WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.480 You are listening to a message from Southwood Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Alabama. 00:00:06.980 --> 00:00:10.640 Our passion is to experience and express grace. Join us. 00:00:12.460 --> 00:00:20.440 Turn with me, if you will, this morning to 2 Kings 7. 2 Kings chapter 7. 00:00:21.780 --> 00:00:27.900 Kids, do you have a favorite Bible story? One that you always think of? Maybe it's one that's 00:00:27.899 --> 00:00:34.640 not really one of the famous ones that everybody likes, but it's just one that's always kind of, 00:00:35.119 --> 00:00:41.759 you've liked it. It's kind of stuck out to you. And this is one of those stories for me. 00:00:42.379 --> 00:00:48.539 Ever since I was a kid, I've thought about it, particularly for one verse in the middle of it. 00:00:49.579 --> 00:00:55.659 It's another great story of God's redemption that we've been talking about this summer, 00:00:55.659 --> 00:01:01.519 with a very interesting twist in the middle of that redemption story. 00:01:02.640 --> 00:01:06.700 Let me tell you a little bit of what's going on here before we read the story together. 00:01:07.259 --> 00:01:14.679 There's a foreign army, the Arameans, that have laid siege to God's people in the city of 00:01:14.679 --> 00:01:21.019 Samaria. And there's a famine on top of that in the land. So the siege is quite effective. 00:01:21.019 --> 00:01:27.500 They're running out of food and people are starting to get desperate and to do desperate 00:01:27.500 --> 00:01:35.179 things in the city. The little food that's left, the prices have gone sky high. You can't get your 00:01:35.179 --> 00:01:44.479 hands on any of it and people are starting to rumble. The prophet Elisha, however, has just said that 00:01:44.479 --> 00:01:50.179 things are about to change. Something's going to happen. There's going to be food and the price for 00:01:50.180 --> 00:01:59.820 that food will be affordable. But some don't believe him. And so the story turns to four lepers. 00:02:00.880 --> 00:02:08.060 Certainly these lepers would have been among the most desperate people in or technically just outside 00:02:08.060 --> 00:02:17.379 of Samaria. We'll pick up the reading at verse 3 of 2 Kings 7. This is from the New International 00:02:17.379 --> 00:02:24.340 Version, which is the way I learned it in childhood. And it does a good job with some of the words in 00:02:24.340 --> 00:02:28.019 this passage. But this is God's holy word. 00:02:29.079 --> 00:02:33.199 Now there were four men with leprosy at the entrance of the city gate. 00:02:34.060 --> 00:02:41.340 They said to each other, why stay here until we die? If we say we'll go into the city, the famine is 00:02:41.340 --> 00:02:47.960 there and we will die. And if we stay here, we will die. So let's go over to the camp of the Arameans 00:02:47.960 --> 00:02:55.560 and surrender. If they spare us, we live. And if they kill us, then we die. At dusk, they got up and 00:02:55.560 --> 00:03:00.500 went to the camp of the Arameans. And when they reached the edge of the camp, not a man was there. 00:03:01.080 --> 00:03:06.539 For the Lord had caused the Arameans to hear the sound of chariots and horses and a great army, 00:03:06.539 --> 00:03:12.099 so that they said to one another, look, the king of Israel has hired the Hittite and Egyptian kings 00:03:12.099 --> 00:03:17.579 to attack us. So they got up and fled in the dusk and abandoned their tents and their horses and 00:03:17.579 --> 00:03:25.379 donkeys. They left the camp as it was and ran for their lives. The men who had leprosy reached the edge 00:03:25.379 --> 00:03:32.979 of the camp and entered one of the tents. They ate and drank and carried away silver, gold, and clothes 00:03:32.979 --> 00:03:37.719 and went off and hid them. They returned and entered another tent and took some things from it 00:03:37.719 --> 00:03:46.579 and hid them also. Then they said to each other, what we're doing is not right. This is a day of good 00:03:46.579 --> 00:03:52.439 news and we are keeping it to ourselves. If we wait until daylight, punishment will overtake us. 00:03:52.719 --> 00:03:57.939 Let's go at once and report this to the royal palace. So they went and called out to the city 00:03:57.939 --> 00:04:02.759 gatekeepers and told them, we went into the Aramean camp and not a man was there, not a sound of 00:04:02.759 --> 00:04:09.819 anyone, only tethered horses and donkeys and the tents left just as they were. The gatekeeper shouted 00:04:09.819 --> 00:04:14.919 the news and it was reported within the palace and the king got up in the night and said to his officers, 00:04:15.840 --> 00:04:22.000 I will tell you what the Arameans have done to us. They know we are starving so they have left the camp 00:04:22.000 --> 00:04:27.779 to hide in the countryside thinking they will surely come out and then we will take