~ January 25, 2015 ~
The Big Dipper
II Kings 5:1-16
1 Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable, because by him the LORD had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper.
2 And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman's wife.
3 And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy.
4 And one went in, and told his lord, saying, Thus and thus said the maid that is of the land of Israel.
5 And the king of Syria said, Go to, go, and I will send a letter unto the king of Israel. And he departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment.
6 And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, Now when this letter is come unto thee, behold, I have therewith sent Naaman my servant to thee, that thou mayest recover him of his leprosy.
7 And it came to pass, when the king of Israel had read the letter, that he rent his clothes, and said, Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy? wherefore consider, I pray you, and see how he seeketh a quarrel against me.
8 And it was so, when Elisha the man of God had heard that the king of Israel had rent his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, Wherefore hast thou rent thy clothes? let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.
9 So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha.
10 And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean.
11 But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the LORD his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper.
12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage.
13 And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?
14 Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
15 And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came, and stood before him: and he said, Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel: now therefore, I pray thee, take a blessing of thy servant.
16 But he said, As the LORD liveth, before whom I stand, I will receive none. And he urged him to take it; but he refused.
INTRO:
Leprosy Described:
Ancient leprosy began as small, red spots on the skin. Before too long the spots get bigger, and start to turn white, with sort of a shinny, or scaly appearance. Pretty soon the spots spread over the whole body and hair begins to fall out. As things get worse, finger nails and toenails rot and eventually fall off. Then the joints of fingers and toes begin to rot and fall off piece by piece. Gums begin to shrink and teeth are lost. Leprosy keeps eating away at your face until literally the nose, the palate, and even the eyes rot - and the victim wastes away until death. It is a picture of sin!
We see here that . . .
1. Naaman Engaged the Wrong Person (II Kings 5:1-6)
2. Naaman Expected the Wrong Procedure (Vs - 10-12)
3. Naaman Entertained the Wrong Place (Vs – 12)
4. Naaman Estimated the Wrong Price (Vs – 16:19)
**Naaman knew nothing about God or how the Lord worked, so everything he did to try to help himself was wrong!
**Have you ever felt like everything you did was wrong?
**Have you felt everything you tried God would come along and say, “That’s wrong. That’s not how I’m going to do it.”
**Let’s look closer at this story about Naaman, The Big Dipper, and let’s learn from Naaman’s mistakes about how we can lean on God’s power and put faith in God and His ways!
I. NAAMAN THE MAN
A. Naaman’s Position
II Kings 5:1a 1 Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master,
1. He was Captain
2. He was Credible
Notice: His position as being Captain and being Credible did not cause God to give him special treatment!
B. Naaman’s Popularity
II Kings 5:1b was a great man with his master, and honourable,
1. People Liked Naaman
2. People Loved Naaman
Notice: His popularity, regardless of how many people liked him and loved him, did not mean God would require less obedience from Naaman.
C. Naaman’s Power
II Kings 5:1c by him the LORD had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour,
1. He had an Unreal Power and Bravery
“a mighty man in valour,”
2. He had an Unknown Power and Blessing
“by him the LORD had given deliverance unto Syria”
Notice: His power was not the reason God healed Naaman – God gave him the power in the first place!
D. Naaman’s Problem
II Kings 5:1d but he was a leper.
1. He was a Picture of Disease
2. He was a Picture of Death
Notice: He had a problem despite his successes.
II. NAAMAN’S TRUSTWORTHY MAID
A. She was a Prisoner
II Kings 5:2a And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid
1. She was a captive for the Leprosy Captain.
2. She was a captive for the Lord’s Cause.
**Though you are captured, trust God. He has a plan!
B. She was a Peon
II Kings 5:2b and she waited on Naaman's wife.
1. She was a Small Girl
2. She was a Slave Girl
**She was a nobody who knew somebody that could help anybody!
C. She was a Provision
II Kings 5:3 3 And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy.
1. She Knew the Miracles of God
2. She Knew the Man of God
**God had her there by His mercy and grace so Naaman could find hope and find help!
**Don’t brush off the little things that God has allowed in your life. He will show up in those little simple things!
III. NAAMAN’S TREMENDOUS MIRACLE
A. Watch the Misconception
1. Clout was not Needed
a. His Connections Didn’t Help
**He had his King to write a letter of persuasion.
b. His Clothes Didn’t Help
V-5 And he departed, and took with him . . . ten changes of raiment.
