Doers of the Word

“Doers of the Word”


Brimfield Faith UMC / March 25, 2012

2 Kings 5:9-16



THE JOURNEY OF LENT

This is the fifth Sunday of Lent. Easter is almost upon us. Next week is Palm Sunday when we will celebrate Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem. Then Easter and my son will both be here. So I don’t know about you but the next two weeks are going to fly by.

With that said, we have been on a journey this Lent from darkness to the light of Christ. We have been focusing on how the voice of God guides us through that journey. Michelle started the series with a discussion about how we can at times be fearful of the voice of God. We talked about how we can tune our ear to heaven and then open ourselves to the wide varieties of how God can speak to us. Finally last week, we talked about the importance of having humility as we learn to hear from the Lord. The goal of learning to hear God’s voice is to follow God more closely.

Following God and learning to trust God’s guidance is the toughest part of Christianity. At least for me. There are many times I know the right action to take, the right word to speak and yet I struggle to follow through. It can be as simple as eagerly taking the opportunity to serve and love my family after a tiring day of work. It can be more difficult like praying for someone that seems to be my enemy or taking a risk that potential sets me up to fail. Regardless of the maturity of our walk with Christ, there will be times when following God’s promptings and voice will be hard to do. There will always be hindrances to overcome in hearing and following God’s voice.



NAAMAN

In 2 Kings 5, we encounter a story that reveals the difficulties and hindrances that each of us experience in our walk with God. The story begins as we met Naaman who is a great warrior and commander of the Arameans. While Naaman is a great warrior and leader, he has been struck with a case of leprosy. Leprosy in ancient times was of great concern and generally led to a person becoming an outcast from society. In the midst of this great worry, a young Israelites slave girl offers a solution. “There is a prophet in Samaria who can cure Naaman’s leprosy.” Naaman takes steps to act on this girl’s word.

Why in the world would Naaman listen to this girl? Women were thought of as property in ancient times. This young girl was indeed property; she isn’t even given a name in the story. She had been stolen in a raid of the Israelites. She was made a servant to Naaman’s wife. She was from the enemy’s camp, from the other side. It was probably unwise for the girl even making the suggestion. Just for speaking risked her life. If she is wrong, she’s definitely in trouble. Nonetheless, the nameless Israelite servant girl takes the risk and Naaman actually listens.

The hindrance of risk-taking is part of achieve dreams. Can you imagine if Bill Gates, Steve Jobs or Mark Zuckerberg hadn’t taken the risks they did? None of them finished college. Gates and Zuckerberg both dropped out of Harvard to pursue their dreams of Microsoft and Facebook. I don’t know if they directly heard from God, but they took great risks that resulted in amazing results. We cannot expect our dreams to come true if we are unwilling to take risks, especially when God speaks to us.

Naaman takes his own risks by listening to the girl. He petitions the king to initiate contact with the enemy, Israel. The King could have laughed at him, instantly dismissed him, or even had him killed. Naaman is desperate and apparently has some level of trust in the girl’s word. He takes the risk of petitioning the king. Both Naaman and the slave girl take personal risks and break social stigmas to listen and follow the voice of God.



OBEDIENCE

The next action in the story unfolds as Naaman and his servants seek out and then approach Elisha’s dwelling place. Naaman enters foreign territory with no sense of what the outcome might be. The last time he had entered Israelite territory he had raided a city and stole their children and women. He wasn’t exactly a folk hero. It is kind of like when Lebron James announced he was taking his talents to South Beach his first trip back to Cleveland. It was by no means a warm welcome. Naaman’s entrance into Israelite territory involved significant risks. There were plenty of Israelites that surely sought revenge on the great commander of the Arameans for their recent raids. It was a dangerous and humbling journey to Samaria.

I started to sense a call to ministry when I was a junior in college. My senior year, I became an intern on the staff of a church plant. Every week I came in early and stayed late to setup and tear down chairs. It was a tiresome and humbling job. There was nothing glorious about it. The humility that I learned in those early tasks helped to prepare me for ministry later down the road. The hindrance of pride can prevent us from godly futures. Humility then prepares us for that future.

