SPEAKER_00: And so tonight we're gonna talk again about milestones.
SPEAKER_00: How many of you know that when God gave us that word at the beginning of the year, he said what he said and he meant what he said?
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: I love it.
SPEAKER_00: Recently, Selena was preaching and she said, God does not use words like JK.
SPEAKER_00: Now, for those of you that don't know what that means, that means God does not use phrases like just kidding.
SPEAKER_00: He is the Lord and He changes not.
SPEAKER_00: And then this morning Pastor was teaching, and Pastor said, God does not do random.
SPEAKER_00: Come on, y'all can do better than that.
SPEAKER_00: God, how many of you know we don't serve a God that just does random things?
SPEAKER_00: God is intentional in everything that he does and everything that he says.
SPEAKER_00: And so as I was studying and reading, um I was over in the book of 2 Kings.
SPEAKER_00: I've been spending a lot of time in Kings lately, and there's just so much there.
SPEAKER_00: And so tonight we're gonna turn with me, if you will, to 2 Kings chapter 5.
SPEAKER_00: And it's a story that most of you should know, but we're gonna look at it through the lens of a milestone.
SPEAKER_00: And it is the story of Naaman.
SPEAKER_00: How many of you know about Naaman?
SPEAKER_00: You've read about him at least once, so you know who he is.
SPEAKER_00: All right, well, we're gonna get to know Naaman a little bit better tonight.
SPEAKER_00: So turn with me to 2 Kings chapter 5, and we're gonna start at verse 1, and I'm reading from the New King James Translation.
SPEAKER_00: In chapter 5, verse 1, it says, Now Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great and honorable man in the eyes of his master.
SPEAKER_00: Because by him the Lord had given victory to Syria, he was also a mighty man of valor, but a leper.
SPEAKER_00: Say, but a leper.
SPEAKER_00: So as we read that, and as I read that, I thought, okay, well, that's they say all these nice things and cool things about this man, but he was a leper.
SPEAKER_00: In other words, in spite of all of the things that he had gone on in his life, he still had a need for a milestone.
SPEAKER_00: And so as we look at Naaman, we see that Naaman was not just an ordinary Job.
SPEAKER_00: He was the commander of the army of the king of Syria.
SPEAKER_00: The Bible says he was a man of honor.
SPEAKER_00: He had favor.
SPEAKER_00: He was favored by the king.
SPEAKER_00: And, you know, back in those days, to have the king's favor meant something.
SPEAKER_00: That meant a lot.
SPEAKER_00: Well, how many of you know we have the king of kings favor now?
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: I'm my daddy's favorite child.
SPEAKER_00: You know, my kids used to say, my daughter, especially, well, I'm your favorite child.
SPEAKER_00: And I said, Yes, you are my favorite daughter.
SPEAKER_00: But no, Dad, I'm your favorite child.
SPEAKER_00: Yes, you're my favorite daughter.
SPEAKER_00: Why?
SPEAKER_00: Because I have a son.
SPEAKER_00: I favor them both.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: And so he was favored by the king, but we also notice that he was used by God to bring victory to Syria.
SPEAKER_00: In other words, his skills brought victory.
SPEAKER_00: So he was skilled.
SPEAKER_00: He was a man of valor, but he was also a leper.
SPEAKER_00: So as I look at Naaman, I can't help but identify all of these characteristics of him, but I also see the most important thing is that he was this.
SPEAKER_00: Naaman was a candidate for a milestone.
SPEAKER_00: And so in verse 2, it says, And the Syrians had gone out on raids and had brought back captive a young girl from the land of Israel.
SPEAKER_00: She waited on Naaman's wife.
SPEAKER_00: Now let me stop right there because I want, as we look at the process of Naaman's milestone, I want to break it into three sections.
SPEAKER_00: So I want you to write these down.
SPEAKER_00: The first section, or the first step in the progression of Naaman's milestone was called the setup.
SPEAKER_00: The second step, or the second part of Naaman's milestone progression, was called the mix-up.
SPEAKER_00: And then the third step in Naaman's progression to receiving this milestone was called getup.
SPEAKER_00: And y'all are looking at me like, what in the world?
SPEAKER_00: Where is he gonna go with this?
SPEAKER_00: Well, just buckle your seatbelt.
SPEAKER_00: So let's look at the setup.
SPEAKER_00: So the first part we see in the setup was that the Syrians had gone out and raided and brought back captive a young girl from the land of Israel, and she waited on Naaman's wife.
SPEAKER_00: She was assigned to Naaman's wife, the leper.
SPEAKER_00: Anybody smelling the setup yet?
SPEAKER_00: Then she said to her mistress in verse 3, if only my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria, for he would heal him of leprosy.
SPEAKER_00: Now, I believe as I read that, I just thought, Lord, you sent that girl, even though she was brought in through captivity, but you set her there for that purpose.
