Sermon: 14 Lucky Lepers November 22, 2009
Scripture Ref:
II Kings 7:1-11 & Luke 17:11-19 & James 1:17 & I Corinthians 4:7
This morning I want us to look at 2 PASSAGES of SCRIPTURE as we TAKE NOTE to the TRUTH that the LORD is the SOURCE of ALL GOOD THINGS in OUR LIVES.
II Kings 7:1-11 ‘Then ELISHA said, Hear ye the word of the LORD, Thus says the LORD, Tomorrow about this time shall a measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel, & two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria. Then a lord on whose hand the king leaned, answered the man of GOD, & said, Behold, if the LORD would make windows in heaven, might this be? & he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shall not eat thereof. & there were 4 leprous men at the entering of the gate: & they said one to another, ‘Why sit we here until we die? If we say, we will enter into the city, then the famine is in the city, & we shall die there, & if we sit still here, we die also. Now therefore come, & let us fall host unto the Syrians: if they save us alive, we shall live, but if they kill us, we shall but die.‘ & they rose up in the twilight, to go unto the camp of the Syrians, & when they were come unto the uttermost part of the camp of Syria, behold, there was no man there. For the LORD had made the host of the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots, & a noise of horses, even the noise of a great host, and they said one to another, ‘Lo, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites & the Egyptians, to come upon us.’ Therefore they arose & fled into the twilight, & left their tents & their horses & their asses, even the camp as it was, & fled for their life. & when these lepers came to the uttermost part of the camp, they went into one tent, and did eat & drink, & carried thence silver & gold & raiment, & went & hid it, & came again, & entered into another tent& carries thence also, & went & hid it. Then, they said one to another, ‘We do not well, this day is a day of good tidings, & we hold our peace. If we tarry till the morning light, some mischief will come upon us, now therefore come, that we may go & tell the king’s household. So they came & called unto the porter of the city; & they told them saying, We came to the camp of the Syrians & behold, there was no man there, neither voice of man, but horses tied, & asses tied, & the tens as they were. & he called the porters & they told it to the king’s house within,’
Luke 17:11-19 ‘& it came to pass, as HE went to Jerusalem, that HE passed through the midst of Samaria & Galilee. & as HE entered into a certain ship, there met HIM 10 men that were lepers, which stood afar off. & they lifted up their voices & said, JESUS, MASTER, have mercy on us. & when HE saw them, HE said unto them, ‘Go show yourselves unto your priests, & it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. & one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, & with a loud voice, glorified GOD. & fell down on his face at HIS feet. Giving HIM thanks, & he was a Samaritan. & JESUS said, ‘Were there not 10 cleansed? But where are the 9?’ There are not found that returned to give glory to GOD, save this stranger, & HE said unto him, Arise, go thy way, thy faith has made thee whole.’
James 1:17 ‘Every good gift & every perfect gift is from above, & comes down from the FATHER of LIGHTS, with whom there is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.’
I Corinthians 4:7 b ‘…. & what has thou that thou did not receive? Now if thou did receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou had not received it?’
Introduction:
I am using for a THOUGHT this morning: 14 LUCKLY LEPERS:
I will ADMIT that this is NOT a very SPIRITUAL SOUNDING TITLE for the MESSAGE this morning, but I’m using it to MAKE a POINT. {At least I am HOPING it will make a POINT.}
Actually, it is NOT the TITLE I would CHOOSE for these 2 STORIES but it is the TITLE that PERHAPS many people would USE to DESCRIBE these 14 LEPERS who we just read about.
These are 2 STORIES coming from OPPOSITE ENDS of the BIBLE.
ONE STORY is from the OLD TESTAMENT & is during the days of ELISHA the PROPHET’S MINISTRY & the OTHER STORY is from the NEW TESTAMENT & it comes from the MINISTRY of JESUS. They are 1000 YEARS APART from each other in HISTORY.
BOTH of these STORIES take place in the AREA of SAMARIA & BOTH STORIES involve the LIVES of MEN who were CURSED with the INCURABLE DISEASE of LEPROSY.
MOST PEOPLE reading these STORIES from a SECULAR MIND SET would say about these 14 LEPERS: ‘these were 14 LUCKY LEPERS.’
