ReFresh Sunday
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Intro
1 But Elisha said, “Hear the word of the Lord: thus says the Lord, Tomorrow about this time a seah of fine flour shall be sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, at the gate of Samaria.” 2 Then the captain on whose hand the king leaned said to the man of God, “If the Lord himself should make windows in heaven, could this thing be?” But he said, “You shall see it with your own eyes, but you shall not eat of it.” 3 Now there were four men who were lepers at the entrance to the gate. And they said to one another, “Why are we sitting here until we die? 4 If we say, ‘Let us enter the city,’ the famine is in the city, and we shall die there. And if we sit here, we die also. So now come, let us go over to the camp of the Syrians. If they spare our lives we shall live, and if they kill us we shall but die.” 5 So they arose at twilight to go to the camp of the Syrians. But when they came to the edge of the camp of the Syrians, behold, there was no one there. 6 For the Lord had made the army of the Syrians hear the sound of chariots and of horses, 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 Egypt to come against us.” 7 So they fled away in the twilight and abandoned their tents, their horses, and their donkeys, leaving the camp as it was, and fled for their lives. 8 And when these lepers came to the edge of the camp, they went into a tent and ate and drank, and they carried off silver and gold and clothing and went and hid them. Then they came back and entered another tent and carried off things from it and went and hid them.
God Displays His Strength Through Our Weaknesses
God Displays His Strength Through Our Weaknesses
Here’s the context of the story:
The King of Syria attack and surround the city of Samaria
They dont let anyone in or out of the city…as a result…no food can go into the city.
The people of Samaria are literally starving to death.
Things are so bad in the city that they have gone insane. One family was so hungry that they boiled their own son just to try to survive.
In the midst of the mess, God send Elisha to tell the King of Samaria that in 24 hours the fortune of Israel would be reversed.
God’s Promise was one of total Re-Freshment…he was promising His people with a Fresh Start.
v. 2 “About this time tomorrow, a seah of fine flour shall be sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel...”
This was how much these resources were sold for on a typical day in the life of Israel.
What God was promising is that within one day time…he would restore his people totally.
Whats the point?
At their time of greatest weakness, God was going to display His strength...
And this is where this passage impacts our life...
And this is where this passage impacts our life...
Conflict and Crisis are apart of the reality of life in a fallen world.
We all encounter situations in life where we feel helpless:
People that we love pass away and we are left to pick up the pieces.
Marriage can become messy.
Parenting at times seems downright impossible
Family Prombles
Trying to make ends meet financially.
Friendships become tense.
A never ending cycle of political drama...
And then there’s the troubles we face on the daily grind of life....
When all of these things start piling up on us, we get to the point in life where we can agree with the King of Samaria’s messengers words found in 2 Kings 6:33...
33 And while he was still speaking with them, the messenger came down to him and said, “This trouble is from the Lord! Why should I wait for the Lord any longer?”
So…why should we wait for the LORD during times of trial, during struggles, and when we face brokenness?
Here’s Why: Hear the words of the Apostle Paul...
8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
The reason we look to the Lord in times of hardship is because God never wastes our weakness. God displays His power through our weakness.
Just in a really practical sense…what this means is that, as followers of Jesus, we dont have to pretend as if we have it all together all the time.
In Christ, we are free to admit where we struggle, where we are weak...
In Christ, our weaknesses are not a barrier to intimacy with God…like the world and Satan want you to believe…in Christ, our weaknesses are an invitation to experience a deeper level of intimacy with God.
God’s promise to the people of Israel in the period of the Kings was that it wasnt in spite of their weaknesses that they would expereince God…it was actually because of their weakness.
Had God’s people not been in serious trouble…they wouldn't have been able to experience the blessing of God rescuing them...
This is why Paul goes on to say in 2 Corinthians that he doesnt just tolerate his weakness…He actually boasts in them!
8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Here’s my point:
In Christ, the Sooner we get honest about our weakness, the sooner we can experience the transforming power of God’s grace...
This is what God was promising through Elisha…and this is the promise that we have in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
So im gonna need you to strap that gospel truth around your waist right now as we get ready to transition here into something serious…so buckle up.
When Betsy and I were seeking God’s will about whether or not we were called to come Pastor at Heucks Retreat…We took the attitude that we were interviewing the Search team about Heucks as much as they were interviewing us.
So I read through our bylaws...
I read through the centennial church history…which BTW if you havent read it, you should…AND I asked the team tons of questions...
One of the questions I asked them was, “What do you think is Heucks greatest weakness?”
Without much hesitation everyone on the committee agreed that the greatest weakness of Heucks was reaching our local community.
That intrigued me…so I started doing some digging on my own time...
And here is what I found...
“I AM NOT A NUMBERS GUY”
But that doesnt mean numbers dont matter…numbers do matter...
Numbers matter because numbers act like the Vital signs check up you get when you go to the doctor...
The doctor checks your blood pressure…and the reason he checks your blood pressure is because your blood pressure can be a sign of an issue that is deeper than what’s on the surface level.
Your blood pressure tells the doctor a story about your health...
