Lessons of Four Lepers - Steve Kelly

two kings chapter 7 and verse 3 it says now there were four men with leprosy at the city gate and they said to each other why should we stay here until we die if we say we'll go into the city the famine is there and we will die if we stay here we will die I mean oh this is a lose-lose situation so let's go over to the camp of the medians and surrender to the enemy and perhaps they will spear us and we'll live and if they kill us then we die but if we stay here we die if we go back into our own camp there's a famine will die so let's at least the only possible hope is to surrender to the enemy and if they have pity on us we live and says it at dusk if we say at dusk they got up and went to the camp of the Armenians and when they reached the edge of the camp no one was there could you imagine to the shock they get a surrender to the enemy and there's no one there to surrender to it says for the Lord they didn't know this hey cause the Armenians they hear the sound of chariots and horses and a great army and they said to one another look the king of Israel has hired the hittite and the Egyptian kings to attack us so the Bible says so they got up and fled in the dusk and abandoned their tents their horses and their donkeys and they left the camp as it was and ran for their lives now the men who had leprosy reached the edge of the camp and entered into one of the tents and they thought well this is pretty lucky this tents empty and the Bible says they ate and they drank and then they took silver and gold and clothes and went off and hid them if we live we'll come back and dig it up we'll let we got leprosy but we're not done this is the enemy's camp and we're taking from the enemy and now I love it it says here and they hit them and they returned to another tent and took some more things from it and hid them all so anybody think the story is getting good for the four little lepers amen and then it says and then they said to each other what we're doing isn't right this is a good day a day of good news and we're keeping it all to ourselves if we wait until daylight punishment will overtake us let us go at once every say at once and report this to the Royal Palace so they went and called out to the city gatekeepers and told them we went to the immediate camp no one was there not a sound of anyone only tethered horses and donkeys and the tents were left just as they were and the gatekeepers shouted the news and it was reported to the palace now the rest of this story goes on and talks about the king and the palace says this could be a trap they could have actually gone outside the camp thinking we're going to go in there and they'll attack us and he takes his time and has a bit of wisdom about all that and then finally everything that the Elisha the prophet declared that I didn't read about to this officer he said God's going to break the famine but you won't see it and the Bible says that when all the people went into the Arminian camp and actually began to take on all the things that God had given them it says that man who the Prophet spoke to was trampled to death with the excitement there's like a you know like you know Thanksgiving night you know Black Friday whenever the doors are opened and this man got trampled on that's a whole nother story and a whole nother sermon right there but I want to give you four thoughts four lessons that we can learn from lepers how many know we can learn from anybody listen to this very carefully God can only bless listen to this when you move away from dead things I want you to notice they said if we stay here we die if we go back into our own camp there's a famine we die so one thing's for certain we're not going to stay here any longer we got to get up and give ourselves a fighting chance and the only chance we have is surrender to the enemy and just maybe they'll feed us and take pity on us in other words you've got to be prepared to move away from dead things amen you can't stay where you are and I'm talking about this I'm talking about sometimes a dead situation is maybe an unhealthy friendship maybe there's a toxic relationship I mean if God says don't be unequally yoked and you're dating somebody who is not of the house of faith when the Bible says don't do it and you pray God did you bless this God can't bless it you're gonna move away from dead things come on somebody say Amen if you're in a toxic relationship and you're asking god help me you've got to be able and willing to move away from it I remember in our life we had some dear friends back in Australia that would dear friends and you know we used to hang out with them and have great time friend fellowship and this guy was a multi-millionaire and he was just a good friend I met him when he was depressed and suicidal and he was still in college trying to get his degree and he didn't have a penny to his name and I remember I used to take this young man with me to travel I took him to Africa and I was worried when he saw we went through Soweto and I'll never forget it because this is an emotional guy he's Italian he's he's passionate and I know Italians are passionate and so I'm watching him thinking this is gonna break his heart he's seeing poverty like he's never seen before and I looked and I said man are you okay and he goes I just realized I can't afford not to be blessed you see I thought he start feeling guilty about all the blessing that God had given him but no no he says I need to be successful in business because I've got the means to answer poverty I've got the means to and I thought also and let me tell you he met this girl and this girl was was was in my