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Series Code: NP
Program Code: NP190608A
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00:10 [ Organ plays ] 00:17 ♪♪ ♪♪ >> Let's bow our heads and pray. 00:32 Dear heavenly Father, we just want to thank You for all that You've done for us, for this 00:37 wonderful Sabbath day. We just ask that You be with us as we sing our praises to You, 00:42 and we ask that You open our hearts as we hear the message that has been prepared for us. 00:47 In Jesus' name, amen. >> Amen. >> Good morning, and happy 00:50 Sabbath. >> Good morning. >> Happy Sabbath. 00:53 In Psalms 29:1-2, it says, "Ascribe to the Lord, all mighty 00:59 ones, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. 01:02 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name; worship the Lord in the beauty and the splendor 01:09 of His holiness." And that's what we're about to do this morning as we sing our 01:14 praises to Him. Some of the songs may be unfamiliar to you or you've sung 01:19 them many, many times, but, this morning, as we sing, I just invite you to let the songs, let 01:25 the joys, let the praises of our Lord rise among us. So I just invite you to stand as 01:30 we sing. [ "Let It Rise" begins ] 01:40 ♪♪ Sing with us. 01:51 ♪♪ ♪♪ 02:11 ♪♪ ♪♪ 02:31 ♪♪ ♪♪ 02:51 ♪♪ ♪♪ 03:11 ♪♪ ♪♪ 03:31 ♪♪ ♪♪ 03:51 Amen. You may be seated. [ "Yes and Amen" begins ] 04:00 ♪♪ ♪♪ 04:20 ♪♪ ♪♪ 04:40 ♪♪ ♪♪ 05:00 ♪♪ ♪♪ 05:20 ♪♪ ♪♪ 05:40 ♪♪ ♪♪ 06:00 ♪♪ ♪♪ 06:20 ♪♪ ♪♪ 06:40 ♪♪ ♪♪ 07:00 ♪♪ ♪♪ 07:20 ♪♪ ♪♪ 07:40 ♪♪ ♪♪ 08:00 ♪♪ ♪♪ 08:20 ♪♪ 08:22 Amen. As the song just said, faithful God is, faithful forever He will 08:28 be, and all His promises are "yes" and "amen," including the one in 1 John 1:9, which says, 08:40 "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 08:45 So if, this week, you feel like you need to confess some sins to God or maybe you've carried a 08:51 burden and just need to say, "Lord, I need You, and there's nothing else that I can do 08:56 without You," I just invite you to stand as we sing this song, telling God that we need Him 09:04 every hour. So stand with us as we sing. [ begins ] 09:12 ♪♪ 09:21 ♪♪ ♪♪ 09:41 ♪♪ ♪♪ 10:01 ♪♪ ♪♪ 10:21 ♪♪ ♪♪ 10:41 ♪♪ ♪♪ 11:01 ♪♪ ♪♪ 11:21 ♪♪ ♪♪ 11:41 ♪♪ ♪♪ 12:02 ♪♪ ♪♪ 12:22 ♪♪ ♪♪ 12:42 ♪♪ ♪♪ 13:02 ♪♪ ♪♪ 13:22 [ "I Need Thee Every Hour" begins ] 13:24 ♪♪ ♪♪ 13:44 ♪♪ ♪♪ 14:04 ♪♪ ♪♪ 14:24 ♪♪ ♪♪ 14:44 ♪♪ [ Song ends ] 14:53 >> Alright, boys and girls. Nice to see you. 14:55 Now, I hadn't planned to just keep sitting here, but little 14:57 sissy came and sat on my lap, and so I'm just gonna let her 15:00 stay right here, is that okay? 15:02 Can you still hear me? Can you hear me over there? >> Yes. 15:05 >> Alright. Because I got some stuff I want to share with you. 15:07 This is from Pastor Darius, the story that he found. Happened in Denver, Colorado. 15:13 So, these two college girls are living together, Megan and Samantha, and Samantha has a 15:18 little girl named Hannah. Hannah is about 2 or 3 years of age, okay? 15:22 So, Samantha has Megan watch Hannah when Samantha goes to college. 15:29 So, it's in the morning. Samantha says, "Okay, bye, Megan. 15:32 Bye, Hannah. Mwah, mwah, mwah, mwah! See you later! Bye!" 15:37 But Megan also has a beautiful Quaker parrot. Have you ever seen a Quaker? 15:44 I didn't know they had religion among Quakers. Have you ever seen a Quaker 15:47 parrot? Let's see it on the screen. Take a look at that big screen. 15:50 Can you see the -- Or you can see it on that screen. Can you see that? 15:53 >> Aww! >> The Quaker parrot is a very intelligent parrot. 15:57 Ohh, this parrot -- His name is Willie. This parrot, he can say words. 16:04 He can whistle tunes. "The Andy Griffith Show," the iconic tune, he can whistle the 16:10 whole tune. He's just a very smart parrot named Willie, okay? 16:15 So, Mama's gone. Megan says, "Okay, Hannah, sit right here because I'm gonna get 16:20 one of your favorite Pop-Tarts." You ever eat a Pop-Tart? >> Oh, I know a Pop-Tart. 16:25 >> You know a Pop-Tart? Okay. >> I know a Pop-Tart! >> You know one, too? 16:29 >> I know a Pop-Tart. >> Yeah, we're talking about one of those. 16:32 She got the Pop-Tart, she put it in the toaster. Don't you have to put it in the 16:36 toaster, get a little warm? So, she put it in the toaster. It's warming up. 16:39 It pops out -- bing! She puts it on a plate. She goes out to where Hannah's 16:43 sitting at the table. She goes, "Hannah, this is a little hot now. 16:46 I'm gonna leave it right here. I have to slip away." She had to go to the bathroom. 16:50 "I have to slip away. I'll be right back." And while she was gone -- She 16:53 was only gone for 30 seconds or something like that. All of a sudden, Willie -- 16:58 Willie is screaming, Willie is screaming. He's squawking, he's screaming, 17:02 he's squawking! She's saying, "What is Willie doing?" 