14 LUCKY LEPERS:
In the 1ST STORY there are 4 LEPERS who happen to run upon a DESERTED & EMPTY CAMPSITE that was FILLED with very needed SUPPLIES.
In the 2ND STORY we find 10 LEPERS who just happen to run upon a MAN who is TRAVELING about & HE is HEALING PEOPLE from ALL KINDS of SICKNESS & of DISEASES & AFFLICTIONS.
One might say that ALL 14 LEPERS ran into ESPECIALLY GOOD FORTUNE.
We would say they were 14 LUCKY LEPERS.
BOTH GROUPS had INCREDIBLE TURNS of EVENTS in their SITUATIONS.
BOTH GROUPS were LUCKY. Some would say.
Now in this OLD TESTAMENT STORY from II Kings 7, these 4 LEPERS are about to DIE of HUNGER.
They have been CAST OUTSIDE the CITY GATES of SAMARIA. They are FORCED to LIVE AWAY from their FRIENDS & from their FAMILY & from all parts of SOCIETY.
So LEPROSY not only AFFECTED people PHYSICALLY --- LEPROSY also had an AFFECT on them SOCIALLY. They were OUTCASTS living LONELY & DESERTED lives.
They were FORCED by the JEWISH LAW to CRY OUT “UNCLEAN UNCLEAN” so that if ANYONE risks coming NEAR THEM & EXPOSING THEMSELVES to this DISEASE of LEPROSY they would be WARNED & WARTED OFF by their CRIES of UNCLEAN.
Their very PRESENCE struck FEAR into the HEARTS of the PEOPLE of the city.
To make things MORE COMPLICATED the SYRIAN ARMY was CAMPED OUTSIDE the CITY GATES. They had laid SIEGE to the CITY of SAMARIA & had CUT OFF all of their FOOD & WATER SUPPLY.
The PEOPLE of SAMARIA were LITERALLY STARVING to DEATH. There was NO FOOD & NO WATER AVAILABLE & DESPERATION had taken HOLD of the HEARTS of the PEOPLE inside SAMARIA.
The 4 LEPERS AFFECTED by 3 MAJOR CASTASTROPHIES WORKING AGAINST THEM.:
• They have LEPROSY
• There is a FAMINE in the land
• The SYRIAN ARMY is CAMPED just down the road.
It was DECISION MAKING TIME for these 4 LEPERS.
They FELT as if they had NOTHING to LOSE. If they kept on SITTING OUTSIDE the GATES they would STARVE to DEATH.
If they went INSIDE the CITY GATES they would EITHER be PUT to DEATH or they would STRAVE to DEATH.
So they DECIDED to take a RISK & to WALK out to the ENENMY ARMY, the SYRIANS that was CAMPED OUTSIDE of SAMARIA that was BESEIGING the CITY. & they would SURRENDER themselves to them.
Their PLAN was to SURRENDER themselves to the ENEMY {the SYRIANS} & if they KILLED them they FIGURED that ONE DEATH would be just AS GOOD as ANOTHER DEATH..
DIE by the SWORD or DIE by STARVATION there was NOT MUCH DIFFERENCE they thought. But the ENEMY MIGHT be MERCIFUL to them & GIVE them FOOD & WATER.
But if they CONTINUED to SIT THERE they would DIE.
So they MADE THEIR WAY outside the CITY & unto the SYRIAN ARMY CAMP.
As they REACHED that CAMP they FOUND a GREAT SURPRISE.
The ENEMY CAMP was TOTALLY EMPTY of SOLDIERS.
Now these LEPERS did NOT KNOW THIS but the SCRIPTURE tells us
The LORD had CAUSED the SYRIAN ARMY to HEAR the SOUND of some kind of a SUPERNATURAL ARMY.
& the SYRIAN ARMY thought that ANOTHER ARMY had ADVANCED AGAINSTED against them, & in FEAR for their LIVES the SYRIAN ARMIES FLED & LEFT BEHIND ALL of their POSSESSIONS & their ANIMALS & ALL of their FOOD & ALL of their GOLD & SILVER & they EXITED as FAST as they could. They were FLEEING for their LIVES.
So these 4 LEPERS walked out & HAPPENED UPON this EMPTY CAMPSITE.
