2 Kings 5: 1 -19 - Ninth sermon on the life of Elisha
Below is the outline of the sermon, I preached on 8 July 2012 at West Ewell Evangelical Church, Surrey
I acknowledge the input from the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity into the contents of this sermon.
Introduction
Namaan, the powerful general from Aram, was suddenly powerless due to a skin affliction– where political might and military prowess could not help him.
In looking at a counter-culture, it would be useful to define what 'culture' is. Archbishop Derek Warlock, the former Archbishop of Liverpool, has stated that ‘Culture is the way we do things round here.’
We are often aware of culture when go into another context – e.g. going abroad, hospitality, friends, adult/child relationships.
All families, companies and societies have cultures (values) - sometimes they are are not as helpful as they could be (as we have seen in the recent banking scandals).
Culture knows things but cannot make decisions relating to it – opposite to Matthew 22: 37 – 40 where it says that we are to 'Love the lord with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind' and then (as a result of the first commandment) 'Love your neighbour as yourself.'
Interestingly, Roy Hattersley wrote in The Guardian (12 September 2005): ‘We atheists have to accept that most believers are better human beings.’
We shall see two people (the unnamed servant girl and the prophet Elisha) who moved against the prevalent culture as they were in tune with the Kingdom of God.
1. The servant
The servant was not even a teenager and she was not even named; but she had an impact on whole Aramean army so that the court knew that God cure leprosy as did the Israelite court.
The servant was in:
· Wrong country
· Wrong place
· Wrong job
· With wrong people
· Possibly the wrong future
She had deep faith in God, though no-one healed of leprosy in those days (Luke 4: 27)
BUT, through her words and actions, Namaan was convinced.
Her attitude was that she was not:
· Angry with God, but clear headed so that her witness was strong
· Vengeful, but compassionate (full of forgiveness and had lack of revenge)
· Faithless, but full of faith
· Timid (for as a girl, a foreigner and a slave, which put her at the bottom of the social strata) but bold (with a loving heart and full of compassion)
· Demotivated but credible
It is not necessary to do add new things to your life, but to achieve what God wants you to do where you are.
2. Elisha
He had to deal with the culture within a country that had previously sought God, when it is remembered that Israel had been ruled over by David and Solomon. It is like this country which has experienced godly leadership in the past and a Christian heritage, which has now been sidelined and thought of as being irrelevant.
He made known to Joram, king of Israel, that God was still active and relevant
Elisha did not bow to the demands of Namaan, however attractive they might have been in order to get the foreign person off Israelite soil. Elisha did not submit to the ‘if it feels good, it must be right’ philosophy and easy believism in order to make it easier for Namaan.
Namaan had wanted easy option, but he needed to learn humility, which is not easy for the ego to overcome.
In the narratives of Elijah and Elisha, this is only example of non-Israelite worshipping God – Elisha must have hoped for easier circumstances, at least of someone who had previously shown an interest – not someone who was hostile to God’s people
Elisha was aware that God does good to all, even if people do not acknowledge it, so that all would turn to Him, whatever the circumstances.
3. Our attitude
We need:
· Eyes to see what’s happening (need to read newspapers, listen to the radio, look at the intranet)
· Eyes to see what might be (it is not enough to moan, but we should see the possibilities that God has in store)
· Eyes to see what God is doing (He is working in this nation in bringing people to Himself and to stir His people to action)
We need to ask how our actions will affect our relationships with those around us.
Modern culture is overloaded – there are the symptoms of stress (which the cause of so many illnesses), fatigue, and individualism.
We live and consume culture like everyone else, but then we do not engage with it. However, we should since:
· It determines a society’s religious and philosophical commitments, resulting to ethics and morals.
· It is public property, what we do with what God has made.
· Determines through the media- good life, success (although our definition of prosperity is different from the other's as we are not dominated by money, remembering that our Lord had no material possessions)
We should think of what God might do as our engagement starts and ends at the cross.