17:05 And then he starts yelling this word -- "Mama! Mama! Mama! Mama! Mama!" 17:09 "Mama, Mama, Mama? What's he talking about?" And then he puts another word to 17:13 it. He goes, "Mama, baby! Mama, baby! Mama, baby! 17:16 Mama, baby!" >> [ Giggles ] >> And, suddenly, Megan says, 17:20 "Good night -- there's something happening to the baby!" She goes racing down. 17:24 Sure enough, there's Hannah at the table. Her head is down on the table, 17:29 and Hannah's face is blue. She can't breathe. When you can't get oxygen in, 17:33 your face turns blue. Megan said, "Oh, no, what am I gonna do?!" 17:39 And Willie's saying, "Mama, baby! Mama, baby!" 17:42 And so Megan did what she was trained to do. She reached around Hannah just 17:46 like this, she put her hands behind, she put her hands in a cup just like this, under the 17:50 ribs of little Hannah, and then she just went, "Unh!" and she pulled in tight towards herself, 17:55 and she kept pulling. It's called the Heimlich maneuver. 17:59 And all of a sudden -- blah! -- there went the Pop-Tart that had been stuck in Hannah's throat! 18:05 [ Gasps, exhales deeply ] Hannah's breathing. [ Inhales deeply ] Willie's 18:10 quiet. Megan is starting to breathe. [ Breathes deeply ] 18:14 And when Mother came home and heard the story, guess who's the hero of the story. 18:19 You guessed it -- Willie. Ohh, Samantha couldn't say enough good things about Willie. 18:25 "You saved my little girl by calling, 'Mama, baby!'" They had never in their lives 18:31 heard that parrot call, "Mama, baby!" ever before. And guess what. 18:35 After that moment, the parrot has never put those two words together again, never "Mama, 18:41 baby." I think little Hannah's guardian angel said, "Hey, Willie, you 18:45 look like a smart Quaker parrot. I'm gonna teach you two words fast. 18:49 Say them now -- "Mama, baby." "Mama, baby! Mama, baby! Mama, baby!" 18:53 And that got Megan out just in time to save little Hannah's life. 18:58 Hey, do you know how to talk? >> Yeah. >> Oh, yes, you do. 19:02 I could just tell. You know how to talk. Just like Willie, you can talk. 19:06 Hey, is it hard to talk? No, it's not. I wanted to see if you can say 19:10 this, "Oh, how I love Jesus." Say it after me. >> All: Oh, how I love Jesus. 19:14 >> You know what? If you said that to somebody, you just gave them your 19:18 testimony. "Oh, how I love Jesus." And if they come to you and say, 19:21 "Oh, why do you love Jesus?" You say, "Because he first loved me." 19:26 That's called testimony. It's as simple as saying. You know how to talk. 19:32 So don't keep silent. Jesus says, "I taught you how to talk. 19:36 You tell people about me." "Oh, how I love Jesus." And why -- why do you love 19:42 Jesus? "Because He first loved me." >> That's a song. 19:45 >> That's a beautiful song. Who wants to thank Jesus for giving us a testimony just like 19:50 that? Sissy, I saw your hand go up. And I have no idea where the 19:53 microphone is. Oh, there it is. Here comes Uncle Dan. 19:57 Uncle Dan is bringing the microphone right here, right now. 20:01 And, Sissy, who raised your hand? Where are you, Sissy? 20:05 There you are, come on. Alright, Sissy, you pray right in that mic. 20:09 What's your first name? >> [ Speaks indistinctly ] >> Dear Jesus, thank You for 20:14 this day. Thank You that You made us to talk. 20:18 Please help us when we need help. In Jesus' name, amen. 20:25 >> Amen. Alright, boys and girls. Thank you, Sissy. 20:28 As you go quietly and reverently back to your seats, let's sing the song together. 20:36 >> So let's pray. Oh, God, that is our prayer, what Katia just sang. 20:41 Make us instruments. Exiles as we are, make us instruments of your peace on 20:48 Earth, through Jesus Christ our Lord. 20:52 Amen. Everybody knows the ancient 20:56 proverb, don't you? "The enemy of my enemy is my..." 21:03 >> Friend. >> "...friend." 21:05 We all know it, the whole world knows it, and we all think it 21:08 came from the Arabs. Not so. 21:09 Fourth century B.C., India, the Sanskrit military strategy book 21:15 carries it. "The enemy of my enemy is my 21:20 friend." 21:22 Two parties with a mutual enemy do well to join together in opposition to that enemy. 21:29 That's what it means. Actually come to find out it's not fourth century B.C. 21:34 It's way back to ancient Israel, ancient Israel with a nemesis neighbor named Syria. 21:42 Israel and Syria -- nothing's changed, has it? Israel and Syria. 21:51 And out of that moment -- a stunning portrayal of God that you may never have seen before 21:59 in your life. So I'm inviting you right now to open your Bible to 2 Kings 22:03 chapter 5. Let's go. Syria and Israel. 22:06 So, what's new? Ah, a picture of God. A picture of God. 22:09 2 Kings chapter 5. 2 Kings chapter 5. I'll be in the 22:13 New International Version today. Whatever translation you have on that phone or in your Bible, 22:19 that works. 22:20 2 Kings 5:1. "Now Naaman was commander of the 22:24 army of the king of Aram." We're just gonna change that 22:27 always to Syria because it's present day Syria. 22:30 "He was a great man --" Here comes some credentials now. 22:34 "He was a great man in the sight of his master and highly 22:38 regarded..." Hit the pause button right 22:40 there. What do we know about Naaman? 22:41 He was commander of the Syrian armies. 22:43 Was he a five-star general like General Dwight D. Eisenhower, whom we all remembered this last 22:50 week as we celebrated the 75th anniversary of the Normandy invasion? 