The Value Of Vision - Bro Philip Howell 8-29-2025

If I'm I'm not mistaken.

I believe this is my first time preaching without my

mom and dad here, so it's a completely different feel already,

and we're just getting started.

I appreciate their prayers so very much.

We miss our pastor and Pastor's wife so very much

here tonight.

As it said, every service, you can feel it.

And if we didn't say that, we'd be like, I

give an honor to my pastor. Is such an honor

to stand behind his pool pen I do not want

to take it lightly at all. I appreciate brother Nathaniel

extending the opportunity to preach here tonight, and.

I will be in.

We'll be in Second King's Chapter number six. Second King's

Chapter number six will start in verse number fifteen.

The Bible says, and when.

The servant of the Man of God was risen early

and gone forth beholding hosts can pass the city both

with horses and chariots.

And his servants said under him.

Alas, my master, Alast, my master, how shall we do?

And he answered, fear not, for they that be with

us are more than they that be with them Verse

number seventeen. 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 charots of

fire round about.

Elisha.

If you would stretch your hands towards Heaven.

Him tonight, that's all then, God, we need this sera much. God, God,

would you give us clarity of scriptural Lord, and.

We could give the phrase the yall or in the

glory in.

The church said Amen, I want to preach, if the

Lord be my help, just for a little while, on

the value.

Of vision and the fact we, most of us. Brother

Hannah was blying for some time. And there's not a

person in this building or one that walks this world

that wouldn't spend.

Every dollar they could ever work for, or every dollar

they could ever find.

Or be given to have their natural sight, every one

of us. It's a very.

Fearful thing when you actually take the time to think

about being blind.

And I understand this young man here was in blind,

but he was blind in the spiritual sense.

And I want, I want to I want to preach

to us just for a little while, on the spiritual

side of vision and seeing things God's way rather than ours.

This is a very familiar, familiar text here, And to

bring us to where we're at.

The young man and Elisa on this mountain, and the

King of Syria has sent these men because he questioned

his men and said, would you please tell me which

one of you, in my truth are for this King

of Israel?

And they said, there's none of us, o King, but.

It's a man, Elisha, And he tells the King of Israel,

your thoughts on your bedchamber.

So at this point.

Elisha and the young man are are on this mountain.

And Elisha praised because the young man wakes up and

they're surrounded, and in his natural eyes he sees all

these horses and chariots come past the mountain, and he

gets fearful, and so he wakes.

The Man of God up and he says, Master, how

are we gonna fare? They've God surrounded, They've.

God surrounded, and I don't know what to do, right,

And so Elisha he begins to pray, and he prays

that God opens the young.

Man's eyes, and God does just that, and so the

Lord opens the young man's eyes and he was able

to see the chariots of fire that was on his side,

and the charance of fire, and the horseman that was

on his side, and so and so Elisha prays for

the young man that God opens his eyes.

And then he prays that God blinds the very men

that's after him.

And so Elisha, we know the story when Elijah went

into glory, he prayed for a double portion.

And when I read this, I think he got just

that this man had these God.

These are these men's vision on a light switch.

He prayed that God God.

Turned it off.

And then they went in and he takes them.

He takes them to the place and he asked God

to strike him in blindness, and and God takes their vision.

And so he takes them to the to the King

of Israel. And so he takes to the to the

King of Israel. And so God God blinds him, and

he takes them to.

The King of Israel.

And and and the Bible says that he's the Bible

says he smoke him with blindness according to the word.

Of the Lifeshop.

So God, God goes what.

His man prays for.

And so Elisha takes the men to Samaria, and he prays.

To the Lord to open their eyes yet again, and

the Lord does just that again, and the King of.

Israel says, The King of Israel says, shall I smite them?

Shall I smite them?

Speaking to Elisham, and Elisha tells him not, God, don't

smite your enemy this time. Give them something to drink

and give them something to eat, and.

Send them back on their way.

That don't sound to me like something a king would

do with this man that were coming to take his life.

They've been trying to get even the man of daughter

Elysham was telling him to go a different way than

what he normally would do. And so so.

Elisa tells this king feed them, get them.

Something good to drink and eat, and he sets up

a feast before him.

They are read, and they go back into their king

of Syria, and the Bible says that let me find

it here.

I believe it's the end of verse number twenty four

twenty three. So the bands of Syria come no more

into the land of Israel. Help this lord.

And so when the king, when the King of Israel

ask Elisha, shall I smite them?

Shall I smite them?

Smite, according to Strongs, means to kill, to punish, or

com murder or slave.

How many times do we get to the place where

we're just so fed up with people, We're.

So fed up with family, We're so fed up with

that God forbid that person on the Turk view that we.

Get it stuck in our crow and we say, pastor,

we're ready to turn them out the Turks or Pastor,

we're ready.

