Exchange Rate

How many of you have ever travelled to another country? In doing so, when you travel to another country that operates with a currency that is different than the United States dollar, what must you do in order to be able to buy and trade within that country?

Right, you perform a currency exchange. You take how ever much money in your currency that you want to convert, and you exchange it into whatever currency they operate in, so that you can buy and trade within their country.

The thing that you must understand, is that the exchange rate is not always going to work to your benefit, right?

For example, one United States dollar, is worth this much in other currency:

Euro - $0.83

Argentinean Peso - $17.21

Mexican Peso - $17.61

Egyptian Pound - $17.69

Japanese Yen - $109.3

Swiss Franc - $0.96

British Pound - $0.78

Indonesian Ruplah - $13,348

So, you can see that some currencies you get more and some you get less.

The point is that you must acknowledge and agree to the terms of their currency exchange if you plan on being in that country and buying anything!

Today, I want us to look at situation in the Word of God and what took place in this set of events and apply the understanding that we get from this story to our walk within the Kingdom of God today.

Does that sound copacetic with everyone today?

I want to start and preface this lesson with a very familiar passage from the book of Isaiah that most of us are familiar with, or at least, have possibly heard. ,

Isaiah 55:8–9 NLT

“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.

This is one of those passages that would serve you and I well to always keep in mind, because we live in a culture where we use the acronym very readily, “WWJD”, and then we make decisions based from this question.

I am not saying that this is wrong, as we should always seek to do the commands and follow the example that our Lord and savior left for us, AMEN?!

What I am trying to say, is that this mind set of saying, “What would He do” and then whatever seems like the logical answer that pops into our head, we go off and do, can get us into BIG TROUBLE.

The reason for saying this, is that God has made it very clear, that He does not think or do things the way that we do. (Of which you and I should drop to our knees and thank Him for. If He responded the way that we do, we would ALL already be dead and massacred from the stupid things that we say and do to Him and before Him!)

So, asking the question what would He do and then allowing our own intellect to set the course for an answer is dangerous!

Since His thoughts are not like our thoughts and His ways are far beyond anything that we can imagine, then we cannot just say WWJD and move forward. We must seek intently within His word and in deep prayer for His will and His way for our lives and for our decisions! AMEN?!

So, in keeping that thought in mind, let’s move on into the passage this morning.

Please turn with me in your Bibles to and follow along as I read. (READ PASSAGE IN BIBLE)

Now, real quick, let’s look at a few key players found within this passage.

2 Kings 5:1–19 NLT

The king of Aram had great admiration for Naaman, the commander of his army, because through him the Lord had given Aram great victories. But though Naaman was a mighty warrior, he suffered from leprosy. At this time Aramean raiders had invaded the land of Israel, and among their captives was a young girl who had been given to Naaman’s wife as a maid. One day the girl said to her mistress, “I wish my master would go to see the prophet in Samaria. He would heal him of his leprosy.” So Naaman told the king what the young girl from Israel had said. “Go and visit the prophet,” the king of Aram told him. “I will send a letter of introduction for you to take to the king of Israel.” So Naaman started out, carrying as gifts 750 pounds of silver, 150 pounds of gold, and ten sets of clothing. The letter to the king of Israel said: “With this letter I present my servant Naaman. I want you to heal him of his leprosy.” When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes in dismay and said, “Am I God, that I can give life and take it away? Why is this man asking me to heal someone with leprosy? I can see that he’s just trying to pick a fight with me.” But when Elisha, the man of God, heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes in dismay, he sent this message to him: “Why are you so upset? Send Naaman to me, and he will learn that there is a true prophet here in Israel.” So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and waited at the door of Elisha’s house. But Elisha sent a messenger out to him with this message: “Go and wash yourself seven times in the Jordan River. Then your skin will be restored, and you will be healed of your leprosy.” But Naaman became angry and stalked away. “I thought he would certainly come out to meet me!” he said. “I expected him to wave his hand over the leprosy and call on the name of the Lord his God and heal me! Aren’t the rivers of Damascus, the Abana and the Pharpar, better than any of the rivers of Israel? Why shouldn’t I wash in them and be healed?” So Naaman turned and went away in a rage. But his officers tried to reason with him and said, “Sir, if the prophet had told you to do something very difficult, wouldn’t you have done it? So you should certainly obey him when he says simply, ‘Go and wash and be cured!’ ” So Naaman went down to the Jordan River and dipped himself seven times, as the man of God had instructed him. And his skin became as healthy as the skin of a young child, and he was healed! Then Naaman and his entire party went back to find the man of God. They stood before him, and Naaman said, “Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel. So please accept a gift from your servant.” But Elisha replied, “As surely as the Lord lives, whom I serve, I will not accept any gifts.” And though Naaman urged him to take the gift, Elisha refused. Then Naaman said, “All right, but please allow me to load two of my mules with earth from this place, and I will take it back home with me. From now on I will never again offer burnt offerings or sacrifices to any other god except the Lord. However, may the Lord pardon me in this one thing: When my master the king goes into the temple of the god Rimmon to worship there and leans on my arm, may the Lord pardon me when I bow, too.” “Go in peace,” Elisha said. So Naaman started home again.

