POINT # 2 – SEEING THROUGH THE SPIRIT AND BELIEVING IN THE SPIRIT
We said that when we have an overcoming spirit, we will be different from the world. There are 3 things about us that will be different when we have an overcoming spirit, like Caleb had. We will see differently, believe differently and speak differently. Let’s talk about what it means to see and believe differently. When we see differently, we see through the spirit. (Ask: What does that mean? Allow your child to answer.) When we believe differently, we believe IN the spirit. (Ask: What does that mean? Allow your child to answer.)
(I encourage you to open your Bible to 2 Kings 6 and place the summary inside your Bible as you read it. We want our kiddos to know that this truly is the word of God, not just a story.***)
Read this summary of 2 Kings 6:8-17.
“Then the enemy king of Aram sent horses, chariots, and a large army to Dothan. They arrived at night and surrounded the city. The king of Aram was making war against Israel, God’s people. He had a meeting with his army officers. He said, “Go and prepare to attack the Israelites.” But Elisha, a prophet of God, sent a message to the king of Israel. Elisha said, “Be careful! Don’t go by that place, because the enemy soldiers are hiding there!” The king of Israel sent a message to his men at the place that Elisha, the prophet of God, warned him about. And the king of Israel saved quite a few men. The enemy king of Aram was very upset about this. He called his army officers and said to them, “Tell me who is spying for the king of Israel.” One of the officers of the king of Aram said, “Elisha, the prophet from Israel, can tell the king of Israel many secret things—even the words that you speak in your bedroom!” The enemy king of Aram said, “Find Elisha, and I will send men to catch him.” The servants told the king of Aram where Elisha was at. Elisha’s servant got up early that morning. When he went outside, he saw an army with horses and chariots all around the city. The servant said to Elisha, “Oh, my master, what can we do?” Elisha said, “Don’t be afraid. The army that fights for us is larger than the army that fights for our enemy.” Then Elisha prayed and said, “Lord, I ask you, open my servant’s eyes so that he can see.” The Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and the servant saw the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire. They were all around Elisha.”
There are things that are going on in the spirit that we can’t see with our human eyes. Elisha’s servant saw the enemy’s army and horses and chariots surrounding their camp. Elisha saw that too, but he also saw something else. He saw what God was doing. Not only was the enemy surrounding Elisha, but there was a heavenly army surrounding them as well! He asked for his servant’s eyes to be opened so he could also see what was going on in the spirit. This is the same for us today. We know the Bible tells us that Jesus is with us always, even though we can’t see Him right now with our human eyes. We can’t see the Holy Spirit, but He is here with us also. And, we know God is real, even though we can’t see Him right now either. We have to choose to believe and trust that what He says is true. We have to value what God says as more important than what we see with our human eyes.
We also have to KNOW what God’s word says for us to be able to BELIEVE what He says instead of what we see, especially if those 2 things are different. God’s word says we should live by faith and not by what we see, and that faith comes by hearing and hearing the Word of God. But, we can’t live by faith if we don’t know what His Word says. Right? Let’s say I told you, “I bought you an oreo blizzard and I left it in the freezer for you.” Would you believe me, or would you have to see it to believe it? If you believe me, then you are choosing to trust what I say instead of what you see. If you chose to not believe it until you saw it, then you would not put faith and trust in what was said. It’s the same with God, we have to choose to believe what He says and what His word says, even if we can’t see it.
Discussion Questions
- Have you ever seen something “new” in a place you have been many times, only to find out that that thing wasn’t really new at all, but had been there all along, every time you’ve been there? Allow your child to explain.
- Why do you think that happens to us sometimes?
- Have you ever seen anything in the spirit (Ex. an angel), and would you like to share? Allow your child to share.
Scripture memory verse:
“So we think about what we cannot see, not what we see. What we see lasts only a short time, and what we cannot see will last forever.” – 2 Corinthians 4:18 ERV
Prayer: Jesus we thank you for giving us eyes to see. Holy Spirit we ask that you would open our spiritual eyes. We want to see beyond the hard and difficult things that we see with our natural human eyes. Give us courage to not only depend on what we see with our human eyes, but what we see with our spiritual eyes. We ask for you to give us visions and show us what you are doing in the spirit. We ask for you to protect our mind and heart from what we may see sometimes with our natural eyes, that are not of you or from you. Help us to see things and people the way you do, Jesus. We pray all of these things in the name of Jesus. Amen.