them alive and get 00:04:27.779 --> 00:04:34.319 into the city. One of his officers answered, well have some men take five of the horses left in the city. 00:04:34.979 --> 00:04:40.059 Their plight will be like that of all the Israelites left here. Yes, they will only be like all these 00:04:40.059 --> 00:04:47.259 Israelites who are doomed. So let us send them to find out what happened. So they selected two chariots 00:04:47.259 --> 00:04:52.739 with their horses and the king sent them after the Aramean army. He commanded the drivers, go and find out what 00:04:52.740 --> 00:04:57.300 has happened. And they followed them as far as the Jordan and they found the whole road strewn with 00:04:57.300 --> 00:05:02.900 the clothing and equipment the Arameans had thrown away in their headlong flight. So the messengers 00:05:02.900 --> 00:05:09.160 returned and reported to the king. Then the people went out and plundered the camp of the Arameans. 00:05:09.920 --> 00:05:18.680 So a sayah of flour sold for a shekel and two sayahs of barley sold for a shekel as the Lord had said. 00:05:18.680 --> 00:05:22.620 Let's pray together and we'll talk about this passage. 00:05:24.199 --> 00:05:30.639 Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you for your faithful work for your people 00:05:30.639 --> 00:05:37.920 and the record we have of it so that we can know you more. And now would you give us your heart? 00:05:39.920 --> 00:05:47.079 Would you by your spirit work in our hearts that we might see as you do, that we might love as you do, 00:05:47.079 --> 00:05:57.259 that we might truly be your people as you have called us to be? We ask in Jesus' name. Amen. 00:05:59.479 --> 00:06:04.379 It may not be as famous as David and Goliath. You probably haven't heard this one before. 00:06:05.039 --> 00:06:12.879 It's not as memorable perhaps as the Exodus. But this story is yet another great example of God's 00:06:12.879 --> 00:06:20.939 miraculously sparing His people. Another beautiful picture of God's faithfulness generation after 00:06:20.939 --> 00:06:30.899 generation to provide and care for His people. The story highlights the desperation and the deliverance, 00:06:31.040 --> 00:06:39.939 the bad news and the good news of the gospel. Last week we talked about the glory of God in removing 00:06:39.939 --> 00:06:49.500 our sins and clothing us in His righteousness. This week the image is a little different, but it's our 00:06:49.500 --> 00:06:58.819 desperate hunger and God's rich provision. We see the desperation perhaps most obviously in the lepers, 00:06:59.000 --> 00:07:05.420 right? Who decide how's life looking for them? Their best option left is to walk into the camp of an 00:07:05.420 --> 00:07:12.080 opposing army and surrender and just hope by chance they don't get killed. That's all they got left. 00:07:13.860 --> 00:07:20.680 They really thought it was the end, didn't they? But we see it also in one of the officers of the king 00:07:20.680 --> 00:07:29.660 who laughs at Elisha's prophecy of lower food prices. Just before what we read in verse 2, 00:07:29.660 --> 00:07:36.520 here's what happens. The captain on whose hand the king leaned said to the man of God, to Elisha, 00:07:36.880 --> 00:07:44.100 if the Lord Himself should make windows in heaven, could this thing that you just prophesied be? 00:07:44.560 --> 00:07:51.780 And Elisha said, you shall see it with your own eyes, but you shall not eat of it. Now Elisha's 00:07:51.779 --> 00:07:59.879 prophecy comes true as we've seen. Not just the food prices dropping, but this official is killed in 00:07:59.879 --> 00:08:09.879 the stampede towards the Aramean camp. But he feels here that things are so bleak. He's so desperate 00:08:09.879 --> 00:08:16.079 that even heaven, if the windows of heaven opened and poured out, they couldn't help us. Even heaven 00:08:16.079 --> 00:08:25.419 doesn't have enough to rescue us. That's a good physical picture in that desperation of our 00:08:25.419 --> 00:08:33.740 spiritual desperation. Sometimes we don't feel it because we aren't physically hungry, perhaps, 00:08:34.220 --> 00:08:40.519 but we are spiritually hopeless on our own. It's the end of the road for us. We're desperate 00:08:40.519 --> 00:08:49.980 to be rescued and can't do it ourselves. Of course, God's deliverance is even more overwhelming than 00:08:49.980 --> 00:08:56.620 our desperation. In the clearest way possible in this passage, the lives of the lepers are spared 00:08:56.620 --> 00:09:05.100 and the starvation of God's people is stopped without their lifting a finger, right? Verse 6, 00:09:05.100 --> 00:09:12.060 the Lord had caused the Aramean army to run off. Were they scared of Israel and the army coming out 00:09:12.060 --> 00:09:19.580 against them? No. The Lord had made them run off and leave their camp as it was. God does indeed 00:09:19.580 --> 00:09:28.040 seemingly open the windows of heaven and dump upon his people more grace than they could even imagine. 