Naaman - He was the commander of the army of the king of Aram (Syria). He was thus, in great favor with his master and had rightly earned this favor. Naaman was probably involved with the victory over the wicked King Ahab of Israel, as we find in , while the prophet Elijah was still the prophet of God to the nation of Israel. Naaman was, in some people’s speculation, the very one who had shot the fatal arrow that mortally wounded Ahab. This comes from the way that Naaman is described in II Kings, where the Bible tells us, “because by him the LORD had given victory to Syria.”

Naaman was powerful ,wealthy and a mighty warrior!

Elisha - The replacement of the great prophet, Elijah to the nation of Israel. The same servant and chosen understudy to Elijah who asked for the double portion, (the alloted birthright of the firstborn; meaning that Elisha wanted the authority and the mantle of his master, Elijah handed to him, just as a father would bless the firstborn son with the authority and power as head of the house and the family). It was the great prophet Elisha who would see the fulfillment of God’s word against the wicked queen, Jezebel, just as his fore runner Elijah had prophesied!

Gehazi - The servant of Elisha, as found in , . He will be a key part of this sermon as we get to the end.

Just as an interesting side note, but when you read of the story of Elijah in I Kings, we see that Elijah had a servant who was NOT named, but who had witnessed great miracles of God through this mighty prophet.

It was this NO named servant who had witnessed his master, Elijah, calling down the fire on Mt. Carmel and then destroying the prophets of Baal, followed by praying the seven times for the God to send the rain after the 3 years of drought that Elijah had predicted.

And yet it was this no named servant who quickly allowed himself to be dismissed from serving alongside of Elijah, when Elijah went on the run for fear of his life from the wicked Queen Jezebel. (He never argued when Elijah left him, he just stayed behind, where it was safe! DOES THAT SOUND FAMILIAR TO ANY OF US? WE HAVE THE CHOICE TO FOLLOW JESUS AS HIS SERVANTS, INTO THE MORE DEMANDING SITUATIONS, OR WE CAN STAY BEHIND WHERE IT IS SAFE, BUT LOSE OUT ON ALL THAT GOD HAD IN STORE FOR US HERE AND EVEN MORE SO, THE LIFE TO FOLLOW!)

Next, Elijah takes a new servant, his chosen successor, Elisha, (a named servant).

Elijah tried 3 different times to leave Elisha behind and Elisha would not stay. He wanted to be where the power and the authority of God was and he didn’t care about, or become fearful of what it was going to cost him to have it!

Now, in the life and actions of Elisha, we see him starting off with a NAMED servant, Gehazi.

We will be looking momentarily at what happened between them, but suffice it to say, that Elisha ends up with a NO named servant, because of what happens!

The two prophets have the same thing happen, just backwards to one another.

The main point of the two situations is this: in both situations there are servants called to follow and in both situations, we see the cost of poor faith and choices on behalf of the servants and the reward of staying close to the hand of God!

Little Servant Girl - Now, many people may say, why did you list her as a key player in this story, when she is mentioned only once in the whole thing?

Understand how God works. Was it a coincidence that the great leader Naaman, who was stricken with a fatal disease, had acquired a little girl from the Northern kingdom of Israel as a house slave and who knew of and believed in the mighty man of God, Elisha?

And, was it a coincidence that this LITTLE GIRL, had the faith and belief in such a way as to boldly come out and say that this prophet WOULD HEAL HIM? (Not possibly, not might heal, not “there is a chance”, but rather, “He WOULD heal him”!)

The things that God can accomplish with a child’s faith is astounding!

And so, by all rights, I believe that this little Hebrew girl deserves to be mentioned as a key player and a key component in this whole story. For without her faith and boldness to speak out, this story would not be happening as we see it and read of it! AMEN?!

