And the subject before us this morning is quite simply man's way or God's way, man's way or God's way. The account that we have read is a powerful example of the way in which the Lord is proved to be the only true and living God. The Syrian deity, represented by the name Rimon, was evidently powerless to cure Naaman. The account also shows how God is not just the God of Israel. He is the God of the whole earth. He is in control in the land of Syria. He is in control in the land of Israel. He is in control over all the earth. and it was actually God that was giving Naaman his success in his victories. Naaman had no idea at the time that it was actually God that was simply using him as an instrument of justice against the land of Israel because of their idolatry. We read quite clearly it was because by him the Lord had given deliverance It is also an example of the way in which God's grace extends throughout all the world. This was one of the issues that troubled the Jews in the land of Israel. They thought, as the Lord's chosen nation, that they were the only people who came under God's blessing. But the Lord Jesus teaches this particular point in the New Testament. He reminds the Jews, many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the leper. God is not confined to nationalities or national boundaries. The gospel is to go throughout all the world. But then the cure of Leprosy is an event which teaches us some very important lessons and principles, how we can properly approach God this morning. How we can enter into his blessing. in Jesus Christ the Lord. It matters not from which background we come from this morning. We must all come in obedience to God's way, as a little child, with humility, with repentance, with faith, Jesus said, assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it. So let us look then at this example of Naaman and make some gospel application. The nation of Israel at that time was one of the most prosperous nations in the whole world. The description of the ample supplies of silver and gold and silk raiment which Naaman took with him on his journey reminds us that Syria was a place of affluence. It was a place where people enjoyed great wealth. And Syria offered a man of Naaman's ability a full, interesting, exciting career. There was money, there was advancement, there was prosperity. Materialism reigned. He had the sense that he belonged to a great nation. And Naaman had prospered, having climbed the ranks in the Syrian army, and now he was the captain of the host. He was the commander. He was the leader. He had won many victories in battles against Israel. He was considered in his nation as to be a great, an honorable man, a mighty man. In some ways, Naaman is a picture of the man of the world, of today. In the world's estimation, successful man. Courageous man. Man that we can look up to. Here is a man who is successful. He's enjoying the riches and the pleasures that the world has to offer. And the Bible is irrelevant to him. He doesn't need the Bible. He doesn't need God. He's self-sufficient. He's a successful man. And from this man of the world's perspective, His life is vastly superior to the life of the man of God, the Christian believer who is willing to take up his cross and follow the Lord. He sees life in partying, in holidays, in having a great admiration in the world. Perhaps a large house. Perhaps they find fulfillment in the different things of the entertainments of the world. This is where their life is. This is where their hope is. And if someone cannot afford such a lifestyle, to be spending money all the while on all these entertainments, He can find it on the TV, on the radio, on the internet, or in books, and he can live at home and can imagine it in a virtual world at home. Thousands of people are now living in another virtual world on their computer. They build a virtual life for themselves and they imagine themselves through this virtual life on the computer. And they build a life for themselves on this virtual world. this unreal life. It has to be successful, they have to be the one in control, they have to be the one winning, they have to be the one with the big house and the big car in this virtual world. So the man of the world in his emptiness actually still looks at the believer and thinks, how boring, how miserable. Surely these people need to get a life. However, what this man of the world doesn't realize is that the Christian believer has found a fullness. A fullness, a spiritual filled fullness which has filled this emptiness. And so now he can enjoy the pleasures of this world, those God-given pleasures, richly enjoy them, richly in as much as he can thank God for them. and enjoy them wholesomely and with thanksgiving. There was a very well-known rugby player, Jason Robinson. Those of you who may have watched the rugby final in Australia, when the rugby team won the World Cup, England, it was Jason Robinson that scored a try. scored in the World Cup final victory in 2003. And he has a remarkable testimony. He was just the man of the world before he was converted. He was living that world. He was living