THE BLESSING IN YOUR TRAGEDY
2 Kings 5:1-15
God arranges circumstances and people in your life to fulfill His
purposes.
This lesson has three main points
1. YOUR TRAGEDY BECOMES YOUR MISSION
2. YOUR MISSION BECOMES YOUR TESTIMONY
3. YOUR TESTIMONY DRAWS OTHERS TO CHRIST.
ARRANGED CIRCUMSTANCES TO MEET GOD
V:1 Now Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded, because through him the Lord had given victory to Aram (over Israel).
He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy.
2 Now bands from Aram had gone out and had taken captive a young girl from Israel, and she served Naaman's wife. 3 She said to her mistress, "If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy."
GOD GIVES US THREE POWERFUL RESUMES
A. The Resume of Naaman
1. God recommends the character of Naaman to us
2. According the Word, Naaman was the commander of army of the
enemy of Israel.
3. He was the commander of the army.
a. He was a great man
b. He was highly regarded
c. He was a valiant soldier
d. God gave him victory over Israel.
4. Everybody on the other side may not be your enemy.
a. Naaman did not have anything to do with where he was born
b. But, he made a choice to live a good life
c. He treated other well, We know this because he was
recommended by the young girl, who was a captive from Israel
d. He had an issue. He had leprosy
e. God blessed Naaman with this issue to bring him salvation
OUT OF THE MOUTH OF BABES
B. The resume of the young girl, a captive from Israel
1. She had a good attitude
2. It is possible that her family had been killed in the war.
3. She was taken captive and forced to serve the wife of the enemy,
4. BUT, She did not dwell on her tragedy.
5. She accepted her position as a slave, but her mind was free.
6. She was free to have love and compassion
7. She was free to use her wisdom to recommend her master to God.
8. She was free to have faith in the power of God.
9. Don’t let your circumstances control your love for God.
C. The resume of her parents.
1. They trained their daughter to trust God (parenting advice)
2. They trained their daughter to be obedient
3. By training their daughter to trust God, they set her
up to deal with the problems of life
THE VALUE OF YOUR TESTIMONY
V:4 Naaman, went to his master and told him what the girl from Israel had
said.
A. God did not give the girl a name, but He tells about her faith
1. Her circumstances did not change her faith.
2. She proclaimed the power and authority of God to a man in
need.
B. Her tragedy became her mission
1. Its in the text
2. She probably lost her parents and family in the war.
3. She was taken captive into a foreign land.
4. She was force to serve the wife of her enemy.
5. She had every reason to be angry, depressed and upset.
6. But she had faith in God
C. Look at the strength of her faith
1. God put her in a situation where her faith became her mission.
2. She was place in the household of a man with leprosy.
3. Her testimony was so convincing that when she told
Naaman’s wife, the wife told Naaman and Naaman told
Told his master, the King .
5. Her testimony was so convincing that everybody that heard her
recommendation believed the God of Israel was a healer.
6. Out of the mouth of babes comes the praises of God.
THE BLESSING OF YOUR TRAGEDY
V:5 "By all means, go," the king of Aram replied. "I will send a letter to the king of Israel." So Naaman left, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold and ten sets of clothing. 6 The letter that he took to the king of Israel read: "With this letter I am sending my servant Naaman to you so that you may cure him of his leprosy."
A. The same king that fought against Israel, killed people in Israel
And took captives out of Israel wanted to pay Israel to heal his
Servant.
1. In todays dollars, 10 talents of silver would be 165,000dollars
2. In todays dollars, six thousands schekels of gold would be
worth 2.8 million dollars
3. It is good to have money, but you can’t buy God.
B. The faith of the girl didn’t immediate translate into
faith for Naaman, but a desire to be healed
1. You can tell people about God, but they have to meet God
for themselves
2. Your job is not to save, but to proclaim the Word.
3. Her proclamation caused others to seek God.
BLINDED BY SELFISHNESS
V:7 As soon as the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his robes and said, "Am I God? Can I kill and bring back to life? Why does this fellow send someone to me to be cured of his leprosy? See how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me!"
