Sermon Central
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Naaman's Miracle
Contributed by Anthony Zibolski on Mar 27, 2012 (message contributor)
Summary: Everyone likes a happy ending. Do we put ourselves in a position to receive a miracle from the Lord and do we position ourselves to be a part of someone elses miracle? Naaman did not receive until he did what the prophet had told him to do.
Naaman’s Miracle
2 Kings Chapter 5:1-5:16
Introduction-
2 Kings Chapter 5:1-5:16- Read
Everyone likes a happy ending.
Everyone like the guy who gets the girl.
When justice prevailing over wickedness.
Everyone likes to hear about a miracle.
What I question is do we put ourselves in a position to receive a miracle or be a part of someone else’s miracle?
There are 4 main characters in this miracle.
Naaman
slave girl
Elisha the prophet
God.
These are the people involved for Naaman to receive his miracle.
The story goes on with Elisha’s servant Gehazi being greedy and he himself gets leprosy as a punishment (that is another day)
Naaman has a problem! Naaman needs a miracle!
Naaman is a powerful soldier
He is successful for his King, but the problem he has he cannot fix. He has leprosy.
He is going to die a painful death and there is nothing he can do about it.
Naaman needs a miracle- God specializes in miracles!
God’s miracles happen after we admit we have a problem- no problem- no need of a miracle.
God’s miracles happen after we are willing to do something about it.
God’s miracles happen when people put themselves in position to receive a miracle from God.
Naaman’s past success means nothing to him right now. He knows that his problem is bigger than him and if God doesn’t get involved, he will die.
Let me lay this out-
Naaman is a good soldier and successful and has favor with his king.
Naaman captures and conquers and a obtain a slave girl from Israel (God doesn’t record her name) She serves Naaman’s wife (name not recorded)
She says to Naaman’s wife “If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria he would cure him of his leprosy.”
Naaman hears her and approaches the King about it and the King says to Go!
Loads him up with gifts and a letter to give to the King of Israel. (in today’s money about 1 million dollars)
The king of Israel receives the letter and instead of being honored and grateful, he is angry and intimidated.
He thinks that the king of Aram is picking a fight with the nation of Israel.
The prophet of Israel Elisha hears about this and tells the king to allow Naaman to come to him and see that there is a prophet of God in Israel.
Naaman comes to the home of Elisha and a messenger meets him at the door
“Go wash yourself seven times in the Jordan , and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.”
Naaman is angry because the prophet didn’t even come out to him.
He expected to be cured instantly and he is faced with a decision right here.
Everyone of us that wants to see God do a miracle in our lives or the lives of someone we love is faced with this same decision.
Are you going to do what God asks you to do- even if it does not make sense to us!
A miracle follows obedience.
God requires us to do exactly what he says, not roughly or only the parts that we agree with.
What was the number one thing that would keep Naaman from receiving the miracle he needed?
PRIDE- “pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.”
He was successful.
He did need others.
He was powerful.
Now he was up against something bigger than him and he had to admit that he needed help..
He was desperate and listened to the slave girl. He sought out the prophet Elisha to cure him of this leprosy.
This was an enormous step for a soldier, a man to listen to a slave girl.
To go back into the country he defeated and talk to the eking to get a prophet that could heal him.
To travel to the prophet’s house- only to have a messenger of the prophet come out to him-
“Go wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.”
He was angry. NO, He was ticked! He was livid!
Humility, Humble pie, eating crow, all rolled up into one experience.
Go to the Jordan, this dirty muddy river in Israel.
I could of stayed home and washed in cleaner water in Damascus and he leaves in a rage.
Here is the problem-
Naaman’s expectation of how God was to do his miracle do not line up with the way God was going to do it.
He expected (11) “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.”
Catch that? Call on the name of his God” he didn’t have faith and make it his God.
