Symptoms of Status
Notes
Transcript
Coming out of Easter weekend can always be a challenge, BECAUSE every year, Easter will take for itself - at LEAST 2 weeks (sermons) - (sometimes more)...
And it causes us to have to break from our trek through WHATEVER book we’re walking through at the time…as a church.
…And it can take some time to reacclimate to our SURROUNDINGS in the text.
Several weeks ago now - we read of a man named Naaman.
If you remember - Naaman was a valiant warrior - YET - he was known for being a leper.
When it was suggested that he go see the prophet in Israel...
He ends up being told by ELISHA - to go into the Jordan - and wash 7 times.
And that if he would DO THAT - he would be clean.
Well - he didn’t LIKE THAT very much - SEE - he wanted to ELISHA to do things HIS OWN way...
He wanted ELISHA - to come to him - wave his magic wand - and CURE HIM!
It seems that Naaman was interested in putting any EFFORT - into this matter.
AND SO - after being CONVINCED by his servants...
He decides to go to the Jordan....and he ends up CLEANED.
Healed.
This week - we pick up right where that story left off...
15 Then he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and he came and stood before him. And he said, “Behold, I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel; so accept now a present from your servant.”
16 But he said, “As the Lord lives, before whom I stand, I will receive none.” And he urged him to take it, but he refused.
17 Then Naaman said, “If not, please let there be given to your servant two mule loads of earth, for from now on your servant will not offer burnt offering or sacrifice to any god but the Lord.
18 In this matter may the Lord pardon your servant: when my master goes into the house of Rimmon to worship there, leaning on my arm, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, when I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, the Lord pardon your servant in this matter.”
19 He said to him, “Go in peace.” But when Naaman had gone from him a short distance,
20 Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, “See, my master has spared this Naaman the Syrian, in not accepting from his hand what he brought. As the Lord lives, I will run after him and get something from him.”
21 So Gehazi followed Naaman. And when Naaman saw someone running after him, he got down from the chariot to meet him and said, “Is all well?”
22 And he said, “All is well. My master has sent me to say, ‘There have just now come to me from the hill country of Ephraim two young men of the sons of the prophets. Please give them a talent of silver and two changes of clothing.’ ”
23 And Naaman said, “Be pleased to accept two talents.” And he urged him and tied up two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of clothing, and laid them on two of his servants. And they carried them before Gehazi.
24 And when he came to the hill, he took them from their hand and put them in the house, and he sent the men away, and they departed.
25 He went in and stood before his master, and Elisha said to him, “Where have you been, Gehazi?” And he said, “Your servant went nowhere.”
26 But he said to him, “Did not my heart go when the man turned from his chariot to meet you? Was it a time to accept money and garments, olive orchards and vineyards, sheep and oxen, male servants and female servants?
27 Therefore the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and to your descendants forever.” So he went out from his presence a leper, like snow.
What we’re going to see play out in our text today - is a WAR.
A Battle...
What do I mean?
Paul helps us with this...
16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.
Spirit vs Flesh
The Battle of the Christian Life...
We’ve BEEN there...
We’ve DONE that...
And we CONTINUE to deal with this same issue…TODAY…as believers!
the WAR - between the Spirit of God within us…and our FLESH...
the INNER MAN - now redeemed - by Faith - and the Outer Flesh!
This is what we’ll see today - at work in our text.
And we’re gonna SEE these things - between 2 MEN.
Naaman - the commander of the army of the king of Syria...
and...
Gehazi (Elisha’s servant assistant)
In GENERAL - we see Naaman - after having been healed by God...
Is happy now..and wants to offer Elisha a gift.
Elisha refuses...
And sends Naaman on his way.
Gehazi doesn’t think that’s right, goes AFTER him and gets something from him.
That’s the story in a nutshell...
NOW - what we’re going to do is bounce back and forth between Naaman and Gehazi - and we’ll see COUNTERING symptoms...
Symptoms have become a HUGE part of our lives lately...
I think every possible disease known to man has been released onto mankind...
And so sickness has been EVERYWHERE...
WHICH MEANS - symptoms - have been everywhere.
Today we’ll see...
