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I hope it's okay with you.

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I'm more comfortable standing down here than up there.

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And I apologize if some of you in the back can't see me.

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Actually, that's probably better that you can't see me.

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So I am thankful for the opportunity to be here.

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Mark and I have this privilege.

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We've been able to go, quite frankly, all over the world.

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And we have the privilege of meeting brothers and

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sisters of all different kinds of stripes and flavors everywhere,

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all over the world.

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And it's always amazing to me,

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it's a blessing to me to see that the spirit of God is the same.

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And whether it's in South Africa, whether it's in Cairo, Egypt,

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or whether it's in IF, which is not far from where I grew up,

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just south of here around Blackfoot.

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So I'm thankful to be back at home and among all of you today.

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We have what I think is an incredible event for us to look at.

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I'm just a tour guide, by the way.

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I love to take people on a tour, so I'm gonna take you on a tour today.

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It's never about the tour guide, it's always about the tour,

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it's always about the things.

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And I'm gonna be pointing some things for

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you to see today that I think are just absolutely quite amazing.

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The tour we're gonna take is in the Old Testament,

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2 Kings Chapter 5, if you wanna turn there.

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We will be going through the whole chapter today, so

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we have to move a little quickly.

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But this is an amazing event.

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We need some ramps to get up to this event.

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So we're gonna take three quick ramps before we can get up to this event here.

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The first ramp has to do with the fact that of all the events and

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people that are in the Old Testament,

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Naaman is one of the few that Jesus points back to.

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And he does that in a familiar passage for you, no doubt, in Luke Chapter 4,

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if you keep your fingers there in 2 Kings Chapter 5.

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Because it is here in Luke 4 that Jesus points us back to Naaman.

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And something very interesting happens as Jesus is doing this.

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You may recall the context of Luke Chapter 4 is that Jesus has returned to

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his hometown, the hometown boy, Jesus has returned.

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And he's not received well, at least not in the end.

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But in the beginning he was.

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Remember, this is the famous point where Jesus stands up in the synagogue and

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reads from the scroll of Isaiah.

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And when he finishes that, he says, I tell you the truth,

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this day, this scripture is fulfilled.

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And the scripture says that all the eyes of the synagogue were looking on him.

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And they were saying good things about him.

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Until Jesus said two things.

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And he pointed them back to a widow in Elijah's day when there was a famine.

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And Jesus said there was a famine in all of Israel, but

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it was only to the widow in Sidon that Elijah served.

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And then he speaks of Naaman.

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Because he says there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elijah.

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But the only leper that was healed, Jesus said, was Naaman, the Syrian.

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Now this and then, so then let's read what happens.

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As soon as Jesus finished saying all of those things.

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So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things,

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were filled with wrath.

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And they rose up and tried to throw him off the cliff.

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Some of you may have been to Israel,

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you may have gone to Nazareth, to the Mount Precipice.

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I've stood there and I said I certainly would not want to be thrown off of this

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cliff, and that's what they were trying to do.

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And so this first ramp that Jesus points us back to Naaman leads us to the second

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ramp because this ramp leads us to a question, this is why

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did these people all of a sudden become filled with wrath?

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And I want to give you a clue.

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First of all, a clue, we'll talk about this a lot today.

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When someone is filled with wrath, when someone is angry,

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that's a clue that tells you someone has just stepped on their script.

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And so, let's first of all, what is, there's a script that got stepped on here,

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stomped on by Jesus that caused them to be filled with wrath so

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that they wanted to kill the hometown boy Jesus.

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Well, what was happening here is that they thought it was all about them.

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And now Jesus is saying, I'm telling you,

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that in Elijah's day it wasn't to any of you that he went.

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It was to the widow in Sidon.

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And I'll tell you this, all the lepers in Israel,

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none of them were cleansed by Elisha.

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But the person who was cleansed was a pagan man in a pagan land.

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See, when you think it's all about you, and

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all of a sudden somebody says it's not about you, then it can cause you to be angry.

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So anger is a clue, next time you get angry,

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next time you get angry, ask if it's not because somebody just stepped on your

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script, it happens to me all the time when I'm driving.

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>> [LAUGH]

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>> When I drive, I have a script associated

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with how fast I'm supposed to be able to get down the road,

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whether that's my parking place rather than somebody else's.

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So this second ramp has to do with the fact

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that fallen people have a tendency to be very self-centered.

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And we have a tendency to believe the lie, we call it the Death Star lie,

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that if I can just get my script fulfilled, I will be happy,

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and content, and pleasured, and at peace.

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And we write these scripts all the time.

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If my husband would just, right?

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If my husband would just then, if my wife would just then,

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if my kids would just, if my parents would just,

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if the cute boy at school, cute girl at school, if the president would just.

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So we have these scripts, because we think it's all about us.

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And somehow we think that our peace, and contentment, and

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pleasure will come if we can just get our script fulfilled.

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Another way to say it is if we can just get our way.

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If we just, our will.

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And we now live in a culture where we have really flipped good for

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evil and evil for good, have we not?

