2 Kings 7:1-16 | The Blessings of Believing | Rich Jones

goes tonight and open if you would to second Kings chapter 7 taking just a short break from our regular through our Bible study 2nd Kings chapter 7 we'll begin in verse 1 and the title of our message is the blessings of believing let's pray and ask God's blessing on our study tonight father we do thank you because we know that you send your word with your heart to speak to our lives to stir us up and God we want to just we want to open our heart tonight and just beat be spoken to by your spirit through your word and God let your heart just come through as we look to your word tonight in Jesus name Amen is that the the story out of 2nd Kings is really a story of storms and difficulties and troubles and lightness it's a great lesson because life is frankly filled with storms and difficulties in trouble the key is to have an anchor for the Soul I can tell you having been through many challenges and difficulties of life and if you don't have an anchor for your soul if you don't have a rock on which to stand it is devastating but God is that rock right God is that foundation that we need to have before the day of trouble this is important for us to recognize jesus said everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them in other words he's not just to hear but he lives them he's a doer of those words he's like a wise man that's a very wise thing to do he's a wise man who built his house on a rock and he says the rain fell the floods came in other words trouble right difficulty storms and the rain fell the floods came the winds blew slammed against that house but it did not fall because it had been founded on the rock what a picture of the believer who has an anchor for his soul who has built his life on a foundation a rock on which week instead see when you take God at His Word when you take hold of those words for your life it's when you make them personal for you that's when you're living by faith and you will discover you will find that there are many blessings that come with faith many blessings that come with believing God wants you to build your life on God's Word on God's promises on God's truth see storms are going to come that's the that's the world in which we're living storms come world is filled with trouble evil is all around us but a wise man has a has an anchor for a soul he has a rock on which to stand and that rock is Jesus now you look at 2nd Kings chapter 7 the events that we're looking at take place in the Northern Kingdom the kingdoms divided here Northern Kingdom life is hard you want to talk about difficult days and troubles we're seeing them in a in a place of tremendous difficulty exceptionally dark definitely difficult and what was happening is that one of the sons of Ahab was ruling on the throne a hab was like perhaps the most wicked King the North had ever seen and and his sons were much like him and so one of the sons was raining and the nation in the north there had turned their back on Jehovah on the God of Israel turned her back and he started following after these these other gods of the of the nations around them and they represented worldliness all of these gods were worldly in nature Molech tomash a bale asterisk oh my goodness if you just understood the depth of these things and why in the world is Israel going after these gods when when God had chosen them as his own people but interestingly one of the really important things that we get out of this story is why while the nation of Israel is turn their back on God God responds by pursuing them now I love that about the Lord I love that about the Lord many people you know the candidate they get a place where they're wandering or they've fallen away or ever and I got to tell you I love the fact that God doesn't quit God does not give up on you right he is like he will never leave you he will never forsake you and he will never quit on you he will pursue you to bring you back and you see that here because here Israel is in their darkest days by some of the darkest days and what does God do in response he sends some of the most powerful prophets to call them back there's God there's God pursuing this is an amazing thing so things have become so desperate in his grill that what had happened is that their enemy modern-day Syria the king of RAM in those days had attacked and even besieged their their capital which was Samaria besieged it and and that's a terrible slow death and so here they've they besieged them and things got so desperate in the city that a donkey's head was selling for 80 shekels of silver and that's a that's a mountain of money right a donkey's head eighty shekels of silver and two cups of doves dung was sold for five shekels of silver no doubt to make doves dung soup which is a delicacy I think in some parts of the world I mean you know they have some interesting delicacies around the world so you know you never know I mean they make fried spider in Cambodia you know so hey you never know they eat stink bugs in Africa did you did you know that it tastes like apples they say and they kind of crunchy and they may have bird's nest soup in Japan so there you go bird's nest soup you know I mean that's got to be kind of similar to dubs dunk soup and a chicken's feet in South America so and they they tuna eyeballs in Japan I aren't you glad yardie at dinner and they spam in Hawaii there you go so what's it interesting okay things are really really desperate and then in the midst of all of this trouble God God makes a promise right of amazing of rescue of amazing deliverance God's going to rescue them in one day to the point to the point that in one day time he says in one day's time a measure of finest flour is going to be sold for one shekel now that's an interesting thing so as the story unfold is filled with all kinds of insight for our lives as believers has a lot for us in the story so let's begin the second Kings chapter 7 beginning in verse 1 what had happened was they're besieged I mentioned that it got so bad that the King blamed God and blamed Elisha the Prophet and actually sent a messenger to dispatch his head okay and so when the messenger arrives that's where we pick up the story a second King 7 verse 1 Elisha then said listen to