SPEAKER_00: Now, why do I know that?
SPEAKER_00: Because if she didn't have a heart to see Naaman delivered from his suffering, she wouldn't have said anything to the mistress.
SPEAKER_00: And so, how many of you believe you see the setup there?
SPEAKER_00: So God set Naaman up to receive.
SPEAKER_00: He did it through the young, through the young lady.
SPEAKER_00: She knew exactly where he could go to get relief, to get healing, to get deliverance, to get his milestone.
SPEAKER_00: So God used that girl to bring Naaman the good news of his milestone.
SPEAKER_00: On the surface, the slave was just a slave, but she had a compassion.
SPEAKER_00: I believe she had compassion in her heart towards Naaman, a suffering man.
SPEAKER_00: In verse 4, and so Naaman, when he heard this, he went in and told his master, saying, Thus and thus and thus said the girl who is from the land of Israel.
SPEAKER_00: So Naaman receives the milestone news.
SPEAKER_00: He receives some information that that is gonna bring some relief to his suffering.
SPEAKER_00: So then the king of Syria says, Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.
SPEAKER_00: So he departed and took with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten changes of clothing.
SPEAKER_00: So in that verse, we see, first of all, the Bible earlier talked about Naaman being favored.
SPEAKER_00: Now, the minute he went to the king, now you gotta, you gotta, you gotta, you, there's so much here.
SPEAKER_00: You gotta see when the king had compassion for Naaman and his suffering.
SPEAKER_00: And the minute that Naaman went to him and said, Hey, I just heard from this young lady from Israel that there is a prophet that can heal me.
SPEAKER_00: The king said, Well, man, go get it.
SPEAKER_00: As a matter of fact, let me write a letter for you.
SPEAKER_00: And so the king writes a letter.
SPEAKER_00: And he goes with the king's go, he goes, God speed.
SPEAKER_00: Move on, man.
SPEAKER_00: Let's do it.
SPEAKER_00: Let's go.
SPEAKER_00: So Naaman goes.
SPEAKER_00: And not only did he, he didn't just go with a letter, but he went with money.
SPEAKER_00: He went with provision.
SPEAKER_00: In other words, the king said, Look, if it cost, I got you.
SPEAKER_00: If there's a fee involved, it's covered.
SPEAKER_00: Well, how does that apply to milestones?
SPEAKER_00: Listen, the minute Naaman was set up, just like the minute you were set up, well, when were you set up?
SPEAKER_00: You were set up when the word came.
SPEAKER_00: You were set up for your milestone when the word was spoken.
SPEAKER_00: And I was thinking about that today, and I was just thinking about, you know, when you look at all of the people who have gone before us, and the Bible is so full of not just history, but history of all of the men and women and all of the things that have transpired for this time.
SPEAKER_00: In the last days, God chose us.
SPEAKER_00: Somebody missed a great opportunity to shout.
SPEAKER_00: He could have chosen anyone else, but he chose you.
SPEAKER_00: He chose you.
SPEAKER_00: He chose us.
SPEAKER_00: That's exciting.
SPEAKER_00: That's awesome.
SPEAKER_00: That's incredible.
SPEAKER_00: We see that God, God, God just, He's awesome.
SPEAKER_00: He chose us.
SPEAKER_00: He called us.
SPEAKER_00: And He didn't just call you to be here in the earth and to just live until He returns.
SPEAKER_00: He calls you to do something.
SPEAKER_00: He's got milestones for you.
SPEAKER_00: He said this year, 2025 is the year of milestones.
SPEAKER_00: In other words, by the time you get to the end of this year and you look back, you're gonna be like, wow, I didn't see that one coming.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: He said what he said, and he meant what he said.
SPEAKER_00: And so the king tells him to go, and the king sends him.
SPEAKER_00: So then we get to the second part of the progression of Naaman's milestone, the mix-up.
SPEAKER_00: Verse 6 says, 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.
SPEAKER_00: So the king was misinformed and misunderstood who the healer was.
SPEAKER_00: And it so happened that the king, verse seven, the king of Israel read the letter towards clothes and said, Am I God to kill and to make alive?
SPEAKER_00: That this man sends a man to me to heal him of leprosy.
SPEAKER_00: Therefore, please consider and see how he seeks to quarrel with me.
SPEAKER_00: The king was so confused, was so mixed up, he didn't understand that his role was just to stop on the way.
SPEAKER_00: Now, isn't that just like the devil to mix up the first opportunity that you get on your way to the milestone?
SPEAKER_00: He causes a little confusion.
SPEAKER_00: Anyone know what I'm talking about?
SPEAKER_00: You know God told you something, you know he promised you something, and all of a sudden it seems like all hell breaks loose.
SPEAKER_00: A mix-up occurs, confusion occurs.
SPEAKER_00: Man has gotten into himself and he thinks he's the answer.
