April 18, 2010
Morning Worship
Text: 2 Kings 5:1-19
Subject: Accepting the Work of God
Title: Getting the Flesh Out of the Way
One of the great sermon topics of these days is the subject of spiritual warfare. A lot of people like to talk about it, but I wonder if we really understand everything we need to understand about it. The apostle Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus saying, 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. The battle that we engage in on a daily basis is not a battle against other humans, though normally we end up in a struggle against people. Our battle is against what is happening in the spirit realm that causes people to say or do things against us, or, it may be the enemy taking direct aim at your life through sickness, finances, relationships, etc. The important question is not as much of whom we are fighting against as much as it is how we are fighting the battle.
When I was young I knew a lot of men who were fighters. Every one of them thought that they were the toughest and strongest of them all. Little did they know that there was always one who was a little tougher just waiting to set them in their place. There was a boy in our class in high school who was quite intimidating. He was a fighter and everyone knew it. He fought just to be fighting. Everyone was afraid of him. That all changed one day when this big bully was looking to pick a fight with a quiet, reserved sophomore in PE class. This boy was slender built and never caused a problem. But, when the bully became aggressive the younger boy hit him one time and it was all over. He was out like a light. I later learned that this boy had been taking self-defense lessons so that when the time arose, he knew how to take care of himself. You see, it wasn’t him as much as it was what he had learned that was manifesting itself through him.
I want to share with you today the story of Naaman, the commander of the Syrian army. In this story we want to uncover the secret of being able to win a spiritual battle that manifests itself in the flesh. In order to do that we must learn to get our flesh out of the way.
Lord, open my eyes to see and my ears to hear what the Spirit is saying to the church.
I. A CONTRAST IN PEOPLE In verse 1 and 2 we are introduced to two very different people. The first is Naaman. He is the mighty commander of the armed forces for the king of Aram. In just one verse of scripture we learn as much as we need to know about him. Now Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded, because through him the LORD had given victory to Aram. He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy. He second person mentioned is a polar opposite of the great battle tested general. She is a little Jewish girl who had been taken from her family in a raid conducted by the soldiers under Naaman’s command. 2Now bands from Aram had gone out and had taken captive a young girl from Israel, and she served Naaman’s wife. Though they are vastly different – one a commander, the other a slave, they have a common bond that may be overlooked. Both of them have had their lives taken away from them by a powerful enemy. Many of you have experienced the same thing. The enemy of your soul has come to attack you and brought sickness, financial distress, emotional dysfunction, family disorder or general chaos to your life because that is just what he does. He has come to steal kill and destroy you and every part of your life. It’s not anything new. Since the fall of Adam satan has been at work to bring darkness into a once perfect but now much less than perfect world. Romans 5:12, Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men … As we look at the differences between Naaman and the servant girl I want you to see this. Naaman was a valiant soldier… I can picture him coming up through the ranks in the army, making a name for himself at every level of command he was placed in. But the way the passage reads leads me to think that Naaman, though he was a valiant soldier, had now come up against an enemy he couldn’t defeat. He had resigned himself to the cold hard facts. He had leprosy and there wasn’t anything he could do about it but accept it as a way of life and give in to it. However, the little girl who served his wife, the one who had every reason to be dejected and sullen – who had every reason to hate her captors - the one who had been taken from her parents – she saw things with different eyes. Naaman was looking at his condition and saw no hope. The little girl saw his condition (she paid no attention to her own situation) and spoke out in faith. It would have been very easy for her to respond to his disease by allowing her flesh to dictate what she said or did. But she refused to walk according to the flesh. 3She said to her mistress, “If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.” The greatest first step for anyone to take when the enemy is on the attack is to do just what this little girl did – she responded by faith. Look at the differences between Naaman and the girl. He was a mighty warrior, she was a little girl; he was her master, she was his slave; he was the victor, she was the victim; but when it comes down to what really matters, he walked by sight and she walked by faith. If only he would go and see Elisha, God would do a mighty miracle for him. She didn’t entertain any doubt. She knew what God was able to do through His prophet.
