March 10, 2024 - A Particular Mercy
Notes
Transcript
Fill in the blank...
There’s more than one way to skin a cat.
All roads lead to Rome.
Each of these popular phrases - teaches something similar.
What is it?
That there really isn’t ONE WAY to do anything...
That there’s ALWAYS another way to get something done!
How many ways are there - to study?
How many ways are there - to cook?
How many ways are there - to teach a lesson?
…to get downtown?
…to lose a football game?
There are MANY ways to do - MOST THINGS in life!
Today - we’re going to look at the number of WAYS - that God’s mercy flows to man...
1 Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master and in high favor, because by him the Lord had given victory to Syria. He was a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper.
2 Now the Syrians on one of their raids had carried off a little girl from the land of Israel, and she worked in the service of Naaman’s wife.
3 She said to her mistress, “Would that my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.”
4 So Naaman went in and told his lord, “Thus and so spoke the girl from the land of Israel.”
5 And the king of Syria said, “Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” So he went, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten changes of clothing.
6 And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, which read, “When this letter reaches you, know that I have sent to you Naaman my servant, that you may cure him of his leprosy.”
7 And when the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? Only consider, and see how he is seeking a quarrel with me.”
8 But when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent to the king, saying, “Why have you torn your clothes? Let him come now to me, that he may know that there is a prophet in Israel.”
9 So Naaman came with his horses and chariots and stood at the door of Elisha’s house.
10 And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored, and you shall be clean.”
11 But Naaman was angry and went away, saying, “Behold, I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call upon the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper.
12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage.
13 But his servants came near and said to him, “My father, it is a great word the prophet has spoken to you; will you not do it? Has he actually said to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?”
14 So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God, and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
So - lots here… but in general - we see the story of a man - who was a VALIANT warrior...
A POPULAR man - because of his work on the battlefield - YET - who was - a LEPER.
And if you remember from a couple weeks ago - we looked at the BILLION-PIECE puzzle of God’s plan for each of us....
THIS STORY - has MANY - MANY pieces.
it was known by all who KNEW Naaman - that he was a leper...
YET - there was a pretty surprising catalyst - for getting this thing off the ground!
2 Now the Syrians on one of their raids had carried off a little girl from the land of Israel, and she worked in the service of Naaman’s wife.
3 She said to her mistress, “Would that my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.”
This GIRL - who had been taken BY the Syrians...
KNOWS that Naaman struggles with leprosy...
And ALSO KNOWS that a true prophet of GOD could CURE him...
This information PEAKS the interest of Naaman - and so he wants to ACT on it...
4 So Naaman went in and told his lord, “Thus and so spoke the girl from the land of Israel.”
5 And the king of Syria said, “Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” So he went, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten changes of clothing.
6 And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, which read, “When this letter reaches you, know that I have sent to you Naaman my servant, that you may cure him of his leprosy.”
Now - I’m not sure why the king of Syria would ask the king of Israel to heal Naaman...
BUT - that’s what he does!
How does the king respond?
7 And when the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? Only consider, and see how he is seeking a quarrel with me.”
The king of Israel - being a KING - and not a PROPHET - responds like a KING - skeptical of this king’s approach.
The king of Israel assumed that the king of Syria was trying to START something!
…KNOWING that he himself couldn’t heal Naaman!
8 But when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent to the king, saying, “Why have you torn your clothes? Let him come now to me, that he may know that there is a prophet in Israel.”
Our POINTS today - are interconnected...
They’re going to BUILD on each other - like a staircase....
One step - is connected to the NEXT step…which is connected to the NEXT step - and so on...
Here’s what I want us to see....
SLIDE: What No One Else Can Do: God Does
What No One Else Can Do
What No One Else Can Do
The king of Syria knew his limitations!
“He wants me to HEAL this man of leprosy?”
Who does he think I am? And he actually ANSWERS his own question...
7 And when the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? Only consider, and see how he is seeking a quarrel with me.”
Who does he think I am - - GOD?
He literally uses those words...
And so - even this king of Syria - recognizes his limitations as a man...
And - realizes - in some form or another - only a divine being could DO THIS!
But that’s who God is!
And Romans 11 really speaks to this...
33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?”
35 “Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?”
36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.
Abraham Kuyper:
“There is not one square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine!”
God looks out over all creation...
...ALL that IS,
and He declares it to be His.
And yet He doesn't own it like we own things.
We, of course...are limited.
For instance - We are dependent on the resources around us in order to create.
The human race will NEVER create a new color.
Can't do it!
Won't happen.
And so as creative as we think we are, we will NEVER EVER EVER create a new color.
We are limited…to the ALREADY EXISTING colors we have.
God is not limited like we are.
He creates things from nothing....
And does so when He wants.
When we hear the word "wealth", we think:
Bill Gates
Warren Buffet
and we think wow...
BUT - THEY are limited.
Their wealth is dependent upon creation.
God is not limited by creation.
His wealth goes well beyond creation.
If He wanted to create a new color...He would.
If He wanted to create a new animal...He would.
Nothing limits the creative agency of God.
And this Syrian king - understood this to some degree!