SLIDE: Symptoms of the Heart: Spirit vs. Flesh
Symptoms of the Heart
Symptoms of the Heart
And in order to do this - we’ll need to jump around the text quite a bit...
We’ll look at Naaman - and then right away - we’ll look to Gehazi...
So let’s get to it.
15 Then he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and he came and stood before him. And he said, “Behold, I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel; so accept now a present from your servant.”
The first symptom I want us to see today is this…and it’s from Naaman.
SLIDE: Symptom of the Spirit: Confession of God
Symptom of the Spirit
Symptom of the Spirit
Think about this man Naaman...
He was an UNBELIEVER...
A worshiper of OTHER idols...
And then - God REVEALS Himself to him.
He’s HEALED of leprosy!
And Naaman’s RESPONSE to that is -
15 Then he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and he came and stood before him. And he said, “Behold, I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel; so accept now a present from your servant.”
“Behold, I KNOW that there is NO God in all the earth BUT in Israel!”
CONFESSION!
Belief!
FAITH!
And where does this CONFESSION come from?
2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God,
3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.
3 Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.
26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.
Jesus says - the Holy Spirit will NOT SPEAK ABOUT Himself...
Which He could…yes??
The Holy Spirit COULD come and make a big tadoo about the Spirit HIMSELF - But JESUS says - NO - He will come and testify of - CHRIST!
Well - we SEE this in Naaman!
Naaman - BELIEVED! - and in doing so - he TESTIFIES to the ONE TRUE - and LIVING God
Prior to this NEW FAITH of Naaman - he would NOT have testified to the God of Israel!
*How many of you have experience with this??
Someone you know - who did NOT believe in GOD
But then DID believe in God - and then STARTED to PROCLAIM HIM!?
Or maybe this was YOU?
The Holy Spirit will TESTIFY of Christ!
And with this being OLD TESTAMENT today - how would God teach mankind that the Spirit WOULD testify of Christ?
THIS STORY is how God would teach that!
An unbeliever BECOMES a believer - and then begins to PROCLAIM - God....to TESTIFY of God.
THIS - is a SYMPTOM - of the Spirit of God...
And so a QUESTION for us is: Do I display this symptom in my life?
Do I speak God INTO conversations?
Do I EVER do this?
Do I COMMUNICATE with God throughout my days?
Do I EVER do this?
Questions to ask.
NOW - on the flip side - we see something different.
And it’s from Gehazi - that we’ll see the flip side....
Naaman - was now PROCLAIMING/confessing God…! the TRUE God!
What did Gehazi do here?
Remember - Naaman tried to give a gift to Elisha…but Elisha would not accept it.
Gehazi responds...
19 He said to him, “Go in peace.” But when Naaman had gone from him a short distance,
20 Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, “See, my master has spared this Naaman the Syrian, in not accepting from his hand what he brought. As the Lord lives, I will run after him and get something from him.”
We have to really HONE in on what Gehazi says here...
he says - “See, MY MASTER has spared this Naaman, in NOT accepting from his hand what he brought.”
Think thru this...
Gehazi here - KNOWS who Elisha is right?
he KNOWS that Elisha is a - PROPHET of God...
And SINCE that’s the case - Gehazi then SHOULD KNOW something else...
That Elisha OFTEN - spoke - for - - - God!!
But does Gehazi even CONSIDER that as a possibility here?
NO - he says - my master (Elisha) has spared this man Naaman.
Gehazi KNOWS better - but because he doesn’t even CONSIDER that GOD SPARED Naaman...
he goes on to making his OWN choices.
A Symptom of the Spirit - is to CONFESS God...
SLIDE: A Symptom of the Flesh: Concealment of God
Symptom of the Flesh
Symptom of the Flesh
to not CONSIDER God.
And isn’t this how SIN entered the world?
God had spoken to Adam and Eve - and the command was laid down.
God also provided the warning about what would happen if they disobeyed...
YET....
What happened?
6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.
Here we have Eve - concealing what God had said - and DOING HER OWN thing...
Not considering what God said - and choosing to go against Him.
This is how SIN operates!
SLIDE:
Sin seeks to do whatever it can to blur our view of God and His truth.
