Today, we will dive into transformation. It is core to who we are as Christians. We are in the transformation business. However, if we are honest with ourselves, we all struggle with the idea. It’s seems simple enough in the beginning. We repent of our sins, invite Christ into our lives and wham-o everything about us is magically transformed. We begin anew as pure as the driven snow. We never doubt again and we never sin.
Isn’t that what happened to you? It didn’t for me either, so why not? Why hasn’t God removed all your errant thoughts? Why after “x” number of years as a Christian do we still struggle? Didn’t it take? I think this thought alone has led hundreds if not thousands to get re-baptized at some community churches. The participant is saying, “The baptism I don’t remember must not have taken so I will pursue a different experience so that maybe this time I will get it.” The sad thing is this is such bad theology. Baptism is an outward sign of an inward grace and it’s God who has made covenant or promise with you. It’s He who does the work. No amount of additional cleansing changes his side of the commitment. So why do we still struggle with the fact that God is with us?
As I ask these questions of myself, I am reminded of the story of Naaman and Elisha. Do you remember this from 2 Kings 5?
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.
2 Now bands of raiders from Aram had gone out and had taken captive a young girl from Israel, and she served Naaman’s wife. 3 She said to her mistress, “If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.”
4 Naaman 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[b] of silver, six thousand shekels[c] of gold and ten sets of clothing. 6 The 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.”
7 As 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!”
8 When 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.” 9 So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha’s house. 10 Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, “Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.”
11 But 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. 12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?” So he turned and went off in a rage.
13 Naaman’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’!” 14 So 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.
15 Then 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. So please accept a gift from your servant.”
16 The 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. 18 But 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 have to 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.
After Naaman had traveled some distance, 20 Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said to himself, “My master was too easy on Naaman, this Aramean, by not accepting from him what he brought. As surely as the Lord lives, I will run after him and get something from him.”
21 So Gehazi hurried after Naaman. When Naaman saw him running toward him, he got down from the chariot to meet him. “Is everything all right?” he asked.
22 “Everything is all right,” Gehazi answered. “My master sent me to say, ‘Two young men from the company of the prophets have just come to me from the hill country of Ephraim. Please give them a talent[d] of silver and two sets of clothing.’”
23 “By all means, take two talents,” said Naaman. He urged Gehazi to accept them, and then tied up the two talents of silver in two bags, with two sets of clothing. He gave them to two of his servants, and they carried them ahead of Gehazi. 24 When Gehazi came to the hill, he took the things from the servants and put them away in the house. He sent the men away and they left.
25 When he went in and stood before his master, Elisha asked him, “Where have you been, Gehazi?”
“Your servant didn’t go anywhere,” Gehazi answered.
26 But Elisha said to him, “Was not my spirit with you when the man got down from his chariot to meet you? Is this the time to take money or to accept clothes—or olive groves and vineyards, or flocks and herds, or male and female slaves? 27 Naaman’s leprosy will cling to you and to your descendants forever.” Then Gehazi went from Elisha’s presence and his skin was leprous—it had become as white as snow.
(Highlight the story)– Military leader, struggling with leprosy, goes to Elisha, dip in the river Jordan, ignores, gets hostile, wants to take the dip back in his clean rivers back home, a friend says why not just listen, he does. He’s cured. He is so impressed with what God has done that he takes back dirt so he can always be on Holy ground going forward and is so changed, he asks for forgiveness for bowing with his king to the wrong God. Elisha says ok.
The story highlights the real struggles of this life are not physical but spiritual. Naaman was upset because of his pride and ego. The original solution didn’t fit into his plan. He demonstrates this by his unwillingness to submit or surrender to the request at hand. It wasn’t until someone said, what you have got to lose that he agreed to follow the directions.
This morning I want to introduce you to a new friend who like Naaman had to eventually say, I will surrender.
<use a congregational witness of a changed life>
Thank you for your witness.
We all struggle with our faith because we fail to surrender. It’s not logical but it can be dramatic. However, it is critical to our on-going transformation. Transformation is a process. It begins with accepting Jesus, taking a dip in the water and then making peace with God’s will every day. The reason we have on-going struggles in our faith and with sin is because each refinement requires coming to a deeper peace with God’s will. It requires more recognition and surrender of our pride, ego and will. However, The promise is always the same – love and freedom.
So this morning, I would like to give you a piece of wood - a splinter really. I would ask that you take it and keep it in the place where you most bow down to another God. Display it where you know you will see it before or during the action of worshiping another God. It’s but a reminder of the promise of freedom when you ask for forgiveness, surrender your will and do what you know is right in God’s eyes.
https://communitycenter.life/rev-robert-butler-info
