Dr. Tony Evans is the founder and senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, founder and president of The Urban Alternative and author of over 100 books, booklets and Bible studies. The first African American to earn a doctorate of theology from Dallas Theological Seminary, he has been named one of the 12 Most Effective Preachers in the English-Speaking World by Baylor University. Dr. Evans holds the honor of writing and publishing the first full-Bible commentary and study Bible by an African American. His radio broadcast, The Alternative with Dr. Tony Evans, can be heard on over 1,400 radio outlets daily and in more than 130 countries. Dr. Evans’ sermons are also streamed and downloaded over 20,000,000 times annually.
god knows what you like he knows our
propensity
and he has compassion when we come home
come back home as quickly as possible
though your sins being scarlet
they shall be white as snow though they
be red like crimson
they shall be his wolf so whatever
inheritance whatever god
still wants to do for you to you through
you in you
don’t lose anymore jesus christ broke
the curse
so don’t ever talk about you being
cursed again if you know jesus christ
the curse the consequence of the law is
broken
the greatest miracle of all is when you
dip yourself in the blood of jesus
christ
for the forgiveness of sins and the gift
of eternal life
we’re introduced to naaman in verse 1 of
2 kings 5 where we read
now naaman captain of the army of the
king of aaron
was a great man with all with his master
highly respected because of him the lord
had given victory to aaron
the man was also a valiant water warrior
but he was a leper
this man’s resume
was impeccable
everything about him said success
like a five-star general he led the army
and he was very successful in battle
they viewed him as a great man
he was highly regarded in society
it says but he was a leper
leprosy in biblical days was a skin
disease
it was a disease of the skin that slowly
spread
bringing about lesions sores
and ultimately deformity and death
for leprosy was an incurable disease
in spite of his education he’s a leper
in spite of his notoriety he’s a leper
in spite of his financial success he’s a
leper
in spite of rewards plaques
accolades and recognition he’s a leper
because leprosy affected all of you
things are popping out on your skin
they’re eating your skin away slowly
and surely
you know something’s wrong with him
it not only affected naaman physically
because of the breakouts all over his
skin
that was eating his flesh alive
it affected him relationally
because leprosy was a communicable
disease
it was contagious so if you got too
close to him you could
catch it and so you
were as the disease progressed
you had to stay away from him so you
would not also
become a leper that meant he couldn’t
interact
normally with his family or friends
after a while
it would be too dangerous that’s why you
even see in the mosaic law
when a person with leprosy came around
they were told to say unclean unclean
they were castaways after a point
because
they were dangerous
this man was a leper
something so wrong that it messed up
everything that was so right
and there was no cure it was
incurable so he is both
simultaneously a captain a conqueror and
a castaway
most importantly leprosy is tied
to something going wrong spiritually
this man with everything right
has one thing wrong messing up
all that is right what is your leprosy
what is that one thing in your life
that is messing up all the good stuff
going for you
maybe you’re successful in your career
or with your finances or with
your educational achievements
maybe you can hand out a resume that is
impressive
but there’s that one thing
that you dare not put on it
because it’s just messing you up it’s
keeping you up at night
you cannot function like you should be
able to function
because there is this leprosy this
incurable situation you
can’t fix
that was naaman’s reality that was his
scenario he had the the butt phrase
but he was a leper the footnote on
his life affecting everything
well we’re told in verse 2 that in one
of his battles he captured a little
slave girl
the slave girl from israel went to
naaman’s wife
her mistress verse 3 and says i wish
that my master
were with the prophet who is in samaria
that he would cure him of his leprosy
she told naaman’s wife if we could get
your husband
my boss down to israel to the prophet
elisha i believe elisha could change his
leprosy
situation she was a little girl she was
a nobody in terms of
her position in life and her age in life
but she knew somebody
she had a hook up and a connection
that could change this man’s world in
this man’s life
so neiman goes to his boss the king
and says this little girl told my wife
who told me
that i may be able to get my problem
solved by the prophet
in israel
so the king watch this the king
of era verse 5 says go now and i’m going
to send a letter to the king of israel
he departed he took with him 10 talents
of silver
6 000 shekels of gold 10 changes of
clothes
brought them to the king of israel and
he says
i’ve sent name in my servant verse six
to you
that you may cure him of his leprosy
well wait a minute
that’s not what the little girl said a
little girl said there’s a prophet
in israel that can cure his leprosy
the problem is naaman went to the
federal government
name it went to the king it says
king government
um i hear there’s a solution in israel
