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(6/18) We are on the second week of our series, "Like A Child" as we look at some attributes of God from the perspective of a child. And the idea behind this series came from something Jesus said as people were bringing their little children to him to lay hands on them and to bless their children.

As this was happening, the disciples were like, "Hold on, wait a minute," and they rebuked them saying, "Jesus is way too busy, way too important for this, just keep your kids away." And the Bible says in Mark chapter 10, verse 13, that when Jesus heard this, he was indignant. He said to them,

"Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it" (Mark 10:13-15).

And so, it’s in this passage that Jesus teaches us to receive his kingdom with the innocence and faith of a little child. And so, we can be mature, we must be responsible, but he says, "without faith like a little child we will never enter the kingdom."

In other words, unless we become like little children, we will end up living our lives without hope and without God in the world. And so, until we draw from the well of life that God has made available to us, we risk taking the chance of missing the reality of what God is doing in and around us. Until we tap into the reality of an unshakable child-like faith, no longer relying upon our own wisdom and understanding, we won’t be able to experience the kingdom of God.

My prayer today is that you would hear the Scriptures that I’m about to share with you, like you’ve never heard of before. I pray that you would receive it with faith like a little child, because if I say, "two plus two equals four," just because you’ve heard it before, doesn’t make it any less true. In other words, the familiarity of the Scriptures doesn’t diminish the relevance of the Scripture.

With that thought in mind, since we know that "the word of God is living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating even to the dividing of soul and spirit." We understand that if just one word gets into you, getting under your skin, into your organs, your muscle, your joints and marrow; just one word of God is powerful enough to judge the thoughts and attitudes of your heart (Hebrews 4:12).

That’s why the centurion came to Jesus and said, "Just say the word, and my servant will be healed" (Matthew 8:8).

Or the Canaanite woman came to Jesus crying out for mercy saying, "But even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table" (Matthew 15:27).

Because they knew that just a crumb that falls from the master’s table, just one word was enough to change our situation. That’s how powerful the word of God is, but it must be received in faith, you must believe, having faith like a child.

And so, some of you today, it’s just going to be one word, just a crumb, but it’s going to change your entire life. Because the Bible tells us in Hebrews chapter 11, "Now faith is…" not was, not will be, not can be, but faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. And so, like a child we need to use our imaginations, recognizing that everything that is tangible, anything that you can pick up, touch, or handle did not start in the physical realm, but the entire universe came from a word from God and not from anything that can be seen. This faith is what the ancients were commended for. And by faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible" (Hebrews 11:1-3).

And so, your spirit and your mind are the delivery room of everything that will materialize in your life, because according to the Scriptures everything starts in the Spirit. Everything tangible, everything that will come to be, starts as atoms bonding together to form the molecules and cells of your faith in God; birthing the knowledge that all that is seen was not made out of what was visible; but was formed at God’s command, because God is the beginning and end of all things.

A little child will understand these things, declaring the truth that God is with me, because as the Bible says,

"Since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities — his eternal power and divine nature — have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made" (Romans 1:20).

And so, a little child will personalize this truth, not just saying that God is before all things, he’s not just everywhere, but he’s a very a personal God who loves me and dwells within me.

We believe that and declare that with faith like a child, because that is what God declared on the first Christmas.

"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"—which means, "God with us" (Matthew 1:23).

Suddenly, when you believe that he is with you with childlike faith, when you truly internalize it, you have this amazing supernatural sense of confidence. You won’t be nearly as concerned about what is happening around you, because you know that God is with you, he is for you, and he is working in all things to bring about good. That personal reality makes all the difference in the world which is why this promise from God is so powerful. He says,

"Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand" (Isaiah 41:10).

This is so important as we are talking about the very real presence of God, considering it from the perspective of a child, because many of us have an Old Testament understanding of the way God is with us. In other words, as we consider God’s promise,

"Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5).

Intellectually we understand that God is everywhere, but we don’t have a good practical theological understanding that he is literally working in everything. In other words, God is here, there, and everywhere all at the same time, never diminished, never lessened, and never weakened, whether you’re at home alone, at work with the guys, or at the doctor’s office.

That concept is life changing when it comes to having a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ; because even when we are least aware of it, even when don’t feel it, even when we can’t see the evidence of God working, Jesus said he is working. And so, you and I may not see it, we may not feel it, but Jesus said,

"My Father is always at his work to this very day" (John 5:17).

And Jesus is working in those moments when we see the least and feel the least. When we’re least aware, those are the moments where God reveals his faithfulness and demonstrates who he is to us.

Maybe you’ve never thought about this before but consider this for a moment. How would you know that God is your provider if you never had a need? How would you know that he is your Savior if you never recognized that you needed to be saved? And how would you know that he was the resurrection and the life if you never experienced death (John 11:25)?

