GOD'S WORD IS SUPERNATURAL
When going through a sermon series on the prophet Elisha, it’s expected that we will talk about some pretty amazing stories. Because almost every story about Elisha includes an incredible miracle that the Lord performed through him - some of which are one-of-a-kind events in the pages of Scripture. And the account we have in 2 Kings 3 this morning is no exception. It is a story that speaks of the supernatural; it retells events that could not have possibly happened in this world without the power of God’s Word behind them. God’s Word itself is supernatural, isn’t it? It can defy the basic laws of nature. It is able to make a sinner into a saint. It is so powerful and enduring that not even Satan himself can stop it. God’s Word works beyond the natural way of doing things. It is supernatural. And the story of Elisha in 2 Kings 3 shows us how God’s Word is supernatural in two different ways: 1) God’s Word creates things that are not there; 2) God’s Word produces Christians in the bleakest of situations.
The first way God’s Word is supernatural is easy to see in this story because it is obvious how his Word created something that was not there. You’ve just heard the story a few minutes ago: As the king of Judah and the king of Israel and the king of Edom are traveling through the desert with their entire consolidated army, they run out of water. The king of Israel complains, the king of Edom is speechless (it was his desert, after all, in the middle of which they ran out of water), and the king of Judah asked for a prophet of the Lord. When they find Elisha (who was conveniently in the middle of the desert at that time) and after he sends for a harpist (who was also conveniently in the middle of the desert at the time) this Word of the Lord was given to these three kings: “Make this valley full of ditches. For this is what the LORD says: You will see neither wind nor rain, yet this valley will be filled with water, and you, your cattle and your other animals will drink. This is an easy thing in the eyes of the LORD” (2 Kings 3:16-18). And sure enough, the very next morning water started to flow from the direction of Edom and the desert floor where they were camped was flooded. And why was it flooded? Because God said the word and it came to be. There were no rivers in the area and they weren’t in a flood plain; there wasn’t even any wind and not a single drop of rain fell from the sky; the Lord simply created water where there was none with a single word.
Pretty amazing, isn’t it? Nothing like that ever really happened in Scripture since then. Sure, the Lord certainly manipulated water and commanded it to do what he wanted it to do throughout his life on this earth, but other than The Creation itself and possibly the water from the rock during the time of Moses, the Lord has never created water where it was not, except here. You would never imagine waking up in the morning, looking to the north, and seeing torrents of water rushing over the dry ground and into the city of Montrose or wherever you live - especially when there had been no rain, no snow melt, no dam breaking, no reasonable explanation whatsoever! But that’s exactly what God did during the time of Elisha because God’s Word is supernatural. God’s Word supersedes any restraint or restriction that sinful human beings are limited by in this world. And it doesn’t even take a lot of effort for him to do those kinds of things! Whatever supernatural thing he accomplishes “is an easy thing in the eyes of the LORD.”
But although this event of flooding the desert floor with water is an incredible act of the power of God’s Word, it is not the only supernatural act of God’s Word in the story. Something happened earlier in the middle of the desert that strikes me as even more amazing than a miraculous flow of water coming from Edom. But it’s described in our story with just half a sentence and so it’s easy to miss. In fact, I didn’t really catch it - it didn’t really strike me - until this past week. And this supernatural act of God’s Word has to do with God’s Word producing Christians in the bleakest of situations. I’m going to read verses 11-12 again, and I want to see if you notice the supernatural effects of God’s Word within these few sentences.
But Jehoshaphat asked, "Is there no prophet of the LORD here that we may inquire of the LORD through him?" An officer of the king of Israel answered, "Elisha son of Shaphat is here. He used to pour water on the hands of Elijah." Jehoshaphat said, "The word of the LORD is with him." So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him.