opinion you know like a little her gee I hope this is good she was negative she was resistant so the Holy Spirit and and and but she was a Christian no doubt about it she was a Christian she's going to heaven but I remember you know when they got married and and and and dear friends I just noticed my friend who loved our church suddenly started getting negative about the church and and no doubt he was that she was having a negative effect on him now I'm not saying you should ever move away from a marriage don't misunderstand me but what I am saying is this over a period of time they went over to a friend of Mines Church in New Zealand found themselves in leadership because this is a good guy successful highly motivated a multi-millionaire and then one day he just decided tithing is not New Testament and one day he just decided that the leadership model of the spirit-filled churches are just too autocratic in his opinion that that they ought not to be just a leader there should be a common consensus and we shouldn't be teaching tithing and then he just got really critical and his goal was to take as many people in the church to stop them tithing and I would go over and visit him I said dude you're crazy and he was getting negative about the senior pastor who was a dear friend of mine and this guy was a dear friend of mine and finally I said if you don't find it in your heart to repent of your destroying God's people I'm telling you man our friendships over because I won't be a friend to that you're wrong and I'm calling you out on it and you know what he said well the friendships over then if that's what the basis of the friendship and I said it is I will not be a friend to soap to somebody who's sowing discord among the Brethren I will not be a friend to somebody he's trying to tear down the thing that God's trying to build and you know I saw him recently a photograph of him and he's broke and he's got no money and he's down in he's defeated he's miserable and he's depressed and he said to a friend of mine I can't believe we're on that today because I just don't understand how it happens but I could tell ya it was that moment of letting a seed of greed and trying to keep the tithe that God says belongs to him it was that moment of tearing down godly leadership it was that mob and I just believe there are some people here tonight you need wisdom about the kind of people that you allow into your life in Jesus name poverty is not the will of God and you can't bless things that you're not moving willing to move away from you got to resist poverty come on somebody say Amen do you know Shenlong when we got saved you know we really in all honesty we kind of didn't really have much of a of a faith mentality toward the blessing of God in all honesty we had something of a lack mentality I would say I'll go as far as to say even a poverty mentality and and and and and I remember we had to make a decision we got to break this poverty of cycle this cycle of thinking poor thoughts that God actually is good and God wants to bless these kids and it is the will of God to be blessed and we need to make a conscious decision to move away from that kind of thinking here's another one some people let me just tell you what it comes to your health you're asking God to help you but you need to move away from certain food that is not helping you when it comes to the renewing of your mind there are certain thoughts that you've got to be willing to change if your life is going to move forwards the Bible says as a man thinks in his heart so is he in other words here's God's Word look at it it's God's Word it promises blessing victory prosperity you're the head not the tail it teaches you how to have a good marriage teaches how to be a great parent teaches you how to be a leader teaching you how to be a nation changer come on all God's promises a yes and amen yet all of God's promises are shrunk back to your thinking and my thinking because we put that through our filter and you've got to be willing to make sure you renew your mind here's another one you've got to make sure that you're willing to walk away from the pattern of the world too many Christians are way too influenced by worldly things but what the world says by social media come on someone talk to me here I got to keep up the Joneses I gotta have a better house I gotta have a you know and they're just trying to they're just trying to keep up with the world you've got to be willing to resist the pattern of this world come on somebody say Amen I just want to encourage us God will only bless when you're willing to move away from dead things God told listen to this God said to Elisha one time this great prophet he said hey Elijah you're in a funk who's ever been in a funk who's ever got to a place where I just want to give up come on let me just see your hand be honest okay he says Elisha I hear you man I got it you depressed you negative you're suicidal and he says I tell her I'm gonna do I need you to leave where you are and go up a mountain get out of the funk get out of the dead place get out of the place where you just want to die get out of the place where you you got to leave where you are listen and it's not a geographical place in the sense it's like the mindset and I'm gonna tell you to go up to the mountain and when you get up to the mountain I'm gonna speak to you it's in a mountain you get an elevator view it's in the mountain you see things a whole lot better than you do in the valley Elisha I've got to get you of you a little elevated I'm gonna speak to you but I can't tell you what I'm going to tell you if you stay where you are get out of your junk and get out