In the same way…numbers like this tell a story…they dont tell the whole story…but they do tell a story.
What story do you think this chart tells?
When I saw these numbers many months ago…they didnt scare me…In fact, Im convinced that part of the reason that God called my family here was because I believe that God wants to tell a different story here...
I don’t believe that God wants this as the legacy of Heucks Retreat Baptist Church...
And this is why I love this story in 2 Kings…because it is a story about God doing something Refreshing...
lets keep reading....
3 Now there were four men who were lepers at the entrance to the gate. And they said to one another, “Why are we sitting here until we die? 4 If we say, ‘Let us enter the city,’ the famine is in the city, and we shall die there. And if we sit here, we die also. So now come, let us go over to the camp of the Syrians. If they spare our lives we shall live, and if they kill us we shall but die.” 5 So they arose at twilight to go to the camp of the Syrians. But when they came to the edge of the camp of the Syrians, behold, there was no one there. 6 For the Lord had made the army of the Syrians hear the sound of chariots and of horses, 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 Egypt to come against us.” 7 So they fled away in the twilight and abandoned their tents, their horses, and their donkeys, leaving the camp as it was, and fled for their lives. 8 And when these lepers came to the edge of the camp, they went into a tent and ate and drank, and they carried off silver and gold and clothing and went and hid them. Then they came back and entered another tent and carried off things from it and went and hid them.
Here’s whats happening in this story...
There are four Lepers sitting outside the gate of Samaria...
Lepers were unclean…and therefore they werent allowed to live within the city limits.
And they were starving...
So they have this conversation amongst themselves:
“We got two choices: We can do what we’ve always done…or we can try something different...”
Look at what they said,
3 Now there were four men who were lepers at the entrance to the gate. And they said to one another, “Why are we sitting here until we die? 4 If we say, ‘Let us enter the city,’ the famine is in the city, and we shall die there. And if we sit here, we die also. So now come, let us go over to the camp of the Syrians. If they spare our lives we shall live, and if they kill us we shall but die.”
Then…what they decide to do is shocking…they decide to take a risk…they go all in and they decide to bet on God...”
V. 5… “So they arose at twilight to to the camp of the Syrians...”
They’re diseased men…men with a great weakness…imperfect men… And their behind enemy lines…These men are risking it all…they are betting the house...
But when you bet the house on God’s promise…you’ve got better than good odds...
“It’s almost like God is picking the weakest people possible to display his power through isnt is?”
And look what happens…
6 For the Lord had made the army of the Syrians hear the sound of chariots and of horses, 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 Egypt to come against us.” 7 So they fled away in the twilight and abandoned their tents, their horses, and their donkeys, leaving the camp as it was, and fled for their lives. 8 And when these lepers came to the edge of the camp, they went into a tent and ate and drank, and they carried off silver and gold and clothing and went and hid them. Then they came back and entered another tent and carried off things from it and went and hid them.
What happened was God fulfilled His promises...
God went to battle for the people of Israel...
He caused them to hear the sound of his heavenly army…and the Syrians fled in fear for their life...
The story goes on to tell us that the Lepers go and tell the King of Israel what happened…and eventually the prophesy of Elisha becomes true…God restored the fortunes within a 24 hr period...
And the only way that this was made possible was that 4 Lepers decided that…with God…Risk was right...
You see here’s the point:
And I want you to write this down…it’s the same thing your momma and daddy told you growing up...
“If you always do…what you’ve always done…your always gonna get…what you’ve always got.”
Had the Lepers not decided that it was time to try something different…had they doubted like the Leaders of Israel did…than their story wouldnt have changed…but they trusted God...
And in the same way…if we want to see God begin to write a new story at Heucks Retreat…then maybe what it means is that we need to trust God…and head toward enemy territory...
Maybe we need to refocus…maybe we need to trust God and try something we havent tried before…
And so…this year…that is exactly what I think God is wanting us to do as a church...
I think he is wanting us to begin thinking, and praying, and seeking His will about where he wants us to go...
We need clarity as a church on who God wants us to be and what God wants us to do...
This year…we are like those Lepers at the gate of Samaria…and we got a decision to make...
So what does that mean for this year?
Here’s what it means:
It means that we need to be praying.
We need to be asking God to give us clarity about the vision that God has for our church.
It means we need to be all up in our Bibles
God has given us His word to help us know His will…and if we arent in His word…than we will miss it.
It means I need your help
God did not call me here to go at this stuff by myself…he called me to come alongside YOU…and that’s exactly what I am going to plan to do...
Over the course of this next year…as we seek God’s vision together…There will be opportunities for you to give input into the direction of our church and Im gonna need you to be all-in for those times.
I can promise you this…im gonna give God my all—because I believe that God’s got a good story to write...
And for some of you…maybe this morning you recognize that God wants to rewrite your story...
Maybe God is speaking to you…and you recognize your weakness…are you willing to confess that to Him this morning? All of us were born weak…enslaved to sin…but God offers us the hope of salvation through faith in jesus....will you give your life to Him?
And for the rest of us…lets pray…let’s be in the word…lets go all in this year…Because God aint done...
Lets pray