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But I will tell you the most prominent way that we have flipped good for

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evil and evil for good is that we have exchanged the notion that selfishness

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is something that's not good to now selfishness is a goal.

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And celebrate it.

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That we are to seek our own heart.

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We're to follow our heart.

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If we want to be content and filled with peace and joy, we follow our heart.

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Now think how the contrast to Jesus who says, deny yourself.

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See that doesn't fly in our culture, because Jesus said deny yourself and

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follow me.

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We think pleasure myself and we want the world to follow us.

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Isn't that, by the way, isn't that interesting, the word follow, right?

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We make a video and you want people to do what?

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Follow.

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We want the world to follow or like us,

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even though Jesus says the world will hate you.

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If you follow me, the world will hate you.

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We want the world to like us.

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We don't want the world to follow us because we have slipped into this

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deep self-centeredness associated with the lie that says,

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if I can get my way, if I can be significant, if people follow me,

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then I'll be happy, I'll be contented, I'll be pleasured.

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And so here, this second round points us back to this reality

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that when we have a script and we're vested in that script and

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someone stomps on that script, then we will react with some negative

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emotion.

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So the clue here is when you suffer from a negative emotion,

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if you suffer from anger, ask yourself, who just stepped on my script?

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If all of a sudden you find yourself disappointed,

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I'm just so disappointed in you.

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Why?

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Because you didn't fulfill my script.

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All of those negative emotions.

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So when you come to the scripture, for example, and

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now we find that the people were worked up in a rage,

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it's not surprising to us.

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We look back and find out why.

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Because Jesus said there were all kinds of lepers in Israel in the days of Elisha,

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but he didn't heal any of them.

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He healed a pagan man in a pagan land.

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And they thought it was all about him.

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So the third ramp is a short one because it leads us right into this event.

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And on this ramp, all we want to do is to say that there

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are consequences associated with both of these ways.

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It's like Jesus told us,

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there's a narrow path and there's a wide path.

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Enter by the narrow gate.

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My personal opinion is that the narrow gate says

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something entirely different than what it says on the wide gate.

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The wide gate says it's all about you.

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And Jesus said the wide gate leads to what?

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Death and destruction.

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And that's exactly what the enemy wants us to do.

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He wants you and me to be on this path of it's all about me.

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And we become a manipulator.

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We try to manipulate people to get our way, to get our script fulfilled.

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And Jesus says that way ends up in death.

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The narrow gate, I think written on the gate is, it's all about him.

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And what he wants to do through you.

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So when we believe the lie that it's all about me,

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that will not lead to anything but death and destruction.

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When we're caught up in the larger story of God,

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it will lead to peace, true peace, true contentment.

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And those are the pathways that are continually laid before us.

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One is a lie, and the lie is told to us by the angel of light.

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It looks good, it looks like the way we should go, and it's not.

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The narrow way looks narrow, but it says deny yourself.

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Then we live in a culture where we do not want to deny ourself.

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We think as we were speaking yesterday that the heart speaks divine things.

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And you must follow, if I say I'm a woman, you must follow,

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you must bow down to that.

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So we now come to this story because the event of Naaman in 2 Kings 5.

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And what I want you to take note of as we go through this is you will see

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two different people here.

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You'll see people who are caught up in their own little story.

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It's all about them, and it does not end well.

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And you'll see people who are caught up in the larger story of God.

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People who are willing to deny themselves,

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caught up in the larger story of God.

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And there is true blessing, okay?

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So here we go.

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2 Kings 5.

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Now Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great and

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honorable man in the eyes of his master.

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Because by him, the Lord had given victory to Syria.

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He was also a mighty man of valor, but a leper.

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Let's stop for a second.

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You think about this.

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We are now introduced to Naaman, a pagan man in a pagan land,

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who is the commander in chief.

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He is the sink, the commander in chief of the Syrian forces.

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He cannot go any higher in his vocation.

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Only the king is higher than, he has achieved everything.

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He is a valiant warrior.

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And just as an aside here, I've been looking at this event for

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a long, long time, and I'm so caught up in this event,

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I decided I was gonna write a play called Naaman.

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And so I see these things from the perspective of a movie.

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So Naaman is cast, he's this handsome guy, he's a warrior.

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And did you notice who has been giving him victory?

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God was giving a pagan man a pagan land victory.

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Whoa, the sovereignty of God.

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And then, I wanna be careful here, but I'm gonna say it, so

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I hope you'll understand.

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And then we get to the big but.

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He had everything.

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Naaman was at the top of the heap, a valiant warrior, victorious.

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He had everything.

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But.

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He was a leper.

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In the scripture, leprosy is oftentimes used as a symbol of sin.

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You couldn't do anything about it.

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Even though he was a mighty warrior, he couldn't do anything about leprosy.

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He couldn't get cured, nothing could cure him of that.

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Nothing could take it away, no matter how much money, no matter how strong he was.

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No matter how many warriors he could send into battle.

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There was a big but in his life.

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And there may be a big but in your life.

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You may have achieved a whole lot of things, and it is possible.

