Never Underestimate What God Can Do!
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· 327 viewsGod's strength is shown in the weak things of man and of this world.
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1 Corinthians 1:27-29
But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty;
and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are,
that no flesh should glory in His presence.
Never Underestimate What God Can do!
Never Underestimate What God Can do!
Would you please turn to the person next to you and tell them to “Never underestimate what God can do!” (those watching, text the last person you texted the same)
We are going to see in this passage that it is the foolish things, the weak things, the base things of the world that are grossly underestimated
…but it is those very foolish, weak, and base things that God uses to accomplish wisdom, strength, and superiority in the lives of His people
An Underestimated Servant
An Underestimated Servant
A. A Seasoned Warrior (v.1)
2 Kings 5:1
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.
Great
Honorable
Mighty man of valor
Naaman was a mighty warrior
His distiguished military career was one of decoration and victory
In fact, the Lord had given him many victories
But now the mighty general faced an enemy he could not defeat.
In fact, his sinister foe was unbeaten thus far no matter how great its opponent:
2 Kings 5:1b - “...but a leper.”
B. A Servant Girl (vv.2-3)
2 Kings 5:2-3
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.”
Young
Captive
Helpless
Naaman was a seasoned warrior and no doubt well-aquainted with strategies of battle, troop movements, as well as both offensive and defensive campaigns.
But it was the simple strategy of a young, Jewish slave girl...not that of a mighty war general...that led to the defeat of an undefeatable enemy.
C. A Superior-Minded King (vv.4-5)
2 Kings 5:4-5
4 And Naaman went in and told his master, saying, “Thus and thus said the girl who is from the land of Israel.”
5 Then the king of Syria said, “Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.”
So he departed and took with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten changes of clothing.
Ignores the servant’s words
Assumes his own strategy
This was completely normal for a pagan king at this time
In a secular kingdom, the prophets (wise men, soothsayers, magicians) were all part of the king’s court…they answered to him and were under his direct authority
We see examples of this in the Bible: Joseph and the King of Egypt…Moses and Pharoah…Daniel and King Nebuchadnezzar.
The king of Syria simply assumed that Israel was no different…but this was not the case.
An Underestimated Seer
An Underestimated Seer
A. An Inferior-Minded King (vv.6-7)
2 Kings 5:6-7
6 Then he brought the letter to the king of Israel, which said,
Now be advised, when this letter comes to you, that I have sent Naaman my servant to you, that you may heal him of his leprosy.
7 And it happened, when the king of Israel read the letter, that he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God, to kill and make alive, that this man sends a man to me to heal him of his leprosy? Therefore please consider, and see how he seeks a quarrel with me.”
The king of Israel (poss. Joram) assumed that he should be the one to accomplish the healing
He should have known to immediately call on Elisha, the man of God at that time.
This king was not spiritually minded!
This gives us some indication of the spiritual condition of the country of Israel at this time
The king of Israel (likely Jehoram) should have immediately gone to Elisha…he should have had him on speed-dial…but he was not connected to the man of God because he likely was not connected to God at all!
B. An Inspired Prophet (v.8)
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.”
In contrast to Naaman, the “mighty man of valor”, Elisha is simply called “the man of God”
He was undeterred by the seemingly impossible situation
Elisha was unflinching in his Faith in God and in his resolve to honor God
An Underestimated Solution
An Underestimated Solution
A. A Surprising Message (vv.9-10)
2 Kings 5:9-10
9 Then Naaman went with his horses and chariot, and he 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 to you, and you shall be clean.”
This came as a shock to Naaman…first the king’s inability to help and now the prophet seems completely disrespectful..how dare he!!
B. A Surmised Method (v.11-12)
2 Kings 5:11-12
11 But Naaman became furious, and went away and said, “Indeed, I said to myself, ‘He will surely come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leprosy.’ 12 Are not the Abanah and the 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.
Naaman had it all planned out…he wanted a miracle worker..a performance
And if it had to be a river, why the dirty Jordan?...what’s wrong with the clear, cool rivers of Damascus?
Like many today, Naaman wanted God to fall in line..get with the program
C. A Servant’s Appeal (v.13)
2 Kings 5:13
13 And his servants came near and spoke to him, and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do something great, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?”
Notice that once again, it’s the servants…the helpers... to the rescue!
Their logic is undeniable
D. A Sickness Alleviated (v.14)
2 Kings 5:14
So he went down and dipped seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
This was an amazing and life-changing experience!
Not only was the local place of disease healed, but Naaman’s entire body was made new!
No more wrinkles or skin discoloration
The ultimate cosmetic surgery
I don’t believe that Naaman waded out into that river with a “hope so shrug”
I believe that he chose to walk by faith… “If I would believe that some hard task would heal me, I can believe that this simple 7-Dip Method will heal me.”
Luke 4:27
27 And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.”
I’ve often wondered why Jesus pointed this out..
It was actually in response to the lack of faith in the hearts of the people there in Nazareth where Jesus said these words.
[read vv.16-21]
Jesus had just read from the prophet Isaiah
He finished reading, and then told them that the prophecy He just read was actually being fulfilled right in front of their eyes…meaning “It’s about Me!!”