Did you catch the amazing act of God’s Word in these two short verses? Allow me to narrow your focus, if you would, with a question: Did you notice who it was that answered the king of Judah? The person who knew Elisha was the prophet of the Lord, who knew where Elisha was at that very moment, and whom Elisha had trained under? It was an officer of the king of Israel! An officer of the king of Israel knew and believed all these things about God’s prophet! Now if it had been an officer of the king of Judah, someone under King Jehoshaphat, that wouldn’t be too much of a surprise. Because Jehoshaphat was a good king, a godly king. “In everything he walked in the ways of his father Asa,” Scripture says, “and did not stray from them; he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD” (1 Kings 22:43). And so it could rightly be assumed that most of Jehoshaphat’s subjects and especially his high ranking officers knew who the Lord’s prophet was. But for a high ranking officer of the king of Israel to know who Elisha was and to apparently believe in God’s power through him? That’s a little unexpected! Because the king of Israel at that time was a man named Joram. “He did evil in the eyes of the LORD… he clung to the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat which he had caused Israel to commit; he did not turn away from them” (2 Kings 3:2,3). Those sins that Joram continued in were worshiping false gods at the two high places Jeroboam had set up half a century before. Joram was not a good king. He was not a godly king. And his brother Ahaziah who ruled before him hadn’t been any better. “He served and worshiped Baal and provoked the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger, just as his father had done” (1 Kings 22:53). Ahaziah even died by the hands of the Lord according to a direct prophesy by the prophet Elijah because Ahaziah had consulted a false god instead of the Lord himself.
But no matter how bad Ahaziah and Joram were, their father was the worst of all. Their father was King Ahab. Their mother: Jezebel. Ahab and Jezebel were perhaps the most notorious king and queen in the entire history of the Israelite nation. They were the ones who murdered Naboth and stole his vineyard. They were the ones who hunted down and killed the prophets of the Lord so that Elijah thought he was the only one left. They were the ones who challenged the prophet Elijah to a duel on top of Mt. Carmel - the place where God rained down fire from heaven on the altar Elijah had set up. Ahab and Jezebel were wicked people and they both died bloody and horrible deaths at the word of the Lord. But to be honest, the northern kingdom of Israel - as opposed to the southern kingdom of Judah - never had a good king. Ever! Every single king that reigned over that northern part of the Promised Land was an unbeliever. According to the pages of Scripture not one of those kings died as a believer in the true God and, in fact, most of them were vehemently opposed to anything the true God wanted.
So the fact that an officer of the king of Israel not only knew where Elisha was and not only believed in what Elisha could do but was also bold enough to admit that - that is something supernatural! God’s Word had somehow survived in that northern territory all those years; it had reached the ears of one of the officers of an ungodly ruler; and it had actually produced a Christian in one of the bleakest of situations. How did that officer ever hear the true words of God in the first place? How was he able to maintain his faith while serving under such spiritually depraved kings? What was going to happen to him now that he not only acknowledged that he knew where Elisha was but implied that he trusted that God could fix their problem through this prophet? God’s Word is supernatural. It works in places that seem to be devoid of the gospel. It works at times when everything seems to be against it. It works in hearts that, frankly, never deserved the chance.
Have you ever thought of your faith in your Savior as being just as a supernatural act of God just like it was for the officer of the king of Israel? Now I wouldn’t say that we live in a country that was exactly like the northern kingdom of Israel during Elisha’s time, and we haven’t really had national leaders that have physically persecuted true teachers of Scripture, but we do have quite a bit against us. We are inundated with unscriptural ecumenism in this country - which is a joining together of religions despite what they teach; we are surrounded by thousands of people and entire church bodies who claim to be Christians but really are not; we are tempted with countless other material blessings in this life that try to take the place of the one true God. And let’s not forget the most damaging obstacles to our faith: our own sinful nature. Something we were born with, conceived with! Something deep down inside of us that automatically hates God, something that produces sinful thoughts and sinful actions and sinful words at an alarming rate, something that immediately excludes us from God’s family and something that makes us spiritually incapable of doing anything about it. Our sinful nature puts us into the same category that the officer of the king of Israel was in before he was brought to faith in his Savior: hopeless, helpless, clueless, without knowledge that anything was wrong and without the ability to fix the problem even if we knew!
