"This is a day of Good News"

Today let me thank the members of District 11 for leading us in worship, let me say thanks for my darling wife for reminding us of the the wonderful love of jesus Christ.

today the title of the message is

"This is a day of Good news"

Lets pray

2 Kings 7:3–9 NKJV

Now there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate; and they said to one another, “Why are we sitting here until we die? If we say, ‘We will enter the city,’ the famine is in the city, and we shall die there. And if we sit here, we die also. Now therefore, come, let us surrender to the army of the Syrians. If they keep us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall only die.” And they rose at twilight to go to the camp of the Syrians; and when they had come to the outskirts of the Syrian camp, to their surprise no one was there. For the Lord had caused the army of the Syrians to hear the noise of chariots and the noise of horses—the noise of a great army; so they said to one another, “Look, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites and the kings of the Egyptians to attack us!” Therefore they arose and fled at twilight, and left the camp intact—their tents, their horses, and their donkeys—and they fled for their lives. And when these lepers came to the outskirts of the camp, they went into one tent and ate and drank, and carried from it silver and gold and clothing, and went and hid them; then they came back and entered another tent, and carried some from there also, and went and hid it. Then they said to one another, “We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news, and we remain silent. If we wait until morning light, some punishment will come upon us. Now therefore, come, let us go and tell the king’s household.”

It was a time of distress and turmoil in the nation of Israel, it was a time when the nation was separated with Israel in the North with the ten tribes of Israel with their capital city of Samaria and Judah in the south comprising of Judah and Benjamin, with Jerusalem as their capital. It was a time of great nationalism for Judah while it was a time of war and difficultly for the other ten tribes of Israel in the north, .....

Old Testament history tells us that Israel the ten tribes in the north was in a terrible situation. The Assyrians were flexing their military might, conquering the smaller kingdoms, and Israel was going to be their prize possession. You see the Assyrian empire was exerting their power in the region and the then ten tribes making up Israel was a vassal of the king of Assyria but the king had rebelled, by stop pay tributes, they banish its ambassadors and proclaimed their sovereignty through off the oppressive yoke of the Assyrians.

The word of God tells us that when Israel went into the land of the canon, God told them that from the Mediterranean sea to the great river the Euphrates was to be their coast..... but they failed to conquer the land and the nations that they failed to conquer was the same people who would wage war and conquer them a century later. This was prophesied by the angel that spoke to them in

Judges 2:1–3 NKJV

Then the Angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said: “I led you up from Egypt and brought you to the land of which I swore to your fathers; and I said, ‘I will never break My covenant with you. And you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall tear down their altars.’ But you have not obeyed My voice. Why have you done this? Therefore I also said, ‘I will not drive them out before you; but they shall be thorns in your side, and their gods shall be a snare to you.’ ”

..........Because they failed to conquer the people of Canon, the angel of The Lord told them that the same people would be a thorn in their flesh. As Children of God, we should be mindful that every deviation from God's will carries a weighty consequence. Israel consequence picks up in.....

2 Kings 6:24–25 NKJV

And it happened after this that Ben-Hadad king of Syria gathered all his army, and went up and besieged Samaria. And there was a great famine in Samaria; and indeed they besieged it until a donkey’s head was sold for eighty shekels of silver, and one-fourth of a kab of dove droppings for five shekels of silver.

Mention this. Deuteronomy 28... Blessing and cursing

This was a time in the nation of Israel when things were rough, the city gates were closed, nothing going out or coming in. This reminds me of what is presently happening around the world. Some nations are shut tight, because of the corona virus, fear and anxiety has gripped the world, where would help come from, The people were starving, the people are dying, mothers were eating their children, fathers were selling their families into servitude, where would help come from? In a time of distress and uncertainty would God allow the enemies of Israel to utterly destroy the people? Would help come from God, This was the situation that they found themselves in.