II. A CONFLICT OF POWER Naaman must have been excited about the possibility of being healed. I’m sure that he had never heard of such a thing. The fact that God is reaching out to Naaman through the words of his servant girl show us that God has always been concerned for the salvation of all people. In Luke chapter 4 Jesus confronted His opposition by saying this, 24“I tell you the truth,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown. 25I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. 26Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. 27And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.” The people of Israel had rejected God so now God is going to show them His love and concern for mankind by healing a pagan. Look at how many people were touched by the message the servant girl shared. 1) Naaman’s wife, Naaman, The King of Aram, and the king of Israel. 4Naaman went to his master and told him what the girl from Israel had said. 5“By all means, go,” the king of Aram replied. “I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” So Naaman left, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold and ten sets of clothing. 6The letter that he took to the king of Israel read: “With this letter I am sending my servant Naaman to you so that you may cure him of his leprosy.” Problem: The message of healing was quickly obscured by protocol. Everything had to be done according to the diplomatic rules of the time, and in the process the initial message was lost. You see, when word came to Joram, king of Israel he immediately became defensive. 7As soon as the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his robes and said, “Am I God? Can I kill and bring back to life? Why does this fellow send someone to me to be cured of his leprosy? See how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me!” There was no mention of the prophet Elisha in the correspondence sent to the king of Israel. The King of Aram (Syria) didn’t know the difference or else he assumed that the king of Israel would know what to do. But he didn’t know. 2 Kings 3:1, 1Joram son of Ahab became king of Israel in Samaria in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and he reigned twelve years. 2He did evil in the eyes of the LORD… He didn’t know the LORD so how could he have any understanding of the healing power of God? He thought the situation was hopeless. 8When Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his robes, he sent him this message: “Why have you torn your robes? Have the man come to me and he will know that there is a prophet in Israel.” Here is the conflict. Naaman wants to be healed. The King of Israel looks like the right person to go to, but can’t do anything. The prophet Elisha can but isn’t approached. God is waiting to heal but is hindered because of protocol. They chose to walk according to the flesh instead of walking in the Spirit. Maybe you don’t want to hear this but I am going to say it for your benefit. The church often suffers from the same mentality. You want to receive something from God so you respond to the invitation to come forward for prayer and to be anointed with oil, thinking that is somehow going to get you what you want. Or you think to yourself, “what must I do to receive from God?” If you want to do something in order to receive from God you are walking in the flesh. You are in conflict with what God wants to do. If, on the other hand, you come forward for prayer for the purpose of touching God, then the prayer becomes effective. That’s what happened with the woman who had an issue of blood. When she heard about Jesus she touched Him. The Syro-Phoenecian woman had a daughter who was possed. When she heard about Jesus she came to Him. They didn’t seek out a healing ministry. They didn’t get in a prayer line. They sought out Jesus to have contact with Him. Listen to me; I believe that God uses prayer lines and the anointing of oil and the laying on of hands in order to restore lives, but if that just becomes a form of protocol instead of a way to touch Jesus, then you have become sidetracked. You have submitted to the flesh instead of the spirit man. 9So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha’s house.
III. A CONFRONTATION OF WILLS In Naaman’s mind he has done everything right (flesh)! He went to his king (flesh); He sent him to the king of Israel (flesh), and now he is going to see the prophet. His mindset was strictly cemented in outward appearances (flesh). Everything was done properly. I can only imagine the outrage that was boiling in him when he went to the prophet and this happened. 10Elisha sent a messenger to say to him… After going through all the right channels, all he gets is a messenger? And look at the message… “Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.” (spirit). It doesn’t make sense does it? If Elisha had appeared in person perhaps he could have explained it in a way that Naaman would have understood. But he didn’t. 11But Naaman went away angry and said, “I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. 12Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than any of the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?” So he turned and went off in a rage. Why was Naaman so angry? Because of two words… ““I thought”… He had that preconceived notion as to how the healing should take place. He knew what was right… But God did it this way for a reason. 1 Corinthians 1:26-31, 26Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29so that no one may boast before him. 30It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.” There is a spiritual principle found in Romans 8 that explains what goes on inside a person. 1Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. The law of the Spirit of life is when we allow the grace of God through the completed work of the cross to flow through us and work in us. The law of sin and death is the works of the flesh – things that we do on our own to try to be more saved, or more loved, or more healed, or more spiritual. The only way for that to happen is to allow God’s grace to work in you and through you. Anything less is flesh – and it is the law of sin and death.
