Last month we looked at the ridiculous faith and amazing miracles of the prophet Elisha. If you weren’t with us, Elisha was one of the most powerful prophets in ancient Israel. While we often hear more about the prophet Elijah, who was Elisha’s mentor, it was Elisha who did more miracles. We looked at several of those miracles but there are more recorded and today we are going to look at one of those miracles that literally involves making waves.
One of the most amazing things about this miracle is that it didn’t take place in the life of a faithful man or woman in Israel. This miracle of healing took place in one of the leaders of Aram, Israel’s enemy. Aram is an area today known as Syria and they were never part of the Promised Land. During the time of Elisha, the Israelites had been defeated by the Aram army several times, and one of the military leaders who led those charges was Naaman.
So the miracle God does is in a foreigner, a man who was a military leader in the enemy’s army, and someone who took some of the Israelites as slaves and had them serving in his home. This is not the kind of person you think God would heal with a miracle, but God does.
God does a miracle in Naaman’s life, and his story reminds us that none of us are beyond the reach of God’s love and power. God is willing to touch and restore everyone. If you think God doesn’t care about you, or that God doesn’t want to heal you, or save you, or forgive you, or offer you hope and a future today, you are wrong. God does care about you and God cares for you. The Bible says that God so loved THE WORLD that He sent His one and only son, Jesus, to forgive us and save us. None of us are beyond the reach of God’s heart. None of us are beyond God’s grace and power.
While Naaman looked like an unlikely candidate for a miracle, and from the outside looked like he had it all as a wealthy leader among his people, Naaman also had leprosy. Leprosy is a term used for all kinds of skin diseases and many people with leprosy were forced to live with other lepers so that the disease would not spread.
But because Naaman was still living with his family and serving in the army, his leprosy must not have been that bad. But anyone with leprosy was also living with the fear that at any moment things could change. At any moment Naaman could go from being on the top of the world to being on the bottom and watching his flesh be eaten away. Leprosy was a constant reminder to Naaman that everything was not alright. It was a reminder that he was weak and needed help.
In many ways, Naaman is just like us. All of us have areas of weaknesses and need help. It may not be a skin disease or any physical sickness, but we are all broken and carry around with us hurt or shame or regrets for how we have lived in the past or for how we are living today. We have all made choices that we wish we could unmake - but can’t. We all have areas of weakness and once again this story shows us that God sees our weakness and is willing to be our strength. God sees our brokenness and is willing to renew us and restore us. God sees our sin and guilt and shame and is willing to forgive us. God is willing to give us all the gift of new life and we learn from Naaman how to find that life.
So let’s look at his story. Naaman was a leader in the enemy army and as part of the spoils of war he took a young girl from Israel to work as a slave. She served Naaman’s wife and when she learned that Naaman had leprosy, she told them that there was a prophet in Israel who was powerful enough to heal him. 2 Kings 5:3-6
She said to her mistress, “If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.”
Naaman went to his master and told him what the girl from Israel had said. “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. 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.”
In time, the king of Israel sent Naaman to Elisha. Elisha didn’t personally go out to meet with Naaman but sent him these instructions. “Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored, and you will be cleansed.” 2 Kings 5:10
You would think Naaman would have quickly done this to be healed, but he didn’t. Naaman was a proud man. He was wealthy and had brought a lot of riches to impress the prophet and buy his healing. When Elisha doesn’t even bother to come out and meet him, he is offended. 2 Kings 5:11-12
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. Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?” So he turned and went off in a rage.
Naaman is turning away from the blessing God has for him because of his pride. He thought that Elisha should have come out to him personally and made a big show of healing him. Naaman wanted things done his way. He was willing to be blessed by God but only if God did things his way.
How many times have we turned away from God’s blessing because we wanted things done our way? We let go of the blessing found among God’s people because we were hurt that things didn't go our way at church or in our small group so we just stopped going. We didn’t take God’s path for us because we were too focused on the path we thought was best. How much time have we lost walking with Jesus and finding meaning and purpose in life because we were too busy chasing after our goals and dreams and not God’s.
Proverbs 16:18 Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.
Pride and selfishness lead to failure and destruction, they lead us away from the blessing God has for us. God isn’t always going to work our way or follow our plans and if we insist on things being done our way, we may miss out on the healing, the hope, and the life God has for us. There is only one way to experience the full blessing of God and that is to surrender to God and that is what Naaman finally does. 2 Kings 5:13-16
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’!” 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.
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. So please accept 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.
Once Naaman surrendered himself to God, he was healed. Once he dipped himself in the waters of the Jordan River seven times, his skin wasn’t just healed, it was restored, it was made new. Don’t miss this… going into the water made Naaman a new man. It brought him a new life. But it wasn’t the water of the Jordan River that gave him life, it was the power and mercy and love of God. Once Naaman surrendered himself fully to God, he was healed and restored.
