Well, let me say that it's an
honor and a privilege to be here. And I do love you, Gabe. I've
known Gabe a long time. I was thinking today we have
a lot in common. Both old musicians. Been at this
preaching thing, pastoring, short while. Both have very pretty
wives. And Gabe's tall, dark, and handsome. and I'm tall. If you would turn with me in
your Bible to 2nd Kings chapter 5, 2nd Kings chapter 5 and while
you're turning there let me read to you the words of our Lord
found in Luke chapter 4 verse 27. Our Lord said, in many lepers
were in Israel in the time of Elijah the prophet and none of
them, none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian. Now, how different are God's
thoughts and ways than ours? Especially, especially when He
acts in the freeness of His grace. He passes by others and singles
out the most unlikely recipients of His love, mercy, and grace.
And such was the case with Nahum, the Syrian. Look at verse 1 with
me, 2 Kings chapter 5. Now Naaman, captain of the host
of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master and honorable
because by him the Lord had given deliverance unto Syria. He was
also a mighty man in valor, but he was a leper. He was a leper. Immediately the
Holy Spirit from the pages of divine inspiration tells us some
very informative things about this man named Naaman. We're
first told that he was a captain, a captain of the host of the
king. More than likely he was a general. the one in charge
of the king's army. He was a great man, the verse
tells us. Not only was Naaman great in
the eyes of the people, but also in the eyes of his master, the
king. He was a great man. He was very successful, but notice
also that his success was given by the Lord. It says, because
by him the Lord had given deliverance into Syria. All men's success,
may we never forget this, whether believers or unbelievers, all
men's success, whether they know the Lord or not, is given by
God. He was highly esteemed among men, a man of courage and bravery,
and naturally speaking, naturally speaking, what more could a man
ask for? Naaman possessed everything that
natural men desire, everything. He had a great life. He was admired
by all and envied by many. He had the respect of all his
country for he served his country well. In other words, Naaman
was a hero among the people. However, God's Word always, always
speaks the truth concerning men and women and presents them as
they truly are. Notice those last five words
again in verse one. But, in spite of all these other
things, all these other great characteristics, he was a leper. Men flatter men, but God doesn't. Instead of praising and applauding
and commending and speaking highly of natural men, God, true to
his word, lays them in the dust. God's Word never eulogizes human
merit. Never, never does that. The scriptures always clearly
proclaim that natural men and women are corrupt. God's Word
puts all fallen men and women in the same category. God says
there's none, none that doeth good. None that understands. What don't we understand? Well,
we don't understand what we are and we don't understand who God
is. Not by nature we don't. There's
none that seeks after God. All men, all women in vanity
seek their own way. They're all gone aside, out of
God's way to their own way. They're all together. All together
collectively and all together completely. become filthy, having
hearts which are deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked."
Not just wicked, but desperately wicked. God's Word declares that
the thoughts of men and women's heart are only evil continually. All mankind, nothing but spiritual
lepers, foul, filthy, unfit, alienated from the life of God,
undeserving of His divine presence. as it was with Naaman, so it
is with us. Men may occupy a good position
in this world. They may have material wealth.
They may have worldly fame and be admired and respected by all. They may be moral, honest, and
trustworthy. By human standards, men may have
many praiseworthy achievements, but all, all appear the same
in the eyes of God Almighty, their lepers. Oh, how I pray
that God might make men and women aware of their souls, that their
souls are suffering from a disease that no human physician can cure. God's Word does not sugarcoat
man's spiritual condition. From the sole of the foot to
the crown of the head, man is a mass of wounds, bruises, and
putrefying sores. Isaiah 1-6. And our disease is
called sin. Sin. There's no physical or natural
prescribed remedy for it. It can only be cured by a divine
miracle. only by a divine miracle. I recently
did a little research, I guess you could call it that, I got
on the internet, and on this dreaded disease called leprosy,
and it's amazing, amazing to me how in so many ways leprosy
pictures our horrific sin, our horrific disease called sin.
Leprosy to the non-observing eye is at first unnoticeable. It usually begins with a small
spot or a slight discoloration, which gives no real cause for
warning. But the effects bring horrible,
horrible results. So it is with sin. To the natural
man, the eating of the forbidden fruit by our first parents appears
to be an insignificant act in comparison to the awful effects
that it produced. However, the result of sin is
the same as leprosy. It brings about certain death. There's none that can escape
its dreadful prognosis. Leprosy is highly contagious.
