Sermon (09-Oct): "What's Holding You Back?

Scripture:

2 Kings 5:1-3, 7-15 (SLIDE)

1 Now Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded, because through him the Lord had given victory to Aram. He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy.[a]

2 Now bands of raiders from Aram had gone out and had taken captive a young girl from Israel, and she served Naaman’s wife. 3 She said to her mistress, “If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.”

7 As soon as the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his robes and said, “Am I God? Can I kill and bring back to life? Why does this fellow send someone to me to be cured of his leprosy? See how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me!”

8 When Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his robes, he sent him this message: “Why have you torn your robes? Have the man come to me and he will know that there is a prophet in Israel.” 9 So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha’s house. 10 Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, “Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.”

11 But Naaman went away angry and said, “I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. 12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?” So he turned and went off in a rage.

13 Naaman’s servants went to him and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be cleansed’!” 14 So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy.

15 Then Naaman and all his attendants went back to the man of God. He stood before him and said, “Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel. So please accept a gift from your servant.”

Big Idea:

The objective of this message is to consider the story of Naaman and how we can learn from his examplerecognize that to truly “Testify;” we must begin with Christ

Introduction:

- There are many times that I am amazed at how the Lord works

- And I have heard many have that same sentiment

- Even when it comes to Jesus, the amazement for me never ceases

- Have you ever noticed how there are times where Jesus simply touches one person and heals?

- Speaks the words of healing to another…to heal them

- Or puts His fingers in the ear of a deaf man to heal; spitting on the eyes of yet another person (Mark 8:23)

- Some say that Jesus did a lot of these things to show the masses in attendance that healing was about to happen

- Reading and thinking about it today of course we’d question it

- But to those who were healed… they were indeed thankful

- Isn’t it interesting that Jesus mentions Naaman’s healing in the New Testament?

- After He was rejected in His hometown of Nazareth, he mentioned (Luke 4:27),

27 And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.”

- In many ways Jesus, He links Himself to the Old Testament…

- In appearances which we call theophanies or especially in healings

- He makes it known that God is not an out-of-date God

- Naaman finds out firsthand how much a difference that God makes

- From being leprous to healed—from being stricken to another level of success—

- God heals and delivers him

- When we look at Naaman initially, it would almost seem as this story is not that big of a deal

- That Naaman doesn’t need healing

- We see him as a soldier and a commander

- It’s not like he’s down on his luck or “woe is me”

- No, he was esteemed and valued by his commander the king of Aram (Ben-Hadad II)

- In fact, we see he is highly regarded

- He achieves victory after victory and success publicly

- But, we find out that he has leprosy

- Now, we can only assume that it wasn’t “full blown” in the sense where he was quarantined or considered a complete outcast

- Still, it was significant enough that he needed healing—that it bothered him regularly perhaps daily

- It was noticeable to others; he sought healing when it was offered

- Whatever stage that he was at, he knew something needed to be done

- As is the case with most of us, something needs to change in his life and in our lives

- It may not be as noticeable as the diagnosis of leprosy

- Yet, it could be something that we have dealt with “long enough”

- We can add different issues—chronic pain, bad work or family situations, or possibly mental health challenges or diagnoses

- Any one of us can fill in the blank with what we are dealing with right now

- This issue with Naaman can fit different storylines in each of our lives

- Naaman eventually finds the answer but not without some hiccups along the way

- So, we’re going to talk about it

- What I believe hindered Naaman and what could hinder any one of us

- And, how to move towards the answer, so we’ll consider…

(SLIDE)

- Is it about power or position?

- Is it about pride?

- Maybe it should be about praise

Transition:

1) Is it about power or position? (SLIDE)

11 But Naaman went away angry and said, “I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. 12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?” So he turned and went off in a rage.

- Due to time, we didn’t read a good portion of the chapter

- In short, Naaman in or after his battle and war successes finds himself in need of wholeness

- Have you ever felt that way…in need of wholeness?

- Naaman might had continued his life “content” with how he was living it

- Then, he meets someone that enlightens him to a different way to live life

- Naaman’s wife ends up with a servant that literally has a word for him that will change his life

- The “young girl” from Israel tells her mistress that [Naaman] doesn’t have to live that way

- Remembering back on when I lived what was then “the only way possible to live,”

- It seemed impossible to change

- Naaman may not have even considered life could be different

- Or that his situation could change

- What he needed to change his life;

- This young woman had it…hope—by way of God working through the prophet Elisha

- And it’s interesting seeing what he will have to do

- Inspired by this hope he now has…his commander releases him to find healing

- And it seems like it is all working in his favor

- He has hope and a direction now

- Then he presented with something that challenges that hope

- His expectations versus the reality of the situation

- I heard a sportscaster mention recently (SLIDE),

“Expectations are the breeding ground for disappointments.” – Ryan Clarke, Sportscaster and Former Pro Football Player

- To an extent, I hear than and I understand that but what if we were to flip that thought into this,

“Expectations are the breeding ground for miracles.” - Sally Canning, Award winning Mentor and Catalyst for Women's Personal Growth and Transformation

- Expectations are not a bad thing but we need not allow unmet expectations to lead to resentment and apathy…

- Or in Naaman’s case anger

- I read this story and I think about his angry response

- How can hope turn to anger…what seemed to be so quickly?