SPEAKER_00: Well, no, he's not the answer.
SPEAKER_00: He's just a conduit.
SPEAKER_00: He's a pastor, he's a vessel.
SPEAKER_00: We are vessels.
SPEAKER_00: How does God move in the earth?
SPEAKER_00: Who does he use?
SPEAKER_00: Vessels.
SPEAKER_00: That's us.
SPEAKER_00: Tell your neighbor, I'm a vessel.
SPEAKER_00: And so this king gets the wrong attitude and the wrong idea.
SPEAKER_00: Am I God?
SPEAKER_00: Well, no, you're not God.
SPEAKER_00: Do I have the ability to raid to kill and to rape?
SPEAKER_00: No, you don't have that.
SPEAKER_00: But what you do have is the address of the prophet.
SPEAKER_00: You see how quickly the devil just totally blew that up.
SPEAKER_00: The Bible tells us that we're not to be ignorant or unaware of the schemes and the vices of the evil one.
SPEAKER_00: Now, how many of you know the devil does not want you to get your milestone?
SPEAKER_00: Let me say that again.
SPEAKER_00: How many of you know that his job is to see you not get yours?
SPEAKER_00: And so we see it immediately happening with the king.
SPEAKER_00: The king gets an attitude.
SPEAKER_00: And so it was in verse 11, verse 8, when Elijah, the man of God, heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, then he said to the king, he went to the king, hey, you out of water, king.
SPEAKER_00: This is for you.
SPEAKER_00: He came to the wrong address.
SPEAKER_00: Why have you torn your clothes?
SPEAKER_00: In other words, why are you getting all bent out of shape?
SPEAKER_00: Why are you allowing the devil to use you that way and to act like that?
SPEAKER_00: Send him to me.
SPEAKER_00: Now it's real interesting because I want to pause here for a minute because you need to understand that you may have a part to play in somebody else's milestone.
SPEAKER_00: Part of your milestone assignment may be to help someone else receive their milestone.
SPEAKER_00: How many of you know that God didn't call you to just be on earth and it's all about me, my four, and no more?
SPEAKER_00: And so you have a part to play in that.
SPEAKER_00: The king was confused.
SPEAKER_00: He was mad that he had to be a part of it, didn't want to be a part of it.
SPEAKER_00: And the devil was mad about him, you getting your milestone.
SPEAKER_00: So Elijah goes to him and said, Hey, why are you tearing your clothes?
SPEAKER_00: Why are you getting all been out of shape?
SPEAKER_00: Send them to me.
SPEAKER_00: You know, that points out something else.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes we receive things that we don't know what to do with them.
SPEAKER_00: Handle them the right way.
SPEAKER_00: Respond the right way.
SPEAKER_00: Well, what are you talking about, Pastor Joseph?
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes you get information or you get a request.
SPEAKER_00: Handle it the right way.
SPEAKER_00: And if you don't know to do anything else to do, pray.
SPEAKER_00: So Elijah says, send him, let him come to me, and he shall know that this there is a prophet in Israel.
SPEAKER_00: In other words, send the man to me, and he's gonna know that God is real.
SPEAKER_00: You're not the healer, Jesus is.
SPEAKER_00: And so what's your job to point him to the healer?
SPEAKER_00: So then Naaman, I love this part, verse 9.
SPEAKER_00: Then Naaman went with his horses and chariot, and he stood at the door of Elijah's house.
SPEAKER_00: Now, there's a couple of things there we need to see, actually.
SPEAKER_00: There's several things there we I want to point out.
SPEAKER_00: First of all, Naaman showed up full of himself.
SPEAKER_00: Chauffeur, park right here.
SPEAKER_00: So he shows up at Elijah's house with his horses and his chariots.
SPEAKER_00: And he stood at the door of Elijah's house.
SPEAKER_00: Now, if that was me and I'd been told to go see the prophet because he was gonna facilitate healing in my life.
SPEAKER_00: Look, I would have been out of the chariot knocking.
SPEAKER_00: Hey! I'm here.
SPEAKER_00: Hey! I'm the one that told you about, I'm here, I came to get it, I came, I'm here.
SPEAKER_00: That's not what Naaman did.
SPEAKER_00: In other words, his whole attitude, look at me, I'm important.
SPEAKER_00: I'm all of that in a bag of chips.
SPEAKER_00: When the truth of the matter was he wasn't even wasn't even close to being any of that.
SPEAKER_00: Why?
SPEAKER_00: Because after all of the things that the Bible described him of being, what was the last thing he said about him?
SPEAKER_00: A leper.
SPEAKER_00: He had a mount, he had, he, he had, he had something that that that he wasn't quite hope.
SPEAKER_00: Look at me, I'm important.
SPEAKER_00: Come to me.
SPEAKER_00: Come heal me.
SPEAKER_00: You come on my terms.