00:09:28.899 --> 00:09:33.680 They can't even believe God's kindness, can they? The king hears this story and he says, 00:09:33.679 --> 00:09:38.679 it's a trick. It's too good to be true. It couldn't possibly be happening. 00:09:40.979 --> 00:09:42.479 Has God done that for you? 00:09:45.179 --> 00:09:51.299 That's when you know the gospel is starting to sink in in your heart and life. When you look at what 00:09:51.299 --> 00:09:57.740 God has done for you and say, oh my goodness, it's too good to believe. There's no way that he could 00:09:57.740 --> 00:10:06.220 possibly meet the needs of a desperate, undeserving failure like me. Maybe what it really is is that 00:10:06.220 --> 00:10:13.860 I'm just given a second chance to live my life right and I better not mess it up this time. Maybe 00:10:13.860 --> 00:10:21.220 that's the message of the Bible. No. It's even better than that. It says, as good as you've heard, 00:10:21.220 --> 00:10:30.300 the good news of the gospel is that God gives life to otherwise dead people. That God sends his son 00:10:30.300 --> 00:10:40.120 to live a perfect life, to die a horrible death in the place of those who deserve to die and rise from 00:10:40.120 --> 00:10:48.019 the dead. And so as a result of what Jesus does, all our sins, even the worst ones, are paid for 00:10:48.019 --> 00:10:55.860 by his death. His perfect obedience is credited to our accounts as righteousness. We stand in right 00:10:55.860 --> 00:11:02.259 relationship with God and his eternal life is shared with those of us who trust him so that as 00:11:02.259 --> 00:11:08.860 surely as Jesus himself lives, we live forever in the glory of relationship with God that he created 00:11:08.860 --> 00:11:22.039 us for. And we never lifted a finger. We can't take credit for any of it. That's the good news of the 00:11:22.039 --> 00:11:26.279 gospel. Not that you've got a second chance to do it right this time, but that God has indeed done 00:11:26.279 --> 00:11:35.860 everything that was needed to rescue you and me. Full purpose to fill the aching longing inside of us. 00:11:35.860 --> 00:11:44.740 Eternal life instead of certain death. Divine deliverance for desperate people. That's the good 00:11:44.740 --> 00:11:52.200 news that God's people tasted in this passage and that you can experience today because of Jesus. 00:11:54.220 --> 00:12:00.100 We could keep talking about that good news all morning, but there's a particular aspect of it I want 00:12:00.100 --> 00:12:13.080 to zero in for a few minutes together. And that is that such good news must be shared. The grace we 00:12:13.080 --> 00:12:23.700 experience must be expressed. There's no outline in your bulletin this morning because it's really that 00:12:23.700 --> 00:12:30.300 simple. It's not complicated. It's not complicated and I'm trying hard to avoid something that I tend to do 00:12:30.300 --> 00:12:36.379 quite often, which is make something simple seem very complex. And many of you have suffered under that 00:12:36.379 --> 00:12:44.379 gift that I have. But verse 9 is the verse that always sticks out to me since I was a kid. 00:12:44.379 --> 00:12:55.439 In this beautiful picture of God's redemption. The lepers get there and they're in the tent. The second tent 00:12:55.439 --> 00:13:05.659 actually. And they said to each other, what we're doing is not right. This is a day of good news and we are 00:13:05.659 --> 00:13:16.279 keeping it to ourselves. Could that verse be appropriately applied to our lives many days? 00:13:17.339 --> 00:13:26.399 What we're doing is not right. This is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves. 00:13:27.139 --> 00:13:35.579 Things are great, but something's not right. I mean, think about those lepers 00:13:35.580 --> 00:13:43.020 for just a second. Just a couple hours ago, they were famished to the point of death. 00:13:43.860 --> 00:13:52.840 Hungrier than you have ever felt in your life. And now they're sitting in a buffet restaurant 00:13:52.840 --> 00:14:05.060 with tent after tent of options. Life is good. This is great. What a gift. Could anything be better than this? 00:14:05.580 --> 00:14:18.000 Things are great. Things are great. But something's not right. The food is so far beyond filling. 00:14:18.660 --> 00:14:27.580 The gift is so magnanimous. The grace is so extravagant that it is simply not right to keep it there. 00:14:27.580 --> 00:14:36.800 The news is too good. It can't be contained to four lepers. It must be shared with all the others, right? 00:14:36.799 --> 00:14:47.059 I'm in a generation where it seems that most things haven't really happened until you've shared them. 00:14:47.959 --> 00:14:56.059 Until they've become Facebook official, right? I mean, if you've seen a beautiful sunset or taken a wonderful 00:14:56.059 --> 00:15:04.699 vacation or seen your child achieve some great victory, it's almost as if the thing hasn't really 00:15:04.700 --> 00:15:11.980 taken place until you've got a picture and can tell others about it and share with the world, right? 