SLIDE: PRIMARY
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=> LEADERS AND FLAWS
After a week with a presidential primary debate, I imagine we are all thinking about how every leader has flaws and defects. What did they say? How did they say it? How did they seem while they said it? Were they calm and confident? Were they timid?
Who was the stronger figure?
There is no perfect leader among us.
None of us ever gets to the point where we don’t still have to clarify, to reach out, or to apologize.
In fact, many leaders deal not only with imperfections of character, but also imperfections of their body that prevent them from being all that they wish they could be some of the time.
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SLIDE: Paul, Lincoln, Churchill
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The Apostle Paul speaks of his “thorn in the flesh,” and how urgently he asked God to remove it.
Abraham Lincoln, despite our knowledge of him as an incredible leader, and one of our most important presidents, he suffered deeply with depression and anxiety.
There are more than two documented accounts where with all the pressures he was dealing with, he had public nervous breakdowns.
Winston Churchill became one of the greatest leaders and speakers of the 20th century, but he spent years of his life receiving therapy to help him with his stuttering. In fact, he spoke with a lisp, and had a hard time pronouncing the letter “s.”
He often would write speeches in ways that allowed him to avoid words that ended certain ways, selecting his words carefully.
To some degree, this great attention to detail probably contributed to just how excellent of a speaker he was. His slow, deliberate pauses and cadence made him especially memorable, as did the great thought he put into what he said.
We could give a long list of people who had some sort of flaw or challenge
You wonder if we scrutinized all the little aspects of many leaders over the centuries the way we do now, whether we might have missed out on some wonderful pieces of human history.
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SLIDE: Naaman - 2 Kgs 5:1-4
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=> NAAMAN’S STRUGGLE
You wonder how a person like Naaman would do with our 24-hour news cycle, and hyper-critical coverage.
2 Kings 5:1-4
Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master and in high favor, because by him the Lord had given victory to Syria. He was a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper. 2 Now the Syrians on one of their raids had carried off a little girl from the land of Israel, and she worked in the service of Naaman's wife. 3 She said to her mistress, “Would that my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.” 4 So Naaman went in and told his lord, “Thus and so spoke the girl from the land of Israel.”
Naaman would have been an impressive person by any account.
But no matter how many victories he had, no matter how many people had to follow his every command, there was still something about himself that was incomplete.
There aren’t many words to use for skin conditions in Hebrew, and so “leprosy” is the one we utilize most often. There are different kinds of conditions.
Most likely, this was a type of psoriasis. Uncomfortable, discolored, but not contagious or deadly.
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SLIDE: Servant Girl
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=> SERVANT GIRL’S HEART
The story of Naaman has an unsung hero.
A young girl who was his wife’s servant.
At some point in a raid against the Israelites, she had been captured, and forced into slavery.
It is unknown how she was treated upon her capture; only that at this point, she wasn’t in control of where she lived.
But somehow she managed not only to find contentment, and hang on to her faith.
Here is a girl who loved her enemies.
“If only Naaman my master would go to the prophet in Samaria! He would cure him.”
I wonder what the conversation was like between Naaman and the king.
“I have this servant girl. This is what she said. If I go to this guy, he might heal me. I know it’s not likely, and may just be a waste of time, but if there’s any chance…any chance I can be rid of this disease, I’ll do anything.”
=> THE WORLD’S VIEW OF SUCCESS
Naaman went with the King’s blessing, and in a fashion that I expect any diplomat would prefer.
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SLIDE: Chariot of Syria
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He had a letter from his king, written to Israel’s King, with a big fat royal signature on it.
He had 750 Lbs of silver, 150 Lbs of gold, and 10 full changes of clothing, which was really expensive for that time.
Along with all that wealth, he had the staff with him to protect what he had brought. There’s a funny episode with Israel’s king who just flips out. “The King of Syria sends me his top general and says to heal his leprosy…He knows I can’t do that! This is just a sneaky way to get us into war! He’s coming after us!” He’s so panicked about this, he tears his clothing, and Elisha sends word to the king when he hears about it. “Send him on over, so he’ll know there’s a prophet in Israel.”
=> A SELF-IMPORTANT RESPONSE
So Naaman’s entourage travels up to Elisha’s house. We’re expecting a big scene like Mt. Carmel. As important as this guy is, how is it that Elisha would heal him?
Naaman has traveled all the way to get here, bringing lavish gifts. He’s outside with his horses and all his chariots, and all the fanfare.
The door opens, and out comes not Elisha, but his servant. Elisha doesn’t even come outside to say “hello.”
The servant walks over and tells Naaman, “Elisha says to wash yourself seven times in the Jordan River, and you’ll be healed.”
This absolutely eats Naaman up. Does he know who I am?
I thought he would come outside, wave his hand over me, say some sort of abracadabra, and POOF, I’d be better!
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SLIDE: Jordan River
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The Jordan River? The Jordan River? That little drainage ditch? Is there a single river in Syria that ISN’T nicer and cleaner than that Jordan River?!
