Why? Understanding Life Events (II)
2 Kings 5
6-7 -09
Intro
Isa 55:8-9 ¡§¡¥For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,¡¦ says the LORD. ¡¥For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.¡¦¡¨
Last Sunday we began developing a frame of reference for examining the events of life. Often we are thinking at one level and God¡¦s thinking and acting in terms we don¡¦t understand. We walk through an experience and after it¡¦s over we look back and ask, ¡§What was that all about?¡¨ Sometimes an ordeal leaves us baffled as to why God allowed any of it. We will never have all the answers in this life. That¡¦s why the just must live by faith. Seeing through a glass darkly, we have to simply trust the Lord with some things. But it really helps to have a frame of reference in our lives that gives assurance and meaning to life¡¦s events. There are three things God is always doing in people¡¦s lives. For me personally, looking a life through this paradigm has been extremely helpful. Regardless of whether the scenario seems negative or positive from our own perspective, you can count on it; God is always doing these three things:
1. He is bringing people to moral choices.
2. He is revealing Himself to people.
3. He is preparing the redeemed for eternity with Him.
Last week we used the story of Naboth and King Ahab to illustrate point one. In that story we saw how God orchestrated events that required moral choices from all the players in the drama. We started talking about point two and ran out of time. So there we begin today.
Why does God providentially walk you through the events of life you find yourself in? What is God doing where you work? What is God always doing?
II. He is revealing Himself to people.
The heavens declare the glory of God. He must be awesome to be able to create galaxies that make this earth seem smaller than a grain of sand. There is a certain amount we can know about God by simply looking at the glory of His creation. But God is primarily known through His activity in people¡¦s lives. The Bible is a record of God¡¦s work in people¡¦s lives. And it lets us know a lot about His character, His motives, and His purposes. How do people know you? They know you through your interaction with them. If you were just lying in a coffin in a stiff, motionless condition, people could never get to know the real you. If they saw some of the work you had done¡Xa painting you made, a room you decorated, a poem you wrote¡Xthey would know some about you. But the best way for people to know you is through your interaction with them. The same is true of God. He interacts with people in the context of providential events¡Xand in doing so reveals Himself to them
When the canon was completed, God did not stop working in people¡¦s lives; God did not stop revealing Himself in the events of people¡¦s experience. The same God who providentially ordered Joseph¡¦s steps is also ordering your steps. The same God that used Joseph as a channel for revealing Himself to multitudes of people is still at work. I want to take a couple of Bible stories to illustrate what I¡¦m talking about. We could do that by going back over the story of Naboth that we used last week. At the same time God is calling people to moral choice, He is also revealing Himself to them. But to keep it interesting we will use a couple of other stories from the Bible.
The first is the story of Israel¡¦s exodus from Egypt. When we read the Exodus story, we find the Lord saying something like this several times, ¡§Then you will know that I am the Lord.¡¨ God was arranging events so that when it was all said and done they would know something about Him. Remember when God appeared to Moses in the Burning Bush? God sends Moses on a mission; He tells Moses to go to Pharaoh and tell him to let Israel go. If you recall, Moses didn¡¦t want to go; he didn¡¦t feel qualified; it didn¡¦t seem like a good plan; it didn¡¦t seem like it would work. But God assures Moses that He will go with him and accomplish the task.
Now in Ex. 5 Moses obeys and goes to Pharaoh with the message. How many remember what happens next? Moses hits a brick wall. The circumstances get worse instead of better. Now instead of the hard work of making bricks, the Israeli slaves have to gather their own straw as well. The Israelites are very upset with Moses. Moses goes to the Lord with the ¡§why¡¨ question. Ex 5:22-23 ¡§So Moses returned to the LORD and said, ¡¥Lord, why have You brought trouble on this people? Why is it You have sent me? 23 For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has done evil to this people; neither have You delivered Your people at all.¡¦¡¨
We know the end of this story so we have to pause and think about what Moses must have felt at this place in the story. He didn¡¦t want to go to Egypt and challenge Pharaoh. God told him that He would be with him. When he tries to do the will of God, it¡¦s a disaster. That¡¦s Moses¡¦ situation at this point. Have you ever been there? You follow God¡¦s leading the best you know how; and it does not seem to be working. What is God doing in this situation? Yes, He¡¦s in the process of delivering Israel. But in the bigger picture, He is making Himself known. Ex 6:7 God says, ¡§I will take you as My people, and I will be your God. Then you shall know that I am the LORD your God who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.¡¨
God was not just making Himself known to the Israelites either. He was in all this also revealing Himself to the Egyptians. Ex 7:4-5 ¡§But Pharaoh will not heed you, so that I may lay My hand on Egypt and bring My armies and My people, the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments. 5 And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch out My hand on Egypt and bring out the children of Israel from among them." God, if you already know that Pharaoh is not going to cooperate, why go through all this ordeal? Why don¡¦t you just knock them all dead and let us walk out of here without all this trouble? Because I am using all this to reveal myself to those people and to you. It¡¦s mostly about Me making myself known to people. In Ex 7:5 the signs were so miraculous Pharaoh¡¦s magicians could no longer deny that it was God. God could have gotten Israel out of Egypt without all the plagues; but through all this God showed Israel and the Egyptians who He is.
