LIVING IN CONFIDENCE WITH JESUS
2 Kings 7:3-12
The city of Samaria was under siege by the Arameans. They cut
off the food supply so there
was little to eat in the city. The price of anything left in the city was
extremely high. Some People killed and ate their own Children. There was a problem between Elisha the
prophet and the King.
The king blamed the problems of the city on Elisha and his
God.
Elisha told the King’s messenger that God would put an end to
the troubles.
2 Kings 7:1-3
THE LORD’S PLAN
V:7.1 Elisha said, "Hear the word of the Lord. This is
what the Lord says: About this time tomorrow, a seah of flour will sell for a
shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria."
2 The officer on whose arm the king was leaning said to the
man of God, "Look, even if the Lord should open the floodgates of the
heavens, could this happen?"
"You will see it with your own eyes," answered
Elisha, "but you will not eat any of it!"
POSITIONED TO BE BLESSED
V:3 Now there were four men with leprosy at the entrance of
the city gate. They said to each other, "Why to stay here until we die? 4
If we say, 'We'll go into the city'-the famine is there, and we will die. And
if we stay here, we will die. So let's go over to the camp of the Arameans and
surrender. If they spare us, we live; if they kill us, then we die."
Leprosy in the Bible is described as white sores all over the
body.
Numbers 5:1-4
The Lord said to Moses, 2 "Command the Israelites to
send away from the camp anyone who has an infectious skin disease or a
discharge of any kind, or who is ceremonially unclean because of a dead body. 3
Send away male and female alike; send them outside the camp so they will not
defile their camp, where I dwell among them." 4 The Israelites did this;
they sent them outside the camp.
According to the World Health Organization
The four leprous men were between a
rock and a hard place. According to Jewish law, they were
locked outside the city walls. Some distance from them was
the Armenian army ready to attack the
city.
No way to get food, they were starving to death. In the city,
there was no food. In the Armenian camp
was plenty of food.
In a way, we are all like the leprous men, full of sores
before the Lord. We are considered filthy
rags
Isaiah 64:6
All of us have become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;
We got Jesus in our lives. We are saved, sanctified, and
justified. The Blood of Jesus has
washed us clean. The
problem is, in some ways, we are still living like we have sore all over
our bodies. We are
still living outside the camp of blessings, peace, and joy. Every time a new
problem arises in our lives we start to worry, a white sore.
We make decisions without going in
prayer, a white sore. We leave home without prayer, a white
sore. We pride ourselves in our
work, a white sore. We trust in self first, before we call on
the Lord, a white sore.
LORD HELP MY UNBELIEF
We are at the entry of the gates of heaven. Jesus gave us the
keys to enter. It is our unbelief that
stops us from entering. It's our infectious unbelief that is
the disease behind the sores.
Unbelief leads to disobedience and disobedience to sin.
Unbelief robs us of the freshness each day. Unbelief robs us
of the possibilities God guarantees.
Unbelief keeps us from pursuing the help we need from the
only one who gives it to us.
Whatever situation you are in, others are in the same. You
are not alone. Four is a divine number.
The Israelites were in slavery for 400 years. The Israelites
wandered in the desert for 40 years.
There were 3 milestones in Moses' life. He left Egypt at 40
years of age. He spent 40 years in
Midian as a shepherd. He spent 40 years in the desert with
the Israelites. In God’s Word you
Will find similarities to every situation in your life.
If you want to change your life, you have to make a decision.
God uses your misery to set you up for a future blessing.
God got blessings waiting for your discovery.
The 4 leprous men had no idea that God had prepared their
recovery through the prophet
Elisha. They had no
idea that they were part of a bigger plan.
They had no idea that God had a plan to save the city. Their
leprosy was part of the plan,
and they would be the first to be blessed.
They were last to be considered, but first to receive the
relief of God.
2 Kings 7:1-3
7 Elisha said, "Hear the word of the Lord. This is what
the Lord says: About this time tomorrow, a seah of flour will sell for a shekel
and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria."
2 The officer on whose arm the king was leaning said to the
man of God, "Look, even if the Lord should open the floodgates of the
heavens, could this happen?"
"You will see it with your own eyes," answered
Elisha, "but you will not eat any of it!"
LOOK FOR THE GOOD IN YOUR SITUATION
Never think you are useless, worthless, and not under the
eyesight of God. Whatever circumstance
you are in God allows for a bigger purpose. You are
suffering. But your suffering may be the blessing that includes you and others.
Cancer is a leading cause of death in the US. But it is driving research that
one day may be the end of all cancers.
The four leprous men were unlikely candidates to bring good
news. They were outside
the city gates. They were outcasts, poor, hungry, and
unclean. They were in a hopeless
situation.