A. The King was blinded by his limitations.
1. He was blinded by his failure to see the power of God
through the works of the prophets, Elijah and Elisha (1 kings 19:16
2. Joram, king of Israel was blinded by his lack of trust in God.
3. He knew of God but had no relationship with God.
The king used the word “Elohyim”, the supreme God
3. Joram couldn’t see an opportunity in front him.
4. Joram was focused on himself rather than the needs of others.
B. It is up to us to see the opportunities in our circumstances,
1. Some see things in a negative light and a curse.
2. Others see our circumstances in a positive light and
blessings from God.
C. Naaman was sent with letter from his king to Joram king
Of Israel to order the prophet to heal him.
1. Naaman went to the king to buy his healing,
2. The king of Israel saw the request as a reason King of Aram
wanted to start a fight.
Joram was dismayed when he read the letter from Ben-Hadad II. Tearing one's robes indicated great anxiety and distress (cf. 2:12; 6:30; 11:14). Israel and Aram had been at peace, but it appeared to Joram that Ben-Hadad was trying to pick a fight again as he had done with Joram's father Ahab (cf. 1 Kings 20:1-3). Joram did not realize that Naaman did not expect him to cure the leprosy. Elisha did not even enter Joram's mind. The Israelite king had no use for that prophet who constantly opposed him. Joram wanted as little contact with him as possible.
(from Bible Knowledge Commentary/Old Testament Copyright © 1983, 2000 Cook Communications Ministries; Bible Knowledge Commentary)
WHAT GOD HAS FOR YOU IS FOR YOU
V:8 When Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his robes, he sent him this message: "Why have you torn your robes? Have the man come to me and he will know that there is a prophet in Israel." 9 So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha's house. 10 Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, "Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed."
A. What God has for you is for you.
1. Even though Naaman met with a fustrated king,
God made sure that the man of God heard his request.
2. Elisha ask the King Joram to send Naaman to him.
3. Elisha’s purpose was so that King of Aram would
know that God is in control
B. God’s commands are simple but sometimes unbelievable.
1. Water is water, so you would think any water ought to do.
2. But God’s directions were to wash in the Jordan river seven
times.
3. Seven is the number of completion
4. God rested on the seventh day of creation.
5. God promised to give us rest.
6. It was not the water that cured, but the obedience to the
command in the water that was the cure.
THE CONVERSION OF NAAMAN
V:11. But Naaman went away angry and said, "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. 12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than any of the waters of Israel? Couldn't I wash in them and be cleansed?" So he turned and went off in a rage.
13 Naaman's servants went to him and said, "My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, 'Wash and be cleansed'!" 14 So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy.
15 Then Naaman and all his attendants went back to the man of God. He stood before him and said, "Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel. Please accept now a gift from your servant."
A. God’s blessing and our pride don’t go together.
1. Naaman got angry because there was no grand ceremony for
his healing.
2. It was beneath his high position to wash in the Jordan river.
3. Pride and anger can cause you to lose the blessing God has for you.
B. Sometimes God put humble people in your mist to counsel you
in your prideful attitude.
1. Thank God for the wisdom of those He place in our mist.
2. It is a wise man who submits to the will of the Father.
YOUR TROUBLE IS YOUR BLESSING
C. God uses the troubles in your life to draw you to Himself.
1. Leprosy was the motive God used to draw Naaman to Himself.
2. Naaman had to be brought to point where he was willing to listen to
voice of the prophet recommened by the slave girl
3. He had to get rid of his pride and humble himself to the
prophet of God.
4. He had to obey the instructions of God.
5. Naaman had to see the power of God in his life to
believe in God.
IN SUMMARY
YOUR TRAGEDY BECOMES YOUR MISSION
YOUR MISSION BECOMES YOUR TESTIMONY
YOUR TESTIMONY DRAWS OTHERS TO CHRIST
Rev. M. Mitchell
Asst Pastor Of Greater Macedonia Baptist Church
No comments:
Post a Comment