It tries to SUPPRESS the truths of God...
As we just read - Satan did this very thing to Eve.
He convinced her that God DIDN’T REALLY SAY what He actually said.
SIN will try to CONCEAL what God has done and said.
Paul explains it this way...
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.
20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools,
23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
We read it here!
Sin will seek to SUPPRESS the truth of God!
Gehazi did this very thing - in NOT considering that it was GOD who SPARED Naaman.
we move on...
Naaman - in NOW proclaiming God - had a new PERSPECTIVE himself!
Remember when Naaman got angry about Elisha NOT COMING to him…??
Well - NOW - we see that Naaman has NEW AFFECTIONS...
New affections for God!
Back to v15.
15 Then he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and he came and stood before him. And he said, “Behold, I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel; so accept now a present from your servant.”
What do we see here?
SLIDE: A Symptom of the Spirit: Gratefulness to God
Symptom of the Spirit
Symptom of the Spirit
Naaman had been SOO convinced that God was real...
And SOO moved by God’s mercy - that he now wanted to provide a GIFT to the man he HAD BEEN ANGRY with.
Naaman HAD BEEN angry with Elisha…in how he handled his leprosy...
But NOW - Naaman wanted to thank him!
He was grateful for the mercy he was shown.
NO MORE entitlement!
It SEEMS that he realized - his healing wasn’t something he could EARN...
INSTEAD - it was something he needed to TRUST FOR!
RIGHT?
Remember - he was told to GO to the river Jordan - and wash 7 times?!
He needed to TRUST!
And so THINK about what GRATEFULNESS entails...
It entails an UNDERSTANDING of both...
Who WE are… helpless unto ourselves
AND
Who GOD is for us… our PROVIDER - our RESCUE - our EVERYTHING
SO THAT - when good comes - we KNOW who to thank!!
Naaman was grateful!
On the flip side - we see...
SLIDE: Symptom of the Flesh: Judgmental of Others
Symptom of the Flesh
Symptom of the Flesh
While Naaman was GRATEFUL to God for the mercy he found...
Gehazi was the opposite...
19 He said to him, “Go in peace.” But when Naaman had gone from him a short distance,
20 Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, “See, my master has spared this Naaman the Syrian, in not accepting from his hand what he brought. As the Lord lives, I will run after him and get something from him.”
What do we see here?
Entitlement.
Gehazi believes that Naaman OWES something - in return for the MERCY he was shown.
Well - let’s walk through that...
If God wanted to teach mankind about MERCY…His mercy...
Would God do that by making people - PAY FOR IT?
No - why?
Because then it wouldn’t be - MERCY.
Mercy is - UNDESERVED… Grace is undeserved...
6 But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.
See - WORKS - or PAYMENT - cancels out the GRACE...
And so - Gehazi - embracing the FLESH - in this moment - seeks for Naaman to PAY for his healing…!
It’s a SYMPTOM of the flesh.
And we ALL experience this - that’s why we as HUMANS have such a HARD TIME - accepting a gift.
If someone after church said they wanted to BUY you lunch, you may let them - but right after - you’d probably say - OK, I’LL BUY - next time!
We want to - REPAY everyone.
It’s a symptom of the flesh!
Being judgmental of others - it’s FLESHLY...
11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.
We HEAR this - and we can hear the JUDGMENT.
This Pharisee condemned all FORMS of worship unlike his own.
And so - he made himself - the standard.
And AS HE DID - his gave a voice to his flesh.
See - there’s no time for being Grateful to God - when you’re busy judging others.
And it’s interesting that this guy - this Pharisee actually TRIES to be GRATEFUL to GOD - WHILE judging others.
“THANK YOU God that I’m better at all this than these other people”.
These are words of the Flesh.
Where do your words flow from?
…From a place of gratefulness or judgment?
A good question to ask ourselves.
What we see next - is another Symptom of the Spirit...
15 Then he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and he came and stood before him. And he said, “Behold, I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel; so accept now a present from your servant.”
16 But he said, “As the Lord lives, before whom I stand, I will receive none.” And he urged him to take it, but he refused.