of your poverty go up the mountain and you know the story Elisha goes up the mountain and there was Earth Wind and Fire but God wasn't in any of those things but then God spoke to him in a still small voice and what did God say to him watch what are you doing here go back down the mountain and this is where God speaks them about raising up a successor called Elisha he says come on you got to get your oil and you got to go but God had to say Elisha get out of the funk get out of the negativity get out of the isolation get out of the loneliness get out of the defeatist mentality come on back up the mountain and now that you're up Pete you see things better go back to your coal and raise up another leader a point and anoying another leader somebody needs to hear it God is speaking to you get out of your junk stop listening to worldly music and wonder why you're depressed stop listening to what the world says about finances go to the Word of God and live wood wisdom in the Word of God come on somebody say Amen here's the second thing a lesson from the lepers is listen to this don't get greedy look what it's easy thank you it says in verse 9 then they said to each other what we're doing is not right we're doing something here and we're enjoying the blessing of God because God made these for lepers sound like they were an invading army the Hittites the Egyptian and the is rights they all fought rally together and got four little lepers just walking into the Armenian camp God made it sound like they were being invaded by an all-powerful all-conquering army and they walk in there and there's the spoils of everything and they're gone this is awesome they ate and they drank and then one of them goes this is good but this isn't just for us this is good but this isn't just for us come on somebody say this isn't just for us don't get greedy when God blesses don't turn it all on yourself don't you it's amazing to me I see it happen too often in church life a young couple you know young man a young woman meet each other in church and they're serving in church and they fall in love and they get married and you know they decide to get to buy a house and they go and sudden all they're serving and in the house of God in Teresa's hell God blessed him and sitting under the Word of God which is why God blessed them and then they just turn it on themselves and they lose their half of serving and they lose their heart for God and before you know it they just come and when they feel like it and they're not serving like they used to can I tell you God has blessed you to be a blessing look at the next thing number three don't delay in doing right look at verse 9 again it says if we wait until daylight punishment will overtake us let us go at once every say it once hey what we're doing isn't right we're enjoying the food the wine the gold the silver the spoils of war we're having a party but our people are in a place of famine had we stayed there we'd have died we're the only ones that know that there are answers there's provision there's a name to the famine and we're living here living the dream but we got to make sure they know about it come on here's the thought listen to it don't delay in doing right come on somebody say Amen you've got to tune in to the spontaneity of God don't delay I mean I've often thought people delays not denial if you're unsure about something that's okay you got to make sure that your God is calling you to do something you're sure about it so in that context delays not enough but there are some things delay is denial God says hey they say if we wait till dawn if we wait till the morning Oh punishment will overtake us we know we have to do right we have to tell them now don't delay in doing right here it is listen is this helping anybody God will make you better than you are listen to what it says for the Lord had caused the Armenians to hear the sound man I wish we had that sound here tonight of chariots and horses and a great army so they said to one another look the king of Israel has hired listen all's they did was here but they said look as a result of what they heard they saw something that wasn't there he was his father levers had they are locked they have seen his four little lepers but they heard and they said look the king of Israel has got the hittite king the Egyptian King and they're attacking us so they got up and fled and then the Bible says and they abandon the tents the horses the donkeys they left the camp as it was and ran for their lives can I tell you when you trust God when you refuse to lay down and die when you say God I'm gonna move forward I'm not going to stay here God will make you better than you are you'll get the backing of heaven and heaven will stand with you your enemy will flee Jesus was born as a little baby look Thomas but he became the savior of the world amen come on think about it your seed see looks so insignificant so small so non-productive so useless but if you take your seed and you put it in the ground it produces a harvest God is brilliant and making something out of nothing and if God can do that but for lepers and cause the most powerful army in what was then the new world to flee because for lepers got up and said we're not gonna stay here we're not gonna die we're not gonna lay down we gotta do something let's move forwards then I want to tell you God can't bless you if you'll get out of your funk if you'll get out of the negativity if you'll get out of a worldly mindset come on give me praise as we sing [Music]

Channel: Wave Church

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Length: 19min 54sec (1194 seconds)

Published: Wed May 02 2018