WEBVTT 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:06.240 I love this story that we're going to read today about a Syrian general. 00:00:08.480 --> 00:00:15.919 A Syrian general who was an enemy of Israel, but God brings him into covenant community. 00:00:17.519 --> 00:00:22.559 Before I read the story, here's some of the things I want you to look for. 00:00:22.800 --> 00:00:25.120 Some of the things I want to highlight. 00:00:25.760 --> 00:00:35.679 First, there are three ways that this man, this man named Naaman, three ways that his pride are an obstacle to salvation. 00:00:36.479 --> 00:00:43.280 Then there are three ways that God teaches him humility so he can receive grace. 00:00:43.600 --> 00:00:47.920 So three ways his pride is an obstacle, three ways God teaches him humility. 00:00:48.079 --> 00:00:54.880 And then finally, how can God use you and me to be messengers of hope to those around us? 00:00:55.520 --> 00:01:00.320 So let's read from God's word, 2 Kings chapter 5. 00:01:03.200 --> 00:01:16.719 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. 00:01:17.680 --> 00:01:21.599 He was a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper. 00:01:22.480 --> 00:01:32.079 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. 00:01:32.480 --> 00:01:39.280 She said to her mistress, Would that my Lord were with the prophet who was in Samaria? 00:01:39.840 --> 00:01:42.400 He would cure him of his leprosy. 00:01:43.280 --> 00:01:49.120 So Naaman went in and told his lord, thus and so spoke the girl from the land of Israel. 00:01:49.280 --> 00:01:55.200 And the king of Syria said, Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel. 00:01:56.239 --> 00:02:05.280 So he went, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten changes of clothing. 00:02:05.920 --> 00:02:17.199 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. 00:02:17.919 --> 00:02:25.039 And when the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, Am I God to kill and make alive? 00:02:25.280 --> 00:02:30.159 That this man sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? 00:02:30.719 --> 00:02:34.400 Only consider and see how he's seeking a quarrel with me. 00:02:35.599 --> 00:02:44.319 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? 00:02:44.560 --> 00:02:50.479 Let him come now to me, that he may know there is a prophet in Israel. 00:02:51.199 --> 00:02:57.199 So Naaman came with his horses and chariots and stood at the door of Elisha's house. 00:02:57.599 --> 00:03:08.560 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. 00:03:09.439 --> 00:03:23.840 But Naaman was angry and went away, saying, Behold, I thought he would surely come out to me and stand, call upon the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place, and cure the leper. 00:03:24.639 --> 00:03:30.960 Are not Abanah and the Farpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? 00:03:31.199 --> 00:03:33.919 Could I not wash in them and be clean? 00:03:34.800 --> 00:03:38.240 So he turned and went away in a rage. 00:03:39.520 --> 00:03:46.240 But his servants came near and said to him, My father, it is a great word the prophet has spoken to you. 00:03:46.479 --> 00:03:48.000 Will you not do it? 00:03:48.479 --> 00:03:51.680 Has he actually said to you, Wash and be clean? 00:03:52.319 --> 00:03:59.199 So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God. 00:03:59.919 --> 00:04:08.000 And his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean. 00:04:09.120 --> 00:04:14.800 Then Naaman returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and he came and stood before him. 00:04:14.879 --> 00:04:22.720 And Naaman said, Behold, I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel. 00:04:22.959 --> 00:04:31.279 From now on, your servant will not offer burnt offering or sacrifice to any God but the Lord. 00:04:32.480 --> 00:05:04.639 Father, thank you that events like this that took place several thousand years ago are full of the same truth that we need to hear today, that human beings really haven't changed much since the time of horses and chariots, that men and women like Naaman, like us, struggle to receive you as Lord because of our pride. 00:05:05.120 --> 00:05:11.040 Lord, thank you that you pursue us, humble us enough to receive you as Savior. 