WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.080 We hope that you enjoy this teaching from Christ Church. 00:00:05.540 --> 00:00:09.519 This material is copyrighted and no unauthorized duplication, 00:00:09.880 --> 00:00:15.419 redistribution, or any other use of any part is permitted without prior consent from Christ Church. 00:00:15.419 --> 00:00:22.640 Please consider donating to this work in the San Francisco Bay Area online at ChristChurchEastBay.org. 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:35.939 Today's reading is from the book of 2 Kings, chapter 5, verses 1 to 19. 00:00:37.939 --> 00:00:42.280 Now Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram. 00:00:42.700 --> 00:00:46.640 He was a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded, 00:00:47.039 --> 00:00:49.960 because through the Lord had given mercy to Aram. 00:00:50.939 --> 00:00:53.740 He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy. 00:00:54.799 --> 00:00:59.679 Now bands of raiders from Aram had gone out and taken captive a young girl from Israel, 00:01:00.000 --> 00:01:01.759 and she served Naaman's wife. 00:01:03.539 --> 00:01:04.980 She said to her mistress, 00:01:05.719 --> 00:01:08.879 If only my master would send the prophet who is in Samaria, 00:01:09.379 --> 00:01:10.960 he would care him of his leprosy. 00:01:12.200 --> 00:01:15.920 Naaman went to his master and told him what the girl from Israel had said. 00:01:16.560 --> 00:01:19.379 By all means go, the king of Aram replied. 00:01:19.780 --> 00:01:21.980 I will send a letter to the king of Israel. 00:01:21.980 --> 00:01:27.020 So Naaman left, taking with him ten talents of silver, 00:01:27.560 --> 00:01:30.659 six thousand shekels of gold, and ten sets of clothing. 00:01:32.500 --> 00:01:35.120 The letter that he took to the king of Israel read, 00:01:36.000 --> 00:01:38.859 With this letter I am sending my servant Naaman to you, 00:01:39.300 --> 00:01:40.960 so that you may care of his leprosy. 00:01:40.959 --> 00:01:44.819 As soon as the king of Israel read the letter, 00:01:45.159 --> 00:01:46.659 he tore his robes and said, 00:01:47.259 --> 00:01:49.979 Am I God? Can I kill and bring back to life? 00:01:50.579 --> 00:01:53.919 Why does this fellow send someone to me to be cured of his leprosy? 00:01:54.399 --> 00:01:56.379 See how he is trying to pick a coral with me. 00:01:56.379 --> 00:02:03.719 When Elisha, the man of God, heard the king of Israel had torn his robes, 00:02:04.259 --> 00:02:05.739 he sent him this message. 00:02:06.619 --> 00:02:07.840 Why have you torn your robes? 00:02:08.180 --> 00:02:11.780 Have the man come to me, and he will know there is a prophet in Israel. 00:02:13.280 --> 00:02:16.419 So Naaman went with his horses and chariots 00:02:16.419 --> 00:02:18.439 and stopped at the door of Elisha's house. 00:02:19.579 --> 00:02:21.659 Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, 00:02:22.219 --> 00:02:24.579 Go wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, 00:02:24.580 --> 00:02:27.580 and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed. 00:02:28.500 --> 00:02:31.220 But Naaman went away angry and said, 00:02:31.960 --> 00:02:34.460 I thought that he would surely come out to me 00:02:34.460 --> 00:02:37.160 and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, 00:02:37.640 --> 00:02:39.140 wave his hand over the spot, 00:02:39.480 --> 00:02:40.760 and cure me of my leprosy. 00:02:42.400 --> 00:02:44.600 Are not Abana and Farpar, 00:02:45.000 --> 00:02:46.380 the rivers of Damascus, 00:02:46.520 --> 00:02:48.820 better than all the waters of Israel? 00:02:49.439 --> 00:02:51.760 Couldn't I wash in them and be cleansed? 00:02:51.759 --> 00:02:54.919 So he turned and went off in a rage. 00:02:56.120 --> 00:02:58.159 Naaman's servants went to him and said, 00:02:58.959 --> 00:03:02.679 My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, 00:03:03.139 --> 00:03:04.139 won't you have done it? 00:03:05.019 --> 00:03:07.219 How much more then, when he tells you, 00:03:07.719 --> 00:03:08.939 wash and be cleansed? 00:03:09.620 --> 00:03:13.599 So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, 00:03:13.719 --> 00:03:15.399 as the man of God had told him. 00:03:15.400 --> 00:03:20.260 And his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy. 00:03:21.740 --> 00:03:25.319 Then Naaman and all his attendants went back to the man of God. 00:03:25.879 --> 00:03:27.879 He stood before him and said, 00:03:28.580 --> 00:03:32.500 Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel. 00:03:33.800 --> 00:03:36.439 So please accept the gift from your servant. 00:03:37.280 --> 00:03:38.460 The prophet answered, 00:03:38.980 --> 00:03:40.659 As surely as the Lord lives, 00:03:41.020 --> 00:03:43.180 whom I serve, I will not accept a thing. 00:03:43.180 --> 00:03:47.080 And even though Naaman urged him, he refused. 00:03:47.760 --> 00:03:49.560 If you will not, said Naaman, 00:03:49.840 --> 00:03:51.800 please let me, your servant, 00:03:51.939 --> 00:03:54.960 be given as much earth as a pair of mules can carry. 00:03:55.300 --> 00:03:58.040 For your servant will never again make burnt offerings 00:03:58.040 --> 00:04:01.379 and sacrifices to any other God but the Lord. 00:04:02.920 --> 00:04:05.640 But may the Lord forgive your servant for this one thing. 00:04:06.420 --> 00:04:10.000 When my master enters the temple of Rimon to bow down, 00:04:10.000 --> 00:04:11.900 and he is leaning on my arm, 00:04:12.159 --> 00:04:13.560 and I have to bow there also. 00:04:14.280 --> 00:04:16.300 When I bow down in the temple of Rimon, 00:04:16.819 --> 00:04:18.879 may the Lord forgive your servant for this. 00:04:19.720 --> 00:04:21.459 Go in peace, Elisha said. 00:04:21.980 --> 00:04:23.360 This is the word of the Lord. 00:04:24.019 --> 00:04:25.100 Thanks be to God. 00:04:25.759 --> 00:04:28.180 Can I know God personally? 00:04:29.480 --> 00:04:31.980 That is the seventh and the final question 00:04:31.980 --> 00:04:35.060 in this Explore God series. 00:04:35.060 --> 00:04:38.439 Can I know the author of the Bible, 00:04:38.540 --> 00:04:39.379 the God of the Bible? 00:04:40.259 --> 00:04:41.620 Can I know him personally? 00:04:42.600 --> 00:04:44.139 And I want to engage that question 00:04:44.139 --> 00:04:46.879 looking at this biography we just read, 00:04:46.939 --> 00:04:50.459 looking at the life story of this one particular person 00:04:50.459 --> 00:04:55.019 and his pathway, his process for exploring God. 00:04:56.060 --> 00:04:58.519 Jesus preached about this guy in his first sermon 00:04:58.519 --> 00:04:59.879 that he ever preached, 00:04:59.920 --> 00:05:03.579 so I think we're on firm footing looking at Naaman. 00:05:03.579 --> 00:05:07.439 Naaman was like many people in the Bay Area. 00:05:08.519 --> 00:05:09.159 He was brilliant. 00:05:09.680 --> 00:05:14.379 He was sophisticated, accomplished, successful, 00:05:14.879 --> 00:05:17.579 had an incredibly impressive CV. 00:05:18.699 --> 00:05:22.240 And he was a person that you would least expect 00:05:22.240 --> 00:05:24.439 to be seeking the God of the Bible. 00:05:26.019 --> 00:05:29.799 In fact, he's surrounded by many smart people 00:05:29.800 --> 00:05:32.740 who think that the God of the Bible 00:05:32.740 --> 00:05:35.000 is irrelevant and even ridiculous. 00:05:35.900 --> 00:05:37.579 And so it's kind of astonishing 00:05:37.579 --> 00:05:39.280 that he's exploring God 00:05:39.280 --> 00:05:40.740 and by the end of the story, 00:05:40.860 --> 00:05:44.300 converting to God and confessing his faith in God. 00:05:45.020 --> 00:05:47.220 So who is this guy, Naaman? 00:05:47.480 --> 00:05:49.819 Well, verse one says that he's the commander 00:05:49.819 --> 00:05:52.160 of the army of the king of Aram, 00:05:52.259 --> 00:05:54.180 the general of the Syrian army, 00:05:54.319 --> 00:05:55.699 the mortal enemy of Israel. 00:05:55.699 --> 00:05:59.319 And for him to go to Israel, 00:05:59.839 --> 00:06:02.800 which, by the way, is losing the military conflict 00:06:02.800 --> 00:06:04.099 that's currently going on, 00:06:04.159 --> 00:06:07.099 and to think that the losing team's God 00:06:07.099 --> 00:06:07.920 is going to help him, 00:06:07.959 --> 00:06:09.779 that's sort of a crazy part of the story. 