18/4/2021「Sunday Message」 www.lifechurchmissions.com
Do Not Sit and Wait to Die, but Get Up and Submit to God's Word <2Ki 6:24-25; 7:1-9, 12-13, 16-20>
Prelude: Sometimes when we are discouraged or encounter problems, we just don't want to do anything. Maybe it is because of not knowing what to do, or the matter is too difficult to manage, and it is useless to do anything. There is a mentality of taking a wait-and-see approach and continue to be at the mercy of the attacks by the devil or problems. But if God is with us and loves us, then we have to resist the mentality that causes us to think that we are helpless and just simply "wait to die". This is because there is hope in the Lord, and also areas where we can submit.
1. God's words will not fail <2Ki 7:1-2; 16-20>
1) At times, God's words can be truly unbelievable.
God used the prophet Elisha to prophesy that within 24 hours, the Israelites would be released from the enemy's siege, food would also become abundant and very cheap, resolving the famine problem. Such a prophesy was simply unbelievable. The famine was so great, how could it have changed so quickly and so dramatically? No wonder the officer of the king of Israel did not believe it. Unfortunately, God's words really came true in the end. Although he saw the prophecy fulfilled, he could "see it with his own eyes but could not eat any of it" and was trampled by the people and died. Today, many of God's promises or words are unbelievable to us. Sometimes it feels like God's words are too difficult to be fulfilled, and they are exaggerated. But we cannot believe our own judgment, feelings, and circumstances more than the words of God! Because God does what he says. Sometimes, God only gives us answers and relief at the last minute to prove and teach us: He is absolutely faithful, and we can definitely rest assured because of Him. Therefore, we should not ask God "how" He will do it, because "how He does it" is not our business; but what we should do is "believe."
2) If one does not believe, he will experience unnecessary losses or even perish.
It turned out that God frightened away Israel's enemies. Therefore, no one threatened Israel anymore, but the Israelites did not know that, and instead, still locked themselves in the city, trembling with fear. Obviously there was a large pile of food not far away, but they continued to starve. They had the word of God but did not believe or confirm the words of God, so they continued to remain in despair. Many times, we are also in misery because of unbelief. Sometimes we feel surrounded by enemies, and we feel that we cannot overcome the world, the devil, and our sinful nature; but it turns out that these enemies are already defeated by God. We only have to turn to God and trust God. God has already given us freedom, but when we do not believe, we can’t enjoy it, and we can’t be joyful. It turns out that our "unbelief" is more terrifying and can defeat us more than the real enemy. Here, we see that the officer's unbelief and his contempt for God caused him to perish eventually. This also reminds us that when Judgment Day comes, those who do not believe in Christ will suddenly realize ("see with their own eyes") that Jesus is the true only Saviour, and heaven and hell are also true, but by then, it will be too late. Therefore, we should not become people who "see with our own eyes but cannot eat any of it (cannot enjoy)". We should also try our best to save the people around us, so that they will not fall into the situation of "only seeing but not being able to eat".
2. Do not wait to die, but make due consideration <2 Ki 7:3-4>
1) The courage of one with nothing to lose.
These four men with leprosy were not great, and it was not explicitly mentioned here that they surrendered to the enemy because of faith or obedience to God. They just made the wisest choice after considering. In fact, these four men with leprosy had lost all hope, they were unclean and they were also ostracized by people. In other words, they were already at the bottom of the valley, and there was nothing to lose. And now there was also a famine, and everyone did not have enough to eat, and no one would give them things to eat. So they thought about it, and it was only by surrendering to the enemy that they could find a way to survive; if the enemy did not spare their lives them, they would merely die a little earlier. In any case, by "sitting still, they will also die." The strange paradox was that their hopelessness became their hope and way of survival! In fact, if a person has any other way, if he has not reached the end of the road, he will continue to rely on himself and refuse to surrender. But it is amazing that people often meet God only in hopelessness and end. Only when we find ourselves completely depraved and unable to save ourselves, will we humbly accept God's salvation and help. However, if our problem allows us to meet God, it is actually a blessing. These four lepers were the least likely to have a reversal of fate in human view, but they were in fact blessed. In the same way, Jesus can save the worst of sinners; no matter how unclean, or unworthy, or abandoned by others, as long as they are willing to take refuge in the Lord, they will receive His mercy.