Which does bring up one more very valid point for each person sitting in this room right now. Do not EVER think or say that it doesn’t matter if say or do this one SMALL and insignificant thing for God.

Remember, His ways and His thoughts are not yours and not mine! If He says, “Say it”, then you had better say it! Because what He can do with something as small and insignificant as your obedience to speak one small message, can literally save nations and stop or start wars!

BE OBEDIENT TO THE VOICE OF HOLY SPIRIT!

OK, so right off the bat, we see a very prominent man, a very powerful man, a very influential man in the man of Naaman. This is a man by whom your life could be taken with just his spoken word! We can see his direct line of power to the king of Syria, at the beginning of the passage and how quickly the king makes the arrangements to give Naaman what he wants.

And yet within this notable warrior, this man of great influence and power, this respected and highly decorated man of valor, we find a man destined to die because of sickness!

All of his authority, all of his power and military might, all of his dignitary connections and influential status could not save Naaman from the death of this disease!

Friends, this is the direct parallel to you and I in the world today.

We are all born with the same disease that is incurable in this world and that disease is the sickness of SIN!

The Bible tells us, “As it is written:“There is no one righteous, not even one.”

No human born is free from the disease and sickness of sin; we are all equal at birth. This disease does not discriminate against race, sex or religious affiliation. We are all born with it and destined the same death because of it!

Naaman, as we find him in this passage, had both the physical disease of leprosy, as well as the spiritual disease of sin. He was destined to die twice because of the two diseases in his life!

All of his POWER and INFLUENCE and RANK in THIS world, could not save him from the disease of leprosy and equally so, it couldn’t save him from the disease of sin and spiritual death either.

tells us,

Romans 3:23 ESV

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

In the Greek, the word for “fall short”, is the word, hystereō (husterao), and it refers to, being behind, being too late or too far back to reach the goal. It also has the meaning attached to it of being INFERIOR in POWER, INFLUENCE and RANK!

To a man like Naaman, to someone who had great power and influence and rank, the inability to control something was a hard pill to swallow.

So, now, the great warrior and leader, Naaman, has been shown a chance to even win against the adversary of physical disease. And he moves on it, instantly as we in verse 4. (One thought, however. The Syrians had their own gods that they prayed to and worshipped. why didn’t their gods heal Naaman? So, many of us are the same way. We look to everything in the world to fix our lives and then finally in desperation, we turn to God!)

Notice that the king of Aram and Naaman both were expecting this prophet to be in a more REGAL and ROYAL position, as they went straight to the king of Israel for help. And in the process, bringing lavish gift for the EXCHANGE of the healing.

Around 700 lbs of silver and 150 lbs of gold and 10 sets of clothing!

The king of Syria sent a letter to the king of Israel and stated, “With this letter I present my servant Naaman. I want you to heal him of his leprosy.”

No pressure for King Jehoram of Israel, right?

I mean, if he fails to honor this request, then it could mean an act of rebellion and bring about instant war for the two nations, which is why he laments and tears his clothes and says, “Am I God, that I can give life and take it away? Why is this man asking me to heal someone with leprosy?”

Do you want to know why the King of Israel was so disturbed about this matter?

Simple, because the King of Israel didn’t know “THE KING” OF ISRAEL!!

That same problem resides in churches and in the church body, all over this nation today!

We have a religious set of beliefs that are based upon a GRAMMATICAL lie!

And if you are sitting there wondering what in the world does that statement mean, I’ll tell you!

We know “a Messiah”, but we don’t know “THE MESSIAH”!

The devil is the father of ALL lies and in his methodical techniques of weaving his lies into the church body, we have begun to believe what I call a GRAMMATICAL lie.

We know about Jesus, but we don’t know

There are only TWO ARTICLES that are used within the English language and they are, “a” and “the” and it is extremely important and relevant as to how they are used and what they represent.

The article “a” is called the INDEFINITE article and it used to refer to a “general”, or “indefinite” noun.

The article “the” is called the DEFINITE and it refers to specific thing, a particular noun, a DEFINITE noun!

So, when I say that the devil had gotten people to believe in a GRAMMATICAL lie, this is what is means, using these TWO ARTICLES:

We have conceptually bought into “a” god, without knowing “THE GOD”!

We have come to know “a” messiah without the truth of knowing “THE” MESSIAH!

We operate under what “a” church of Jesus Christ is supposed to be like, without operating under what “THE” CHURCH of Jesus Christ was created to be!

