Grace and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. The Word of God through which the Holy Spirit touches our hearts this morning is recorded in 2 Kings 5:1-14
Dear friends who hold on to Jesus,
Cartoons at times will have a scene where someone, let’s says Wild E. Coyote in the Road Runner cartoons, falls off the edge of a cliff. As he falls, he grabs hold of a twig sticking out of the side of the cliff. He hangs there for a short time. Then the twig snaps and he falls. It doesn’t matter how strong his grip was. When the twig breaks, he falls.
Today we want to keep that picture in mind as we talk about our faith and learn about about the faith of a Israelite slave girl and the faith of foreign military commander, named Naaman. For you see, the key to a great faith is not how strong the faith is but what the faith holds on to. If faith holds on to a breakable twig, then no matter how strong the grip is, that faith will fall, just like that cartoon character. But faith that holds on to the promises of the Lord, that faith will never fall. For the Lord’s promises never break.
As the Holy Spirit works in our hearts through his word, we focus on the theme: Faith Holds on to the Lord’s Promises. Faith holds on to the Lord’s promises, 1) like the little slave girl did, whose faith shined brighter than a king’s. And faith holds on to the Lord’s promises, 2) like the foreign commander, Naaman, did, who learned that God’s promises are received by faith alone for they come by grace alone.
1) Like the little slave girl did, whose faith shined brighter than a king’s.
When the text begins, it is in the 800’s B.C. Joram, the son of wicked King Ahab, was king in Israel. The country of Aram (about equivalent to modern-day Syria) was the military power in the region. Naaman was one of Aram’s leading commanders. Military bands from Aram raided the surrounding countries. One of these raids captured a young Israelite girl, who became a slave to Naaman’s wife.
This girl trusted in the Lord, the one true God. She trusted in his mercy and might. What was the basis for this faith? She must have heard the Lord’s promises spoken by the prophets or her parents back in her home country of Israel. The greatest promise she would have heard was how in his mercy the Lord would send the Messiah. This Messiah, this anointed Savior, would bring blessings not only to Israel but to all nations. That was the Lord’s promise, made to her forefather Abraham and passed down through the generations. She held on to the Lord’s promise. That promise would not break, like a brittle twig.
Her faith that held on to the Lord’s promises shined out in her life. It shined with the light of love and confidence. She had every reason to hate Naaman and wish evil on him. He was responsible for stealing her away from her family and home. He hurt her country. He had ruined her future, condemning her to a life of slaver. And the odor and sight of his leprosy, eating away his skin, could make it disgusting to be around him. She had every reason to hate him.
But the love of the Lord shined through her. By faith she knew the great love that the Lord had for her, dirty sinner though she was. She knew of his great love that promised a Savior for her. Faith that holds on to the Lord’s promises shines with the Lord’s love. What is more, such a faith has the confidence that the Lord is able and willing to help in the best way possible.
Her faith speaks with love and confidence: “If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.”
Her faith shines all the more brightly when we contrast it with the attitude of the king Israel. The king of Israel was suppose to lead his people as an example of faith and service to the Lord God. Not this king. When Naaman comes with the letter asking for healing, the king of Israel does not turn to the Lord. He doesn’t seek out the Lord’s prophet and the Lord’s word. For you see this king does not trust in the Lord. He doesn’t hold on to the Lord’s promises. He holds on to breakable twigs that snap under pressure.
So his response is anger and outrage. He tries to sound religious and humble saying, “Am I God?” But it is just a pretense. He tries to turn the situation to his political advantage, expressing worry of what might happen and blaming the king of Aram for trying to pick a fight. We do not see faith’s love and confidence shining out.
What about you and me? Does our faith shine out like the little slave girl’s or are we black holes like the king? As you and I look at our lives, I think we see both, don’t we? Like the little girl, you know and trust God’s promises. You trust in Jesus, the Messiah, your only Savior from sin. At times your faith shines out with love and confidence.
Yet if we honestly examine our hearts, we see that often we are like the king. Instead of love and forgiveness, hate and anger can eat away at us. It’s so hard to forgive and love those who have hurt and wronged us or who look and act so different than we do. Instead of love we heap blame on others. “It’s not my fault.” Instead of confidence we so easily worry about our inabilities, failing to remember that God can do anything. Instead of confidence that God knows best, we complain that life isn’t fair to us.