22:55 Was he a five-star general? We don't know. Highly respected, great man, 23:02 outstanding citizen in his country, but the story immediately becomes conflicted, 23:07 because I want you to catch the next line. Look at this. 23:10 So, he's all of that. "He was a great man in the sight of his master and highly 23:15 regarded, because through him --" that would be this thoroughly thoroughbred 23:21 five-star pagan general named Naaman -- "through him the Lord --" and that would be the 23:28 Lord God Yahweh, the covenant-creator God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 23:34 Through the pagan, the God of Israel did what? Had given victory to Syria. 23:42 [ Chuckles ] "The enemy of my enemy is my friend." 23:48 And that's what's going on here. And we're kind of saying, "Oh, well, good. 23:51 Syria took care of all the other threatening enemies around Israel." 23:55 Oh, the question really becomes conflicted and very touchy when we ask the question, "Did Syria 24:00 take care of Israel?" And, yes, it did. Sometimes, "The enemy of my 24:05 enemy is my friend" means that God will take His people who are living in a morally corrupt 24:11 culture and who have unwittingly turned to the gods and goddesses of that culture, He'll have to 24:18 take an enemy to get their attention and draw them back from the downward spiral they 24:23 are on spiritually. That's what's going on here. Hey, listen, with ancient 24:29 Babylon, did God use Babylon to kind of turn Israel around? Oh, yes, He did. 24:34 Question -- will God use modern Babylon -- and everybody knows who the modern Babylon is -- 24:39 will God use modern Babylon to do the same, to withdraw his people from a morally bankrupt 24:44 culture that they have gotten sucked into and have forgotten they are exiles of the 24:48 Most High God? Will God do it again? Hmm. 24:53 2 Kings 5:1, again. "Now Naaman was commander of the 24:57 army of the king of Syria. He was a great man in the sight 25:01 of his master and highly regarded, because through him 25:04 the Lord had given victory to Syria. 25:06 He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy." 25:12 Ohh, no. The dreaded scourge of the Middle East, the incurable 25:18 scourge of Naaman's generation. That five-star general, with all the credentials in the world, 25:25 can't stop leprosy from conquering him, and he's got it. And the plot thickens because, 25:31 as it turns out, that Naaman, in one of his terrorist attacks on Israel, had a guerilla band that 25:38 pounced on a hapless Israelite village, grabbing a bunch of the kids. 25:45 They disappear into the night. And Naaman gets first pick. So he takes that little girl 25:50 right there from that village -- "And she will be the slave of my lovely wife." 25:58 What is Naaman's wife's name? Mrs. Naaman. [ Laughter ] 26:03 Mrs. Naaman gets the little girl. Oh, my. 26:10 Who is this little girl? We don't know. Where's she from? 26:12 We don't know. Who were her parents? We don't know. 26:15 How far was she in school? We don't know. How old is she? 26:17 We do not know. All we know is this -- that she is now the captive slave of the 26:23 hated [Spits] Syrian general and his wife. That's what we know. 26:29 She has every right to sabotage her mistress and master whenever she can. 26:33 "Some sort of odious assignment is being given to me, a child of God?" 26:38 She could've just thrown a tizzy fit and said, "I won't do it." But God bless her parents, 26:44 whoever they were, because they did not raise an urchin. My folks threatened that I was 26:49 becoming fast an urchin. You don't know what an urchin is, but, back then, they did. 26:55 She was a courteous girl. She was a polite girl. She was an obedient girl who 27:02 knew well the religion of her family and knew the God of her family religion. 27:10 Oh, my. Let's put these words from "Prophets and Kings" on the 27:13 screen. This is something else. Take a look at -- Any young 27:16 parents here? Any young parents here? Any young fathers? 27:21 Hey, Dad, listen. Read this. On the screen... 27:38 Keep reading. Boy, this is dynamite... 27:52 So, here's the big question that's begging to be asked. Were your children or my 27:56 grandchildren carried off into captivity today -- today -- to an exiled home, an enemy home, 28:04 how would our children...behave? Would our children, like this little Jewish maiden, be loyal, 28:15 remain loyal to the God of their father and mother? You say, "Dwight, I wish you 28:22 really hadn't put it that way, because I'm not sure it's that good an answer." 28:26 No, I'm just saying. And if you're not sure that you could say yes -- "Oh, I know 28:33 she'd stay true, I know he'd stay true --" if you're not sure, then here's a question for 28:38 you, Mama. Then what are we gonna do? We who have the ability, we who 28:42 have the responsibility, what are we gonna do for this child that you're concerned about, 28:48 this grandchild that I'm concerned about? What shall we do? 28:51 [ Chuckles, sighs ] Well, I would say -- you say to me, "I'll take advantage of 28:57 Sabbath school. I'd be sending my kids to Sabbath school." 29:00 Well, that's a great -- that's a beautiful strategy. Good for you. 29:06 Beautiful idea. But what are you gonna do for the other six days of the week? 29:09 "Well, my kids are gonna get old enough to go to church-school, and I will send my kids. 29:13 I'll send my grandkids to church-school. I'll make sure that they go to a 29:17 church-school." Well, that's good, too. That's a great strategy. 