At the cross, Jesus promoted good and disempowers evil. In His life, Jesus
· Named the issue – whether it was a threat or an opportunity
· Disempowered it in His own life (not working in anger)
· Offered an alternative (based on the Kingdom of God)
We should be disciplining the culture in the ways of the Kingdom of God.
If Christ is not in the centre of our culture, something else is – it was the institution of the Church in the 19th century), Government (in the 20th century), and now it is business in 21st century.
In Romans 1: 25, it states ‘They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served created beings rather than the Creator.’
Neil Postman wrote in Amusing ourselves to death: ‘This is the lesson of all great television commercials: they provide a slogan, a symbol or a focus that creates for viewers a comprehensive and compelling image of themselves.’
In an article for the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission in the United States, Hal Lane wrote: “Gambling shows a lack of love for others. The few who win lottery payoffs do not care where the money came from or who was hurt in the process. In their book, Selling Hope: State Lotteries in America (Harvard University Press), authors Clotfelter and Cook state that 10 per cent of lottery players account for 50 per cent of lottery purchases and the top 20 per cent account for 65 per cent of purchases. Many of these players are gambling addicts who are robbing their families of needed resources. How can a Christian feel good about benefitting from the misery of others?” I know that we can think of exceptions in the United Kingdom, but I think that the general principles still hold true.
We should demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5: 22 -23) – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control
We are reminded in Matthew 5: 14 – 15: ‘You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?’
Tony Campolo (the sociologist and evangelist) stated that ‘Evangelism is an invitation to join a movement to change the world.’
The Great Commission to make disciples (Matthew 28: 19) only makes sense if we are engaged with the culture and seek to change it.
An example is Paul in Athens (Acts 17: 16 – 34), who observed, listened and understood (to understand where they were coming from), before affirming and critique (it was good that they were religious, but their outworking of being religious was wrong).
Our interaction with staff in shops can be missional – we are to ask how they are doing, although we may not have feedback, for we could be the only friendly people that they might meet that day.
In same way, we are engage with people over the things they do, believe or watch – e.g. in the soaps (as they are watched by most people): what do they think about the sexual relationships (casual and same-sex) in them? What do people think about the misuse of God’s name in programmes?
Rowan Williams wrote: ‘Culture change begins with a behavioural change. And behavioural change begins with a change of vision. So the subsidiary question is, not only what have we taught people to value and reward, but what have we taught people to aim at? Have we shrunk their possibilities? Have we drawn in their horizon in a trivial way, a way that does less than justice to what human beings are really capable of?’
We should be seeking to direct people as to the way that God intends – His morality and ethics as He created us and wants us to live according to His pattern, and (more importantly) towards a relationship with Him.
Jesus’ prayer (John 17: 15) was that ‘My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.’
Our attitudes should be different from others’ because we should be living out God's Word in our lives.
Brian McLaren and Tony Campolo (Adventures in missing the point) – ‘Jesus…inviting us to remember our identity and mission, wants us to join him in entering the world to enjoy and celebrate all that’s good – and to seek to transform all that’s not.’
St. Augustine wrote “You have made us for yourself, and our hearts are rest-less till they find their rest in you." Under the hassle and bustle, people have a ‘God-shaped hole’ (according to Blaise Pascal).
In 1 Peter 3: 15, it states ‘Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.’ So we need to be well-informed. Remember: we are not to be ashamed to look up the answer, we cannot be masters of every topic.
Conclusion
We need to have Quadruple ‘A’ Christianity:
· Authenticity (life makes sense all the time)
· Adventure (worth living for, having a purpose)
· Awe (of the living God)
· Agape (the love that God has shown us we should show toward others)
Our aim should be the same as Paul’s – ‘We proclaim him [Jesus], admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we might present everyone perfect in Christ. To this end I labour, struggling with all His energy, which so powerfully works in me.’ (Colossians 1: 28 – 29)
Questions:
· How are you going to encounter today’s culture? (evasion is not an option; we need to challenge it)
· How are you going to be salt and light? (it may be uncomfortable – salt into wounds or light penetrating into sight – as we need to show the culture of the Kingdom of God)