what you think
the government said king said
i’m going to give you some money and
we’re going to throw
a budgetary solution to the problem
we’re going to fund your deliverance
and so she gave him over a million
dollars
if you would put it in today’s dollars
ten
changes are closed
and we’re gonna buy your solution
you better have somebody in your life
they may not have name and they may not
have notoriety
a little slave girl who knows somebody
who knows somebody who is able
to bring you to a divine deliverance
because we’ve already said
leprosy was incurable if he could have
fixed it it would have been fixed
if you could have fixed it it would have
been fixed
so he uses power government
he uses money
to solve the problem so the king sends
to the king of israel and tells the king
of israel
i’m paying you off to fix my captain’s
problem how’s the king of israel respond
verse 7
when the king of israel read the letter
he tore his clothes
and said am i god
to kill and make alive because it was a
life-and-death sentence leprosy
that this man is sending word for me to
cure a man of his leprosy
but consider now and see how he is
seeking a quarrel against me
well elijah hears about the king tearing
his clothes
because naaman went to the king at the
instruction of his master because
his master is listening has the wrong
approach
and elijah tells the king of israel sin
name it to me
send it to me okay so now it’s going to
get good
i mean it’s real good verse 9
so naaman came with his horses and his
chariots
and stood at the house of elisha
he knocks on elijah’s door
uh-oh verse 10 elisha sent
a messenger saying go
wash in the jordan seven times and your
flesh will be restored to you
and you will be clean
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but naaman was furious
ticked off mad
and went away and said
behold i thought i’m coming back to that
he will surely come out to me
and stand and call on the name of the
lord his god
and wave his hand hocus pocus all over
the place
and cure the leprosy
the end of verse 12 says he went away in
a rage
because he said are not ebene and far
part of the rivers of damascus better
than the waters of israel
could i not wash them and be clean
turned away
ticked off i am not
just naming i’m captain
name it do you elijah you don’t know who
you’re dealing with here
so
he says there are two rivers in damascus
in verse 12. they got these two rivers
in damascus and they got clean water
boy man name it let’s get something
straight didn’t you come here cause you
dirty
i mean you got all this puffs coming out
your skin you got all these sores on the
skin
skin you you came here cause you dirty
so watch this the reason why
naaman had issues
with the jordan is because
he didn’t understand the jordan
see for him it was a dirty river
but for elisha it was the place where
god did miracles
it was joshua with the priest stepping
in the jordan
that let the folk flow over on dry land
it was elijah and elisha at the jordan
where miracles took place if he only
understood the joy
then he would have seen more than mud
and more than dirt
he would have seen that’s the place
where god shows off
but see if you don’t know where god
shows up you’re going to bring your
edumacation you’re going to bring what
your professors say and
think you’re going to bring what the
world’s perspective
is well if it was that good you wouldn’t
be incurable
it would have been dealt with a long
time ago
yeah god lets us
be in situations that no man can fix
so that you got to deal with him on his
terms so his servant comes to him
and says verse 13 my father had the
prophet told you to do some great thing
give him another million give him this
give me would you not have done it
how much more than when he says go wash
and be clean
if he’d give you something hard you
gladly gone and done it it gives you
something easy
and now you’re going to fuss and cuss
and get mad at the prophet
so verse 14
he went down and dipped himself seven
times
in the jordan watch this according
to the word of the man of god
and his flesh was restored like the
flesh of a little child
and he was clean
don’t let your dignity keep you from
solving your problem
until obedience has been completed
you cannot expect a supernatural
incursion into your circumstances
to calm it correct it and reverse it to
whatever level the sovereign will of god
will allow for
what you and i must do is stop arguing
with god’s word
what is your leprosy
i want to tell you now related to
whatever deliverance god is going to
give you for that thing that will not go
away
that until you adopt i adopt we adopt
radical obedience that’s obedience to
the
end
even to the point of rejecting our
own perspective
or that of our friends
you’ll not see god his flesh verse 14
became like the flesh
of a little child whoa
okay don’t don’t read that too fast wait
a minute
he came to be delivered
he came up the seventh time
not only was he delivered
but god took him all the way back to
babyhood
he got delivered and restored god
reversed that
thing it took him as a grown man and it
took him to the day
he came out of his mother’s womb as a
child
or an infant god is so powerful
not only can he cure what’s been a
problem
for years he can take you back before it
was a problem
at all
that’s called exceedingly abundantly
above all you can ask or think
it says he’s saying heal me god says i’m
gonna make you like a little baby