00:06:10.599 --> 00:06:12.480 But it says, in addition, it says, 00:06:12.560 --> 00:06:14.959 he was a great man in the sight of his master 00:06:14.959 --> 00:06:15.980 and highly regarded, 00:06:16.639 --> 00:06:19.199 because through him the Lord had given victory to Aram, 00:06:19.680 --> 00:06:21.439 and he was a valiant soldier. 00:06:21.439 --> 00:06:25.459 So this guy's great in the eyes of the king. 00:06:25.660 --> 00:06:27.759 He's admired in the eyes of the people. 00:06:28.399 --> 00:06:29.379 He's won victories. 00:06:30.100 --> 00:06:31.240 He's a valiant soldier. 00:06:32.019 --> 00:06:35.680 He has military prowess and skill in battle. 00:06:35.899 --> 00:06:36.500 He's athletic. 00:06:37.379 --> 00:06:38.740 He's like many of the people 00:06:38.740 --> 00:06:41.680 that come to the Bay Area for school or for work, 00:06:41.980 --> 00:06:44.579 you know, to get that degree, to get that job. 00:06:44.579 --> 00:06:48.479 And he's just overflowing with physical, 00:06:49.339 --> 00:06:54.740 social, intellectual, economic capital. 00:06:55.699 --> 00:06:59.419 But in spite of having everything 00:06:59.419 --> 00:07:01.339 that the world could give you, 00:07:02.459 --> 00:07:05.779 in spite of having all that he could possibly need or want, 00:07:05.839 --> 00:07:06.699 there's something missing. 00:07:06.839 --> 00:07:08.180 There's something off. 00:07:08.339 --> 00:07:10.839 There's something that's not the way it's supposed to be. 00:07:10.839 --> 00:07:13.719 The description of Naaman ends with, 00:07:14.299 --> 00:07:15.839 but he had leprosy. 00:07:17.019 --> 00:07:18.439 Here's this remarkable man, 00:07:18.560 --> 00:07:21.479 natural abilities, natural powers, special skills, 00:07:21.659 --> 00:07:25.060 highly successful in his career and in his life. 00:07:25.599 --> 00:07:26.979 And then this little word, but. 00:07:28.239 --> 00:07:29.679 But he was a leper. 00:07:30.759 --> 00:07:32.199 He has a great life, 00:07:32.539 --> 00:07:34.539 but there's something spoiling his life. 00:07:35.819 --> 00:07:37.359 And that's like many of us. 00:07:37.399 --> 00:07:38.919 Here we are, we're living in 00:07:38.920 --> 00:07:41.319 the most peaceful, prosperous era 00:07:41.319 --> 00:07:42.920 in all of human history. 00:07:43.140 --> 00:07:44.140 Did you realize that? 00:07:46.160 --> 00:07:49.560 Life expectancy and wealth has never been higher. 00:07:50.140 --> 00:07:52.100 Thanks to the Industrial Revolution, 00:07:52.600 --> 00:07:53.379 modern medicine, 00:07:53.680 --> 00:07:56.340 various breakthroughs in science and technology, 00:07:57.139 --> 00:08:00.060 we are less poor and sick, 00:08:00.200 --> 00:08:03.439 and we are more healthy and wealthy 00:08:03.439 --> 00:08:05.120 than we've ever been. 00:08:05.120 --> 00:08:08.220 And yet I've never met anybody who says, 00:08:08.600 --> 00:08:09.639 well, everything's all right. 00:08:12.199 --> 00:08:15.480 That fatal word, but, always comes in, doesn't it? 00:08:16.139 --> 00:08:18.280 The world's never been so wonderful, but. 00:08:19.139 --> 00:08:21.620 We've never had so many amenities, but. 00:08:22.500 --> 00:08:25.519 All people are being lifted up in an unprecedented way, 00:08:25.939 --> 00:08:27.740 but something's wrong. 00:08:28.720 --> 00:08:30.019 Something spoils it all. 00:08:30.160 --> 00:08:31.840 But he had leprosy. 00:08:31.899 --> 00:08:33.500 But he was a leper. 00:08:33.500 --> 00:08:35.620 And so I just want to take a deeper look 00:08:35.620 --> 00:08:39.879 at Naaman as kind of a picture of us. 00:08:40.559 --> 00:08:42.179 A picture of who we are. 00:08:42.600 --> 00:08:44.559 And I want to look at these three questions. 00:08:45.960 --> 00:08:47.679 What causes us to seek God? 00:08:48.460 --> 00:08:49.919 How do we find God? 00:08:50.299 --> 00:08:52.279 And what is required to meet God? 00:08:53.279 --> 00:08:55.120 What causes us to seek God? 00:08:55.200 --> 00:08:56.159 How do we find God? 00:08:56.200 --> 00:08:58.360 And what is required to meet God? 00:08:59.100 --> 00:09:01.620 First of all, what causes us to seek God? 00:09:01.620 --> 00:09:03.919 Again, Naaman has it all, 00:09:04.259 --> 00:09:06.799 but in spite of having everything the world could possibly give, 00:09:07.000 --> 00:09:07.919 he has leprosy. 00:09:08.580 --> 00:09:10.539 He's got this terrible, wasting disease. 00:09:10.700 --> 00:09:12.539 He's literally falling apart. 00:09:12.799 --> 00:09:15.340 And no human being can cure him. 00:09:16.700 --> 00:09:18.019 And this tells us that, you know, 00:09:18.060 --> 00:09:21.060 no matter how well we design our lives, 00:09:21.120 --> 00:09:22.399 there's always going to be something 00:09:22.399 --> 00:09:24.320 to come in and ruin it, 00:09:24.360 --> 00:09:25.899 to come in and spoil it. 00:09:25.899 --> 00:09:27.559 No amount of success, 00:09:27.899 --> 00:09:29.620 no amount of power or achievement 00:09:29.620 --> 00:09:32.480 can keep these things from happening to you. 00:09:32.559 --> 00:09:34.579 People you love are going to die. 00:09:36.279 --> 00:09:37.959 Devastating illness is going to come in. 00:09:37.959 --> 00:09:40.819 Relational betrayal, financial reversal, 00:09:41.019 --> 00:09:42.139 divorce, addiction. 00:09:42.779 --> 00:09:44.100 We know this. 00:09:44.379 --> 00:09:45.860 If you just ask around. 00:09:46.000 --> 00:09:48.579 We in this room know that 00:09:48.579 --> 00:09:51.539 these things are going to happen to us 00:09:51.539 --> 00:09:54.620 no matter how self-sufficient we think we are. 00:09:55.379 --> 00:09:56.579 One day we're going to wake up 00:09:56.579 --> 00:09:59.399 and realize that self-sufficiency was an illusion. 00:10:00.480 --> 00:10:01.459 And that all along, 00:10:01.559 --> 00:10:03.019 even though we thought we were in control, 00:10:03.120 --> 00:10:04.000 we weren't in control. 00:10:04.159 --> 00:10:05.599 We actually were vulnerable 00:10:05.599 --> 00:10:07.079 and we were fragile. 00:10:08.279 --> 00:10:10.120 But it was not always like this. 00:10:10.939 --> 00:10:11.059 Right? 00:10:11.099 --> 00:10:12.059 According to the Bible, 00:10:12.759 --> 00:10:14.559 none of this happened in the Garden of Eden. 00:10:15.379 --> 00:10:16.459 Human beings were made 00:10:16.459 --> 00:10:19.480 in a perfect relationship with God 00:10:19.480 --> 00:10:21.399 and they enjoyed life with God 00:10:21.399 --> 00:10:22.519 and there was nothing lacking. 00:10:22.740 --> 00:10:24.279 There was no disappointment, 00:10:24.600 --> 00:10:25.680 no unhappiness, 00:10:25.879 --> 00:10:27.899 nothing ever went wrong. 00:10:29.019 --> 00:10:29.820 And in many ways, 00:10:30.480 --> 00:10:33.340 Naaman's leprosy is a sign 00:10:33.340 --> 00:10:36.980 that we are living in a sin-sick world. 00:10:39.620 --> 00:10:40.879 I want to be careful here 00:10:40.879 --> 00:10:43.320 because the Bible does not directly 00:10:43.320 --> 00:10:46.139 and specifically connect this sin 00:10:46.139 --> 00:10:47.320 with that suffering. 00:10:48.080 --> 00:10:48.159 Right? 00:10:48.159 --> 00:10:49.419 In John chapter 9, 00:10:49.939 --> 00:10:51.439 the disciples come to Jesus and say, 00:10:51.539 --> 00:10:53.539 Jesus, was this man born blind? 00:10:53.600 --> 00:10:55.839 Is he suffering because of some specific sin 00:10:55.839 --> 00:10:57.719 that he did or his parents did? 00:10:57.740 --> 00:10:58.740 And Jesus says emphatically, 00:10:59.219 --> 00:10:59.679 no. 00:11:00.740 --> 00:11:02.659 But it is true to say 00:11:02.659 --> 00:11:04.339 that when sin entered into the world, 00:11:05.199 --> 00:11:07.279 the wholeness of life was broken. 00:11:08.319 --> 00:11:10.299 And disease entered into the body. 00:11:11.439 --> 00:11:12.879 Trouble entered into the mind. 00:11:13.179 --> 00:11:15.159 Heartbreak entered into the family 00:11:15.159 --> 00:11:16.779 and into our friendships. 00:11:16.779 --> 00:11:18.860 Difficulty entered into our work. 00:11:19.539 --> 00:11:22.759 And alienation entered into our relationship with God. 00:11:24.019 --> 00:11:27.539 And so Naaman's leprosy on the outside 00:11:27.539 --> 00:11:32.519 is in many ways a picture of our sin on the inside. 00:11:33.639 --> 00:11:34.039 Right? 00:11:34.079 --> 00:11:35.539 We're struggling not just from these problems 00:11:36.120 --> 00:11:39.019 up on the surface that are right here at our skin. 00:11:39.019 --> 00:11:42.199 We're struggling with problems down in the depths, 00:11:42.519 --> 00:11:43.579 down in the heart. 