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All the things that you've achieved, there is a big but in your life.

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And this is Naaman's condition.

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He has everything, but he's a leper.

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Now, the Syrians had gone out on raids and

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had brought back captive a young girl from the land of Israel.

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She weighed on her name, it's my wife.

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Then she said to her mistress, if only my master were with the prophet,

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who is in Samaria, he would heal him of his leprosy.

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And Naaman went in and told his master, saying, thus and

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thus said the girl who is from the land of Israel.

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Then the king of Syria said, go, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.

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So he departed and took with him ten talents of silver,

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6,000 shekels of gold, and ten changes of clothing.

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Then he brought the letter to the king of Israel, which said,

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now be advised when this letter comes to you that I have sent Naaman my servant

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to you, that you may heal him of his leprosy.

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And it happened when the king of Israel read the letter that he tore his clothes

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and said, am I God to kill and make alive that this man sends a man to me

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to heal him of his leprosy?

245
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Therefore, please consider and see how he seeks a quarrel with me.

246
00:18:19,480 --> 00:18:22,520
Okay, so let's stop for a second.

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Look at what's happened here.

248
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There's this young maiden who's been taken captive from Israel.

249
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And she, now the commander in chief listening to

250
00:18:37,600 --> 00:18:41,000
a prisoner of war, but he does, he listens to her.

251
00:18:41,000 --> 00:18:44,480
There's a lot of things here that God's hand is all over this.

252
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And he goes to the king and say, this is what this little maiden girl said.

253
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And the king of Syria, the king of the pagan lands says, well, great,

254
00:18:57,480 --> 00:19:03,200
I'll send a letter with you down to the king of Israel for

255
00:19:03,200 --> 00:19:04,960
you to get healed of leprosy.

256
00:19:06,680 --> 00:19:13,200
And the king of Israel, think about this, the king of Israel receives a letter

257
00:19:13,200 --> 00:19:20,880
from the king of Syria saying the commander in chief is coming down to get healed.

258
00:19:20,880 --> 00:19:24,360
The king of Israel should have held a party.

259
00:19:24,360 --> 00:19:28,360
He should have said, my goodness, look what God is doing.

260
00:19:28,360 --> 00:19:34,680
The commander in chief named and has leprosy.

261
00:19:36,280 --> 00:19:41,120
And for some reason they realize he can come down and Yahweh can heal him.

262
00:19:41,120 --> 00:19:43,000
Can you believe this?

263
00:19:43,000 --> 00:19:44,320
Let's celebrate.

264
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Instead, what does the king of Israel do?

265
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He tears his robe.

266
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Because why?

267
00:19:52,120 --> 00:19:53,800
It's all about him.

268
00:19:53,800 --> 00:19:59,640
And remember, he ends up saying, see, he's trying to pick a quarrel with me.

269
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Instead of seeing the larger story of God.

270
00:20:06,000 --> 00:20:13,840
And by the way, here we have this entourage that's coming down to Syria.

271
00:20:13,840 --> 00:20:19,200
And the king of Israel, of course, is caught up in his larger story.

272
00:20:19,200 --> 00:20:23,120
But look what we find from Elisha.

273
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So it was when Elisha, the man of God, heard that the king of Israel had

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torn his clothes that he sent to the king saying, why have you torn your clothes?

275
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Please, let him come to me and

276
00:20:38,400 --> 00:20:42,880
he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.

277
00:20:42,880 --> 00:20:45,880
See, Elisha's caught up in the larger story of God.

278
00:20:45,880 --> 00:20:47,440
He sees what's going on here.

279
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When you and I get caught up in our own little story,

280
00:20:50,560 --> 00:20:53,680
the only thing we can see is ourself.

281
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The only thing we can see is our own circumstances.

282
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And we could lose sight of what God is doing.

283
00:21:02,640 --> 00:21:08,600
And it destroys the joy that is supposed to be ours, even in the midst of suffering.

284
00:21:08,600 --> 00:21:12,120
Even in the midst of trials, as Paul would tell us.

285
00:21:12,120 --> 00:21:16,000
We're to be caught up in the larger story of God.

286
00:21:16,000 --> 00:21:23,280
Not filled with anger, like the king of Israel who's angry.

287
00:21:23,280 --> 00:21:28,960
Because a guy has leprosy and he's coming to be healed.

288
00:21:30,280 --> 00:21:32,760
But Elisha says, why?

289
00:21:32,760 --> 00:21:36,040
He's caught up in the larger story of God.

290
00:21:36,040 --> 00:21:40,680
Naaman went with his horses and chariots and

291
00:21:40,680 --> 00:21:44,800
he stood at the door of Elisha's house.

292
00:21:44,800 --> 00:21:51,120
And Elisha sent a messenger to him saying, go and wash in the Jordan seven times and

293
00:21:51,120 --> 00:21:55,800
your flesh shall be restored to you and you shall be clean.

294
00:21:55,800 --> 00:21:58,440
But Naaman became furious.