But then just as it did to the officer of the king of Israel, the Word of God hit our hearts. Whether you heard it, whether you read it, whether you were baptized with it, God’s Word grabbed your spiritually rotted heart and turned it, converted it by reviving it with his love and grace and forgiveness. He convinced you that he was a human being just like you, that he died on the cross to take your impending punishment, that he rose from the grave to make way for your own resurrection, that he lives in a heaven that you too will one day call your home, that he has secured your salvation by everything he has done and you don’t have to do anything for it. God’s Word has convinced your heart that this is true! Doesn’t that strike you as supernatural! It certainly isn’t natural! It certainly isn’t natural for you as an educated, alert, independently-thinking, rational, reasonable, and logical human being to believe such a thing! Is it? Or are you in the habit of falling for legends about a God who takes the form of a real human man so that he can live among us for a while? Do you usually assume that a person can raise himself from the dead after being brutally and undeniably executed three days earlier? Is it typical for you to back things that you cannot prove or trust in things that you cannot explain or fully except things that you cannot understand? The Word of your God is supernatural. It has to be! For you to actually believe what the Bible says about your salvation and forgiveness and eternal life, God’s Word can be nothing less than supernatural!
And that’s what’s so cool about this story in 2 kings 3. Yes, there was an impressive flood of water in the middle of the desert pronounced by the Word of the Lord. Yes, the Moabites were surprisingly handed over to these three kings by the promise of the Word of the Lord. But it was the Word of the Lord doing supernatural things in the heart of the officer of the king of Israel that was most impressive. That was the greatest miracle of all! It was the most important miracle in the story. Because that was the only miracle that had eternal implications.
And the Lord has accomplished the same miracle in your heart. He has taken you from his enemy and made you into a friend. He has transformed you from a slave of your sinful nature to a servant of the Spirit. His life and death and resurrection has made it possible that you, a condemned criminal, are now his child and an heir of the inheritance of eternal life. Do not take this supernatural act of God for granted! It may not be as visually remarkable as some of those great miracles during the time of Elisha. It may not be as outwardly awe-inspiring as some of the things Jesus himself did during the few years he was on this earth. But the faith that the Lord placed in your heart through his Word is just as incredible. He shouldn’t have done it but he did. He didn’t have to do it but he did. We didn’t even want him to do as unbelievers! But he did. And this mind-blowing miracle happens every day throughout the world wherever the Word is heard or read or taught. Thank the Lord that you are one of those who have been a recipient of this supernatural act of God’s power and mercy. You would not be sitting here right now, you would not be a Christian, you would not have the sure hope of heaven without it.
Amen.
“You were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” - 1 Cor. 6:11
Sunday, August 08, 2010
Monday, August 02, 2010
8/1/10 - 2 Kings 5:15-19 - Elisha 5
CARRY YOUR FAITH WITH YOU
There was a war going on between Aram and Israel during the time of Elisha. Minor battles and off-and-on scuffles along the northern border of the Promised Land were commonplace for a number of years. But during one of these violent skirmishes that was started by a raiding party of Arameans, an unfortunate little Israelite girl was ripped away from her parents by the enemy, taken back to a strange place among a strange people who spoke a strange language, and was forced to serve the wife of Aram’s army commander, Naaman. And there she lived, away from her family, away from her home town, and away from the temple of her Lord. But as the story continues we notice that there is apparently no animosity in this little girl. She doesn’t hold a grudge or wish the worst on her captors. Instead, when she finds out that Naaman has leprosy she tells him to go to Israel so that Elisha the prophet could heal him. She wanted her master to be healthy. She wanted him to know the one true God. And it’s a heart-warming story, isn’t it? It is an inspiring tale of a bold and evangelical little girl who without hesitation shared her faith with someone who rightly could have been considered her worst enemy.