00:05:11.120 --> 00:05:15.839 And so, Holy Spirit, would you do your work in our proud hearts? 00:05:16.319 --> 00:05:22.560 Humble us enough to hear your word and what you may say to each of us today, I ask in Jesus' name. 00:05:22.879 --> 00:05:23.519 Amen. 00:05:25.680 --> 00:05:33.199 So, as I said, there are three ways I see here that Naaman's pride is an obstacle to his salvation. 00:05:34.079 --> 00:05:40.800 Did you notice in verse one that his victories aren't really to his own credit? 00:05:41.279 --> 00:05:45.120 It says it's God who gave Syria victory. 00:05:45.680 --> 00:05:47.360 Might be surprising. 00:05:48.079 --> 00:05:55.759 God gave victory to Israel's enemy over his own people. 00:05:56.319 --> 00:06:05.279 And that's because God is the sovereign king of the universe who can even use the enemies of God's people to punish his people when necessary. 00:06:06.079 --> 00:06:12.959 But you see, Naaman doesn't yet know this God, this God who deserves the credit for his success. 00:06:13.439 --> 00:06:22.480 Before he can come to faith, God has to deal with these three obstacles, these three sources of Naaman's pride. 00:06:23.199 --> 00:06:28.000 His position, his possessions, and his power. 00:06:28.879 --> 00:06:40.480 You see, successful people in this world often have influential positions and significant possessions and considerable power. 00:06:42.560 --> 00:06:46.879 And so their neediness can be invisible to them. 00:06:47.839 --> 00:07:01.199 But God is merciful enough to allow even comfortable people to feel needy, to bring hardship into our lives, to shake us up. 00:07:02.720 --> 00:07:10.720 Remember when Jesus said it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God? 00:07:12.079 --> 00:07:15.600 Was he saying that God doesn't want rich people in heaven? 00:07:16.959 --> 00:07:18.240 Of course not. 00:07:18.639 --> 00:07:31.120 What he was saying is that the wealthy are often cushioned from the reality of how much they need to be saved. 00:07:32.720 --> 00:07:36.639 Human beings don't want to admit that we are a savior. 00:07:37.279 --> 00:07:41.439 And so human pride is a problem for the wealthy or the poor. 00:07:41.839 --> 00:07:47.600 But see, the wealthy have the added problem of the packing peanuts around their life. 00:07:47.920 --> 00:07:56.560 Those things that make them feel comfortable enough without material needs, so they don't feel as needy. 00:07:58.560 --> 00:08:05.920 In your Revelation 3.17, it says, You say I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing. 00:08:06.480 --> 00:08:14.319 But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. 00:08:15.439 --> 00:08:18.720 It's God's mercy when he shows us those things. 00:08:19.519 --> 00:08:24.800 It was God's mercy to Naaman, who was a rich and prosperous and successful man. 00:08:25.360 --> 00:08:30.560 But there was one thing that his power and his possessions and his position could not do. 00:08:30.720 --> 00:08:32.799 It could not cure his leprosy. 00:08:34.080 --> 00:08:41.440 The one thing in his life he could do nothing about was the opening for the gospel to enter into his heart. 00:08:42.399 --> 00:08:48.559 But God had to kill his pride to make him humble enough to see his Savior. 00:08:49.600 --> 00:08:55.519 You see, even as leprosy, leprosy causes numbness in your body. 00:08:55.600 --> 00:09:05.919 And so, even though leprosy had numbed his hands and had numbed his feet, Naaman's pride had numbed his heart. 00:09:06.799 --> 00:09:12.000 And so God didn't want to heal his body and leave his heart untouched. 00:09:13.200 --> 00:09:17.360 Look at how Naaman relies on his position, possessions, and power. 00:09:17.519 --> 00:09:23.039 He gets the word to go to see this prophet, Elisha, who could cure him. 00:09:23.279 --> 00:09:26.240 But first, he goes to two kings. 00:09:27.600 --> 00:09:31.360 To get a powerful cure, he thinks he needs to go to the powerful. 00:09:31.440 --> 00:09:39.919 So he uses his position of influence to go to the king of Syria to get a letter that he can take to the king of Israel. 00:09:40.080 --> 00:09:46.000 Now, I don't know how many of you can walk up to a king or president and get a letter. 00:09:48.000 --> 00:09:50.080 But he has that kind of access. 