WEBVTT 00:00:04.650 --> 00:00:07.049 Hello and welcome to this week's episode of Trinity 00:00:07.049 --> 00:00:09.289 Sermons. This week we're beginning a brand new 00:00:09.289 --> 00:00:11.490 teaching series called Filed Away, where we're 00:00:11.490 --> 00:00:14.830 going to dive into one chapter of one book in 00:00:14.830 --> 00:00:17.050 the Old Testament. We're going to go into 2 Kings 00:00:17.050 --> 00:00:19.390 chapter 5, where we hear about the story of Naaman. 00:00:19.510 --> 00:00:21.710 And Naaman seems to have it all. He's really 00:00:21.710 --> 00:00:24.129 successful in his career, he's well -liked, he's 00:00:24.129 --> 00:00:27.170 got lots of money, but Naaman has one problem. 00:00:27.550 --> 00:00:31.879 And that problem leads him to God. So let's ask 00:00:31.879 --> 00:00:34.380 together, how do people come to seek God? And 00:00:34.380 --> 00:00:41.979 how does God meet us in our seeking? Today's 00:00:41.979 --> 00:00:47.700 reading is from 2 Kings 5, verses 1 -15. Now 00:00:47.700 --> 00:00:49.479 Naaman was commander of the army of the king 00:00:49.479 --> 00:00:51.939 of Aram. He was a great man in the sight of his 00:00:51.939 --> 00:00:54.640 master and highly regarded, because though him 00:00:54.640 --> 00:00:57.500 the Lord had given victory to Aram, he was a 00:00:57.500 --> 00:01:00.960 valiant soldier, but he had leprosy. Now bands 00:01:00.960 --> 00:01:03.299 of raiders from Aram had gone out and had taken 00:01:03.299 --> 00:01:05.980 captive a young girl from Israel, and she served 00:01:05.980 --> 00:01:09.379 Naaman's way. She said to her mistress, if only 00:01:09.379 --> 00:01:11.819 my master would see the prophet who was in Samaria, 00:01:12.000 --> 00:01:15.780 he would cure him of his leprosy. Naaman went 00:01:15.780 --> 00:01:18.040 to his master and told him what the girl from 00:01:18.040 --> 00:01:21.200 Israel had said. By all means go, the king of 00:01:21.200 --> 00:01:23.620 Aram replied. I will send a letter to the king 00:01:23.620 --> 00:01:26.599 of Israel. So Naaman left, taking with him ten 00:01:26.599 --> 00:01:29.400 talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, 00:01:29.480 --> 00:01:32.459 and ten sets of clothing. The letter that he 00:01:32.459 --> 00:01:35.060 took to the king of Israel read, With this letter 00:01:35.060 --> 00:01:37.480 I am sending my servant Naaman to you, so that 00:01:37.480 --> 00:01:40.739 you may cure him of his leprosy. As soon as the 00:01:40.739 --> 00:01:42.799 king of Israel read the letter, he tore his robes 00:01:42.799 --> 00:01:45.540 and said, Am I God? Can I kill and bring back 00:01:45.540 --> 00:01:48.200 to life? Why does this fellow send someone to 00:01:48.200 --> 00:01:51.239 me to be cured of his leprosy? See how he's trying 00:01:51.239 --> 00:01:54.409 to pick a quarrel with me? When Elisha, the man 00:01:54.409 --> 00:01:56.250 of God, heard that the king of Israel had torn 00:01:56.250 --> 00:01:59.290 his robes, he sent him this message. Why have 00:01:59.290 --> 00:02:02.409 you torn your robes? Have the man come to me 00:02:02.409 --> 00:02:04.390 and he will know that there is a prophet in Israel. 