While EVERYBODY ELSE is STARVING at SAMARIA these 4 LEPERS HAPPEN UPON an INCREDIBLE FEAST. There were TENTS filled with GOLD & SILVER & RICHES & CLOTHING & FOOD GALORE.
There was SO MUCH FOOD that the PROPHET ELISHA had PROPHISED that FOOD would be SELLING a very CHEAP PRICE because of the ABUNDANT SUPPLY that would be MADE AVAILABLE. due to the SUPERNATURAL WORK of GOD.
& here are these LEPERS; who perhaps are DESCRIBED as the MOST UNLUCKY PEOPLE & NOW we might say that have had an EXCEPTIONAL LUCKY DAY.
They run into all this BLESSING.. Here they are, these LEPERS, having a ROYAL FEAST.
In the END of the STORY the WHOLE CITY of SAMARIA ENJOYS these SUPPLIES they FOUND. We would LOOK at that STORY & if it were NOT in the BIBLE we might say, “Man those GUYS were 4 LUCKY LEPERS. .
Then we MOVE to the NEW TESTAMENT STORY we find 10 LEPERS.
They’re OUTSIDE the GATES of SAMARIA as well for the very SAME REASON. They are CURSED with the DREADED DISEASE of LEPROSY.
One day it just so happened that a MIRACLE WORKER who had been TRAVELING that AREA PASSED their way..HIS name is JESUS of NAZARETH.
They had HEARD that JESUS could HEAL ALL SORTS of DISEASES & SICKNESSES.
& the 10 LEPERS CRY OUT.
JESUS have MERCY upon us. & JESUS because of WHO HE was, RESPONDED to them. & in the END of the STORY ALL 10 LEPERS were HEALED. {ALL 10}
We MIGHT SAY as CHRISTIANS as we READ this STORY THANK the LORD & PRAISE the LORD for a WONDEFUL WORK of JESUS.
These 2 STORIES are DIFFERENT.
ONE seems to be MORE of a WORK of CHANCE than the OTHER in our SPIRITUAL MINDS as we try to SORT things out.
In the NEW TESTAMENT STORY these 10 LEPERS wander upon JESUS & we say, ”WHAT a GOOD LORD.”
In the OLD TESTAMENT STORY the 4 LEPERS run upon an ABANDONED CAMP & we say “WHAT GOOD LUCK” they had.
The POINT of this MESSAGE this morning is to DEMONSTRATE to us that there is a SAD REALITY that even for the CHRISTIANS of TODAY
we often have a VERY THANKLESS THEOLOGY.
We TALK TOO MUCH about CHANCE & about LUCK & about FORTUNE & about COINICDENCE without GIVING THANKS to the LORD for EVERY GOOD THING that has EVER HAPPENED in OUR LIVES.
Many times we as CHRISTIANS just FORGET ABOUT the INVOLVEMENT of the LORD in our EVERY DAY LIVING & we use EXPRESSIONS like these:
See if we don’t USE SOME of these EXPRESSIONS:
• GOOD LUCK – an expression of well wishing
• I was just LUCKY – an attempt of humility
• We say to someone “YOU LUCKY DOG”’ Expression of envy at someone else’s blessing.
• If we are especially secular we might say, “Well you can THANK your LUCKY STARS.” Which is a reference to the HORISCOPE:
I know that SOME CHRISTIANS are TOO SPIRITUAL to USE those PHRASES so they use LESS OFFENSIVE PHRASES:
• “Well, I’ve been very FORTUNATE.’
• But the word FORTUNE is the LATIN word for LUCK
• Or they may say, “LIFE has been GOOD to me.’
• The Word: LIFE there is a REPLACEMENT for the WORD FATE.
We often TALK about CHANCE & FATE & FORTUNE.
but THINK about those for a MOMENT.
THINK about THIS QUESTION:
• WHO has been GOOD to us? WHAT has been GOOD to us?
• Is it LIFE? Is it LUCK? Is it FORTUNE? Is it CHANCE? Is it FATE? Is it this WORLD we’re living in?
• WHO has been the SOURCE of OUR BLESSINGS?
• The LORD has been the SOURCE of ALL of OUR BLESSINGS.
Not just LIFE. Not just LUCK or CHANCE.
• We’re NOT LUCKY PEOPLE. We’re a BLESSED PEOPLE.