in drugs and drink and alcohol with womanizing and he was living it up in the world. So after the match he'd go off with the lads. That's how he thought life was. but he still felt this emptiness. And there was one man in the team, Twagamala, who was a Christian. And through that one man's testimony, he was drawn to Christianity. He was a man that seemed to be content with life. After the match, he was going back to his family. He didn't need to go partying. He went back to his family and when he asked them what he did at the weekend, he said, well on the Sundays I'll go to church. And so it was through the testimony he started asking these questions. And in God's goodness, Jason Robinson was converted. And recently he said this, he said, the reason I became a Christian It's not because I'm perfect. I wasn't perfect. It was because I needed help, and because I couldn't do this on my own. However strong or weak I've been, I will always go back to the source, and that is my faith in Christ. Naaman was a man of the world. But what was Naaman's problem in the world? For him, what was his particular problem? He was a leper. It says in scripture here, but he was a leper. And this little word, but, was like a dark cloud on his life. It spoke to him of uncertainty. Maybe you have something in your life. There's a but in your life, an uncertainty in your life. There's this but that God has allowed in your life. There was a time in the Times when on a Saturday they would put houses up for sale and a man would go around, a woman would go around and choose three particular houses that were really lovely houses to purchase. And they put all the plus signs of this house and all the reasons to buy this particular property. But there was always another area and that was called but. But there is. perhaps the garden's a bit small or perhaps it's facing the wrong direction or perhaps it's a little noisy. Even in those beautiful houses there was a but. Now we've all experienced the disappointment of the but in life. We find it with ourselves, we find it with the people we meet. Perhaps it starts off a friendship so positive and there's a but that comes into that relationship. We may say, my life is going okay, but if only this or that could be put right. We may look at their possessions, their house, their flat, their room, their garden, and there's always a but. We have a very nice rear garden. It's surrounded with an old, very old wall. And if you look out the back of the garden, the back wall, you could almost see right a long way with the trees. And it was a lovely outlook. But in the winter, the person that owned the land behind the wall decided to put some trees right up against the wall. So now we see just this row of trees. A view has been somewhat curtailed. So that's the butt in the garden now. But the Lord allows this. We can make an idol in their garden. And sometimes we need these things. Well, yeah, there's a butt. There's a butt here. The butt in Naaman's life was his health. It put a cloud on everything else. Everywhere Naaman went, his leprosy went, he would be working and fighting as this captain of the host of the king of Syria. He was respected. He was looked up to. Many men would run to him and say, what do we do here? What do we do there? What do you want, sir? What do we do? But then suddenly he remembered, I'm a leper. He would be eating, he would be drinking, he would be having a great time when he woke up in the morning. I'm still a leper. He would experience the excitement of the battle. He enjoyed the well done of the king on his return. The cheers of the crowd when he returned from his sorties. Because the Lord had given great deliverance. He was a mighty man of valor. But when he took off his armor, he was still a leper. And leprosy shattered Naaman's contentment with life. There was the but in his life. And my question is to you this morning is, what is your but? What is the but in your life? Now conviction of sin can be just like this under God's power. We have this feeling of guilt. that arises within us. We realize that God is a holy God. And we have offended God. We have broken his law. And we try various ways to overcome this uncomfortable feeling. But despite our best attempts, we cannot dispel this voice. And we try and immerse in ourselves in the various activities in this world. We busy ourselves. But then the voice speaks. We go to bed. We wake up in the night. We wake up in the morning. The first thought is, I've got this burden. You see, conviction of sin under the power of the Holy Spirit will not go away. It is an inescapable message from God to you this morning. God and His kindness and His love and His mercy and His compassion is giving you a but in your life. There's something wrong. The inescapable but. And my question is, are you running away from this this morning? The but of God in your life. But as we continue through this account, we see an incredible testimony in verse 3 of a young believer There was a little maid, a captive out of the land of Israel, a little maid. She was weighted on name as wife, and she said unto her mistress, Would