Scripture: 2 Kings 5:1-14
Theme: Little Things can be Big Things
How God can use the little things, the ordinary things in our lives to bring about miracles all around us.
INTRO:
Grace and peace this morning from God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit!
I want to talk to you today about the importance of little things.
Little things that may not seem like much at first but as time goes on, they can grow in importance. That is the way it was for a few things in our story this morning and in American History as well.
Some days ago, I came across a little story that I found fascinating. It involved a 16-year-old and his kite. It involved not only his skill in flying his kite but where he flew his kite.
The year was 1848 and both the United States and Canada wanted to find a more efficient way to cross the Niagara Falls Gorge which was 800 feet across some white-water rapids. The idea was to build a suspension bridge. However, no one knew how to start the bridge. There had to be some way to connect the two banks of the Niagara Falls Gorge together.
Theodore Hulett suggested the idea of flying a kite across the bridge. You could then use the kite string to begin stringing across a connection. He offered a cash prize of $10.00 to the first person who could successfully land their kite from one side of the gorge to the other side of the gorge.
The winner of that $10.00 was then 16 year old Homan Walsh. He successfully flew his kite over the 800 feet and his kite string was grabbed on the US side. They then attached a small rope and pulled it over, then a heavier rope and finally they attached a wire cable. The first step of building a suspension bridge was started. In a few years that first bridge was replaced with a more stable bride and today there are several bridges that span the distance enabling people from the United States and Canada to visit one another, to do business with one another and to enjoy both sides of the Niagara Falls.
Who would have thought that a bridge could be started with something as simple and as little as a piece of string and a kite?
In our story this morning, we find one of the most amazing miracle stories in the Old Testament. It is the story of the healing of the Syrian commander Naaman. He was famous for his courage, his fearlessness, and his skill. However, he also becoming famous for having contracted of the most dreaded and misunderstood diseases at the time – leprosy.
If his leprosy could not be arrested or cured, then Naaman’s future as a military commander would soon be finished. Leprosy, the skin disease that Naaman possessed had the potential to cause permanent physical impairments and damage to a person’s nerves, skin, eyes, and limbs. His form of leprosy, unchecked could also lead to extreme emotional and mental problems.
At the time, it was widely believed that leprosy was highly infectious. People who contracted leprosy were quickly quarantined and no longer permitted to be a part of greater society.
They would have to take special care where they would live, where they would eat and where they would work. The mere mention of a person having leprosy usually caused one to lose their employment, their home and eventually all their friends.
Some families would go so far as to hold a pre-funeral service and consider the person now dead. Most people who had leprosy back in Naaman’s time were forcibly relocated to leper colonies where they would be condemned to live out their days without much compassion or care. They were considered cursed by God and therefore an outcast to society.
We get the idea that Naaman had just recently been diagnosed with leprosy. At the time of our story, he was still in command and he was still a part of Syrian society at large.
But there is also the idea that his leprosy was not getting any better. That it would not be long before he would be forced to give up his military command and be forced into quarantined. From there, he would have been condemned to live the rest of his life in a leper’s colony. And that is where we find a series of little things that changed his life.
Little things that by themselves don’t seem like much but as we shall see it was little things that enabled a great miracle to happen in Naaman’s life. Little things have the potential to became the very things that can change our lives forever.
I. Little things like some words spoken by a slave girl.
There are so many things that can happen in lives that make a world of difference. We find one of those things in verses 2-3:
“Now bands of raiders from Aram had gone out and had taken captive a young girl from Israel, and she served Naaman’s wife. ‘If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.’”
We read those verses and often just gloss over them because after all the story is about Naaman, Elisha and the miracle of healing Naaman’s leprosy.
But it is also a story about little acts of love, forgiveness, and faith.
Here is this young woman who has been stolen from her family. The Bible tells us that a raiding party had attached her village.
That tells us that most likely her family had either been killed or taken prisoner along with a great many of her friends and neighbors. Raiding parties were not known for their niceness. This young woman was then given as a gift to Naaman’s wife to be her servant.
It may be hard for us today to understand this kind of world. A world where a village could be attacked, its people captured, and its resources plundered. And yet, for centuries this type of behavior was common and believe it or not is even happening today. In certain parts of our world there are still those that attack villages, steal property, and take people captive to be either sold as slaves or used in sex trafficking enterprises.