00:09:50.799 --> 00:09:57.440 And he uses it because he wants to make sure that he gets the attention he deserves when he arrives in Israel. 00:09:57.679 --> 00:10:00.799 The second thing he uses is his possessions. 00:10:02.000 --> 00:10:06.240 To make sure he gets his cure, he brings four million dollars with him. 00:10:06.480 --> 00:10:13.039 That's the equivalence of those amounts of gold and silver in today's money. 00:10:13.360 --> 00:10:15.679 He is going to spare no expense. 00:10:15.840 --> 00:10:22.559 If he has to bribe people along the way, if he has to pay Elisha for the cure, he's willing to pay four million dollars. 00:10:23.440 --> 00:10:27.279 Third thing he uses to get his cure is his power. 00:10:27.919 --> 00:10:33.759 When he arrives at Elisha's house, he doesn't come up alone. 00:10:34.159 --> 00:10:36.960 He brings horses and chariots. 00:10:37.279 --> 00:10:42.320 And he stands in front of Elisha's house and demands to be cured. 00:10:43.360 --> 00:10:49.279 And Elisha sends a servant out instead of coming out himself. 00:10:50.399 --> 00:10:55.759 And Naaman is furious at the insult. 00:10:57.840 --> 00:11:02.000 He says, I thought he would surely come out to me. 00:11:02.480 --> 00:11:07.039 Naaman is saying, doesn't this twerp know who I am? 00:11:07.840 --> 00:11:12.639 How dare he send a messenger to a man like me? 00:11:13.919 --> 00:11:22.480 Naaman uses his anger and a show of military force to bully Elisha and to demand his healing. 00:11:23.679 --> 00:11:25.919 And God's not going to play along. 00:11:26.480 --> 00:11:30.799 God wants Elisha to be cured by grace alone. 00:11:30.960 --> 00:11:33.919 And that's why every one of his strategies fails. 00:11:36.080 --> 00:11:42.240 The letter that he brings just puts the king of Israel into a self-centered state of panic. 00:11:43.039 --> 00:11:45.759 The money is rejected by Elisha. 00:11:46.720 --> 00:11:51.200 The general's show of force and shouting and demands get him nowhere. 00:11:52.559 --> 00:12:04.080 You see, I don't know about you, but usually, especially in a city like this, position, power, possessions, they can get you pretty far. 00:12:05.919 --> 00:12:12.080 They can get you most of the things you want and many of the things you need. 00:12:13.840 --> 00:12:18.399 People in this city rely on position and possessions and power. 00:12:19.279 --> 00:12:21.120 But they don't work for Naaman. 00:12:22.879 --> 00:12:24.879 And they won't really work for us. 00:12:25.120 --> 00:12:27.039 Not about the things that matter. 00:12:28.480 --> 00:12:31.440 Think about how hard that must have been for Naaman. 00:12:33.039 --> 00:12:40.480 How hard it must have been to see all of the things that had brought him success for decades fall flat. 00:12:41.279 --> 00:12:45.039 And that was God's love being expressed to Naaman. 00:12:46.159 --> 00:12:54.879 You see, God is not going to allow this successful, proud, arrogant man to be healed using his own resources. 00:12:56.480 --> 00:13:04.320 Naaman's body and soul are healed by grace alone, because that's the only way God saves people. 00:13:06.799 --> 00:13:12.320 So let's look at three ways that God teaches Naaman humility. 00:13:12.639 --> 00:13:16.240 His first lesson in humility was the leprosy itself. 00:13:17.440 --> 00:13:17.759 Right? 00:13:18.240 --> 00:13:30.159 When life is going well, when we're enjoying success, when all the trains seem to be on time, that's when we don't seem to make time to pray, isn't it? 00:13:30.399 --> 00:13:39.200 That's when we seem to forget the Lord who has blessed us, and instead we devote ourselves to enjoying the blessings to their fullest. 00:13:40.240 --> 00:13:45.440 And then suddenly your child gets sick, and you're laid off from work. 00:13:46.720 --> 00:13:53.840 And the big TV in your living room and the nice car in your driveway aren't much help or comfort. 00:13:54.960 --> 00:14:00.320 Suddenly the crisis that confronts you is what captures all of your attention. 00:14:00.480 --> 00:14:06.480 And the things that once satisfied you and captured your heart lose their luster. 00:14:07.039 --> 00:14:09.840 And then you cry out to God for help. 00:14:10.399 --> 00:14:18.320 And so for Naaman to understand his helplessness, he needed something that he was helpless to solve. 