29:23 We have a little store right across the street up here called the ABC Christian bookstore. 29:30 There are shelves of books for children that you can go, Papa, and take some of your 29:34 hard-earned money, and you put it down, and you say, "I want that book, that book, that book, 29:37 and that book." Why? Because you're gonna read these 29:40 stories to your children every night when they go to bed. You're putting something in 29:43 their minds every night. This little maiden, I don't know what her parents did with her, 29:48 but she is unflinching in her loyalty to the God of her father and mother. 29:54 Mm. Verse 2. Come on. "Now bands of raiders from Syria 29:57 had gone out and had taken captive a young girl from 30:00 Israel, and she served Naaman's wife. 30:02 And she said to her mistress, 'Aw, if only my master would see 30:06 the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of leprosy.'" 30:12 There it is, the little girl's very sure testimony. 30:17 "I wish you knew my God and the prophet that works for my God, because if you did, your husband 30:23 would be healed of leprosy." That was it. [ Scoffs ] 30:30 Instead of wishing her master ill, she wishes him well. And it touches the heart of 30:36 Mrs. Naaman. I mean, the little girl could've prayed that her God would curse 30:42 this general, kill him. 30:45 But, instead, she tears a page from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount 30:48 800 years before Jesus even spoke the words. 30:51 On the screen, from the Sermon on the Mount -- "But I 30:54 tell you --" Jesus says -- "love your enemies and pray for those 30:57 who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in 31:01 heaven." Keep going. 31:02 "Your Father causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, 31:05 and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous." 31:09 God is no respecter of persons. Nope. His love is poured out both on 31:18 the evil and the good, the righteous and the unrighteous. Today in your neighborhood -- 31:22 Come on, just think of your neighborhood right now. It doesn't matter how godless 31:26 your neighbors are, it doesn't matter how godless your colleagues on the job are -- it 31:30 doesn't matter. Sometimes I sit on a plane by somebody I don't know, but by 31:34 what he's reading, by what he's watching, by what he's drinking, I'm saying, "This is a waste of 31:39 my time. I'm not gonna witness to this guy. 31:41 He's gone." Who am I to make that judgment? If God is no respecter of 31:48 persons, why would I suddenly become a respecter of persons? That's crazy. 31:56 She's in a pagan home with a polytheistic, heathen master and mistress. 32:06 And the little girl raises her hand and says, "Ooh. [ Breathes shakily ] I wish you 32:11 knew my God." She's in exile. Hey, guess what, folks. 32:16 Guess what. By very definition -- Do you know what the word "exile" 32:20 means? It means you live in the land of the captor. 32:23 You're not at home. We are not at home. We are living right now in the 32:28 land of the captor. The prince of evil, the prince of the world, self-styled, 32:32 declares, "This is my place." We're in his place right now. We're exiles, all of us. 32:42 Just like that little maiden, I guess we just say a word. "Oh, I wish you knew my God, who 32:48 could help you, who could heal you. I wish you knew Him, who loves 32:53 you like I do." Verse 4. So, the little girl gives a 33:02 testimony to Mrs. Naaman, Mrs. Naaman gives it to Mr. Naaman, and Mr. Naaman -- 33:06 verse 4 -- "went to his master and told him what the girl from Israel had said." 33:11 Now, hold on. Do you understand what's happening here? 33:14 Because this is what happens to simple testimonies. They simply get passed on. 33:20 The world is so faithless today, this godless, faithless culture that we live in is hungry for 33:26 faith, it is hungry for God, and if somebody raises her hand and said, "Excuse me, can I say 33:35 something?" just like a parched desert, the world would drink it up, and that little testimony 33:42 would get passed on from person to person to person. You have no idea where your 33:46 testimony is going. Once it's out of your lips, don't worry about it. 33:51 But Naaman goes to the king. [ Inhales deeply ] Ohh. Unbelievable. 33:57 Listen, you'll never know where your testimony ends up, but I'll make this promise to you right 34:01 now in front of everybody. I'll tell you where it ends up if you don't share it -- 34:05 nowhere. Nowhere. Because you didn't open your 34:10 mouth. You got to share it. Guess what. Never forget. 34:14 Never forget this. Let's go to boxing now. Come on, everybody knows boxing. 34:17 One-two punch. One, two! Okay? 34:19 So it could be a right-left, or it could be a left-right. Isn't that what they call it? 34:23 A one-two punch. You are the one-two punch, but you're the one. 34:27 Your testimony is the first punch, and, right behind you comes the Holy Spirit with his 34:33 convicting, convincing power. He could do it Himself, but He needs the first punch. 34:40 One-two! Sorry to make this into martial arts, but anybody want to come 34:45 up here? Let's try this. [ Laughter ] 34:48 One-two! See? You're one. Don't say, "God, you be one, and 34:54 I'll go two. Let's switch." No. 34:55 He said, "You got to open this door, buddy. Open the door. I'm right there." 