00:02:05.109 --> 00:02:07.430 So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and 00:02:07.430 --> 00:02:10.330 stopped at the door of Elisha's house. Elisha 00:02:10.330 --> 00:02:13.729 sent a messenger to say to him, Go wash yourself 00:02:13.729 --> 00:02:16.349 seven times in the Jordan and your flesh will 00:02:16.349 --> 00:02:19.689 be restored and you will be cleansed. But Naaman 00:02:19.689 --> 00:02:22.169 went away angry and said, I thought that he would 00:02:22.169 --> 00:02:24.469 surely come out to me, stand and call on the 00:02:24.469 --> 00:02:26.629 name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over 00:02:26.629 --> 00:02:30.030 the spot, and cure me of my leprosy. Are not 00:02:30.030 --> 00:02:32.830 Abana and Farpar, the rivers of Damascus, better 00:02:32.830 --> 00:02:35.789 than all the waters of Israel? Can I wash them 00:02:35.789 --> 00:02:38.629 and be cleansed? So he turned and went off in 00:02:38.629 --> 00:02:41.830 a rage. Naaman's servants went to him and said, 00:02:41.949 --> 00:02:44.909 My father, if the prophet had told you to do 00:02:44.909 --> 00:02:47.310 some great thing, would you not have done it? 00:02:47.900 --> 00:02:50.300 How much more then, when he tells you, wash and 00:02:50.300 --> 00:02:53.240 be cleansed? So he went down and dipped himself 00:02:53.240 --> 00:02:55.800 in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God 00:02:55.800 --> 00:02:58.479 had told him, and his flesh was restored and 00:02:58.479 --> 00:03:02.240 became clean like that of a young boy. Then Naaman 00:03:02.240 --> 00:03:04.000 and all his attendants went back to the man of 00:03:04.000 --> 00:03:07.120 God. He stood before him and said, Now I know 00:03:07.120 --> 00:03:09.099 that there is no God in all the world except 00:03:09.099 --> 00:03:13.599 in Israel. The word of the Lord. In August of 00:03:13.599 --> 00:03:16.939 2022, something really strange happened down 00:03:16.939 --> 00:03:23.479 in Palm Beach, Florida. At 8 .31 on August 8th, 00:03:23.479 --> 00:03:27.979 FBI agents arrived at Mar -a -Lago, the personal 00:03:27.979 --> 00:03:31.900 residence of President Donald Trump. And they 00:03:31.900 --> 00:03:35.219 came with a search warrant that had been derived 00:03:35.219 --> 00:03:38.860 after months of subpoenas and surveillance. And 00:03:38.860 --> 00:03:44.430 the charge was this. retention of classified 00:03:44.430 --> 00:03:47.629 documents. Could it be? Could it be that President 00:03:47.629 --> 00:03:51.750 Trump was hiding in his own house classified 00:03:51.750 --> 00:03:55.490 and secret files? Well, agents poured into his 00:03:55.490 --> 00:03:57.810 house and they went to work searching everywhere. 00:03:58.009 --> 00:04:00.069 They searched under the floorboards, nothing. 00:04:00.229 --> 00:04:03.150 They searched through the ceiling tiles, nothing. 00:04:03.210 --> 00:04:06.310 They searched under the mattress, nothing. But 00:04:06.310 --> 00:04:11.090 then Eureka, the motherlode, they found them 00:04:11.090 --> 00:04:17.500 hiding in plain. over 100 classified files, some 00:04:17.500 --> 00:04:21.279 of them marked top secret, not hidden in a secure 00:04:21.279 --> 00:04:24.579 facility, not hidden behind some false wall, 00:04:24.800 --> 00:04:29.199 but hidden in the bathroom. That's right. There 00:04:29.199 --> 00:04:31.579 they were. They were stacked beside the toilet. 00:04:31.720 --> 00:04:33.560 They were stacked beside the sink. They were 00:04:33.560 --> 00:04:37.480 stacked beside the shower. It was strange but 00:04:37.480 --> 00:04:40.720 true. I mean, who doesn't enjoy a little light 00:04:40.720 --> 00:04:44.689 reading when they're on the can, I guess. Which 00:04:44.689 --> 00:04:47.269 leaves us with two questions. Two questions. 