00:14:19.279 --> 00:14:23.840 God used leprosy to make Naaman aware of his mortality. 00:14:26.879 --> 00:14:31.679 Giving him a problem that his position, possessions, and power could not solve. 00:14:33.600 --> 00:14:35.440 We all hate to be needy. 00:14:37.840 --> 00:14:43.919 We hate to feel helpless, but God only saves the helpless. 00:14:45.360 --> 00:14:50.000 God makes himself visible to us through our neediness. 00:14:51.919 --> 00:14:58.879 You know, Yahweh and Jehovah are two ways that we pronounce God's covenant name, the name I am. 00:14:59.840 --> 00:15:04.960 And the name I am is a strange name because it's like an unfinished sentence. 00:15:05.200 --> 00:15:08.000 God told Moses, My name is I Am. 00:15:09.919 --> 00:15:11.120 You are what? 00:15:11.679 --> 00:15:14.399 Is the question that is implied. 00:15:14.559 --> 00:15:20.480 But the beautiful thing is our need fills out the sentence. 00:15:20.720 --> 00:15:23.840 God's name I am is like a blank check. 00:15:24.240 --> 00:15:27.919 And it's filled in with our needs. 00:15:28.159 --> 00:15:32.720 Our needs are like eyeglasses that help us see God's character. 00:15:33.039 --> 00:15:37.600 Jehovah Shalom means I am your peace. 00:15:38.240 --> 00:15:42.480 Jehovah Jairah means I am your provider. 00:15:44.000 --> 00:15:48.480 And for Naaman, he sees Jehovah Rapha. 00:15:49.279 --> 00:15:51.200 I am your healer. 00:15:53.759 --> 00:15:57.279 But he needed to know how much he needed healing. 00:15:58.240 --> 00:16:03.600 His second lesson in humility is the little messenger girl. 00:16:04.159 --> 00:16:09.279 There's this clear contrast that you can see in verses one and two. 00:16:09.759 --> 00:16:15.919 The great man, Naaman, and then the girl who is a little girl in verse two. 00:16:16.399 --> 00:16:22.159 You see, Naaman is powerful and rich, and she is powerless and penniless. 00:16:22.720 --> 00:16:26.799 He's a man with great freedom who can live independent from God. 00:16:27.279 --> 00:16:32.639 She is a slave with no freedom who depends on God fully. 00:16:33.039 --> 00:16:39.120 And she is precisely the instrument that God uses in this place and time. 00:16:39.919 --> 00:16:47.840 So don't ever think that God can't use you wherever you are, whatever circumstances you are in. 00:16:50.720 --> 00:16:56.399 There's another interesting contrast in here, verses 2 and 14. 00:16:57.600 --> 00:17:05.200 The word little girl, and then in verse 14, after Naaman is cleansed, his skin is like that of a little child. 00:17:06.000 --> 00:17:07.359 It's the same word. 00:17:07.519 --> 00:17:10.480 You just add ah to make it feminine. 00:17:10.880 --> 00:17:19.759 And so this great man becomes a little child, just like the humble girl that points him to his Savior. 00:17:20.720 --> 00:17:23.200 Naaman had to become a little child. 00:17:23.599 --> 00:17:25.279 Just like all of us. 00:17:26.000 --> 00:17:31.519 Just like all of us have to become like little children to receive the grace of God. 00:17:32.960 --> 00:17:36.640 And so Big Bad Naaman is born again. 00:17:36.880 --> 00:17:42.000 He becomes a little boy in God's family after his third lesson in humility. 00:17:42.640 --> 00:17:44.880 This inexplicable bath. 00:17:46.480 --> 00:17:54.000 Big Naaman is a big man with a big disease, so he wants a big expensive cure, right? 00:17:55.200 --> 00:18:00.000 But God tells Naaman to do a very simple and humble thing. 00:18:00.319 --> 00:18:05.200 To just go wash in a foreign river, in the Jordan River. 00:18:05.359 --> 00:18:08.640 And this is hard on Naaman's pride. 00:18:10.799 --> 00:18:22.960 But to receive healing by grace alone means that you have to leave your position and your possessions and your power on the banks of the river and get in the water. 00:18:25.359 --> 00:18:27.200 It has to be that way. 00:18:27.839 --> 00:18:30.400 So that we get none of the credit. 00:18:31.440 --> 00:18:33.759 And we know it is all by grace. 00:18:34.319 --> 00:18:40.400 But this is the reason that we struggle to bow the knee to Jesus. 00:18:40.640 --> 00:18:50.079 This is the reason that all of us struggle to receive a Savior because we would much rather have a salvation that we can earn. 00:18:50.480 --> 00:18:53.519 We want God to owe us something. 00:18:53.839 --> 00:18:58.480 We want to know that we did something to earn God's favor. 