God, my Lord, were with the prophet that is in Samaria, for he would recover him of his leprosy. Oh, this wonderful faith. This wonderful, simple faith. Profound faith. Not complicated. Oh, I so believe in my God. I so believe in the Lord. I believe he would heal my master. She believed in the power of God working through the prophet Elisha. And she was a young girl who had great faith, and she was prepared to witness for the Lord in a land of idolatry. A young girl who was concerned for her master, despite the fact that she was a slave in his household. She'd been dragged away from her parents, dragged away from her family. She'd probably known trauma in her life. and she's a maid. She's bound to her mistress, but her attitude, her faith, her love, oh, that my master would know something of this power. Humanly speaking, without this little girl's testimony, Naomi would have remained an unconverted leper. And she was an Old Testament example of how the Lord Jesus taught in the New Testament. But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those that spitefully use you and persecute you. Oh, this takes such grace, doesn't it? To pray for those that are spitefully using you and persecuting you. But you see, this little maid, She wanted the best for her master, even though she was captive. How did Naaman respond then to this message of hope? Well, we read, he told his lord, and thus and thus said the maid, it is of the land of Israel. And the king of Syria said, go to, go and I will send a letter unto the king of Israel. And he departed and took with him 10 talents of silver, 6,000 pieces of gold, and 10 changes of raiment. So this is how Naaman responded to the message of hope. He responded in the way of his wisdom. He came with money. He came with clothing. Oh, I must give a gift. It has been calculated that Naaman took no less than 340,000 pounds worth of silver, 90,000 pounds worth of gold. The ten changes of clothing would be referring to pure silk garments. Now, this was enough to attract any money-seeking miracle worker in Israel. And Naaman thought of his healing, it was like a vending machine for blessing. Put in your money and get a blessing. Of course, we have so much false teaching going about in the world today. I remember speaking at a conference in Nigeria on the way from the airport in Port Harcourt to this where the conference was and there was a huge notice on the wall and it said, 10 for 1 blessing. The only unfortunate thing was the speaker that came from America was called Pastor Chris, which was a bit awkward for me. I saw this big notice, Pastor Chris Conference and 10 for 1 blessing. Well, it wasn't the conference I was going to. And the idea was, If you bring a dollar to this meeting, God will give you 10 back. That was the promise, 10 for 1. And this conference was in a football stadium and 50,000 people came. So that's $50,000 for this speaker for one night speaking. And the promise was, if you come to this meeting and bring a dollar and you trust in God and you believe in God, God will prosper you and give you 10 back. It was just mixing materialism with faith, a dreadful error there. And in a way, Naaman thought, well, you know, if I've got enough money, I can just deal with this materially. But Elijah, the godly prophet, the godly man, he refused any money. How does this compare with the so-called miracle workers of today with their aeroplanes and cars and silk suits? How does this compare? Elisha wouldn't take a penny. Well, Naaman came as an important envoy. He had a letter to commend himself. This was his passport, so he had a gift. He had a passport and he entered into Israel thinking he could take his own terms and come on his own terms. And when he came to the King of Israel, the King of Israel was typical of a person who acknowledges there is a God but doesn't actually trust in him. So it came to pass when the king of Israel had read the letter that he rent his clothes and said, am I a God to kill and to make alive that this man doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy? Wherefore consider, I pray you, see how he seeketh to quarrel against me. But how does Elisha respond? And it was so when Elisha, the man of God, had heard that the king of Israel had rent his clothes that he sent to the king saying, wherefore hast thou rent thy clothes? Let him come now to me and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel. It was Elisha, the man of God, who had faith, who had confidence in God, whatever and wherever, who was concerned primarily for God's honour. So, let's look at Naaman's reaction then, as he comes to Elisha and he gets a message from Elisha's servant. We read that Naaman came really with his own plans. Naaman came, in verse 9, with his horses and with his chariot. He stood at the door of the house of Elisha. And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean. Oh, Naaman turns up in importance, does he not? He's got prestige. And he expected Elisha to run out and make a fuss of him, build him up, build up his self-esteem. But Elisha didn't even show up. Elisha just sent a message. And the action of