THE SUPERNATURAL INTERVENTION OF GOD

THE  SUPERNATURAL  INTERVENTION  OF  GOD

The narrative in 2 Kings 6 vv.8 - 23 shows us the power of God when you listen through the true prophets of God.

How do you recognise a true prophet?

Elisha isn’t an isolated prophet working for himself; he is recognised by everyone; the miracles that he accomplished are known and authenticated by the writers in the scriptures; it isn’t someone who does things offhandedly alone; he is serving the people of God. His ministry is used for all the body; it doesn’t divide; it exhorts, it encourages, it edifies.

THE  GIFTS  OF  THE  HOLY  SPIRIT

In the same way, the gifts of the Holy Spirit are given for common use.

“The manifestation of Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all.”  (1 Corinthians 12 v.7)

When you exercise a gift through the Holy Spirit, you don’t do it to highlight yourself, but because there’s a need. And to fulfil this need, the Lord by His Spirit gives you a particular gift to exercise, then you don’t take the glory for yourself, but give it to Him alone, to whom the glory will truly return.

Elisha in danger

The king of Syria, Ben-Hadad, learns that it is Elisha who is giving information to Joram king of Israel; he doesn’t know God and he doesn’t respect the man, Elisha, and he tries to silence him, either by taking him prisoner or getting him killed.

TO  BE  WILLING  TO  LISTEN  TO  THE  SPIRIT  OF  GOD  AND  TO  HAVE  FAITH  IN  THE  PROMISES  OF  GOD

How does God inform us?

           * Through His Word : When we read and study the Word of God we discover His will - how to live and what to do. We have a duty to examine everything through the Word of God.

“For they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily, to see whether these things were so.”  (Acts 17 v.11b - New American Standard Bible)

            * When we are in prayer and adoration before our God, when there is a little voice inside us which speaks to us with gentleness, and we know that it is the Holy Spirit witnessing inside us.

“The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.”  (Romans 8 v.16)

“I tell the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit.”                                                                                                                   (Romans 9 v.1)

            * By dreams and visions : “And it shall come to pass in the last days,” says God, “that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams. And on my menservants and on my maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; and they shall prophesy.”  (Acts 2 vv.17 - 18)

             * That which we receive must always agree with the whole Word of God, and be to serve   the body of Christ.   If the prophecy puts a man in a prominent place, or puts forward a particular theology or a special doctrine which puts forward a book other than the Bible, we must pay particular attention and ask for advice before we engage in a direction that  is able to lead us far away from God, and makes us return to traditions that place us anew under a dangerous bondage.

For example:- We have received all sorts of messages about influenza H1/N1; some say to inoculate with vaccine is useless, and that we are going to be under the control of the beast ,for the legion of demons are going to be released into the lake.  But none of this happens, because it’s only ravings. The Bible says that Jesus has conquered the spiritual powers and authorities, and that He has given us the power to trample on the forces of darkness, and that nothing can harm us; moreover we are under His blood.  (See Colossians 2 v.15;  Luke 10 v.19;  1 Peter 1 vv.18 - 19;  1 John 3 v.8;  Acts 10 v.38)

ATTENTION!

There are false prophets, false shepherds and false teachers.

“For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. Therefore watch……”   (Acts 20 vv.29 - 31a)

The miracles in the Cévennes : The young babies spoke in impeccable French and warned by prophecy of the coming of the king’s soldiers and where they would come.

The story of brother Andrew : he went into Russia under the direction of the Holy Spirit as a smuggler to carry Bibles, not knowing who to give them to, but led by the Holy Spirit he always arrived at a good place, while the church was underground.

“Do not curse the king, even in your thought; do not curse the rich, even in your bedroom; for a bird of the air may carry your voice, and a bird in flight may tell the matter.”  (Ecclesiastes 10 v.20)

It is necessary to listen to all the warnings that God gives us.

King Joram paid attention to the battle warnings of the prophet Elisha, but when he spoke about sin, he took no notice. Similarly, we must not only have the information about the future of our lives by prophecy, but if we turn a blind eye to the sin in our lives, one day it will dominate us and make us slaves, and we risk straying from God and to be rescued through fire.