00:19:00.640 --> 00:19:11.119 And then that helps us look around at the unfortunate ones who haven't yet been enlightened like we have and found their way into the family of God. 00:19:14.240 --> 00:19:20.400 But Paul wrote in Ephesians 2, by grace you have been saved through faith. 00:19:20.720 --> 00:19:22.960 This is not your doing. 00:19:23.599 --> 00:19:25.119 It is the gift of God. 00:19:25.279 --> 00:19:30.079 It is not the result of works, so that no one may boast. 00:19:32.000 --> 00:19:43.839 You see, God set up everything about Naaman's healing so that Naaman and everyone else would know without a doubt that it was Yahweh alone who deserves praise and glory. 00:19:44.880 --> 00:19:50.319 Naaman has to depend on God's word alone to be healed. 00:19:50.480 --> 00:19:56.240 He receives no explanation for why he has to go into a muddy little river to wash seven times. 00:19:56.480 --> 00:19:58.400 It seems ridiculous to him. 00:20:00.799 --> 00:20:15.119 And you know, when I was an atheist for 10 years, it sounded ridiculous to me that some Jewish guy who died on the other side of the world 2,000 years ago had anything to do with me. 00:20:16.240 --> 00:20:26.480 That anything that he did 2,000 years ago could do anything about the things that I knew I was struggling with in my own heart. 00:20:27.519 --> 00:20:31.920 That I could be forgiven of my sins, that I could have lasting peace and eternal life. 00:20:32.079 --> 00:20:34.319 It sounded crazy to me. 00:20:35.839 --> 00:20:37.359 But it was true. 00:20:40.079 --> 00:20:50.000 1 Corinthians 1, Paul writes, for Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified. 00:20:50.240 --> 00:20:55.599 This is a stumbling block to Jews, and it is folly to Gentiles. 00:20:56.160 --> 00:21:03.839 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. 00:21:04.640 --> 00:21:09.519 God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise. 00:21:10.000 --> 00:21:15.119 God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong. 00:21:15.920 --> 00:21:23.680 And so God uses a weak slave girl to help mighty Naaman. 00:21:23.920 --> 00:21:28.640 God uses the foolishness of bathing in a dirty foreign river. 00:21:29.119 --> 00:21:38.720 God uses these things to show Naaman his pride, to strip it away so he'd be humble enough to receive salvation by grace alone. 00:21:39.759 --> 00:21:50.799 And so as we read, Naaman finally stops fighting, he gets his bath, his flesh is restored, and he is made clean. 00:21:51.279 --> 00:21:58.480 Did you notice twice it says, his flesh was restored, and he was made clean. 00:21:58.720 --> 00:22:00.960 It's not talking about the Same thing. 00:22:02.720 --> 00:22:10.559 You see, Naaman was not only made clean on the outside, his flesh restored on the outside, but he was made clean on the inside. 00:22:10.880 --> 00:22:12.240 He was purified. 00:22:12.480 --> 00:22:16.559 How do we know Naaman's healing was internal as well as external? 00:22:17.279 --> 00:22:19.680 Well, I seem to be doing threes today. 00:22:19.759 --> 00:22:24.799 I see three things that are evidence that Naaman's conversion is real. 00:22:25.759 --> 00:22:28.559 First, he returns to thank Elisha. 00:22:29.359 --> 00:22:34.079 You see, from Elisha's house, he went down to the Jordan River. 00:22:34.240 --> 00:22:38.400 And if he was going to go home to Syria, he was already partway there. 00:22:39.200 --> 00:22:41.279 He could have just continued home. 00:22:41.599 --> 00:22:43.599 But instead, he backtracks. 00:22:44.319 --> 00:22:51.200 Instead of going on to Damascus, he returns to Elisha to thank him. 00:22:52.880 --> 00:23:00.079 This reminds us of when Jesus healed ten lepers, and one of them went back to thank Jesus. 00:23:00.319 --> 00:23:05.680 In Luke 17, the leper threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him. 00:23:05.920 --> 00:23:07.759 And he was a Samaritan. 00:23:08.400 --> 00:23:14.640 And Jesus asked, Has no one else returned to give praise to God except this one foreigner? 00:23:14.960 --> 00:23:19.920 And Jesus said to him, Rise and go, your faith has made you well. 00:23:21.359 --> 00:23:29.440 Naaman and this Samaritan, two foreigners, both healed of leprosy, by grace through faith. 00:23:29.759 --> 00:23:32.240 And their response was gratitude. 