Let’s read 2 Kings chapter 7 verse 9.
“Then they said one to another, We do not well: this day is a day of good tidings, and we hold our peace: if we tarry till the morning light, some mischief will come upon us: now therefore come, that we may go and tell the king’s household.”
Though we received salvation, last year we lived doing things just as four lepers ate, drank and hid things upon entering a tent after a tent at the camp of the Syrians. Since they starved for a long time, upon seeing the food they just ate and drank, and hid jewelry without much thought.
These lepers were the people who were guided by the special grace and will of God. In 2 Kings chapter 7 verse 1, Prophet Elisha said:
“Hear ye the word of the LORD;. Thus saith the LORD, To morrow about this time shall a measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria.”
But a king’s officer said: “Behold, if the LORD would make windows in heaven, might this thing be?” Nonetheless, in order to fulfill the words spoken by the man of God: a measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria, God used the lepers. While the four lepers were starving and waiting at the gate of the city, they thought: ‘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.’ By the guidance of God, when the four lepers were on their way to the Syrian camp, God changed the sound of their falling and feeling tired into the sound of a great army with many chariots and horses so the Syrians thought: ‘what is this sound? Did the king of Israel hire the kings of the Hittites and the Egyptians to fight against us?’ They would normally take their horses to run away but since they were in such a hurry, they ran away leaving their horses behind. When the lepers came to the camp, there were horses, food and everything except for the Syrian people. “Is someone here? Is nobody here?” Maybe, it was before the dinner time so though they had prepared all the food, they had to run away. There, the lepers could eat and drink, and found gold and clothes and hid them.
In the middle of doing that, the difference between the men of God and the people of the world is when people of the world are led by the world, they just follow after the world. But whenever the men of God are led by the flesh, they hear the voice of God. While the lepers were eating, drinking and hiding things, they heard the God’s voice and thought: ‘We do not well: this day is a day of good tidings, and we hold our peace. Aren’t the people of Samaria starving? There is so much food here. If we tarry till the morning light, some mischief will come upon us.’ The lepers had eaten, drunken and hidden things such as silver and gold, following their desires but by the God’s guidance, they stopped eating, drinking and hiding for themselves, went to the city of Samaria and delivered the news. Through the lepers, the people of Samaria, who were dying and killing their babies from starvation, went to the camp of the Syrians and took over the camp, and could received the grace of God: ‘a measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel’ and were saved.
Loving brothers and sisters, just like the lepers though we are saved, we have only lived for ourselves. What God is telling us in the year of 2010 is that ‘You are not doing right. You are saved and have the Gospel. Should you continue living for our flesh? You have been saved and there is the Gospel in you. If you preach the Gospel, that person will receive salvation. But will you still live for your flesh and die in the end?’ I believe the heart that God gave to the lepers thousands years ago is the Word He wants to tell us in 2010. Though we have been saved, those who are students just studied, those who have jobs just worked, parents just took care of their children. Just like unsaved people, they just came to church on Sundays and went to retreats, and were satisfied with just that. We are not doing right. There are so many people dying around us.
Everyone, in 2010 let us go to the city and deliver the good news. Through world camps in 30 different countries, we will be preaching the Gospel to 60 thousand young people at the least. I hope you will take part in this work. Despite your busy schedules, I hope you will take some time off to attend the world camps, support the camps financially, pray for the camps and work for the camps together while pouring your hearts into them. Moreover, the people around us are just like the people of Samaria, starving to death. Don’t we have lots of food? We can listen to the Word through the Internet and we have books, retreats, conferences and Sunday services. We hear this precious Word and hide it. Now, let us not hide it anymore and run towards the city of Samaria. If we remain silent, they can’t help but be cursed and destroyed. God did the precious work of saving people through the unworthy lepers. He first fed them and had them hide silver and gold for themselves. God allowed them that much. However, He didn’t allow them to continue doing that. You received salvation and of course, you should make both ends meet. However, God doesn’t want you to fall into it and tells us to go preach the Gospel. And then, God will work in your life. In the beginning, you might have difficulties and feel burdened but when you preach the Gospel, God will give you fruits of the Gospel. I am not sure but there might be the four lepers’ statues at the gate of Samaria.
‘The lepers that we looked down on and despised saved us all. Those lepers saved us. We could have died of starvation but our lives are saved through them.’ How joyful they must have been.
Tonight, so many people sent me text messages: ‘Pastor, have good health in the New Year as well.’ These are the brothers and sisters who received salvation after listening to the Gospel. Just before Martin Luther King started the protestant reformation, there was a catholic father that received salvation in Germany. After realizing the Gospel, he was happy but afraid to preach it. So he recorded the entire Gospel on the paper, put it inside a wall and sealed the wall. After he passed away, when people demolished his house, they found a roll of paper. On that, he wrote down the clear Gospel and died. Not long after that father’s death, Martin Luther realized the Gospel. Luther preached the Gospel boldly. ‘Though I consider the relatives, wealth and fame as an enemy, they are in the hand of God and he is my fortress, shield and chariot.’ He went around preaching the Gospel boldly. Through Luther, Europe was covered with the Gospel and not long after, all countries of the world at large.
At the era when there are many people dying without the Gospel like the city of Samaria, let us not fall into the life of eating and drinking for ourselves. Now, students will study for the Gospel, people with jobs will work for the Gospel and housewives will preach the Gospel. Just as the city of Samaria was saved from starvation, I hope all of you will run towards the Gospel, putting an end to the life that we have lived so far.
The lepers said; “We do not well: this day is a day of good tidings, and we hold our peace: if we tarry till the morning light, some mischief will come upon us: now therefore come, that we may go and tell the king’s household.”
Just like the lepers, let us change our hearts and end the life of eating, drinking and hiding things for ourselves. When we preach the Gospel, the city of Samaria is saved. I hope that not only the people of Korea will be saved but also many peoples of the world will be saved and stand before the Lord through our preaching the Gospel. To make the year of 2010 be a year of the strong work of the Gospel through the IYF, the Good News Mission and Gracias, let us not live for ourselves just like the lepers did. Like the limping and falling sounds of the lepers saved the city of Samaria, I believe our weak steps towards the Gospel will save this country and the entire world. I thank and glorify God who had worked strongly and sincerely through the lepers and saved us beforehand for the work of the Gospel. Again in 2010, I hope we will live for the Gospel as the people of the Gospel, running out with the Gospel like the lepers.