What I find amazing in this story is that this young woman does not rejoice in Naaman’s suffering but shares the news that there is a way for him to be healed.
You might think – well, if I had suffered what she had suffered – my family being killed, my property being destroyed and now I will be a slave for the rest of my life – then let Naaman suffer and die. Let his wife cry over his dead body as I have cried over the dead bodies of my parents, my siblings, my family, and friends.
You quickly see that how important her role is in this story. What may seem like little acts of love, forgiveness and faith are vital.
+Without her – this story never happens – Naaman never knows about the Prophet Elisha in the first place. He just becomes a footnote in history of a Syrian commander coming down with leprosy, decommissioned and forced to live out the rest of his days in a leper colony.
+Without her ability to forgive the story never happens – she could have allowed her hatred for the Syrians to destroy her and caused her to want Naaman to suffer, to die and to destroy his family.
+Without her faith in the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY and in the Prophet Elisha this story never happens – when she tells Naaman about Elisha she proclaims her faith in not only his ability but in the ability of the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY.
This young woman’s little acts of forgiveness, kindness and faith enable a miracle to happen in Naaman’s life and for his family.
But they are not the only little things that happened to make Naaman’s miracle story a reality.
II. We see some little things like Naaman’s military servants providing a few choice words of insight and encouragement
As we read the story, we can see that Naaman is a bit arrogant and full of himself. After all, he is a commander in the Syrian Army. He has hundreds, if not thousands of men under his command. He believes that because of his position he ought to be treated differently by both humans and by God.
He is offended when Elisha doesn’t take the time to see him. He is offended that Elisha used a messenger to tell him to go and wash in the Jordan River.
He is offended that the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY instructed him to dip himself seven times in the Jordan River. The Jordan River was muddy. It was not the place where a man of his position and stature would go and take a dip
Naaman was ready to pack up his stuff and go back home and forget about the whole thing. He felt misused, put down and put out.
In his mind, Elisha was supposed to come out and make this big scene. He was to wave his hands over Naaman and instantly he would be cleansed of his leprosy. Elisha was to show him the honor that one would show a military commander of his reputation and stature.
But as all this was going on – Naaman’s servants did some little things that saved the day.
They approached Naaman as asked him if he wanted his pride and position over his healing.
All the man of God had asked him to do was to dip himself in the Jordan River seven times. How hard could it be to ride out to the Jordan, get off your horse, remove your military garb and dip down in the water seven times.
Who would see you?
Who would care?
They reminded him that they have already made this trip.
They reminded him that the king would expect him to at least try what the man said.
What do you have to lose – we will not think any less of you and in the end who knows – you could be surprised.
Once again, it is the little things that these servants did that made the miracle possible.
+What if they had allowed their fear of challenging Naaman’s thoughts to cause them to be quiet?
+What if they had simply agreed with Naaman and then tried to vindicate his pride by attacking Elisha?
Naaman’s healing miracle hinged again on the little things that these servants told him to do – just obey the Prophet and let’s see what happens.
Naaman’s healing miracle hinged on the little things that these men did to encourage Naaman to set aside his pride and go down into the water.
And what did happen?
III. Naaman obeyed and was healed and transformed
Verses 14 tells us that Naaman did go down to the Jordan River and dip seven times.
Sometimes obedience is such a simple thing – dipping seven times – and what did he get as a reward – a new life – a healed life – a life in which he understood that the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY was alive and well.
Naaman almost became a prisoner of wanting big things – big events.
What he learned was it was in the small things of life that some of the biggest miracles happen.
+A young woman who had enough forgiveness, compassion, and faith to tell him about the Prophet Elisha
+Some servants who encouraged Naaman to overlook his position and his pride so that he could experience a miracle.
+Naaman himself – who put everything to the side and took a chance with the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY – doing something that had to seem too simple and too stupid – dipping yourself in the Jordan River seven times.
The reality is often our LORD works out of the ordinary. He works out of the ordinary things in life which when they are put into His hands they end up becoming extraordinary events and miracles.