00:04:47.350 --> 00:04:51.069 How could something so important be hidden in 00:04:51.069 --> 00:04:54.750 such an ordinary place? And the second question 00:04:54.750 --> 00:04:59.490 is, what was in those files that he decided he 00:04:59.490 --> 00:05:02.689 had to hold onto them so carefully? Now, someone 00:05:02.689 --> 00:05:04.629 knows the answer to that question. It's certainly 00:05:04.629 --> 00:05:08.730 not me. But we can all rest easy knowing that 00:05:08.730 --> 00:05:12.019 this case is now in the hands of the... Justice 00:05:12.019 --> 00:05:15.540 Department, and the FBI of the United States 00:05:15.540 --> 00:05:19.319 of America. I'm probably going to be on a no 00:05:19.319 --> 00:05:24.110 -fly list now for saying all this. Speaking of 00:05:24.110 --> 00:05:26.670 investigations, though, this morning we are opening 00:05:26.670 --> 00:05:28.709 another file. This is a file that has been hidden 00:05:28.709 --> 00:05:31.790 for a long, long time. It hasn't been hidden 00:05:31.790 --> 00:05:34.310 in Florida. It's not hidden in Washington, but 00:05:34.310 --> 00:05:38.230 it's hidden in our own Bibles. If you were to 00:05:38.230 --> 00:05:40.810 flip through your Bible, you would eventually 00:05:40.810 --> 00:05:43.870 come to this one file, just really one page of 00:05:43.870 --> 00:05:47.509 your Bible that I like to call the Naaman file. 00:05:47.870 --> 00:05:50.389 And it's this little story. It's tucked away 00:05:50.389 --> 00:05:54.399 in 2 Kings chapter... Chapter 5, it's hidden 00:05:54.399 --> 00:05:56.319 in plain sight. I mean, if you are not paying 00:05:56.319 --> 00:05:58.500 attention, you are going to go right past it. 00:05:58.540 --> 00:06:00.420 And you might say, well, okay, fine, Rob. The 00:06:00.420 --> 00:06:02.319 Bible is full of stuff that I've never read. 00:06:02.459 --> 00:06:05.620 Why is this one page, this one file so important? 00:06:05.740 --> 00:06:07.519 I mean, if it's so important, why is it hidden 00:06:07.519 --> 00:06:09.699 away? It can't be that important. You're wrong. 00:06:09.939 --> 00:06:13.519 You're wrong, actually. There is more here, something 00:06:13.519 --> 00:06:16.439 more transformative, something more revealing, 00:06:16.579 --> 00:06:19.759 something more important is here in the name 00:06:19.759 --> 00:06:22.730 and file than anywhere in the file. files of 00:06:22.730 --> 00:06:26.209 Mar -a -Lago. So for the next three weeks, this 00:06:26.209 --> 00:06:27.829 is what we're going to do. We're going to leaf 00:06:27.829 --> 00:06:31.490 through the Naaman file together. And we are 00:06:31.490 --> 00:06:33.829 going to see that though this case has in some 00:06:33.829 --> 00:06:37.410 ways been closed for like 2 ,500 years, I mean, 00:06:37.430 --> 00:06:40.250 this story happened 500 years before Jesus was 00:06:40.250 --> 00:06:44.250 even born. It's the mother load, folks. It has 00:06:44.250 --> 00:06:47.769 everything. It contains everything that you need 00:06:47.769 --> 00:06:50.970 to know about two really, really important questions. 00:06:52.029 --> 00:06:56.910 Why do people seek God? And secondly, how do 00:06:56.910 --> 00:06:59.990 people find God? Those are the two questions 00:06:59.990 --> 00:07:01.930 we're going to tackle today. You received some 00:07:01.930 --> 00:07:04.050 sermon notes when you came in, so you can kind 00:07:04.050 --> 00:07:06.910 of follow along and make sure that we all get 00:07:06.910 --> 00:07:09.649 the most out of the name and file. But let's 00:07:09.649 --> 00:07:12.769 just start with this first question. Why do people 00:07:12.769 --> 00:07:17.069 seek God? What causes someone to go on a search 00:07:17.069 --> 00:07:20.589 to find God? What has to be going on in their 00:07:20.589 --> 00:07:23.129 lives? I have to tell you that the story of Naaman 00:07:23.129 --> 00:07:26.540 that we just read, Naaman is the... most unlikely 00:07:26.540 --> 00:07:30.379 person to go seeking for God and to find God. 00:07:30.439 --> 00:07:35.060 First of all, Naaman is a Syrian general. And 00:07:35.060 --> 00:07:38.740 the Syrians were like arch enemies of the Israelites. 