But their response exposes their faithless hearts
[read v.22]
So why weren’t the Israeli lepers healed by Elisha?…because “no prophet is accepted in his own country”....the Israeli lepers underestimated the prophet Elisha…just as those in Nazareth underestimated Jesus.
[read v.24]
An Underestimated Settlement
An Underestimated Settlement
A. An Offer Refused (vv. 15-16)
2 Kings 5:15-16
15 And he returned to the man of God, he and all his aides, and came and stood before him; and he said, “Indeed, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel; now therefore, please take a gift from your servant.”
16 But he said, “As the Lord lives, before whom I stand, I will receive nothing.” And he urged him to take it, but he refused.
In an effort to express his gratitude, Naaman offered Elisha the treasures he had brought from Syria
But Elisha was not impressed…he remained resolute in his desire to glorify God
B. An Offering Rewarded (vv.17-19)
Prepared Dirt (v.17)
2 Kings 5:17
17 So Naaman said, “Then, if not, please let your servant be given two mule-loads of earth; for your servant will no longer offer either burnt offering or sacrifice to other gods, but to the Lord.
Instead of giving something to Elisha, Naaman requests something to be given to him…dirt!
It was a commonly held belief in the ancient near-east that one could only worship a god if he did so on the actual soil of that god’s country
Naaman’s plan was to erect an altar to God (the only One he now acknowledged and worshipped)
This is the only fitting response when we understand all that God has done for us…worship!
Keep in mind that this would case no small stir back home in Syria…Naaman was a high-profile person…everyone knew who he was, and when it was found that he was a Yaweh worshipper, there would be some explaining to do, starting with his wife.
I suppose that the first and foremost explanation had something to do with “No More Leprosy” and “baby-like complexion”!!!
Pardon for Duty (v.18)
2 Kings 5:18
18 Yet in this thing may the Lord pardon your servant: when my master goes into the temple of Rimmon to worship there, and he leans on my hand, and I bow down in the temple of Rimmon—when I bow down in the temple of Rimmon, may the Lord please pardon your servant in this thing.”
Naaman knew what awaited him back home in Syria
His civic and employment responsibilities required him to enter the temples of false gods with his king.
His plea was really to God...to be pardoned for being there, with the understanding that God knows that although Naaman’s head will be bowed, it will not be to Rimmon, but to Yaweh.
Peaceful Departure (v.19)
2 Kings 5:19
19 Then he said to him, “Go in peace.” So he departed from him a short distance.
Elisha’s blessing was almost always used as a covenant blessing between Jews only ...for Elisha to pronounce such a blessing was incredibly significant
God saw Naaman’s heart - and God was pleased with the sincere faith and devotion that He saw there
An Underestimated Savior
An Underestimated Savior
I would submit to you that Jesus of Nazareth is likely the most underestimated Man that has or will ever walk on this earth
Isaiah 53:3
He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
Further, I would also suggest that He is also the most underestimated God
Isaiah 53:1-2
Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him.
Third, I would like to propose that the Gospel is the most underestimated message of all time
1 Corinthians 1:18-25
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.
For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.”
Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.
For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom;
but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness,
but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
Thankfully, this underestimated Savior and His underestimated gospel do not depend on man’s opinions for their worth.
Like Naaman, we have a disease for which there is no human cure.
Every person born is infected with this disease.
This is not leprosy, but the disease of SIN!
Romans 3:23
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
And the end result of our sin disease is death
Romans 6:23
Romans 6:23 (NKJV)
23 For the wages of sin is death...
That’s the bad news…the diagnosis that the Bible gives us
Thankfully, there is good news at the end of that verse:
Romans 6:23
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Unlike the king of Syria that sent Naaman away, or the king of Israel that tore his clothes in despair, the King of Kings - Jesus Christ - came down from heaven to live as a man and then to die, be buried and rise again from the dead!
Jesus became the sin Healer, and His blood is the cure!
Romans 5:8
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
John 3:16
John 3:16 (NKJV)
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
What Will You Do With Jesus?
Perhaps you have already placed your faith in Christ, but you’ve been underestimating God in your life…underestimated His love for you, or His grace.
Maybe you’ve underestimated the power of prayer, or the power of the Word of God, or maybe the power of fellowship and accountability…and these disciplines have become a checklist-chore to you instead of a life-giving practice.
Christian, please don’t underestimate the Lord anymore…prayer and the Word are your most valuable assets in the daily battle, and accountability within community is God’s design to help us grow together…who are you accountable to ?
But perhaps you have never placed your faith in Jesus.
You might be religious, a good person even, but you stand condemned already the Bible says.
There is no good work that is better than the work of Christ on the cross…He did it all…He paid it all!
What God requires to heal your sin disease is the same heart principle that He required of Naaman - FAITH!
For Naaman, it was faith that stepping into the waters of the river Jordan would heal him
For you, it is faith that believing that the blood of Jesus is enough to wash your sins away
It is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus that make it possible for us to be saved.
Would you consider the claims of the Bible, and place your faith in Jesus right now?…don’t put it off…today is the day of your salvation.
Mark 2:17
When Jesus heard it, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”