And so the Bible informs us that: man's disobedience ushered in hunger, starvation and selfishness, no one looked out for one another every one looked out for themselves.

When we read the Old Testament there is a chronological cycle that took place in Israel....... The Old Testament tells us that

when .....the people are at peace,

.....the people forget God

Then....the people are persecuted and exiled by their enemies

Then ....the people called to God in repentance

Then .... the people are delivered

.....the people are again at peace,

And so this cycle continues over and over in the nation of Israel. This cycle not only speaks of Israel cycle of sin but it speaks to us as the people of God. When we examine our own lives, we see clearly that this is also our problem. When things are going great that's the time we consult God less, when things are going well we depend upon self, when business is flourishing you are too busy to attend church,

But when we are in trouble... We call to God in repentance and God and faithfulness to his covenantal relationship, God delivers....and then we are at peace again...

.... Pause here...

And so we continue the story in 2 Kings 7 the story tells us of four lepers, who were dwelling at the gate of the city, there are some things that we already know about lepers,

1......lepers were considered ceremonially unclean,

2.....because of their uncleanness there were socially repulsive by society,

3..... these four lepers found themselves in a difficult situation, they could not get in the city because the gates were closed,

4.....these four lepers were better off outside the city than inside the city because of their condition... They were starving and the people in the city were also starving... The lepers outside of the city were starving because of the siege and the people in the city was starving because of the siege...so in my mind ....six and half a- dozen is still the same... Both groups of persons were starving...

so in verse four... these lepers states...

2 Kings 7:4 NKJV

If we say, ‘We will enter the city,’ the famine is in the city, and we shall die there. And if we sit here, we die also. Now therefore, come, let us surrender to the army of the Syrians. If they keep us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall only die.”

Verse four tells us that these four lepers weighed the cost, they thought long and hard on how they would die, and when they came to their conclusion they saw it best to go to the camp of the enemy.

It is a hard thing to be found in a situation where you rather be at the mercy of your enemy than the people who called themselves Gods people.....

Sometimes Gods people can be hard and unsympathetic,

sometimes we can be so harsh in how we treat people, that persons who are looking on us will ask the question....are these people, Gods people...?

Today, some people are leprous in their particular circumstances but they are scared to come into the house of God because of what they think people would say about them, ....the lost need to know that the church is a place of healing, restoration and redemption. It's a place where sinners can come and experience Jesus,......the church is the lighthouse that shines in the dark, the light of Hope for the hopeless to see, the church is Gods Hospital where men and women can enter and experience the great redeemer. Although this is so sometimes the church misses the opportunity to be what God intended it to be,

Just like these four lepers they cannot see love, appreciation and compassion in the people who called themselves Israel.

.....Pause here...

And so these lepers choose to be at the mercy of the Assyrians rather than seeking help from their own people.

2 Kings 7:5 NKJV

And they rose at twilight to go to the camp of the Syrians; and when they had come to the outskirts of the Syrian camp, to their surprise no one was there.

These lepers were surprised that the enemy's camp was empty, maybe they said that the enemy was tricking them, maybe they said it was just a trap to see if the Israelites would leave the city. But to their surprise after a thorough investigation, they found out that the soldiers left their weapons, their food and everything that they had in a hurry.

........The bible states in verses six....that The Lord made the Syrian army to hear the noise of chariots and horses and a great host.

The experiencing the power moment.

Although Israel had wandered away from God and the nation was divided, the people had mocked the prophets of God, rejected the counsel given by Elisha, But God was still fighting for them,

there is one thing that speaks forcefully in this chapter ..... matter what the people had done to cause the wrath of God, no matter how far they had gone from God's standard God still held Israel as the medium that he will use to bring forth the messiah.