2) Important understanding: "Sit still, will also die" <2 Ki 7:4>
In fact, even if we "sit still," Satan will come and attack us, sin will still lure us, death will still find us, and every word God says will also be fulfilled. Some people are always indifferent, do not want to make decisions, do not want to take any action, do not want to battle with the devil and problems, do not want to endure hardship, do not want to take the path of faith, etc. However, if following God will be tough, but sitting still doing nothing will cause us to be under the bondage of the devil, the world, and selfish desires, then why not follow God? Although there are struggles in following God, the outcome of following God is surely more hopeful than being indulgent in our problems, weakness, and letting the devil do as he pleased.
3. We must “get up”, do what we should <2 Ki 7:5-8>
1) Faith is not just for study and discussion, but faith is practical, it is about following, obeying and doing.
These four lepers did not just discuss. The outcome of their discussion is action. If there is no action, it is futile if there is much discussion and if everything said was right. Some Christians like to discuss and debate about Christian topics or spiritual resolution, but they never truly prayed and obeyed the Word of God. Therefore, their lives and their relationships with God did not really grow. Today, we must also get up and live for Christ. No matter what hardship we are in, God will give us a way out; in all circumstances, there is always an area where God wants us to submit and be renewed. Therefore, in every single situation, we must not “sit still”, but to “get up” and obey the Word of God. And when we followed God, we will see His abundant provision, like how He provided for the lepers in His grace. Of course, sometimes, what we received from God may not be what the miraculous and tangible help that the lepers received, but there will always be grace beyond our imagination. Like how these lepers, they were originally “losers”, but in the end they became “winners”. At the least, when we followed the Lord, we will turn from “children of wrath” into “children of God”; from being cursed to being blessed, and we will find a way out of a dead end.
2) In the midst of problems, do not underestimate God.
After these lepers took actions, God gave them unexpected surprises and miracles. They only hoped to fill their stomach, but little did they expect that they not only found some food, but food that they could not finish. Furthermore, there was no one in the enemy camp, they even found a lot of silver and gold. Today, God also can do more than what we ask for or imagine. Some people may say, “No, I only ask for a little, what I want is very simple, but God never gives it to me.” Thus, what God gives man is often beyond what man asks for or imagines. Man always asks merely for some earthly pleasures or temporal blessings, but what God wants to give us are blessings that can last till eternity.
4. After benefitting, we should share with others <2 Ki 7:9>
1) If we do not share, “punishment will overtake us”.
When these 4 lepers kept it to themselves instead of sharing the good news to their countrymen, their conscience was rebuked. Likewise, after we benefitted from the gospel, we must also remember that there are many people on the verge of perishing because they have yet to hear this good news. Thus, after we received the grace of God, we must share the gospel. Otherwise, like what the lepers said, “punishment will overtake us”. Sometimes, we sin not in committing grave crimes, but we sin by our silence and inaction.
2) Cannot “wait until daylight”: The urgency of the mission.
Think about it, if there was a delay of a few hours in sharing the good news, and it was only shared in the morning, how many people could have died from hunger during the night? If that was the case, then the blood of the dead would be upon these 4 lepers. Today, the gospel good news which we have also cannot until “daylight” to be shared, because in every moment of delay, souls are leaving the world. We who receive God’s grace also owe a debt of grace, so we must preach the gospel.
3) Only preach, and commit man’s response to God.
Here, we see that after the lepers shared the news, the king of Israel did not immediately believe, but because of this information, the Israelites were finally liberated. Perhaps when we are evangelizing, we also have many concerns, but even if people do not believe after we preached the gospel, at least we can answer to God. “To preach” is what we should do, but whether man will believe or not, that is up to God. When evangelizing, we may have another reservation, that is, whether our identity, status, qualities, have sufficient credibility for people to believe our testimony? But think about it, these 4 lepers were wanderers rejected by people, they were the least likely to stand before the king of Israel to testify to him, yet they had this opportunity. Likewise, we may not have better qualities than people of the world, but there is one thing precious which we have but people of the world don’t, and that is we have understood and believed the gospel. Actually, whose testimony would be most powerful? It is the testimony of those who have truly seen and eaten, just like these 4 lepers. Thus, if we have tasted the goodness of the Lord’s grace, then regardless of our earthly conditions, we are the most qualified to testify for the Lord, our testimonies will also be convincing. Therefore, do not look down on ourselves, nor on the predicament that God has allowed us to go through. God can save and He can use us!