295
00:21:59,840 --> 00:22:00,800
Okay, what's the clue?

296
00:22:00,800 --> 00:22:05,000
Furious.

297
00:22:05,000 --> 00:22:11,720
So we're about to find out if Naaman's caught up in his own story or not.

298
00:22:11,720 --> 00:22:13,680
If he's furious, he is.

299
00:22:13,680 --> 00:22:17,840
And that's exactly what this is going to tell us.

300
00:22:17,840 --> 00:22:25,440
So, Go wash in the Jordan seven times, your flesh shall be restored to you and

301
00:22:25,440 --> 00:22:26,120
you shall be clean.

302
00:22:26,120 --> 00:22:32,360
But Naaman became furious and went away and said, okay now listen.

303
00:22:32,360 --> 00:22:36,120
Naaman is about to read his script to us.

304
00:22:36,120 --> 00:22:37,560
Listen to this.

305
00:22:37,560 --> 00:22:44,360
Indeed, I said to myself, he, Elisha, will surely come out to me and

306
00:22:44,360 --> 00:22:47,480
stand and call on the name of the Lord his God and

307
00:22:47,480 --> 00:22:51,680
wave his hand over the place and heal the leprosy.

308
00:22:51,680 --> 00:22:55,720
Are not Abana and Farpar the rivers of Damascus better than all the waters of

309
00:22:55,720 --> 00:22:58,840
Israel, and by the way, the Hebrew word for waters there,

310
00:22:58,840 --> 00:23:04,360
we'll clean it up a little bit and say better than the sewage of Israel.

311
00:23:04,360 --> 00:23:06,360
Could he not wash in them and be cleansed?

312
00:23:06,360 --> 00:23:10,320
So he turned and went away in a rage.

313
00:23:10,320 --> 00:23:17,000
See, Naaman has come down with his own script.

314
00:23:17,000 --> 00:23:23,280
He even tells us the detail of how this is supposed to work.

315
00:23:23,280 --> 00:23:25,160
Elisha's going to come out.

316
00:23:25,160 --> 00:23:28,240
Then he's going to wave his hand over the spot.

317
00:23:28,240 --> 00:23:30,040
And then I'm going to be healed of leprosy.

318
00:23:30,040 --> 00:23:34,600
But instead of that, Elisha doesn't even come out.

319
00:23:34,600 --> 00:23:39,480
He sends his servant out.

320
00:23:39,480 --> 00:23:46,440
Now, in the play, in the movie, this servant,

321
00:23:46,440 --> 00:23:50,240
his name is here as well, we'll see that, is Gehazi.

322
00:23:52,000 --> 00:23:58,600
And Gehazi is a little beaver of a man who's all caught up in his own story.

323
00:23:58,600 --> 00:23:59,960
It's all about Gehazi.

324
00:23:59,960 --> 00:24:04,560
And instead of Elisha coming out, the man himself coming out,

325
00:24:04,560 --> 00:24:09,200
Gehazi comes out and says, go wash in the River Jordan seven times.

326
00:24:09,200 --> 00:24:12,280
>> [LAUGH]

327
00:24:12,280 --> 00:24:17,600
>> Now, For

328
00:24:17,600 --> 00:24:23,600
some strange reason, I found myself at the White House,

329
00:24:23,600 --> 00:24:26,360
appointed by Bush one in the White House.

330
00:24:26,360 --> 00:24:34,720
One of the things that I love to do was when we had an arrival of a head of state.

331
00:24:34,720 --> 00:24:43,840
So the president of a foreign country, the king, the prime minister,

332
00:24:43,840 --> 00:24:47,320
was coming to America and they would make a courtesy visit to the White House or

333
00:24:47,320 --> 00:24:48,800
maybe that was the purpose of their visit.

334
00:24:48,800 --> 00:24:52,520
And the White House was decked out.

335
00:24:52,520 --> 00:24:58,000
The old guard was there in their dress uniforms, the military band was there,

336
00:24:58,000 --> 00:25:01,800
the trumpeters would line the spiral staircase on the south side of the White

337
00:25:01,800 --> 00:25:07,040
House, and all of us would be given little flags of the visiting country.

338
00:25:07,040 --> 00:25:10,440
And we would line the driveway, and

339
00:25:10,440 --> 00:25:14,080
then the limousine carrying the head of state would come in, and

340
00:25:14,080 --> 00:25:16,840
the trumpeters would trumpet, and the band would play.

341
00:25:16,840 --> 00:25:21,040
And we would wave our flags, and the limousine would pull up, and

342
00:25:21,040 --> 00:25:23,880
the president himself would walk out, and

343
00:25:23,880 --> 00:25:27,600
the president's own hand would reach out and open the door.

344
00:25:27,600 --> 00:25:29,960
And then the president himself and

345
00:25:29,960 --> 00:25:33,800
the visiting dignitary would do their little kissy, kissy thing.

346
00:25:33,800 --> 00:25:38,240
And the band would play, and the trumpeters would trumpet, and

347
00:25:38,240 --> 00:25:39,840
we'd wave our flags.