When I look at this, this gives me hope, for the songwriter got it correct when he said, I was sinking deep in sin, far from the peaceful shore, sinking to rise no more, but the master of the sea heard my desperate cry and from the water of sin He lifted me now safe am I. Today I want to remind you that

"The church is God’s appointed agency for the salvation of men. It was organized for service, and its mission is to carry the gospel to the world". – {AA 9.1} The people who are apart of the church may stray and fall short of Gods high standard but the church is still God's medium in which he uses to carry the Gospel. that’s why Jesus says that the Gates of Hell will never prevail against the church of Almighty God. The church is Jesus Christ is not perfect, but we are moving toward perfection as we keep our gaze upon Jesus....Apart from Christ the Church is just a group of People but when the people remains in Christ the Church becomes the bride of Christ.

Today as we look at the experience of the four lepers, they all had a condition which deemed them as out cast.,...but these lepers are similar to us..... we too have leprous flowing through our veins, we are born in sin and sharpen in iniquity.. we all have an incurable sickness call sin, but God shows us his grace redeemed us and gave us a precious gift a message of Good news.

...Pause here...

2 Kings 7:9 NKJV

Then they said to one another, “We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news, and we remain silent. If we wait until morning light, some punishment will come upon us. Now therefore, come, let us go and tell the king’s household.”

This was a day of Good news because the Assyrian army was defeated By God and they had food in abundance for themselves and the people in the city...............

Today I present to you Jesus Christ the one who is good news, I proclaim to you Jesus the one who able to save us from our sinful condition and transform us into new creatures,

today, Jesus is the answer to the world problems,

today, Jesus is the only vaccine for the virus of sin. Just as how God Destroyed Israel’s enemies 2 kings 7. Jesus destroyed the power of Sin forever sealing the fate of the devil, rescuing us from eternal damnation so we through Jesus Christ can have access to salvation

Today just like those lepers they received good news about the destruction of Israels enemies so we too have received salvation and has been given the good news of Jesus.

My brothers and sister, on the Facebook and you-tube, i am offering you the same good news, its good news for the wear, its good news for the broken hearted, its good news for the hungry, its good news for those who are struggling with sin, and its good news for those who needs a savior .

. When I take a look at my own life and I see where God had taken me from, I have to say thank you, Jesus,...

some of us were living in a deplorable and sin curse life, but when we heard the Gospel, the good news that Jesus saves, the Holy Spirit took control of our lives and today we are never the same.

Today .......i proclaim the good news of Jesus that was preached by Peter on the day of Pentecost, that when men heard it, over three thousand where added to the kingdom of God,

Today....... I proclaim to you the gospel that caused Peter and John to proclaim in the face of adversity, it is better to obey God rather than men

Today ....... I proclaim to you the gospel that when the Ethiopian treasurer heard it he said, what hinders me to be baptized. Today Jesus Saves

Conclusion

Brethren, of the seventh day Adventist church in ... and friends listening on Facebook , you-tube and second advent radio, i want you to know that Jesus saves.

today we cannot be silent because if we are silent with regards to the "good news" (the gospel), then the words of the four lepers are true of us: "We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news, and we remain silent. If we wait until morning light, some punishment will come upon us. Now, therefore, come, let us go and tell..." 2Ki 7:9

Yes, "let us go and tell" a world that is spiritually starved about the salvation God offers through His Son Jesus Christ! Let us share with others what we have found! Let them experience the joy, the peace, and the love that only God can give! For "This Day Is A Day Of Good News" because it is the "day of salvation",

ALTER CALL

maybe you are listening to me and you are feeling the tugging of the Holy Spirit upon your heart, do not resist him, let him in. maybe you are not a christian but you are hear the word of God and He is saying what is hindering you form surrendering your life to Jesus Christ.

right now you can say Lord I surrender all to Jesus. are you saying that.... if you are you can go to the slcadventist.org website, fill in the card and someone will get in contact with you.

maybe you are already a member and you want to rededicate life life to Jesus to be used by him.

Today if this is your desire let me let me pray with you.

Prayer....

Today is indeed is a day of Good news. Be bless.