00:15:13.660 --> 00:15:18.220 But I think there's something about the way we were wired a long time before Facebook 00:15:18.220 --> 00:15:26.960 that resonates with this idea of good news being meant to be shared. Maybe you've experienced that 00:15:26.960 --> 00:15:35.900 deep joy of sharing a momentous event with a spouse or a family member or a close friend, 00:15:36.320 --> 00:15:42.100 and it just becomes that much richer when you share it. I grew up loving Christmas morning, 00:15:42.240 --> 00:15:48.300 one of my favorite moments of the year. But since I was just about five years old, 00:15:48.299 --> 00:15:57.039 it wasn't fully Christmas until Bill and I talked. Bill was a childhood best friend, and we have talked 00:15:57.039 --> 00:16:04.879 now 30 or so Christmases in a row. We just got into the habit of calling each other every Christmas 00:16:04.879 --> 00:16:10.319 morning. It used to be that we had to share with each other the excitement of the new sports equipment 00:16:10.319 --> 00:16:14.899 that we had just received and talk about what we were going to do with it together and how we were 00:16:14.899 --> 00:16:20.919 going to play. And I remember getting a basketball goal, and that was exciting. But until I had shared 00:16:20.919 --> 00:16:25.759 with Bill that I had a basketball goal and we had played with it together, it wasn't as exciting as it 00:16:25.759 --> 00:16:30.120 could have been, right? And then when I heard about what he got and how we were going to get to share it 00:16:30.120 --> 00:16:37.819 together, it was like having Christmas all over again with his stuff. Nowadays, we mostly share the joy 00:16:37.820 --> 00:16:49.120 of our kids and what they've received, but it's a Christmas tradition. Good news that's too big for us, 00:16:49.240 --> 00:17:00.000 we have to share. It's like a summer thunderstorm in Huntsville. The windows of heaven just start 00:17:00.000 --> 00:17:08.220 spilling grace, like a drenching downpour that's coming. You've been in those before. And it's coming 00:17:08.220 --> 00:17:13.740 so hard that it's way more than one person to soak it all in. Imagine thinking, yeah, I'm just going to go 00:17:13.740 --> 00:17:18.440 around and I'm going to be the only one that touches all the rain all through town. No, it is dumping 00:17:18.440 --> 00:17:21.640 everywhere for everyone. 00:17:21.640 --> 00:17:31.920 I think one of the reasons we feel the need to share in great events and good news is that's the 00:17:31.920 --> 00:17:40.040 way God's designed us in relationship with Him, with the good news of His deliverance. From the time 00:17:40.040 --> 00:17:48.259 I was a child, I felt the truth of the leper's words. What we're doing is not right. This is a day 00:17:48.259 --> 00:17:57.079 of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves. That's why I've always loved that description of 00:17:57.079 --> 00:18:04.500 Christianity from Martin Luther and others, beggars telling other beggars where to find bread. 00:18:05.779 --> 00:18:13.160 That fits with this passage, doesn't it? I thought of it in terms of Cinderella. We talked last week 00:18:13.160 --> 00:18:20.980 about the ragged maid being given a beautiful dress fit for the ball, invited up to the head 00:18:20.980 --> 00:18:27.160 table with the prince and by the end of the story, the big event is not the ball but her wedding. 00:18:28.720 --> 00:18:34.980 She's not only at the head table but she gets to set the guest list. So, can you imagine with me 00:18:34.980 --> 00:18:41.759 for just a minute? Because it's a fairy tale so you can imagine. Who's on Cinderella's guest list? 00:18:41.759 --> 00:18:50.740 It's every maiden in the land, right? Do you have any doubt about that? That's the only way she knew 00:18:50.740 --> 00:18:55.799 she could come to the ball was that the invitation went out very clearly to every eligible maiden 00:18:55.799 --> 00:19:04.680 in the land. And if Cinderella made sure anyone knew she was included, if someone was to get a personal 00:19:04.680 --> 00:19:12.779 visit from the Duke on top of the mass invite, it would have been every scullery made in the kingdom, 00:19:12.980 --> 00:19:20.340 right? Because she knew her desperate need and what it was like to be there, she would not have left 00:19:20.340 --> 00:19:26.799 out a single other. Come to the party! There's good news for us, for you too. 00:19:26.799 --> 00:19:39.480 Is that how you feel about the people in your life each day, each week? Do you see their desperate need 00:19:39.480 --> 00:19:49.079 before God the way you see your own? Do you have what I'll call a heavenly burden for them? 00:19:49.079 --> 00:19:55.539 A holy discontent with the good news being kept to yourself that's just not right? 