This story about the little girl in 2 Kings 5 has long been used and preached on as a story that exemplifies the evangelical spirit of a Christian. It is a story that has been utilized in Sunday school classrooms and Bible class lessons to demonstrate that even a young child can share her faith with others. But the lessons we learn about evangelism and outreach in this story usually stop right there – with the little girl. She is set up as the only example, as the sole protagonist of a story that is all about showing one’s faith to others. But I don’t want to stop with her today. I don’t want to overlook what she did, but I don’t want to only look at what she did either. Because she is not the only one in this story that showed an incredible display of faith. She is not the only one that boldly and confidently professed her trust in the Lord to everyone else around her. She is not the only one who carried her faith with her to an unbelieving people. So did Naaman.
Not at first, of course. He wasn’t even a believer at first. He was a worshiper of the Aramean god, Rimmon, and a skeptic of the God of Israel. But then that very God of Israel miraculously cured his leprosy through that prophet of Israel and Naaman was convinced that there was only one God, and it was the Lord. And the faith that the Lord worked in Naaman’s heart through these events was nothing Naaman was going to hide. Listen again to the somewhat forgotten part of the end of this well-known story:
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." The prophet answered, "As surely as the LORD lives, whom I serve, I will not accept a thing." And even though Naaman urged him, he refused. "If you will not," said Naaman, "please let me, your servant, be given as much earth as a pair of mules can carry, for your servant will never again make burnt offerings and sacrifices to any other god but the LORD. But may the LORD forgive your servant for this one thing: When my master enters the temple of Rimmon to bow down and he is leaning on my arm and I bow there also—when I bow down in the temple of Rimmon, may the LORD forgive your servant for this." "Go in peace," Elisha said.
Do you see why this story isn’t just about the little Israelite girl’s confession of faith but also about Naaman’s? He did a bold and gutsy thing! He left his home country as a loyal subject; he came back promoting the religion of their arch rival. He left with the idea that the rivers of Damascus were far better than any waters of Israel; he came back hauling loads of dirt from that despised land because he wouldn’t worship on anything else. He left with the attitude of a powerful commander; he came back with the attitude of an indebted servant. And this from a man who was a brand-new convert to Christianity! He didn’t know all of the ins and outs of the religion he was now involved with. He didn’t understand every detail in the history of the Israelite nation. He probably wasn’t even aware of half the things that God had done. But it didn’t matter! He knew his Lord! And he knew what his Lord could do! And so he was not ashamed or hesitant or reluctant to visibly show his faith in the one he believed.
We have such an advantage over a man like Naaman. Because for most of us, we have known the ins and outs of Christianity for years – if not for our entire lives. We have read and have heard and have been taught the many teachings of Scripture over and over again. We have been aware of the many things our Lord has done throughout the history of this world for as long as we can remember. Not to mention: we have instant access to God’s Word whenever we want; Naaman didn’t. We are surrounded by Christians every day who can support and encourage us in our faith; Naaman wasn’t. We have thousands of Christians that have gone before us that we can look to as examples and role models for our own lives; Naaman didn’t. He had a king who bowed down to a false god. He was from a country that rejected the Lord. And he lived in a place that was far away from the temple of Jerusalem and the synagogues throughout Israel that housed the written words of Scripture at that time. We have a tremendous advantage over Naaman as far as our faith is concerned. But we are half as bold with it.