the word of the Lord listen now Elisha was well known as a prophet who spoke in power the Word of God and he said now you listen to the word of the Lord thus says jehovah thus says God of Israel tomorrow about this time a measure of fine flour will be sold for a shekel and two measures of barley will be sold for a shekel even in the gate of Samaria and the Royal officer on whose hand the king was leaning answered the man of God Elisha and he said behold if the Lord should make windows in heaven how could this thing be now there's a lack of faith if there ever was one and then Elisha responded he said he addressed his lack of faith and he says behold you will see it with your own eyes but you will not eat of it now this is a really interesting story what God does now explains he explains what happens starting in verse three now there were four leprous men at the gate and they said to one another why do we sit here until we die if we say we will enter the city well famines in the city and we'll die there if we sit here we're going to die also so come now let's go over to the camp of the armed in base Paris we live if it kill us we're going to die anyway so they rode that twilight to go to the camp of the year means when they came to the outskirts of the camp a beer man's vault there was no one there for the Lord had intervened in a miraculous way God had intervened in a miraculous way God's miraculous intervention the Lord caused the army of the arameans to hear this sound of chariots and the sound of horses even the sound of a great army so that they said to one another behold the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites and the kings of the Egyptians to come upon us therefore they arose and they fled in the Twilight and they left their tents and their horses and their donkeys even the campus it was and they fled for their life now when these lepers came to the outskirts of the camp they entered the one tent and they eat and they drank and then they carried away some silver and gold and some clothes and they hid them and then they returned to another tent and carried from there also and hid them and then they said to one another look what we are doing is not right this is a day of good news but we're keeping it to ourselves we're keeping silence if we wait until morning light punishment will overtake us now therefore let's go let us go and tell the king's household so they came and they called to the gatekeepers of the city and they told them saying we came to the camp at the Arameans and behold there was no one there nor the voice of man only the horses tied in the donkey side and the tents just as they were and the gatekeepers called and they told it to the Kings household now the king arose in the night and said to his servants I will tell you all right let me tell you what this is I will tell you what the air remains have done to us this is the ruse this is the deception this is a game this is a Reus they know that we're hungry therefore they have gone from the camp to hide themselves in the field saying when they come out of the city then we shall capture them alive and get into the city and then one of the servants answered and said please let some men take five of the horses which remain because they'd eaten most of them and which are left in the city behold there will be in they will be in any case like all the multitude of Israel who are left in him behold they will be in any case like all the multitude of Israel who have already perished let us send and see so they took therefore two chariots with horses and the king sent after the army of the aramean saying go and see so they went after them to the Jordan River and behold all the way was full of clothes and equipments with the arameans had thrown down in their haste and the messengers returned and told to the king so the people went out and they plundered the camp of the arameans and then sure enough a measure of fine flour was sold for a shekel and two measures of barley were sold for a shekel according to the word of the Lord all right now this is an amazing story and a tremendous opportunity for us to understand something about troubles and difficulties and let's go back over the story and I think let's kind of capture some of those lessons that we can take hold of and apply to our lives and one of those lessons I like to perhaps phrase it this way keep yourself in the love of God actually that's right out of the book of Jude that we were studying recently where he's telling the church he's telling these Christians he's telling to build yourselves up on your most holy faith and keep yourselves in the love of God and and it's a really encouraging word for us to understand this is that key you keep yourself in the love of God well before the day of trouble for when you keep yourself in the love of God and hear the word of God is the foundation you have an anchor for your soul now when you look at things here in Israel I think it makes you ask how did things get this how did things get this bad well proverbs 13 gives us a hint where it tells us the way of the transgressor is hard that's one thing but secondly they had they had turn their back on the Lord they had turned their back on the Lord lonely floor this in other words they had departed from God and they had come away from God's hand of protection they were outside of God's hand they did not stay near to God's love but that's exactly what we need to do in fact if you are in trouble I tell you you return to the Lord if you wandered you've drifted you've gone away from the Lord in any sense you return to the Lord as fast as you can the scripture tells us in proverbs 18 the name of the Lord is a strong tower and the righteous run I'm telling you run as fast as you can get you go back to the Lord if you if you've wandered you're in trouble you're in difficulty I'm going to tell you a great lesson you run to the tower the Lord as fast as you can get because it is an important thing because there he says there you are saved there you are saved now we look at this story and we look at this king and we look at this servant one of the great lessons for us also I think is this take take responsibility see the king of Israel one day was passing on the on the wall and a woman cried