17 Then Naaman said, “If not, please let there be given to your servant two mule loads of earth, for from now on your servant will not offer burnt offering or sacrifice to any god but the Lord.
Naaman here - declares that from this day forward - he vows to ONLY make sacrifices to the one TRUE God of Israel.
SLIDE: Symptom of the Spirit: Worship of God Alone
Symptom of the Spirit
Symptom of the Spirit
he declares - I will worship GOD alone!
Where once ALLEGIANCE was to...
various idols...
the nation of Syria itself...
NOW - Naaman was singular in his conviction.
“I will worship ONLY the God of Israel”
In the text we see Naaman ask if God will FORGIVE him when he enters the house of Rimmon (which was the Syrian version of Baal).
Naaman wasn’t asking if he could WORSHIP Rimmon - simply if he could formally carry out his duties as a commanding officer.
He was basically saying - I won’t be WORSHIPING Rimmon…
I’ll be there physically - but spiritually I’ll be worshiping Yahweh.
Naaman will worship God alone! And this is a Symptom of the Spirit!
On the flip side - Gehazi does something else!
Remember - Gehazi went after Naaman when Elisha didn’t accept anything from him...
21 So Gehazi followed Naaman. And when Naaman saw someone running after him, he got down from the chariot to meet him and said, “Is all well?”
22 And he said, “All is well. My master has sent me to say, ‘There have just now come to me from the hill country of Ephraim two young men of the sons of the prophets. Please give them a talent of silver and two changes of clothing.’ ”
23 And Naaman said, “Be pleased to accept two talents.” And he urged him and tied up two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of clothing, and laid them on two of his servants. And they carried them before Gehazi.
24 And when he came to the hill, he took them from their hand and put them in the house, and he sent the men away, and they departed.
SO - where Naaman declared that he would now WORSHIP God alone!....
Giving TO God - thru obedient sacrifice
Gehazi actually displays a Symptom of the Flesh...
SLIDE: Symptom of the Flesh: Uses God for Earthly Gain
Symptom of the Flesh
Symptom of the Flesh
v22 speaks to this...
22 And he said, “All is well. My master has sent me to say, ‘There have just now come to me from the hill country of Ephraim two young men of the sons of the prophets. Please give them a talent of silver and two changes of clothing.’ ”
Gehazi says - [My master] has sent me...
Who is Gehazi pointing to here?
Well - Elisha was his master (that’s who he’s referring to)...
BUT - WHY does he point to his master as having sent him?
I THINK - it’s because Gehazi KNEW - that Naaman KNEW - Elisha SPOKE for God!
And so I THINK - Gehazi here is WANTING Naaman to think - OH, WOW - Ok, GOD wants me to give a talent of silver and two changes of clothing!
I think Gehazi is bringing GOD into the equation in order to make this request - a command.
3 If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness,
4 he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions,
5 and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain.
6 But godliness with contentment is great gain,
Gehazi USED God and His name - to GAIN for himself.
WITH THE GAIN - being the POINT of it all.
It comes down to MOTIVES.
Do we SHARE the gospel - go to church - DO the work of the ministry - FOR…
kuddos?
a good reputation?
financial gain?
It’s POSSIBLE right?
These are questions we need to ask of ourselves.
Do I do THIS for the paycheck - with the paycheck BEING the point?
I have to ask MYSELF that question…well - I already have.
Yes - a paycheck comes with doing this...
BUT -
I led a youth group for 10 or so years WITHOUT a paycheck.
I’ve walked AWAY from money to do this.
Things I have to consider and think through…for MY WALK.
Gehazi here - put POSSESSIONS over and above obedience to God.
And it’s a SYMPTOM of the FLESH!
The last 2 pairs of Symptoms we’ll look at begin with...
18 In this matter may the Lord pardon your servant: when my master goes into the house of Rimmon to worship there, leaning on my arm, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, when I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, the Lord pardon your servant in this matter.”
SLIDE: Symptom of the Spirit: Honesty
Symptom of the Spirit
Symptom of the Spirit
What does Naaman do here?
Does he HIDE the fact that as part of his duties he will be entering an IDOL’s house....?