We are so quick to give “a” word to someone that we deem necessary for their lives, and yet we so are slow to apply the TRUTH and the entirety of “THE” WORD to our own lives first before we ever open our mouths to others!

We were NOT called to deliver “a” gospel message, but rather, we were called and commissioned as His followers to deliver “THE” GOSPEL MESSAGE to a lost world!

Listen to me, at the end of the day and at the end of your life, it does not matter what you think! Your thoughts and determinations mean diddly squat in comparison to the TRUTH of the Word of God.

We were not called to give the Great THOUGHTS of “CHRIS”, or whatever your name is to the world!

We were called to give the Great COMMISSION of Christ to the world!

When it comes to the ETERNAL destination of my soul, I’m not going to treat it like we do with our foods today. I DO NOT WANT a genetically engineered form of the gospel! I want the REAL THING!

And when you and I stick our thoughts and determinations into “the” GOSPEL MESSAGE, it is no longer “THE” GOSPEL MESSAGE, but “a” gospel message; your very own little private and destructive gospel message!

It is not longer the Great Commission, but simply the Great OMISSION!

And some day, when we ALL stand before the Lord, He is going to require us to give, not “a” answer for our life, but “the” answer for our life.

So, we had better start learning exactly what “THE” WORD of God says for our lives versus “a” word that someone tells us is right for our lives!

Anyway, back to the story of Naaman!

Naaman was told to go see Elisha, after Elisha sent word to the king to do so.

TELL THE STORY OF Naaman MEETING ELISHA!

Naaman had his own idea and thoughts about how he should be treated and healed; not like Elisha told him! (He was offended because Elisha didn’t come out and acknowledge him for who he was [Naaman and his whole entourage of horses, chariots and servants]! AND he was way too good to go and dip in that nasty Jordan River!)

What Naaman was told to do by Elisha didn’t seem right, or like it was enough in his own eyes to save him.

This same thing is still seen with so many people today, who think that what the Bible says to do to obtain salvation, isn’t enough. So, we try to add to the works of the cross as if the blood of Jesus wasn’t enough!

How do you think that Naaman felt when he had dipped down into the river Jordan, the 5th and then the 6th time and still he was the same?

How many times have you started doing what God has called you to do and when you don’t see what you expect to see, you quit and try your own thing?

Just imagine if Naaman, because of his pagan beliefs and his pride and lack of faith, had just quit and walked out of the water and back to his life! And yet, one more dip in the water and he would have been healed!

Maybe for some of us, it is just one more prayer away, or maybe just one more witness away before there is breakthrough!

Have you stopped before God completed what He wanted for your life and missed the blessing that was coming?

That seventh time, when Naaman came up out of the water, must have been extraordinary!

I can’t imagine the expression of complete joy and the emotion that he must have felt when he came up and the water cleared out of his eyes, so that he could focus on his skin and there it was; complete healing!

Naaman, a gentile who had been given a message from a Jewish man that he had never seen or met, was told that he must be submersed 7 times in the Jordan River to be made whole again! (It is the same for us today. We, as mostly gentiles, are called by a Jewish man that we never met to be made clean under the blood of the Cross of Calvary!)

Naaman, the gentile, upon that 7th time, was found to be clean, clean as that of a little child!

Little did Naaman know, that centuries later, another man, a Jewish man, would be submersed in that same River Jordan and who, when He would be brought back up from the water, would have the Spirit of God, descend and rest upon Him. (As Naaman was submersed 7 times, so possibly this being symbolic of the Holy Spirit of God, as we find Him being described as in Revelation as the Seven Spirits of God!)

Naama came to the river as a leper, covered in disease and destined to die from it. He was brought back out of the river clean and whole and with new life! (Just like us when we come to Jesus and submit our lives to Him!)

Naaman didn’t want to be submersed in the dirty waters of the Jordan, just like many people think that the Cross of Calvary is dirty, messy and non-appealing to their senses. (“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”) And do you know what? Those people are right, the Cross was dirty and messy.

It was because of greed and lies and deceit, PRIDE, that a man was disfigured so horribly that he was found indistinguishable as a man and then hung upon that cross with large amounts of his blood was running everywhere!

And yet, just as Naaman came out of that dirty water and was washed clean and made new, so are each and every man, woman and child who come to that marred, dirty, bloody cross and take the EXCHANGE of their life for HIS!

