EXTREME MAKEOVER
Jerry Watts
2 Kings 5:1-14
* Most of us have watched, maybe with interest or intrigued, one of the shows which boast of giving an extreme makeover. I say ‘one’ of the shows because there are several and they makeover people’s bodies to people’s houses. It would seem that they can take a person, make them look really homey, and then transform them into this ravishing beauty ready for the red carpet. They can take a 57 year old and make her look 37. It reminds me of that old story of the Older Mountain man bringing his family to town for the first time. They walked into a sky-scrapper and were awed by the sight. Mom & the kids were taking in the sights, but dad kept watching this strange door which would open – people would get in, then close, and then open and the people would look different. He noticed an elderly woman on a walker go into this room, the door shut automatically, and when the doors opened about 5 minutes later a young & stunningly beautiful woman stepped out. About that time his oldest son came & asked, “Dad, what you doing just standing here?” Dad said, “Nothing, go get your mom.”
* Know what my mom told me? “Beauty is skin deep while ugly is to the bone.” To put that in modern day terms, it’s amazing what money can buy but it’s staggering what money cannot buy. We can buy a new nose, mouth, eyes, and other body parts, but who we are inside remains the same, UNLESS the remaking is done from the inside out. Let’s take a look at Naaman, see him for what he was & is.
1. A Needy Man – At first blush this man doesn’t appear to be needy (which is the norm for men today). We avoid admitting our need. However, Naaman was;
a. A man of distinction – Look at all the good words spoken about him. He was the ‘Commander of the King’s Army’ – in other words he was the general. In Biloxi, we had a General to visit worship on more than one occasion. When we went to his house to speak with him about his salvation & church membership, he assured us he knew the Lord, but stated that he really couldn’t join a church because he had to be seen at the base chapel on a regular basis. Being a General is a big deal. Look at all the superlative the text hangs on Naaman; a great man, highly regarded, victorious soldier, and a brave warrior. Naaman was probably the guest of notoriety at all the big dinners because he was well-known and well-thought of. He was the general every boy wanted to be like. He looked really good, from a distance. That is worth considering, ‘from a distance.’ Yet, he was also;
b. A man with a disease – The disease Naaman had-was a tough one. HCSB calls it a skin disease, but other translations call it leprosy. With respect to the Hebrew writers and the English translator, in recent days it has been discovered that while this hideous disease manifests itself on the skin, it is actually a disease of the peripheral nervous system. The impact of it is that your extremities lose their ability to feel. You don’t hurt, so you have no pain, and the results are devastating.
* If you can’t feel and a bone breaks, you don’t know it so you don’t know to get it looked at, so blood poisoning sets it and you finally realize something is wrong when you smell the flesh dying. If not treated, it’s deadly.
* Naaman had leprosy. Now compare leprosy to sin (one disease to another). Leprosy seems to be to the body what sin is to the soul. The more you sin, the less you ‘feel’ the guilt of sin. If sin is not treated, it is deadly. Naaman, with all his prestige, was a man just like you & me – he was needy because he had a disease that he couldn’t cure. He’s just like us, when he realized his dilemma, he became;
c. A man who was desperate – It is amazing what you’ll do if you are desperate.
* Picture the scene: It is in the recreation room of a Californian retirement facility. Four ladies are playing bridge and chatting and keeping an eye on the flow of people in and out of the area. Soon an elderly gentleman wanders into the room. They all recognize him for a newcomer and they all perk up. One of the ladies says, “Hello there. You’re new here, aren’t you?” He smiles and replies that he is, indeed. He had just moved in that morning. Another one of the ladies says, “Where did you live before you moved in?” He says, “I was just released from San Quentin, where I spent the last twenty years.” A third lady perks up at this and say, “Oh, is that so? What were you in for?” He says, “I murdered my wife.” The fourth lady sits up in her chair, smiles and say, “Oh, then you’re single?”
* The story is told of a man in a fancy restaurant who started to choke on a bone. A doctor rushed over, identified himself as a doctor, and reassured the man that he was going to be all right. He performed the Heimlich Maneuver and the bone popped out.
* As the man's breath and voice returned he said, "I'm ever so grateful, doctor, how can I ever repay you?" The doctor smiled and said, "I'll settle for one-tenth of what you were willing to pay while you were choking." It's true, isn't it, that when you're facing a crisis (especially a life-threatening crisis), you would give everything you have to get through it. Money is no object! When we are desperate we listen to people we would have never listened to before, we pay what we would have never paid, and we do what we would never have done. Naaman was desperate enough to listen to one of his servant girls. He knew his life was quickly passing without help – so he listened.
