NAAMAN'S MISTAKE

The story of Naaman the Syrian leper, and his cleansing by God, is told in II Kings 5:1-19. Tell the story briefly in your own words as an introduction to this lesson. From Naaman's story this sermon emphasizes three points.

I. Naaman looked for God's Word in human terms. He expected a particular answer to his request for cleansing, and he was upset when God's answer did not conform to his expectations.

II. Naaman wanted God's Word to sound good and be impressive, but God told Naaman to do something instead -- something requiring trust in God's own wisdom and power instead of man's.

III. Apart from God's arrangements, God's will cannot be accomplished. There might be "results," and impressive ones from a human standpoint, but they will not be divine fruit and will not please God.

IV. People today need to know and remember these same truths seen in the story of Naaman. This lesson makes several specific applications of these principles.

Body

I. Baptism is a place for application.

   A. Men often think in human terms. Many are pleased with what sounds good to them, or looks impressive from a human standpoint.

   B. God's arrangement is clearly taught (Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:38; 10:48; 22:16).

   C. We dare not change what God has said, even though men might expect a more "glamorous" word from God than this. To do so would be to repeat the mistake of Naaman.

II. Worship is a place for application.

   A. Humans often think in. carnal terms. Many are interested in pleasing the flesh instead of the spirit, in human-centered emotion without God-centered edification and praise.

   B. The question should be, "What does God want?" Early Christians were tempted by Judaism and paganism to pattern their worship along human lines. The writer of Hebrews calls on believers not to turn back to Judaism, appealing as it might be with its external ordinances and ceremony (see also John 4:24; I Corinthians 14:26, 40).

   C. To style corporate worship according to fleshly-centered standards is to make Naaman's mistake again. God wants people to worship Him in spirit (from the godly impulse of His Spirit) and in truth (sincerely, not hypocritically).

III. Personal conduct is a place for application.

   A. Many seek godliness in human terms of fleshly appearances, externals without the heart, hypocritical or forced behavior in the place of a God-powered, fruit-bearing life of faith. This is what the Pharisees did, for which Jesus soundly condemned them in Matthew 6. Paul speaks against the same error from a Gentile influence in Colossians 2:18-23. External rules cannot produce godliness; it is not from "chains" without, but from a "change" within.

   B. The way to true holiness and godliness is explained in the next verses of Colossians (3:1ff). It comes by dying and rising with Jesus; placing the heart where Christ is at God's right hand in heaven; then walking by faith as a new creature in union with the glorified Lord.

   C. This might be the slower way of getting "results," but it is God's way, and we must learn to follow His arrangement in order to have His results.

IV. Congregational growth is a place for application.

   A. It is popular today among religious people to seek "church growth" by any means available. Entertainment, recreation, bribes and gimmicks are widely used -- and great human "results" come.

   B. God's method is described in Ephesians 4:6-16. It does not appeal to the flesh, but it is blessed by the Spirit. It involves the spiritual maturing of each believer, as they are trained to do their own individual works of service (ministry). To train each Christian for service, God gave the church the special workers known as apostles (who first preached the gospel from personal testimony), prophets (who first revealed the rest of God's will for saints), evangelists (who still repeat the gospel message of the apostles), and pastors-teachers (who repeat the teaching revealed by the prophets). When God's plan is followed, maturity comes to the whole church, and there is a "building up" of the body of Christ in a given place.

   C. We are often impatient for God's results, but they are worth waiting for, and they come only when God's method is followed faithfully.

V. Congregational unity (cohesion) is a place for application.

   A. People often look for unity in human terms of apparent conformity to a creed, written or unwritten. This is impressive from a carnal standpoint, and it appears to be the quickest way to unity, but it is not God's kind of oneness.

   B. God's plan is described in Ephesians 4:1-6. All Christians already share in the one body and the one Spirit as well as the one hope. They believed together in the one Lord, and expressed their one faith in the one baptism. The one God and Father of all is over all and through all. This precious oneness is God's gift, and Christians are to put forth effort to preserve it in bonds of peace, by exercising the traits named in verse two.

   C. When they follow God's method, they will grow together in true love and oneness in the Spirit, even though they will not always agree on every point. To follow man's way of f forced agreement leaves hearts still separate and at odds. Here, too, we need to avoid Naaman's mistake.

Conclusion

Let us not look for God's Word in human terms. Let us not seek great words and impressive sights, when God has given us something to do instead. Let us be content to comply with God's arrangements, trusting Him to give results which both please Him and will solidly endure.

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