GET YOUR "BUT" OUT OF THE WAY!

2 Kings 5:1-16

Introduction

There are some things that never change. In every generation people have been captivated with those who possess rank, power, prestige, and position. The powerful of this generation are the athletes, movie stars, singers, and other performers of the arts. People will stand in line just to get a glimpse of the celebrities whether it is in the biting chill of the winter or the humid heat of the summer.

It’s a fact that military heroes have a place in the affections of people all over the world. Men like Eisenhower, MacArthur, Churchill, Roosevelt, Truman, Schwartzkoff, Franks just to name a few. These men will live on in our remembrance because they have made a significant contribution to our nation and to the world.

Naaman, the captain of the Syrian army was a prominent figure.  He was a great man who was admired by the masses. He was a military man who had experienced victory after victory. Naaman was a champion among his people as well as a man of integrity. However, his legacy does not stop with all of these positive proclamations. For the concluding word on Naaman declares, “…but he was a leper.”

He was captain of the Syrian host, but he was a leper. He was a great man, but he was a leper. He was honorable, but he was a leper. He was a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper.

“But” That awful conjunction that always suggests that however grand and glorious we may be, there is always something wrong with us. There are no perfect people in the human race. We each have our faults and failures. There is something terrifyingly and tragically wrong with each of us. Like Naaman, all of us have to live with blemishes. Richard Nixon was well versed in world affairs, but then there was Watergate. Henry Kissinger was a good secretary of state, but then there was Cambodia. Franklin D. Roosevelt was a good president, but then he had polio. Lyndon B. Johnson gave us the “Great Society”, but then there was Vietnam. Ronald Reagan was a noble president, but then there was “Reaganomics”. Bill Clinton helped the economy and minorities, but then there was Monica. Paul was a great apostle, but then he had a thorn in the flesh. Peter was a great fisherman, but then he denied Jesus three times. Neither you nor I can escape the inevitable “but” in our lives.

Body

Naaman had leprosy, the most dreaded disease of the biblical era. His body frame, once the splendor of masculinity, was now covered with spots, scabs, and a white swelling of the skin. His hair was beginning to change color. People were now running away fro him instead of to him. He was no longer cheered as a military genius as he walked among his people but they trembled when they looked at his condition.

Whatever the “but” is in life, the child of God never relinquishes the hope or the expectation that God can reverse any negative situation. If he does not remove the burden, he will strengthen the shoulder on which the burden is borne. Sometimes God works in your life through other folk whose faith might be stronger than yours. Sometimes the answer to our problems lye in other folk whose faith far outdistances our own. Some of us are where we are today not because of our goodness and our prayers but because of the diligent prayers of our parents and grandparents who lifted us up at the throne of God so that we could find grace to help us in time of need.

The answer to Naaman’s leprosy problem resided in a nameless little maid who happened to be talking with Naaman’s wife. She said “there is a prophet in Samaria who can cure him of his leprosy.” He’s not educated, but he’s consecrated. He’s not sophisticated, but he’s dedicated. He’s not an erudite scholar. He’s not a physician or a pharmaceutical expert. He’s not a military commander. His name is not a household name, but he is a prophet of God. A man with spiritual power. His name is Elisha and he is the prophetic successor to the great Elijah whom the Lord took home in a chariot of fire down by the Jordan... It is upon Elisha that Elijah’s mantle has fallen and he received a double portion of Elijah’s power… It was Elijah who pronounced the 3 ½ year famine in Israel. It was Elijah whom God fed by the brook Cherith… It was Elijah who defeated and killed the 450 false prophets of Baal… It was Elijah who topped the messengers of Ahaziah and pronounced the end of the young king’s life.

Yes there is a prophet, a man of God who can assist your husband in the ridding of this problem

How often does a military commander take the advice of a nameless handmaiden? Not often, but Naaman did in this case. He had no choice because all else had failed and now he was at rock bottom.

And church I thank God that sometimes God in his infinite wisdom allows us to hit rock bottom to remind us to depend on him… To remind us that “There’s a rainbow in the cloud.”… To remind us that “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus love and righteousness.”…

One man said that man can survive without bread and water for unusual periods of time, but if he has no hope, he will die quickly.

Conclusion

As I hasten on in the text, the bible says that Naaman went to the king instead of going to the prophet. The king straightened him out and told him where to go. Brothers and sisters when you got problems, when you got issues, when you’ve got drama, you need to make sure you’re going to the right person for help.

If you have spiritual problems you don’t need to go to the horoscope section.

If you have spiritual problems you don’t need to talk to your shrink

If you have spiritual problems you don’t need to browse the world wide web

If you have spiritual problems you don’t need to call Ms. Cleo or Dr. Phil

If you have spiritual problems you don’t need to look no further than to your Heavenly Father

He still sits high and looks down low…He can still make a way out on no way…He can still provide manna in the wilderness… He can still open your Red Seas…He can still deliver us from the lion’s den and fiery furnace… He can still feed us when we’re hungry, give us water when we’re thirsty, and clothe us when we’re naked – we need to look to our Heavenly Father.

Naaman had consulted the wrong man. It wasn’t the king that he needed but it was the man of God. Naaman had to leave the plush court of the king and find the humble abode of the prophet. Finally, the prophet Elisha had given him the word from God, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times and thou shalt be made whole.” But you know the story, Naaman abhorred this suggestion because Jordan was a muddy old river and there were other cleaner rivers.

Church sometimes God’s answer may not be the answer that we want to hear but it will always be the answer that lead us to our cleansing…To our salvation…To our deliverance…To our joy…To our peace…To our serenity…To our longsuffering

But what we’ve got to understand is that if God is going to take us from grumble to humble…From heartache to happiness…From despair to repair…From weeping to rejoicing…From fear to faith…From calamity to comfort…From failure to success…From lament to content..From disaster to finding the master…

Sometimes He must humble us before he can use us. The bible teaches us in Isaiah 40:4,5  “Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.”

In other words often times the “mighty” must be brought low so that the Lord shall be revealed. Naaman had to learn that it’s only when you are knocked down that you can be raised up…It’s only when you are humbled that you can be exalted… It’s only when you go down that you can come up…It’s only when you cry that you can appreciate laughter…It’s only when you’re broken that you can be made whole…It’s only when you are dirty that you can be made clean…It’s only when you’ve been through hell down here that you can appreciate heaven up there…

Naaman had to dip seven times (not 6,5,4,3 but 7). Seven is the number of divine fullness, perfection, and completion.

What about you tonight? Are you plagued by your buts? If so, let God cleanse you…