He Chose... Poorly

HoHum:

In Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, when they finally get to the old knight guarding the Holy Grail, Donavon, with the help of Elsa, choses a cup from which to drink. Elsa chooses the cup -- a solid gold, emerald encrusted goblet. Donovan instantly takes it from her. Donovan looks at it and says: "Oh, yes. It's more beautiful than I'd ever imagined. This certainly is the cup of the King of Kings.” Well, it is not the right cup and Donovan dies. The old knight says: “He chose… poorly.” May we chose wisely when it comes to missions and Faith Promise.

WBTU:

The city of Samaria was under siege by the Syrian army, led by King Ben Hadad. A great famine came upon the city because of the siege. So great was the famine that unclean food was sold for exorbitant amounts of money and families were driven to cannibalize their children.

Read 2 Kings 7:3-10

Thesis: We chose poorly when we do not tell, when we do not share

For instances:

I. We chose poorly when we know and do not tell

The main characters of our story are 4 lepers. Given the detestable disease of these 4 men, their place was at the entrance to the city gate. These men were just sitting ducks if the Syrians decided to invade the city. But they were not invading the city, they were just letting the famine take its toll. As beggars, their survival was dependent on alms given by generous citizens, but due to the siege, the people they normally counted on for daily provisions had nothing to give. They were obviously doomed to starve to death. And so they reasoned together that since they were going to die anyway, why not take matters into their own hands. Look again at vs. 4. As evening descended on the plain surrounding Samaria, these 4 unnamed men made their way down the road that led into the enemy’s camp. Soon they would know their fate. What they had no way of knowing was that God had gone before them. The chronicler of the king’s history reveals what these lepers had no foreknowledge of. The Lord caused the Arameans to hear the sound of an approaching army, and they fled in absolute panic. They left everything and ran for their lives. They left their campfires burning. They left their sandals at the entrance to their tents. They left their wineskins, their crusty bread and their stores of food. This in incredible, given the distance to their home country, they even left their horses! Enter the 4 lepers. To their great amazement and joy, and completely unknown to the people back in town, the famine and imprisonment were over. In their exuberance, the lepers proceeded to the first tent, where they gorged themselves on dried fish, cheese and sweet dates. They lifted wineskins to their lips and guzzled until the red juice dripped down their beards. It had been weeks since they had even seen such food, let alone eaten any. They feasted, stopping only long enough to grab some money and clothes, and quickly hid them for future use. Even then, their hunger persisted so they returned to the camp for more free food and clothing. Finally, their appetites satisfied and their futures secured, they realized the enormity of their situation. they remembered that the city of Samaria was in desperate straits. They had to decide whether or not to tell the good news of abundance to the city or to keep their good fortune to themselves. They became convicted. Look at vs. 9.

These are days of good news. Now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2). We should say with Paul in 1 Corinthians 9:16: Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! Jeremiah tried to hold it in but could not. Jeremiah 20:9: “I will not mention his word or speak anymore in his name,” his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.”

Polio was eradicated from America by a Dr. Jonas Salk who developed a vaccine. We should ever be grateful that Dr. Salk shared his vaccine with the world. What if Dr. Salk had refused to share it? Think of every mother whose child’s body was twisted and deformed. Think of every family who suffered the death of a child. Why, every grieving parent at the gravesite would rise up in condemnation. Some say that a cure for cancer has been found. It would be criminal for someone or some lab to have a cure for cancer and fail to share it with the world. The world suffers from a cancer of the soul, and it stumbles under the weight of unforgiven sin. They long for a way to be forgiven. Their life is surrounded by darkness. They experience the prospects of hell while we enjoy the fruits of the gospel. The world cries out, “Please, someone give me the cure.” We have it. Silence violates every principle of the gospel. Punishment is pronounced on those who are silent (their blood is on our hands- Ezekiel 33:6). There is no such thing as a silent church or a silent Christian who did the Lord’s will. No great Christian has ever majored on being quiet about the gospel.