I came all the way here for this?
His servants talked a little sense in to him.
“You know, if he had given you some huge task, nothing would have been too great.”
If he had you chop down a thousand trees or walk a thousand miles, or bring the head of some great beast, you would have immediately accepted any challenge.
He’s only asking you to do something simple…what do you really have to lose?
=> A HUMBLE RESPONSE
And you know the story.
Naaman went to that dirty Jordan River. He got down in the water, and began dipping down and washing himself.
Those first six times must have been excruciating. This had better work. This had better work.
He’d better not make a fool of me.
But on that 7th time..he came out of the water, a completely changed person.
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SLIDE: Baby Skin
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The text says that he now had skin like a young boy…it’s interesting because the last time we saw that word used was in a feminine form…referring to the YOUNG GIRL who told Naaman that he would find healing from the God of Israel.
He was like her in more ways than one. He had smooth, clean skin like a young child, but now he also had the same faith as that young child.
He said to Elisha, “Now I know there’s no God but the true God, and I’ll never worship anyone else.”
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SLIDE: Baptism
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=> BAPTISM THROUGHOUT SCRIPTURE
You know, as the apostles looked back through their stories of faith, they saw BAPTISM all over the Old Testament.
Peter says in I Peter 3…”Noah and his family…those 8 people on the ark…they passed through water and were saved…it’s just like baptism which now saves us, not as a removal of dirt from your body, but as a pledge of your conscience toward God!
Paul says in I Corinthians 10, “Remember brothers…our ancestors who were with Moses, were all baptized in the cloud and the Sea as they passed through…they ate of spiritual food like we do.”
Many of the early church writers spoke the same way about the Israelites passing into the promised land…they passed through the waters into blessing and salvation, just the way that we do.
Naaman’s washing in that Jordan River and joining of Elisha’s community of faith is an excellent anticipation of what it would one day mean to be baptized and have the Lord add you to his Church.
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SLIDE: Humility
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When you see Naaman’s conversion, it involves a change of mind and a change of heart.
1. He had to convert from pride to humility.
A great person expects great things to be done for them.
TO a person who wants to be admired and respected in the world, baptism looks like foolishness.
“What difference could it make to get wet?” “There’s no magic in the water.”
Naaman did everything he could to resist it.
Naaman would have been glad to have a big charismatic experience, a divine sign of shooting flames, or magic incantations.
All that stuff would allow him to hang on to this illusion that he was a guy who had it all together.
There is no way to come to the Lord, other than to humble ourselves in his presence.
Baptism is an insult to the wisdom of the World. Baptism is offensive to the World’s pride.
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SLIDE: Water and a Promise
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But when we come to the water, what Naaman found out is that it isn’t just water we’re dealing with. It’s water, plus a promise from God.
It’s both WATER AND WORD.
Jesus told us that we cannot inherit the Kingdom of God unless we are willing to become like a little child.
In Naaman’s case, he really did become like a child…but the path to the Kingdom involved humbling himself.
2. It involved him committing himself to the community of faith. He was willing to be accountable to Elisha and others. “I won’t worship other gods any more.”
I wonder how many of us have put up big barriers to why we just won’t take that step.
- You think you’re going to get yourself to heaven because you have a parent or a grandparent who was good enough for you both.
- Maybe you tell yourself, “I just have to get a few more things in order. I just have a few more things in my life I need to solve. A few debts to pay off. A few habits to quit. ”If I can just get my act together well enough, God can just let me in as I am.
Jesus can save everyone else, but I can probably manage somehow."
- Some people think they are waiting for the perfect day. The right people, the right scenery, the right emotional levels. Some day it’s going to be the day.
- Some people want to argue all the doctrinal angles about works versus grace, and how much do you have to know. Sometimes, the best thing to do is to just follow the instructions.
If you have just been putting off and putting off that decision to come to Christ, and to humble yourself through the waters of baptism, I would say to you what Naaman’s servants said to him:
When God has made this so easy…why are you trying to make it so complicated?
There’s no way into the Kingdom of God apart from becoming like a little child.
Humbly acknowledging how much we need God to deliver us from our shortcomings, and to make us into something better.
What pride exists in your life that you just need to let go of?
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SLIDE: Day of Pentecost
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Acts 2…the day of Pentecost. Jesus spoke to a crowd of people from all over the world and told them the truth about who Jesus is…promised Savior, whom they had murdered because of their pride.
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Slide: Acts 2:37-40
Acts 2
37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” 40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.”
The water is still unimpressive. Often, the messenger, like that little slave girl, is still unimpressive. We don’t expect a shining light from the heavens.
But the promise made that day still stands for us…
But Jesus invites you to the water, to be healed. Change your heart. Humbly acknowledge him as the only one who can save you.
Start a new life as a young child of God.
It’s Water and Word. It’s water and a promise from God. God has made it simple.
