The Line of Witnesses
Notes
Transcript
Introduction: We have been looking at the life of Naaman in 2 Kings 5:1-19. We have presented him as an Old Testament example of conversion. We saw his position before, the process of, and last week the evidence of. Today, I want to look at the long line of witnesses that led Naaman to the point of conversion.
First, let look at the New Testament principle in 1 Corinthians 3:5–8
5 Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. 7 So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. 8 Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor.
First, we notice that there is no room for boasting when it comes to salvation or evangelism, because we are all just servants of God. “Who is Paul and who is Apollos?”
We should be humble servants, but our witness is crucial and valuable. Did you notice in verse 5: “through whom you believed, as the Lord gave each one.” God send us and uses us to cultivate belief. Our mission in life is to testify to the glory of God.
Now, notice that we all work in partnership and the process is not necessarily one step, but several steps.
One or multiple people sow the seed, share the Gospel, demonstrate the Gospel through their lives.
Someone else comes along and waters the seed that has already been sown. This may be sharing the Gospel again, answering an obstacle, showing kindness, lending a hand, giving support, comforting during grief, visiting when sick or any other of a thousand things.
Then, there is usually one who is there for the harvest. They get to lead the person over the finish line. God does the work, but they may clarify a final question, give the needed push, or the added encouragement.
The harvester gets most of the attention but there is no harvest without sowing and watering.
Let me add something to this. It is possible to play all of those roles over the course of time. We just need to be aware of the process and discerning of where the person we’re talking to may be. You never know!
I believe that much fruit is picked before it is ripe, but I also believe that just as much fruit rots on the tree because of timid witnesses. We must be ready to play our part whatever it may be.
So now, lets look again at Naaman in 2 Kings 5:1-19
So now, lets look again at Naaman in 2 Kings 5:1-19
Look with me in 2 Kings 5:1-3
1 Now Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great and honorable man in the eyes of his master, because by him the Lord had given victory to Syria. He was also a mighty man of valor, but a leper. 2 And the Syrians had gone out on raids, and had brought back captive a young girl from the land of Israel. She waited on Naaman’s wife. 3 Then she said to her mistress, “If only my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria! For he would heal him of his leprosy.”
What Part Does the Maid Play?
What Part Does the Maid Play?
Now, there is much inferred in this text and we’ve talked about it earlier but what is Naaman’s pre-conversion position?
He is the enemy of God.
He is a leper. He has a disease of the flesh that will kill him.
We don’t know if Naaman had to be convinced of these truths or not. It seems like he knew, but pride often hides our condition.
Have you ever met someone that refused to accept a health diagnosis? Of course you have. All the facts are there but they will not accept it.
Pride says, “It happens to everyone else, but it will not happen to me.” We deny the effects of sin on our body. Not personal sin, but living in a world cursed by sin.
We don’t know but Naaman could’ve been in denial about his sickness. Either way when we get to the narrative, he realizes that unless he is healed, he will die.
The maid steps into the narrative with the only hope for Naaman.
There is one true God and He has a representative! You must come to this God to be healed. She planted a seed!
N.T. Wright stated that, God is doing through the gospel what he always intended to do. He is sowing good seed in the world, and preparing to reap a harvest of human lives recreated to reflect his glory.
N. T. Wright
Let me just say this, don’t get caught up in the physical healing in this narrative.
Physical ailment is just a witness to our spiritual condition. It reminds us that this life will not last. Εvery one gets sick and eventually dies, because we live in a world devastated by sin and we ourselves are devastated by it.
Jesus came to make us new 2 Corinthians 5:17 and make the world we live in new Revelation 21:1
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
1 Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea.
God does at His own will, heal physical ailment in the present, but eventually, He will eradicate sin and its affects Revelation 21:4
4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”
May the name of the Lord be glorified!
Who is the Waterer?
Who is the Waterer?
This is kind of a trick question. I believe we could say there are two maybe even three.
Elisha sends word through the King in 2 Kings 5:8
8 So it was, when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, “Why have you torn your clothes? Please let him come to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.”
This is an encouragement and rebuke. Naaman goes to the King because of the social norms and his status. Elisha is reminding that this is not a treatment authorized by a king, but the hand of God through His prophet.
I see this as us pointing people to the Work of God, in particular the Work of Christ on the cross.
Elisha’s statement, “there is a prophet in Israel.” Is the equivalent of saying, “The true God is with Israel.”
Part of watering is reminding people of the only source of salvation.
Elisha’s servant was another waterer. He gave specific instruction with no explanation. 2 Kings 5:10
10 And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you, and you shall be clean.”
The servant didn’t chase Naaman, plead with Naaman, or try to bargain with Naaman. Simply, you must do what the Word of God says.
How does the Bible tell us to respond to the God’s work for salvation today?
Repent and believe (Romans 10:9-10).
We must firmly and precisely lay out the terms of the Gospel.
The last waterer is an unlikely one, Naaman’s servant.
What an incredibly bold witness in confronting Naaman’s pride.
Naaman his superior is already furious and he rebukes his pride.
As you have probably deduced the watering stage can be intense.
9884 April showers bring May flowers—with the help of spading, fertilizing, planting, watering, and weeding.
Anonymous
What About the Harvesting?
What About the Harvesting?
I love this about this narrative. It is clear that Naaman did as Elisha had told him, and the transformation was supernatural.
Listen to this passage in 1 Corinthians 2:1-5
1 And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. 2 For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 3 I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. 4 And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
God gives the increase. He is the power to save. Those born-again are born of God, not of man or the will of man.
God changes the heart of stone to a heart of flesh. We trust Him for it.
But most of the time, He allows us to be there when it happens. In this story, Elisha was a waterer and a harvester.
Harvesting is confronting someone with their need for Christ and then confronting them with the provision of Christ, all in order to bring them into eternal life. He adds, “Until you know the joy of harvesting, you don’t know what it means to live a satisfying life.”
Timothy Keller
What did the harvester do? Isn’t it interesting that Elisha became his spiritual instructor?
He answered his questions and set him on the course to worship and live for God. We might say that he discipled Naaman!
I can tell you this, Elisha didn’t just record a decision. He launched him into a life of following Christ.
How do we apply all of this?
How do we apply all of this?
Be content to play your part whatever it may be for that occasion. You may be the sower, waterer, or the harvester at any particular time. I’m always trying to harvest, but if I don’t, I’m satisfied with sharing the Gospel.
Second, understand that if you have never trusted in Christ, God will eventually send the last laborer your way. If you turn that final laborer away, you condemn your own soul.
Last, there was a person in Naaman’s process that should have been a witness, but couldn’t be, and that was King Joram. Why? He ruled in Israel, but he wasn’t part of Israel. He couldn’t share what he didn’t have.