What’s our problem? So often we are holding on to twigs instead of God’s unbreakable promises. When those twigs snap, we fall into the sins of hate, anger, blaming, worrying, and complaining. Even though we deserve to be left in this pit forever, the Lord is faithful to his promises. He keeps bringing his promises to us through his Word, through baptism, and through the Lord’s Supper. He promises that Jesus covers your anger and hate with his life of love. He promises that Jesus covers your blaming, worrying, and complaining, with his perfect confidence that accepted everything that his Father in heaven sent him. He promises that Jesus is with you to protect you and to help you fight against those sins so that you don’t fall back into the pit again and again. He promises that Jesus gives you the Holy Spirit so that you can reach out in love and confidence and share God’s promise with others, even with unlikable people, just like the little slave girl did.
Hold on to these promises so that your God and Savior can pull you out of the pit. For you see, one reason the Lord leaves you and me on this earth is to train us to hold on to nothing but his promises. He trained Naaman to do that. Hold on to God’s promises, like the foreign commander, Naaman, did. He learned that God’s promises are received by faith alone because they come by grace alone.
2) Like the foreign commander, Naaman, did, who learned that God’s promises are received by faith alone for they come by grace alone.
Naaman came to Elisha’s house expecting to see some spectacular sign. He expected the prophet to come out and wave his hand over the leprosy and call on the name of the Lord. But he didn’t even see the prophet. Elisha only sent a messenger to tell him to wash in the Jordan seven times and then he’d be healed.
Naaman did not accept this promise. He did not believe it. His faith was looking for a spectacular sign like Elisha waving his hands. Or he wanted some sort of logical proof. The promise seemed like nonsense. How could washing in dirty river water cure leprosy. Weren’t the rivers back home even better?
But faith is being sure of what we do not see (Hebrews 11:1). Faith trusts the truth not because someone has proved it or it seems logical, but because the one who has made the promise is trustworthy. God was training Naaman to receive his promises, to believe them as the truth, without spectacular signs or logical reasoning , but by faith alone – not faith and spectacular signs, nor faith and logical proof, but faith alone.
God’s promises are received by faith alone for they come by grace alone. Naaman’s servants bring out this point. They ask him wouldn’t he have done some great, difficult thing if the prophet had told him to? But the Lord did not lay done any hard requirement He did not want Naaman to think that he had earned the Lord’s favor or had made himself worthy of his promise in some way. He was training Naaman to believe that the promise was by grace alone. In other words, Naaman did not deserve it at all, but God’s grace, his undeserved love made the promise.
The Lord brought Naaman to see his grace and to receive his promise by faith alone. Acting in the newly created faith, Naaman washes in the Jordan seven times. God’s grace keeps his promise and Naaman is completely healed.
The Lord deals with you and me in the same way. He wants us to hold on to his promises by faith alone, without spectacular signs or logical proof. God wants this faith to trust that his promises come by grace alone. What promises has the Lord made to us? The Lord has not promised physical healing like he promised to Naaman. So we don’t have that particular promise to hold on to. But he has promised you spiritual healing.
All of us were born with the terminal disease called sin. Like leprosy in ancient times, there is no man-made cure for sin, no escape, no hope. Worse than leprous, sin not only kills the body, it kills the soul. We were born spiritually dead, headed for eternal death in the the eternal torture of hell.
But the Lord has made you a promise. He promises that through the water of baptism the guilt of sin is washed away. You are clothed with Jesus perfect obedience. The blood of Jesus has washed you clean. Baptism is a greater miracle than Naaman’s cleansing in the Jordan. This promise is received by faith alone. There is no spectacular sign when a baby is baptized. There is no logical reasoning that says that the water of baptism is any different than any other water. But God’s promise makes all the difference. Faith holds on to God’s promise.
Both God’s promise and the faith that receive it are gifts of God’s grace. We don’t deserve them. But you can be confident of God’s grace. Why? Because of what Jesus has done for you. He has laid done is life to die on the cross for you. And he has taken up his life again by really rising from the dead on Easter. Since the Lord’s grace has given you Jesus, you can be confident of all his promises. Like Naaman, receive them by faith alone, for they come by grace alone.
Hold on to the Lord’s promises. They will not break or snap. Grip them strongly by faith alone. Grip them confidently for they depend on God’s grace alone. Hold on to the Lord’s promises by keeping those promises in your heart and mind every day throughout the day. Keep them in your heart and mind by holding them before your eyes as your read and hear his word, as you remember your baptism, as you come to the Lord’s Supper often. Hold on to the Lord’s promises, his promises to you will never break.