00:19:57.259 --> 00:20:03.960 I mean, be honest, you'd never fail to share a diet that works with someone else trying to lose weight. 00:20:04.980 --> 00:20:10.559 You'd never fail to share a parenting tip with another parent struggling with their children. 00:20:11.619 --> 00:20:17.779 You'd never fail to share a new exercise regimen with someone trying to get in shape. Of course we would. 00:20:17.779 --> 00:20:26.839 Why would we not share the overflowing joy of a Savior with those who so desperately need one like me? 00:20:28.940 --> 00:20:34.180 If we're not sharing it, is it really good news to us? 00:20:35.859 --> 00:20:40.859 Are we really beggars ourselves desperate for bread? 00:20:40.859 --> 00:20:51.240 New Testament is clear that this is the calling we have as those who trust Jesus to share the good news with others. 00:20:51.359 --> 00:20:54.579 Just a couple passages to remind us of that. 00:20:54.879 --> 00:20:55.799 1 Peter 2, 00:20:56.019 --> 00:21:00.959 You're a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession. 00:21:01.159 --> 00:21:01.539 Why? 00:21:02.000 --> 00:21:07.579 That you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. 00:21:07.579 --> 00:21:10.619 Romans chapter 10, Paul writes, 00:21:11.059 --> 00:21:13.980 How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? 00:21:14.139 --> 00:21:16.819 And how are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard? 00:21:17.159 --> 00:21:19.379 And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 00:21:20.240 --> 00:21:22.419 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? 00:21:22.500 --> 00:21:27.480 As it is written, how beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news. 00:21:27.539 --> 00:21:30.759 And that doesn't mean just standing up in a Sunday worship service and preaching. 00:21:30.899 --> 00:21:33.699 And it doesn't mean you have to go around the world to do it. 00:21:34.699 --> 00:21:36.720 Sharing the good news. 00:21:36.720 --> 00:21:39.600 2 Corinthians chapter 5, 00:21:40.100 --> 00:21:47.839 All this is from God who through Christ reconciled us to Himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. 00:21:49.039 --> 00:21:52.500 That is in Christ God was reconciling the world to Himself. 00:21:52.880 --> 00:21:57.819 Not counting their trespasses against them and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 00:21:58.799 --> 00:22:00.120 Therefore we are what? 00:22:00.740 --> 00:22:02.620 Ambassadors for Christ. 00:22:03.319 --> 00:22:05.140 God making His appeal through us. 00:22:05.140 --> 00:22:07.220 We implore you on behalf of Christ. 00:22:07.320 --> 00:22:08.640 Be reconciled to God. 00:22:09.259 --> 00:22:13.580 This good news for our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin. 00:22:13.800 --> 00:22:18.480 So that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. 00:22:18.480 --> 00:22:28.200 I have said before that if this sharing the good news is not what we are about in Huntsville and beyond, 00:22:28.860 --> 00:22:30.500 then we should shut the doors. 00:22:32.220 --> 00:22:33.779 That is why God put us here. 00:22:34.779 --> 00:22:38.640 If the gospel really is the good news we say it is, 00:22:38.759 --> 00:22:40.440 how could we not share it? 00:22:40.440 --> 00:22:47.480 Penn Jillette is a famous entertainer and an outspoken atheist. 00:22:49.100 --> 00:22:55.640 One night after a show an audience member hung around to compliment him on the show and have a conversation with him. 00:22:56.500 --> 00:23:01.600 And I want you to listen to just a couple minutes of what Penn said about their interaction. 00:23:01.820 --> 00:23:02.539 Then we'll talk again. 00:23:02.539 --> 00:23:08.960 Oh, hang on one second. 00:23:09.099 --> 00:23:09.319 Sorry. 00:23:09.680 --> 00:23:12.619 We'll start it over again with the audio this time. 00:23:13.440 --> 00:23:15.240 Pete, do you know how to turn the audio over there? 00:23:17.059 --> 00:23:18.819 Okay, I'll show it to you again in a second. 00:23:21.039 --> 00:23:22.000 We'll work on that. 00:23:23.680 --> 00:23:24.839 Here's what Penn says. 00:23:26.680 --> 00:23:27.720 Yeah, we'll forget the video. 00:23:27.819 --> 00:23:28.720 I'll just tell you what he says. 00:23:28.720 --> 00:23:30.420 It's just so much better coming from him. 00:23:30.420 --> 00:23:33.539 And he says this guy came up after the show. 00:23:34.259 --> 00:23:37.080 And he was very kind to me and complimentary of the show. 00:23:37.460 --> 00:23:40.440 And he gave me this little Bible. 00:23:41.400 --> 00:23:44.300 It was a Gideon pocket New Testament Psalms and Proverbs. 00:23:45.080 --> 00:23:46.720 And he said to me, 00:23:46.779 --> 00:23:49.600 I want to tell you how much I liked your show. 00:23:49.740 --> 00:23:50.740 And I want to give you this. 00:23:51.180 --> 00:23:52.519 I'm proselytizing. 