00:23:33.599 --> 00:23:42.400 Besides gratitude, we see Naaman return to thank Elisha, and then we see the second sign of his conversion in verse 15. 00:23:42.559 --> 00:23:47.119 He says, please accept this gift from your servant. 00:23:48.000 --> 00:23:49.119 Isn't that interesting? 00:23:49.359 --> 00:23:53.440 Naaman is calling himself the servant of Elisha. 00:23:54.559 --> 00:24:05.440 The same man who was trying to bully Elisha just minutes before is now saying he's his servant. 00:24:06.400 --> 00:24:12.319 He has been humbled, and he calls himself your servant five times in this chapter. 00:24:13.440 --> 00:24:23.759 In fact, it's interesting if you look through the chapter that the humble servants are the only ones who see things clearly in this whole story. 00:24:24.160 --> 00:24:27.680 The powerful are the ones who are always getting things wrong. 00:24:28.000 --> 00:24:40.640 Naaman and the king of Israel both end up looking foolish, and it's the slave girl and Naaman's servants who are the wise ones, just like we read about in 1 Corinthians 1. 00:24:41.119 --> 00:24:48.880 You see, the servants see the wisdom of following Elisha's instructions, and they gently encourage him to do it. 00:24:50.079 --> 00:24:52.799 And Naaman's pride had blinded him. 00:24:55.200 --> 00:25:05.839 But he becomes a little servant boy, just like the little servant girl who first pointed him to his cure. 00:25:06.640 --> 00:25:11.519 And I want to spend the rest of our time talking about her, about this young girl from Israel. 00:25:11.759 --> 00:25:15.519 She's the real hero of the story, I think. 00:25:18.640 --> 00:25:26.640 You see, God gives us opportunity, like her, to be messengers of healing and hope. 00:25:27.839 --> 00:25:34.799 This girl was different than the other slaves who were captured from other lands and brought to Syria. 00:25:35.039 --> 00:25:40.400 She was a covenant child, like those boys who were baptized this morning here. 00:25:40.880 --> 00:25:46.240 She was a covenant child who grew up hearing the word of God. 00:25:47.920 --> 00:25:52.640 She had many of the same blessings that the children in this church have. 00:25:54.880 --> 00:26:15.680 This slave girl would have attended Passover celebrations every year before she was captured, hearing about Yahweh's mighty deeds in the world, so that when she herself was out in the world, she knew to tell this Gentile general about her God. 00:26:17.359 --> 00:26:23.599 You see, no one is too far outside of God's household to be invited inside. 00:26:24.480 --> 00:26:28.400 And we all have the opportunity to make that invitation. 00:26:29.119 --> 00:26:33.200 You don't have to have the answers to your neighbor's problems. 00:26:33.519 --> 00:26:36.480 This girl didn't know how to cure leprosy, did she? 00:26:36.799 --> 00:26:40.640 She had no power to do it, but she knew where to point him. 00:26:41.200 --> 00:26:49.680 Do you know where to point the needy people, the hurting people around you? 00:26:51.279 --> 00:26:54.319 This woman, this young girl is remarkable. 00:26:54.559 --> 00:26:56.880 She didn't want to be in Damascus. 00:26:58.480 --> 00:27:00.000 She was a slave. 00:27:01.440 --> 00:27:05.599 And you might not be excited about living in the DC area. 00:27:07.039 --> 00:27:09.839 Maybe your spouse's job brought you here. 00:27:10.319 --> 00:27:12.640 Maybe the military brought you here. 00:27:12.960 --> 00:27:15.680 Maybe your parents drug you here. 00:27:17.119 --> 00:27:19.200 You are not here by accident. 00:27:20.079 --> 00:27:24.720 And this little girl was not in Naaman's household by accident. 00:27:26.799 --> 00:27:30.400 One of the stories she would have grown up hearing about was Joseph. 00:27:31.119 --> 00:27:44.079 Just as our children still hear that story in Sunday school, Joseph, who was brought as a slave to a foreign land, like her, brought to the strange land of Egypt. 00:27:44.240 --> 00:27:51.119 And this girl knew that even in her slavery, her loving father remained in control. 00:27:52.400 --> 00:27:56.240 She surely remembered what Joseph said to his brothers. 00:27:56.559 --> 00:28:01.039 You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good. 00:28:02.559 --> 00:28:08.559 And she would remember the way that Joseph earned the respect and trust of the Egyptian leaders. 