he was healed physically but he was also
healed spiritually how do i know that
the middle of verse 15 because he says
but now i know there is no god
in all the earth but in israel
oh now i know okay my man had changed
the statement
a few verses earlier he said i hope that
his god would deliver me but now
elijah’s god has become naaman’s god
why does god leave you in an incurable
situation
leave me an incurable situation leave us
an incurable situation
so we can get around to finding out who
god really is
he doesn’t just want to be your buddy he
doesn’t want to be just another guy
he wants to show you when he shows out
and
shows off he’s in a class all by himself
now i know that there is no
other god except the god of israel
verse 17 if not please let your servant
at least be given
two mules two mules load of earth
for your servant will no longer offer
burnt offerings
nor will he sacrifice to other gods but
to the lord
he said watch this
the dirt i didn’t want to go down in
jordan
i want two loads of it and two mules
because i’m carrying this dirt back with
me
because on this dirt i’ma build me an
altar
so i can worship the only true god
i’m taking my blessing with me
everywhere i go i’m gonna make a pile of
dirt
i’m gonna set up my altar and i’m a
worship god cause guess what
when god delivers you like this
when he takes away your leprosy when he
reverses something that’s been messing
with you for days months
years and decades and you come to see
this is no joke
god is no joke he can meet you in your
deepest hole
reverse you back to a baby status you’re
gonna want that god
every place else you go
so if you got a leopard situation
something that won’t go away
and there’s another verse i want to
mention in closing
luke 4 27 says
there were many lepers in israel
this is in the new testament jesus is
talking luke 4 27 he said
there were many lepers in israel
but god healed none of them
except naaman and that’s in the new
testament
jesus is talking he said there were many
folk like naaman
in israel but none of those folk
in israel who are my people got healed
from their leprosy
except the foreigner named naaman
because he’s not a jew
what’s he saying you can be part of the
people of god and never see god work
you can come to church every week you
can be an israelite and a leper
and live the rest of your life as a
leper because you refused to do what a
foreigner did
a foreigner believed god tell the end
got a miracle to folk in church worship
god
got nothing
because of their unbelief
we have in our community
a lot of places that clean things
we have cleaners that cleans clothes
we have car washes it cleans cars
we’ve got hair salon it cleans messed up
hair
we’ve got nail salons it cleans
messed up nails and cuticles you come
out different than you went in
now the reason why you come out
different than when you went in
is when you went in you did exactly what
they asked you to do
the cleveland said give me the clothes
and turn it over to me
you turn it over to them then you back
clean clothes you hook the car
up you drive it up to the place they
tell you they hook it up
you go and you wait you do what they
tell you to do comes out clean
you put your nails over here you do you
do what they tell you to do
and you come out different but in the
church
folk come into the church dirty
hear from god what to do and leave the
same way
they came in because they refused to do
what the instruction manual demanded
so if you want to see god in your
situation
you have to put down your pride put down
your notoriety
the kingdom of god you got to go low in
spite of your
notoriety degrees money position and
power
you got to humble yourself before the
mighty hand
of god
when we do to completion what god has
said do
you’ve opened yourself up to a jordan
experience
in a dirty place
and by the way the greatest miracle of
all
is when you dip yourself in the blood of
jesus christ for the forgiveness of sins
and the gift of eternal life
[Music]
one of the great statements in the bible
is that nothing is impossible
with god when man
has run out of human solutions
and human
resolution to life’s dilemmas
you have not come yet to the end of your
rope
god is able to reverse the worst of
circumstances
god is able to heal the deepest
of physical and mental
and emotional calamity when the doctors
say there is no cure
god is able to reverse what they say
based on what he says when your friends
say
this problem can’t be solved god is able
to enter in
and fix what you thought was permanently
broken
when that relationship looks like
we can never heal god is able
to bring a bomb of healing into your
heart
your mind and yes even your body
so until god gives the last word you’ve
not yet heard the last word
no matter how many people think they’ve
given you the last word
so you don’t give up you don’t quit you
don’t throw in the towel
you fulfill all that god demands and
expects of you
you do all that he has given you to do
and you trust him for the supernatural
to enter into the natural
and absolutely nothing will make god
seem
more real to you than when he does what
men and man could not do
because we are finite and he is infinite
so keep trusting in god
return and get close to him and watch
him
take what was broken repair it
so that you can move forward in your
life with him with
others in a way that brings you good
and brings him glory
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