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Last night at Skull Church we looked at the miraculous healing of Naaman in 2 Kings chapter 5. The story is such an awesome portrait of the gospel. You have this Syrian General who, from all outward appearances, has it all together. He is rich, powerful, successful, and popular. He also has leprosy, a slow decay of his nervous system that will lead to ultimate disfigurement and death. This is a picture of what sin does to the human heart. He hears about a miracle working prophet in Israel, from a household servant, and heads off to see this Elisha guy with a truck-load of cash. This is much like the person who thinks they can earn God’s favor or buy their way into heaven with good works.

When he arrives at the prophet’s home he is surprised and disgusted that the man of God doesn’t treat him like a VIP, he doesn’t even talk to him at all! He simply sends a message telling Naaman that if he were to dip 7x in the muddy Jordan river he would be healed. In the same way that “the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing” (1 Cor 1:18) Naaman thinks this plan is the stupidest thing he has ever heard, and he almost leaves. In the end he humbles himself and does what he was told. As a result, Naaman’s leprosy was healed and his heart was transformed. He became a God-fearer and we can look forward to meeting him in heaven.

As riveting as the entire story is, to me the most exciting detail is the part played by the servant who referred him to Elisha in the first place. We don’t know her name or anything about her except that she was an Israelite that had been kidnapped and forced to live as a slave in Naaman’s house. Only two verses are given to her in the entire Bible (II Kings 5:2,3) and yet she was used powerfully by God in the healing and conversion of her influential master. How differently Naaman’s story would have gone had she not piped up. She certainly had every reason to NOT tell him about what God could do if he would make the trip to Israel. When raiding bands took slaves they often killed the men. She potentially saw her father murdered before being dragged off to live as a slave. In spite of this, she was filled with compassion and spoke spoke up in love.

We all need to realize the important role we have in the work of evangelism as we do something as simple as inviting people to a church service, an outreach or telling them about an online webcast they can watch where they will hear the gospel presented. Evangelist Greg Laurie, who has preached to over 4 million people in crusades says that says 85 percent of those who come forward at the invitation to follow Christ were brought by a friend. Opportunities to speak up are all around us and we never know what ginormous things God could do through our smallest act of faith.

History might remember the healing of Naaman as one of the miracles that God did through Elisha’s ministry, but in the Lord’s eyes this young chick was an equally important part of the process. In the end, both the one who sets and the one who spikes will receive equal spiritual rewards (1 Cor. 3:6). So look for an opportunity to be used by God today!

Posted in raw thoughts, skull church