But it doesn't end there.
What does it say next...
33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
How deep is the knowledge of the One we serve?
He knows every cause for every effect that has ever existed.
He knows every thought that has ever been thought, and every detail that pertains to it
content
date
time (down to the nanosecond)
He knows each of the 100 billion neurons and 1 trillion cells that make up your brain
He knows the DNA coding of all life in existence...
Not a big deal?
If you put all the DNA molecules in your body end to end, the DNA would reach from the Earth to the Sun and back over 600 times
He knows all things...
Truths known, and truths still unknown...
He knows!
There is nothing He does not know...
He knows every event that has occurred, and how that event lead to and caused another event...and how that event then created this other event, which lead to this event...and so on.
He knows it all!
He knew that when Jim Elliott decided - "Yes, Lord I will follow You wherever You might lead"
He knew that it would lead Jim into the jungles...
...and to his death at the hands of Auca Indians...
Only to lead to their salvation when Jim Elliot's wife would follow in Jim's footsteps...
God knows all things, past, present, and future.
And this KING - in our text today - at least to SOME degree - understood that!
he understood that what was NEEDED for NAAMAN - for this healing - WAS NOT HIMSELF!
And so it is MADE KNOWN to Naaman - to go see Elisha…instead of the king.
So he does...
9 So Naaman came with his horses and chariots and stood at the door of Elisha’s house.
Naaman - this VALIANT soldier...
humbles himself enough to go to Elisha’s house...
It would take some humility to make this happen…to make that choice...
But what happens!??
10 And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored, and you shall be clean.”
Instead of coming out to meet Naaman - Elisha speaks to him through a messenger....and tells him what to do to be made clean!
How does Naaman take this?
11 But Naaman was angry and went away, saying, “Behold, I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call upon the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper.
12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage.
What do we see here?
Remember - our points CONNECT today…they build off each other!
Our first point was this...
SLIDE: What No One Else Can Do: God Does
What No One Else Can Do
What No One Else Can Do
NOW we see....
SLIDE: What God Does: The Pride of Man Hates
What God Does
What God Does
Naaman here - was given a VERY simple remedy - to his problem.
GO - and wash 7 times in the Jordan…and you’ll be clean.
Sound simple?
But why wasn’t it?
PRIDE
Remember - WE think WE know - BETTER!
better than God.
NOT ONLY THAT - I think there’s an interesting thing playing out here in our text.
Look at the the 2 options for a remedy...
Naaman thought -
THE BEST REMEDY - would be Elisha coming out to him…waving his hand OVER HIM - and then it all just going away!
The ACTUAL remedy - from God - was - GO… WASH 7 times in this specific place - and THEN you will be clean!
NOW - i want to be careful with the text - I don’t want to SPIRITUALIZE everything too much...
BUT - I can’t help but look at these options...
And IN THEM - see EASY BELIEVISM....
And True Salvation.
The PAIRING i’d like to look at first is - True Salvation (in connection with) God’s REMEDY...
In this story of Naaman - we see God’s MERCY - BUT ONLY BY the conduit of God’s WAY!
God said - Go - and wash 7 times in the Jordan…AND THEN mercy will come!
Healing with COME!
This was the WAY of God…!
And it’s similar to - TRUE Salvation!
The world believes -
HOW MANY ways are there to SKIN a cat?
HOW MANY roads lead to Rome?
The world believes ALL beliefs lead to God!
The problem with that - is what God has said...
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Hopefully we know this verse - but what’s the verse right before this one?
5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?”
How do we KNOW the way - to get where You are going?
Jesus says - I AM - the way~!
I’M the only way.
Jesus is saying -
SLIDE:
The mercy of God ONLY flows through the Son of God
And this MERCY today - reserved for Naaman - was going to come - but only BY WAY of God and His way.
Again - a reflection of salvation...
11 This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.
12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
So Jesus is the ONLY WAY...
The ONLY NAME under heaven by which we must be saved...
And it’s BY FAITH in HIM that we are saved...
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
It’s - IN CHRIST where life is found...
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Faith alone in Christ alone…saves...
BUT - saving faith - DISPLAYS itself...
It - Manifests itself!
It - PROVES itself!
**Take a breath / take another one
We can’t see oxygen in the air...
But how do we KNOW - there’s oxygen in the air?
Every time our LUNGS engage the air we breath...
The OXYGEN in the air - that we CANNOT see - PROVES itself!
And so - TRUE Salvation - comes by way of SAVING Faith...
And here’s what we know about SAVING faith....
14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?
This question = is answered - NO
it cannot save him...
Why?
Because v17 is true...
17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
Dead faith - is faith without works...
And faith without the resulting works that PROVE it…is not saving faith.
Another way to say this - is that True Salvation - entails - submitting to the Lordship of Christ!
WHY?
SLIDE:
Saving faith submits to the Lordship of Christ.
THAT’s WHY!!
ON the FLIP SIDE - Easy Believism - is the idea that believing a FACT will save me.
That if I just believe something as TRUE - even the death and resurrection of Christ - that I’m saved.
Here’s the thing - I can Believe that Jesus died for my sins - and YET - not CARE that he did.