The king of Syria is very troubled (v.11.)  : He something similar to a heart attack, (literally - a storm in his chest.) When we foil the plans of the enemy, we sow confusion in his ranks. Usually he doesn’t stop there and he comes back to attack us another way. That’s why we must put on the whole armour of God to stand firm to overcome everything. (Ephesians 6 v.10)

The counter attack.

The king of Syria sends a great army by night to surround the city.

A large army  has the goal of frightening the inhabitants of the city and makes them abandon the safety of the prophet.

By night, thinking not to be discovered, for the forces of darkness often move at night when our back is turned.

Encircling the city :no possibility of escape from the city. One of the techniques of the devil is to frighten us by nightmares, uproar and all sorts of things like that.

The devil doesn’t attack us when we are living in sin, for that’s his nature!

The devil doesn’t try to frighten us when we are in sin, but he attacks us above all when we are in the will of God.

Jesus was tempted when He was led by the Spirit : “Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil.”  (Luke 4 vv.1 - 2a)

Why does Satan try to tempt or test us?  Because he wants to divert us from the goal that the Holy Spirit has assigned us. It’s when we are in the will of God that we are tempted and tested; that’s why we must submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee from us.  (James 4 v.7)

Don’t cling to the problem, cling to the solution.

The servant doesn’t see the heavenly army; he only sees the earthly army that had come to stop his master. When we have a problem, it seems that we only look at that; it takes over everything; we are prevented from sleeping, or it lights a fuse in our thoughts and we think that all is lost; - don’t we?

“And when the servant of the man of God arose early and went out, there was an army, surrounding the city with horses and chariots. And his servant said to him:- ‘Alas, my master! What shall we do?’”  (v.15)

When we are in the flesh, we see the solutions in the flesh, but when we remain in the Spirit and in the Word of God, we are able to see the solutions in the Word of God and follow the information from the Spirit of God.

“So he answered:- ‘Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.’ And Elisha prayed, and said:- ‘Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.’ Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.”  (vv.16 - 17)

Let’s repeat this sentence together:-  Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.

FAITH is to believe that whatever may be the situation, OUR GOD will never forsake us!!

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”  (Psalm 46 v.1)

“For you have been a shelter for me, a strong tower from the enemy.”  (Psalm 64 v.3)

A good exercise is to search out all the verses in the psalms which speak, for example, of refuge, of fortress, of help, etc.

“Open their eyes,”  the eyes of our faith which start to believe that what the Word of God says is true.

POWER  OVER  THE  ENEMY

“So when the Syrians came down to him, Elisha prayed to the Lord, and said:- ‘Strike these people, I pray, with blindness.’ And he struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.”  (v.18)

You see here that the prayer of Elisha has the power to open eyes or to shut eyes with blindness.

Jesus says that he gives us authority:- “Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.”  (Luke 10 v.19)

This shows that it isn’t the enemy who has power over us, but it is we who have power over the enemy; it isn’t he who manipulates us and controls us, but it is for us to know our identity in Christ.

The Bible states:- “You have all fullness in Him, who is the head of all dominion and all authority.”

Brother Andrew, the smuggler for God, prayed that God would blind the eyes of the customs officers in order that they would not see the Bibles that were in the car.

BLESS,  DON’T  CURSE!

Then Elisha leads them to Samaria and warns the king that he was coming with an army, but Elisha doesn’t want to do the least harm to his enemies; on the contrary, he serves them a feast and sends them back, free, to their own country.

He thus fulfilled the Word of God by not repaying evil with evil.

“Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men……. Therefore, ‘if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.’  Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. 

(Romans 12 vv.17 & 20 - 21)

“You have heard that it was said:- ‘ An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also…….You have heard that it was said:- ‘You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.”  (Matthew 5 vv.38 - 39 & 43 - 44)

God has given us the authority, but if we exercise it in the flesh, we will cause a lot of damage and serve the plans of the devil; on the other hand, if we use it in being channels exclusively by the SPIRIT OF GOD, then we will glorify God and accomplish miracles outside the ordinary.

                                                                                                                         Pierre Beumier