out to him and for help and the king answered and said if the Lord doesn't help well then where how should I help you it's interesting because he's essentially saying well he's blaming God for not helping and a lot of people do that when they get into troubles they get into difficulties a lot of times people will turn their back on God by blaming God like well God loved me then why is he even allowing us if God cared about me then why he even allow me to go through this thing and they turn away from the very one they need know when the King heard how desperate things had become his anger burned against Elijah knowing that Elijah was the Prophet right of God and so he's going to blame me Lysa to and you know blaming other people is a very common thing rather than taking responsibility for the decisions that led up to this point and in turning in revival and turning back in repentance to the Lord which is what he should have done instead he's blaming now blaming is a very common thing today right like there's all these famous you know like famous even frivolous lawsuits have got people blaming other people and you know like I'm never reading a story of a fellow who sued winnebago because they did not warn him that he couldn't put it on cruise control and then go to the back of Nick coffee they he felt that they should warn him that he cannot do that or there was two sorry there was a Pennsylvanian nursing student who failed this course twice and so she schools she sued the school for not helping with the anxiety that she felt when taking tests now I took a lot of tests in school about their your anxiety is just part of it I had nightmares for years after taking math classes in college anybody else and so you know it's interesting because blaming other people seems like it's part of human nature it goes all the way back to Adam and Eve all the way back to admin Eve do you remember when God asked Adam if he had eaten from the tree of which he was commanded not to eat and then Adam responded it was the woman whom you gave to me and so interestingly he blamed a woman and God all at the same time and so you know you say well look at the story wait a minute God is the one who had warned them it through if they turn their back on God then they're moving away from God's protection they're moving away from God's favor and God's blessing oh how ugly things can get in our lives if we are left to our own devices I know many people who would say that they would have died had God not rescued them from themselves how many people in this room would even say you know what I could have died if God has not saved me it's in the interesting thing isn't it the answer is to run to the Lord as fast as you can for there the hand of the Lord is with you now here's another lesson we can get out of this story which is taste and see that the Lord is good when the king came to Elijah to vent his anger he said it clearly this evil is from the Lord why should I wait for the Lord any longer but Elijah gives this amazing promise next day about that time a measure of fine flour will be sold for a shekel two measures of barley for a circle God's going to deliver Israel in an amazing way all in one day but the Royal officer of the King didn't believe it behold if the if Yahweh of Jehovah should make windows in heaven oculus B he can imagine how God could do it so he concluded God couldn't do it do you believe that God is able to do the miraculous intervention even today see it's important for us to grasp because if you believe it you will look for it if you believe it you'll look for it and you'll pray for it I'm seeing God's amazing provision I've seen God's miraculous I mean there's nothing short of miraculous intervention I remember when I was I was in the restaurant business and my wife and I had been praying about going into ministry we realized that if we're going to be serious we need a good Bible education and I wanted to go to Multnomah which was a very very expensive Multnomah University and so I had I had hatched a plan in my mind I was in the rest of business I was partners and so we were going to get this other restaurant added to us it was like this deal we were making that was like a really great deal and I thought AHA I know what I'll do as we make this deal then I will sell my partnership portion and I'll take the profits and I'll paint my way to school and that Lord I have I am so clever I have come up with a great plan for you I just need you to bless it have you ever done that with the Lord cuz I'll tell you how it ends it didn't end very well it does not end well and so what happened was my partner who was negotiating this for I was running the thing and he was negotiating and so he came to me one day it was a Friday night I remember it very well and he came to me and he said hey I got to tell you something i i've been meetings with these people and I just don't I just don't I think there's something unethical about these people and I just killed the deal today and I knew there was a Christian I knew you'd understand that and of course I did understand that Katinka Chingiz money was in my eyes I what am I going to do I didn't say that to him I said it to the Lord look what I'm going to do that was my whole plan I don't know why I don't know what to do I don't know what to do I cannot afford this and in god I just I'm asking I need a miracle and God so that in fact my prayers went to destruction so that I know it's a miracle and anyone else who ever hears the story knows it's a miracle I'm not going to tell anyone I need this money I'm just asking can you do a miracle God that was my prayer all day Saturday so Friday he told me this is my prayer all day Saturday I go to bed Saturday night at peace I get up Sunday morning can't wait to go to church just one to worship and I'm ten steps in the door and literally a fellow steps out in front of me like this puts his hands up and says stop I need to tell you something I said oh okay what is it he said God told me this week I'm supposed to pay your way through Bible College and I thought Lord your ways way better and he meant every word of it and it was by doubt provision I got all the way through the bachelor's degree in theology went to the seminary and when all these