And IN THAT - that belief - won’t IMPACT my life in any way!
We all know that in Scripture - even the DEMONS believe the FACTS of Jesus.
Easy believism makes Jesus - a “Get out of Hell Card”...
No need to LOVE that card
CHERISH that card...
DELIGHT in that card...
It’s JUST ABOUT - I don’t wanna go to HELL...
And so I’ll put that card in my BACK POCKET - LIVE how i WANT to live....do WHATEVER I want to do...
And in the end - FLASH my card to avoid the punishment.
And so - Here’s what Easy Believism comes down to...
And it’s EXACTLY what we see in our text today....
SLIDE:
True Salvation: Mankind submits to the Lordship of Christ.
Easy Believism: The Lord submits to Mankind
Now - DO we SEE this in our text?
10 And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored, and you shall be clean.”
God said - GO and WASH - Submit to ME - and mercy will come.
11 But Naaman was angry and went away, saying, “Behold, I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call upon the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper.
I thought HE WOULD COME TO ME...
I thought HE would SUBMIT to ME!
I thought he would SUBMIT to MY WAY!!
And when Naaman doesn’t - what comes?
ANGER!
What God DOES! - - The PRIDE of Man HATES!!
And so Naaman - gets angry and actually refuses to SUBMIT to the Lord’s commands.
Like a 2 year old - telling you how you should run YOUR life...
Naaman was willing to just - FORGET about it.
BUT...
13 But his servants came near and said to him, “My father, it is a great word the prophet has spoken to you; will you not do it? Has he actually said to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?”
14 So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God, and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
A couple things happen here...
We see a glimpse of Discipleship…Evangelism...
Naaman’s servants come to him - and seek to QUESTION him...
They say - WAIT - ALL YOU HAVE to do is - WASH and be CLEAN?
And that was what Naaman needed!
Sometimes our pride - needs a nudge!
Sometimes our pride - needs us to be kicked out of the nest!
But they come to him - in love - and encourage him...
HE actually listens…and ends up - OBEYING God’s command.
SLIDE: God’s Mercy Comes: By Way of God
God’s Mercy Comes
God’s Mercy Comes
Back to v14
14 So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God, and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
Think of how SATURATED this verse is - with God’s mercy.
We need to know CONTEXT to see the deeper layers of mercy.
Of course it was MERCIFUL of God to heal Naaman at all.
God doesn’t OWE anyone - ANYTHING...
yet - God was willing to heal him.
But HOW did Naaman respond to God’s MERCY - initially?
Naaman - - COMPLAINED!
Naaman wanted to have it done - HIS OWN WAY!
Did God KNOW - that Naaman scoffed at His mercy initially?
Of COURSE!
YET -
The free gift of MERCY - was still VALID...
EVEN AFTER Naaman complained!
*How many times - with our own kids - have we offered them something - maybe when they’re cranky - and initially they REJECT OUR MERCIFUL OFFER of ice cream or some treat -
and then - WE - being annoyed ourselves - REJECT THEM when they finally begin thinking clearly and WANT the treat…?
And we’re like - NO - it’s TOO LATE...
YOU MISSED IT!!
I’m sure we do that MORE THAN WE THINK....
And yet God - HERE - His mercy was REJECTED by a guy throwing a tantrum...
BUT WHO THEN came around - and in God’s MERCY - the “mercy” - the gift of healing was still available.
And HOW reflective it is - of Salvation!
SLIDE:
No matter how many times we’ve rejected the gospel, how many times we’ve scoffed at the idea of submitting to Christ, His mercy waits, and can save to the uttermost those who turn to Him in faith.
We need to know - the WORLD needs to know - that...
SLIDE:
Faith in Christ brings with it, 100% of the time, 100% of God’s mercy.
This is why - you could be a 5 year old who understands the GOSPEL...
Understands your need, as a SINNER, of a Savior...
And receive God’s Eternal MERCY by faith!
BUT ALSO...
Be a 95 year old on your deathbed, a lifetime of SCOFFING at God behind you...
Come to see your need, AS a SINNER, of Christ as your savior...
And receive God’s ETERNAL MERCY by faith!
NO ONE - EVER - has EVER received a LARGER portion of God’s SAVING mercy - than someone else!
It is available to ALL who believe!!
BUT - God’s mercy ONLY flows - Through Jesus Christ.
If you don’t have Jesus, you don’t have God.
23 No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also.
Naaman - in our text today - came to his senses...
And God’s mercy was available to him!
And as we close - never forgot - or look over the fact that it took OTHER PEOPLE - pointing Naaman - to God’s MERCY - GOD’S WAY - for Naaman to actually receive God’s mercy.
SUMMARY
What No One Else Can Do: God Does
What God Does: The Pride of Man Hates
God’s Mercy Comes: By Way of God
YES - there ARE many ways to skin a cat
Maybe ALL ROADS DO lead to Rome...
BUT...
The ministry that ALL believers are a part of - the ministry of reconciliation - is a ministry of POINTING people to the Mercy of God - which ONLY COMES by way of Christ Jesus!
Let’s pray