35:00 One-two! Hmm. And even when it appears that 35:06 your testimony has fallen on deaf ears and you're being blown off or ignored, never forget the 35:13 words of Sidlow Baxter. Aw, I wish you could scribble this down fast enough and have 35:16 it in your Bible like I have it in my Bible. I carry this with me in all my 35:19 Bibles. 35:20 I'll put it on the screen for you. 35:22 Sidlow Baxter... 35:38 >> Amen. 35:39 >> You share that "one!" and then you pray. You just pray. 35:46 They can spurn you and blow you out of the water and just say, "Psh!" 35:51 But they can't resist what you unleash through your praying. Ah, my. 35:58 The power of an exile's prayer to back up the power of an exile's testimony. 36:02 Don't you think that little Israelite maiden is praying for General Naaman every single day 36:07 to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? Of course she is. 36:11 Because when people go through flux, when people go through radical change, suddenly now 36:16 they're wide open. You go through a divorce -- Your friend goes through a divorce, 36:21 that friend right now is wide open to God, to anything. You get canned from your job. 36:31 That friend who's just been let go is wide open right now. You contract a disease. 36:40 That friend right now -- wide open. The paradigm has shifted. 36:45 You got thrown out of school. Right now that friend of yours is wide open. 36:52 Flux is what God majors in. Now, listen very carefully. God does not cause these radical 36:58 fluxes or changes. God didn't cause you to get the disease, He didn't cause you to 37:02 get fired, but you know what? God never misses an golden opportunity, and He takes every 37:07 flux, and He takes every change, and He says, "I'll use that, thank you," and God moves in. 37:14 Your testimonies in a time of flux -- Naaman is open where he never would have been open four 37:20 months ago. He's wide open now. [ Chuckles ] Wow. What a God. 37:26 So it bears repeating -- God really does business with pagans. 37:29 He just loves doing business with pagans. That's what's happening here. 37:34 Drop down to verse 4 again. So, "Naaman went to his master and told him about what the 37:39 little girl from Israel had said." 37:42 And now here comes King Ben-Hadad. 37:44 "'By all means, go,' the king of Syria replied. 37:47 'I will send a letter to the king of Israel.'" 37:49 I just love this. "So Naaman left, taking with him 37:52 ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold --" 37:55 this is a lot of money -- "and ten sets of clothing. 37:58 And the letter from Ben-Hadad that he took with him to the 38:01 king of Israel read: 'With this letter, I am sending my servant 38:04 Naaman to you so that you may cure him of his leprosy.'" 38:09 "You cure him, or I'll kill ya." [ Laughter ] That's how the king -- Because 38:14 some believers aren't really believers. They're only believers in name. 38:18 They show up in church, but they don't believe for six days of the week. 38:21 They just -- No, they're practical atheists. And that's the king of Israel. 38:26 He's just -- [ Scoffs ] He starts hyperventilating. 38:31 "What have they done to me?!" 38:36 Wow. 38:37 Let's read what the -- [ Chuckles ] This poor king. 38:41 He was some dude. Verse 7. 38:44 "As soon as the king of Israel read the letter, he tears his 38:50 robes and he says, 'Yo, am I God?'" 38:54 He thinks it's all about him. "Am I God? 38:57 Can I kill and bring back to life? 38:59 Why does this fellow send someone to me to be cured of his 39:03 leprosy? I know what he's doing! 39:05 He is trying to pick a quarrel with me!" 39:09 Sounds like Colonel Klink on "Hogan's Heroes." 39:12 [ Laughter ] "[ As Colonel Klink ] You trying 39:14 to pick a fight with me?" 39:19 [ Normal voice ] Oh, my. Unbelievable. Somehow -- I don't know how -- 39:22 Elisha gets [Chuckles] word of the message from the Syrian king, and Elisha sends a message 39:29 to the king of Israel -- "Hey, listen, take a chill pill. Cool. Relax! 39:33 If you don't know what to do with this pagan, send him to me. I'll tell him about the God of 39:37 Israel, and I'll make sure he gets healed by the God of Israel." 39:41 And so Naaman goes with his chariot and his attending 39:44 warriors. The whole band of them show up 39:47 in the little driveway of the prophet's tiny little house, and 39:51 they're all impatiently stamping around, those stallions, and, 39:54 you know, Elisha is not on a head trip. 39:58 Because if he were on a head trip -- "I want to hang around important people." 40:00 He would've showed up himself. No, he says, "Hey, servant, go see General Naaman, please." 40:06 So, the servant comes. He says, "Come, I have a message for you. 40:09 Glad to see you. You see that river over there? It's called the Jordan River. 40:13 You will go in that river, and you will wash yourself seven times, and then you'll be 40:18 healed. Goodbye." And he left. 40:19 [ Laughter ] [ Laughs ] And Naaman, who was so schooled 40:23 in military protocol, explodes. Talk about anger-management issues. 