* How about you? Are you desperate? Most of us are not. We feel that we have a handle on life and dismiss the thought that we are needy. And yet, the disease of sin is either causing us to lose our ability to feel guilt OR it has already caused us to lose our shame. The result is; we are anything but desperate for God.
* The payment for sin is still judgment, punishment, and death. Sin does & will kill – YOU! You are needy – even today. Naaman began as need & then he become a-
2. A Normal Man – It’s not enough to know your needy because the normal response;
a. Looks to the wrong person – The girl told Naaman to go to the prophet in Samaria not the King of Aram. Somehow our human intuition betrays us because when we have a problem, we tend to go to the most influential person we know thinking he/she can fix it. Naaman responded just like we do and headed to the King because he looked to the King for his support. Who is your support?
b. Locates the wrong power – Most of the time when you begin looking in the wrong place to the wrong person you come to depend on the wrong thing. No king could cure Naaman’s disease just like no human being can cure your disease. He moved from the Kings to their ‘money.’ We tend to believe ‘money’ cures it all. The makeovers of today require money & lots of it. We can get whatever we want if we have money – that is our mantra. Money was not going to cure his skin disease & it won’t cure your sin disease.
* After he went to the wrong person & located the wrong power finally, he went to the right place but he had the wrong attitude. You see, he;
c. Leans on the wrong preference – Here is a principle for every one of us: God doesn’t do things the way we want Him to. He is not obligated to please you or me. Look in verse 9 and get the picture that Naaman was coming in HIS own strength, trying to impress Naaman with his own prestige, & with His presence. In the wickedness of his heart Naaman wanted the man of Go to come & pray homage to Him. God doesn’t play games with people & He doesn’t play the games of people. He’s God & we’re not. He has answers & we don’t. Questions?
* Elisha didn’t get out of his recliner – actually he may have been praying but just “WHO” does Elisha think he is – not coming outside to meet Naaman. The very idea. Even though Elisha gave God’s answer, Naaman leaves in a huff.
3. A New Man – Look in verse 13 and seek how Naaman was changed & cleansed.
a. He heard – Can you imagine the courage of those servants who ‘approached’ Naaman? He was angry, but perhaps if he wouldn’t listen to God’s servant perhaps he would hear one of his own servants. And he did. Sometimes we are blinded by our pride & miss God’s words to us. We are so sin sick that we have become unfeeling to our sinfulness and so we cannot hear God’s voice. When I read this story, once again I become thankful that God is a God of the second chance. When Jonah ran the other way – God called to Jonah a second time (in the belly of the whale), when Peter denied Jesus – it was Jesus, on Resurrection day, who said, ‘tell the disciples & Peter’, and when John Mark deserted the Mission Trip – God allowed Mark to be restored. God is in the business of make-overs, but we have to listen & hear. Naaman heard that ‘if God has said climb the mountain, kill the enemy, or capture a country, he would have. Yet, God simply said God wash yourself in the river of MY CHOOSING. How humiliating! Yet, hearing his servant counselors;
b. He humbled – Here is the critical issue for every one of us who is need of healing, cleansing and a makeover – we must humble ourselves before God. My deep conviction is this; if you have never humbled yourself before God, you have never been saved! Also, if you refuse to humble yourself before God now, He will force it on you later. IN Matthew 18 Jesus said, “He who humbles himself like a child, this one is the greatest in heaven.” Humbleness before God is not an option.
* Naaman put his arrogance & pride in check, drove down to the river Jordan, and got in the water. As a Kid in Primaries, I remember my teachers saying, “He dipped once – no change, twice-no change, three times-no change, & even after 6 dips- no change. There was and is no change until we are obedient.” For the record: Had Naaman only dipped 6 times, there would have been no miracle because there would have been no obedience. God does not bless disobedience. Can you make this parallel in your life? You can come to the cross, you can see Jesus, you can know Jesus died for you, you can even know the Bible through & through, but until you repent & believe allowing Jesus to live in you – nothing!
* But Naaman dipped that 7th time and:
c. He was healed – He was made over. His external makeover was the result of an internal restoration. He now knew & trusted in the God of Israel. While we didn’t read this part, Naaman came back & wanted to do something for the man of God. When we are disease & desperate – and God steps in with His instruction & healing – and we are healed – the desperation of our heart will be transformed into a desire to serve Him every day.
* Today, there is a river Jordan for you to dip in and be cured of your disease of sin. Your river Jordan is the precious blood of Jesus. It is the blood which Jesus shed on the cross, it is the flood which flowed from the hillside, and it is found in this truth: Jesus died once, the godly (Him) for the ungodly (you), that He (Jesus) might bring us to God. He is calling you to give you an extreme makeover.
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