years there and and he said you want to go get your doctorate I'll paint that too so that's why I'm dr. Jones today I'm joking wait a minute wait a minute wave it I am NOT dr. Jones I don't play what a GV nor my one but God's presentation was miraculous see Elijah's response to this lack of belief this lack of faith is interesting because he says since then you will see it with your eyes but you will not taste of it you'll see it but you will not taste of it unbelief has the the effect of that you don't protect it you don't you don't see it you it doesn't become part of you your life unbelief is going to keep this man from teasing the promises of God God's going to do this marvelous thing he refused to believe it so he's not going to taste of it see this is important because there are those who just watch others partake God doesn't want you to watch other people worship God wants you to worship God doesn't want you to just watch other people uh you know receive the Word of God he wants you to receive the Word of God because that is indeed how we are changed that's how we are transformed that's how we're built up on our faith he wants you to taste it for yourself see 2nd Corinthians 1:20 for as many as are the promises of God in him they are yes to believe that and then I love Psalm 34 verse 8 o taste and see that the Lord is good how blessed is the man who takes refuge in him there's an action to that you partake of it you you take hold of those promises and you are partaking of those promises for your life see I love some 119 verses 103 how sweet are your words to my taste yes sweeter than honey to my mouth partake of the Word of God let it become part of who you are and maybe we could say this with feast on the promises of God that maybe even more than just tasting feast on the promises of God here's Israel's out of options the situation's beyond desperate but they've taken God out of the equation God God who certainly was enough of options they had not turned to him for help see but God in His mercy is going to deliver which is why Elijah was there in the first place in spite of their lack of belief in spite of their turning their back on God God is going to demonstrate that he is still on the throne see I love the phrase that I heard somewhere we may not know what tomorrow holds but we know who holds tomorrow and to me that is that is the faith by which you have an anchor for your soul it is a rock on which you stand you don't know what's going to happen tomorrow see a lot of people because they don't know what's going to happen tomorrow it causes them to be afraid they have fear to see God did not give us a spirit of fear but of love and power and a sound mind and so there is a faith that says God I don't know I don't know I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow but I know that you do and I know that you're good and I know that you love me and I know that you're for me and I'm going to keep myself in the love of God and I'm going to feast on the promises of God so we know the story we read it there's these four lepers and interestingly leprosy in Scripture they're outcasts it's a picture of sin they're diseased outcasts they're terminal they have no option so they decide to throw themselves on mercy that's it that's a really interesting I love the fact that they just fill themselves on mercy now what's interesting in the story and maybe we can capture this part of the story this way is be careful how you listen when these for lepers go over to the aramean camp behold there's no one there because the Lord had caused the army of the Arameans to hear the sound of chariots and the sound of horses the sound of a great army this is a miraculous intervention ok miraculous intervention now what's interesting is a couple chapters back the king of a ram had singled out Elisha and he wanted to get him himself because Elisha was by the prophetic word of the Lord informing the king of Israel where the attack of the enemy would be and the king of aram had enough of it he went to go get Elisha so he sent horsemen and chariots to go and get him so one day the Elisha's servant wakes up and behold the city is surrounded by the this the the men of the realm Master what are we going to do master what do we do and I love Elijah's faith I love Elijah's answer and he says greater are they who are with us than they who are with them does that remind you of a scripture well that is a scripture but there's another one that says greater is He Who is in us than he who is in the world do you believe that greater is He Who is in you greater is He Who is in you than he who is in the world that is in fact the strength of the presence of God in your life and so he says to his servant greater are they who are with us and they heard with him and he prayed to open the eyes of his servant and behold the chariots of fire surrounding the city spiritual protection over Elijah so in one case it was a great sense of encouragement but in the case of the army of a ram great fear see what you tune your heart to has everything to do with what you tune your ears to I love Luke 8 verse 18 take care how you listen now just right there is not a great word right there take care how you listen how you hear how you hear take care how you listen for whoever has to him shall more be given whoever does not have even what he thinks he has shall be taken away from him when Jesus was speaking to the churches of in the book of Revelation which we get to soon seven times he said the same thing be careful how you listen be careful how you hear revelations 2:7 he who has an ear let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches he who has an ear be careful how you hear you have an ear you hungry for what God is speaking through his word through his spirit Paul said something similar to the church in Rome Romans 10:17 is a favorite verse of ours so faith comes from hearing and hearing by the word of Christ you all more faith be careful are you here make sure the word of the Lord is what is in your ear he says and then I love this part of the story where the lepers discover the camp you know of the the Syrians the Armenians is empty they eat they drink they kill your waste and silver or gold they they hid for themselves these things and