Irvin Wasswa- Tylertown Campus Pastor LHBC
2 Kings 7:3-10
3 Now there were four men who were lepers[c] 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.
9 Then they said to one another, “We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news. If we are silent and wait until the morning light, punishment will overtake us. Now therefore come; let us go and tell the king’s household.” 10 So they came and called the gatekeepers of the city and told them, “We came to the camp of the Syrians, and behold, there was no one to be seen or heard there, nothing but the horses tied and the donkeys tied and the tents as they were.”
During my college days I was thoroughly blessed with some great friends who loved Jesus and had some of the same interests that I had. During our time we basically traveled as a wolfpack, hanging out together all the time. Whether it be us eating together, playing ball together, or taking class, we always were together.
There was one night where they mentioned to me that they were going to grab some food from the Café Diner area. I opted to stay in the dorm and relax. When they got back to the room, they each had 5 Chick-Fil-A sandwiches with them, grinning ear to ear. They proceeded to boast about how they were able to get 5 sandwiches for the price of one that night since they got there right as they were closing.. I then asked them why they didn’t give me a call to cash in on the deal with them, to which they responded with silence. Though they didn’t respond, their silence actually spoke loud and clear. They didn’t call because they didn’t want to share the sandwiches. They decided to be “hoarders” of the good news and keep to themselves. In doing so I missed out on an opportunity for a good deal.
In 2 Kings 7:3-10 we see some characters who chose not to be shy about expressing to others the news they had discovered. The bible says there were four lepers who were desperate for food. They made up their mind that rather than simply sit by the gate and starve they would go into the camp and try and find some food. Chances were that they were going to be killed but perhaps they may have been shown grace. They get inside the camp and see that all the enemy armies had vacated. They had free reign to food and other spoils that had been left. As they plunged into the spoil, they realized that they were not right in keeping all the possessions to themselves. So instead of keeping the news to themselves, they went back into town and told the king’s household that the enemy was good. They chose to be heralds of this good news.
Just in case you may have forgotten, in Christ Jesus we too have some good news. As a matter of fact, we possess the greatest news of all time- JESUS CHRIST IS ALIVE. He died for the sins of mankind and rose from the grave, defeating death, hell and the grave. Hallelujah! Whosoever would choose to repent of their sins and trust in Him can enter back into relationship with God again! The greatest news of all time! The call for us as believers is to choose to be heralds of that news and share it with those who need to hear it. May we never fall victim to becoming hoarders of the message of the Gospel. Aren’t you glad someone shared the message with you? May we choose to respond in sharing with others.
Today, who in your life needs to hear the Gospel message? What is keeping you from sharing with them? Is it fear, laziness, or lack of love for the person? Whatever the case may be, let us choose to be Christians who instead of hoarding the message of the Gospel, share the gospel with those who need it around us so they can too “taste and see that the Lord is good”.
PRAYER FOR TODAY: Dear Heavenly Father, teach me how to be a faithful witness for You. Help me to look to build relationships with those who do not know You and choose to love them by sharing with them the Greatness news of all time! Pray that you would work in the hearts of my friends, and they would choose to trust in You. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
MEMORY VERSE OF THE WEEK:
Mark 16:15
And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.”