bad people, it is simply they have never really come face to face with the savior. They really have not made him lord of their lives. They have allowed sin to be their master. And sin has ruined their lives. Whether it is the sin of self-righteousness or the sin of drugs and alcohol. It all boils down to the failure of many to allow Christ to fully engulf their lives.

You see the servant of Elisia tried to see, he really wanted to have the faith that Eliish had, but no matter how hard he tried, he could not see until God opened his eyes.

Just as God can give new life to a nation burdened down with sin. So can God give new life to a sinner who will come to the cross.

the end