Open your Eyes!!!
“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?" the servant asked. "Don't be afraid," the prophet answered. "Those who are with us are more than those who are with them." And Elisha prayed, "O LORD, open his eyes so 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.” 2 Kings 6:15-17
Since the beginning, Satan and the world have waged war against the people of God. In this case it was the king of Syria waging war against Israel at Dothan. The reason he chose Dothan was because Elisha the prophet of God was there and the king of Syria knew that if he could take out the spiritual leader then the faith of Israel would fall making it easy to raid their territory! The king of Syria surrounded the city of Dothan with a strong force of chariots and fighting men to overwhelm them. In the midst of being surrounded and outnumbered on every side Elisha did not back down. Though Elisha’s servant was frightened, it did not frighten Elisha as he prayed to God to open the servant’s eyes so he could see and when he did the servant could see that God had surrounded them with horses and chariots of fire!
The same is true today. There is a spiritual battle going on and Satan has surrounded us on every side. He is waging war every day on every campus against all of those who claim to be true disciples of Jesus. As disciples we must open our eyes to what’s going on around us. We cannot allow ourselves to become distracted by the daily routines of life. We cannot afford to become complacent. We cannot allow past failures to get us to pull our hearts back. We must pick up our swords and put on our armor and go to war every day. If you chose not of be sure of this: Satan will take you out if he hasn’t already. We’ve been sent to win the world for God and though we didn’t start this war, we must finish it!
“Open Your Eyes” was the title of the 2008 Texas Campus Ministry retreat at Canyon Lake this past weekend. The Mission Point Christian Church in San Antonio hosted the event and it was definitely an “eye opening” event! The retreat kicked off as 120 student disciples from all over the state of Texas joined together in singing, fellowship and prayer Friday night.
Saturday morning our hearts were drawn to the intimacy of God and to a reverence for his holiness as Brandon Clayton led our hearts in the morning devotional. After a time of reflection and prayer we were led down to the lake to witness Esteban, from the San Antonio campus ministry, be baptized into Christ! Saturday afternoon we were challenged to “Take a Look in the Mirror,” as Mike Taliaferro preached to the men and Ann-Brigitte Taliaferro shared with the sisters. After a time of response we enjoyed an afternoon of bonding and fellowship. Saturday night we were treated to an amazing message by Jeff Henderson as he preached on the spiritual battle we all face. The Spirit of God moved powerfully through him as he reconnected our hearts to the seriousness of the battle for our souls and the souls of all mankind.
Sunday morning Marty Wilkinson preached a great lesson entitled “Seeing Who the Real Jesus is.” In Marty’s lesson we were challenged to be confrontational instead of passive and to be gracious instead of condemning! Even after all of this God was not finished. After Marty’s lesson we all gathered by the lake to witness Jasmine Gowarti (a student at Texas State University) get baptized in to Christ! It was extra special because Jasmine’s brother Enoch (a student at UT) was just baptized two weeks ago and both of them are great additions to the Austin campus ministry!