This is the message of the Bible – we read this truth so many times in Scripture:
+In Exodus chapter 2 we read about Miriam watching over baby Moses in the waters of the Nile. You may remember that it was Pharoah’s command that all male babies would be instantly put to death.
Miriam is given the job of watching over Moses from the bush rushes until one day one of Pharoah’s daughter while taking a bath sees Moses and decides to rescue him.
The Bible tells us that Miriam sprang into action and quickly told Pharoah’s daughter that she knew a woman who would immediately be able to take care of the baby. This woman would be able to nurse the baby and care for it.
Pharoah’s daughter agreed relating that the woman would be well compensated for her time and attention. The woman Miriam picked of course was Moses’ own mom, Jochebed.
Miriam’s simple acts of watching, being ready and being quick witted were essential to a miracle happening – the miracle of Moses’ life being saved.
+In Luke 9 we read where Jesus and His disciples were followed by thousands of people to a town called Bethsaida. Jesus welcomed them and spent the day teaching them about His Heavenly Father and how they could live an amazing and abundant life here on this earth and one day on the New Heaven and Earth.
Late in the afternoon, his disciples wanted him to send everyone away because it was getting near dinner time, and they had no food. In fact, there was nowhere to get enough food to feed all that were gathered.
However, there was this little boy who brought his lunch to share with others. A simple little gift. But what was one boy’s lunch going to do? Just a couple of small fish and five little biscuits.
Simple things – things like sharing, giving what you have can bring about miracles beyond belief.
Jesus takes those simple things, and in His hands, they turn into enough food to feed the crowd.
Just a little boy willing to share. You never know what God is going to do when we are willing to share. God can take our little and take care of the needs of thousands.
+Back in 1948, a young woman by the name of Elizabeth Vennum had a simple idea to help promote missions. She believed that if enough people gave just a little, they could all together do a great deal.
She had this simple idea based on the Alabaster box story in the Bible. She helped design a little box that began to be given out twice a year in her denomination that challenged people to put in a few coins in their box regularly while they prayed for missions. Just a few coins and a few prayers.
Twice a year the boxes were to be brought to the church and placed on the altar. There the congregation would pray over them and ask the LORD to use the monies raised to share the Gospel. The monies would be counted and sent off to be joined with other monies to be used to help build churches, hospitals, and schools all over the world.
It was a simple idea. A few coins and a few prayers. But through that idea over 50 million dollars have been given that has helped build churches, hospitals and homes for missionaries and ministries all over the world.
Simple ideas. Simple words. Simple forgiveness and grace. Simple encouragement. Simple obedience. Simple acts of love.
+The Young Lady who told Naaman about the Prophet Elisha.
+The servants who encouraged Naaman to take a risk.
+Naaman himself just obeying God’s will in a very simple way – dipping into the Jordan River seven times.
All these simple things led to a great miracle.
+Miriam watching and sharing she knew someone who could take care of Moses
– led to his life being saved and being able to grow up as one of Pharoah’s adopted sons.
+The little boy who didn’t throw away lunch but instead gave it to Jesus to use.
Simple words. Simple acts. Simple ordinary things.
This morning we end with a simple act – the act of receiving some bread and some grape juice.
From one point of view that is all that they are
-Ordinary bread cut up into little pieces.
- Little cups of grape juice.
But they are powerful symbols and means of grace.
They speak of the Body and Blood of Jesus.
The speak of Redemption and Salvation.
They speak of forgiveness and oneness in the Holy Spirit.
They speak of New Life – Life here on this earth and life on the New Heaven and New Earth
They speak of the grace of healing and wholeness.
They speak of living a new life – a life that Jesus wants us to have – a life filled with His Grace and His Holy Spirit.
This morning as we close – it’s the simple things that sometimes mean the most.
+Our words +Our love +Our acts of grace
+Our forgiveness +Our encouragement +Our acceptance
+Our humility +Our sharing +Our obedience
As we prepare ourselves for Holy Communion let’s take these simple symbols and with hearts and minds of obedience receive God’s grace, His forgiveness, His love and His mercy. And then let us be the Church – the Redeemed People who reach out with His love to all that we encounter – being Christ to all those around us.
Confession/Prayer/Invitation/Holy Communion/Blessing