2. Currency was not Needed
V-5 And he departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold . . . (about $486,000)
3. Ceremony was not Needed
a. He Exhibition of the Presentation was a Ceremony.
**He came with his chariots and horses. II Kings 5:9
b. His Expectations of the Prophet was about Ceremony.
**V-11 He wanted Elijah to conduct a ceremony!
NOTE: God’s not interested in our clout, currency, or our ceremonies in order to make God move!
B. Watch the Message
II Kings 5:10 10 And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean.
**It’s a Short, Simple, and Straight Message – but it works because it’s God’s message! Have you followed the directions?
C. Watch the Madness
11 But Naaman was wroth, and went away
1. Upset Cause It Wasn’t His Plan
11 . . . Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the LORD his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper.
2. Upset Cause It Wasn’t His Place
12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage.
**A lot of people are out of church and away from God and living in sin because they got mad because God did not work their Plan in their Place!
D. Watch the Motivation
13And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?
1. It’s Easy to Obey Him in Marvelous Things
2. It’s Expected to Obey Him in Minor Things
E. Watch the Miracles
1. He Received a Healthy Flesh
14 Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean. **He became the Big Dipper!
2. He Received a Heavenly Father
15 . . . Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel:
**God can and will do a miracle in your life too if you will obey Him!
CLOSE
1. How is it with your life today? How is it with your soul?
2. Do you need God to do a work in your life?
3. There’s two circumstances that you may be facing today.
a. There’s sin in your life like a leprosy, and you need to get saved and get cleansed. God can do it for you right now!
b. There’s a situation in your life that you need to trust God with, obey God, and put your trust in God concerning this matter. Will you come and pray right now about that?
4. Our theme is Learning to Lean in 2015. Like our theme, Naaman had to Lean on God’s Power, and Give God His Faith!
5. That’s the only way to receive a miracle from God!
**Will you please come and obey the Lord and seek his face and His will right now?
1 Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable, because by him the LORD had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper.
2 And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman's wife.
3 And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy.
4 And one went in, and told his lord, saying, Thus and thus said the maid that is of the land of Israel.
5 And the king of Syria said, Go to, go, and I will send a letter unto the king of Israel. And he departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment.
6 And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, Now when this letter is come unto thee, behold, I have therewith sent Naaman my servant to thee, that thou mayest recover him of his leprosy.
7 And it came to pass, when the king of Israel had read the letter, that he rent his clothes, and said, Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy? wherefore consider, I pray you, and see how he seeketh a quarrel against me.
8 And it was so, when Elisha the man of God had heard that the king of Israel had rent his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, Wherefore hast thou rent thy clothes? let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.
9 So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha.
10 And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean.
11 But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the LORD his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper.
12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage.
13 And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?
14 Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
15 And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came, and stood before him: and he said, Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel: now therefore, I pray thee, take a blessing of thy servant.
16 But he said, As the LORD liveth, before whom I stand, I will receive none. And he urged him to take it; but he refused.
INTRO:
Leprosy Described:
Ancient leprosy began as small, red spots on the skin. Before too long the spots get bigger, and start to turn white, with sort of a shinny, or scaly appearance. Pretty soon the spots spread over the whole body and hair begins to fall out. As things get worse, finger nails and toenails rot and eventually fall off. Then the joints of fingers and toes begin to rot and fall off piece by piece. Gums begin to shrink and teeth are lost. Leprosy keeps eating away at your face until literally the nose, the palate, and even the eyes rot - and the victim wastes away until death. It is a picture of sin!
We see here that . . .
1. Naaman Engaged the Wrong Person (II Kings 5:1-6)
2. Naaman Expected the Wrong Procedure (Vs - 10-12)
3. Naaman Entertained the Wrong Place (Vs – 12)
4. Naaman Estimated the Wrong Price (Vs – 16:19)
**Naaman knew nothing about God or how the Lord worked, so everything he did to try to help himself was wrong!
**Have you ever felt like everything you did was wrong?
**Have you felt everything you tried God would come along and say, “That’s wrong. That’s not how I’m going to do it.”
**Let’s look closer at this story about Naaman, The Big Dipper, and let’s learn from Naaman’s mistakes about how we can lean on God’s power and put faith in God and His ways!
