Sermon Central
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Seven Ducks In A Muddy Pond
Contributed by Kenneth Tankersley on Jan 12, 2008 (message contributor)
Summary: PRIDE HAS BEEN THE DOWNFALL OF MANY GOOD MEN. GOD HATES PRIDE. IT CAUSES FAILURE AND DEFEAT. IT ALMOST COST NAAMAN HIS HEALING. HE REFUSED TO DIP DOWN IN THE MUDDY JORDAN. HE WANTED THINGS "HIS WAY"
SEVEN DUCKS IN A MUDDY POND
11/25/2007
TEXT: 2 KINGS 5: VS. 1--14
INTRODUCTION: PRIDE IS SOMETHING THAT GOD ABSOLUTELY HATES. PRIDE HAS BEEN THE RUIN OF MANY A PERSON.
Prov 16:18
Pride goes before destruction ,
a haughty spirit before a fall.
PRIDE ALMOST CAUSED NAAMAN TO REMAIN A LEPER.
HE DID NOT WANT TO HUMBLE HIMSELF AND DIP IN THE MUDDY JORDAN RIVER.(“DO IT MY WAY.”)
HAD HE NOT FOLLOWED THE WORD OF THE PROPHET (WHO WAS GOD’S SPOKESMAN) HE WOULD HAVE REMAINED A LEPER, DIED A LEPER AND HIS STORY WOULD HAVE ENDED WITHOUT A HAPPY ENDING.
MANY TODAY WILL NEVER COME TO THE LORD JESUS CHRIST AND RECEIVE SALVATION BECAUSE OF THEIR WICKED PRIDE. THEY WILL CONTINUE TO “DO IT THEIR WAY. “ AND LET SATAN CHEAT THEM OUT OF SALVATION AND ALL IT’S JOY.
NOTICE SOME THINGS ABOUT NAAMAN:
I. HE HAD A WOEFUL CONDITION (VERSE 1: HE WAS A LEPER)
(A) NAAMAN WAS A GENTILE, BUT HE WAS GIVEN THE SAME HONOR AS THOSE JEWS WHO WERE RECOGNIZED FOR THEIR GREAT COURAGE. LEADERS SUCH AS GIDEON, DAVID, JEROBOAM AND ELIJAH.
THE WORD OF GOD RECOGNIZES NAAMAN AS BEING A GREAT MAN OF VALOR (GREAT MILITARY COURAGE)
(B) LEPROSY WAS A TERRIBLE DISEASE THAT ROTTED AWAY THE SKIN AND HAD NO CURE OR RECOVERY, OUTSIDE OF A MIRACLE.
1. IT BEGAN WITH SMALL RED SPOTS THAT GOT BIGGER AND THEN WOULD TURN WHITE, GET SCALY AND DETERIORATE UNTIL THE FLESH FELL AWAY. AND THE VICTIM WOULD WASTE AWAY UNTIL HE DIED.
2. THIS IS WHY THE WORD OF GOD LIKENS SIN TO LEPROSY, OUTSIDE OF THE MIRACULOUS SPIRITUAL HEALING THROUGH SALVATION, THERE IS NO HOPE.
JAMES 1:15: SIN, WHEN IT IS FINISHED BRINGS FORTH DEATH.
(C ) HIS CONDITION WAS A DREADFUL CONDITION.
LEPROSY WAS A DISEASE THAT CAUSED GREAT DISTRESS AND DREADFULNESS. **(EXPLAIN)
1. IT WAS A LIFE OF PAIN AND SUFFERING AND EVENTUALLY DEATH.
2. WHEN A SINNER BECOMES AWARE OF HIS SINFUL STATE; LOST, UNDONE, BOUND FOR HELL, THEN HE SHOULD REALIZE THAT HIS CONDITION IS HELPLESS AND HOPELESS AND THE ONLY CURE IS SALVATION BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH IN JESUS.
II. NAAMAN HAD A CONDITION THAT CAUSED DEFILEMENT.
1. HE WAS CONSIDERED UNCLEAN AND UNABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN ANY THING THAT INVOLVED CONTACT WITH OTHER PEOPLE.
2. JUST AS LEPROSY DEFILES, SO DOES SIN.
3. SIN WILL ROB YOUNG PEOPLE OF THEIR VIRTUE, ALL PEOPLE OF THEIR JOY, AND ANY PEOPLE OF THEIR SELF-ESTEEM.
4. SIN WILL ROB YOU OF THE WORTHINESS OF YOUR LIFE.
7 Therefore Jesus said again, "I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
C. He Had A Condition That Causes Death.
Having leprosy during the time of Naaman meant having a death sentence which was caused by this terrible disease. Naaman needed to have a miracle or else he would die from leprosy. Leprosy was perhaps worse than cancer, because no one could be healed without a great miracle from the Lord. Likewise, every sinner must have a miracle of grace or he will instead face eternal death in the Lake of Fire. “For the wages of sin is death. But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23).
III. . THE MAIDEN HAD A WEEPING COMPASSION. (Vv. 2-4)
“Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! For he would recover him of his leprosy.” (V. 3a)
This young maid was a great example of how God can use His witnesses who find themselves in less than desirable circumstances. She could have been a very bitter captive, but instead she radiated the “glow of the Lord” in the household of her captors. She must have been raised in a home that taught her to believe in the Lord just as Daniel did while in Babylon captivity.
A. She Had A Tenderness That Moved Her.
Some of the strongest Christians that I know are tender… Tenderness is a mark of Christ. When one is tender, this means that the heart is not calloused over to the extent of being insensitive to others and to their needs. We should all desire that we be tenderly disposed to the needs of others. We must care about the people around us, whether we like them or not… Having tenderness will make you a better preacher, teacher, witness, or servant in any way to the Lord.