00:11:44.679 --> 00:11:47.340 All of us have something that's really wrong 00:11:47.340 --> 00:11:48.240 and really bad 00:11:48.240 --> 00:11:49.899 that we kind of know about 00:11:49.899 --> 00:11:52.360 but that we're also sort of masters at minimizing 00:11:52.360 --> 00:11:53.720 and denying. 00:11:54.759 --> 00:11:56.100 But you see it come out of Naaman. 00:11:56.299 --> 00:11:58.679 He goes to the prophet Elisha 00:11:58.679 --> 00:12:00.779 and he's expecting a certain outcome. 00:12:01.500 --> 00:12:03.639 And then he doesn't get what he wants. 00:12:04.199 --> 00:12:05.620 And then how does he respond? 00:12:05.620 --> 00:12:06.060 Right? 00:12:06.620 --> 00:12:07.480 If you ever want to see 00:12:07.480 --> 00:12:09.179 what exactly is in your heart, 00:12:09.259 --> 00:12:10.740 just pay attention to how you respond 00:12:10.740 --> 00:12:11.980 when you don't get what you want. 00:12:13.120 --> 00:12:13.340 Right? 00:12:13.419 --> 00:12:14.700 Why is he so angry? 00:12:15.600 --> 00:12:17.200 He arrives with his entourage. 00:12:17.539 --> 00:12:18.080 He thinks, 00:12:18.299 --> 00:12:19.879 I ought to get special treatment. 00:12:20.960 --> 00:12:23.860 And Elisha doesn't even come out to talk to him. 00:12:24.960 --> 00:12:26.620 He just sends an intermediary. 00:12:26.759 --> 00:12:28.600 He gives him a message he doesn't want to hear. 00:12:29.440 --> 00:12:30.820 It feels insulting to him. 00:12:30.860 --> 00:12:31.860 It feels beneath him. 00:12:31.860 --> 00:12:34.259 And what happens in that moment 00:12:34.259 --> 00:12:37.159 is Elisha's touching on a raw nerve. 00:12:38.279 --> 00:12:38.500 Right? 00:12:38.560 --> 00:12:40.919 He's touching on the raw nerve of his pride 00:12:40.919 --> 00:12:42.440 and his self-centeredness 00:12:42.440 --> 00:12:44.200 and his sense of superiority. 00:12:44.639 --> 00:12:48.560 And really all of us have that kind of stuff 00:12:48.560 --> 00:12:49.560 down in the depths 00:12:49.560 --> 00:12:52.240 that's far worse than we think it is 00:12:52.240 --> 00:12:54.060 and it's ruining our lives. 00:12:55.139 --> 00:12:56.300 But of course at this point, 00:12:56.420 --> 00:12:59.779 Naaman just thinks that his problem is skin deep. 00:12:59.779 --> 00:13:02.759 All he knows is that his condition 00:13:02.759 --> 00:13:05.439 is detracting from all that's good in his life. 00:13:05.519 --> 00:13:07.799 It's just making him more and more miserable. 00:13:08.059 --> 00:13:10.839 And so he's exhausting all of the options 00:13:10.839 --> 00:13:11.579 to get better. 00:13:11.860 --> 00:13:11.959 Right? 00:13:11.980 --> 00:13:13.740 He goes to the king of Syria. 00:13:14.459 --> 00:13:16.639 He goes to the best and brightest in the land. 00:13:16.679 --> 00:13:18.500 All the doctors that have all the ability 00:13:18.500 --> 00:13:19.899 and all the ingenuity 00:13:19.899 --> 00:13:20.980 and they're baffled. 00:13:22.480 --> 00:13:24.319 They can't deal with his problem. 00:13:25.439 --> 00:13:26.899 They can do nothing for Naaman 00:13:26.899 --> 00:13:28.379 and his suffering and his disease. 00:13:28.379 --> 00:13:30.899 It's just getting worse and worse and worse 00:13:30.899 --> 00:13:32.439 until finally he gets so desperate 00:13:32.439 --> 00:13:34.539 he hears that there's help in Israel. 00:13:34.679 --> 00:13:35.419 And so where does he go? 00:13:35.500 --> 00:13:36.980 He goes from this king to that king. 00:13:38.039 --> 00:13:38.259 Right? 00:13:38.320 --> 00:13:41.200 He goes to another person at the top. 00:13:41.240 --> 00:13:41.919 And how does he go? 00:13:41.980 --> 00:13:44.759 He goes with a letter from his king. 00:13:45.759 --> 00:13:47.419 He goes with more money 00:13:47.419 --> 00:13:50.720 than all the money that currently exists in Israel. 00:13:50.840 --> 00:13:52.539 He goes with all these fine clothes. 00:13:52.539 --> 00:13:56.719 And he thinks I'll leverage all my connections. 00:13:56.860 --> 00:13:57.879 I'll leverage all my wealth. 00:13:57.980 --> 00:13:59.240 I'll leverage all my power 00:13:59.240 --> 00:14:01.779 that the world has given me. 00:14:02.500 --> 00:14:05.079 And yet that doesn't work either. 00:14:06.579 --> 00:14:09.620 See most people will not seek the God of the Bible 00:14:09.620 --> 00:14:13.159 until something goes wrong in our lives. 00:14:13.159 --> 00:14:16.100 And we wake up to this illusion 00:14:16.100 --> 00:14:17.600 of our own self-sufficiency 00:14:17.600 --> 00:14:18.559 and we realize 00:14:18.559 --> 00:14:21.319 that we actually can't handle life on our own. 00:14:22.519 --> 00:14:24.179 And so we turn to the world for help 00:14:24.179 --> 00:14:26.819 like Naaman turns to these two kings 00:14:26.819 --> 00:14:28.579 and other people in power. 00:14:28.759 --> 00:14:30.159 And then you realize like Naaman 00:14:30.159 --> 00:14:33.579 that the world is actually completely failing you 00:14:33.579 --> 00:14:34.639 and totally inadequate 00:14:34.639 --> 00:14:36.459 to help you with your deepest problems. 00:14:36.460 --> 00:14:39.540 And it's until we see 00:14:39.540 --> 00:14:42.300 what the world cannot give us 00:14:42.300 --> 00:14:46.860 that we'll never really be a seeker after God. 00:14:48.300 --> 00:14:49.420 Unless we learn 00:14:49.420 --> 00:14:52.460 that the world cannot help us. 00:14:53.519 --> 00:14:55.519 And until we stop looking to the world 00:14:55.519 --> 00:14:57.780 and all of its power centers and power brokers 00:14:57.780 --> 00:14:59.820 to give us what only God can give us 00:14:59.820 --> 00:15:03.560 will not really make any spiritual progress. 00:15:05.360 --> 00:15:06.360 Does that make sense? 00:15:07.019 --> 00:15:07.320 Amen. 00:15:07.680 --> 00:15:08.680 Yeah, thank you. 00:15:09.920 --> 00:15:12.400 What causes us to seek God? 00:15:13.500 --> 00:15:15.500 It's problems that are way beyond us. 00:15:15.580 --> 00:15:17.200 Problems that other people can't fix. 00:15:18.800 --> 00:15:21.160 Well, how do we find God? 00:15:22.180 --> 00:15:23.120 How do we find God? 00:15:23.240 --> 00:15:26.820 Well, Naaman will not find God 00:15:26.820 --> 00:15:29.139 until he stops trusting in himself. 00:15:30.300 --> 00:15:31.420 He won't find God 00:15:31.420 --> 00:15:33.940 until he stops trusting in his way 00:15:33.940 --> 00:15:35.580 that he thinks he should be cured. 00:15:36.460 --> 00:15:37.220 Right? 00:15:37.320 --> 00:15:39.180 There's a definite remedy for him. 00:15:39.280 --> 00:15:41.220 There's an absolute solution. 00:15:42.040 --> 00:15:44.060 There's a certain cure, 00:15:44.280 --> 00:15:45.500 but neither Naaman 00:15:45.500 --> 00:15:48.740 nor the greatest people in all of Syria 00:15:48.740 --> 00:15:49.740 know what it is. 00:15:49.740 --> 00:15:51.740 They're brilliant, 00:15:52.220 --> 00:15:54.180 but they're unaware 00:15:54.180 --> 00:15:55.379 and they're ignorant 00:15:55.379 --> 00:15:57.539 of the one crucial thing. 00:15:58.259 --> 00:15:58.379 Right? 00:15:58.399 --> 00:15:59.759 And the reason that they can't, 00:16:00.399 --> 00:16:01.279 the reason for that 00:16:01.279 --> 00:16:03.639 is because the signpost to the solution 00:16:03.639 --> 00:16:05.200 and the solution itself 00:16:05.200 --> 00:16:06.560 is utterly different 00:16:06.560 --> 00:16:08.000 than what anyone imagines 00:16:08.000 --> 00:16:08.899 that it ought to be. 00:16:08.899 --> 00:16:13.179 This cure comes to Naaman 00:16:13.179 --> 00:16:15.100 in a way that just doesn't fit 00:16:15.100 --> 00:16:16.500 his plausibility structures 00:16:16.500 --> 00:16:17.720 and really subverts 00:16:17.720 --> 00:16:20.139 the dominant paradigm of his people. 00:16:20.659 --> 00:16:22.100 Everybody thinks that 00:16:22.100 --> 00:16:24.139 the cure is going to come from kings. 00:16:24.220 --> 00:16:25.459 It's going to come from power. 00:16:26.199 --> 00:16:27.980 But who's the signpost 00:16:27.980 --> 00:16:29.259 that points to the solution? 00:16:31.259 --> 00:16:31.779 Right? 00:16:31.779 --> 00:16:32.799 The only reason Naaman 00:16:32.799 --> 00:16:35.860 goes to Israel for help 00:16:35.860 --> 00:16:37.159 is because this God 00:16:37.159 --> 00:16:39.139 whom he does not know 00:16:39.139 --> 00:16:42.259 has given him victories in the past 00:16:42.259 --> 00:16:44.639 and it just so happens 00:16:44.639 --> 00:16:46.019 that in one of those victories 00:16:46.019 --> 00:16:48.559 this little nameless Hebrew servant girl 00:16:48.559 --> 00:16:50.199 was captured in a skirmish 00:16:50.199 --> 00:16:51.720 with Israel. 