I. NAAMAN THE MAN
A. Naaman’s Position
II Kings 5:1a 1 Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master,
1. He was Captain
2. He was Credible
Notice: His position as being Captain and being Credible did not cause God to give him special treatment!
B. Naaman’s Popularity
II Kings 5:1b was a great man with his master, and honourable,
1. People Liked Naaman
2. People Loved Naaman
Notice: His popularity, regardless of how many people liked him and loved him, did not mean God would require less obedience from Naaman.
C. Naaman’s Power
II Kings 5:1c by him the LORD had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour,
1. He had an Unreal Power and Bravery
“a mighty man in valour,”
2. He had an Unknown Power and Blessing
“by him the LORD had given deliverance unto Syria”
Notice: His power was not the reason God healed Naaman – God gave him the power in the first place!
D. Naaman’s Problem
II Kings 5:1d but he was a leper.
1. He was a Picture of Disease
2. He was a Picture of Death
Notice: He had a problem despite his successes.
II. NAAMAN’S TRUSTWORTHY MAID
A. She was a Prisoner
II Kings 5:2a And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid
1. She was a captive for the Leprosy Captain.
2. She was a captive for the Lord’s Cause.
**Though you are captured, trust God. He has a plan!
B. She was a Peon
II Kings 5:2b and she waited on Naaman's wife.
1. She was a Small Girl
2. She was a Slave Girl
**She was a nobody who knew somebody that could help anybody!
C. She was a Provision
II Kings 5:3 3 And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy.
1. She Knew the Miracles of God
2. She Knew the Man of God
**God had her there by His mercy and grace so Naaman could find hope and find help!
**Don’t brush off the little things that God has allowed in your life. He will show up in those little simple things!
III. NAAMAN’S TREMENDOUS MIRACLE
A. Watch the Misconception
1. Clout was not Needed
a. His Connections Didn’t Help
**He had his King to write a letter of persuasion.
b. His Clothes Didn’t Help
V-5 And he departed, and took with him . . . ten changes of raiment.
2. Currency was not Needed
V-5 And he departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold . . . (about $486,000)
3. Ceremony was not Needed
a. He Exhibition of the Presentation was a Ceremony.
**He came with his chariots and horses. II Kings 5:9
b. His Expectations of the Prophet was about Ceremony.
**V-11 He wanted Elijah to conduct a ceremony!
NOTE: God’s not interested in our clout, currency, or our ceremonies in order to make God move!
B. Watch the Message
II Kings 5:10 10 And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean.
**It’s a Short, Simple, and Straight Message – but it works because it’s God’s message! Have you followed the directions?
C. Watch the Madness
11 But Naaman was wroth, and went away
1. Upset Cause It Wasn’t His Plan
11 . . . Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the LORD his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper.
2. Upset Cause It Wasn’t His Place
12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage.
**A lot of people are out of church and away from God and living in sin because they got mad because God did not work their Plan in their Place!
D. Watch the Motivation
13And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?
1. It’s Easy to Obey Him in Marvelous Things
2. It’s Expected to Obey Him in Minor Things
E. Watch the Miracles
1. He Received a Healthy Flesh
14 Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean. **He became the Big Dipper!
2. He Received a Heavenly Father
15 . . . Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel:
**God can and will do a miracle in your life too if you will obey Him!
CLOSE
1. How is it with your life today? How is it with your soul?
2. Do you need God to do a work in your life?
3. There’s two circumstances that you may be facing today.
a. There’s sin in your life like a leprosy, and you need to get saved and get cleansed. God can do it for you right now!
b. There’s a situation in your life that you need to trust God with, obey God, and put your trust in God concerning this matter. Will you come and pray right now about that?
4. Our theme is Learning to Lean in 2015. Like our theme, Naaman had to Lean on God’s Power, and Give God His Faith!
5. That’s the only way to receive a miracle from God!
**Will you please come and obey the Lord and seek his face and His will right now?