TPC Connections

Sermon Notes

“A Successful Man With A Desperate Need”
6/7/26

2 Kings 5:1-5; 9-14 “The king of Syria had high admiration for Naaman, the commander-in-chief of his army, for he had led his troops to many glorious victories. So he was a great hero, but he was a leper. 2 Bands of Syrians had invaded the land of Israel, and among their captives was a little girl who had been given to Naaman’s wife as a maid. 3 One day the little girl said to her mistress, “I wish my master would go to see the prophet in Samaria. He would heal him of his leprosy!”4 Naaman told the king what the little girl had said. 5 “Go and visit the prophet,” the king told him…
9 So Naaman arrived with his horses and chariots and stood at the door of Elisha’s home. 10 Elisha sent a messenger out to tell him to go and wash in the Jordan River seven times and he would be healed of every trace of his leprosy! 11 But Naaman was angry and stalked away. “Look,” he said, “I thought at least he would come out and talk to me! I expected him to wave his hand over the leprosy and call upon the name of the Lord his God and heal me! 12 Aren’t the Abana River and Pharpar River of Damascus better than all the rivers of Israel put together? If it’s rivers I need, I’ll wash at home and get rid of my leprosy.” So he went away in a rage.”
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This man, Naaman, was an outstanding military leader.

He was popular, rich, a favorite of the king, and had many honors lavished upon him.

The Bible calls him “a mighty man of valor.”

Naaman had just about everything the world has to offer.

Yet his adoring public didn’t know that in his private life he was in trouble.

Naaman was a LEPER!

Leprosy was the most feared and dreaded disease of the ancient world—-an equal opportunity destroyer.

All Naaman’s strength, valor, victories, and money could not save him from his leprosy.
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Now, leprosy is often used as a metaphor for SIN in the Bible.

Like leprosy, Sin is often at first a private matter, but if not repented of it slowly grows until it becomes known to others.

So Naaman’s LEPROSY is a picture of SIN and how it slowly destroys all that you have–your family, your career, and ultimately your entire future.

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And today we’re going to see how Naaman’s journey toward healing has some powerful lessons for us all!

• First, he…ACKNOWLEDGED his illness.

–I read once that when the famous British scientist who discovered chloroform in the 19th century was asked “What has been your greatest discovery?”

He replied, “That I am a sinner, and that Jesus Christ is my Savior.”

This is the most important discovery anyone can make, because it is the first step toward SALVATION!

Naaman had to confront the reality of his disease.

He couldn’t just cover it up with clothes and pretend it wasn’t there.

And before you and I can be cleansed of the sin destroying our lives we must take the mask off and acknowledge that we are SINNERS.

“All have sinned and continually fall short of the glory of God,”–Ro 3:23

Without that acknowledgement there will be no healing!
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Now, God saw Naaman’s plight and, in His sovereignty, allowed a little Jewish girl to be captured in one of his raids who later became a servant to his wife.

One day she became aware of Naaman’s leprosy and told his wife about the Prophet Elisha.

“I wish my master would go to see the prophet in Samaria. He would heal him of his leprosy!”–vs 3

She brought a witness of HOPE to the family.

It was like a ray of sunshine breaking through dark clouds!

• This unknown servant girl illustrates a Christian witnessing for Christ in a suffering world.

For her the answer was the Prophet Elisha.

But for us it is the hope of Jesus Christ, the one and only Savior that can wash the leprosy of our sin away!
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The good news she brought traveled fast through Naaman’s household!

When Naaman himself heard it he immediately told his king, who quickly sent him to Israel to find the Prophet Elisha.
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Now, what happens next is that Naaman’s hope for healing came under attack.

And his story presents several roadblocks that can also hinder God’s answer to our own prayers.

First,

I. His pride

It says that Naaman went straight to Elisha’s house…

–in all his military pomp and splendor,
–riding in his Mercedes chariot,
–accompanied by all his impressive military entourage,
–and knocked on Elisha’s door.

But the great Prophet Elisha didn’t even bother answering it!

Instead, he sent a messenger to the door with a simple command,

“Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you, and you shall be clean.”—vs. 10

Naaman’s PRIDE was immediately offended.

Look at his response, “I thought at least he would come out and talk to me!”

Doesn’t he know who I am?
How famous I am? `
You don’t just send a little nobody to greet me!

So the first barricade to his healing was OFFENDED PRIDE.

LISTEN: Lust, hatred, adultery, and drunkenness have slain their thousands, but pride has slain its millions!

Prov. 16:18 “Pride goes before destruction and haughtiness before a fall.”