Elisha reminds us today is a message we so much need to hear. Elisha simply believed in the Word of God. The Word of God, as he was inspired by the Spirit of God to say these words unto Naaman, Elisha, just believing that these words had come from God and that it was God's Word to this man, he didn't need to show up in that sense. He simply believed in the power of the Word of God. And today, The Lord Jesus is not here visibly, we hope, we pray His presence is with us spiritually, but the Lord Jesus knows His Word, the Word of God, is enough. He speaks to us this morning through His Word. He tells us how we can be cleansed of our sin. When Naaman's pride was so offended, he wanted to be treated as someone important. And many people want this special treatment. They want to go to heaven on their own terms, first class, and to be considered to be a special person. They want to be made to feel different, be made to feel special and good about themselves and important. But you see, as far as salvation is concerned, cleansing of our sins is concerned, Money, status, wealth, position, and pride count for nothing. The queen said she believed in the Lord Jesus. And she needs the Lord Jesus as the queen of our nation in the same way as you need the Lord Jesus as your savior. and she has to come the same way as you. There's not one way for the wealthy and for the leaders and for the queen, another way for you. We must come the same way. Lydia was a rich and successful business person. She was a seller of purple. She was a very, very astute businesswoman. She was doing very well financially. But the Lord opened her heart and she attended to the things that Paul spoke to her. And she was baptized. A little while later, Paul and Silas are in the prison. And they were singing praises unto God at midnight. There was an earthquake. And the jailer came in and was going to murder himself because he was so scared that all the prisoners would go free. And Paul called out to him. And the man said, sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they preached the gospel to him. It was the same gospel that they preached to Lydia. It wasn't another gospel. It was the same gospel. And he was saved. And that first church at Philippi was formed of Lydia, a seller of purple, and the jailer. And they were the first members of the church at Philippi. And they both came the same way. When I was a businessman, I had a group of printing companies, and in God's providence, I was the chairman of this group of companies. But in the church in which I attended in Northampton was another man, and in a factory in Northampton, He was the cleaner and he was very good at his job. He made the factory look very smart, very clean. So when we had customers, it was very impressive for them how tidy it looked and we were very reliant upon this man called Derek. He was very good at his work. He was the cleaner, I was the chairman. When it came to Lord's Supper and I was there in the church, I would sit with Derek. And we take Lord's Supper, the chairman and the cleaner, taking the bread and the wine. One in Jesus Christ the Lord. That is the wonder of the church. That's the blessing of the church. But Naaman's pride was offended. He wanted to be treated as somebody important. Well, Naaman was offended at the simplicity of all this. Are not the rivers of Damascus much more important, have got much more prestige? Could I not wash in those and be clean? And he went away in a rage. And here was the crisis point in Naaman's life. All that he had relied upon, his ego, his position, his honor, his credibility, his talents, his wealth, in this issue meant nothing. They couldn't deal with the leprosy. They couldn't deal with the butt in his life. Then he felt suddenly helpless. This is why he reacted in the way he did. Something had to go. What was it that had to go in Nehemiah's life? It was pride. He had to repent of his pride. He had to do a U-turn. This was counterculture. This was a change of mindset. And so he had some good servants who advised him. And he listened to them. His servants came near and said unto him, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? How much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash and be clean. Now, how do we respond to the Gospel this morning? Jesus says, come unto me, all you that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanses us from all sin. Jesus has done everything for sinners. We don't have to take a test. We don't have to do some great thing, as they said to Naaman. If Elijah had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? and prove that you were worthy of all this cleansing? No. Elisha says, just go and wash in the Jordan. And so it is with us. Jesus just says, come. Come as you are. And so it was that Naaman listened. He humbled himself. He obeyed the word of God that came through Elisha. He is cleansed. seven times in that River Jordan. And it really is depicting a complete cleansing. And so it depicts for us the absolute completeness of the cleansing that comes to us in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And there is