• Like the SONG says:
I am BLESSED, I am BLESSED, and
Every day that I live I am BLESSED
When I wake up in the morning, Till I lay my head to rest,
I am BLESSED, I am BLESSED.
GIVE the LORD PRAISE for HIS BLESSINGS upon OUR LIVES.
Now the WORLD of TODAY gives CREDIT to the GOOD THINGS of LIFE to EVERYTHING & to EVERYONE OTHER than to GOD.
But the TRUTH is, that is NOTHING SHORT of IDOLATRY itself.
It’s the OLD BELIEF in LUCK or in FORTUNE.
I remember STUDYING GREEK MYTHOLOGY in school.
LUCK & FORTUNE is PART of that MYTHOLOGY.
Whether we REALIZE it or not, WHEN we GIVE CREDIT to the GOOD THINGS of LIFE we’re actually WORSHIPPING a FALSE GOD.
The FALSE GODDESS named FORTUNA {that’s not a brand of tuna} FORTUNA.
FORTUNA is where the WORD FORTUNE comes from. She was the GODDESS of FORTUNE & of LUCK in GREEK MYTHOLOGY. She was in CHARGE of the LUCK & the FORTUNE & the CHANCE & the FATE of people’s lives.
She was PICTURED HOLDING a SHIP’S RUTTER in ONE HAND & a HORN of PLENTY in the OTHER HAND.
Her FOOT was STANDING on TOP of a BALL.
With the RUTTER of the SHIP she STEERED the COURSES of MEN”S LIVES.
With her HORN of PLENTY she COULD POUR OUT BLESSINGS or WITHHOLD BLESSINGS.
& with her FOOT on TOP of the BALL she DEMONSTRATED her POWER over MEN’S LIVES to CHANGE their LUCK by just the TURN of the FOOT.
Just by the SLIGHT TURN of her FOOT she could CHANGE the COURSE of PEOPLE’S LIVES.
By her ATTITUDE or MOOD she either BLESSED you or CURSED you. {& this was a FEMALE GODDESS!!!} If that tells you anything:
TODAY we REFER to her as LADY LUCK.
People today carry DIFFERENT THINGS as LUCK CHARMS.
RABBIT’S FOOT {wasn’t good luck for the poor rabbit}
LUCKY CHARMS CEREAL it’s magically delicious MARSHMELLOWS shaped like STARS & MOONS & 4 LEAF CLOVERS. Representing the GOOD LUCK of the HOROSCOPE:
It’s all part of the LUCK of CHANCE of the WORLD today & WITHOUT THINKING about it OFTEN we as CHRISTIANS find ourselves saying LITTLE THINGS that ROB GOD of HIS GLORY that ONLY HE DESERVES.
We say “We’ve been ”LUCKY” rather than DECLARING
“GOD has been GOOD to us.” Our GOOD GOD is also a JEALOUS GOD that will NOT SHARE HIS GLORY with ANOTHER.
The WORLD gives THANKS to PEOPLE & to THINGS & to CHANCE & to FORTUNE but as CHRISTIANS we RECOGNIZE that ALL our THANKS & ALL of our PRAISE & ALL the CREDIT & ALL of the CREDIT BELONGS to OUR GOOD & GREAT & GRACIOUS & GENEROUS & GIVING & WONDERFUL GOD who has BLESSED US BEYOND ALL MEASURE.
It’s NOT LUCK that has been GOOD to us, it is GOD.
James 1: 17 ‘Every good & every perfect gift is from above & comes down from the FATHER of LIGHTS. With whom there is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.’
Then there is the QUESTION from PAUL to the CHURCH at CORINTH. It SPEAKS right to our HEARTS & gets down to WHERE we LIVE today.
I Corinthians 4:7 ‘… & what hast thou that thou didst not receive? Now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory as if thou as if thou had not received it?’
WHY do you BOAST?
WHY do you GIVE CREDIT to other places?
WHY not just HUMBLY ACKNOWLEDGE that GOD is the SOURCE of OUR BLESSINGS?
The TRUTH is when we are BLESSED with GOOD CHILDREN we’re NOT LUCKY, we’re BLESSED.
When we have HEALTHY CHILDREN we’re NOT LUCKY, we’re BLESSED.