348
00:25:39,840 --> 00:25:42,400
It was a grand, grand reception.

349
00:25:44,840 --> 00:25:48,360
And I think Naaman was expecting something like this.

350
00:25:48,360 --> 00:25:53,280
>> [LAUGH]

351
00:25:53,280 --> 00:25:54,340
>> And instead,

352
00:25:54,340 --> 00:25:57,880
Gehazi comes out.

353
00:25:57,880 --> 00:25:59,760
And you go watch the River Jordan seven times.

354
00:25:59,760 --> 00:26:06,240
It's nowhere near Naaman's script.

355
00:26:06,240 --> 00:26:09,880
And Naaman is furious.

356
00:26:11,080 --> 00:26:15,400
And at this point in the movie,

357
00:26:15,400 --> 00:26:24,760
Naaman turned and went away in a rage.

358
00:26:24,760 --> 00:26:26,440
Do you understand what I'm saying?

359
00:26:26,440 --> 00:26:29,320
Naaman is walking away from his salvation here.

360
00:26:29,320 --> 00:26:33,840
He's walking away from the cleansing.

361
00:26:33,840 --> 00:26:35,400
And by the way, I said salvation.

362
00:26:35,400 --> 00:26:41,280
This is a picture of the gospel hidden here in the Old Testament.

363
00:26:41,280 --> 00:26:46,320
And because he's caught up in his own little story,

364
00:26:46,320 --> 00:26:49,360
he's about to walk away from it.

365
00:26:49,360 --> 00:26:54,800
And his servants came near and spoke to him and said, my father,

366
00:26:54,800 --> 00:26:59,040
if the prophet had told you to do something great, would you not have done it?

367
00:26:59,040 --> 00:27:02,040
How much more than when he says to you, wash and be cleansed.

368
00:27:02,040 --> 00:27:10,200
Now, you'll have to read the play to find out why these servants.

369
00:27:10,200 --> 00:27:14,040
See, this is not the time to go pull on the cloak of the commander in chief who's

370
00:27:14,040 --> 00:27:17,240
in a rage and say, sir, excuse me, you are really stupid.

371
00:27:17,240 --> 00:27:20,600
>> [LAUGH]

372
00:27:20,600 --> 00:27:23,560
>> But they do in the sovereignty of God.

373
00:27:23,560 --> 00:27:29,640
So he, Naaman, went down and dipped seven times in the Jordan,

374
00:27:29,640 --> 00:27:33,880
according to the saying of the man of God, and his flesh was restored,

375
00:27:33,880 --> 00:27:40,200
like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.

376
00:27:40,200 --> 00:27:43,160
What an amazing thing.

377
00:27:43,160 --> 00:27:50,160
The gracious hand of God has reached into a pagan land, taken a pagan man,

378
00:27:50,160 --> 00:27:53,560
and he has washed him clean.

379
00:27:56,040 --> 00:28:01,120
And not only is Naaman cleansed outwardly, but he's cleansed inwardly.

380
00:28:01,120 --> 00:28:03,080
Look at this.

381
00:28:03,080 --> 00:28:08,280
And he, Naaman, returned to the man of God, he and all his aides, and

382
00:28:08,280 --> 00:28:10,120
came and stood before him, and he said, indeed,

383
00:28:10,120 --> 00:28:14,120
now I know that there is no God on all the earth except in Israel.

384
00:28:14,120 --> 00:28:17,000
Now, therefore, please take a gift from your servant.

385
00:28:17,000 --> 00:28:19,520
See, one of the things that happen when we come to Christ,

386
00:28:19,520 --> 00:28:24,720
it doesn't mean that we lose all of the lies that are kind of caught.

387
00:28:24,720 --> 00:28:29,400
Naaman still believes that you have to pay for this.

388
00:28:29,400 --> 00:28:32,400
He thinks you've gotta pay for what God has done.

389
00:28:32,400 --> 00:28:34,360
Now, let's look at this next one.

390
00:28:34,360 --> 00:28:39,840
But he, Elisha, said, as the Lord lives before whom I stand,

391
00:28:39,840 --> 00:28:41,480
I will receive nothing.

392
00:28:41,480 --> 00:28:49,040
And he, Naaman, urged him, Elisha, to take it, but he refused.

393
00:28:49,040 --> 00:28:50,920
Let's stop for a second and think about, again,

394
00:28:50,920 --> 00:28:53,480
who's caught up in the larger story of God?

395
00:28:54,520 --> 00:28:58,720
Do you not think that Elisha could have somehow rationalized?

396
00:28:58,720 --> 00:28:59,760
Now, you say, no.

397
00:28:59,760 --> 00:29:04,400
Well, quite frankly, we have the school of prophets here, and

398
00:29:04,400 --> 00:29:07,480
we're getting a little run down in the dormitories here.

399
00:29:07,480 --> 00:29:11,560
And we've got some more prophets coming in, and it'd be really nice to

400
00:29:11,560 --> 00:29:14,760
have a little place that we can have some quiet time over here.

