Narrowing Down Focus. Last week we talked about the fact that “Hidden Sin Hinders Revival” and learned that unconfessed and unrepentant sin in our lives as Christians can, will and does prevent revival from coming upon us because revival is the work of the Holy Spirit in us and active sin in our lives, as the Bible tells us, quenches/grieves the Holy Spirit whereby, it is not that He cannot bring revival but He will not bring revival when those seeking revival are not serious enough about it to repent of sin that we may be hiding. I spoke about sin in general terms last week trusting that the Lord would reveal those specific areas of our lives that He is looking to do work with us and in us over. This week, however, I’m not going to be speaking about sin generally but more specifically as we narrow down our focus and hear from the Lord this message entitled “Pride Prevents Revival.”
As I set this all up for us let me say this…There may be some of you here who are in desperate need of revival but do not recognize and/or admit it and that could be because of your pride. There are others of you here who have been asking for revival and you may be getting frustrated because it seems like the Lord is not responding and it could very well be that the reason for His apparent lack of response is because that which is “under your tent” and hindering the process of revival in your heart is pride. PRIDE PREVENTS REVIVAL..
2 Kings 5:1-17
Naman: “The Man!” Naaman was the commander of the king’s army. The king may have been the one who sat on the throne and got all the publicity and attention, everybody knew that Naaman was the man who got things done. The king could pronounce that his army was going out to battle, and he may even join in the fight from time to time, but it was Naaman, the commander of the king’s army, who came up with plans and strategies of attack that could result in victory. Naaman was the man and at this particular time his popularity was at a peak because he had just been successful in leading the Syrian army in battle against another Israel (1 Kings 22). God used the Syrians as rods of discipline upon His people because of their ungodly kings who led the people in ungodly ways.
However, do not get this all twisted for Naaman nor the Syrians were God worshipping people. They were pagan and worshipped a multitude of false gods. What we are seeing here is what it means to have a God-Centered worldview (the lens whereby we see and interpret the happenings of life) because the writer of this book knows that regardless of who the victor did or did not worship, victory was granted by God and God alone even if it was given to those who did not worship Him.
The “Man” Has a PROBLEM. Not only are we introduced to Naaman as one who was “the man” it is also revealed to us that “the man” has a problem. Naaman may have been the most popular and prominent man in Syria but every day Naaman rolled out of bed and looked at his arms, legs, chest and back and was reminded of the fact that he had leprosy. For an Israelite, leprosy was a big deal and rendered one unclean, unfit for corporate gatherings at the Temple, and unwanted by others lest they contact, if possible, such a dreadful disease. While the Syrians would not have shared the full extent and reasoning of those views regarding leprosy they would have still looked down upon one who had leprosy possibly viewing it as a curse capriciously handed down from one of their false gods thus resulting in the leper being a social outcast.
The Solution to Naaman’s Problem is Revealed. Naaman has an Israeli girl living in his house most likely as a servant taken from Israel as a “spoil” of war. The young girl, knowing the work of God through His prophet in Israel, makes known that if Naaman could just go see the prophet in Israel (Samaria) then surely he could be healed of this dreadful and incurable disease. Apparently Naaman is desperate because he takes the suggestion of a young Israeli girl and requests permission to go see the Prophet in Israel. The king of Syria grants Naaman’s request and sends a letter to the king.
The Pathway to Healing. This is where the story gets really, really intriguing because the path that Naaman has to take in order to be healed reveals the point and purpose of the whole story. Consider the path…
• The path to the king of Israel. For whatever reason, Naaman goes to the king for healing rather than the prophet he was told about. The king doesn’t know what to do. He assumes that the king of Syria is trying to start some “drama” between the two and just starts freaking out and tearing his clothes in distress over Naaman and the letter from the king of Syria.
• The path to Elijah the prophet. When the king freaks out news of such travels fast! Elijah hears about the king’s meltdown and sends word to the king to tell Naaman to come to him so that he might know that there is a prophet in Israel. When Naaman arrives at Elijah’s house Elijah doesn’t even come to the door but sends his servant to the door to give Naaman the instructions he needs to follow in order to be healed. Naaman is told by Elijah’s servant to go to the Jordan River; dip himself in the waters there seven times and then he would be healed.
• Naaman’s Anger. When God is humbling the proud the process of humility generally produces more pride in the lives of the proud before humility comes about. Naaman is TICKED! It is not humiliating enough for Naaman that the prophet did not even come out to talk to him but now he is being told that his healing lies within the waters, the dirty, nasty, smelly waters of the Jordan River! The Jordan River is the Ohio River of the Middle East—not first on the list of places to go and take a swim! Naaman cannot believe what it happening and in disgust offers up his rejection to the whole plan revealing that he thought that the prophet would just come out and wave his hands and bring about the healing he desired. Furthermore, if it was so necessary for him to be healed by dipping himself in the water then the rivers of Damascus would have been preferred 10 to 1 over the waters of the Jordan!