In City was death. If they stayed where they were it was
death. In the Armenian camp was
all the food they needed and a chance for life. The only door
open to them was the camp
of the enemy. In the doom and gloom of their situation, the
only ray of hope was in what they
feared, the camp of the enemy.
God has opened the door to the kingdom of heaven. All we have
to do is enter.
How many churches did we pass by before we entered? Outside
the church is death
Inside the Church is life. We have to make a choice to live.
In the Lord, your situation
is never hopeless. In the Lord is His solution to your
situation.
STEP OUT ON FAITH
V:5 At dusk they got up and went to the camp of the Arameans.
When they reached the edge of the camp, not a man was there, 6 for the Lord had
caused the Arameans to hear the sound of chariots and horses and a great army,
so that they said to one another, "Look, the king of Israel has hired the
Hittite and Egyptian kings to attack us!" 7 So they got up and fled in the
dusk and abandoned their tents and their horses and donkeys. They left the camp
as it was and ran for their lives.
God is waiting on you to decide to trust Him. He has all you
need in abundance.
God can make your enemy your blessing. The moment you decide
to trust God
the blessings are ready.
God terrified a well-trained, well-equipped army, and
fearless army. He confused
all men of the army with the sound of a mighty army rushing
toward them. They fled without
a fight. They made up their minds that the armies of two
nations had been hired to kill
them. They had no proof, just the sound they heard. God can
confuse your enemy into
blessing you.
By making a decision, to trust the insight that God gave
them, the four leprous men were blessed by the enemy. God is waiting on you to
trust Him with your situation.
ENTER INTO HIS PRESENCE
WITH THANKSGIVING
V:8 The men who had leprosy reached the edge of the camp and
entered one of the tents. They ate and drank, carried away silver, gold, and
clothes, and went off and hid them. They returned and entered another tent and
took some things from it and hid them also.
When they Got to the camp no enemy was there. They were
comforted by Jesus. Their fear was
gone. The food they needed was supplied. The clothes they
needed were supplied. Empty pockets
were filled with goal and silver.
They just wanted a bite to eat. They found more than they
could hope for in abundance. There was food, clothing, and money. All they
needed was to accept the salvation of the Lord. They
were still uncleaned. The blood of Jesus, the most precious
gift would wash them clean.
Their first response was to rejoice in their good fortune.
They took all they wanted and hide
the treasure. Jesus is a treasure you can't count. In Jesus,
there is peace, joy, and refreshment.
O what peace they enjoyed because they trusted the instinct
the Lord gave them. It
was the Lord who made them feel the misery of their sin and
drew them to His abundance.
God is working in your
misery.
Our misery is a call to action. It does not take much to stay
where you are. Just do nothing
and die in your misery. It takes courage to do something
different. It takes courage to seek that
ray of light that is before you and readily available. It
takes courage to see your troubles
working for your good. It takes courage to say to the Lord.
Thank you for my trouble.
SHARE THE GOOD NEWS
V:9 Then they said to each other, "We're not doing
right. This is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves. If we wait
until daylight, punishment will overtake us. Let's go at once and report this
to the royal palace."
God works in your joy and will not settle for selfishness.
God will force you to consider the plight
of others around you. When there was food in the city, they
survived from the generosity of
the food provided over the wall and perhaps by those who
passed by them on their way in or out of
the city.
Relieved from their misery, they could focus on the needs of
the city. They understood what
it meant to be hungry. They understood what it meant to be
cut off from family and friends.
They understood what it meant to be in a hopeless situation.
When they experienced the
blessings of God, They immediately became guilty of not
sharing the Good News.
It is the mercy of God to impress us with His righteousness.
It is the grace of God to
heighten our awareness of the plight of others and not let us
rest until we share the good news.
They recognized the good news and knew they had to share it
with families inside the city.
There is no mention of the leprous men being connected to
God. But their actions shows
that there was good in their hearts. Their Words indicated a
dedication to doing what is right.
GO MAKE DISCIPLES FOR JESUS
V:10 So they went and called out to the city gatekeepers and
told them, "We went into the Aramean camp, and not a man was there — not a
sound of anyone — only tethered horses and donkeys, and the tents left just as
they were." 11 The gatekeepers shouted the news, and it was reported within
the palace.
God’s prophecies are fulfilled through the people He chooses
to use to serve others. The lost
are
LIVING IN CONFIDENCE WITH JESUS
2 Kings 7:3-12
The city of Samaria was under siege by the Arameans. They cut
off the food supply so there
was little to eat in the city. The price of anything left in the city was
extremely high. Some People killed and ate their own Children. There was a problem between Elisha the
prophet and the King.
The king blamed the problems of the city on Elisha and his
God.
Elisha told the King’s messenger that God would put an end to
the troubles.