00:28:09.200 --> 00:28:17.039 Perhaps that's how she earned the right to serve the wife of the most powerful general in Syria. 00:28:19.119 --> 00:28:24.000 Despite that good position, she was still a slave. 00:28:25.279 --> 00:28:29.839 A slave whose parents may have been killed right in front of her when she was captured? 00:28:30.079 --> 00:28:32.640 Maybe they became slaves themselves. 00:28:33.119 --> 00:28:38.559 She was forcibly separated from her family and her homeland, never to return. 00:28:39.359 --> 00:28:41.279 She had lost so much. 00:28:43.119 --> 00:28:46.000 And by speaking up, she could lose even more. 00:28:46.480 --> 00:28:48.799 Do you realize she was taking a risk? 00:28:49.039 --> 00:28:59.359 What if Naaman and his wife decided that she was a little too bold in speaking up about Naaman's illness, about mentioning it out loud? 00:28:59.759 --> 00:29:02.079 Or what if the cure didn't work? 00:29:02.400 --> 00:29:04.240 How would they treat her then? 00:29:04.960 --> 00:29:07.359 She could lose her current job? 00:29:07.680 --> 00:29:09.599 She could lose her life. 00:29:11.200 --> 00:29:14.559 So maybe you're too scared to speak up to someone. 00:29:15.599 --> 00:29:16.799 I often am. 00:29:18.000 --> 00:29:28.799 What are you scared you might lose when you talk to that coworker, that neighbor, that kid at school about Jesus? 00:29:32.240 --> 00:29:35.839 There are needy people all around you. 00:29:36.880 --> 00:29:38.880 Empty, lost people. 00:29:39.119 --> 00:29:41.599 Not just the homeless on the street. 00:29:41.839 --> 00:29:48.000 I'm talking about the person who looks like they have it all together, at work or at school. 00:29:49.359 --> 00:29:55.759 They might be good at hiding their needs behind nice clothes and comfortable lives. 00:29:56.400 --> 00:29:58.079 But pay attention. 00:29:59.279 --> 00:30:01.839 Pay attention to the people around you. 00:30:02.160 --> 00:30:06.720 Because you could be a messenger of hope to those people around you. 00:30:07.039 --> 00:30:08.960 Get close enough to them. 00:30:10.799 --> 00:30:15.200 Find out where they're hurting, be their friend, ask good questions. 00:30:17.039 --> 00:30:21.039 When you say to that coworker or classmate, how are you doing? 00:30:21.200 --> 00:30:26.319 and they say, I'm alright, don't just leave that. 00:30:27.119 --> 00:30:28.799 That was an invitation. 00:30:29.839 --> 00:30:35.759 When someone says, eh, I'm alright, say, wow, it sounds like maybe you're not doing alright. 00:30:36.079 --> 00:30:37.440 Would you tell me more? 00:30:38.960 --> 00:30:40.480 Walk through that door. 00:30:41.440 --> 00:30:43.519 Jesus walks through it with you. 00:30:43.680 --> 00:30:45.279 Don't be afraid. 00:30:48.559 --> 00:30:50.400 This girl had faith. 00:30:50.720 --> 00:30:57.039 This girl had faith in God when most of Israel had abandoned their faith in Yahweh. 00:30:57.200 --> 00:30:59.759 They had chased after foreign gods. 00:31:00.079 --> 00:31:03.200 But this girl had held on to her faith. 00:31:03.359 --> 00:31:05.039 She knew about Elisha. 00:31:05.200 --> 00:31:08.160 She knew about the prophet who could heal Naaman. 00:31:08.559 --> 00:31:13.839 Even the king of Israel didn't believe in Elisha's ability to cure. 00:31:14.319 --> 00:31:18.799 The king acts with disbelief and selfish concern for his own skin. 00:31:18.960 --> 00:31:28.240 And it's the young slave girl who is the light of hope in Damascus, who loves her enemy and speaks truth to him. 00:31:30.079 --> 00:31:33.279 She foreshadows what Paul writes in Romans 12. 00:31:33.519 --> 00:31:35.599 Repay no one evil for evil. 00:31:35.759 --> 00:31:37.359 Never avenge yourselves. 00:31:37.599 --> 00:31:39.519 Leave it to the wrath of God. 00:31:40.079 --> 00:31:43.680 Instead, if your enemy is hungry, feed him. 00:31:43.839 --> 00:31:46.720 If he is thirsty, give him something to drink. 00:31:46.960 --> 00:31:53.119 Do not become over, do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. 00:31:53.839 --> 00:31:57.519 And so this little girl loves her master and does good to him. 00:31:57.920 --> 00:32:06.480 She could have been angry towards the leader of the people who had captured her, killed her family and friends. 00:32:06.720 --> 00:32:09.200 She might have even enjoyed his suffering. 