IMAGINE:
“OVERCOMING YOUR GREATEST FEAR”
2 KINGS 5 - ©DR. LARRY L. THOMPSON (2005)
Introduction:
I want you to think of the greatest fear you face today. Your greatest fear my dominate your thoughts, your life, your days and your nights. For some, your greatest fear is an enemy that controls you and leads you according to its own design and desires. I want you to imagine today what you life would be like if that fear were gone. Would it would be like to have the victory and overcome your greatest fear? You don’t even have to IMAGINE it…It’s already possible in light of scripture.
Often Christians don’t like to think of their commitment to Christ in terms of rewards, however, scripture is clear about the Biblical principle concerning God’s response to His children’s obedience. The reverse side of the equation is that disobedience and rebellion is not rewarded but receives retribution with pain and suffering. The reward or retribution in our lives is NOT always immediate but make no mistake, they will come in due season.
We know as Christians that we do not serve the Lord because of the reward...it is not an end in itself. What is our motivation for obedience to God’s word?
• He is sovereign and therefore deserves our devotion and obedience
• He has the divine wisdom and knows what is best for our lives
• Our obedience should spring from hearts filled with love and gratitude.
If I were to ask you, "Are you committed to living in obedience to Christ?" There could be only one of three answers…
• "Yes, I am doing all that He has asked of me."
• "No, I am not doing what He has asked of me."
• "I am doing some of what He has asked of me."
Our scripture today supports the premise that partial obedience is NOT acceptable in the eyes of God. If we are going to imagine victory over our greatest fear then we must also imagine living a life in obedience to His word.
Biblical Background:
2 Kings 5 tells the story of a man that struggles with the question of obedience. He is a real life character and his journey in obedience certainly applies to our lives today. There are 5 basic principles that must be reviewed if we are to live a victorious life free from fear. Personal application of this message will not only break the bondage of fear in your life but it could also prevent pain and suffering that comes through partial of willful neglect of what God has directed in your life.
There are three main characters in today’s study:
• A MAN...Naaman, general in the Syrian Army
• A MAID...she has no name and certainly a hidden hero
• A MESSENGER of God...whose name is Elisha.
Let’s begin with some biblical exposition:
Verse 1:
“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.”
Naaman was a brave, highly respected military man. He was a general in the Syrian army. Greatly decorated for his military genius, however there was one dark cloud over his life. He had leprosy. The disease that reduces an individual to a grotesque figure that if they lived could even be so bad they could not be recognized. Incurable and terminal; would be much like a terminal cancer or AIDS virus. It was frightening and overwhelming and was something you could not hide from others.
Verse 2-4:
“Now bands 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.”
There was a maid that the Syrians had captured from Israel and brought to Syria. She still remembers her spiritual foundation and the one true living God, the Lord of Israel. She remembers His acts and tells the general’s wife about the prophet of God, Elisha. When you are in a helpless situation you will do anything to get relief, even if it means going to the enemy. At this point in the story the general’s hope is in a man and not in God.
Verse 5-6:
“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 of silver, six thousand shekels 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.”
The King of Syria allowed him to go and sent letters and the equivalent of $5 million dollars in today’s monetary rate. Like most in our world today, the first attempt to overcome any fear is to buy the fear away.
Verse 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!”
The King of Israel thinks that it is a trick to cause a war and he believes that the Syrian King wants him to cure Naaman, he goes into depression at the time of the request. Tragically, this reveals how far the King and the country had fallen from their faith in the Lord. There is NEVER a thought enter the King’s mind that God may be at work in this situation.
Verse 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.”
Elisha hears of the news and sends a message to the King. Enter the messenger of God.
Verse 9-10:
“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.”
Naaman comes to Elisha’s home but the man of God does not come out, he simply sends the Word of God to greet the general. Elisha is immediately painting a word picture for this General that it is the power of God and your obedience to His word that is the key to overcoming your fears. How vitally important it is for us to point people to Christ and His word rather than tie them to our personality or position.
Verse 11-13:
“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 any of 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’!”
Naaman is furious! He wanted to be free from his fears; he the healing; but he only wanted it on his terms and not in obedience to God’s word. His reaction tells the story. "You won’t even come out of your home to meet me and then you ask me to wash in the dirty Jordan when there are beautiful, clean waters in Syria!" The servants of the general have a clear head and persuade him, "How can it hurt, we are already here...go ahead and wash."
Verse 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.”
The result of his obedience is obvious to everyone. Through obedience to God’s word he is able to overcome his greatest fear and live in victory forever!
This is a very powerful story in scripture but in order for it be more than just another bible story you must know IMAGINE yourself living in obedience to these five principles that explode from this book as we have read this story.
IMAGINE PRINCIPLE #1:
OUR FEAR IS GOD’S OPPORTUNITY TO STRENGTHEN OUR FAITH
What was the general’s most pressing problem? Was it his last of power, popularity, prestige, position? No, it was the physical problem of leprosy. It was this disease that occupied his thoughts day and night. It mattered little that he had money, title and power, what he needed was a cure!
There are times in our life that God allows (never Sends) a problem in our life that can seem so hopeless that only our faith in Him can provide us the opportunity for Him to perform His work and bring His power into our situation. What was God teaching the general in this situation? The God of Israel was the one true and living God and that when you trust and obey Him you shall know His power and the reward for obedience. How often we look at our situation and exhaust all our personal resources in an attempt to conquer a problem that can not be conquered. Could it be that God is allowing the problem to continue to get us to the place where we will say, "You alone have the power to deliver us in the midst of the situation." Would you be willing today to consider that your problem is an opportunity for God to stretch and strengthen your faith?