SPEAKER_00: How many times you you you believe in God for something, but you believe in God, okay, God, if this is gonna happen, it's gonna have to happen on my terms.
SPEAKER_00: Am I telling anybody the truth?
SPEAKER_00: God, I want you to heal me, and this is how I want it to happen on this day, at this time, at this exact minute, and I'm standing here waiting for it.
SPEAKER_00: Come on.
SPEAKER_00: How many know God doesn't work like that?
SPEAKER_00: He's standing outside the house.
SPEAKER_00: And Elijah said, Watch this.
SPEAKER_00: And verse 10.
SPEAKER_00: And Elijah sent a message to him saying, Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh will be restored to you, and you shall be clean.
SPEAKER_00: So, what did he just do?
SPEAKER_00: He said, Let me give him the next steps to receive the manifestation of his healing.
SPEAKER_00: Let me tell him how to receive his milestone.
SPEAKER_00: Go do this.
SPEAKER_00: And he was very matter-of fact, he said, and when you do this, this is what's gonna happen.
SPEAKER_00: Simple instructions no laying on of hands.
SPEAKER_00: You know, I believe we're in a time and dispensation that there are gonna be more healings that take place just as people enter into his presence and just receive.
SPEAKER_00: Just receive.
SPEAKER_00: He didn't lay hands on him, he didn't even go out and talk to him.
SPEAKER_00: He sent his servant.
SPEAKER_00: So the important man got the servant.
SPEAKER_00: Wow.
SPEAKER_00: So let me ask you, what instructions has God given you concerning your milestone?
SPEAKER_00: And did he give them to you in a way other than what you expected?
SPEAKER_00: Okay, now I'm I'm I'm I'm still preaching, I'm not meddling, I promise.
SPEAKER_00: But what instructions has God given you about your milestone?
SPEAKER_00: What has he said to you?
SPEAKER_00: Has he, you know, we serve a God who is specific.
SPEAKER_00: Not only is our God strategic, but he is specific.
SPEAKER_00: Why do I know he's a God of specifics?
SPEAKER_00: Because throughout the Bible, anytime he gave instructions, they were detailed instructions.
SPEAKER_00: Did he not give Noah detailed instructions on how to build the ark?
SPEAKER_00: Did he not give Solomon detailed instructions on how to build the temple?
SPEAKER_00: Did he not give the children of Israel detailed instructions on how to build their worship facility?
SPEAKER_00: He's detailed and he's specific.
SPEAKER_00: But verse 11 says, But Naaman, say, but Naaman was furious.
SPEAKER_00: In other words, Naaman was hot.
SPEAKER_00: And he went away and said, Indeed, I said to myself, surely he'll come out to me.
SPEAKER_00: I'm important.
SPEAKER_00: I showed up in his house with my my chariots and my horses and all of my people.
SPEAKER_00: Surely he would see.
SPEAKER_00: Did he not know how important I am?
SPEAKER_00: Did he not know how far I had to ride in this chariot to get to him?
SPEAKER_00: Did he not know that I came with money?
SPEAKER_00: He will surely come to me and stand on the on the name of the Lord his God and wave his hand over the place and heal the leprosy.
SPEAKER_00: So, what does that tell me?
SPEAKER_00: First of all, it tells me a couple of things.
SPEAKER_00: First of all, it tells me that Naaman was prideful.
SPEAKER_00: Do not allow pride to keep you from receiving your milestone.
SPEAKER_00: Didn't Elijah know I was important?
SPEAKER_00: Didn't he see my horses and chariots?
SPEAKER_00: In other words, don't let the mix-up of preconceived expectations cause you to miss milestones.
SPEAKER_00: He had a preconceived expectation of how that healing was supposed to take place, and it didn't even go anywhere close to that.
SPEAKER_00: How many of you ever seen God do something that wasn't even close to how you thought he was gonna do it?
SPEAKER_00: As a matter of fact, it happened in such a way you actually wait, whoa, whoa, wait a minute.
SPEAKER_00: How'd you do that?
SPEAKER_00: I didn't see that one coming.
SPEAKER_00: His milestone, he had a he had an idea.
SPEAKER_00: Do not allow the enemy.
SPEAKER_00: I'm telling you folks, the devil wants to work in the preconceived.
SPEAKER_00: Why?
SPEAKER_00: Because the minute it doesn't happen the way you thought it was gonna happen, then he's gonna start wishing more.
SPEAKER_00: Well, you see, God didn't really want you to have that.
SPEAKER_00: If he did it, he'd have done it the way you want him to do.
SPEAKER_00: We don't get to tell God how to do his business.
SPEAKER_00: Let me say that again.
SPEAKER_00: We don't get to tell God how to do his business.
SPEAKER_00: I'll never forget our daughter was a little bitty thing.
SPEAKER_00: She wasn't even talking yet.