then at some point they say this is not right this is what we're doing is not right this is the day of good news that we're keeping it to ourselves we're like silent about this this isn't right and maybe we can say it this way because it does apply to us hey let other people know the good news the best news the world has ever heard has been given to Jesus Christ and that's why you got saved right you heard the good news of Jesus Christ that God sent his son to reconcile sinners to himself you heard that good news and it transformed who you are amen and so it's like these lepers we're not doing right right we got we're keeping silent others are suffering and starving but we're keeping this to ourselves it's not right it's like we - we - we know that there's good news that transforms lives broken people are made whole God brings healing and hope some people say well they don't want to hear well that's true some don't but you'd be surprised how many do you know when Jesus when Jesus came and ministered in Israel there were essentially two kinds of people like there are two kinds of people today right there are those who know they're sick those who know that they need help they know they need hope they know they need a physician you might say spiritually speaking and then there are those who don't know and they don't want to hear when the Jewish leaders did like those the Jewish leaders saw that Jesus was eating with sinners and tax collectors can you imagine what at what an accusation the Jewish leaders are making Jesus is eating with sinners Oh you just about leave that Jesus is eating with sinners and Jesus is eating with tax collectors which like the despicable people of society can you believe that yeah but nerve so Mark 2:17 on hearing this jesus said it is not those who are healthy who need a physician but those who are sick but notices I did not come to call the righteous I came to call sinners and in the same way you know you talk to people out there in the world you know and and are you going to run into people who think they have no need at all for God of course you are there's like people like that everywhere but are there people who are hungry for hope you would be surprised you would be surprised and if God is transform you you you you're like a witness you're like a witness of that see revelation 3 verses 17 to 18 you you get this picture of those who had no clue of their spiritual depravity their spiritual need and I'd say well this verse in these verses in Revelation 3 they're like America I mean he's like he could be speaking to America because you say I am rich and have need of nothing and you do not know that you're wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked God says I advise you I don't like to afraid for them I advise you to buy from me I salve to anoint your eyes that you might see if we could see from God's perspective I'll tell you what it would change our perspective and then because faith really faith says is anything too difficult for the Lord so I just love God's miraculous intervention is anything too difficult for the Lord when the kid you know when when the this Kings servant hears this he's like I believe it when the King hears there's no one in the camp of the air means he won't believe it he thinks it's a ruse unbelief will keep you from enjoying the promises about how many people don't take God at His Word and therefore don't have the promises that God wants to give to them but faith says God I believe that you still do miraculous things today I believe that you still intervene with your miraculous hand I love Jeremiah 32 verse 17 our Lord God behold you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arms nothing is too difficult for you I love that verse do you just love like saying Evers I mean he just one of those verses that you just love saying because it just it just settles so beautifully on the soul do you know haven't you ever tasted God's Word and it's like sweet to you like oh that's that is sweet I love that that tastes really good I really like I like that it just tastes so good that's one of those verses it's like oh that is like honey ah Lord God that's a great part there ah Lord God behold you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arms nothing is too difficult for thee it's great verse just because you can't imagine how God might answer doesn't mean God's out of options is anything too difficult for the Lord James 4:2 you do not have because you do not ask does that make you want to ask doesn't it make you wanna have more face doesn't it make you want to just draw into a place of just saying god I will trust you who holds tomorrow in the palm of your hand and I will ask see you don't have because you don't ask pray ask God still does intervene today and those who believe it watch for it that's pray lord thank you so much for your figure blessing on our lives and I pray Lord for everyone tonight in this room that we would say to you I will take hold of the promises in your word I don't want to just taste and see I want to feast on the promises of your word and I will trust you whatever troubles difficulties would ever struggle you're going through God wants you to believe and trust and keep that that foundation under your feet you stay keep yourself in the love of God you build yourself up on the most holy faith will you say to God I will run I will run to the tower of the Lord I will run back I will run I will trust you I'm running back to you you just raise your hand and say to Lord guess I I will run back to you I will trust you I believe that you still do miracles you still intervene you still help today God we love you and thank you for all that you're doing in our lives we thank you for pouring out your whole bond us we love you for what you're doing [Music] we pray that in Jesus powerful name and everyone

Channel: Calvary Chapel Worship Center - Hillsboro, Oregon

Views: 1,616

Rating: 4.7777777 out of 5

Keywords: The Bible, God, Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit, Holy, Pastor Rich Jones, Calvary Chapel, Faith, Grace, Revival, Truth, Prayer, Salvation, Calvary, Chapel, Hillsboro, 2 Kings, Blessings of Believing

Id: PYfqYx4wvGk

Length: 36min 50sec (2210 seconds)

Published: Sat Jul 29 2017