401
00:29:14,760 --> 00:29:18,000
So yeah, I think maybe a couple of pounds of silver and

402
00:29:18,000 --> 00:29:20,120
some gold would really be helpful to us here.

403
00:29:23,360 --> 00:29:24,600
But Elisha refused.

404
00:29:24,600 --> 00:29:30,560
I think because Elisha knew what was going on here.

405
00:29:30,560 --> 00:29:37,600
He knew that this was a clear presentation

406
00:29:37,600 --> 00:29:42,040
of the full grace of God poured out upon Naaman.

407
00:29:42,040 --> 00:29:47,040
And Elisha was not going to destroy that picture,

408
00:29:47,040 --> 00:29:50,520
even though he could have rationalized it.

409
00:29:51,920 --> 00:29:54,120
And oftentimes, you and I do rationalize.

410
00:29:54,120 --> 00:30:03,680
So Naaman said, if not, please let your servant be given two mule loads of earth.

411
00:30:03,680 --> 00:30:07,720
For your servant will no longer offer either burnt offering or

412
00:30:07,720 --> 00:30:12,200
sacrifice it to other gods, but to the Lord, to Yahweh.

413
00:30:12,200 --> 00:30:17,920
Yet in this thing, may your Lord pardon your servant when my master goes into

414
00:30:17,920 --> 00:30:22,400
the temple of Rime to worship there, and he leans on my hand, and

415
00:30:22,400 --> 00:30:24,480
I bow down in the temple at Rime.

416
00:30:24,480 --> 00:30:26,160
When I bow down in the temple of Rime,

417
00:30:26,160 --> 00:30:28,680
may the Lord please pardon your servant in this thing.

418
00:30:28,680 --> 00:30:30,120
You see, the heart of this man has changed.

419
00:30:30,120 --> 00:30:35,880
Then he said to him, Elisha said to him, go in peace.

420
00:30:35,880 --> 00:30:39,680
So he departed from him a short distance.

421
00:30:39,680 --> 00:30:46,160
But Gehazi, Gehazi, the servant of Elisha, the man of God, said,

422
00:30:46,160 --> 00:30:49,240
look, my master has spared Naaman the Syrian,

423
00:30:49,240 --> 00:30:52,200
while not receiving from me his hands what he brought.

424
00:30:52,200 --> 00:30:56,440
But as the Lord lives, I will run after him and take something from him.

425
00:30:56,440 --> 00:30:58,400
So Gehazi pursued Naaman.

426
00:30:58,400 --> 00:31:03,800
When Naaman saw him running after him, he got down from the chariot to medium,

427
00:31:03,800 --> 00:31:05,040
and said, is all well?

428
00:31:05,040 --> 00:31:07,200
Do you see Naaman's changed?

429
00:31:07,200 --> 00:31:12,000
Now Gehazi's, and Naaman gets down from the chariot, say hey, is everything okay?

430
00:31:12,000 --> 00:31:14,840
And look how quickly people caught up on their own little story can lie.

431
00:31:14,840 --> 00:31:19,480
And he, Gehazi, said, all is well.

432
00:31:19,480 --> 00:31:25,800
My master has sent me saying, indeed just now two young men of the sons

433
00:31:25,800 --> 00:31:30,640
of the prophets have come to me from the mountains of Ephraim.

434
00:31:30,640 --> 00:31:35,960
Please give them a talent of silver and two changes of clothes, of garments.

435
00:31:35,960 --> 00:31:39,200
So Naaman said, please take two talents.

436
00:31:39,200 --> 00:31:42,680
And he urged him and bound two talents of silver and two bags with two changes of

437
00:31:42,680 --> 00:31:45,440
garments and handed them to two of his servants and

438
00:31:45,440 --> 00:31:47,120
they carried them on ahead of him.

439
00:31:47,120 --> 00:31:54,040
When he came to the citadel, he took them from their hands and

440
00:31:54,040 --> 00:31:57,840
stored them away in the house.

441
00:31:57,840 --> 00:32:00,560
Then he let them in go and they departed.

442
00:32:00,560 --> 00:32:05,520
Now he went in and stood before his master, Elisha, and said to him,

443
00:32:05,520 --> 00:32:06,720
where did you go, Gehazi?

444
00:32:06,720 --> 00:32:10,040
Oh, he said, your servant didn't go anywhere.

445
00:32:11,480 --> 00:32:16,440
Then he said to him, did not my heart go with you when the man turned back from

446
00:32:16,440 --> 00:32:17,920
his chariot to meet you?

447
00:32:17,920 --> 00:32:20,680
Is it time to receive money and to receive clothing?

448
00:32:20,680 --> 00:32:24,960
Olive grows in vineyards, sheep and oxen, male and female servants.

449
00:32:24,960 --> 00:32:30,960
Therefore, the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and your descendants forever.

450
00:32:30,960 --> 00:32:34,880
And he went out from his presence, leprous as white as snow.

451
00:32:38,000 --> 00:32:44,760
Now, Just because you get caught up in your own little story doesn't mean you're

452
00:32:44,760 --> 00:32:47,440
gonna get leprosy, that's not what this story is telling you.