00:23:53.759 --> 00:23:54.759 And he said, 00:23:54.779 --> 00:23:55.460 I'm a businessman. 00:23:55.700 --> 00:23:56.940 I'm not crazy. 00:23:56.940 --> 00:24:00.700 But I really, really wanted you to have this. 00:24:02.140 --> 00:24:03.660 And Penn says, 00:24:03.860 --> 00:24:07.519 maybe not what you would expect an atheist to say in that moment. 00:24:07.660 --> 00:24:08.059 He said, 00:24:08.380 --> 00:24:10.120 I've never understood before 00:24:10.120 --> 00:24:13.960 why you wouldn't proselytize 00:24:13.960 --> 00:24:15.519 if you believed what you really did. 00:24:15.720 --> 00:24:17.779 If you believed that there was heaven 00:24:17.779 --> 00:24:18.960 and there was hell 00:24:18.960 --> 00:24:22.319 and whether or not you got eternal life 00:24:22.319 --> 00:24:24.299 depended on knowing Jesus, 00:24:24.440 --> 00:24:26.420 how would you not tell someone? 00:24:27.019 --> 00:24:27.700 Then he says, 00:24:27.779 --> 00:24:28.579 and these are his words, 00:24:28.900 --> 00:24:31.180 how much do you have to hate someone 00:24:31.180 --> 00:24:32.819 to believe that 00:24:32.819 --> 00:24:34.500 and not tell them? 00:24:35.740 --> 00:24:36.259 And he says, 00:24:36.579 --> 00:24:37.900 let me picture it for you this way. 00:24:37.960 --> 00:24:39.360 Imagine there's a truck coming to you 00:24:39.360 --> 00:24:41.000 and I really believe there's a truck 00:24:41.000 --> 00:24:42.120 barreling down on you 00:24:42.120 --> 00:24:44.799 at some point before the truck hits you. 00:24:44.799 --> 00:24:47.500 If I can't talk you into getting out of the way, 00:24:47.559 --> 00:24:48.340 I tackle you. 00:24:49.339 --> 00:24:52.019 I don't understand Christians or atheists, 00:24:52.259 --> 00:24:52.759 he says, 00:24:52.819 --> 00:24:54.480 who wouldn't proselytize. 00:24:55.439 --> 00:24:57.779 So I really respect that man who came to me. 00:24:57.799 --> 00:24:58.379 He's wrong. 00:24:58.919 --> 00:25:00.019 I don't agree with him, 00:25:00.199 --> 00:25:04.359 but he did what I expect everyone ought to do. 00:25:06.240 --> 00:25:09.619 It's kind of convicting to listen to an atheist, 00:25:09.759 --> 00:25:11.980 which you didn't get the privilege of doing this morning. 00:25:14.119 --> 00:25:16.679 And you hear him understand the priority 00:25:16.680 --> 00:25:19.320 of sharing the good news 00:25:19.320 --> 00:25:21.779 better than most Christians. 00:25:24.400 --> 00:25:28.700 We have experience and express grace on the books, 00:25:28.700 --> 00:25:29.940 don't we? 00:25:29.940 --> 00:25:34.160 But do we really live that way? 00:25:35.480 --> 00:25:37.779 Do we really believe if it's not expressed, 00:25:38.039 --> 00:25:39.320 if it's not shared, 00:25:39.440 --> 00:25:41.980 then it's not God's grace? 00:25:41.980 --> 00:25:47.519 I've been wrestling with my own heart this week 00:25:47.519 --> 00:25:49.460 and asking myself some questions. 00:25:49.799 --> 00:25:51.240 In case you've never been a preacher, 00:25:51.480 --> 00:25:54.579 it's kind of easy to feel like you share it every week, 00:25:54.660 --> 00:25:56.599 and so you let yourself off the hook 00:25:56.599 --> 00:25:59.299 in a lot of other relationships and situations. 00:25:59.299 --> 00:26:02.839 I've asked myself, 00:26:02.940 --> 00:26:04.700 does the thought of one person 00:26:04.700 --> 00:26:07.299 dying apart from Christ 00:26:07.299 --> 00:26:09.279 grieve me deeply? 00:26:09.940 --> 00:26:10.940 Is that my heart? 00:26:12.839 --> 00:26:15.519 Does the thought of one person 00:26:15.519 --> 00:26:18.539 sharing the joy of Christ eternally 00:26:18.539 --> 00:26:19.500 excite me? 00:26:19.500 --> 00:26:24.359 Do I really have that heavenly burden 00:26:24.359 --> 00:26:26.559 for those I walk by, 00:26:27.059 --> 00:26:27.740 eat with, 00:26:28.500 --> 00:26:29.279 swim beside, 00:26:29.660 --> 00:26:30.480 study with, 00:26:31.039 --> 00:26:33.039 to know the good news of Jesus? 00:26:34.019 --> 00:26:36.319 And do I regularly pursue relationships 00:26:36.319 --> 00:26:39.380 in a way that indicates I have that burden, 00:26:39.859 --> 00:26:41.799 where I get to know people enough 00:26:41.799 --> 00:26:43.859 to have a heart that longs for them 00:26:43.859 --> 00:26:44.740 to know my Savior? 00:26:44.740 --> 00:26:48.180 Sometimes I think we adults 00:26:48.180 --> 00:26:49.559 overcomplicate this. 00:26:50.180 --> 00:26:51.680 My kids meet friends at school 00:26:51.680 --> 00:26:53.079 who don't know Jesus, 00:26:53.460 --> 00:26:54.819 and they care about them enough 00:26:54.819 --> 00:26:56.039 that they come home and say, 00:26:56.420 --> 00:26:57.819 hey, I want to pray for my friend 00:26:57.819 --> 00:26:58.559 and her family. 