2 Kings 5:9-14 (ESV)
Proverb 16:18 (MSG)
15 February 2009
U.S. Army Chaplain (MAJ) Ken Harris
Fortress Chapel
F.O.B. Sykes
Tall-afar, Iraq
BIG IDEA: Humility will cause miraculous things to occur in the lives of believers, but pride will cause them to spiritually crash and burn.
REFERENCES: Sixth Sunday after Epiphany; Pride, Prescription and Promise; Isaiah 14:13-14 (KJV) – The pride of the creature who seeks to replace God as the center of the universe and deny the Lord the glory due Him; Genesis 3:4-5 KJV (The Original Sin) And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die. For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil; Luke 4:27 (ESV) And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”; Leviticus 13-14 (ESV) Laws About Leprosy and Laws for Cleansing Lepers;
James 4:10 (NIV) Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you; Proverbs 16:18 (ESV) Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall; Proverbs 11:2 (ESV) When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom; Proverbs 29:23 (ESV) One’s pride will bring him low, but he who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor; Proverbs 11:2 (ESV) When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom; Daniel 4:31 (ESV) While the words were still in the kings mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, “O King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: The kingdom has departed from you;
I. ANNOUNCE THE PERICOPE: 2 Kings 5:9-14 (ESV)
II. READ THE PERICOPE: 2 Kings 5:9-14 (ESV)
III. READ THE TEXT: 2 Kings 5:12 (ESV) Are not Abana and 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.
2 Kings 5:14 (ESV) So he went down and immersed himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; his flesh was restored like the flesh of a young boy, and he was clean.
Proverbs 16:18 (MSG), “First pride then the crash – the bigger the ego, the harder the fall.”
IV. PURPOSE: To motivate the hearers to affirm to others that miraculous things occur in the lives of believers when they humble themselves, but pride (and a bad attitude) will cause them to spiritually crash and burn.
V. SERMONIC THEME: “… The bigger the ego, the harder the fall.”
VI. INTRODUCTION:
My brothers and sisters, as believers are you AWARE that if you aren’t spiritually mindful and careful, you can allow PRIDE and a BAD ATTITUDE to cause you to SPIRITUALLY CRASH and BURN?
Just because we have lived for God in the past or have served Him faithfully in some capacity in the church (in the past) doesn’t excuse us from serving Him now - in the present.
What type of health situation or personal trauma does God need to allow or send our way … in order for us to be obedient to His Word and His Instructions?
Remember - “The bigger the ego, the harder the fall.”
For don’t you remember, in the Book of Isaiah, Chapter 14:13-14, Isaiah describes a morning star fallen from heaven and points out the swelling pride that led to its downfall:
For the Good Book says, “You said in your heart, I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.
******* TAKE 5 BEATS *******
MOVE 1: Therefore, in our Scripture today, we want to briefly discuss the 3 Ps:… PRIDE, PRESCRIPTION, and PROMISE … which occurred in the life of Naaman … the Syrian Officer… that believers, here in IRAQ, should be AWARE of … in order to avoid spiritually crashing and burning.
a. Now, the First P – which we want to briefly discuss in order to avoid spiritually crashing and burning, is a P …
b. … That … has nothing to do with a GROUP of Lions … or a great American Video dubbed “Lion Kings 2”
c. But, my brothers and sisters … the First P … has had everything to do with the downfall of many STRONG Believers since the beginning of time – PRIDE.
d. Someone has said that PRIDE and BAD ATTITUDE are two of Satan’s firmest ALLIES.
e. In fact, it has been said that … arrogance and PRIDE describe an ATTITUDE that Scripture carefully analyzes – and condemns.
f. Both the Old Testament and New Testament add to our understanding … of the nature of these self-exalting traits, which draw us away from God and godliness.
******* TAKE 5 BEATS *******
MOVE 2: It is worth noting while “humility will cause miraculous things to occur in the lives of believers, …
a. PRIDE (along with a bad attitude) will cause believers to spiritually crash and burn.
b. For don’t your remember … in the Gospel According to Luke, Chapter 4 and verse 27 … the Book says … “And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”
c. One of the definition of the word PRIDE as defined by Webster’s Dictionary is … a high or inordinate opinion of one’s own dignity; …
d. … or a high or inordinate opinion of one’s own importance, … as displayed in one’s bearing … and … conduct.
e. In other words, the manner in which a person act or carries himself can be viewed by others as arrogant, conceited or prideful.
f. Proverbs 16:18 in the Message Bible says, “First pride then the crash – the bigger the ego, the harder the fall.
g. In other words, “pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall (Proverbs 16:18).