40:30 He's got a huge problem here. He explodes! There's nobody around but his 40:34 attendants, and he's saying, "I can't believe this, I can't believe this. 40:37 Lookit, we have clear water in Damascus -- every river! And so I come over here, and I'm 40:40 thinking the man of God is gonna come out and he's gonna rub his little hand all over my white 40:44 spots and he's gonna say 'gone!' and they're gonna be gone. 40:46 Instead, no, what does he tell me? I got to go to that murky, muddy 40:49 Jordan River and I got to take a bath seven times. I'm not gonna do it!" 40:53 And the last line of verse 12 -- I'll put it on the screen for you, the last line of verse 12. 41:04 Maybe I'm not gonna put it on the screen for you. Is it on the screen? 41:07 [ Laughter ] Yeah. Mm-hmm. Anyway, the last line reads... 41:16 Well, I don't even know what it reads. I might as well look in verse 41:19 12. The last line in verse 12. Oh! Yeah, here it is. 41:22 "So he turned --" [ Chuckles ] There it is. "So he turned and he went off in 41:29 a rage." Anger management issues for sure. 41:34 Some human beings have that weakness, and they do need healing, and the good news is 41:39 that the God of Israel can heal that plague of anger management. Takes a little work, 41:43 cooperation. Now we get to verse 13. So here comes now the servants. 41:50 We've had the explosive bombshell, and now Naaman's 41:54 servants -- verse 13 -- "went to him and said, 'My father, if the 41:58 prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have 42:01 done it? How much then, when he tells 42:03 you, 'Wash and be cleansed!'" So they convinced Naaman -- 42:07 verse 14 -- "and he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan 42:12 seven times, as the man of God had told him." 42:16 Seven times. Now, my dad was a children's storyteller. 42:18 I mean, every night, we'd ask for a different Bible story, and he would tell -- either about 42:22 himself as a boy or Bible stories. And how many times have we asked 42:25 him to tell the story of Naaman? And my dad would just really dramatize it, just right down to 42:29 the last second. So if there's seven times, it's gonna take five minutes to tell 42:32 you about the seven times down, because every time Naaman comes up -- 42:35 [ Breathing raspily ] "I told you, I told you. Aw, the spots are still there." 42:38 And the servants are all on the shore -- [ Whispering breathlessly ] 42:42 Seven. Seven." [ Laughter ] Seven. Down. 42:46 Oh." [ Exhales sharply ] [ Normal voice ] He comes up. 42:49 He's looking -- "Aw! I told you. This rotten river." Anyway, Dad would go through 42:55 that until the seventh time, the seventh time. And of course we're all on the 42:59 edge of our beds now because the seventh time Naaman goes down and he goes under that muddy 43:03 water -- [ Gurgling ] And when he comes up, there's 43:09 water pouring all down him. And when Naaman looks down on his arms... 43:17 Did you catch that line? Where is it? Let's put that one on the 43:21 screen. "His flesh was restored and became clean like that of a --" 43:25 what? See those two little boys right there? 43:27 He had flesh like those two little boys -- just clean, soft, "suppulent" -- young again! 43:34 [ Breathes deeply ] Oh, he must've been whooping and hollering in Syrian, just 43:39 thrilled with what the God of Israel has done. Mm. 43:45 [ Sighs ] He comes up out of that water. Boy, is that the Gospel message 43:50 or what? He comes up out of that water, and he is clean. 43:53 He is clean. Do you know that, when you come to Jesus and you go under the 43:57 water and His righteousness, His love that just surrounds you -- when you go under the water, 44:03 you come up clean. "Though your sins are as scarlet, they'll be as white as 44:06 snow. Though they're red like crimson, they'll be as wool." 44:08 You come up clean! Reminds me of an old English folk song that goes like this. 44:15 ♪ There is a fountain filled with blood ♪ >> Together: ♪ Drawn from 44:23 Emmanuel's veins ♪ ♪ And sinners plunge beneath that flood ♪ 44:34 ♪ Lose all their guilty stains >> Sing the Gospel now! >> Together: ♪ Lose all their 44:42 guilty sta-a-ins ♪ ♪ Lose all their guilty stains ♪ And sinners plunged beneath 44:58 that flood ♪ ♪ Lose all their guilty stains ♪♪ 45:08 >> One...small...testimony. And a mighty miracle in response. 45:18 Wow. [ Sighs ] Oh, Naaman has to go back to the 45:22 prophet, and so he does. 45:24 Where is this? Verse 15. 45:26 "Then Naaman and all his attendants went back to the man 45:29 of God. And he stood before Elisha, and 45:32 he said, 'Now I know that there is no God in all the world 45:35 except in Israel. So please accept a gift from 45:38 your servant.'" Elisha says, "Nothing for me." 45:41 But I want you to catch those words -- "Now I know that there is no God in all the world 45:46 except in Israel." We have heard these words before. 45:50 They are the words of a pagan king named Nebuchadnezzar. They are the very words of a 45:55 pagan king named Darius. They are the very words of a pagan king of Nineveh. 46:01 The same words spoken by the pagan general -- yes, sir -- Naaman. 46:07 Now I know there is no God in all the world except in Israel." What a hundred evangelistic 46:18 campaigns could not achieve, a little girl's testimony accomplishes. 46:25 Man! An exile. Don't underestimate the power of your exilehood. 46:32 You are an exile on purpose because God invented you an exile. 