00:27:00.599 --> 00:27:02.299 I know that the how-to 00:27:02.299 --> 00:27:03.480 of sharing the good news 00:27:03.480 --> 00:27:06.839 can be hard sometimes to figure out, 00:27:07.000 --> 00:27:09.019 but don't we sometimes hide behind that 00:27:09.019 --> 00:27:10.660 and not even pray? 00:27:11.640 --> 00:27:14.440 Step one, we know that part. 00:27:14.740 --> 00:27:17.700 Is my heart overflowing 00:27:17.700 --> 00:27:19.500 with the urge to share, 00:27:19.759 --> 00:27:21.599 to figure out some way anyway 00:27:21.599 --> 00:27:23.759 to show the love of Christ to another? 00:27:26.180 --> 00:27:28.819 See, that's really the issue, isn't it? 00:27:30.539 --> 00:27:31.019 Love. 00:27:33.539 --> 00:27:35.019 Penn asks that question, 00:27:35.319 --> 00:27:37.559 how much do you have to hate somebody 00:27:37.559 --> 00:27:39.859 not to share the good news with them? 00:27:39.920 --> 00:27:41.160 It's a fair question, 00:27:41.539 --> 00:27:42.259 but how about 00:27:42.259 --> 00:27:44.460 how much do you have to love them? 00:27:45.740 --> 00:27:47.220 I think the answer to that 00:27:47.220 --> 00:27:48.779 is just a little more 00:27:48.779 --> 00:27:50.779 than you love yourself. 00:27:51.920 --> 00:27:52.180 Right? 00:27:53.200 --> 00:27:54.319 It's like the lepers. 00:27:54.799 --> 00:27:55.940 How much do they have to love 00:27:55.940 --> 00:27:56.579 everybody else? 00:27:56.680 --> 00:27:57.700 Well, they're saying 00:27:57.700 --> 00:27:58.839 it's not right for us 00:27:58.839 --> 00:27:59.900 to keep this all 00:27:59.900 --> 00:28:01.620 to ourselves. 00:28:02.480 --> 00:28:03.339 The question is, 00:28:03.380 --> 00:28:04.380 is it all going to be for them, 00:28:04.420 --> 00:28:05.019 or are they going to go 00:28:05.019 --> 00:28:06.759 invite somebody else into it? 00:28:06.759 --> 00:28:09.180 I'm called to love my neighbor 00:28:09.180 --> 00:28:10.879 as myself. 00:28:11.980 --> 00:28:14.779 Just a bit more than my comfort, 00:28:15.779 --> 00:28:17.339 my control, 00:28:17.559 --> 00:28:19.039 my bank account, 00:28:19.579 --> 00:28:21.379 my image or reputation. 00:28:21.380 --> 00:28:24.880 And oftentimes I don't. 00:28:25.380 --> 00:28:28.260 I'm unwilling to sacrifice my time, 00:28:28.960 --> 00:28:29.620 my schedule, 00:28:29.800 --> 00:28:30.800 my comfortable, 00:28:31.000 --> 00:28:31.980 controlled world. 00:28:32.620 --> 00:28:33.940 I'm looking out for, 00:28:34.060 --> 00:28:34.500 number one, 00:28:34.640 --> 00:28:36.500 prioritizing those things 00:28:36.500 --> 00:28:37.220 that I love 00:28:37.220 --> 00:28:38.020 over the people 00:28:38.020 --> 00:28:40.180 God has called me to love. 00:28:40.940 --> 00:28:41.920 And maybe that doesn't sound 00:28:41.920 --> 00:28:43.500 too awful to you at first. 00:28:43.500 --> 00:28:46.240 But stop and think for a minute 00:28:46.240 --> 00:28:49.980 of the self-serving idolatry 00:28:49.980 --> 00:28:50.980 in that. 00:28:52.259 --> 00:28:54.299 A day of good news 00:28:54.299 --> 00:28:56.279 and I'm keeping it 00:28:56.279 --> 00:28:57.940 to myself. 00:29:01.220 --> 00:29:03.079 I suspect we all have places 00:29:03.079 --> 00:29:04.000 in our hearts 00:29:04.000 --> 00:29:05.680 where we need to repent. 00:29:06.720 --> 00:29:07.900 Where our zeal 00:29:07.900 --> 00:29:09.460 for the good news of Jesus 00:29:09.460 --> 00:29:10.500 to be shared 00:29:10.500 --> 00:29:12.240 doesn't match our zeal 00:29:12.240 --> 00:29:14.079 for our own comforts. 00:29:14.980 --> 00:29:15.839 And that repentance 00:29:15.839 --> 00:29:17.240 is a good place 00:29:17.240 --> 00:29:18.819 for us to start dealing 00:29:18.819 --> 00:29:19.740 with our hearts. 00:29:21.120 --> 00:29:22.599 At the same time, 00:29:23.599 --> 00:29:25.880 that's not a guilt-driven repentance. 00:29:26.140 --> 00:29:26.799 This passage 00:29:26.799 --> 00:29:27.480 and this sermon 00:29:27.480 --> 00:29:28.660 is not about 00:29:28.660 --> 00:29:31.279 guilt-driven evangelism 00:29:31.279 --> 00:29:32.680 and railing at you 00:29:32.680 --> 00:29:33.799 for not doing enough. 00:29:34.180 --> 00:29:35.160 Why don't you share more? 00:29:37.120 --> 00:29:38.799 The motivation for the lepers 00:29:38.799 --> 00:29:39.779 to share the good news 00:29:39.779 --> 00:29:40.680 is not anybody yelling 00:29:40.680 --> 00:29:41.599 at them about it. 00:29:42.240 --> 00:29:44.400 It's the overwhelmingly 00:29:44.400 --> 00:29:47.140 gracious provision 00:29:47.140 --> 00:29:48.019 they've received. 00:29:48.460 --> 00:29:49.720 How could they not 00:29:49.720 --> 00:29:50.740 share it 00:29:50.740 --> 00:29:52.039 with so many others 00:29:52.039 --> 00:29:52.980 back in town 00:29:52.980 --> 00:29:54.180 about to die 00:29:54.180 --> 00:29:54.880 without it? 00:29:55.880 --> 00:29:57.259 What should cause us 00:29:57.259 --> 00:29:58.079 to love our neighbors? 00:29:58.720 --> 00:30:00.480 What should motivate us 00:30:00.480 --> 00:30:02.000 to look out these windows 00:30:02.000 --> 00:30:04.099 to the Huntsville community 00:30:04.099 --> 00:30:06.920 and feel a heavenly burden 00:30:06.920 --> 00:30:08.660 for everyone around us 00:30:08.660 --> 00:30:09.839 to know the love of Jesus? 