Not to worship…but to simply BE THERE as part of his duties as a commander?
NO - he’s honest about the situation.
He’s up front about it.
It seems on some level he understands he can’t HIDE anything from the one TRUE GOD!
21 for we aim at what is honorable not only in the Lord’s sight but also in the sight of man.
9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices
25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.
Honesty is a Symptom of the Spirit - Because Christ HIMSELF = is - TRUTH
And so what have we seen - IN NAAMAN?
We’ve seen these Symptoms in Naaman...
Confession of God
Gratefulness to God
Worship of God Alone
Honesty
And what do these SYMPTOMS lead to in our lives?
19 He said to him, “Go in peace.” But when Naaman had gone from him a short distance,
When we possess these symptoms in our lives - PEACE with God will be the diagnosis.
We WANT peace with God...
There’s no OTHER peace we should desire… YET - even so - it’s a battle…!
A Daily BATTLE - to fight against our FLESH!
The last symptom we’ll see today is OF the flesh and we look back to Gehazi to see it!
Where Naaman was HONEST in his conduct…Gehazi was not… [count the lies]
21 So Gehazi followed Naaman. And when Naaman saw someone running after him, he got down from the chariot to meet him and said, “Is all well?”
22 And he said, “All is well. My master has sent me to say, ‘There have just now come to me from the hill country of Ephraim two young men of the sons of the prophets. Please give them a talent of silver and two changes of clothing.’ ”
23 And Naaman said, “Be pleased to accept two talents.” And he urged him and tied up two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of clothing, and laid them on two of his servants. And they carried them before Gehazi.
24 And when he came to the hill, he took them from their hand and put them in the house, and he sent the men away, and they departed.
25 He went in and stood before his master, and Elisha said to him, “Where have you been, Gehazi?” And he said, “Your servant went nowhere.”
26 But he said to him, “Did not my heart go when the man turned from his chariot to meet you? Was it a time to accept money and garments, olive orchards and vineyards, sheep and oxen, male servants and female servants?
SLIDE: Symptom of the Flesh: Lies
Symptom of the Flesh
Symptom of the Flesh
Here we see - LIE after LIE from Gehazi!
He LIES to Naaman - when telling him that Elisha had sent him
He LIES to Elisha - when asked where he had been.
16 There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him:
17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
18 a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil,
19 a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.
If we know that GOD (Christ) - IS truth!....
…then what would the proclamation of a LIE be?
It would be a TRAMPLING of the NAME of Christ.
If only TRUTH can set us FREE...
THEN - a LIE is a FORM of BONDAGE to the world.
AND - it’s a symptom of the flesh!
Gehazi here - gets caught up in obeying his flesh...
And consequences come.
For Naaman - he walked out the Symptoms of the Spirit - and PEACE came to him.
For Gehazi?
26 But he said to him, “Did not my heart go when the man turned from his chariot to meet you? Was it a time to accept money and garments, olive orchards and vineyards, sheep and oxen, male servants and female servants?
27 Therefore the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and to your descendants forever.” So he went out from his presence a leper, like snow.
WOW - what a turn of events?
the UNBELIEVER - (the LEPER) who ended up BOWING the knee to God...
becomes CLEAN...
AND receives PEACE
And the man who had LOOKED the part (maybe on the outside) - (walked with men of God - operated in ministry) - but who ends up walking in the FLESH...
becomes a leper...
AND passes it on to his descendants
NO PEACE comes.
SUMMARY
Symptoms of the Spirit
Confession of God
Gratefulness to God
Worship of God Alone
Honesty
And what’s the diagnosis from all of these symptoms?
Peace with God
Symptoms of the Flesh
Concealment of God
Judgmental of Others
Uses God for Earthly Gain
Lies
And what’s the diagnosis from all of these symptoms?
Sickness
Even as Christians - there will be consequences to the lives we choose to live...
While ULTIMATELY - there is no condemnation for those IN CHRIST...
WE STILL - will reap what we sow…and consequences will come.
For the UNBELIEVER?...
The consequence of sin is death, but “the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord”
Examine yourself today… What’s your diagnosis?
Let’s pray.