Rarely do we proudly display our faith to unbelievers like Naaman did. We might carry our faith around with us, we might hint at it if the situation arises, but many times we hope that no one will bring it up. We don’t always want unbelievers to know what we stand for because we don’t want to have to bother with an uncomfortable conversation. Or we don’t want others to know what we believe because we don’t want to be thought of as “religious zealots” or “Jesus freaks” or “Bible bangers.” It is in our minds that we don’t want to shove Christianity in someone’s face; but then we use that as an excuse not to bring it up at all! We don’t want to turn anyone off, but that doesn’t mean we should never try to turn anyone on to the light of the gospel! There are thousands of chances to demonstrate our faith in this life. Some of those opportunities will turn out well. Others won’t. But it’s certainly wrong to let those opportunities pass by without at least making the effort.
Naaman made the effort. And I’m sure Naaman was made fun of and verbally harassed a little bit for doing so. He was probably called quite a few unpleasant names by those in the country of Aram for having a big pile of Israeli dirt in his backyard and for worshiping the God of his enemy! But that did not stop him from carrying his faith with him. That did not stop him from being proud of the one in whom he believed. Regardless of what people would say, regardless of what people would think, he was unashamed to display his faith in a very visible and unmistakable way.
There are times when we don’t have a problem displaying our faith. There are times when we are also visibly proud of who we are and what we believe. But that usually only happens among other Christians, doesn’t it? That usually happens among those who believe in the same things we do – like right here in church or maybe among our families or with our close Christian friends. But when we’re around those who do not believe what we do, when we are in the company of those who are not Christians at all and who may be anti-religion all together, then we aren’t so bold. Then we aren’t so proud. We quiet down. We back off. We take our faith and stuff it down deep into our back pocket and let them say whatever they want to say without telling them everything they need to know. It’s the Peter-in-the-Courtyard Syndrome, the inability to say what you should say and do what you should do out of fear for what might be said about you.
What if your Lord did that? What if Jesus was so concerned about what people would say about him and what people would think about him while he was on this earth that he didn’t say what he needed to say or do what he needed to do? What if he backed down? What if he became silent? If Jesus cared more about his own reputation on this earth than what he had come to accomplish – our salvation would not have been won! Our forgiveness would not have been earned! Our eternal life would not have been secured! And it must have been a strong temptation for Jesus to give into since he was a normal human being. Because think of some of the nasty names that were said about Christ himself while he was here on this earth. He was called a criminal, a blasphemer of the Almighty Lord, a fake, a liar. He was referred to as arrogant, overrated, weak, incapable… And people said these things about him because of who he was and what he stood for. And he stood for us! He stood there with every one of our burdens on his shoulders – and for that he was hated. He stood there with all of the guilt of all of the world on his conscience – and for that he was made fun of. He stood there willing to take all of our requirements, to be condemned by our death sentence, and to undergo our eternal punishment – and for that he was murdered. But he did not care about what was going to happen to him. He did not care about the terrible things people were saying about him. He was going to carry that humiliation, he was going to carry that physical and verbal persecution, he was going to carry that cross on his shoulder to the hill of his crucifixion no matter what. And he was determined to carry that out because your eternal life was more important to Jesus than his own life. Your future joy in heaven was more important to him than any joy he could have experienced on this earth. Jesus was not on this earth so that everyone would like him. He was not on this earth to make friends. He was on this earth to make you his child. And in order to make you his child he had to be treated as if he were the enemy.
That is nothing to be ashamed of. What Jesus has done for you and everything he had to put up with to make you his own is nothing to hide! That is the greatest thing that has ever happened to you! And that is the most important message that anyone else could ever hear! So carry that faith with you. Let people know what Jesus did. Invite them to listen to his love. Bring them see his cross and his tomb and all of the incredible results of his work. Some people might not believe you. Some might not want to listen. And others might even throw it back in your face. But they all need to hear it. They all need to know the God in whom you believe. And this week we have a bunch of opportunities to display that faith. We’ll have dozens and dozens of children here in this room for VBS. We’ll have hundreds more to introduce ourselves to this Thursday. And in the weeks and months afterwards, some of you will be going back to school next year and then on to college. You will meet new people with different ideas; you will run into more and more unbelievers who do not know their Savior. Others of you will soon go into the full time ministry only to meet unbelievers of an entirely different mold. Every one of us here will go back to our homes this week and come across non-Christians in our neighborhoods and our workplaces and among our friends and within our own families. You will talk to people who do not have the faith you have in your God. You will interact with people who, as of right now, will not end up in heaven because they don’t know their God. Don’t hide him behind your back. Don’t pretend that he isn’t even there.