To smile verbally.

But that's we are now so high and we don't.

Have the eye and the vision that the Man of

God has. And he says, I feel like we want

to give him one more time. Why because when the

Man of God is the Judgment's day, he's got to

be the one that stands before God and give it

a cap for everyone in this building. And then I'm

sinking tired of people. The Man of God says, give

him another chance.

That don't seem like.

Something to me that a king should do. These men

come to try to take his life. And when when

they told the king that was Elisha, he said go

to him, they said this fan's down and and done them.

And so they're going so around him and they got

him and they wanted to be with the king. They

were trying to take his life.

But when when they come to him, when.

Elisha, Elisha tells them, let him live, feed him, give

them something to drink, and send them back. And because

he done what the Man of God said, he said

that the bands of Syria come no lord to Israel.

So because he was obedient to the Man of God,

God honored him, and he prospered from that.

I wannah, I want to go.

To Genesis chapter number sixteen. Again. I pray that the

Holy Ghost of help us tie this.

In here tonight Genesis won in and Genesis sixteen and one,

reading through verse number four, this is someone that went.

Against the vision. And again I'm preaching this in a

spiritual sense.

Now, Sarah Abram's.

Wife bear him no children, and she having handmade an

Egyptian whose name was Hagar. And Sarah said, on Abra, Abram, behold,

now the Lord hath restrained me from bearing, from bearing.

I pray thee go go in onto my maid. It

may be that I may.

Obtain children by her.

And Abraham hearkened to the voice of Sarah, and Sarah,

Abram's wife took Hagar her maid, the Egyptian after Abram

and dwelled in dwelled ten years in the land of

came and gave her to her husband, Abram, to be

his wife. And he went in under handyguard, and she conceived.

And when she saw that he had to that she

had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes. When

we don't do it the plan and the Sarah knew,

and when when we know to do better, it all.

Turns out wrong. And Sarah decided to do it her

own plan and do it her own way. And we

know this story right there, says her mistress was despised

in her eyes. The reason she was so despised was

because it was her plan. It was the vision she

had for her and Abraham.

She wanted children there and she wanted them now, and

she didn't want to wait for the plan from God,

and she decided to do it her way.

With her vision. So many times we feel that we've

got a good plan, but that's because we can't see.

They're the spiritual eyes. And that's when we need God

to give us.

Visions that are spiritual and wake us up in i

pad chamber at night and sweet to us.

God had spoke to Abram, and no doubt, I'm sure

Amn took the time to tell him.

But see over at issue, Louia. Now here's the difference

in Sarah and this young man.

I really wish we.

Had the young man's name.

I like names, and it makes it a little bit

easier to preach every now and then. Here's the difference

in the young.

Man in Sarah. Sarah gets mad, and that's all because

she looked.

Through her eyes the young man in verse number eighteen,

when his eyes was open.

Let's read number seventeen and said, right here, 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 Lussia.

Done enough, said, I didn't read of that man, young man, he.

Didn't need no more confirmation, he didn't need the pastor

preaching on it.

Again, we we get so.

Caught up as young people and understanding to the youth servant,

Oh maybe that ass's not that bad.

Maybe pastor just don't know, maybe it's really not that bad.

That's the seremontality the young man when God we.

Fail it to him, and he started looking through throughout spiritual.

Eyes, that's all we hear. He sees the chariots of

fire and the horseman on the mountain surrounded the Man

of God.

And that's it.

Yes, if you can't get us a song.

I want to be like a young man. I don't

want to be like Sarah and do.

It my leg just because.

God gave me a free will. God gave us a

free will, and that's not to abuse it.

That's where when we get to judgments day, there's no excuse.

We have no excuse for.

Not making it to heaven. If we don't make it

to heaven, it's on our free will and free choice.

And and it's because we have a eyes that are

so damned and we can't he would see spiritually to

listen to the Man of God.

I want spiritual ide. I want to see the value.

I'm a preacher that have of the eyes that are

spiritually lad by God.

And Sarah have that opportunity. God had promised them a

gift like nobody had ever been. They were so old

that they didn't even need kids. Their life was well established.

But God wanted to get Abram a lineage of children

and getting.

His own promise. But Sarah messed it up with this smell.

If we would everyone stand here, mind.

I want us, if you feel like praying, to come

into the altar and ask God for a.

Part, for passion like the young man, and for a

heart like this young man, and asking Lord to kick

me from.

Being like Sarah and doing it my way. Just because

I have the option and ham the choice, sometimes we

get some messed up with the free will. I want

this young people to pray to God and ask him

open my eyes.

Don't make the Man of God I canna lost.

You have to pray for God to open your eyes.

Tell God, I want to see the value in the

vision that the Man of God has for Bethel.