00:16:52.860 --> 00:16:54.319 And that's one of the great ironies 00:16:54.319 --> 00:16:54.939 of this story 00:16:54.939 --> 00:16:56.839 is that here's this girl 00:16:56.839 --> 00:16:58.839 who's in the eyes of everybody else 00:16:58.839 --> 00:17:00.679 is an unimportant nobody. 00:17:01.779 --> 00:17:03.519 Who absolutely does not matter 00:17:03.519 --> 00:17:05.139 and counts for nothing 00:17:05.139 --> 00:17:06.920 in the world's eyes. 00:17:08.099 --> 00:17:09.319 She's the signpost 00:17:09.319 --> 00:17:10.839 to the solution. 00:17:13.259 --> 00:17:16.139 What Naaman most needs 00:17:16.139 --> 00:17:18.039 is not up here in the palace 00:17:18.039 --> 00:17:19.180 where he thinks it is. 00:17:19.660 --> 00:17:20.639 What he most needs 00:17:20.639 --> 00:17:22.180 is down here in the kitchen. 00:17:23.879 --> 00:17:24.059 Right? 00:17:24.160 --> 00:17:25.180 What he needs 00:17:25.180 --> 00:17:27.059 is down here in the lowest place 00:17:27.059 --> 00:17:29.779 and in the humblest place. 00:17:29.779 --> 00:17:31.539 And that's the story 00:17:31.539 --> 00:17:32.000 of the Bible 00:17:32.000 --> 00:17:33.519 from beginning to end 00:17:33.519 --> 00:17:34.480 that God's salvation 00:17:34.480 --> 00:17:36.700 comes where we least expect it. 00:17:37.700 --> 00:17:37.940 Right? 00:17:37.960 --> 00:17:39.059 We think it's going to come 00:17:39.059 --> 00:17:40.639 from the great empires 00:17:40.639 --> 00:17:41.139 of the world 00:17:41.139 --> 00:17:42.759 and all the great dynasties. 00:17:42.899 --> 00:17:43.220 Egypt 00:17:43.220 --> 00:17:44.220 and Assyria 00:17:44.220 --> 00:17:45.019 and Babylon 00:17:45.019 --> 00:17:46.500 and the Greeks 00:17:46.500 --> 00:17:47.240 and the Romans. 00:17:47.980 --> 00:17:49.119 But the scriptures tell us 00:17:49.119 --> 00:17:49.819 that the key 00:17:49.819 --> 00:17:50.899 to the history 00:17:50.899 --> 00:17:52.079 of the world 00:17:52.079 --> 00:17:54.000 is in this little 00:17:54.000 --> 00:17:54.779 insignificant people 00:17:54.779 --> 00:17:56.579 of Abraham, 00:17:56.960 --> 00:17:57.259 Isaac, 00:17:57.359 --> 00:17:57.819 and Jacob. 00:17:58.539 --> 00:17:59.279 These people 00:17:59.279 --> 00:18:00.440 that were enslaved 00:18:00.440 --> 00:18:01.139 and these people 00:18:01.139 --> 00:18:01.940 that were exiled 00:18:01.940 --> 00:18:03.299 just like this little girl. 00:18:03.480 --> 00:18:04.200 And God says, 00:18:04.519 --> 00:18:05.259 the solution, 00:18:05.740 --> 00:18:06.519 my solution 00:18:06.519 --> 00:18:08.139 is over here. 00:18:09.220 --> 00:18:10.220 It's over here. 00:18:10.440 --> 00:18:11.299 The world thinks 00:18:11.299 --> 00:18:12.519 that a savior 00:18:12.519 --> 00:18:13.160 and a lord 00:18:13.160 --> 00:18:13.899 is going to come 00:18:13.899 --> 00:18:14.660 and when he comes 00:18:14.660 --> 00:18:15.259 he's going to come 00:18:15.259 --> 00:18:16.339 from Rome. 00:18:16.339 --> 00:18:19.359 But when he actually comes 00:18:19.359 --> 00:18:19.939 he comes 00:18:19.939 --> 00:18:22.439 in the least important town 00:18:22.439 --> 00:18:23.439 of Bethlehem. 00:18:24.500 --> 00:18:25.919 He comes as this little 00:18:25.919 --> 00:18:26.899 helpless baby 00:18:26.899 --> 00:18:28.459 in a manger. 00:18:29.480 --> 00:18:29.579 Right? 00:18:29.619 --> 00:18:30.819 The salvation of God 00:18:30.819 --> 00:18:32.399 comes in the place 00:18:32.399 --> 00:18:33.519 where absolutely 00:18:33.519 --> 00:18:34.319 no one 00:18:34.319 --> 00:18:35.419 is looking for it. 00:18:37.039 --> 00:18:37.699 And Naaman gets 00:18:37.699 --> 00:18:38.559 this signpost 00:18:38.559 --> 00:18:40.419 of this servant girl 00:18:40.419 --> 00:18:41.939 but he completely 00:18:41.939 --> 00:18:42.799 misreads 00:18:42.799 --> 00:18:43.799 the signpost. 00:18:44.599 --> 00:18:44.779 Right? 00:18:44.839 --> 00:18:45.399 It says in 00:18:45.400 --> 00:18:46.420 verse 3 00:18:46.420 --> 00:18:47.120 she says 00:18:47.120 --> 00:18:47.759 to her mistress 00:18:47.759 --> 00:18:48.660 if only my master 00:18:48.660 --> 00:18:49.720 would see the prophet 00:18:49.720 --> 00:18:51.220 he would cure him 00:18:51.220 --> 00:18:52.000 of his leprosy. 00:18:52.060 --> 00:18:52.660 She doesn't say 00:18:52.660 --> 00:18:54.080 if only he'd see the king 00:18:54.080 --> 00:18:54.560 but she says 00:18:54.560 --> 00:18:56.019 if only he'd see the prophet 00:18:56.019 --> 00:18:56.700 who could tell him 00:18:56.700 --> 00:18:57.580 the word of God. 00:18:58.960 --> 00:19:00.120 But he doesn't listen. 00:19:00.320 --> 00:19:02.240 He goes to the king instead. 00:19:02.380 --> 00:19:03.040 In verse 7 00:19:03.040 --> 00:19:04.820 as the king of Israel 00:19:04.820 --> 00:19:05.480 read the letter 00:19:05.480 --> 00:19:06.420 from his other king 00:19:06.420 --> 00:19:07.420 he tore his robes 00:19:07.420 --> 00:19:07.660 and said 00:19:07.660 --> 00:19:08.400 am I God? 00:19:08.519 --> 00:19:09.120 Can I kill 00:19:09.120 --> 00:19:10.300 and bring back to life? 00:19:10.400 --> 00:19:11.160 Why does this fellow 00:19:11.160 --> 00:19:12.420 send someone to me 00:19:12.420 --> 00:19:13.100 to be cured 00:19:13.100 --> 00:19:14.500 of his leprosy? 00:19:14.620 --> 00:19:14.759 He says 00:19:14.759 --> 00:19:16.119 you've come to the wrong place. 00:19:17.460 --> 00:19:19.519 Only God can give life. 00:19:19.660 --> 00:19:21.559 Only God can make whole. 00:19:22.539 --> 00:19:23.519 But this king 00:19:23.519 --> 00:19:25.039 like so many of the kings 00:19:25.039 --> 00:19:25.579 in Israel 00:19:25.579 --> 00:19:27.019 he's spiritually lost. 00:19:27.819 --> 00:19:28.519 And so he tears 00:19:28.519 --> 00:19:29.059 his robe 00:19:29.059 --> 00:19:30.660 in complete despair 00:19:30.660 --> 00:19:32.180 that this guy 00:19:32.180 --> 00:19:32.619 is going to get 00:19:32.619 --> 00:19:33.240 what he needs. 00:19:35.839 --> 00:19:36.240 But 00:19:36.240 --> 00:19:37.660 verse 8 says 00:19:37.660 --> 00:19:38.400 that when Elisha 00:19:38.400 --> 00:19:39.039 the man of God 00:19:39.039 --> 00:19:40.000 heard that the king 00:19:40.000 --> 00:19:40.400 of Israel 00:19:40.400 --> 00:19:41.480 had torn his robes 00:19:41.480 --> 00:19:42.799 he sent him 00:19:42.799 --> 00:19:43.339 this message 00:19:43.339 --> 00:19:44.240 why have you 00:19:44.240 --> 00:19:44.980 torn your robes? 00:19:45.039 --> 00:19:45.460 Have the man 00:19:45.460 --> 00:19:45.960 come to me 00:19:45.960 --> 00:19:46.720 and he will know 00:19:46.720 --> 00:19:48.319 that there is a prophet 00:19:48.319 --> 00:19:49.620 in Israel. 00:19:51.160 --> 00:19:51.799 You see what Naaman 00:19:51.799 --> 00:19:53.620 needs the most 00:19:53.620 --> 00:19:54.559 is this unknown 00:19:54.559 --> 00:19:55.640 unexpected little 00:19:55.640 --> 00:19:56.799 Hebrew servant girl 00:19:56.799 --> 00:19:57.660 to bear witness 00:19:57.660 --> 00:19:58.180 to him 00:19:58.180 --> 00:19:59.079 that there is 00:19:59.079 --> 00:19:59.880 a man of God. 00:19:59.880 --> 00:20:03.400 and he needs 00:20:03.400 --> 00:20:03.660 to know 00:20:03.660 --> 00:20:04.260 that this man 00:20:04.260 --> 00:20:04.700 of God 00:20:04.700 --> 00:20:05.420 is a prophet 00:20:05.420 --> 00:20:06.200 with a word 00:20:06.200 --> 00:20:06.820 from God. 00:20:07.480 --> 00:20:08.180 A prophet 00:20:08.180 --> 00:20:09.100 who has the truth 00:20:09.100 --> 00:20:10.160 the divine truth 00:20:10.160 --> 00:20:10.920 of God 00:20:10.920 --> 00:20:11.420 a prophet 00:20:11.420 --> 00:20:12.100 who can reveal 00:20:12.100 --> 00:20:12.580 to him 00:20:12.580 --> 00:20:13.440 the solution 00:20:13.440 --> 00:20:14.740 to his problem. 00:20:16.460 --> 00:20:17.020 And so he goes 00:20:17.020 --> 00:20:17.460 to the door 00:20:17.460 --> 00:20:17.980 of the prophet 00:20:17.980 --> 00:20:19.840 and is the problem 00:20:19.840 --> 00:20:20.400 solved? 00:20:21.260 --> 00:20:22.040 Does the story 00:20:22.040 --> 00:20:22.500 end? 00:20:22.640 --> 00:20:22.840 No 00:20:22.840 --> 00:20:24.020 it's just kind of 00:20:24.020 --> 00:20:24.500 heating up 00:20:24.500 --> 00:20:25.260 in verse 9 00:20:25.259 --> 00:20:26.660 it says 00:20:26.660 --> 00:20:27.220 Naaman went 00:20:27.220 --> 00:20:28.079 with his horses 00:20:28.079 --> 00:20:28.819 and chariots 00:20:28.819 --> 00:20:29.299 and stopped 00:20:29.299 --> 00:20:29.819 at the door 00:20:29.819 --> 00:20:30.879 of Elisha's house. 