46:37 He needs exiles. Some of them are the only ones that can get to a king, but it 46:43 starts in the home with a tiny little testimony that just keeps getting passed. 46:50 Wow. Salvation of pagan public enemy number one. 46:57 And it's right here in this fascinating, fascinating story where Naaman gets saved that we 47:02 see a side of God that we have not seen before, I predict -- a side of God. 47:06 And I want you to catch this before we leave, because Naaman makes a very unusual request. 47:10 Okay, so watch this. 47:12 This is verse 17. Now, Naaman says, "Okay, if 47:15 you're not gonna accept my gift, please let me, your servant, be 47:19 given as much earth --" now, that's dirt as in dirt -- "let 47:23 me be given as much dirt as a pair of mules can carry, for 47:27 your servant will never again make burnt offerings and 47:31 sacrifices to any other god but the Lord." 47:35 "What I need --" Because Naaman believes in regional gods, and he believes God, Yahweh, is the 47:41 regional God of Israel. "What I need, sir, is that I need dirt from right here, and 47:47 I'm taking it to my backyard, and I'm gonna spread this dirt on my backyard, and I'm gonna 47:51 stand on that dirt, and when I'm standing on the dirt of Israel, I'm gonna call on the God of 47:55 Israel and worship him. That's what I need. Can I have some dirt?" 48:00 And Elisha says, "Yeah. Go ahead." It's unbelievable. 48:06 Now, question -- is God a localized, regionalized God? Nope, never has been, never will 48:13 be. Did God require this of Naaman? Nope. Never has and never will. 48:18 Then why did the prophet Elisha not correct Naaman and say, "Stop, stop, let me tell you 48:23 something"? Because God -- Listen, listen, listen. 48:26 God takes your friends, God takes your neighbors... He takes your classmates, He 48:34 takes your associates -- He takes them where they are and not where you are. 48:39 >> Amen. >> Where they are, that's what He's caring about. 48:42 He don't care where you are. "I'll take them where they are." My, my, [Chuckles] my, my, my. 48:48 And it gets even more stunning... which, by the way, means that 48:54 what's vital for you may not be important for them. Mm-hmm. 48:58 What you think is so almighty essential may not be for them. You have a problem with that? 49:06 You know what Elisha says? You know what Elisha says? Verse 19. 49:09 You know what Elisha says? He says, "Go in peace." "Go in peace." 49:15 What's up with that? Oh! You haven't heard what Naaman 49:18 just proposed to him. Oh, this one is something else. 49:21 Look at verse 18. Look at verse 18. 49:23 "But," Naaman goes on... 49:35 "...when I bow down in the temple of Rimmon, may the Lord 49:38 God forgive your servant for doing this." 49:41 "I don't believe it for a moment! I don't believe this is a god. 49:44 I don't even believe in that god anymore. I believe in the God of Israel, 49:47 but, listen, I have to do this. It's my job! I have to do this." 49:50 What does the prophet say? "Go in peace." "Yeah, go ahead, go ahead, go 49:54 ahead." No correction. No catechization. 49:59 Nothing. "Go ahead. Go in peace." Wow. 50:05 Do you know what, folks? Some of us get ourselves in trouble by insisting that our 50:12 children or our colleagues or our neighbors or our friends live up to the light we have. 50:19 "You live up to my light." You know why we do that? Because misery loves company. 50:24 [ Laughter ] That's exactly why. 50:30 Not so with God. Not so with the man or the woman of God. 50:33 Lookit, if the exiles Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had done the same thing, just bowed down, 50:38 said -- [ Stammering ] "In my heart, I'm fine. 50:40 I got to do this to stay alive." Wrong! They already know you are the 50:45 servant of the Most High God. You can't do that. They couldn't. 50:48 But when a brand-new believer, brand-new baby believer says, "I got to do this," God says, "Go 50:54 in peace. Go on." Isn't that something? 50:59 What we work so hard to require everybody else to decide on -- "Because I had to do it, you 51:05 have to do it, too." What we work so hard on... 51:12 You know why? Because God is a God of wise exceptions. 51:18 Mm-hmm. God is a God of gradual maturation. 51:22 "Let it grow, let it grow." God is a God of gracious tolerance. 51:27 God is a God of understanding the circumstances. And in God's economy, one size 51:33 does...not...fit...all. >> Yes. >> Mm-hmm. 51:38 >> We get in trouble when we insist that it does. Hmm. 51:44 "Go in peace." To demand of pagans what it has taken you years to come to 51:49 understand -- and you still don't understand it -- but to demand it of them, [Chuckling] 51:54 where's the logic in that? [ Sighs ] The God who makes compassionate 52:03 allowance for what the Germans call our Sitz im Leben, our particular unique situation, my 52:09 spirituality. God makes full allowance for that -- or the lack of it. 52:12 God makes full allowance for that. He adjusts His expectations 52:16 accordingly. And listen. Listen to this. If God treats us that way, why 52:19 don't we treat each other the same way? Why don't we treat each other 52:22 the same way? Cut them some slack. Why does everybody have to do it 52:25 your way? Elisha says, "Go in peace. Shalom. 52:33 Bye." [ Laughter ] That was it. 52:39 My. Judge not that you be not judged, because nobody knows a 52:45 life story like God does. You don't, and neither do I. This much is clear. 