That’s why I want to share with you this illustration, this passage of Scripture in Second Kings, because there is something about being in danger that makes the reality of the presence of Christ so powerful. I believe that this is going to both encourage and strengthen the church today, and so if you would like to follow along, turn with me in your Bible to Second Kings chapter six.

This story may not be familiar to all of you, so let me give you a little context. In the eighth verse of chapter six we find Ben-Hadad, king of Aram, warring with Israel, but whenever he planned an ambush on Israel the Lord gave the prophet Elisha details of his plans. And so, Elisha would go to the king of Israel and warn him,

"Beware of passing that place, because the Aramaeans are going down there" (2 Kings 6:9).

Again, and again, and again, this happened, frustrating the king of Aram, and causing him to believe that there must’ve been a traitor among his men. However, before he even had a chance to take any corrective measures one of his officers heard about what was happening and told the king,

"Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the very words you speak in your bedroom" (2 Kings 6:12).

The king, realizing that he needed to get rid of Elisha, sent spies to find out where the prophet was. Finding him nearby in Dothan, Ben-Hadad sent a company of soldiers, horsemen, and charioteers to surround the city that night. Verse 15 tells us,

"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, my lord, what shall we do" (2 Kings 6:15)?

Some of you may have felt like that before, maybe you met with your doctor or checked your bank account and said, "Oh, my lord, what shall we do?"

Now, this guy is the servant of Elisha, but I want you to notice that his first response wasn’t to say something really spiritual. In other words, he wasn’t like, "Praise the Lord!"

"Give thanks in all circumstances" (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

No, he cried out in fear saying, "Oh, my lord, what shall we do?" (2 Kings 6:15).

Put yourself in his place for a moment. He went to sleep in one situation, with one set of circumstances, and when he woke up the next morning the entire story had changed.

In fact, some of you may remember waking up that first morning without a job, without a place to stay, or without your mom or dad. It’s like during COVID when the government started shutting everything down, suddenly there was that feeling of, "Oh, my lord, what shall we do?" (2 Kings 6:15).

Have you ever been in a situation like that where you wondered, "What do I do?"

Elisha’s servant went to sleep at peace, everything was good, but when he woke up, they were surrounded by the enemy. And we’ve all been there, we went to sleep and everything was okay, but when we woke up, we found ourselves in a smoky haze. We were surrounded, there was no escaping it, and so many were fearful and wondering, "What shall we do?"

"Don't be afraid," the prophet answered" (2 Kings 6:16).

You know, I probably would’ve been annoyed with Elisha. You know like, what are we supposed to do, just repeat it over and over and over again until we’re not afraid? I just don’t know how this whole "Don’t be afraid" thing is going to work because I’m still lonely, it still hurts, I’ve still got bills, and I’ve still got to go to work. And so, why does he say, "Don’t be afraid"?

I think God is redirecting us, because sometimes it’s more important what we don’t do in a season of uncertainty than what we do. And so, the first thing we want to do, or what we don’t want to do as people of faith, is we don’t want to lose heart.

"We do not lose heart" (2 Corinthians 4:16).

In other words, we don’t want to give in to despair, because this is where faith comes into play. We need to trust God.

The servant is like, what shall we do, what’s the plan, because there are so many of them and it’s just you and me? And Elisha quotes Scripture, he tells him,

"Do not be afraid or terrified…" (Deuteronomy 31:6).

You see, Elisha knew that it was virtually impossible to respond rationally in a situation when you are afraid. And then, who said this is just as important as what he said, because this was the man of God, Elisha had a prophetic ministry. In other words, it was about seeing the invisible, seeing the future, and sometimes what we can’t see is more important than what we can see.

In fact, this is where the Bible starts to really make sense because it says,

"Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms" (Ephesians 6:12).

In other words, we need to understand that what we can see, what we’re fighting, has to first be approached at the level we can’t see.

And so, God is trying to reveal some things to us today, because a lot of us think of faith as being a way in which we can manipulate God to give us what we want. And so, we pray and pray and pray. Praying for a raise, praying for a promotion, praying for a new car, but faith isn’t like that. Faith is merely a way of seeing your situation.

"Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see" (Hebrews 11:1).

And so, sometimes faith changes the situation, sometimes faith changes the way you see the situation. Or sometimes God changes the situation, and sometimes God changes me. But either way, when I don’t see it, when I don’t feel it, and especially when I don’t know what to do, what do I do?

Some of you can feel that today, some of you are mothers and fathers, others of you are leaders and decision-makers, but no matter who you are, the question remains,

"Oh, my lord, what shall we do? (2 Kings 6:15).