00:20:32.119 --> 00:20:33.019 Elisha sent a messenger 00:20:33.019 --> 00:20:33.819 to say to him 00:20:33.819 --> 00:20:34.680 go wash yourself 00:20:34.680 --> 00:20:35.379 seven times 00:20:35.379 --> 00:20:35.879 in the Jordan 00:20:35.879 --> 00:20:36.460 and your flesh 00:20:36.460 --> 00:20:37.160 will be restored 00:20:37.160 --> 00:20:38.440 and you will be 00:20:38.440 --> 00:20:38.799 cleansed. 00:20:38.859 --> 00:20:39.279 But Naaman 00:20:39.279 --> 00:20:40.299 went away angry 00:20:40.299 --> 00:20:40.640 and said 00:20:40.640 --> 00:20:41.039 I thought 00:20:41.039 --> 00:20:41.680 he would surely 00:20:41.680 --> 00:20:42.700 come out 00:20:42.700 --> 00:20:43.519 to me. 00:20:44.900 --> 00:20:45.259 You see 00:20:45.259 --> 00:20:45.740 he expects 00:20:45.740 --> 00:20:47.299 special treatment 00:20:47.299 --> 00:20:47.859 and attention 00:20:47.859 --> 00:20:49.779 but Elisha 00:20:49.779 --> 00:20:50.240 the prophet 00:20:50.240 --> 00:20:51.019 intentionally 00:20:51.019 --> 00:20:51.680 does not 00:20:51.680 --> 00:20:52.079 go out 00:20:52.079 --> 00:20:52.400 to him 00:20:52.400 --> 00:20:52.839 and give him 00:20:52.839 --> 00:20:53.000 that. 00:20:53.119 --> 00:20:53.660 He intentionally 00:20:53.660 --> 00:20:54.200 does not 00:20:54.200 --> 00:20:54.759 bow down 00:20:54.759 --> 00:20:55.559 and express 00:20:55.559 --> 00:20:56.099 pleasure 00:20:56.099 --> 00:20:56.579 at seeing 00:20:56.579 --> 00:20:57.160 this very 00:20:57.160 --> 00:20:58.140 important person. 00:20:59.140 --> 00:20:59.879 He sends 00:20:59.879 --> 00:21:00.779 an intermediary 00:21:00.779 --> 00:21:01.480 with a message 00:21:01.480 --> 00:21:02.079 and treats 00:21:02.079 --> 00:21:02.579 him like 00:21:02.579 --> 00:21:03.119 ordinary 00:21:03.119 --> 00:21:03.779 common 00:21:03.779 --> 00:21:04.599 human 00:21:04.599 --> 00:21:05.259 clay. 00:21:06.539 --> 00:21:07.099 And I think 00:21:07.099 --> 00:21:07.779 the prophet 00:21:07.779 --> 00:21:08.500 is deliberately 00:21:08.500 --> 00:21:09.279 hurting 00:21:09.279 --> 00:21:10.879 his pride 00:21:10.879 --> 00:21:12.900 and humbling 00:21:12.900 --> 00:21:13.160 him 00:21:13.160 --> 00:21:13.579 and this is 00:21:13.579 --> 00:21:13.920 in fact 00:21:13.920 --> 00:21:14.960 a key step 00:21:14.960 --> 00:21:15.960 in finding 00:21:15.960 --> 00:21:16.819 God 00:21:16.819 --> 00:21:18.819 is to realize 00:21:18.819 --> 00:21:19.400 that no matter 00:21:19.400 --> 00:21:20.440 who you are 00:21:20.440 --> 00:21:21.799 no matter 00:21:21.799 --> 00:21:22.279 what your 00:21:22.279 --> 00:21:23.180 status is 00:21:23.180 --> 00:21:23.879 in the eyes 00:21:23.879 --> 00:21:24.559 of the world 00:21:24.559 --> 00:21:24.859 no matter 00:21:24.859 --> 00:21:25.399 what you have 00:21:25.399 --> 00:21:25.859 accomplished 00:21:25.859 --> 00:21:26.480 before the 00:21:26.480 --> 00:21:26.819 eyes 00:21:26.819 --> 00:21:27.259 of God 00:21:27.259 --> 00:21:27.779 you are 00:21:27.779 --> 00:21:28.279 a helpless 00:21:28.279 --> 00:21:28.960 and hopeless 00:21:28.960 --> 00:21:29.859 sufferer 00:21:29.859 --> 00:21:30.460 and sinner 00:21:30.460 --> 00:21:31.460 like everybody 00:21:31.460 --> 00:21:31.980 else. 00:21:33.740 --> 00:21:34.619 And Naaman 00:21:34.619 --> 00:21:35.279 is super 00:21:35.279 --> 00:21:35.960 annoyed at that. 00:21:37.240 --> 00:21:38.079 He is super 00:21:38.079 --> 00:21:39.000 irritated 00:21:39.000 --> 00:21:39.399 right? 00:21:39.480 --> 00:21:39.859 He gives 00:21:39.859 --> 00:21:40.599 this outburst 00:21:40.599 --> 00:21:41.000 that kind 00:21:41.000 --> 00:21:41.839 of betrays 00:21:41.839 --> 00:21:43.179 where his 00:21:43.179 --> 00:21:43.460 thoughts 00:21:43.460 --> 00:21:44.259 truly lie 00:21:44.259 --> 00:21:44.700 and he gives 00:21:44.700 --> 00:21:45.440 us his view 00:21:45.440 --> 00:21:46.099 of how he 00:21:46.099 --> 00:21:46.559 thinks 00:21:46.559 --> 00:21:47.519 he ought 00:21:47.519 --> 00:21:48.220 to be cured. 00:21:48.339 --> 00:21:48.819 In verse 11 00:21:48.819 --> 00:21:49.119 he says 00:21:49.119 --> 00:21:49.480 I thought 00:21:49.480 --> 00:21:50.259 surely he 00:21:50.259 --> 00:21:50.579 come out 00:21:50.579 --> 00:21:50.839 to me 00:21:50.839 --> 00:21:51.379 and stand 00:21:51.379 --> 00:21:51.899 and call 00:21:51.899 --> 00:21:52.259 the name 00:21:52.259 --> 00:21:52.660 of the Lord 00:21:52.660 --> 00:21:53.140 his God 00:21:53.140 --> 00:21:53.599 and wave 00:21:53.599 --> 00:21:54.079 his hand 00:21:54.079 --> 00:21:54.400 over the 00:21:54.400 --> 00:21:54.759 spot 00:21:54.759 --> 00:21:56.180 abracadabra 00:21:56.180 --> 00:21:56.579 and sort 00:21:56.579 --> 00:21:57.059 of cure 00:21:57.059 --> 00:21:57.440 me of 00:21:57.440 --> 00:21:58.299 my leprosy. 00:22:00.379 --> 00:22:01.079 And you see 00:22:01.079 --> 00:22:01.720 he's suffering 00:22:01.720 --> 00:22:02.220 not only 00:22:02.220 --> 00:22:03.200 from a leprosy 00:22:03.200 --> 00:22:03.660 of the skin 00:22:03.660 --> 00:22:04.279 he's suffering 00:22:04.279 --> 00:22:05.279 from a leprosy 00:22:05.279 --> 00:22:06.480 of the soul 00:22:06.480 --> 00:22:08.379 and it nearly 00:22:08.379 --> 00:22:09.099 robs him 00:22:09.099 --> 00:22:09.640 of the cure 00:22:09.640 --> 00:22:10.259 and causes 00:22:10.259 --> 00:22:10.859 him to miss 00:22:10.859 --> 00:22:11.480 the salvation 00:22:11.480 --> 00:22:12.119 of God. 00:22:13.319 --> 00:22:14.200 The problem 00:22:14.200 --> 00:22:14.839 that's ruining 00:22:14.839 --> 00:22:15.779 Naaman's life 00:22:15.779 --> 00:22:16.960 is his 00:22:16.960 --> 00:22:18.000 self-centeredness 00:22:18.000 --> 00:22:19.119 maybe 00:22:19.119 --> 00:22:20.440 I mean I relate 00:22:20.440 --> 00:22:20.779 to this 00:22:20.779 --> 00:22:21.039 I don't know 00:22:21.039 --> 00:22:21.279 if you can 00:22:21.279 --> 00:22:21.720 relate to this 00:22:21.720 --> 00:22:23.000 the self-centeredness 00:22:23.000 --> 00:22:24.099 where he thinks 00:22:24.099 --> 00:22:25.259 that other people 00:22:25.259 --> 00:22:26.599 and that God 00:22:26.599 --> 00:22:27.700 should revolve 00:22:27.700 --> 00:22:28.819 around his 00:22:28.819 --> 00:22:29.720 way of doing 00:22:29.720 --> 00:22:30.319 things 00:22:30.319 --> 00:22:31.579 and his 00:22:31.579 --> 00:22:32.160 ideas 00:22:32.160 --> 00:22:33.139 of how God 00:22:33.139 --> 00:22:33.819 should bring 00:22:33.819 --> 00:22:34.359 the cure. 00:22:36.700 --> 00:22:37.599 But of course 00:22:37.599 --> 00:22:38.639 Elisha does not 00:22:38.639 --> 00:22:39.440 do it 00:22:39.440 --> 00:22:40.099 Naaman's way 00:22:40.099 --> 00:22:41.039 because he doesn't 00:22:41.039 --> 00:22:42.000 want Naaman 00:22:42.000 --> 00:22:42.779 or anybody else 00:22:42.779 --> 00:22:43.180 to think 00:22:43.180 --> 00:22:43.799 that the cure 00:22:43.799 --> 00:22:44.339 comes from 00:22:44.339 --> 00:22:45.460 human power. 00:22:46.319 --> 00:22:46.779 No he says 00:22:46.779 --> 00:22:47.119 you're going to 00:22:47.119 --> 00:22:47.680 have to go out 00:22:47.680 --> 00:22:48.460 into the desert 00:22:48.460 --> 00:22:48.879 man. 00:22:48.880 --> 00:22:50.360 You're going 00:22:50.360 --> 00:22:50.680 to have to 00:22:50.680 --> 00:22:51.340 go out there 00:22:51.340 --> 00:22:52.060 where nobody 00:22:52.060 --> 00:22:53.000 is and you'll 00:22:53.000 --> 00:22:53.720 experience the 00:22:53.720 --> 00:22:54.580 power of God 00:22:54.580 --> 00:22:55.500 directly for 00:22:55.500 --> 00:22:55.980 yourself. 00:22:57.860 --> 00:22:58.140 Well 00:22:58.140 --> 00:22:59.040 Naaman 00:22:59.040 --> 00:22:59.680 he's still 00:22:59.680 --> 00:23:00.060 ticked 00:23:00.060 --> 00:23:00.480 and he says 00:23:00.480 --> 00:23:01.180 in verse 12 00:23:01.180 --> 00:23:02.460 are not Abana 00:23:02.460 --> 00:23:03.200 and Farpar 00:23:03.200 --> 00:23:03.700 the rivers 00:23:03.700 --> 00:23:04.300 of Damascus 00:23:04.300 --> 00:23:04.780 better than 00:23:04.780 --> 00:23:05.360 all the waters 00:23:05.360 --> 00:23:05.760 of Israel 00:23:05.760 --> 00:23:06.200 couldn't I 00:23:06.200 --> 00:23:06.920 wash in them 00:23:06.920 --> 00:23:07.200 and be 00:23:07.200 --> 00:23:07.820 cleansed? 