SPEAKER_00: She was about to start, and she got to have an ear infection after ear infection after ear infection after ear infection.
SPEAKER_00: So much so that the doctor was really concerned because he said, if we don't do something about this, this may very well affect her speech.
SPEAKER_00: Now I'm some great man of faith.
SPEAKER_00: God is gonna heal my daughter.
SPEAKER_00: And I've laid hands on her and prayed over her, and God's gonna do it.
SPEAKER_00: God didn't do it, at least not the way I thought he was gonna do it.
SPEAKER_00: We got down to the wire and we had to finally make a decision.
SPEAKER_00: And I'll never forget that day.
SPEAKER_00: We're sitting, we'd taken her in, we were sitting there in the waiting room, they'd taken her back.
SPEAKER_00: And honestly, the procedure was so quick before I even sat down in the chair, they were like, Oh, we're done.
SPEAKER_00: And I'm sitting there, and boy, now the devil's just beating me all upside the head.
SPEAKER_00: I mean, he is whooping up on me.
SPEAKER_00: Well, I thought you were a great man of God.
SPEAKER_00: What was happening?
SPEAKER_00: The spirit of disappointment from the preconceived expectations was at work.
SPEAKER_00: And I'm sitting there defeated, partly mad, frustrated.
SPEAKER_00: And you gotta be careful with that, because see, the devil, he look, he will bring the whole crew to the party.
SPEAKER_00: Anyone know what I'm talking about?
SPEAKER_00: He's gonna bring the whole crew, and none of them should have even been on the guest list.
SPEAKER_00: And they're about to have a good time at your expense, and you sitting there, you sitting there defeated, mad, busted, disgusted, and frustrated.
SPEAKER_00: And finally, I'm sitting there with my head down, just not really knowing what to think.
SPEAKER_00: And I heard the Lord whisper to me, who are you to tell me how to heal?
SPEAKER_00: Does it say anywhere in my word for you to tell me how?
SPEAKER_00: And before I got a well, no, it doesn't.
SPEAKER_00: But what it does say is to trust me, to believe me.
SPEAKER_00: Did it not occur to you that it was I that gave the doctors the wisdom to go in and to make the correction to bring about the healing?
SPEAKER_00: Okay, I'm good, Lord.
SPEAKER_00: Uh fix your face while you're at it.
SPEAKER_00: And so we see Naaman is mad.
SPEAKER_00: His preconceived expectation is about to cause him to miss the bottle of snow.
SPEAKER_00: And then he didn't stop.
SPEAKER_00: Verse 12 are not the about the Abanah and the far ra the rivers in Damascus better than all the waters of Israel?
SPEAKER_00: So not only did he tell me to go dip seven times, he's gonna send me to dip in nasty water.
SPEAKER_00: That's that's how I read that.
SPEAKER_00: The water was nasty, and he wants me to go dip, not just one time, but seven times in nasty water.
SPEAKER_00: He's not seven times in nasty water.
SPEAKER_00: Pride is working overtime, clocking in the hours.
SPEAKER_00: He was about to miss his milestone.
SPEAKER_00: He was expecting the milestone to come one way, but he didn't see the go dip seven times coming.
SPEAKER_00: Here's what I've learned about God in instruction.
SPEAKER_00: When you ask him for it, don't ask him for instruction unless you really mean to intend to follow the instructions.
SPEAKER_00: Can I say that again?
SPEAKER_00: When you ask, if you don't intend to follow what he gives you to do, then don't ask.
SPEAKER_00: Because what you've just said to God is God, I know I asked you for that, but I don't really believe you want to do that.
SPEAKER_00: What you're really saying is, I don't want to do that.
SPEAKER_00: And what God is really saying is, I don't want to obey.
SPEAKER_00: And if I do obey, I'm gonna obey on my terms.
SPEAKER_00: Well, that's not how daddy works.
SPEAKER_00: He didn't expect to see that coming.
SPEAKER_00: All we get to do is stay in faith.
SPEAKER_00: And faith says, Lord, if you tell me to go dip in the nastiest water around, I'm gonna dip in it.
SPEAKER_00: We see what Abraham told Abraham, Abraham, sacrifice to me the son whom you love, his Isaac, the promise that he received.
SPEAKER_00: God said, kill him.
SPEAKER_00: Kill him.
SPEAKER_00: Now, Abraham was such a man that, okay, first of all, we know Abraham believed God.
SPEAKER_00: He trusted God.
SPEAKER_00: And he had enough faith that if God said do it, he was gonna do it, but he also had enough faith to believe God to raise him.
SPEAKER_00: And so you've got, God, are you sure you want me to do that?
SPEAKER_00: Are you sure you want me to kill my son?
SPEAKER_00: Abraham was so fully persuaded that God was faithful and able to raise up his son when the servants would that accompanied them when they got to the spot that he was gonna go up and make the sacrifice, he said, Stay here, the boy and I are gonna go worship and we will be back.