None of Adam's race is beyond sin's contagious effects. We
were all born with this inward corruption called sin, whereby
as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin,
and so death passed upon all men. All men. for that all have
sinned, Romans 5.12. Leprosy, you might find it interesting
to know, begins with little or no pain. Only in its latter stages
do the painful effects come to full fruition. Sin, too, is so
subtle, isn't it? So subtle that we first seem
to be unconscious of it. No wonder the writer of Hebrews
calls it the deceitfulness of sin. It's not until the Spirit
of God begins to convict that the carrier of the disease is
made conscious of its crippling work. And leprosy rapidly spreads,
rapidly spreads. The study of leprosy reveals
that though it begins, as I said, with small spots and discoloration
of the skin, that it rapidly increases in size until the whole
body is affected. And is it not the same with sin?
The outward effect is the result due to an inward cause. Paul said, I know that in me,
that is in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing. The heart, the
mind, the conscious, the spirit, soul, and body are equally poisoned
by our spiritual leprosy called sin. Leprosy is loathsome, detestable. How detestable? It must have
been to look upon one affected with this loathsome disease. Rotting flesh, sores that oozed
while others scabbed and cracked. Words won't allow me to adequately
describe the horrible effects. Cartilage and nerves exposed. Appendages half gone. bones showing
through the flesh that's rotted away. Leprosy was often accompanied
by blindness, causing the affected one to grope in darkness and
cry, unclean, unclean. One old writer said that leprosy
is a walking sepulcher of death. And again, I ask you friends,
is this not a picture of the dead dog sinner? David said in
Psalm 38 verse 7, for my loins are filled with a loathsome disease,
and there's no soundness in my flesh. None. None. Sin is loathsome, detestable. No matter how horrific and repulsive
the leper looked to another, our sin is even more despicable
to God. as detestable as leprosy was,
it does not begin to compare with the repulsiveness of sin
to a thrice holy God. And leprosy brought forth banishment. According to the Levitical law,
no leper was allowed to remain in the congregation of Israel. Leviticus 13 verse 46 says, Sin
causes alienation. Banishment. Sin has alienated
us from the life of God through the ignorance that's in us. Ephesians
4.18. Men by nature are ignorant of
the righteousness of God. And what do they do? They go
about to establish their own righteousness by endeavoring
to cover their sin, their leprosy, with the works of their own hands.
And only the work of Christ for the sinner. will bring nigh the
sinner who was once far off and alienated from God by their spiritual
leprosy. And lastly, leprosy was naturally
incurable. The cure of this loathsome disease
was beyond all human aid. It was fatal, as we've already
established, and sin is naturally incurable. There's no human remedy. Death is the wages of sin. The
wages of sin is death. The scripture's clear, isn't
it? And unless a miracle of God's grace be done for chosen sinners,
eternal death is for certain. But there's great hope and comfort
to be found in the story of Naaman the leper. May God be pleased
to give it to us tonight. So we see here from verse 1 of
2 Kings chapter 5, though outwardly and naturally speaking, Naaman
had, as we say, the world by the tail. The Spirit of God tells
us he was a leper who was sure to die without a miracle of grace.
Now there are multitudes of men and women, all of you know some,
who are right now living the good life, as men say. They have
everything they could ever want or desire, and they have no idea,
no clue whatsoever that they're spiritual lepers. Look at verse
2. And the Syrians had gone out
by companies and had brought away captive out of the land
of Israel a little maid. And she waited on Naaman's wife. My second point is the saved
sinner's deliverance is always brought about by God's divine
providence. There's so much this verse tells
us without actually saying it. The Syrians, by the sovereign
permission and purpose of God, had previously invaded the land
of Israel. And God providentially allowed
some captives to be taken, among whom was a little maid. Her name's not good. Little maid,
insignificant in the eyes of men. Can you imagine how her
parents felt? I thought about this. This little
young lady, I looked at your daughter today, so precious and
beautiful. Can you imagine being taken away
from you? Why, oh why, a thousand times
why, they must have asked. Why my little girl? Why my precious
daughter? Why had God allowed their home
to be shattered by the taking of their precious little daughter?
Why was she a favored daughter of Abraham, now a servant in
Naaman's household? Why did God allow this involuntary
separation from her loving parents? What was the reason for this
cruel captivity? God was shaping things in his
mysterious way for the accomplishment of his good and wise purpose.
Nothing happens in this world by chance. A predestinating God
has planned every detail in our lives. Every detail. David said, my times are in thy
hand. All my times are in thy hand.
Paul said on Mars Hill that day that God hath determined the
times before appointed and the bounds of all men's habitation. It was God who directed this
little maid of Israel to become a member of Naaman's household. And why? Why? That she might
be a link in the chain of God's providence, which ended not only
in the healing of Naaman's leprosy, as we'll see, but also, most
probably, the salvation of his soul. Here's the light, friends. Here's the light that shines
forth from God's mysterious providence. Behind every trial, every trial,
God is working all things for the good of them that love him. If you're one of his, one of
the called according to his purpose, God is working right now, right
now for your good. Romans 8, 28. And oh, how wonderful
is the providence of God who knows all things and doeth all
things well. What a comfort that is. God always
providentially directs His servants to serve His sovereign purpose
for the good of His people. Now look at verse 3. And she,
speaking of the little maid, said unto her mistress, Would
God, my Lord, were with, were God my Lord, were with the prophet
that is in Samaria, for he would recover him of his leprosy. Third point, God's servants,
great or small, always speak and point needy sinners to God's
prophet. The first thought that entered
my mind was how easy, How easy it would have been for this young
lady to have hatred in her heart for the one that had taken her
from her family. How easy it would have been to
be maliciously pleased that Naaman would be afflicted in his body
with this dreaded disease. Do you know why that was my first
thought? Because that's exactly how I would have felt. But my
words would have been, it serves him right. He's getting what he deserves.