• Naaman’s Healing. So disgusted in all that has taken place that it takes Naaman’s servant to persuade him to actually do what Elijah had told him to do and when he does he finds what he is looking for—healing! Naaman finally agrees to go and do what Elijah had told him to do, as humiliating and inexplicable as it may seem, and when he comes up out of the river that seventh time he finds that his skin is not only healed to a state that would be commensurate with his age but actually better! The Scriptures say that his flesh was restored to the point that his skin was like that of a little child!
Naaman’s Response is Worship. Once Naaman had done all that he was told to do which resulted in healing he went back to the prophet’s house. Naaman had not only experienced a healing of his skin but had experienced a healing in his heart. He was not about to come to Israel and receive a blessing and then simply turn around and walk out as if it was not by grace that he had been healed. He goes back to Elijah and offers him a present for all that he had done. Elijah refuses. Naaman insists. Elijah refuses again. Seeing that Elijah is unwilling to accept his gift, Naaman asks for a gift from Elijah that reveals the healing that had taking place in his own heart. Naaman asks for some dirt to take back with him to Syria because he was now going to be solely worshipping the One, True and Living God even while living in a land of pagans.
The Point of it All. This is where our “Aha!” moment happens because we see what God has been up to all along now. God was after Naaman’s worship but before Naaman would ever return to God the worship He is rightfully due he had to have a change of heart. Naaman not only went back to Syria as a man with new skin but a man with a new heart. The leprosy on Namaan’s skin was byproduct of a bigger issue in his heart and that was his pride and this is why we find these events transpiring as they do. Naaman had to experience the process of being humbled before God before he would ever worship God as God. When Naaman’s pride was dealt with then, and only then, did he find his healing and his response to God’s work in his life was worship.
God’s purpose in the universe is that His name may be exalted and magnified throughout the nations. This was the purpose of Abraham’s calling! God said that the nations would be blessed through him and we know that the ultimate fulfillment of that promise is found in Jesus because it was from the line of Abraham through which Jesus was born to bring salvation to the world. However, as Old Testament history unfolded Israel was to be a blessing to the nations in that their worship of the One, True and Living would shine like a beacon of light in the darkness whereby the pagan nations may look in upon them and be drawn to Him through their worship. Israel, generally speaking, had failed in blessing the nations in their worship by their disobedience, rebellion and idolatry. Rather than Israel blessing Syria by their worship their lives actually brought disgraced the name of the One who made them. Therefore, God used Syria, regardless of their paganism, victory over Israel and then took the one credited by the Syrians with the victory, humbled him of his pride through the healing of his leprosy, and then sent him back to his people as a changed man who now was determined to worshipping the One, True and Living God of Israel.
Pride Prevents Salvation. Pride was the obstacle in Naaman’s life that kept him from experiencing healing that resulted in worship. Pride is such a powerful thing. I believe it can be concluded that the foundation beneath each and every sin that we commit is pride because pride says that it is all about who I am and what I want in the face of God who has revealed to us who He is and what He desires. Pride will keep many out of heaven and pride will keep many from experiencing revival. For some it will be the case that their pride will prevent them from ever humbling themselves before the cross of Jesus to experience His grace in salvation. They may acknowledge Jesus and even like Jesus but will refuse to surrender and submit to Him because of their own pride. The “heads up; shoulders back” arrogance of men and women before God who barely bow their heads for prayer much less actually offer up to God their voice, their finances, and their life in worship. This is the one who has deceived him/herself by thinking that he/she is a self made man/woman who really does not need God. They approach God with the whole, “Don’t call me. I’ll call you when needed.”
Pride Prevents Revival. Pride is as much as a problem in the Church of Jesus Christ as it is outside the Church of Jesus Christ. Pride is a plague that rears its ugly head all over the place. It may be because of pride that we are not asking for revival. It may be because of pride that we are not experiencing revival. Pride plagues us all at times! Sometimes pride is not as easy to detect especially in the lives of those who say they love and have been saved by Jesus. In ministry pride is a dangerous thing. Sermons can be motivated by the accolades I receive from you. Leading worship become more about personal performance rather than humble worship when pride is in the mix. Pride gets frustrated at the lack of maturity in others and rather than encouraging them in their walk with Jesus as we should you come to my office and talk about “those people!” as if they are some sort of second class citizens of the Kingdom of God. Pride in the life of a Christian reveals itself in situations where when you do not get your way, you “take your ball and go home” (give up and leave) or you question the salvation of others because they are not on the same page as you. I have worked with people like this and one of the hardest things to accomplish is to lead the proud to see that the common denominator in nearly all of their problems, especially relational problems, is them!
How Do I Know If Pride Is An Issue For Me? If you would like to consider something that can offer up to you a report on your spiritual health then I would suggest that you consider your worship. In our opening message of this series we saw a woman who was passionately determined in her worship of Jesus as she offered up to Him everything that she has and was in response to His love and grace. What about you? In our passage today we saw that Naaman returned as one who was passionately determined to worship the One, True and Living God. How about you? Are you passionate and determined in worshipping Jesus with the song? Are you passionate and determined in worshipping Jesus with your obedience? Are you passionate and determined in worshipping Jesus with your finances?