IV. A CONFORMING OF MINDS Do you surround yourself with godly friends who aren’t afraid to give you scriptural advice even when it may hurt? 13Naaman’s servants went to him and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be cleansed’!” The reason it is so difficult for us to put the flesh aside and walk in the Spirit is that we don’t realize that we are in the flesh. Let me give you a scenario: You are going through a difficult period in your life, sickness, financial struggles, bad relationships… it looks like the wheels are falling off the wagon of your life. So you think, “I need to pray more and read my bible. Then things will get better.” So you spend an extra hour in the evening along with the hour in the morning you spend praying. Things don’t get any better. So you double the time spent in prayer. No change. The next thing you know you are spending three hours in the morning, three hours in the middle of the day and three hours at night in prayer and study. At the end of the day you are exhausted from all your hard work of prayer. The next morning you get up and start all over again. What have you been doing? Though it may look extremely spiritual on the surface, you have been trying to elicit the promises of God by works – doing something to earn those promises, when all God wants you to do is to stand on His word and accept His promises by depending on His grace that is flowing through you. Am I saying that you shouldn’t pray? No, prayer releases God’s power in the world to accomplish His will. But when you pray you then must allow grace to flow through you in order for change to come. You cannot do it. That’s flesh and that is destined to fail. Let’s look at the rest of Naaman’s story. 14So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy.
15Then Naaman and all his attendants went back to the man of God. He stood before him and said, “Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel. Please accept now a gift from your servant.”
16The prophet answered, “As surely as the LORD lives, whom I serve, I will not accept a thing.” And even though Naaman urged him, he refused.
17“If you will not,” said Naaman, “please let me, your servant, be given as much earth as a pair of mules can carry, for your servant will never again make burnt offerings and sacrifices to any other god but the LORD. 18But may the LORD forgive your servant for this one thing: When my master enters the temple of Rimmon to bow down and he is leaning on my arm and I bow there also—when I bow down in the temple of Rimmon, may the LORD forgive your servant for this.”
19“Go in peace,” Elisha said.
Three things that happened here.
1. Naaman was obedient to God’s word even when it didn’t make sense. 14So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy. That’s walking by faith in the spirit.
2. God not only healed him, but He transformed his thinking. “Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel…
3. Naaman made a commitment to continue to walk with the Lord. “Please let me, your servant, be given as much earth as a pair of mules can carry, for your servant will never again make burnt offerings and sacrifices to any other god but the LORD.
I haven’t often commented on the fact that it seems that our culture has influenced the church in its willingness to trust God for all things. We live in the John Wayne society, a society of individuals who can do it all on their own without any help from anybody. That’s what defines strength.
Now that I have thought about it even more I must backtrack. It is not our society that has influenced the church. It is our sinful nature, the flesh that has influenced society. It is the desire that we have in our fallen nature to do things on our own that has brought our culture to this point.
John Mason Brown was a drama critic and speaker well known for his witty and informative lectures on theatrical topics. One of his first important appearances as a lecturer was at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Brown was pleased, but also rather nervous, and his nerves were not helped when he noticed by the light of the slide projector that someone was copying his every gesture. After a time he broke off his lecture and announced with great dignity that if anyone was not enjoying the talk, he was free to leave. Nobody did, and the mimicking continued. It was another 10 minutes before Brown realized that the mimic was his own shadow!
Was Brown’s shadow real? Of course. Does a shadow have the power to control a person’s actions? Of course not. It can only mimic us. But in Brown’s case, his shadow did take control momentarily. Why? Because he allowed himself to be so distracted -- "addicted," if you will - by it that he completely forgot what he was supposed to be about. That’s a pretty good description of the sin nature we carry within us as redeemed people. It can cause havoc, even though it has been made powerless by our identification with Christ.
Today in the Word, May 17, 1992.
Some of you may have great needs today and would like prayer for those needs. Are you willing to set aside your own efforts to allow grace to flow through your to accomplish that work?
Some of you would admit today that you know you need to grow closer to God – that you aren’t living like He would like you to live. You can’t do it by changing the things you do or the way you live unless you allow grace to work in you.
Maybe some have been trying to earn God’s approval by the good things you do. It won’t happen unless you are willing to set aside the flesh and walk in the Spirit by the grace of God – by giving yourself totally to Him and not relying on “self” for anything.
Romans 8:5-11, 5Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; 7the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.
9You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. 10But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. 11And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.