And this little maid puts me to shame. She simply proclaims
that which she knows to be so. She proclaimed the good news
that through God's prophet, there was salvation for even the worst
leper. should be no surprise to us that
the name Elijah means the salvation of God. Therefore, it should be no wonder
to us that God's prophet, God's priest, and God's King, the Lord
Jesus Christ, means his name means Jehovah Saves. The only hope of deliverance
from the deadly disease of leprosy, sin, The leper, the sinner, must
be brought before God's prophet. Must be. Verse 4, And one went
in and told his lord, saying, Thus and thus said the maid that
is of the land of Israel. Now here, I believe, is a beautiful
illustration of the preaching of the gospel. Thus and thus
said the maid. When God's servants stand to
preach, we're not giving you our opinions. We're not telling
you what we think. Our proclamation as voices crying
in the wilderness is, thus saith the Lord. Thus saith the Lord. Thus and thus, she said. Thus
saith the Lord. Preaching is declaring what God
has done for sinners. I rejoice greatly that God is
pleased to make use of little and despised things. Who would
expect her to do service for the Lord? Who would be inclined
to listen to this little maid's voice? Her age, her nationality,
her position were all against her. Yet because she used her
opportunity and she bore witness to her mistress, her simple message
reached the ears of the king of Syria. Isn't that amazing? May the Lord grant us to be faithful
wherever he's placed us. Now, let's read verses five through
seven together. And the king of Syria said, go
to, go, and I will send a letter into the king of Israel. And
he departed and took with him ten talents of silver and six
thousand pieces of gold and ten changes of raiment. And he brought
the letter to the king of Israel saying, now when this letter
has come unto thee, behold, I have sent therewith, or that I have
therewith sent Naaman, my servant to thee, that thou mayest recover
him of his leprosy. And it came to pass when the
king of Israel had read the letter that he rent his clothes and
said, Am I God to kill and to make alive that this man does
send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy? Wherefore consider,
I pray you, and see how he seeketh a quarrel against me." My fifth
point, there's no help that can come from man. No help. No help. Men and women will try
every natural and human means possible to be saved. Multitudes
seek to be cleansed by the works of their own righteousness, which
is nothing but filthy rags. Psalm 106 verse 39 says, thus
were they defiled with their own works and went a whoring
with their own inventions. Men and women still seek out
many inventions to no profit or avail. Helpless sinners look
to preachers, they look to priests, and even presidents for help. But there's no man that can help.
No man that can help. Men and women must look higher. They must look to God. David
said, I'll lift up mine eyes unto the hills from whence cometh
my help. My help cometh from the Lord
which made heaven and earth. And may we take the words of
the King of Israel to heart. Notice again what he said. Am
I God? Am I God? To kill and to make
alive? What he's saying is, I'm just
a man. I'm just a man. Can a man recover another man
from his leprosy? Absolutely not. Absolutely not. Dear leper, there's only one
that can help. Lift up your eyes towards the
hills for help cometh from the Lord. Look at verse 8. And it was so, when Elijah, the
man of God, had heard that the king of Israel had rent his clothes,
that he sent to the king, saying, Wherefore hast thou rent thy
clothes? Why are you so troubled? Let him, meaning the leper, now
look at this, come now to me, and he shall know that there
is a prophet in Israel. Friends, life is found in coming
to Christ, God's prophet. Elijah, the man of God. God's
prophet says, let Nahum and the leper come now to me. Elijah
was a man of God, but the Lord Jesus Christ is the God man.