SPEAKER_00: Expectations, preconceived expectations are not your friends.
SPEAKER_00: I've learned when I pray, God, I don't know how you're gonna do this, and I don't really care how you're gonna do this.
SPEAKER_00: That's your job.
SPEAKER_00: My job is to believe that you will.
SPEAKER_00: And you know when you go to God that way in prayer, it removes all of the opportunities for the enemy to come in and sneak in.
SPEAKER_00: It eliminates them, it locks them out, it locks out the doubt.
SPEAKER_00: And that's the mid teaching on lock out the doubt.
SPEAKER_00: When you go before God without any, in other words, check your preconceived notions, ideas at the door before you go into your prayer chamber, check your your check your attitude, check your heart, check your expectations.
SPEAKER_00: Wow.
SPEAKER_00: So verse 13 says, 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 have not done it?
SPEAKER_00: Then how much more than when he says to you, wash and be clean.
SPEAKER_00: Now, didn't the prophet say to him, Go dip and you shall?
SPEAKER_00: Anybody else catch that?
SPEAKER_00: What was that?
SPEAKER_00: That was an absolute.
SPEAKER_00: If you do it this way, you shall.
SPEAKER_00: He didn't say do it this way and you might.
SPEAKER_00: He didn't say do it this way and and and I hope it works.
SPEAKER_00: He didn't say do it this way and and it could work.
SPEAKER_00: He said you shall.
SPEAKER_00: You shall.
SPEAKER_00: And so Naaman got started meditating on what he now notice.
SPEAKER_00: Naaman heard three different times about God's milestone for him.
SPEAKER_00: Three times I read that and I was like, whoa.
SPEAKER_00: Three times.
SPEAKER_00: Three different occasions he received the word about his milestone.
SPEAKER_00: The first one was in verse three with the sermon, go see the prophet.
SPEAKER_00: The second time was when the prophet sent the servant to say, just go dip in the pool seven times, that nasty water seven times.
SPEAKER_00: Just go dip seven times.
SPEAKER_00: And then the third time, when his servant said, Are you sure you want to pass on this?
SPEAKER_00: Are you sure you don't want your healing?
SPEAKER_00: How bad and how big is your want to?
SPEAKER_00: How bad do you really want your milestone?
SPEAKER_00: What are you willing to do to receive your milestone?
SPEAKER_00: How are you willing to act?
SPEAKER_00: Okay, because what we didn't see was Naaman humbling himself.
SPEAKER_00: I'm important.
SPEAKER_00: I got a fleet of horses and chariots.
SPEAKER_00: I got the king's favor.
SPEAKER_00: He sent me with money.
SPEAKER_00: But how bad do you want to receive your milestone?
SPEAKER_00: How willing are you to obey?
SPEAKER_00: Now, as I was reading through this and studying this, a while back, the Lord gave me a message called Six D's of the Enemy's Strategy.
SPEAKER_00: It is literally the devil's playbook.
SPEAKER_00: And it's been so effective that he's been doing it all of this time and it's still working.
SPEAKER_00: There are six D's in the devil's strategy.
SPEAKER_00: The first one is to deceive.
SPEAKER_00: We see that that started in the garden with Adam and Eve.
SPEAKER_00: The next one is to distract.
SPEAKER_00: The third one is to delay.
SPEAKER_00: The fourth one is to deny.
SPEAKER_00: The fifth one is to disqualify.
SPEAKER_00: And the sixth one is to destroy.
SPEAKER_00: So let me walk you through how each one of those strategies were at work in Naaman's situation.
SPEAKER_00: The first one we see deception came when he was deceived in how he was going to receive his healing.
SPEAKER_00: He had a preconceived idea.
SPEAKER_00: It set him up.
SPEAKER_00: It set him up for the mix-up.
SPEAKER_00: Brought him right to it.
SPEAKER_00: That was the first one.
SPEAKER_00: The second deed that was at work was distraction.
SPEAKER_00: Well, what distracted him is pride?
SPEAKER_00: His sense of importance.
SPEAKER_00: He should have come out to me.
SPEAKER_00: I got my chariots out here double parked.
SPEAKER_00: He needs to come out here to me.
SPEAKER_00: The third deed that was at work was delay.
SPEAKER_00: The spirit of delay wants to keep you from ever making any progress towards your milestone.
SPEAKER_00: The spirit of delay here was him not willing to follow the instructions.
SPEAKER_00: Wow.
SPEAKER_00: He wasn't willing to follow him.
SPEAKER_00: I'm not dipping, I'm not doing that in that nasty water.
SPEAKER_00: There are better rivers than that.
SPEAKER_00: I'll just go dipping those.
SPEAKER_00: That's not what he was told to do.
SPEAKER_00: And because he was unwilling to follow the instructions, it was a delay to receive his milestone.