At that bloody cross, they are made clean and spotless, as a new child of God

And at that moment, the EXCHANGE had taken place for Naaman!

Naaman had seen the truth of the God of creation and he had exchanged what he used to know and believe in, for the unsurpassable joy and fulfilling completeness of worshipping the one TRUE God!

Naaman said, “Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel. Please allow me to load two of my mules with earth from this place, and I will take it back home with me. From now on I will never again offer burnt offerings or sacrifices to any other god except the LORD.”

Naaman urged and tried to give Elisha the gifts, the riches that he had brought, because, to Naaman, he had found something SO MUCH MORE VALUABLE!

He had exchanged death for life, misery for joy and contentment! He had found GOD!

Now, let’s finish the story, as we find in .

Gehazi saw the opportunity for gain in this world and he formed a lie and went after it.

He, like so many of us in the world today, felt like something was owed to him. (His mind set that Elisha had let the Syrian off too easy and that someone should get something for what was done for him. That someone, might as well be Gehazi!)

By his quick action of formulating the lie and then acting upon, it showed the true nature of his heart.

The moment that he tried to cover his lie to Elisha (and ultimately to God), with another lie, his fate was set. (You see, once you buy into the lie of this world, it requires you to continually keep coming back for a little more and a little more and one lie requires another!)

As tells us, “The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.”

There was a man who was lonely and thought, perhaps, that buying pet would help his loneliness. At the pet store he looked at many animals, and found himself drawn to one in particular. The sign over the cage said, “Talking Parrot: Guaranteed to talk!” This will surely solve my problem,” thought the man,” For here is an animal that can even talk!”

“That’ll be $250,” said the merchant.

One week later the man returned saying, “This Parrot isn’t talking!” “You mean to say,” said the Merchant, “He didn’t climb the Ladder and talk?” “Ladder?” You didn’t tell me about a ladder!” “Oh, sorry.” said the Merchant, “That’ll be $10.”

One week later the man returned saying, “This Parrot still isn’t talking!” “You mean to say,” said the Merchant, “He didn’t climb the Ladder and look in the mirror and talk?” “Mirror?” You didn’t tell me about a Mirror!” “Oh, sorry.” said the Merchant, “That’ll be $10.”

One week later the man returned saying, “This Parrot still isn’t talking!” “You mean to say,” said the Merchant, “He didn’t climb the Ladder and look in the mirror, peck the bell and talk?” “Bell?” You didn’t tell me about a Bell!” “Oh, sorry.” said the Merchant, “That’ll be $10.”

One week later the man returned saying, “This Parrot still isn’t talking!” “You mean to say,” said the Merchant, “He didn’t climb the Ladder and look in the mirror, peck the bell, Jump on the swing and talk?” “Swing?” You didn’t tell me about a Swing!” “Oh, sorry.” said the Merchant, “That’ll be $10.”

One week later the man came to the shop and the merchant asked, “How’s the Parrot?” “He’s dead!” said the man. “Dead?!” said the Merchant…Did he ever talk before he died?” “Yes! He finally talked” said the man. “Well, what did he say?” “He said, ‘Don’t they sell any birdseed at that store?'”

He was forever bound to the disease that Naaman had been released from!

Gehazi took the EXCHANGE of this world; he knew the power and the presence of God firsthand and yet he desired this world more and accepted the EXCHANGE RATE of one life for another!

Naaman exchanged this life for that of God and was washed clean.

Gehazi exchanged a life with God for this world and was marred with disease that Naaman had just been released from!

The same thing happens to people in the world and in the church body everyday. We still desire the “so called” pleasures of this world and we accept the EXCHANGE of the life in Christ that we have been given, where we are made clean and whole, for the disease and filth of sin and the world!

It’s like I said a couple of weeks ago about sin and when we buy into it, ““Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay.”

Is there any pleasure of this life that is worth the EXCHANGE of an eternity in heaven for an eternity in hell?!

The Bible warns us that there was and still are those who desire the world so much that they are willing to “EXCHANGE the truth about God for a lie and worship and serve the creature rather than the Creator!”

The Bible tells us in ,

1 Timothy 6:10 NLT

For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.

What are you willing to exchange today?

Have you already compromised your faith and your relationship with the Lord for a piece of the world and its pleasures? That is, have you taken the EXCHANGE of the world and the disease that come with it, for that of your own soul and the splendor of an eternity with Jesus?!

Jesus, Himself, asked the question, “And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?”

Is that an EXCHANGE that seems fair and profitable to you today?