00:23:08.700 --> 00:23:09.080 And so he 00:23:09.080 --> 00:23:09.460 turned 00:23:09.460 --> 00:23:10.260 and went 00:23:10.260 --> 00:23:10.660 off 00:23:10.660 --> 00:23:11.720 in a rage. 00:23:13.120 --> 00:23:13.320 You see 00:23:13.320 --> 00:23:13.960 Naaman still 00:23:13.960 --> 00:23:14.560 trusts 00:23:14.560 --> 00:23:15.620 in himself. 00:23:17.000 --> 00:23:17.540 He still 00:23:17.540 --> 00:23:18.080 trusts in 00:23:18.079 --> 00:23:19.179 his thoughts 00:23:19.179 --> 00:23:20.039 about what 00:23:20.039 --> 00:23:20.519 the cure 00:23:20.519 --> 00:23:21.199 should be. 00:23:22.019 --> 00:23:22.619 And that's 00:23:22.619 --> 00:23:23.679 absolutely crazy 00:23:23.679 --> 00:23:24.119 isn't it? 00:23:24.139 --> 00:23:25.299 Because the 00:23:25.299 --> 00:23:26.059 most powerful 00:23:26.059 --> 00:23:26.740 people in the 00:23:26.740 --> 00:23:27.619 world have 00:23:27.619 --> 00:23:28.159 told him 00:23:28.159 --> 00:23:28.659 we cannot 00:23:28.659 --> 00:23:29.339 cure you. 00:23:30.500 --> 00:23:31.399 And yet he's 00:23:31.399 --> 00:23:32.079 fool enough 00:23:32.079 --> 00:23:32.480 to look at 00:23:32.480 --> 00:23:33.079 the one 00:23:33.079 --> 00:23:33.819 remedy 00:23:33.819 --> 00:23:34.460 the one 00:23:34.460 --> 00:23:35.019 solution 00:23:35.019 --> 00:23:35.599 the one 00:23:35.599 --> 00:23:36.019 cure 00:23:36.019 --> 00:23:36.439 that's been 00:23:36.439 --> 00:23:36.839 given to 00:23:36.839 --> 00:23:37.099 him 00:23:37.099 --> 00:23:38.000 and criticize 00:23:38.000 --> 00:23:38.500 it 00:23:38.500 --> 00:23:40.379 and object 00:23:40.379 --> 00:23:40.919 to it 00:23:40.919 --> 00:23:41.720 and protest 00:23:41.720 --> 00:23:42.759 against it. 00:23:42.799 --> 00:23:43.099 And you know 00:23:43.099 --> 00:23:43.319 what? 00:23:44.559 --> 00:23:45.119 This is how 00:23:45.119 --> 00:23:45.579 it always 00:23:45.579 --> 00:23:45.960 is. 00:23:45.960 --> 00:23:47.799 This is 00:23:47.799 --> 00:23:48.539 what people 00:23:48.539 --> 00:23:49.059 were doing 00:23:49.059 --> 00:23:49.740 in Jesus' 00:23:49.920 --> 00:23:50.240 day as 00:23:50.240 --> 00:23:50.460 well. 00:23:50.539 --> 00:23:50.920 They said 00:23:50.920 --> 00:23:51.259 you know 00:23:51.259 --> 00:23:52.340 God's salvation 00:23:52.340 --> 00:23:52.940 should come 00:23:52.940 --> 00:23:53.299 in this 00:23:53.299 --> 00:23:53.600 way. 00:23:54.440 --> 00:23:55.340 He should 00:23:55.340 --> 00:23:55.860 send a 00:23:55.860 --> 00:23:56.299 conquering 00:23:56.299 --> 00:23:56.819 Messiah 00:23:56.819 --> 00:23:57.640 and gather 00:23:57.640 --> 00:23:58.420 up this 00:23:58.420 --> 00:23:59.000 massive 00:23:59.000 --> 00:24:00.240 army of 00:24:00.240 --> 00:24:00.779 soldiers 00:24:00.779 --> 00:24:01.440 and whip 00:24:01.440 --> 00:24:01.840 up on 00:24:01.840 --> 00:24:02.340 the Romans 00:24:02.340 --> 00:24:02.960 and drive 00:24:02.960 --> 00:24:03.539 the pagans 00:24:03.539 --> 00:24:03.900 out of the 00:24:03.900 --> 00:24:04.500 holy land 00:24:04.500 --> 00:24:04.940 and set up 00:24:04.940 --> 00:24:05.480 this kingdom 00:24:05.480 --> 00:24:06.079 to dominate 00:24:06.079 --> 00:24:06.900 all the 00:24:06.900 --> 00:24:07.299 nations. 00:24:07.500 --> 00:24:08.740 But that's 00:24:08.740 --> 00:24:09.059 not how 00:24:09.059 --> 00:24:10.000 God operates 00:24:10.000 --> 00:24:10.700 at all. 00:24:12.180 --> 00:24:12.500 Instead 00:24:12.500 --> 00:24:13.620 God comes 00:24:13.620 --> 00:24:13.960 how? 00:24:14.059 --> 00:24:14.480 He comes 00:24:14.480 --> 00:24:15.559 incognito. 00:24:15.960 --> 00:24:17.220 He comes 00:24:17.220 --> 00:24:17.460 in the 00:24:17.460 --> 00:24:17.759 flesh 00:24:17.759 --> 00:24:18.180 in Jesus 00:24:18.180 --> 00:24:18.579 Christ 00:24:18.579 --> 00:24:19.259 small 00:24:19.259 --> 00:24:20.059 and weak. 00:24:20.920 --> 00:24:21.500 He comes 00:24:21.500 --> 00:24:22.200 born in a 00:24:22.200 --> 00:24:22.460 manger. 00:24:22.600 --> 00:24:23.019 He comes 00:24:23.019 --> 00:24:23.299 and he 00:24:23.299 --> 00:24:23.880 spends his 00:24:23.880 --> 00:24:24.200 time 00:24:24.200 --> 00:24:25.740 outside of 00:24:25.740 --> 00:24:26.120 the halls 00:24:26.120 --> 00:24:26.680 of power 00:24:26.680 --> 00:24:27.680 in Galilee 00:24:27.680 --> 00:24:28.480 preaching to 00:24:28.480 --> 00:24:29.120 ordinary 00:24:29.120 --> 00:24:29.900 common 00:24:29.900 --> 00:24:30.779 everyday 00:24:30.779 --> 00:24:31.620 poor 00:24:31.620 --> 00:24:32.400 broken 00:24:32.400 --> 00:24:33.019 people 00:24:33.019 --> 00:24:33.799 like us. 00:24:35.140 --> 00:24:35.860 And he 00:24:35.860 --> 00:24:36.340 shows them 00:24:36.340 --> 00:24:36.559 what it 00:24:36.559 --> 00:24:36.960 means to 00:24:36.960 --> 00:24:37.259 live a 00:24:37.259 --> 00:24:37.660 life in 00:24:37.660 --> 00:24:37.940 the world 00:24:37.940 --> 00:24:38.400 without 00:24:38.400 --> 00:24:39.039 this 00:24:39.039 --> 00:24:40.120 self-centeredness 00:24:40.120 --> 00:24:40.400 on the 00:24:40.400 --> 00:24:40.940 inside. 00:24:42.299 --> 00:24:42.640 And yet 00:24:42.640 --> 00:24:42.860 at the 00:24:42.860 --> 00:24:43.500 climax of 00:24:43.500 --> 00:24:43.920 his life 00:24:43.920 --> 00:24:44.380 the people 00:24:44.380 --> 00:24:44.940 see him 00:24:44.940 --> 00:24:45.920 nailed to 00:24:45.920 --> 00:24:46.559 a tree 00:24:46.559 --> 00:24:48.160 and die 00:24:48.160 --> 00:24:48.640 in utter 00:24:48.640 --> 00:24:49.240 agony 00:24:49.240 --> 00:24:50.400 and weakness 00:24:50.400 --> 00:24:51.440 and they 00:24:51.440 --> 00:24:51.799 see his 00:24:51.799 --> 00:24:52.539 body taken 00:24:52.539 --> 00:24:53.140 down and 00:24:53.140 --> 00:24:54.100 buried in 00:24:54.100 --> 00:24:54.759 a grave 00:24:54.759 --> 00:24:55.420 and they 00:24:55.420 --> 00:24:56.279 say this 00:24:56.279 --> 00:24:57.160 is not 00:24:57.160 --> 00:24:58.220 the way 00:24:58.220 --> 00:24:59.080 that the 00:24:59.080 --> 00:24:59.900 salvation of 00:24:59.900 --> 00:25:00.900 God should 00:25:00.900 --> 00:25:01.420 come into 00:25:01.420 --> 00:25:02.019 the world. 00:25:03.000 --> 00:25:03.880 This is 00:25:03.880 --> 00:25:04.519 ridiculous. 00:25:04.960 --> 00:25:05.320 This is 00:25:05.320 --> 00:25:05.920 insulting. 00:25:07.539 --> 00:25:08.720 The signposts 00:25:08.720 --> 00:25:09.120 of God's 00:25:09.120 --> 00:25:09.740 salvation should 00:25:09.740 --> 00:25:10.559 not come from 00:25:10.559 --> 00:25:11.200 a servant 00:25:11.200 --> 00:25:12.000 girl and a 00:25:12.000 --> 00:25:12.700 humble prophet. 00:25:12.700 --> 00:25:15.400 God's 00:25:15.400 --> 00:25:15.980 salvation should 00:25:15.980 --> 00:25:16.640 not come from 00:25:16.640 --> 00:25:17.400 Bethlehem's 00:25:17.400 --> 00:25:18.019 manger or 00:25:18.019 --> 00:25:18.759 Golgotha's 00:25:18.759 --> 00:25:19.160 cross. 00:25:19.259 --> 00:25:19.480 Are you 00:25:19.480 --> 00:25:20.180 crazy? 00:25:21.460 --> 00:25:22.100 No, I 00:25:22.100 --> 00:25:22.539 know the 00:25:22.539 --> 00:25:23.059 way that 00:25:23.059 --> 00:25:23.620 salvation 00:25:23.620 --> 00:25:24.700 ought to 00:25:24.700 --> 00:25:25.059 come. 00:25:26.019 --> 00:25:26.779 But friends, 00:25:26.880 --> 00:25:27.380 if you 00:25:27.380 --> 00:25:29.200 insist on 00:25:29.200 --> 00:25:29.640 your own 00:25:29.640 --> 00:25:31.440 way and 00:25:31.440 --> 00:25:31.799 you keep 00:25:31.799 --> 00:25:32.440 trusting in 00:25:32.440 --> 00:25:33.160 yourself like 00:25:33.160 --> 00:25:33.860 Naaman trusted 00:25:33.860 --> 00:25:34.759 himself, you're 00:25:34.759 --> 00:25:35.299 never going to 00:25:35.299 --> 00:25:35.960 find God. 00:25:37.720 --> 00:25:38.759 The world is 00:25:38.759 --> 00:25:39.279 looking in 00:25:39.279 --> 00:25:40.640 every direction 00:25:40.640 --> 00:25:41.240 except the 00:25:41.240 --> 00:25:41.900 one direction 00:25:41.900 --> 00:25:42.520 that has 00:25:42.520 --> 00:25:43.540 the cure. 00:25:45.340 --> 00:25:45.740 And like 00:25:45.740 --> 00:25:46.120 this little 00:25:46.120 --> 00:25:46.660 insignificant 00:25:46.660 --> 00:25:47.520 servant girl, 00:25:48.120 --> 00:25:49.120 all I can do 00:25:49.120 --> 00:25:49.940 today is just 00:25:49.940 --> 00:25:50.640 point you to 00:25:50.640 --> 00:25:51.500 this humble 00:25:51.500 --> 00:25:52.220 prophet in 00:25:52.220 --> 00:25:53.100 Israel and 00:25:53.100 --> 00:25:53.940 say that Jesus 00:25:53.940 --> 00:25:55.280 has the cure 00:25:55.280 --> 00:25:55.740 for your 00:25:55.740 --> 00:25:56.220 disease. 