SPEAKER_00: The third, the fourth D at work was deny.
SPEAKER_00: He was so mad he was ready to leave.
SPEAKER_00: I'll just go home.
SPEAKER_00: So you mean to tell me that you've gotten the word that you have a milestone loaded and you're gonna walk away from that?
SPEAKER_00: You've got a promise.
SPEAKER_00: And God's asked you to do something that makes you a little uncomfortable, or it's something maybe you, well, Lord, I've always done it this way.
SPEAKER_00: And he's saying, No, I want you to do it this way.
SPEAKER_00: And because you're not willing to do it his way, you're ready to walk away from it.
SPEAKER_00: It's hope that makes sense.
SPEAKER_00: The fifth D.
SPEAKER_00: After he was denied, he was about to disqualify himself.
SPEAKER_00: Well, when did the disqualification take place?
SPEAKER_00: The moment he put God in a box.
SPEAKER_00: The moment you put God on your schedule, on your terms, disqualification is not far.
SPEAKER_00: Why?
SPEAKER_00: Because God can't use that.
SPEAKER_00: He can't work with that.
SPEAKER_00: He won't work with that.
SPEAKER_00: I don't know who this is for, but I'm I'm just the newspaper guy here tonight.
SPEAKER_00: I'm just bringing the message.
SPEAKER_00: You know, as I was reading this and reflecting on this and meditating this, I couldn't just but help but just think, God, you love us so much that you want us to receive your best.
SPEAKER_00: You want us to receive what you promised us.
SPEAKER_00: And then the sixth thing was to destroy him.
SPEAKER_00: Well, how was he going to be destroyed?
SPEAKER_00: If he'd have gone home, still a leper?
SPEAKER_00: Well, we know how that was going in.
SPEAKER_00: So we see the progression of the work of the enemy.
SPEAKER_00: In Naaman's preconceived, all of that came about because of the disappointment.
SPEAKER_00: And that was what I heard the Lord say tonight that he is dealing with the spirit of disappointment.
SPEAKER_00: I don't know who that's for, but God is dealing with that tonight.
SPEAKER_00: And the spirit of disappointment is so subtle that you don't even recognize that that's the root of what you're struggling with.
SPEAKER_00: You're on the struggle bus and your stop keeps coming up and you keep pulling the card.
SPEAKER_00: Remember anybody remember the old uh city buses when you have to pull the card to let the driver know this is my stop?
SPEAKER_00: You keep pulling the card to get off the bus and the driver's stopping, but you ain't getting off because of disappointment.
SPEAKER_00: Lord, I expected you to do it this way.
SPEAKER_00: And because you didn't do it this way, I'm disappointed.
SPEAKER_00: And some of you don't even know that's what it is.
SPEAKER_00: Verse 14.
SPEAKER_00: We finally get to the third progression.
SPEAKER_00: Now, thank God that Naaman had people that worked with him that was able to talk some sense into him.
SPEAKER_00: Say, thank God for good friends.
unknown: Thank God for good friends.
SPEAKER_00: Thank God for people that'll shoot straight with you and tell you the truth out of love and say it with a smile on their face, and if they have to.
SPEAKER_00: Naaman, are you sure you want to pass up on this?
SPEAKER_00: If God had asked you to do something else, are you serious right now?
SPEAKER_00: So verse 14.
SPEAKER_00: So he went down and dipped seven times in the Jordan.
SPEAKER_00: In other words, the third part of the progression to his milestone, he got up.
SPEAKER_00: Get up.
SPEAKER_00: He got he got it.
SPEAKER_00: He got with it.
SPEAKER_00: In other words, he had an attitude adjustment.
SPEAKER_00: Now, as I looked at that, I was saying, Father, thank you that that redemption is closed with attitude adjustments.
SPEAKER_00: It's not too late.
SPEAKER_00: I was reminded today that we've we've been doing these series on finances now.
SPEAKER_00: We're in our fourth week this Wednesday.
SPEAKER_00: What is God speaking to you?
SPEAKER_00: What instructions has he given you concerning your milestone that you need to make?
SPEAKER_00: I'm not meddling, I'm just preaching.
SPEAKER_00: So he went down and dipped seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God, according to the word of God.
SPEAKER_00: The minute you act in obedience and faith on the word, what happens?
SPEAKER_00: God says, I watch over my word to what?
SPEAKER_00: To perform it.
SPEAKER_00: The minute he acted on the word, the manifestation took place.
SPEAKER_00: It happened.
SPEAKER_00: And his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
SPEAKER_00: Get up.
SPEAKER_00: Just get up and do it.
SPEAKER_00: Whatever it is, God's asking you to do it.
SPEAKER_00: Just get up and do it.
SPEAKER_00: It may not be, it may be humiliating, and you know what?
SPEAKER_00: The only person it's gonna be humiliating to is your flesh, and the devil is the one whispering that in your ear.