Naaman certainly did not hide his God behind his back. He put his God out front. He made sure that everyone knew who had healed him from his leprosy and whom he now trusted in for everything else. Imagine how many people asked about the true God because of what Naaman did. Imagine how many people Naaman was able to share his faith with because he did not hide his God. Naaman’s God is your God. He is the Lord God, the Savior God. But he doesn’t just want to be your Savior God. He wants to be the Savior God of all those around you too. And so take him out of your pocket and put him on your sleeve. Keep him in your heart but also let him rest on your tongue. Everyone should know exactly where you stand. There should be no mistake about whom you believe. And imagine how many people will ask about the true God when they see what you do and hear the things you say. Imagine how many people you will be able to share your faith with when you do not hide God. What great opportunities you will have! What great connections will be made! What wonderful brand-new excited and enthusiastic brothers and sisters in Christ will be found! Carry your faith with you. It’s not meant to be left at home. It’s not meant to be kept to yourself. It’s meant to be seen and heard and believed. Let them see it. Help them hear it. Pray they believe it.
Amen.
“May the name of our Lord Jesus Christ be glorified in you and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.” - 1 Thess. 1:12
There was a war going on between Aram and Israel during the time of Elisha. Minor battles and off-and-on scuffles along the northern border of the Promised Land were commonplace for a number of years. But during one of these violent skirmishes that was started by a raiding party of Arameans, an unfortunate little Israelite girl was ripped away from her parents by the enemy, taken back to a strange place among a strange people who spoke a strange language, and was forced to serve the wife of Aram’s army commander, Naaman. And there she lived, away from her family, away from her home town, and away from the temple of her Lord. But as the story continues we notice that there is apparently no animosity in this little girl. She doesn’t hold a grudge or wish the worst on her captors. Instead, when she finds out that Naaman has leprosy she tells him to go to Israel so that Elisha the prophet could heal him. She wanted her master to be healthy. She wanted him to know the one true God. And it’s a heart-warming story, isn’t it? It is an inspiring tale of a bold and evangelical little girl who without hesitation shared her faith with someone who rightly could have been considered her worst enemy.
This story about the little girl in 2 Kings 5 has long been used and preached on as a story that exemplifies the evangelical spirit of a Christian. It is a story that has been utilized in Sunday school classrooms and Bible class lessons to demonstrate that even a young child can share her faith with others. But the lessons we learn about evangelism and outreach in this story usually stop right there – with the little girl. She is set up as the only example, as the sole protagonist of a story that is all about showing one’s faith to others. But I don’t want to stop with her today. I don’t want to overlook what she did, but I don’t want to only look at what she did either. Because she is not the only one in this story that showed an incredible display of faith. She is not the only one that boldly and confidently professed her trust in the Lord to everyone else around her. She is not the only one who carried her faith with her to an unbelieving people. So did Naaman.
Not at first, of course. He wasn’t even a believer at first. He was a worshiper of the Aramean god, Rimmon, and a skeptic of the God of Israel. But then that very God of Israel miraculously cured his leprosy through that prophet of Israel and Naaman was convinced that there was only one God, and it was the Lord. And the faith that the Lord worked in Naaman’s heart through these events was nothing Naaman was going to hide. Listen again to the somewhat forgotten part of the end of this well-known story:
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." The prophet answered, "As surely as the LORD lives, whom I serve, I will not accept a thing." And even though Naaman urged him, he refused. "If you will not," said Naaman, "please let me, your servant, be given as much earth as a pair of mules can carry, for your servant will never again make burnt offerings and sacrifices to any other god but the LORD. But may the LORD forgive your servant for this one thing: When my master enters the temple of Rimmon to bow down and he is leaning on my arm and I bow there also—when I bow down in the temple of Rimmon, may the LORD forgive your servant for this." "Go in peace," Elisha said.