00:25:57.420 --> 00:25:58.100 He can 00:25:58.100 --> 00:25:58.800 cleanse you and 00:25:58.800 --> 00:25:59.520 he can restore 00:25:59.520 --> 00:25:59.840 you. 00:26:00.720 --> 00:26:01.680 Like Elisha, 00:26:01.740 --> 00:26:02.640 all I can do 00:26:02.640 --> 00:26:03.400 today is just 00:26:03.400 --> 00:26:04.160 tell you that 00:26:04.160 --> 00:26:05.440 salvation comes 00:26:05.440 --> 00:26:06.180 in a way that's 00:26:06.180 --> 00:26:07.080 different than 00:26:07.080 --> 00:26:08.200 you think it 00:26:08.200 --> 00:26:08.700 should be and 00:26:08.700 --> 00:26:09.480 it comes not 00:26:09.480 --> 00:26:10.279 in power but 00:26:10.279 --> 00:26:10.860 in the weakness 00:26:10.860 --> 00:26:11.700 of the cross. 00:26:12.440 --> 00:26:13.360 It comes not 00:26:13.360 --> 00:26:14.200 in victory but 00:26:14.200 --> 00:26:15.539 in the sacrifice 00:26:15.539 --> 00:26:16.480 of self-giving 00:26:16.480 --> 00:26:17.299 love. 00:26:18.660 --> 00:26:19.360 And you have 00:26:19.360 --> 00:26:20.180 but one thing 00:26:20.180 --> 00:26:20.920 to do in the 00:26:20.920 --> 00:26:22.240 depth of your 00:26:22.240 --> 00:26:23.799 disease and in 00:26:23.799 --> 00:26:24.960 the agony of 00:26:24.960 --> 00:26:25.579 your need and 00:26:25.579 --> 00:26:26.200 that is just to 00:26:26.200 --> 00:26:27.680 go to Jesus, 00:26:28.319 --> 00:26:29.240 the Son of God 00:26:29.240 --> 00:26:30.480 and you'll be 00:26:30.480 --> 00:26:30.779 cured. 00:26:32.380 --> 00:26:33.120 He can heal 00:26:33.120 --> 00:26:33.360 you. 00:26:34.440 --> 00:26:35.519 He can remove 00:26:35.519 --> 00:26:37.240 whatever curse 00:26:37.240 --> 00:26:37.720 is on your 00:26:37.720 --> 00:26:38.140 life. 00:26:38.319 --> 00:26:39.240 He can restore 00:26:39.240 --> 00:26:40.200 you and he 00:26:40.200 --> 00:26:40.620 can give you 00:26:40.620 --> 00:26:41.900 new life and 00:26:41.900 --> 00:26:42.319 he can give 00:26:42.319 --> 00:26:43.039 you new power. 00:26:43.160 --> 00:26:43.680 Your one 00:26:43.680 --> 00:26:46.200 need is to 00:26:46.200 --> 00:26:46.880 go to him 00:26:46.880 --> 00:26:48.620 and he can 00:26:48.620 --> 00:26:49.160 rid you of 00:26:49.160 --> 00:26:49.920 the leprosy 00:26:49.920 --> 00:26:51.599 of your soul 00:26:51.599 --> 00:26:52.039 that's been 00:26:52.039 --> 00:26:53.799 spoiling life 00:26:53.799 --> 00:26:54.259 for you and 00:26:54.259 --> 00:26:54.700 he can give 00:26:54.700 --> 00:26:55.279 you life 00:26:55.279 --> 00:26:55.900 abundant. 00:26:57.240 --> 00:26:57.700 You say but 00:26:57.700 --> 00:26:58.299 surely there's 00:26:58.299 --> 00:26:59.140 another cure but 00:26:59.140 --> 00:27:00.220 no, the 00:27:00.220 --> 00:27:00.940 apostle Peter 00:27:00.940 --> 00:27:01.539 says this in 00:27:01.539 --> 00:27:02.160 Acts 4, he 00:27:02.160 --> 00:27:02.799 says salvation 00:27:02.799 --> 00:27:04.299 is found in 00:27:04.299 --> 00:27:05.079 no one else 00:27:05.079 --> 00:27:05.539 than Jesus 00:27:05.539 --> 00:27:06.599 Christ for 00:27:06.599 --> 00:27:07.140 there is no 00:27:07.140 --> 00:27:07.779 other name under 00:27:07.779 --> 00:27:08.579 heaven given to 00:27:08.579 --> 00:27:09.699 mankind by 00:27:09.699 --> 00:27:10.500 which we 00:27:10.500 --> 00:27:11.099 must be 00:27:11.099 --> 00:27:11.539 saved. 00:27:12.559 --> 00:27:13.220 You'll never 00:27:13.220 --> 00:27:14.000 find God if 00:27:14.000 --> 00:27:15.259 you insist on 00:27:15.259 --> 00:27:16.379 your own way. 00:27:18.099 --> 00:27:19.199 What causes us 00:27:19.199 --> 00:27:19.980 to seek God? 00:27:20.199 --> 00:27:21.359 How do we find 00:27:21.359 --> 00:27:21.919 God? 00:27:22.000 --> 00:27:22.519 And let me just 00:27:22.519 --> 00:27:23.179 finish by saying 00:27:23.179 --> 00:27:24.039 what is required 00:27:24.039 --> 00:27:25.559 to meet God? 00:27:26.599 --> 00:27:27.500 What's required 00:27:27.500 --> 00:27:28.399 to meet God? 00:27:28.500 --> 00:27:30.299 Verse 13 is 00:27:30.299 --> 00:27:30.859 beautiful. 00:27:31.039 --> 00:27:31.919 It says Naaman's 00:27:31.919 --> 00:27:32.720 servants went to 00:27:32.720 --> 00:27:33.399 him and said my 00:27:33.399 --> 00:27:35.279 father if the 00:27:35.279 --> 00:27:36.019 prophet had told 00:27:36.019 --> 00:27:36.619 you to do some 00:27:36.619 --> 00:27:37.419 great thing would 00:27:37.420 --> 00:27:37.860 you not have 00:27:37.860 --> 00:27:38.340 done it. 00:27:39.000 --> 00:27:39.900 How much more 00:27:39.900 --> 00:27:40.420 than when he 00:27:40.420 --> 00:27:41.820 tells you wash 00:27:41.820 --> 00:27:43.140 and be cleansed. 00:27:44.320 --> 00:27:45.100 Thank God for 00:27:45.100 --> 00:27:45.779 these servants 00:27:45.779 --> 00:27:46.880 right because 00:27:46.880 --> 00:27:47.740 otherwise Naaman 00:27:47.740 --> 00:27:48.240 would have gone 00:27:48.240 --> 00:27:49.620 home diseased and 00:27:49.620 --> 00:27:50.380 without the cure. 00:27:51.220 --> 00:27:52.440 But in love they 00:27:52.440 --> 00:27:53.700 question his pride 00:27:53.700 --> 00:27:54.779 with common sense 00:27:54.779 --> 00:27:55.460 and they say to 00:27:55.460 --> 00:27:57.019 him look Naaman you 00:27:57.019 --> 00:27:58.100 came here expecting 00:27:58.100 --> 00:27:59.620 to pay a whole lot 00:27:59.620 --> 00:27:59.980 of money. 00:28:01.200 --> 00:28:01.740 You came here 00:28:01.740 --> 00:28:02.620 expecting for the 00:28:02.620 --> 00:28:03.500 prophet to tell you 00:28:03.500 --> 00:28:04.820 some to do some 00:28:04.820 --> 00:28:06.080 great deed and you 00:28:06.079 --> 00:28:06.659 would go out and 00:28:06.659 --> 00:28:07.679 perform it and you 00:28:07.679 --> 00:28:08.399 would earn your 00:28:08.399 --> 00:28:09.279 cure and you would 00:28:09.279 --> 00:28:10.639 merit a new life 00:28:10.639 --> 00:28:11.220 for yourself. 00:28:11.919 --> 00:28:12.859 But this prophet has 00:28:12.859 --> 00:28:13.699 actually given you a 00:28:13.699 --> 00:28:15.419 much simpler way to 00:28:15.419 --> 00:28:15.960 be cured. 00:28:17.079 --> 00:28:18.059 You don't have to go 00:28:18.059 --> 00:28:19.740 do some great thing 00:28:19.740 --> 00:28:21.819 to earn your cure. 00:28:22.839 --> 00:28:24.079 You can get cured 00:28:24.079 --> 00:28:25.639 for free. 00:28:28.599 --> 00:28:30.279 I mean yeah Naaman 00:28:30.279 --> 00:28:32.599 yes compared to the 00:28:32.599 --> 00:28:34.480 cold rushing rivers 00:28:34.480 --> 00:28:35.880 in Syria that we all 00:28:35.880 --> 00:28:36.640 love and are so 00:28:36.640 --> 00:28:37.099 beautiful. 00:28:37.339 --> 00:28:38.799 These rivers of the 00:28:38.799 --> 00:28:39.640 Jordan are kind of 00:28:39.640 --> 00:28:40.680 tepid and lethargic 00:28:40.680 --> 00:28:41.980 and a little less 00:28:41.980 --> 00:28:43.360 impressive than you 00:28:43.360 --> 00:28:43.799 would hope. 00:28:43.940 --> 00:28:46.779 But man it's free. 00:28:48.500 --> 00:28:49.279 I mean yes the 00:28:49.279 --> 00:28:50.660 prophet is asking you 00:28:50.660 --> 00:28:52.019 to submit yourself to 00:28:52.019 --> 00:28:53.180 a ritual bath of 00:28:53.180 --> 00:28:54.339 cleansing that just 00:28:54.339 --> 00:28:55.700 might humiliate you. 00:28:56.660 --> 00:28:57.720 And yes the prophet 00:28:57.720 --> 00:28:58.480 is inviting you to 00:28:58.480 --> 00:28:59.839 take a step of faith 00:28:59.839 --> 00:29:00.680 that might cause you 00:29:00.680 --> 00:29:01.980 to feel foolish or to 00:29:01.980 --> 00:29:03.059 look ridiculous in the 00:29:03.059 --> 00:29:04.000 eyes of other people. 00:29:04.720 --> 00:29:07.940 But Naaman what do 00:29:07.940 --> 00:29:09.579 you have to lose? 00:29:10.619 --> 00:29:11.659 What do you have to 00:29:11.659 --> 00:29:12.079 lose? 00:29:13.220 --> 00:29:15.099 It's so easy. 00:29:17.299 --> 00:29:18.399 And in the same way 00:29:18.399 --> 00:29:19.419 the gospel of Jesus 00:29:19.419 --> 00:29:21.460 Christ can be so 00:29:21.460 --> 00:29:22.980 insulting to us and so 00:29:22.980 --> 00:29:25.200 humiliating because it 00:29:25.200 --> 00:29:26.359 tells us that we cannot 00:29:26.359 --> 00:29:29.299 pay money and we cannot 00:29:29.299 --> 00:29:30.579 go out and perform some 00:29:30.579 --> 00:29:32.500 great deed and live a 00:29:32.500 --> 00:29:33.819 good life and follow the 00:29:33.819 --> 00:29:35.139 example of Jesus Christ 00:29:35.139 --> 00:29:36.359 or practice his teachings 00:29:36.359 --> 00:29:37.740 or make some great 00:29:37.740 --> 00:29:39.480 sacrifices and then we'll 00:29:39.480 --> 00:29:40.019 be cured. 