453
00:32:47,440 --> 00:32:51,880
But what it's doing, it's warning us.

454
00:32:51,880 --> 00:32:57,920
And it's telling us that the broad pathway

455
00:32:57,920 --> 00:33:05,960
with the gate that says it's all about you and all the promises associated with

456
00:33:05,960 --> 00:33:09,480
what you think we've found at the end of that road will not be found there.

457
00:33:09,480 --> 00:33:16,320
Now, we left out the most important part of this story.

458
00:33:16,320 --> 00:33:20,200
We didn't leave it out, we read it, but we stopped, we didn't stop.

459
00:33:20,200 --> 00:33:24,560
Because I wanna take you back to the hero of the story.

460
00:33:24,560 --> 00:33:28,920
Do you remember in the beginning there was a little maiden?

461
00:33:28,920 --> 00:33:35,280
Do you not think, and by the way, in the play, her name is Rebecca.

462
00:33:36,280 --> 00:33:38,440
The scripture doesn't even name her.

463
00:33:38,440 --> 00:33:43,400
But do you realize this story wouldn't have happened?

464
00:33:43,400 --> 00:33:50,080
Rebecca, you think about Rebecca, do you not think she had a story?

465
00:33:50,080 --> 00:33:53,760
In the play, Rebecca is this just beautiful little girl.

466
00:33:53,760 --> 00:33:56,560
She lights up a room when she comes in, she's got a little thing for

467
00:33:56,560 --> 00:33:58,320
Benjamin down the road.

468
00:33:58,320 --> 00:34:02,240
In fact, the parents have already arranged for something for them.

469
00:34:03,600 --> 00:34:08,440
And then the raiders come charging into town, and

470
00:34:08,440 --> 00:34:14,560
poor Rebecca is pulled up, laid over the horse, and she's gone.

471
00:34:14,560 --> 00:34:16,880
And her story is over.

472
00:34:16,880 --> 00:34:17,600
You understand that?

473
00:34:17,600 --> 00:34:18,560
Her story is gone.

474
00:34:18,560 --> 00:34:24,640
It's not just a page or two taken out, the whole story is gone.

475
00:34:24,640 --> 00:34:29,840
And she's now a prisoner of war in a pagan land.

476
00:34:32,480 --> 00:34:35,200
And in the play, Naaman's wife is a Jezebel.

477
00:34:35,200 --> 00:34:40,000
And this is her life now.

478
00:34:40,000 --> 00:34:46,880
Rebecca has every right to be a bitter,

479
00:34:46,880 --> 00:34:50,840
shriveled up old woman.

480
00:34:50,840 --> 00:34:56,600
And when Naaman gets leprosy, she had every right to say yes.

481
00:34:56,600 --> 00:35:00,840
And I hope you live a long life.

482
00:35:00,840 --> 00:35:03,160
I hope your nose falls off.

483
00:35:03,160 --> 00:35:04,960
I hope you suffer.

484
00:35:04,960 --> 00:35:08,560
>> Wow.

485
00:35:08,560 --> 00:35:14,440
>> And we say, well, I think she has a right to be bitter like that.

486
00:35:14,440 --> 00:35:16,360
But she wasn't.

487
00:35:16,360 --> 00:35:21,440
Now you have to read the play to find out why.

488
00:35:24,480 --> 00:35:31,160
Rebecca, amazing enough, isn't caught up in her own little story.

489
00:35:31,160 --> 00:35:37,280
She's caught up somehow in the larger story of God so

490
00:35:37,280 --> 00:35:40,560
that when her owner

491
00:35:40,560 --> 00:35:49,480
gets leprosy, she says, if my master could only see the prophet

492
00:35:49,480 --> 00:35:53,520
in Samaria, he could cure him of his leprosy.

493
00:35:53,520 --> 00:36:01,640
And he tells the king, the king writes a letter,

494
00:36:01,640 --> 00:36:07,120
and Naaman goes to Samaria, and God cleanses him.

495
00:36:07,120 --> 00:36:08,400
Do you understand?

496
00:36:08,400 --> 00:36:12,680
There would be no Naaman story here if it were not for

497
00:36:12,680 --> 00:36:16,880
a little maiden who had made a decision

498
00:36:16,880 --> 00:36:22,960
in the midst of her terrible, terrible circumstances

499
00:36:22,960 --> 00:36:28,080
that she was going to live in the larger story of God.

500
00:36:28,080 --> 00:36:33,480
You and I have the same decision before us every day.

501
00:36:33,480 --> 00:36:38,960
Are we going to be caught up in our own little story?

502
00:36:38,960 --> 00:36:41,720
Are we going to be angry because our parents don't?

503
00:36:41,720 --> 00:36:46,000
Are we going to be disappointed because our kids don't?

504
00:36:46,000 --> 00:36:52,320
Are we going to be upset because the president doesn't?

505
00:36:52,320 --> 00:36:59,400
Are you going to be angry at your neighbor?