Do you see why this story isn’t just about the little Israelite girl’s confession of faith but also about Naaman’s? He did a bold and gutsy thing! He left his home country as a loyal subject; he came back promoting the religion of their arch rival. He left with the idea that the rivers of Damascus were far better than any waters of Israel; he came back hauling loads of dirt from that despised land because he wouldn’t worship on anything else. He left with the attitude of a powerful commander; he came back with the attitude of an indebted servant. And this from a man who was a brand-new convert to Christianity! He didn’t know all of the ins and outs of the religion he was now involved with. He didn’t understand every detail in the history of the Israelite nation. He probably wasn’t even aware of half the things that God had done. But it didn’t matter! He knew his Lord! And he knew what his Lord could do! And so he was not ashamed or hesitant or reluctant to visibly show his faith in the one he believed.
We have such an advantage over a man like Naaman. Because for most of us, we have known the ins and outs of Christianity for years – if not for our entire lives. We have read and have heard and have been taught the many teachings of Scripture over and over again. We have been aware of the many things our Lord has done throughout the history of this world for as long as we can remember. Not to mention: we have instant access to God’s Word whenever we want; Naaman didn’t. We are surrounded by Christians every day who can support and encourage us in our faith; Naaman wasn’t. We have thousands of Christians that have gone before us that we can look to as examples and role models for our own lives; Naaman didn’t. He had a king who bowed down to a false god. He was from a country that rejected the Lord. And he lived in a place that was far away from the temple of Jerusalem and the synagogues throughout Israel that housed the written words of Scripture at that time. We have a tremendous advantage over Naaman as far as our faith is concerned. But we are half as bold with it.
Rarely do we proudly display our faith to unbelievers like Naaman did. We might carry our faith around with us, we might hint at it if the situation arises, but many times we hope that no one will bring it up. We don’t always want unbelievers to know what we stand for because we don’t want to have to bother with an uncomfortable conversation. Or we don’t want others to know what we believe because we don’t want to be thought of as “religious zealots” or “Jesus freaks” or “Bible bangers.” It is in our minds that we don’t want to shove Christianity in someone’s face; but then we use that as an excuse not to bring it up at all! We don’t want to turn anyone off, but that doesn’t mean we should never try to turn anyone on to the light of the gospel! There are thousands of chances to demonstrate our faith in this life. Some of those opportunities will turn out well. Others won’t. But it’s certainly wrong to let those opportunities pass by without at least making the effort.
Naaman made the effort. And I’m sure Naaman was made fun of and verbally harassed a little bit for doing so. He was probably called quite a few unpleasant names by those in the country of Aram for having a big pile of Israeli dirt in his backyard and for worshiping the God of his enemy! But that did not stop him from carrying his faith with him. That did not stop him from being proud of the one in whom he believed. Regardless of what people would say, regardless of what people would think, he was unashamed to display his faith in a very visible and unmistakable way.
There are times when we don’t have a problem displaying our faith. There are times when we are also visibly proud of who we are and what we believe. But that usually only happens among other Christians, doesn’t it? That usually happens among those who believe in the same things we do – like right here in church or maybe among our families or with our close Christian friends. But when we’re around those who do not believe what we do, when we are in the company of those who are not Christians at all and who may be anti-religion all together, then we aren’t so bold. Then we aren’t so proud. We quiet down. We back off. We take our faith and stuff it down deep into our back pocket and let them say whatever they want to say without telling them everything they need to know. It’s the Peter-in-the-Courtyard Syndrome, the inability to say what you should say and do what you should do out of fear for what might be said about you.