And he says, come unto me, all you that labor and are heavy
laden, and I will give you rest. This is where the healing is
for our leprosy. That's where it's found. It's
found in coming to Christ. He's the way, the only way. He's
the truth, the only truth. He's the life, the only life. And no man, no woman, no body
cometh unto the Father, but by Him." But by Him. Now, if leprosy-plagued sinners
are enabled by God to come to Christ, there's one thing that
will be made certain to them every time. Those of you that
know Him know this to be so. They shall know that there is
a prophet in Israel. There's a prophet in Israel,
friends, and it's the Lord Jesus Christ. unto him. That's where
life is. That's where life is. Okay, verse
9. So Naaman came with his horses
and with his chariot, and he stood at the door of the house
of Elijah. And Elijah sent a messenger unto
him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall
come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean. But Naaman was
wroth, and he went away, and he said, Behold, I thought He
will surely come out to me and stand, and call on the name of
the Lord his God, and strike his hand over the place, and
recover the leper. And are not Abinah and Pharpah
rivers of Damascus better than all the waters of Israel? May
I not wash in them and be clean?" So he turned and went away in
a rage. He grew even angrier. My next point is this, the pride
of fallen man and the simplicity of the gospel. Oh, the pride
of man. Here comes Naaman with all his
horses and chariots. Can you just picture that? But
he wasn't yet stripped of his self-righteousness, nor yet aware
that he was entirely dependent on divine mercy. Naaman rides
in with the pride and the pomp of a man's imagined splendor. His pretentious fanfare did not
lessen his terrible condition one bit. He was still a leper. No matter how costly the flashy
and high decorated apparel that covered his body, it didn't avail
anything in diminishing or removing the loathsome disease which lie
beneath the clothes. All the gifts he brought to Elijah
could not purchase what he needed most. Oh, the pride of sinful
man. God wasn't impressed and neither
was Elijah. Elijah didn't even come out to
meet Naomi. But he sends a servant with a
message and oh what a simple message it was. Simple message. The servant of God, the servant
of God's prophet delivers this simple message to the leper. What was it? What was this message? Go and wash. Go and wash. In Jordan seven times. What?
That's it? That's your message? That's our
message. That's what you preach, Brother
Paul, Todd, Gabe. Go and wash. Go and wash. Why was Naaman so angry? Why did he get so mad and walk
away? Well, men and women by nature want to do some great
thing to be saved, don't they? Naaman got mad and walked away.
Why? Because the means of his redemption was not as he thought.
He said, behold, I thought. That's where we get in trouble,
isn't it? Naaman expected a big to-do. He expected a big religious
service and show. Behold, I thought, he said, I
thought the prophet would come out. I mean, I am somebody. I'm Naaman. I'm somebody. I thought the prophet would come
out and stand before me in his religious attire and he would
call upon his God with flowery words of systematic theology. I thought, I thought the prophet
would come out and put his hands upon me and anoint me with oil
and command the leprosy to leave. So many times I've heard I thought
your services would have more contemporary music. I thought
your church would offer more activities for the kids. How
many times have you pastors heard that? I thought I'd have to walk
an hour, say a prayer, make a decision. I thought, I thought, I thought.
It doesn't matter what you think. He thought. I deserve better
than this. There are waters in my own country
much better than all the waters in Israel. Are there any Namens
here tonight? Do you feel you're so great that
you deserve better than what God gives? Will you turn and
leave in a rage? Don't allow your heart and your
mind, I beg you for Christ's sake, don't allow your heart
and mind to be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. Simplicity. Believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. That's it. Believe. Believe. Will you listen
tonight to this unprofitable servant's voice of reason. Look at verse 13. And his servants
came near and spake unto him and said, My father, if the prophet
had bid thee to do some great thing, wouldst thou not have
done it? How much rather then, when he
sayeth to thee, Wash and be clean? Great men want to do great things. But broken men and women who
are dying with leprosy will do anything, anything to be cleansed
of their leprosy of sin. And I tell you what, they'll
heed the simple message of God's gospel if they see that they're
dying. Go and wash. Go and wash. Come to Christ for the blood
of Jesus Christ God's Son cleanseth. Cleanseth us from all sin. All of it. All of it. First John
1 7. Now, I don't want to get into
Brother Mike's time, but I gotta show you this before I finish.
The submission and the salvation of the sinner always accompanies
Verse 14, Then went he down and dipped himself seven times in
Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God. And his flesh
came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was
clean. verse 15, and he returned to
the man of God and he and all his company and he came and he
stood before him and he said, Behold, now I know, now I know,
that there is no God in all the earth but the God that's in Israel. The child of God will be made
to know that there is a prophet in Israel. There is a prophet
in Israel. The child of God will be made
to know that there's no God in all the earth but the God of
the heavenly Jerusalem. The child of God has been made
to know whom they have believed. And they're persuaded. Didn't
God persuade you? He persuaded me. The child of God's been persuaded
that God is what? Able. Able to save to the uttermost
those that come to him by Christ. Wash your leprosy away in that
fountain that's filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel's veins. For sinners plunge beneath that
flood. That flood. Lose all their guilty stay. Amen. Thank you, Brother Gabe. What a blessing. I believe I'm
going to be saying that quite a bit. What a blessing. We're
going to take about a five minute or longer break if we need to.
There are some extra bathrooms at the Renaissance Center if
we need more bathrooms. And when you hear the piano start
playing, you can come back and we'll hear another message. OK?
You're dismissed. Oh, thank you.