SPEAKER_00: God is not a God to embarrass you.
SPEAKER_00: The Holy Spirit is a gentleman.
SPEAKER_00: He does not embarrass.
SPEAKER_00: Just do it, just obey.
SPEAKER_00: In John chapter 2, verses 1 through 11, it's the account of Jesus and the marriage ceremony, and they ran out of wine.
SPEAKER_00: And so the mother says, Hey Jesus, we we got a wine.
SPEAKER_00: Can you do that thing you do?
SPEAKER_00: Jesus said, Why are you bothering me?
SPEAKER_00: My time has not yet come.
SPEAKER_00: But I see some water pots over there.
SPEAKER_00: And so what did she say?
SPEAKER_00: Whatever he tells you to do, do it.
SPEAKER_00: Whatever he is telling you to do concerning your milestone, do it.
SPEAKER_00: Hurry up and do it.
SPEAKER_00: Well, I'm waiting on the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: No, you're not.
SPEAKER_00: I'm waiting on God.
SPEAKER_00: No, you're not.
SPEAKER_00: He's waiting on you.
SPEAKER_00: Do it.
SPEAKER_00: I want to hear the preacher say the window of opportunity must happen in the window of opportunity.
SPEAKER_00: Now, some of you will get That's on your way home.
SPEAKER_00: Okay, that was not a drive-by.
SPEAKER_00: In other words, when the window of opportunity presents itself, you need to take advantage of it, full advantage of the window of opportunity.
SPEAKER_00: There's an opportunity for that window of opportunity, and if you miss it, you miss it.
SPEAKER_00: Do it.
SPEAKER_00: You know, God's instructions may seem unorthodox, they may seem uncommon, they may seem a little uncomfortable.
SPEAKER_00: Think about the children of Israel.
SPEAKER_00: All of the years God had promised them, listen, when I bring you out, I'm going to repay.
SPEAKER_00: I'm going to restore.
SPEAKER_00: Reparations are coming.
SPEAKER_00: Reparations ain't new.
SPEAKER_00: That happened in the Bible.
SPEAKER_00: Reparations are coming.
SPEAKER_00: When I bring you out, I'm going to bring you out better than you went in.
SPEAKER_00: With interest.
SPEAKER_00: God's milestones come with interest.
SPEAKER_00: So when the children of Israel got ready to leave after God had done everything he could do to get Pharaoh to change his mind, when the children of Israel left, he said, Ask your neighbors.
SPEAKER_00: For a little something, something.
SPEAKER_00: Wealth transference took place in such a way that it was just totally, wow.
SPEAKER_00: That was a wealth transfer.
SPEAKER_00: Now, do you think that would have occurred if they had not done it?
SPEAKER_00: Well, I don't feel Lord, you know, these people are so sick of us.
SPEAKER_00: I I don't think I want to go ask them for anything.
SPEAKER_00: I'm just gonna pack my mule and just go.
SPEAKER_00: God said, Go ask them.
SPEAKER_00: Go ask them.
SPEAKER_00: Just do it.
SPEAKER_00: It may be uncomfortable, it may not even make sense.
SPEAKER_00: Job said, Though you slay me, yet I'm gonna trust you.
SPEAKER_00: Habakkuk said, Even though, yet will I just do it.
SPEAKER_00: And the last point here is in verse 15.
SPEAKER_00: Carol, can you come up?
SPEAKER_00: And he returned to the man of God, he and his aides, and came and stood before him, and he said, Indeed, I now know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel.
SPEAKER_00: Folks, the most important aspect of your milestone in receiving it is not for you.
SPEAKER_00: It's not even about you.
SPEAKER_00: You just get to have a part in it.
SPEAKER_00: You're just part of God's strategy and you get the benefit of obedience, but it's not really for you.
SPEAKER_00: Well, who's it for, Pastor Joseph?
SPEAKER_00: It's for all of these aides that were with him.
SPEAKER_00: All of the people that got to witness firsthand the healing power of God and what God can do when you obey.
SPEAKER_00: Hallelujah.
SPEAKER_00: The word says that if ye be willing and obedient, you will eat.
SPEAKER_00: Your milestone, you're not waiting on it, it's waiting on you.
SPEAKER_00: Thank you, Father.
SPEAKER_00: Salvations are tied to your milestone.
SPEAKER_00: Deliverance is tied to your milestone.
SPEAKER_00: Healing is tied to your milestone.
SPEAKER_00: It's not just, see, that that's that's how our God is.
SPEAKER_00: He's over the top.
SPEAKER_00: He's not gonna do for one or do part of what you need and not impact the rest of your house.
SPEAKER_00: Look what happened when Paul and Silas were in jail and the jailer.
SPEAKER_00: He and his household got saved.
SPEAKER_00: Your milestone is not just for you, you're just part of the strategy.