Pride is the root and soil in which all sin is grown!

Pride will be the culprit that causes many to be cast into the Lake of Fire on the day of judgement (Revelation 20:14)

They were too proud to admit their sin,
Too proud to come to the altar,
Too proud to risk their reputation,
Too proud to wear the name “Christian.”

So PRIDE was the first roadblock to rear its ugly head when Naaman was right on the verge of a miracle!
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Then the next roadblock to his miracle was:

II. Disappointed expectations

Naaman had a FIXED PICTURE in his mind of exactly how Elisha would perform his healing:

He said, “I expected him to wave his hand over the leprosy and call upon the name of the Lord his God and heal me!”–vs 11

• Naaman had imagined Elisha dramatically waving his hand over the leprosy while crying out to God–and THAT was how the miracle would come.

But instead, Elisha instructed Naaman to go to the Jordan River and dunk himself 7 times.

This shattered his expectations!

God wasn’t going to do it the WAY he expected.
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So instead of submitting to Elisha’s instructions, he came up with an alternative:

“Aren’t the Abana River and Pharpar River of Damascus better than all the rivers of Israel put together?”

Now here’s the thing with the 3 rivers in play here.

The two rivers of Damascus were, in Naaman’s eyes, more dignified and naturally cleaner.

The Jordan River was cold and muddy, while the rivers of Damascus were warm and clear.

The Jordan River was to Naaman’s eyes less appealing and beneath him.

–He didn’t understand that he couldn’t just take his pick of rivers to be healed in.

It had to be God’s choice!
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You see, Naaman’s issue is our issue today!

Naaman almost lost his healing by rejecting the RIVER God led him to.

The RIGHT RIVER was the only river that would bring the HEALING he needed.

And it’s the same exact thing today!

people today fail to get saved,
fail to get healed,
fail to get a breakthrough because they don’t like the RIVER God points them to.

You see, the RIVER for today is the CROSS where Jesus died for our sins, where the RIVER of His blood ran down!

We don’t like that RIVER in the same way Naaman didn’t like the Jordan River.
He wanted the RIVER that catered to his flesh, stroked his ego, and was pleasant to his senses!

And in today’s world we’re no different!

We would rather get our answers from any old river other than the Cross of Christ!

So we run to all kinds of different RIVERS.

We WADE into the RIVER of:

New Age spirituality
Self-help programs
Positive thinking

Or the RIVERS of other RELIGIONS like:

Hinduism
Buddhism
Islam
Confucianism, you name it!

Or we turn for ANSWERS to the rivers of:
Philosophy
Psychology
Science and Reason

Or to the very POPULAR RIVERS of:

Pleasure
Drugs
Alcohol

And there’s always the RIVER of some new CAUSE:

Climate activism
Political activism, or
Gender activism
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But these are all FALSE RIVERS, counterfeit solutions!

There was only ONE RIVER Naaman could go to for the healing he needed.

AND there is only ONE PLACE for the HUMAN RACE to have the leprosy of their sin washed away–the Cross where Jesus died!

Like the JORDAN, the CROSS is
not dignified,
attractive,
or desirable to the natural eye.

Paul wrote, “For the message of the cross is foolishness [absurd and illogical] to those who are perishing and spiritually dead, but to us who are being saved [by God’s grace] it is the power of God.”–1 Cor 1:18

Just as the message of the Jordan River seemed foolish, absurd, and illogical to Naaman—-so the message of the Cross seems foolish, absurd, and illogical to people lost in their sins!

But here’s the truth: Just as Naaman was commanded to “Go and wash and you will be clean!”

We today are commanded to, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.”—Acts 16:31
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But it wasn’t just the PLACE that offended Naaman, it the METHOD ordered by Elisha!

“Go to the Jordan and dip down 7 times.”

His attitude was–I need a HEALING, not a BATH!

And it’s the same with people today regarding the Cross of Christ!

For God says, Go to the Cross where Jesus died for you, and there ask Him to forgive you based on HIS SHED BLOOD.

Our attitude is, “I need freedom from the sin destroying my life—-not some man hanging on a Cross 2,000 years ago!”

But the only solution for the SIN PROBLEM is the CROSS where Jesus died for you!

So…

ACKNOWLEDGING his leprosy,
ACCEPTING God’s one and only solution, and
AGREEING to the method, Naaman went to the Jordan!

“So Naaman went down to the Jordan River and dipped himself seven times, as the prophet had told him to. And his flesh became as healthy as a little child’s, and he was healed!”—vs. 14