What if your Lord did that? What if Jesus was so concerned about what people would say about him and what people would think about him while he was on this earth that he didn’t say what he needed to say or do what he needed to do? What if he backed down? What if he became silent? If Jesus cared more about his own reputation on this earth than what he had come to accomplish – our salvation would not have been won! Our forgiveness would not have been earned! Our eternal life would not have been secured! And it must have been a strong temptation for Jesus to give into since he was a normal human being. Because think of some of the nasty names that were said about Christ himself while he was here on this earth. He was called a criminal, a blasphemer of the Almighty Lord, a fake, a liar. He was referred to as arrogant, overrated, weak, incapable… And people said these things about him because of who he was and what he stood for. And he stood for us! He stood there with every one of our burdens on his shoulders – and for that he was hated. He stood there with all of the guilt of all of the world on his conscience – and for that he was made fun of. He stood there willing to take all of our requirements, to be condemned by our death sentence, and to undergo our eternal punishment – and for that he was murdered. But he did not care about what was going to happen to him. He did not care about the terrible things people were saying about him. He was going to carry that humiliation, he was going to carry that physical and verbal persecution, he was going to carry that cross on his shoulder to the hill of his crucifixion no matter what. And he was determined to carry that out because your eternal life was more important to Jesus than his own life. Your future joy in heaven was more important to him than any joy he could have experienced on this earth. Jesus was not on this earth so that everyone would like him. He was not on this earth to make friends. He was on this earth to make you his child. And in order to make you his child he had to be treated as if he were the enemy.
That is nothing to be ashamed of. What Jesus has done for you and everything he had to put up with to make you his own is nothing to hide! That is the greatest thing that has ever happened to you! And that is the most important message that anyone else could ever hear! So carry that faith with you. Let people know what Jesus did. Invite them to listen to his love. Bring them see his cross and his tomb and all of the incredible results of his work. Some people might not believe you. Some might not want to listen. And others might even throw it back in your face. But they all need to hear it. They all need to know the God in whom you believe. And this week we have a bunch of opportunities to display that faith. We’ll have dozens and dozens of children here in this room for VBS. We’ll have hundreds more to introduce ourselves to this Thursday. And in the weeks and months afterwards, some of you will be going back to school next year and then on to college. You will meet new people with different ideas; you will run into more and more unbelievers who do not know their Savior. Others of you will soon go into the full time ministry only to meet unbelievers of an entirely different mold. Every one of us here will go back to our homes this week and come across non-Christians in our neighborhoods and our workplaces and among our friends and within our own families. You will talk to people who do not have the faith you have in your God. You will interact with people who, as of right now, will not end up in heaven because they don’t know their God. Don’t hide him behind your back. Don’t pretend that he isn’t even there.
Naaman certainly did not hide his God behind his back. He put his God out front. He made sure that everyone knew who had healed him from his leprosy and whom he now trusted in for everything else. Imagine how many people asked about the true God because of what Naaman did. Imagine how many people Naaman was able to share his faith with because he did not hide his God. Naaman’s God is your God. He is the Lord God, the Savior God. But he doesn’t just want to be your Savior God. He wants to be the Savior God of all those around you too. And so take him out of your pocket and put him on your sleeve. Keep him in your heart but also let him rest on your tongue. Everyone should know exactly where you stand. There should be no mistake about whom you believe. And imagine how many people will ask about the true God when they see what you do and hear the things you say. Imagine how many people you will be able to share your faith with when you do not hide God. What great opportunities you will have! What great connections will be made! What wonderful brand-new excited and enthusiastic brothers and sisters in Christ will be found! Carry your faith with you. It’s not meant to be left at home. It’s not meant to be kept to yourself. It’s meant to be seen and heard and believed. Let them see it. Help them hear it. Pray they believe it.
Amen.
“May the name of our Lord Jesus Christ be glorified in you and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.” - 1 Thess. 1:12
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