And once we surrender ourselves fully to God, we are healed and restored. Not necessarily physically healed and restored like Naaman, but spiritually we are made new.
When we surrender to God and allow God to have his way in our lives, we are set right with God and begin to experience the blessing and power of new life. When we stop trying to figure out life all by ourselves and stop thinking that power, position, and money are the answer to everything, and when we turn to God for help, we find God is right there to help us.
This is really what it means for us to follow Jesus. It means we stop trusting in ourselves. We stop trusting in our own wisdom and power and start trusting in God. When we let go of our pride and surrender to God all that we have and all that we are, God can fill us with more than we ever thought possible. Following Jesus doesn’t just mean we are forgiven, it doesn’t just mean we have the assurance of salvation and eternal life, it means that right here and right now we can experience more power, more peace, more assurance, more adventure, more meaning and purpose. More life.
This is the surrender that takes place when we commit ourselves, or recommit ourselves, to following Jesus. When we come to the altar to pray, or come to the water to be baptized or reaffirm our baptism, we are surrendering ourselves to God and giving God the ability to cleanse us and make us new. Just like Naaman, the old is washed away and when we come up from the water, God makes all things new. God restores us into a loving relationship with Him, and then God gives us the power to love others in the church and to all those in the world.
And when we fully surrender to God - we make waves. Not only waves that ripple across the water used for baptism and renewal, but waves in the world; waves that point people to God and waves that can move people closer to the love and grace of Jesus Christ. When Naaman came up out of the water he was a changed man and he immediately began to make waves.
After his renewal, Naaman testified in front of all his servants that there was only one God and that it was the God of Israel. He then asked for soil to take home so he could worship God in Aram but on holy ground. Naaman was a new man and he went home and shared God’s love and power with anyone and everyone who would listen. Naaman went home and made some waves.
We not only experience new life when we surrender to God and accept Jesus as our Savior and Lord, but we also begin to make waves in this world that reveal God’s love and grace and power to others. In fact, the only way for us to make waves that will transform our lives and the lives of others is when we come up out of the water. We can only experience new life and offer new life to others after we have fully surrendered ourselves to Jesus.
That’s what next Sunday is all about. We want to invite you to experience the miracle of God’s love and power by surrendering to Jesus and asking God to fill you with His Holy Spirit that will make you new. If you are feeling called to the waters of baptism for the first time, or want to experience them again, we encourage you to come to the water. It may seem strange or awkward, but maybe it will be the moment you need to experience healing and hope. Like Naaman, you may wonder why you need to stand up and publicly profess your faith again or show the world that you have surrendered fully to God, but maybe that is exactly what you need to do in order to experience the power of our faith and make waves that will bring life to others.
Next Sunday isn’t just for people who have turned away from God and want to come back. It’s not just for people like Naaman who might be filled with pride and need to surrender to God. It’s for all of us who are weak. It’s for all of us who feel vulnerable and need to feel the power of God’s grace in our lives. It’s also for all of us who feel blessed and want to thank God for His presence and power at work in our lives. It’s for all of us. Naaman’s healing shows us we all need God and that God is there for all of us. God is here for you today, and tomorrow, and forever.
If you are hearing God calling you to surrender to Him or if you want to acknowledge the power of God’s love working in your life, or if you want to feel the wave of God’s love move in your life, we invite you to reach out to one of the pastors or sign up to be part of a recommitment and renewal of our baptisms next Sunday.
When we make waves in this water and surrender, our lives are changed forever. When we make waves in this water, our faith and love and witness will slowly make waves in our world. So come to the water and be renewed. Come to the water and make some waves.
Next Steps
Make Waves - Renewed in the Water
Read the full story of Naaman’s healing: 2 Kings 5:1-27
God’s love and grace is for everyone.
● Why is it surprising that God healed Naaman?
○ At the beginning of the story, how does Naaman show his lack of understanding of God and what it means to have faith in God?
○ How do we see him change by the end?
● What groups of people do you think of as being beyond God’s reach?
○ Ask God to change your vision and heart.
God’s ways are not our ways.
● How did pride almost keep Naaman from being healed?
● How can our own pride keep us from God’s blessing?
● When have you struggled to do things God’s way?
● Read Proverbs 16:18. Ask God to humble your heart.
Surrendering to God brings new life.
● How did surrendering to God’s will bring new life to Naaman?
● How do we know the transformation in Naaman wasn’t just physical but spiritual as well?
● Where is God asking you to surrender?
● How can your surrender in this area bring new life?
_______________________________________________
The waters of the Jordan River not only healed Naaman physically but made him a new man spiritually. The waters of baptism make us new. If you would like to be baptized, or if you would like to reaffirm your faith in the waters of baptism once again, sign up in the lobby or online, or speak to one of the pastors. All are invited to come to the water!