2 Kings 7:1-3
THE LORD’S PLAN
V:7.1 Elisha said, "Hear the word of the Lord. This is
what the Lord says: About this time tomorrow, a seah of flour will sell for a
shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria."
2 The officer on whose arm the king was leaning said to the
man of God, "Look, even if the Lord should open the floodgates of the
heavens, could this happen?"
"You will see it with your own eyes," answered
Elisha, "but you will not eat any of it!"
POSITIONED TO BE BLESSED
V:3 Now there were four men with leprosy at the entrance of
the city gate. They said to each other, "Why to stay here until we die? 4
If we say, 'We'll go into the city'-the famine is there, and we will die. And
if we stay here, we will die. So let's go over to the camp of the Arameans and
surrender. If they spare us, we live; if they kill us, then we die."
Leprosy in the Bible is described as white sores all over the
body.
Numbers 5:1-4
The Lord said to Moses, 2 "Command the Israelites to
send away from the camp anyone who has an infectious skin disease or a
discharge of any kind, or who is ceremonially unclean because of a dead body. 3
Send away male and female alike; send them outside the camp so they will not
defile their camp, where I dwell among them." 4 The Israelites did this;
they sent them outside the camp.
According to the World Health Organization
The four leprous men were between a
rock and a hard place. According to Jewish law, they were
locked outside the city walls. Some distance from them was
the Armenian army ready to attack the
city.
No way to get food, they were starving to death. In the city,
there was no food. In the Armenian camp
was plenty of food.
In a way, we are all like the leprous men, full of sores
before the Lord. We are considered filthy
rags
Isaiah 64:6
All of us have become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;
We got Jesus in our lives. We are saved, sanctified, and
justified. The Blood of Jesus has
washed us clean. The
problem is, in some ways, we are still living like we have sore all over
our bodies. We are
still living outside the camp of blessings, peace, and joy. Every time a new
problem arises in our lives we start to worry, a white sore.
We make decisions without going in
prayer, a white sore. We leave home without prayer, a white
sore. We pride ourselves in our
work, a white sore. We trust in self first, before we call on
the Lord, a white sore.
LORD HELP MY UNBELIEF
We are at the entry of the gates of heaven. Jesus gave us the
keys to enter. It is our unbelief that
stops us from entering. It's our infectious unbelief that is
the disease behind the sores.
Unbelief leads to disobedience and disobedience to sin.
Unbelief robs us of the freshness each day. Unbelief robs us
of the possibilities God guarantees.
Unbelief keeps us from pursuing the help we need from the
only one who gives it to us.
Whatever situation you are in, others are in the same. You
are not alone. Four is a divine number.
The Israelites were in slavery for 400 years. The Israelites
wandered in the desert for 40 years.
There were 3 milestones in Moses' life. He left Egypt at 40
years of age. He spent 40 years in
Midian as a shepherd. He spent 40 years in the desert with
the Israelites. In God’s Word you
Will find similarities to every situation in your life.
If you want to change your life, you have to make a decision.
God uses your misery to set you up for a future blessing.
God got blessings waiting for your discovery.
The 4 leprous men had no idea that God had prepared their
recovery through the prophet
Elisha. They had no
idea that they were part of a bigger plan.
They had no idea that God had a plan to save the city. Their
leprosy was part of the plan,
and they would be the first to be blessed.
They were last to be considered, but first to receive the
relief of God.
2 Kings 7:1-3
7 Elisha said, "Hear the word of the Lord. This is what
the Lord says: About this time tomorrow, a seah of flour will sell for a shekel
and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria."
2 The officer on whose arm the king was leaning said to the
man of God, "Look, even if the Lord should open the floodgates of the
heavens, could this happen?"
"You will see it with your own eyes," answered
Elisha, "but you will not eat any of it!"
LOOK FOR THE GOOD IN YOUR SITUATION
Never think you are useless, worthless, and not under the
eyesight of God. Whatever circumstance
you are in God allows for a bigger purpose. You are
suffering. But your suffering may be the blessing that includes you and others.
Cancer is a leading cause of death in the US. But it is driving research that
one day may be the end of all cancers.
The four leprous men were unlikely candidates to bring good
news. They were outside
the city gates. They were outcasts, poor, hungry, and
unclean. They were in a hopeless
situation.
In City was death. If they stayed where they were it was
death. In the Armenian camp was
all the food they needed and a chance for life. The only door
open to them was the camp
of the enemy. In the doom and gloom of their situation, the
only ray of hope was in what they
feared, the camp of the enemy.
God has opened the door to the kingdom of heaven. All we have
to do is enter.
How many churches did we pass by before we entered? Outside
the church is death
Inside the Church is life. We have to make a choice to live.
In the Lord, your situation
is never hopeless. In the Lord is His solution to your
situation.
STEP OUT ON FAITH
V:5 At dusk they got up and went to the camp of the Arameans.