wonderful transformation. The man of Naaman is a changed man. He's not only cleansed of his leprosy, but God had worked in his heart Oh, what a different attitude now. And he returned to the man of God, to Elisha, he and all his company. And he came and he stood before him and he said, behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel. Now, therefore, I pray thee, take a blessing of thy servant. But he said, as the Lord liveth, before whom I stand, I will receive none. And he urged him to take it, but he refused. transformation, humility, obedience, and acknowledgement that the Lord is the Lord. So conversion brings about a change, a change of attitude, a change of mind, a change of perspective. We live for God's honor. Spurgeon received a testimony once from a lady who was a cleaner. And she came to see him. And he pressed her for evidence of her conversion. And she said, well, it's like this. Before my conversion, I swept the floor around the mats. But after my conversion, I now lift the mats and I sweep under them. There was a young boy who was telling Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones of the change in his father after his conversion. Before he spent his money at the pub and we all went hungry, but now we have food on our table because you preached the gospel to my father. Transformation. Well, we conclude this morning. The biggest problem for Nahum was his pride. It was his pride which nearly prevented him from being healed. But God's message of salvation is so simple. Repent of your sin, confess your sin before a holy and a just God, and trust only for forgiveness and cleansing through the person and work of Jesus Christ the Lord, the Son of God, made man, who died on the cross. and endured the wrath of God on behalf of all those who will put their trust in Him, in their place and in their stead, that their sins might be atoned for, that they might know peace with God, full forgiveness. And coming to the Lord Jesus requires humility. We come as we are. Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to thy cross I cling. There's nothing of my righteousness, nothing of my works, nothing of my money. Just like Naaman, it has to be put aside, and we simply come as we are, just as I am, without just one plea. But that thy blood was shed for me, that thou bidst me come to thee, O Lamb of God, I come. Come. But then we could move this on to the ordinance of baptism. I've known people who said to me, well, I believe in the gospel, but for me to be baptized, I want this thing to happen or that thing to happen. I need another sign. And we dictate to God and say, yes, I'm a special person, really. So if I'm going to go through the waters of baptism, then this must happen and that must happen. But actually, what must happen is that you must obey the word of God. That's what must happen. And the Word of God says, repent and believe and be baptized. And that is the most important commandment. We don't put air criteria, because that makes us feel important. And then when we give a testimony, others say, well, for me, this is what happened. And that can be a hindrance to other people and say, well, it hasn't happened to me. And this remarkable thing didn't happen to me. Faith is simply believing in the Word of God. That's faith. So are you willing to do a U-turn in your own thinking? If this is where you're like this morning, a bit like Naaman. Some years ago, Mrs. Thatcher, our Prime Minister at the time, she had a reputation, as you know, as an iron lady. And one of her favorite sayings was, this lady is not for turning. Do you remember that? But the lesson of Naaman is that however strong our personality, however strong our courage, however successful we are, that in itself counts nothing before God. Pride, personal wisdom hinders our coming. We have to do a U-turn, just like Naaman. We come to Christ for cleansing, just as we are. A leprous sinner needing cleansing. and the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanses us from all sin. We're gonna sing this closing hymn, number 551, this well-known hymn, Just As I Am, without one plea, but that thy blood was shed for me, and that thou bidst me come to thee, O Lamb of God, I come. I'm sorry. O Lamb of God, I come, I come. God to win my soul, how fond of Thou. Learning words wild and plenty strong, O Lamb of God, I come, I come. ♪ With pain and awe ♪ With pain and doubt ♪ My dreams and fears within me grow ♪ To the land of God I'd go ♪ I'd go O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming? And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air, Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. At where her ne'er-returning King Recalls the promise of old. O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming? ♪ As I am of my freedom ♪ ♪ Abrandoned there and tied to crew ♪ ♪ Here for a season ♪ ♪ Let our hope go round ♪ ♪ Of God, my God ♪ And now may the grace of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, the love of God, our heavenly Father, the communion and fellowship of the Holy Spirit, rest and continue with each one of us now and forevermore. Amen.