When we have FOOD on OUR TABLE we’re NOT LUCKY, we’re BLESSED.
When we come just that CLOSE to a CAR ACCIDENT & we’re SPARED just in the NICK of TIME we’re NOT just LUCKY we are BLESSED. We are PROTECTED by an ALMIGHTY GOD.
When we have a JOB it is NOT because we’re a GOOD WORKER it is BECAUSE GOD has GIVEN us that JOB & it is GOD that has given us both the BRAINS & the HEALTH to DO WHAT we do. GOD is OUR PROVIDER!
Every BREATH we BREATHE comes from this GOD who has been MERICFUL & KIND to us.
ALL GLORY BELONS TO HIM.
& if we LOSE our JOB tomorrow GOD is ABLE to PROVIDE another one.
Every good & every perfect gift is from above from our FATHER & GOD is the ONE who DESERVES the CREDIT.
So while some may LOOK at these 14 LEPERS & say they were 14 LUCKY LEPERS
But it was GOD that BROUGHT ABOUT their DELIVERANCES.
For the 4 LEPERS in the OLD TESTAMENT & the 10 LEPERS in the NEW TESTAMENT GOD was the BLESSER & GOD was the PROVIDER & GOD was LEADING the WAY & GOD was the GIVER of their BLESSINGS. It wasn’t GOOD LUCK but a GOOD LORD!
In just a FEW DAYS we will come TOGETHER with OUR FAMILIES & OUR FRIENDS & we will CELEBRATE our BLESSINGS.
Our HORN of PLENTY is literally RUNNING OVER.
We this morning are INDEED a BLESSED PEOPLE. We have so many THINGS & so many REASONS to BE THANKFUL.
DAVID TESTIFIED in Psalm 103: ‘The LORD loads us daily with BENEFITS.’
Then DAVID had to REMIND HIMSELF to NOT FORGET those BENEFITS & from WHERE they came.
Think about that as I bring this message to a close this morning.
We are DAILY LOADED with BLESSINGS & BENEFITS but yet we have to REMIND OURSELVES to BE THANKFUL for them & to REMEMBER from WHERE they came.
PAUL foresaw the DAYS PRIOR to the LORD’S RETURN:
SIGN #1: People will become UNTHANKFUL for WHAT they have.
Isn’t that WHERE we are TODAY?
The BLESSING is WORSHIPPED MORE than the BLESSER.
The BENEFIT is WORSHIPPED MORE than the BENAFACTOR.
Oh we’re real good at SAYING we’re THANKFUL to the LORD for HIS BLESSINGS but the REAL PROOF is in our DAILY LIVING & HOW we SHOW the LORD we’re THANKFUL.
It is EASY to CROWD the LORD OUT for the MOMENT because OTHER THINGS & OTHER PLACES are MORE IMPORTANT at the time. & the MORE we do that then the EASIER it comes to do that.
In a LAND like we LIVE IN, it is EASY to SIDETRACK. We TAKE for GRANTED THINGS that MOST PEOPLE in the WORLD will NEVER HAVE. WHAT MOST PEOPLE DO is to FORGET that ALL these THINGS COME from the HAND of GOD into OUR LIVES. They ENJOY the BLESSINGS every day BUT FAIL to TRULY BE THANKFUL to GOD for ALLOWING them to be a PART of their lives.
II Timothy 3: 4 “Lovers of PLEASURE MORE than lovers of GOD.’
SADLY that does DESCRIBE our WORLD TODAY.
SADLY that does DESCRIBE so much of the CHURCH TODAY.
CHURCH PEWS are EMPTY while the SEATS in SPORTING EVENTS are FULL.
Baseball, Basketball, Football, Soccer, Racing, Golf, Bowling, Skating, Movies
There is NOTHING WRONG with those things but the WRONG is WHEN they MEAN MORE to us than WORSHIPPING & LEARNING MORE about the LORD.
If we’re NOT CAREFUL we will FOLLOW the COURSE of the WORLD.
Count your many blessings see what GOD has done
Count your many blessings name them one by one
Count your blessings, Name them one by one
Count your many blessings see what GOD has done.
We’re NOT LUCKY, We’re NOT FORTUNATE, We ARE BLESSED by a WONDERFUL, POWERFUL, LOVING, MERCIFUL & GRACIOUS GOD.