Safely, Naaman arrives at the entrance of the prophet and waits outside of the house as a sign of respect. As a great warrior he was accustomed to forcefully entering people’s homes and taking what he wanted. This entire encounter was humbling for Naaman. Elisha doesn’t even leave his house. Instead he sends out one of his servants to deliver a message. It was a blatant slap in the face. I imagine a young boy with a squeaky voice delivering the message.

Not only was the messenger embarrassing, but the instructions were humbling: bathe in the Jordan River seven times. Verse 12, Naaman is repulsed by the idea. “Are not Abana and Parpar, the rivers of Damascus, better and all the waters of Israel?” The Jordan River was actually an inferior river than the rivers that Naaman lists. The Jordan was a shallow, muddy river, but it was Israel’s river, it was God’s river. Naaman hesitantly listens and does the word of the prophet.



THE HEALING

Verse 14 reads, “So he went down and immersed himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; his flesh was restored like the flesh of a young boy and he was clean.” Naaman listens and follows the voice of God and is restored as a result. As a result of the healing, Naaman tries to pay Elisha. When Elisha refuses, Naaman vows to only offer sacrifices to the Lord God of Israel. Naaman essentially converts.

Naaman cannot ignore the transformation that has occurred as he listened and followed the voice of God. He realizes that his only faithful response to this miracle in his life was to worship the Lord God Almighty. The word of God has transformed this great warrior that was once an enemy of the Israelites.

I wonder what the King of Aram would have thought about all of this. He couldn’t have been happy with it. This could have been a barrier to Naaman’s response. In fact, he tries to pay for the healing. This would have appeased his King and avoided a more awkward situation. Elisha’s refusal forces his hand. When the Lord speaks and you follow you will be compelled to change. Therefore, Naaman is compelled, even wooed by the powerful actions and voice of God. Healing and conversion occur when Naaman listens and follows God’s voice.



OVERCOMING BARRIERS

Naaman overcomes significant obstacles to hearing the voice of God. He overcomes significant risks to his life, to his reputation, and to his pride. As a result, he is forever changed. He provides a model for each of us to follow. Listening and following God requires commitment and risk. It is never glorious or easy but it is always worth it. It leads us closer to the heart of God. As we conclude let’s be reminded of the lessons we learn from Naaman’s journey to Elisha.

Listen for small tasks to build your faith. Naaman started with the low risk choice to allow the Israelite slave girl to speak. There is little risk to allowing her to speak. While it certainly breaks social stigmas, there would have been little fall out for such a great warrior to simply listen. In Luke 16:10 Jesus says, “Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much.” The Lord wants to build our faith by giving us small tasks at first. This might mean faithful serving in a behind-the-scenes role when you really desire to be upfront.

Acting on God’s voice always involves risk. We will never feel fully equipped or safe in what God is calling us to. If it is too easy, there is a good chance it is not from the Lord. God loves to stretch us. In that risk taking we are drawn closer to him in relationship. We learn to trust him more. While we act with wisdom, we always have to take a leap of faith with God.

When I enrolled in seminary, my parents were supportive of the decision. My Dad’s exact words were “You need to pursue what you are passionate about, but I am not paying for it.” Even without his financial support, I applied for seminary, was accepted and made preparations to start in the fall. I had absolutely no idea how I was going to pay for a three year program with tuition over $10,000 a year. I knew God was calling me to follow his voice and I took a huge risk in following Him. As it turned out, once I had started down the path, I received a full-tuition scholarship to cover my expenses.

Hearing and following the voice of God is not a glorious idea. And yet, it is essential to growing in the image of Christ and to bringing heaven down to earth. If we desire to partner with God in his work in this world, then we need to learn to hear and follow God’s voice. It requires us to listen to many ways God speaks. It requires humility. It requires action.

What have you heard? What do you need to act on? God is calling, beaconing, waiting. All he needs is you to follow. Be a person who listens, follows and does. Be a church that listens, follows, and does. When you do God will move and your world will be transformed.