- Was it his power or his position?

- It’s funny or interesting how that works

- Something that we can be in search of for most of our lives

- Now, we are presented with something that challenges how we think things should go

- Is it about the power that we think we have or the power the Bible says that God has?

- Is it about the position we feel we have attained or the position that we find ourselves in?

- The position that we are in that only God can truly heal for Naaman or for us

- It’s something for us to consider

- Like it or not, we don’t have the plan for our lives completely laid out for our lives

- Our lives are filled with twists and turns that only God knows about

- We plan and strategize, yes

- King Solomon, someone who knows a little about planning says it like this in Proverbs 16:1 (SLIDE),

“To humans belong the plans of the heart, but from the Lord comes the proper answer of the tongue.” – Pro 16:1

- We must realize that are plans are…subject to change

- James, the Lord’s brother says we ought to say in regards to tomorrow (James 4:15), “If the Lord wills.”

- Yet, instead Naaman reacts differently, in part, because it wasn’t the response he hoped for

- Elisha sends word via his servant on what Naaman needs to do

- Never underestimate God’s way of reaching you

- It might not come in the package you expect it but it can be how or what God wants to do to change you

- Now, I am not saying that it will involve ways that are clearly not God—meaning sin, dishonesty or the like

- We cannot allow it to be about our power or position to hinder us from what’s on the other side of our healing

Transition: We also cannot allow it to be about our pride

2) Is it about pride? (SLIDE)

- Donald Gray Barnhouse says this (SLIDE),

“Christ sends none away empty but those who are full of themselves.” - Donald Gray Barnhouse in Revelation. Leadership, Vol. 1, no. 2.

- Pride can lead us down the wrong path just about every time if we allow it

- Hopefully, we have people in our lives that can check us and our ego when the need arises

- We see Naaman’s servants stand in that place for him

- See, they didn’t need a highlighted position or worldly power to influence him

- All they needed was a moment…and Naaman’s ear and heart

- They gave him wisdom and a dose of reality (2 Kings 5:13)(SLIDE),

“My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be cleansed’!”

- Or, in the words of the New Living Translation (SLIDE SAME),

“Father, if the prophet had asked you to do something hard and heroic, wouldn’t you have done it? So why not this simple ‘wash and be clean’?”

- How close we may be to something that God wants to do but something like pride get in the way?

- And, we then position ourselves so far away

- What Elisha was asking Naaman to do might have seemed odd and maybe he thought that it was a far reach

- What if healing didn’t happen for him? What if healing and change doesn’t happen for us?

- Very real questions that, in our minds and Naaman’s, need answers

- It’s been said that “Hope has to do with God’s promises that are still future and hidden…”

- We tend to believe that things happen linearly and sequentially—

- Meaning step A leads to step B leads to step C and so on

- At least, I tend to think that way a lot of the times

- Sometimes I need to remind myself—beforehand—that God is God and He is indeed good

- Regardless of my, Naaman or your plan that God should work;

- Tomorrow belongs to God

- He’s done enough in the past to assure me of the future

- Naaman didn’t have the courtesy of reading the end of the story but we do

- We don’t understand how every step will unfold

- But do we even have to?

- I’m convinced that if we saw the plan that we would only complicate its details

- Take out this situation or circumstance or tweak that trial and challenge

- No, that’s not God’s way of doing things—for Naaman or for us

- Naaman’s response to his servants was right on point,

“So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy.”

- One of the great theologians D.L. Moody said,

“ Naaman had two diseases-pride and leprosy. The first needed curing as much as the first…”

- It’s easy for us to look at Naaman thousands of years later but what about us, “What’s Holding You Back?”

Transition: Maybe it shouldn’t be about our power, position and pride but…

3) Maybe it should be about praise

15 Then Naaman and all his attendants went back to the man of God. He stood before him and said, “Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel. So please accept a gift from your servant.”

- Once Naaman sees he is healed, there’s a shift in his mindset

- He falls in line with what we know to be the great confession as written by Paul (Rom 10:9),

9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

- Those aren’t the exact words of Naaman but he praises God nonetheless

- His praise for what God did shows us that he understands the power and authority that exists only in God

- His praise and thanks to God show us that in spite of all the opposition that He gave…

- That it was all for nothing

- His praise outweighs his pain

- But what if his praise preceded his power, position, and pride

- He might’ve gotten the healing a bit quicker

- He could’ve realized that his previous victories and successes were all orchestrated by God

- That his wife’s servant/mistress was truly a God-send

- God has masterfully orchestrated time since time began

- Some things He has caused to happen; other things He has allowed to happen

Closing:

- As I close, one thing we know…his praise showed his gratitude

- What he couldn’t show with his power, position or pride

- He showed with his praise and gratitude

- So, “What’s Holding You Back?”

(SLIDE) Takeaway: We may not know the ins and outs of where we currently are but our praise is always necessary

- Would you pray with me?

Closing Prayer:

Heavenly Father, I ask you to forgive me for all of my sins known and unknown, I renounce them all. Lord Jesus, come into my heart. I receive you now as Lord and Savior of my life. I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He died for me and arose and sits at the right hand of God praying for me, interceding for me. Lord Jesus, I give you everything. I thank you for saving me, delivering me and setting me free, in Jesus’ name!