506
00:36:59,400 --> 00:37:11,440
Or are we going to say, hmm, I wonder what God's up to here?

507
00:37:11,440 --> 00:37:18,880
Because you and I have the opportunity to be Rebecca.

508
00:37:21,120 --> 00:37:26,000
You have no idea what God might do when you just get caught up

509
00:37:26,000 --> 00:37:34,880
in His story and refuse to say yes to your own will,

510
00:37:34,880 --> 00:37:40,360
to your own script, and to simply say yes,

511
00:37:40,360 --> 00:37:45,960
I will deny myself and follow you.

512
00:37:45,960 --> 00:37:52,600
And there, my friends, you will find true peace

513
00:37:52,600 --> 00:37:55,640
and true happiness.

514
00:37:55,640 --> 00:37:58,760
And maybe beyond that, you may find that God is going

515
00:37:58,760 --> 00:38:01,520
to use your faithfulness.

516
00:38:01,520 --> 00:38:02,920
You may never be named.

517
00:38:02,920 --> 00:38:09,120
You may never have a name in the world's history of anything,

518
00:38:09,120 --> 00:38:15,160
but you have a name in the heart and mind of God

519
00:38:15,160 --> 00:38:20,720
because you were the hero of the story without a name.

520
00:38:20,720 --> 00:38:22,160
And this is what God calls us to.

521
00:38:22,160 --> 00:38:25,400
This is what He lays before us every day of our life.

522
00:38:25,400 --> 00:38:32,000
Will we make the right decision?

523
00:38:32,000 --> 00:38:35,880
And we make those decisions wrongly, you know that.

524
00:38:35,880 --> 00:38:40,080
But every day we get up, His mercies are new every day.

525
00:38:40,080 --> 00:38:43,040
And every day we say, God, help me today, not my will.

526
00:38:43,040 --> 00:38:48,400
Remember three times Jesus said in Gethsemane,

527
00:38:48,400 --> 00:38:51,680
not my will, but yours.

528
00:38:51,680 --> 00:38:53,720
In the context of what we're saying here, Jesus said,

529
00:38:53,720 --> 00:38:58,560
not my script, not my strip, your script, your story,

530
00:38:58,560 --> 00:38:59,880
not mine.

531
00:38:59,880 --> 00:39:02,520
We have to say that constantly.

532
00:39:02,520 --> 00:39:04,520
May that be our prayer.

533
00:39:04,520 --> 00:39:10,280
Now, I'm going to pray and close in prayer.

534
00:39:10,280 --> 00:39:13,400
And my understanding is that there'll be some people up here

535
00:39:13,400 --> 00:39:16,040
who will pray with you if you want to.

536
00:39:16,040 --> 00:39:21,360
If the Lord is calling you out of your script, I hope He is.

537
00:39:21,360 --> 00:39:24,760
I hope He's calling you and me out of our script.

538
00:39:24,760 --> 00:39:28,960
And we're willing to lay down our script before Him.

539
00:39:28,960 --> 00:39:31,320
If you want to do it up here, if you want to do it there,

540
00:39:31,320 --> 00:39:32,920
if you want to do it at home today,

541
00:39:32,920 --> 00:39:35,320
I encourage you to do it because we needed it every day.

542
00:39:35,320 --> 00:39:37,680
Father, thank you so much for allowing

543
00:39:37,680 --> 00:39:43,840
us to have recorded this event in the life of Naaman,

544
00:39:43,840 --> 00:39:46,760
but especially, Father, in the life of this little girl

545
00:39:46,760 --> 00:39:49,640
we call Rebecca.

546
00:39:49,640 --> 00:39:53,760
We thank you that she was caught up in the larger story,

547
00:39:53,760 --> 00:39:55,000
your larger story.

548
00:39:55,000 --> 00:40:01,080
Lord, we pray that we might do the same today.

549
00:40:01,080 --> 00:40:04,920
We might walk away from our script, all those things

550
00:40:04,920 --> 00:40:09,200
we've been invested in, things that end up causing us

551
00:40:09,200 --> 00:40:12,360
to be manipulators of others, to be angry at others,

552
00:40:12,360 --> 00:40:15,840
to be disappointed, to be worried, to be depressed,

553
00:40:15,840 --> 00:40:18,000
to be bitter.

554
00:40:18,000 --> 00:40:22,360
Oh, Lord, that we would lay all that aside, flush it away,

555
00:40:22,360 --> 00:40:28,080
and turn and rejoice in your story,

556
00:40:28,080 --> 00:40:29,680
that we, Father, are your servants.

557
00:40:32,840 --> 00:40:35,640
Thank you for the atoning work that's been given for us,

558
00:40:35,640 --> 00:40:39,640
that we might be called your children.

559
00:40:39,640 --> 00:40:42,160
And your love has been poured out upon us in Jesus' name.

560
00:40:42,160 --> 00:40:42,840
Amen.

561
00:40:42,840 --> 00:40:44,400
Amen.

562
00:40:44,400 --> 00:40:46,560
[APPLAUSE]