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Today we worshiped at Home.

Scripture – 2 Kings 5:1-17
Now Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded, because through him the Lord had given victory to Aram. He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy.

Now bands from Aram had gone out and had taken captive a young girl from Israel, and she served Naaman’s wife.

She said to her mistress, “If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.”

Naaman went to his master and told him what the girl from Israel had said. “By all means, go,” the king of Aram replied. “I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” So Naaman left, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekel of gold and ten sets of clothing.

The letter that he took to the king of Israel read: “With this letter I am sending my servant Naaman to you so that you may cure him of his leprosy.”

As soon as the king of Israel read the letter, He tore his robes and said, “Am I God? Can I kill and bring back to life? Why does this fellow send someone to me to be cured of his leprosy? See how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me!”

When Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn is robes, he sent him this message: “Why have you torn your robes? Have the man come to me and he will know that there is a prophet in Israel.” So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha’s house.

Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, “Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.”

But Naaman went away angry and said, “I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy.

Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than any of the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?” So he turned and went off in a rage.

Naaman’s servants went to him and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be cleansed’!”

So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy.

Then Naaman and all his attendants went back to the man of God. He stood before him and said, “Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel. Please accept now a gift from your servant.”

The prophet answered, “As surely as the Lord lives, whom I serve, I will not accept a thing.” And even though Naaman urged him, he refused.

“If you will not,” said Naaman, “please let me, your servant, be given as much earth as a pair of mules can carry, for your servant will never again make burnt offerings and sacrifices to any other god but the Lord.”

Bob’s thoughts:

When our children/grandchildren are visiting, our church visits are sometimes interrupted. Today I was up early and dressed for church but ended up staying home while our daughters worshiped at a church we had recently visited.

We were at a family wedding on Saturday without air conditioning and this morning I was so incredibly drained that I was afraid to go out. I have worked hard outside in any weather, and now not being able to breathe in extreme weather is hard to accept.

We did get to listen to another Andy Stanley sermon. I was impressed again how he can make sense out of simple issues that I didn’t realize confused me. In coming to faith we think God owes us an explanation, as if He is an elected official. Andy likened it to figuring out how a magician performs a trick and finding our opinion of him is lowered. As we understand some of how God works we begin to feel the same.

He stated that when we finally obey and step out in faith, there is always something more at stake with God’s request.

I have had the experience of God (after a few red bricks to my head) when I stepped out in faith, and this wondrous feeling of being one with God washed over me. I humbly admit, the next time He would call my memory was short.

The message wove around Naaman coming to Israel to be healed of leprosy and how we sometimes react the same.

I was reflecting this morning on Moses’ instruction for God’s people entering the land He was giving them. But what stood out to me today in Deuteronomy 30 was Moses telling them how God would bless them, then curse them when they disobeyed, disperse them to other lands, and rescue the remnant and welcome them back to Him.

This God that shared this with Moses knew my sins before I was born, and knows my struggles now. Our confession of our sins to God is not telling Him what He knew long before, but accepting our failures and agreeing with God that we have sinned.

We must recognize that “God is the reason we obey God.”

Jan’s thoughts:

We found ourselves still in recovery mode this morning after attending a very warm family wedding yesterday, so our health-conscious decision was to stay home and listen to a sermon online.

Last week’s Andy Stanley sermon was on our minds a good portion of last week, so we listened to a message from Andy’s series “Amazing Stories” entitled “No Explanation Required.”

He began by pointing out that with all the ‘figuring out’ the human race has accomplished, we have learned to control, predict, and manipulate, and in the process we have lost our awe of God. In our arrogance we think we have room to push back, and we often adopt the attitude that God owes us.

Point 1: Whenever there is something God wants you to do, there is always something more at stake than the details and circumstances surrounding your obedience.

Point 2: Like Naaman, we find God asks us to do things we would not expect, and when we obey even when it makes no sense, we will come to know God in a way that we could never know Him otherwise. That connection and intimacy with God only comes in moments when we choose to obey without understanding.

What we ultimately learn is that God is the reason we obey God.

When I heard this message, I felt convicted regarding asking for (demanding) an answer. I have only recently faced the fact that I was giving lip service to accepting God’s sovereignty in our son’s death but my heart was still searching for the reason. I’ve come to accept that some things are not mine to know in this life, and to trust that God has a reason for that also.

I recognize that this message may not speak in this way to everyone, but my battle to accept God’s unalterable decision is ongoing. Somehow it helps to remember that it is a battle that is not fought in vain, and knowing God more intimately is certainly an unexpected result of walking this path.

Our prayer for the Church:
Father, we pray the Church would preach Your Word without taking away or adding to it. We pray we would quit trying to be You and focus on being Your servants. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.