00:32:10.960 --> 00:32:15.680 If I were in her shoes, I would have been angry with Naaman and bitter toward God. 00:32:16.240 --> 00:32:21.359 And yet she speaks up with courage, testifies about the power of God. 00:32:21.920 --> 00:32:24.160 And God honors her with it. 00:32:24.880 --> 00:32:31.200 He includes this humble little girl in this book for eternity. 00:32:31.680 --> 00:32:36.319 And I look forward to meeting her, hearing more about her story. 00:32:37.279 --> 00:32:45.519 It reminds me of what Jesus said: whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. 00:32:46.000 --> 00:32:49.119 Through her faith, this humble girl is exalted. 00:32:49.519 --> 00:32:54.400 And the general who had exalted himself for years was humbled. 00:32:55.279 --> 00:33:05.200 But first he had to see that his pride was a sin, an obstacle to him becoming a child who trusts God the Father. 00:33:06.319 --> 00:33:16.880 And so, if you're going to be that kind of messenger, I do need to ask if you have left your pride on the banks of the river. 00:33:17.440 --> 00:33:20.559 Your position and possessions and power. 00:33:20.799 --> 00:33:27.680 Have you dropped to your knees and admitted that you need a savior? 00:33:30.480 --> 00:33:35.519 I know you're not living your life the way God says you should. 00:33:36.079 --> 00:33:37.519 I know you're not. 00:33:38.240 --> 00:33:39.759 Because none of us are. 00:33:40.799 --> 00:33:44.160 Heck, we don't even live our lives the way we think we should. 00:33:44.319 --> 00:33:48.079 We don't even live up to our own standards, let alone God's. 00:33:49.920 --> 00:33:54.559 We're all guilty of the same sins we see in Naaman. 00:33:55.279 --> 00:34:04.960 We use our resources to distance ourselves from God and from other people, and we don't recognize that everything we have was a gift from God. 00:34:06.319 --> 00:34:14.320 The sin of pride and self-reliance are woven deep into the muscle of our hearts. 00:34:15.119 --> 00:34:20.639 But when you humbly ask God the Father to forgive you, he will. 00:34:28.800 --> 00:34:34.960 When you believe that Jesus died to remove the guilt and shame of your sin, he does. 00:34:35.599 --> 00:34:45.920 If you ask the Holy Spirit to give you the gift of faith to see Jesus as Savior, then the King of the universe becomes the King of your life. 00:34:46.960 --> 00:34:51.519 And then God calls you his child, his little child. 00:34:52.320 --> 00:34:58.079 But he also calls you a prince and a princess and an heir to the king of the universe. 00:35:00.480 --> 00:35:05.119 Do you have the security and peace of knowing that you're his beloved child? 00:35:05.360 --> 00:35:07.199 Like that little girl. 00:35:10.800 --> 00:35:13.840 I hope you do, because you can't lose that status. 00:35:14.239 --> 00:35:27.280 No matter where God might take you, no matter what hardships may come into your life, you can't lose your salvation because what God has made, men and women cannot break. 00:35:32.000 --> 00:35:41.679 And then God will put you in places where you can speak up, like this little slave girl, and tell others about the hope you have found in Jesus. 00:35:43.039 --> 00:35:46.400 Let's go to him now in prayer. 00:35:51.519 --> 00:35:53.119 Father, thank you. 00:35:53.679 --> 00:35:55.679 Thank you for saving Naaman. 00:35:56.960 --> 00:36:10.400 Thank you that the blood of Jesus washes away the sin and the shame and the death of anyone who humbles himself. 00:36:10.800 --> 00:36:24.639 Whether hundreds of years before Jesus was on the cross or thousands of years after, there is only one source of salvation and hope and healing, and it is the blood of Jesus. 00:36:25.119 --> 00:36:39.920 And so, Father, I pray that you would send the Holy Spirit into the hearts of any who have not yet humbled themselves like a little child to receive Christ as Savior. 00:36:40.159 --> 00:36:52.480 And Holy Spirit, would you encourage those of us who are struggling, who are carrying about a sickness or a burden like Naaman, that you might bring healing and hope? 00:36:53.199 --> 00:37:07.760 And Father, would you embolden us, encourage us, strengthen us to speak to those around us about the hope that we have in Jesus, that they too might know him as Lord and Savior. 00:37:08.079 --> 00:37:09.840 We pray in Jesus' name, amen.