00:30:09.839 --> 00:30:14.159 Well, the love of Jesus 00:30:14.159 --> 00:30:15.339 should. 00:30:16.139 --> 00:30:17.539 The love of Jesus, 00:30:17.759 --> 00:30:18.519 Paul says, 00:30:18.740 --> 00:30:20.679 is what compels us 00:30:20.679 --> 00:30:21.939 to the ministry 00:30:21.939 --> 00:30:23.539 of reconciliation. 00:30:23.539 --> 00:30:26.480 Jesus has loved us, 00:30:26.920 --> 00:30:27.779 his enemies, 00:30:28.099 --> 00:30:28.599 by the way, 00:30:29.019 --> 00:30:30.720 way more than himself. 00:30:31.879 --> 00:30:33.319 The things I struggle 00:30:33.319 --> 00:30:34.220 to let go of, 00:30:34.279 --> 00:30:36.119 the comforts and riches 00:30:36.119 --> 00:30:37.539 of his life, 00:30:37.940 --> 00:30:39.740 Jesus let go of 00:30:39.740 --> 00:30:41.379 in order to come 00:30:41.379 --> 00:30:42.720 for me 00:30:42.720 --> 00:30:44.819 because he loved me. 00:30:45.960 --> 00:30:47.119 And so I don't have to look out 00:30:47.119 --> 00:30:48.019 for number one 00:30:48.019 --> 00:30:50.039 because he is looking out 00:30:50.039 --> 00:30:51.000 for me. 00:30:51.000 --> 00:30:52.019 That's the good news, 00:30:52.079 --> 00:30:52.339 right? 00:30:53.140 --> 00:30:54.779 My father loves me 00:30:54.779 --> 00:30:56.359 and provides riches 00:30:56.359 --> 00:30:57.180 unending, 00:30:57.559 --> 00:30:59.200 eternal riches 00:30:59.200 --> 00:31:01.259 so I don't have to 00:31:01.259 --> 00:31:02.279 fend for myself. 00:31:03.940 --> 00:31:05.359 I can love you. 00:31:06.980 --> 00:31:08.099 I can share the riches 00:31:08.099 --> 00:31:09.799 of his grace with you 00:31:09.799 --> 00:31:12.000 because they will never, 00:31:12.240 --> 00:31:14.640 ever run out. 00:31:14.640 --> 00:31:18.360 the lepers saw house 00:31:18.360 --> 00:31:20.020 after house 00:31:20.020 --> 00:31:21.940 of starving neighbors 00:31:21.940 --> 00:31:24.120 and tent 00:31:24.120 --> 00:31:25.720 after tent 00:31:25.720 --> 00:31:27.000 of food 00:31:27.000 --> 00:31:28.580 they would never 00:31:28.580 --> 00:31:29.620 even get to eating. 00:31:31.400 --> 00:31:32.000 God's grace 00:31:32.000 --> 00:31:32.740 is even greater 00:31:32.740 --> 00:31:33.480 than that. 00:31:33.800 --> 00:31:35.060 It frees me, 00:31:35.320 --> 00:31:36.960 even compels me 00:31:36.960 --> 00:31:38.180 to quit worrying 00:31:38.180 --> 00:31:38.740 about whether 00:31:38.740 --> 00:31:39.720 I'll have enough 00:31:39.720 --> 00:31:41.019 and share 00:31:41.019 --> 00:31:42.480 with you. 00:31:44.339 --> 00:31:44.980 Friends, 00:31:46.779 --> 00:31:47.700 fellow beggars 00:31:47.700 --> 00:31:49.920 who know desperation, 00:31:51.319 --> 00:31:52.660 because of Jesus 00:31:52.660 --> 00:31:53.680 today 00:31:53.680 --> 00:31:55.180 is a day 00:31:55.180 --> 00:31:56.500 of good news. 00:31:57.779 --> 00:31:58.819 May we never 00:31:58.819 --> 00:31:59.799 keep it 00:31:59.799 --> 00:32:00.900 to ourselves 00:32:00.900 --> 00:32:02.279 but share 00:32:02.279 --> 00:32:02.880 the good news 00:32:02.880 --> 00:32:03.500 with everyone. 00:32:04.500 --> 00:32:04.960 Let's pray. 00:32:04.960 --> 00:32:05.019 Amen. 00:32:05.019 --> 00:32:10.500 Jesus, 00:32:10.680 --> 00:32:11.619 for the good news 00:32:11.619 --> 00:32:12.200 of your 00:32:12.200 --> 00:32:14.160 love for us 00:32:14.160 --> 00:32:14.839 that we could 00:32:14.839 --> 00:32:15.680 never deserve, 00:32:15.839 --> 00:32:16.879 we give you thanks. 00:32:19.059 --> 00:32:20.279 I pray this morning 00:32:20.279 --> 00:32:21.299 that it would feel 00:32:21.299 --> 00:32:22.160 to us 00:32:22.160 --> 00:32:22.599 as though 00:32:22.599 --> 00:32:23.299 the windows 00:32:23.299 --> 00:32:24.059 of heaven 00:32:24.059 --> 00:32:25.359 are opening 00:32:25.359 --> 00:32:26.879 and pouring 00:32:26.879 --> 00:32:28.019 grace 00:32:28.019 --> 00:32:29.839 upon grace 00:32:29.839 --> 00:32:31.059 over us 00:32:31.059 --> 00:32:32.619 beyond 00:32:32.619 --> 00:32:33.519 what we could 00:32:33.519 --> 00:32:34.700 take in 00:32:34.700 --> 00:32:36.000 and way beyond 00:32:36.000 --> 00:32:36.660 what we would 00:32:36.660 --> 00:32:37.660 ever want 00:32:37.660 --> 00:32:38.539 to keep 00:32:38.539 --> 00:32:40.039 for ourselves. 00:32:42.059 --> 00:32:43.240 Give us your eyes, 00:32:43.680 --> 00:32:44.920 give us your heart, 00:32:45.319 --> 00:32:46.120 may we tell 00:32:46.120 --> 00:32:47.660 of your love 00:32:47.660 --> 00:32:49.080 over and over 00:32:49.080 --> 00:32:51.299 until everyone 00:32:51.299 --> 00:32:51.819 knows 00:32:51.819 --> 00:32:53.360 the love 00:32:53.360 --> 00:32:54.039 of our Savior. 00:32:55.460 --> 00:32:56.380 Do that work 00:32:56.380 --> 00:32:57.140 by your Spirit, 00:32:57.740 --> 00:32:58.860 we ask in Jesus' name. 00:32:59.420 --> 00:32:59.680 Amen. 00:32:59.680 --> 00:33:04.660 For more information, 00:33:05.039 --> 00:33:05.960 visit us online 00:33:05.960 --> 00:33:07.259 at southwood.org.