When they reached the edge of the camp, not a man was there, 6 for the Lord had
caused the Arameans to hear the sound of chariots and horses and a great army,
so that they said to one another, "Look, the king of Israel has hired the
Hittite and Egyptian kings to attack us!" 7 So they got up and fled in the
dusk and abandoned their tents and their horses and donkeys. They left the camp
as it was and ran for their lives.
God is waiting on you to decide to trust Him. He has all you
need in abundance.
God can make your enemy your blessing. The moment you decide
to trust God
the blessings are ready.
God terrified a well-trained, well-equipped army, and
fearless army. He confused
all men of the army with the sound of a mighty army rushing
toward them. They fled without
a fight. They made up their minds that the armies of two
nations had been hired to kill
them. They had no proof, just the sound they heard. God can
confuse your enemy into
blessing you.
By making a decision, to trust the insight that God gave
them, the four leprous men were blessed by the enemy. God is waiting on you to
trust Him with your situation.
ENTER INTO HIS PRESENCE
WITH THANKSGIVING
V:8 The men who had leprosy reached the edge of the camp and
entered one of the tents. They ate and drank, carried away silver, gold, and
clothes, and went off and hid them. They returned and entered another tent and
took some things from it and hid them also.
When they Got to the camp no enemy was there. They were
comforted by Jesus. Their fear was
gone. The food they needed was supplied. The clothes they
needed were supplied. Empty pockets
were filled with goal and silver.
They just wanted a bite to eat. They found more than they
could hope for in abundance. There was food, clothing, and money. All they
needed was to accept the salvation of the Lord. They
were still uncleaned. The blood of Jesus, the most precious
gift would wash them clean.
Their first response was to rejoice in their good fortune.
They took all they wanted and hide
the treasure. Jesus is a treasure you can't count. In Jesus,
there is peace, joy, and refreshment.
O what peace they enjoyed because they trusted the instinct
the Lord gave them. It
was the Lord who made them feel the misery of their sin and
drew them to His abundance.
God is working in your
misery.
Our misery is a call to action. It does not take much to stay
where you are. Just do nothing
and die in your misery. It takes courage to do something
different. It takes courage to seek that
ray of light that is before you and readily available. It
takes courage to see your troubles
working for your good. It takes courage to say to the Lord.
Thank you for my trouble.
SHARE THE GOOD NEWS
V:9 Then they said to each other, "We're not doing
right. This is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves. If we wait
until daylight, punishment will overtake us. Let's go at once and report this
to the royal palace."
God works in your joy and will not settle for selfishness.
God will force you to consider the plight
of others around you. When there was food in the city, they
survived from the generosity of
the food provided over the wall and perhaps by those who
passed by them on their way in or out of
the city.
Relieved from their misery, they could focus on the needs of
the city. They understood what
it meant to be hungry. They understood what it meant to be
cut off from family and friends.
They understood what it meant to be in a hopeless situation.
When they experienced the
blessings of God, They immediately became guilty of not
sharing the Good News.
It is the mercy of God to impress us with His righteousness.
It is the grace of God to
heighten our awareness of the plight of others and not let us
rest until we share the good news.
They recognized the good news and knew they had to share it
with families inside the city.
There is no mention of the leprous men being connected to
God. But their actions shows
that there was good in their hearts. Their Words indicated a
dedication to doing what is right.
GO MAKE DISCIPLES FOR JESUS
V:10 So they went and called out to the city gatekeepers and
told them, "We went into the Aramean camp, and not a man was there — not a
sound of anyone — only tethered horses and donkeys, and the tents left just as
they were." 11 The gatekeepers shouted the news, and it was reported within
the palace.
God’s prophecies are fulfilled through the people He chooses
to use to serve others. The lost
are all around us. God did not choose us to rest. He gave us
the mission of taking the Gospel
to the ends of the earth. The lepers realized their responsibility
to GO TELL THE GOOD NEWS.
When you get excited, others get excited. Think yourself into excitement about Jesus.
Look at what He has done for you. Excitement is a choice. Make that
choice.
CLASS
EXERCISE
TELL ME
WHAT TROUBLES YOU.
TELL ME
THE GOOD IN YOUR TROUBLES
GET
EXCITED ABOUT YOUR TROUBLE
all around us. God did not choose us to rest. He gave us
the mission of taking the Gospel
to the ends of the earth. The lepers realized their responsibility
to GO TELL THE GOOD NEWS.
When you get excited, others get excited. Think yourself into excitement about
Jesus.
Look at what He has done for you. Excitement is a choice. Make that
choice.
CLASS
EXERCISE
TELL ME
WHAT TROUBLES YOU.
TELL ME
THE GOOD IN YOUR TROUBLES
GET
EXCITED ABOUT YOUR TROUBLE
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