We know that this whole Exodus story became a testimony of who God is for all the generations that would follow. Here we are over 3,000 years later talking about it. But what¡¦s God doing with Pharaoh? God clearly tells us in Rom 9:16 ¡§But indeed for this purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.¡¨ Pharaoh made his moral choices; but beyond that, God hardened his heart to create events in which He would reveal Himself more fully. The power of God would not have been demonstrated so fully if Pharaoh had given in after the first plague.
Imagine the impression it must have made on the Israeli¡¦s minds to be standing on the banks of the Red Sea in a state of panic because Pharaoh¡¦s army is closing in, then watch God part that Red Sea for their salvation. Imagine the thoughts that went through their mind later when the watch the bodies of those Egyptian soldiers wash up on the shore after God destroyed them in that same Red Sea. It all revealed some things about God.
So what was God doing in the Exodus story? One thing He was doing was making Himself known to people.
I want to go back to the movie, ¡§Faith Like Potatoes,¡¨ and give you another incident that happened in Angus¡¦ life. After he comes to the Lord he boldly gives his testimony to all those working with him, including Simeon, his foreman. In the scene we¡¦re about to watch Angus and his family are enjoying a quiet evening at home during a rain storm. That is suddenly interrupted by tragic news. Show scene 17 (59:23 to 102:45).
How was God making Himself known in those events? He is the God who raises from the dead. He is indeed a powerful God just as Angus had told those people. He cares about the needs of all people¡Xred, yellow, black, and white.
Now look with me at an incident that occurred in Syria; it¡¦s recorded in 2 Kings 5. Follow with me as we begin reading in verse 1.
¡§Now Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great and honorable man in the eyes of his master, because by him the LORD had given victory to Syria. He was also a mighty man of valor, but a leper.¡¨ What are the circumstances of this man, Naaman¡¦s life?
„« Commander of Syrian Army (Israel¡¦s enemy)
God has promoted him to place of influence & visibility
Who gave this pagan his victories-- by him the LORD had given victory to Syria
„« Honorable in the eyes of the King
Has King¡¦s ear
Has King¡¦s favor
Highly regarded by the King of Syria
„« Courageous Person
Mighty man of valor
„« Antithetically¡Xa Leper
Has Terminal Illness
Now pause with me and let¡¦s ask the question together: What is God doing in all this?
He is providentially arranging circumstances so that He can reveal Himself to the Syrians and we will see in a moment to the Israelites as well.
Scene 2: Beginning with verse 2.
2 And the Syrians had gone out on raids, and had brought back captive a young girl from the land of Israel. She waited on Naaman’s wife. 3 Then she said to her mistress, "If only my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria! For he would heal him of his leprosy." 4 And Naaman went in and told his master, saying, "Thus and thus said the girl who is from the land of Israel."
Now we have another set of circumstances coming into play. What are they?
„« The Syrians go out on raids against Israel and bring back captives.
In itself that¡¦s not a good thing.
But God is working all things together to fulfill His purposes.
„« The raiders just happen to go to a certain village and just happen to capture this little Jewish girl.
„« They just happen to assign her to Naaman¡¦s wife as her maid.
„« She just happens to have a profound faith in God.
„« She just happens to have a genuine concern for the interest of her captors.
„« She just happens to have enough courage to testify to her boss, Namaan¡¦s wife.
„« Namaan and his wife just happened to believe the young girl.
I say that¡¦s too many coincidences to use the words ¡§just happens.¡¨ God is orchestrating a scenario so that He can reveal Himself to these people. The events are not happen change. The events are designed by God to fulfill His purposes. Acts 15:18 "Known to God from eternity are all His works.¡¨
I like this young Jewish girl. Instead of whining about how unfair her life is, she testifies about the power of God to unbelievers. It¡¦s easier to testify to people under your power than to those over you. But she didn¡¦t let that stop her.
Are there other players in this plot? Let¡¦s read verses 5-7. Namaan shares with the King of Syria the Jewish girl¡¦s testimony.
5 Then the king of Syria said, "Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel."
„« Now we¡¦ve got the King of Syria involved.
So he departed and took with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten changes of clothing. 6 Then he brought the letter to the king of Israel, which said,
Now be advised, when this letter comes to you, that I have sent Naaman my servant to you, that you may heal him of his leprosy.
7 And it happened, when the king of Israel read the letter, that he tore his clothes and said, "Am I God, to kill and make alive, that this man sends a man to me to heal him of his leprosy? Therefore please consider, and see how he seeks a quarrel with me."