00:29:40.139 --> 00:29:42.240 No the gospel is so much 00:29:42.240 --> 00:29:43.519 simpler and yet so much 00:29:43.519 --> 00:29:44.639 deeper than that it just 00:29:44.639 --> 00:29:46.139 says look to the cross. 00:29:47.199 --> 00:29:48.859 Look at Christ and him 00:29:48.859 --> 00:29:49.659 crucified. 00:29:51.279 --> 00:29:54.199 That's God's way of 00:29:54.199 --> 00:29:57.199 salvation by free grace. 00:29:57.200 --> 00:29:59.100 grace and it doesn't cost 00:29:59.100 --> 00:30:00.420 you a penny. 00:30:02.680 --> 00:30:03.920 Friends we don't have to 00:30:03.920 --> 00:30:05.220 go out and do some great 00:30:05.220 --> 00:30:06.360 thing because the great 00:30:06.360 --> 00:30:08.440 thing has been done for 00:30:08.440 --> 00:30:08.880 us. 00:30:10.019 --> 00:30:12.840 Just look at Jesus dying on 00:30:12.840 --> 00:30:13.779 the cross for you, 00:30:13.940 --> 00:30:15.860 bearing your sins in his 00:30:15.860 --> 00:30:18.299 body, receiving the just 00:30:18.299 --> 00:30:19.700 judgment that your sins 00:30:19.700 --> 00:30:20.080 deserve. 00:30:20.180 --> 00:30:22.720 Look at God laying on him 00:30:22.720 --> 00:30:24.420 your pride and your self 00:30:24.420 --> 00:30:25.880 sinerness and your self 00:30:25.880 --> 00:30:27.460 righteousness and dealing 00:30:27.460 --> 00:30:28.380 with all of it there. 00:30:28.640 --> 00:30:30.420 Just believe that he did 00:30:30.420 --> 00:30:32.720 that for you and you'll be 00:30:32.720 --> 00:30:33.360 cleansed. 00:30:34.580 --> 00:30:35.560 You'll be cured. 00:30:37.220 --> 00:30:37.700 Right? 00:30:37.740 --> 00:30:38.539 We sang it earlier. 00:30:39.440 --> 00:30:40.940 What can wash away my sin? 00:30:42.039 --> 00:30:43.140 Nothing but the blood of 00:30:43.140 --> 00:30:43.420 Jesus. 00:30:44.539 --> 00:30:46.060 What can make me whole? 00:30:46.259 --> 00:30:47.740 Again, nothing but the 00:30:47.740 --> 00:30:49.440 blood of Jesus. 00:30:49.539 --> 00:30:50.100 And you might say well 00:30:50.100 --> 00:30:51.360 that's ridiculous and that 00:30:51.360 --> 00:30:52.019 is insulting. 00:30:52.980 --> 00:30:54.220 But friends, Naaman tried 00:30:54.220 --> 00:30:56.519 everything else and it led 00:30:56.519 --> 00:30:57.019 to nothing. 00:30:57.160 --> 00:30:58.440 All the attempted cures 00:30:58.440 --> 00:30:59.079 failed him. 00:30:59.639 --> 00:31:00.619 And the same will be true 00:31:00.619 --> 00:31:00.980 for you. 00:31:01.059 --> 00:31:02.900 You can keep trying all the 00:31:02.900 --> 00:31:04.000 other religions and all the 00:31:04.000 --> 00:31:05.859 other philosophies but you're 00:31:05.859 --> 00:31:07.220 never going to find peace. 00:31:08.039 --> 00:31:09.200 You're never going to find 00:31:09.200 --> 00:31:11.299 rest because here and here 00:31:11.299 --> 00:31:13.400 alone is the cure and there's 00:31:13.400 --> 00:31:15.000 no other alternative. 00:31:17.139 --> 00:31:19.139 If Naaman turns away, he'll go 00:31:19.140 --> 00:31:23.320 back home a leper and leprosy 00:31:23.320 --> 00:31:25.780 will spread all over his body 00:31:25.780 --> 00:31:26.800 until it kills him. 00:31:28.160 --> 00:31:31.780 And if any of us turn away from 00:31:31.780 --> 00:31:33.960 the one cure, the one remedy that 00:31:33.960 --> 00:31:36.600 God has provided in his son Jesus 00:31:36.600 --> 00:31:39.640 Christ, we too will remain spiritual 00:31:40.280 --> 00:31:43.140 and moral lepers for all eternity 00:31:43.140 --> 00:31:45.900 without God and without hope. 00:31:45.900 --> 00:31:49.660 And so as I close, just allow me 00:31:49.660 --> 00:31:52.200 to plead with you to take the 00:31:52.200 --> 00:31:54.519 position of Naaman's servants and 00:31:54.519 --> 00:31:57.380 just plead with you not to turn 00:31:57.380 --> 00:31:59.420 away from the cure when it's right 00:31:59.420 --> 00:32:00.140 here for you. 00:32:01.940 --> 00:32:02.759 Try it. 00:32:03.519 --> 00:32:04.400 Just try it. 00:32:05.000 --> 00:32:07.060 And you'll find that it works. 00:32:08.120 --> 00:32:09.519 You just confess your sins. 00:32:09.600 --> 00:32:11.800 You just say, I'm unable to cure 00:32:11.800 --> 00:32:12.600 myself. 00:32:12.599 --> 00:32:15.759 And you just receive the free gift 00:32:15.759 --> 00:32:17.719 of God to be cleansed and to be 00:32:17.719 --> 00:32:19.379 healed and to be whole and to have 00:32:19.379 --> 00:32:21.419 a new life and to be a child of 00:32:21.419 --> 00:32:23.059 God and have the Holy Spirit 00:32:23.059 --> 00:32:24.699 enter into your soul. 00:32:26.959 --> 00:32:29.719 Verse 14 says that, so he went 00:32:29.719 --> 00:32:30.119 down. 00:32:31.259 --> 00:32:33.019 He went down and he dipped himself 00:32:33.019 --> 00:32:34.719 in the Jordan seven times as the 00:32:34.719 --> 00:32:35.980 man of God had told him and his 00:32:35.980 --> 00:32:37.359 flesh was restored and became 00:32:37.359 --> 00:32:39.500 clean like that of a young boy. 00:32:39.500 --> 00:32:43.539 Then Naaman and all his 00:32:43.539 --> 00:32:45.279 attendants went back to the man of 00:32:45.279 --> 00:32:45.500 God. 00:32:45.579 --> 00:32:47.500 He stood before him and said, now I 00:32:48.299 --> 00:32:48.619 know. 00:32:49.740 --> 00:32:53.000 Now I know that there is no God in 00:32:53.000 --> 00:32:55.539 all the world except in Israel. 00:32:57.500 --> 00:32:59.759 He doesn't say, now I know that your 00:32:59.759 --> 00:33:01.460 God is more powerful than my God. 00:33:02.720 --> 00:33:04.500 He goes through this massive worldview 00:33:05.180 --> 00:33:05.559 change. 00:33:05.640 --> 00:33:08.500 His map of spiritual reality has been 00:33:08.500 --> 00:33:10.619 fundamentally altered and he says, 00:33:11.019 --> 00:33:12.880 there is no God in all the world 00:33:12.880 --> 00:33:14.799 but this one God. 00:33:16.440 --> 00:33:17.359 And you see, that's the 00:33:17.359 --> 00:33:19.039 transformation because he starts by 00:33:19.039 --> 00:33:20.500 thinking that his most fundamental 00:33:21.380 --> 00:33:22.740 need and his most fundamental 00:33:22.740 --> 00:33:24.799 problem was that he was a sufferer 00:33:24.799 --> 00:33:26.700 with a disease but then he realizes 00:33:26.700 --> 00:33:29.019 in the end, no, the need beneath the 00:33:29.019 --> 00:33:31.099 need, the problem beneath the problem 00:33:31.099 --> 00:33:34.839 is that I never knew the one true 00:33:34.839 --> 00:33:36.359 and living God. 00:33:38.240 --> 00:33:40.379 And so the question, can I know God 00:33:40.379 --> 00:33:40.939 personally? 00:33:42.399 --> 00:33:44.139 Can I have a relationship with this 00:33:44.139 --> 00:33:45.799 one God of the Bible? 00:33:46.939 --> 00:33:48.919 Well, if you ask Naaman, he would say, no. 00:33:51.199 --> 00:33:52.639 He would say, no, you can't. 00:33:52.679 --> 00:33:54.339 Not if you think the world's gonna cure 00:33:54.339 --> 00:33:54.599 you. 00:33:55.919 --> 00:33:58.699 Not if you think you know how it's 00:33:58.699 --> 00:33:59.419 supposed to happen. 00:33:59.420 --> 00:34:02.500 Not if you're unwilling to pay attention 00:34:02.500 --> 00:34:04.420 to God's unexpected signposts 00:34:05.500 --> 00:34:06.800 in his servant people 00:34:06.800 --> 00:34:07.940 and his prophetic word. 00:34:08.860 --> 00:34:10.380 Not if you're unwilling to submit 00:34:10.380 --> 00:34:11.420 to God's unlikely solution 00:34:12.059 --> 00:34:14.119 in the cross of his son, Jesus Christ. 00:34:15.119 --> 00:34:16.440 But Naaman would say to you, 00:34:16.880 --> 00:34:18.360 if you lay down your pride 00:34:18.360 --> 00:34:20.420 and if you humble yourself 00:34:20.960 --> 00:34:24.220 and if by faith you receive this cure 00:34:24.220 --> 00:34:26.340 as a free gift from God, 00:34:26.340 --> 00:34:31.100 then yes, you can know God personally. 00:34:31.240 --> 00:34:33.600 Yes, you can know personally 00:34:33.600 --> 00:34:36.740 that there is no God in all the world 00:34:36.740 --> 00:34:39.640 but this one God of the Bible 00:34:39.640 --> 00:34:43.200 made flesh in Jesus Christ. 00:34:44.460 --> 00:34:45.900 In the name of the Father, Son, 00:34:45.940 --> 00:34:47.800 and Holy Spirit, amen.