Now, watch this, because Elisha knows that if his servant’s heart is filled with fear he can’t operate in faith. And that’s why it’s so important what he says next. Verse 17 says,

"Elisha prayed, "O Lord, open his eyes so he may see" (2 Kings 6:17).

Isn’t that a great prayer? Open his eyes, open her eyes, so they may see, because if the enemy can keep you from seeing the blessings, keeping you from seeing the opportunities, he can keep you stuck in a place of hopelessness.

"The Lord opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha" (2 Kings 6:17).

God revealed to Elisha’s servant that he’d been protecting him all along. God’s promise and his provision was so much greater than what the servant could see in his crisis.

In other words, there is something bigger, something greater on the other side of this whatever. And so, your enemy may have sent a storm to disrupt your peace and steal your joy, but God is with you. In fact, he’s in this place right now, that’s why the prophet said,

"Don't be afraid! Those who are with us are more than those who are with them" (2 Kings 6:16).

Now, you could just imagine what the servant was thinking because he’d been counting the enemy. And there may be some of you sitting here and you’ve been counting too, you heard the report, you saw the statistics, you read the Facebook posts, and all of the clichés don’t comfort you very much. But the truth is that God’s calling, his provision, and his promise is so much bigger than any crisis. That’s why he said,

"No weapon formed against you shall prosper" (Isaiah 54:17).

And so, the prophet gave his servant a different way of counting, counting with faith like a child. And he said, those who are with us are more than those who are with them. In other words, he was talking about what is more real than what you can see.

This is faith like a child, not what you can see, but what you can’t see, because what you can’t see is more real than what you see. You see, faith in God is a multiplier, he is our provider, he is enough, he is with us, and he is for us. And since he placed the stars in the expanse of the sky and named each one of them, why wouldn’t we "lift our eyes to the hills…" declaring with the psalmist, "My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth" (Psalms 121:1-2).

Some of you are looking around, looking at what you’ve got, and you thought it was just a little bit. You thought you were outnumbered, but you’re not. You thought it was over, but it’s not. You thought it was done, but it’s not. God is telling us to look again, do a recalculation, like Paul said to the believers in Ephesus,

"I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you" (Ephesians 1:18).

In other words, he’s talking about perspective, seeing like a child, believing like a child. And so, he prays, "Open his eyes." And when the servant looked in verse 17,

"He saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha" (2 Kings 6:17).

What’s so amazing about this verse is that when Elisha prayed, help didn’t come because help was already there. And so, when Elisha prayed, the Lord only had to reveal what was already there.

Today, you and I can pray for provision, we can pray for healing, we can pray for each other, but the thing we need to pray for more than anything else is perspective. Because there is coming a time where what is invisible will be more dependable, and more valuable than what is visible. The Lord has promised,

"Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens." The words "once more" indicate the removing of what can be shaken — that is, created things — so that what cannot be shaken may remain" (Hebrews 12:26-27).

And so, God did not answer Elisha’s prayer by getting rid of the enemy, but instead he revealed his presence, because faith is the lens that we look through recognizing that God has been there the whole time.

And so, whatever is going on out there, whatever is going through your mind, whatever has you surrounded, can I encourage you to draw near to the Lord right now? You need to stand firm in faith and the only way to do that is to change your focus. You see, the situation did not change for Elisha’s servant, but his focus did. That means we need to look to the Lord, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2).

In other words, we get our faith in position for God to show us who he is, not who we thought he was, but to show us what it means to believe that he is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us" (Ephesians 3:20).

And so, like a child we receive it, we believe it, according to his power that is at work within us. Did you get that? It’s within us, and so you and God are greater than anything you will face. It’s us and God, the church and God, we’re never alone. He says, "I’m right there with you," and we know that…

"If God is for us, who can be against us" (Romans 8:31)?

Right now, we’ve got more reasons to trust God than we do to doubt him. We’ve got more victories behind us than we do reasons to fear what’s in front of us. We’ve got more reasons to be grateful right now than we do to be afraid. And so, let’s fix our focus and change our perspective with eyes wide open and hands lifted high. Let’s worship God together because we are that next generation that the Bible says,

"One generation will commend your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts" (Psalms 145:4).

And so, we declare that there are more for us than against us, we can make it through the storm, because our God is mighty. He is,

"Our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble" (Psalms 46:1).

I share this word with you today to let you know that you are not alone, God is with you, he is working, and he is doing the most when you feel it the least. Like a child, we declare it by faith, God is with us, and we thank him for his presence in this moment. God is changing our focus, changing our perspective, so that we can continue moving forward by faith.

Read Part 3

Read past sermons by Pastor John Talcott