******* TAKE 5 BEATS *******
MOVE 3: According to our proverbial writers, pride is not only dangerous; it is a sin. It is an evil to be hated … which leads to disgrace, and breeds arguments …
a. The bigger the ego, the harder the fall.
b. For who can ever forget the ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance) of how Naaman’s Leprosy was cured?
c. For don’t you remember, in one of the Syrian Army’s raids on Israel they captured a little Jewish Girl … who became Aid de Camp for General Naaman’s Wife.
d. The book says that one day the little girl – who apparently became very fond of the General …
e. … - said to Naaman’s wife that she hopes the General would go to the prophet who lived in Israel (Samaria) … and he would heal him of his disease.
******** TAKE 5 BEATS *******
MOVE 4: When Naaman’s wife shared with him what was said, he immediately went to the President of Syria …
a. …. and reported the ISR received from the Jewish Girl.
b. Afterwards, the President of Syria wrote a letter to the President of Israel requesting his influence …
b. … In assisting his General in receiving his healing from the disease of leprosy.
c. The President of Israel had no clue of what the Syrian President was alluding to and assumed that he was just picking on him to launch a war between their two countries.
d. When the prophet Elisha heard what had happened,
e. … he sent word to the President of Israel for him to send the General Officer to him, and he would show him that there is a prophet in Israel.
f. So, Naaman went … along with his PSD (Personal Security Division) and their horses and chariot and stopped at the door to Elisha’s home.
g. But, Elisha didn’t go outside to meet the General. For God had already revealed to Elisha that Naaman was full of PRIDE and fixed on himself.
h. Therefore, because Elisha didn’t go outside to greet the General, his actions enraged the General to the extent that the General initially refused to hear God because his PRIDE was insulted.
i. So, the First P that Believers in Iraq need to be aware of … in order to avoid spiritually crashing and burning is … PRIDE.
******* TAKE 5 BEATS *******
MOVE 5: Now, the Second P that Believers in Iraq need to be aware is the PRESCRIPTION.
a. For don’t you remember, the special duty Soldier went out to the GENERAL with a PRESCRIPTION that read:
b. … “Go Wash Yourself in the Jordan River 7 times …”
c. Now, my brothers and sisters, The PRESCRIPTION wasn’t intended to CURE HIM.
d. The prescriptions were INSTRUCTIONS.
e. Someone once said that the WORD B-I-B-L-E … is an acronym for Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth.
******* TAKE 5 BEATS *******
MOVE 6: So, Naaman’s Prescription was simply God’s way of monitoring the General’s Obedience to His Word.
a. Just as the Bible, today, is God’s Way of monitoring our obedience to his Word before leaving earth.
b. For the Good Book PRESCRIPTION for us instructs us to “forsake not to assemble ourselves in the congregation of the righteous”
c. For (Romans 10:17 ESV) Faith comes from hearing, and hearing from the Word of God.
d. We can’t build FAITH MUSCLES if we aren’t going to Bible Study and attending FAITH FUNCTIONS.
e. People that want God’s help should be open to following God’s instructions.
f. So, the Second P that believers in Iraq need to be aware of in order to avoid spiritually crashing and burning with PRIDE and a bad attitude is the PRESCRIPTION.
******* TAKE 5 BEATS *******
MOVE 7: Now, the Third and Final P that believers in Iraq need to be aware of …. Is the PROMISE.
a. Who can ever forget the PROMISE that was expressed to General Naaman:
b ... Thou shalt be clean.
c. In other words, if we are obedient to the Word of God;
d. We can (like General Naaman) expect the PROMISE of God to be fulfilled in our lives.
e. Likewise, a PROMISE is expressed to each of us today.
f. For the Bible PROMISES … if we … confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord … and believe in our heart that God raised him from the dead, … we will be saved.
g. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.
h. So, the Third and Final P … that believers in Iraq … need to be aware of … in order to avoid spiritually crashing and burning … with Pride and a bad attitude … is the PROMISE.
******* TAKE 5 BEATS *******
CELEBRATION: The Bible says in 1 Peter 5:5 that “God oppose the proud, but give grace to the humble”.
If you are in here today, and you know that the Lord is speaking to you … about your PRIDE and BAD Attitude …
… take a page out of General Naaman’s Diary … and do what he did … do away with your PRIDE and allow God to fix your Bad Attitude this day forward …
… For the Bible says in Proverbs 8:13 RSV – Pride and arrogance … and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate.
The Psalmist says in Psalm 59:12 RSV– “For the sin of their mouths, the words of their lips, let them be trapped in their pride.
In other words, God will humble those who don’t humble themselves:
For don’t you remember: Isaiah 2:11 (RSV) says “The haughty looks of man shall be brought low, and the pride of men shall be humbled; and The Lord alone will be exalted in that day.”
The wrongness of self-centered pride, on a spiritual level, leads to disregard, disrespect, and disobedience to God.
Self-centered PRDE is what basically transformed Lucifer into the wicked Satan after he became too impressed with himself for he said: “I will make myself like the Most High” (Isaiah 14:14 RSV).
The bigger the ego, the harder the fall …