„« Now we¡¦ve got another King very emotionally engaged in this matter¡XThe King of Israel. He¡¦s no longer complacent about his religion, is he? He gets to find out how real His faith is. He gets to find out some things about God that he obviously doesn¡¦t know at this point.
Verse 8,
8 So it was, when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, "Why have you torn your clothes? Please let him come to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel."
„« A prophet, Elisha, has now become involved. Elisha¡¦s message to the King of Israel is this. Please let him come to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel." This Naaman is going to know some things he didn¡¦t know before this is all over.
Verses 9-12
9 Then Naaman went with his horses and chariot, and he stood at the door of Elisha’s house. 10 And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, "Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you, and you shall be clean." 11 But Naaman became furious, and went away and said, "Indeed, I said to myself, ’He will surely come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leprosy.’ 12 Are not the Abanah and the Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?" So he turned and went away in a rage.
„« Now Naaman is learning something about the God of Israel. He does things His way, not our way. He calls the shots; I don¡¦t care how much of a big shot you think you are. He requires humility. Naaman is the number 2 man in the kingdom of Syria; and Elisha doesn¡¦t even come to the door to greet him. God is revealing what about Himself? For one thing, He¡¦s letting Naaman know that He is no respecter of persons. Kings and generals bow to Him just like peasants do.
Are there others getting to know God in all this?
Verse 13
13 And his servants came near and spoke to him, and said, "My father, if the prophet had told you to do something great, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ’Wash, and be clean’?"
„« There is a whole entourage of people with General Naaman. And they are now engaged in the events.
Verse 14
14 So he went down and dipped seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
„« Tell me what Naaman knows about God now that he didn¡¦t know before.
He says it himself in verse 15
"Indeed, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel.¡¨
The revelation of God continues from there.
„« Naaman tries to give riches to Elisha; but Elisha refuses.
Naaman learns something about the grace of God, doesn¡¦t he?
„« Gehazi, Elisha¡¦s servant, makes a moral choice (I¡¦m tempted to revert back to last week¡¦s sermon). He runs after Naaman; tells a lie and gets the riches.
What does Gehazi learn about God?
„« He learns, ¡§God is not mocked. Whatever a man sows, he reaps.¡¨
Who remembers what happens to Gehazi?
As a judgment on his greed and deception, Naaman¡¦s leprosy came on him.
¡§The wages of sin are death.¡¨
Now look at all the people that God reveals Himself to through this series of events.
The King of Israel is going to want to know what happened. Who knows who he told? Certainly when Naaman returned to Syria healed, there were a lot of people that got some revelation of God as the healer.
Now there was a lot of activity in all this. Was it important that Naaman got healed? Yes it was. But the bigger thing God was doing is this: He was revealing Himself to a whole lot of people. He was making Himself known through His activities in Naaman¡¦s life.
We could use many other stories from the Bible to illustrate our point. It¡¦s so obvious in Joseph¡¦s life and Daniel¡¦s life and Nehemiah. Walk through the events of Naomi¡¦s life and you will see God revealing Himself to people like Ruth. While God was revealing Himself to Jonah, He was also revealing Himself to some fishermen and to the city of Nineveh.
Of course, the ultimate revelation of God came through the life of Christ. All the events surrounding His life, His death, His resurrection were designed to reveal the Father. But God is still revealing Himself. And the point of this sermon is that He is revealing Himself through the providential events of your life. It¡¦s not just a bunch of haphazard, meaningless stuff. God is at work behind the scenes.
We are establishing a frame of reference for viewing life¡¦s events. We are putting on glasses that enable us to see life better from God¡¦s perspective. God leads people into circumstances where He can make Himself known to people and reveal Himself more fully to you. Paul¡¦s stated purpose in life was to know God more fully. Phil 3:8-11
¡§Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.¡¨
Now in that verse Paul touches upon my third point, ¡§...being conformed to His death, 11 if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.¡¨
III. He is preparing the redeemed for eternity.
We will not deal with this activity of God today. I mention it so that you can keep the three activities of God in this series before you.
Conclusion
We have talked about a framework for understanding the human experience. When you ponder the events of your life look for these three activities of God.
(1) Choice: He is bringing people to moral choices.
(2) Revelation: He is revealing Himself to people. Of course, with that revelation comes the responsibility of moral choice. These three are all interrelated.
(3) Preparation: He is preparing His people to spend eternity with Him.
Are there any events in your life that you need to rethink using those three designs of God? I have found this: when I put life¡¦s experiences in this framework, I get two results. (1) It¡¦s easier to commit my way to the Lord and trust Him through the baffling experiences of life. (2) It¡¦s easier to forgive people because we can say as Joseph ¡§You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good.¡¨
Communion
For FOOTNOTES/SOURCES go to www.GatewayNixa.org
Richard Tow
Gateway Foursquare Church
Nixa, Missouri