IMAGINE PRINCIPLE #2
OBEDIENCE MAY REQUIRE WHAT SEEMS TO BE IMPRACTICAL
Naaman was angry because the prophet did not meet with him personally and secondly because he did not want to wash in the Jordan River. To this general, the solution offered was ridiculous and unreasonable. The real problem was PRIDE. His own foolish pride would not allow him to immediately obey the word of God.
Baptism is many people’s Jordan River. They are to pride full to follow the command of Christ and obey the very basic and simple of all commands. Like the general many will say, "What will others think when they see me in the water?" Instead they should only be concerned about what God thinks.
Naaman would not obey because he thought the request was both impractical and unreasonable! Here is the problem. God did not tell anyone else to go to the Jordan and wash 7 times...He did tell Naaman. Human nature does not want to do something that someone else has not done first. We want to look around and see if others are going into the "Jordan" and if they are then we will consider the call. The key to victory in our Christian life is obedience to HIS PERSONAL COMMAND OF OUR LIVES.
Illustration: Phillip in Acts 8 was obedient to the command of Christ and the result was salvation of the Ethiopian. It wasn’t practical but it was personal!
Some are called to give their life to Christ, others to write a letter, mend a broken relationship, get up in the middle of the night and share the Gospel...You must understand a basic biblical principle that there are times God will ask you to do what you may believe to be impractical or unreasonable. You will NEVER taste the true rewards of obedience if you are bent on debating with God about His perfect will for your life.
We don’t need to figure out God’s will we need to faith out God’s will.
IMAGINE PRINCIPLE #3
FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH GOD’S WILL MAY COST YOU WHAT YOU DESIRE THE MOST
Naaman’s greatest desire of his heart was to be free from the bondage of the leprosy. Yet, when he faced the opportunity to do just that he became furious at the request, thinking the remedy was out of the question as far as he was concerned. His reaction to God’s perfect will illustrates three basic problems that many people face when dealing with their fears:
1) PRIDE: He was outraged that the prophet would not personally come to see him. It was an insult to his pride. Pride would have kept him from that which he needed the most.
2) ANGER: (v.11) His anger was a result of a preconceived idea about how God should act and what God should do concerning his situation. How many people do you know that get angry at God and others when God doesn’t come through just as he would have desired. Anger always follows the person who attempts to put God in a box.
3) UNBELIEF: His major problem was His inability to believe that God could really overcome his fears by his simple obedience. His unbelief could have robbed him of the greatest blessing of his life. I know because it did the people of Nazareth..."He could do there no might work because of their unbelief."
Those three obstacles, pride, anger and unbelief almost kept him from finding the very thing he needed the most, to be free from the fear of disease. "What would people say? What will people think? I want God to work on my terms...not HIS!"
Illustration: Think how the Devil would have used that scene to attempt to ruin his opportunity for Victory. General went into the river with many laughing him on the banks...dipped once, twice, three times...he would hear the laughter and be filled with anger, frustration, embarrassment and fear. But he would continue, four, five, six...perhaps he thought it would be a progressive miracle of God’s grace...now the disappointment is greater than ever before when suddenly someone yells from the bank, "one more time, sir...the word of God said seven, not six...please just one more time." The General complies and goes down into the water for the seventh time as he comes up out of the water...the rest of the story is history. Skin smooth and new and he is completely healed.
That seventh time in the water is the completion of the perfect will of God. There are to many of God’s people that are throwing up their hands and calling it quits after the first few times under the circumstances....tragically there are some that are walking away from God’s very best after six times down. Because of discouragement and fear they leave the waters of God, one small step away from the greatest victory in their life.
The greatest question that must be asked of us today as we face our greatest fear is this: "Have I done everything that God has desired of me? Am I controlled and captivated by the power of His Spirit?"
IMAGINE PRINCIPLE #4
PROPER COUNSEL ALWAYS ENCOURAGES YOU TO FOLLOW GOD’S WILL (V.13)
Naaman was blessed with at least two assistants that cared enough for him that they were willing to confront him when he was close to walking away from the very thing he had longed for his entire life. They encouraged him to remember the Word of God and to do the perfect will of God. It won’t always be easy but it will always be victorious.
We have far to many Generals in the Army of God who have turned and walked away from victory and gone back to Syria the same way they came. It is not the counsel of God that will always tell you to forget the word of God and the will of God.
Parents have even been so foolish as to tell their children or teenagers, "Don’t get so excited about this "religious thing". You need a balance." If we are going to see the victory over your fears today we are going to have to return to the counsel of the godly and that is the one voice that is encouraging you in the midst of difficulty to "do the will of God."
IMAGINE PRINCIPLE #5
THE REWARDS OF OBEDIENCE WILL BE A STRONG WITNESS TO OTHERS (V.15)
Naaman’s obedience to the perfect will of God not only changed his life but influenced those in his circle of influence; the men with him, his king and even an entire nation. The same witness was felt when three young Hebrew men, Shad, Mech, and Abednigo took their stand in the face of tremendous odds and won the witness of God to a pagan king and his nation.
Conclusion:
Where did real obedience begin in this story? With the General? With Elisha? With the King? With the General’s wife? With the captive maid from Israel? NO! I believe the real obedience began when whoever it was years earlier shared with a young Jewish girl about a personal relationship with the God of Israel. She then faithfully reported that testimony to Naaman’s wife and the rest is history. The power of an obedient spirit will spread much further than we have any idea.
So we come to a close of this message and we end where I began today, by asking, “What is your greatest fear?” After reading God’s word can you now IMAGINE the VICTORY OVER YOUR FEAR? God is waiting for you to take one step of faith into the waters of obedience. The victory is yours for the taking.