52:52 What you had that is so special is your personal testimony, and it is so unique, the way you 53:00 give it with that smile on your face. [ Exhales deeply ] 53:03 That is worth everything to the kingdom of heaven. You just use the lips, and you 53:08 say something... about what Jesus means to you. You might not think of anything 53:13 to say because, "Dwight, lookit, I don't know the verses. What if they ask me a question? 53:17 I don't know all the teachings, even! How am I supposed to be able to 53:20 witness when I can't know this?" Forget it. We have become paralyzed by our 53:24 misconceptions of witnessing to the place -- We are dumb, meaning mum. 53:31 Right? We don't talk. "I'll just live and let live." "Good night, Dwight! 53:40 I put you right there for this moment, and you're mum." "What can I tell them? 53:49 What can I tell them?" "Oh, how, I love Jesus." "Well, yeah, but they're gonna 53:53 ask me why." Well, because He first loves me. That's it. 53:56 You just tell them you love Jesus. "Why do you love Jesus?" 53:59 "Because He loves me." Do you know how many people go to bed at night not loved, 54:04 guilt-ridden, ball and chain around their ankles? They go to bed every night 54:09 feeling they are unloved by the forces of the universe, and you go to bed every night knowing 54:14 you're loved, and your guilt is gone because you dismiss it to the care of the Lord Jesus, and 54:19 you come up out of that water cleansed. Every single day, you come up 54:23 cleansed. And they would die to have what you have. 54:26 You just have to tell them what you have, or they won't ask for it. 54:30 If you don't tell them, they won't ask. [ Scoffs ] 54:34 Oh, how I love Jesus. "Yeah, but why?" Because He first loved me. 54:37 I'm a loved guy. Look at me. I'm such a weirdo, but I'm a 54:40 loved guy. "Well, if God could love a weirdo like you, He could 54:44 probably love me." That's the point! Hmm. 54:50 So, here's the take-home line. Then I'll sit down. Here's the take-home line. 54:56 Tell them who you know, and He will tell them what to know. 55:01 Put that on the screen, please. 55:09 Get it off of your plate. You're not responsible for 55:12 informing the whole world of every belief system in the 55:15 Scriptures. Forget it. 55:16 You just tell them who you know, and He will tell them what to 55:20 know. Elisha does not correct Naaman. 55:22 He doesn't tell him a thing. "Go in peace. 55:24 God will take care of you. God knows you. 55:28 He'll take care of you." Tell them who you know, and He 55:32 will tell them what to know. 55:34 That's what it means. It's that simple. It's no wonder the mighty 55:37 Apocalypse ends with this line -- oho -- describing the last generation of Jesus' 55:41 friends on Earth. 55:42 I love this -- Revelation 12:11. 55:45 Let's read it out loud together. "They triumphed over the 55:48 dragon --" oh, time-out, time-out. 55:50 Who's the dragon? Who's the dragon? 55:52 Who's the dragon? That's Satan. That's the devil. 55:55 That's the apocalyptic symbol of Satan, alright? 55:57 So the followers of Jesus -- We'll read it again now. 56:00 "They triumphed over the dragon by the blood of the Lamb --" 56:05 "There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel's 56:08 veins." So that's the Gospel, alright? 56:10 Let's do it one more time. "They triumphed over the dragon 56:15 by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony." 56:21 That's how you win. You're not only blessing somebody else, you're getting 56:27 blessed as a protection. You're getting blessed into guardianship. 56:31 You're blessed. Yeah, that's it, folks. I wish it were more complicated 56:34 because then you'd really say, "Oh, I got to get this." [ Laughter ] 56:39 It's not. It's simple so you can start doing it. 56:46 It's time for the exiles to rise up one last time across this planet. 56:53 And I say let's start in Berrien Springs, what do you say? 56:59 >> Before you go, let me take an extra moment to share 57:01 with you an opportunity to get into the Bible in a fresh, 57:03 new way. All across the world, more and 57:06 more people are hearing the call to examine Scriptures 57:09 for themselves. If you felt drawn to learn more 57:11 about God's Word, but you don't know where to start or you're 57:14 just looking for a more in-depth examination of Bible truths, 57:17 then I have something right here that I believe you're going to 57:20 enjoy. I want to send a series of 57:22 guides to get you started. This one's entitled, 57:24 "Why Does God Allow Suffering?" Each guide begins with a story, 57:27 an introduction of the subject. Then through a series 57:30 of focus questions, you'll be learning portions 57:32 of the Bible you may never have known before, and when 57:34 you're through, you'll be able to share with others some of 57:36 these inspiring Bible truths. So just call our toll-free 57:39 number. It's on the screen -- 57:40 877 -- the two words -- HIS-WILL. 57:44 Our friendly operators are standing by to send these 57:46 study guides to you. Once again, 57:47 that's 877-HIS-WILL. Call that number, and then, 57:52 again, join me next week right here at the same time. 57:56 "New Perceptions." 58:01 ♪♪ ♪♪ 58:18 ♪♪ ♪♪ |
Revised 2019-06-18