00:07:38.899 --> 00:07:42.240 In fact, even at this time, I believe they were 00:07:42.240 --> 00:07:45.579 engaged in a war. And even at this time, I believe 00:07:45.579 --> 00:07:48.399 that Syria, Naaman and his armies were in fact 00:07:48.399 --> 00:07:52.040 victorious or winning the war against Israel. 00:07:52.160 --> 00:07:57.180 So why? Why would Naaman, a rich guy, a powerful 00:07:57.180 --> 00:07:59.600 guy, an accomplished guy, an all -around good 00:07:59.600 --> 00:08:03.920 guy, why would he, a Syrian commander, go to 00:08:03.920 --> 00:08:07.959 Israel? Israel seeking for God. He had everything. 00:08:08.220 --> 00:08:11.379 It would be like if you found out that Elon Musk 00:08:11.379 --> 00:08:13.720 was sneaking into the back of Trinity services 00:08:13.720 --> 00:08:18.420 to listen to the sermons. Why? Would he do that? 00:08:18.560 --> 00:08:23.279 Why do people seek after God? Maybe you've heard 00:08:23.279 --> 00:08:27.959 about this so -called Gen Z revival. Have you 00:08:27.959 --> 00:08:31.220 guys heard about this? This idea that people 00:08:31.220 --> 00:08:35.639 who are in Generation Z are flocking back to 00:08:35.639 --> 00:08:38.200 churches. They're rediscovering Christianity. 00:08:38.600 --> 00:08:41.259 It makes for great headlines. Although it must 00:08:41.259 --> 00:08:43.539 be said that just this past week, Pew Research 00:08:43.539 --> 00:08:46.659 published an article that said, okay, okay, okay. 00:08:47.320 --> 00:08:49.440 They're not actually all flocking back to church. 00:08:49.519 --> 00:08:52.779 And maybe we've embellished the numbers a bit, 00:08:52.840 --> 00:08:56.279 but they are searching, right? Generation Z is 00:08:56.279 --> 00:08:59.440 searching. They're Googling for things at 2 a 00:08:59.440 --> 00:09:02.500 .m. They're journaling, right? They're praying 00:09:02.500 --> 00:09:05.299 under their covers. They're scrolling through 00:09:05.299 --> 00:09:09.659 TikToks about spirituality. But why? Why do people 00:09:09.659 --> 00:09:15.159 seek God? Maybe a better question is, why are 00:09:15.159 --> 00:09:18.269 you seeking God? Why do you see? Why did you? 00:09:18.700 --> 00:09:22.879 seek after God? Guys, the answers are all in 00:09:22.879 --> 00:09:26.200 the Naaman file. So let's open the file and see 00:09:26.200 --> 00:09:28.500 what we can find. Here is the first answer to 00:09:28.500 --> 00:09:30.740 the question, why people seek God. According 00:09:30.740 --> 00:09:34.299 to the Naaman file, people seek God when they 00:09:34.299 --> 00:09:36.980 finally come to this place where they realize 00:09:36.980 --> 00:09:41.259 that they cannot help themselves, where they 00:09:41.259 --> 00:09:44.139 realize they are out of their depth, and they 00:09:44.139 --> 00:09:46.980 realize that they do not have the ability. They 00:09:46.980 --> 00:09:51.370 do not have the self -sufficiency to solve their 00:09:51.370 --> 00:09:55.080 own problems. I mean, let's look at Naaman. Naaman 00:09:55.080 --> 00:09:58.360 was probably the most talented, most capable 00:09:58.360 --> 00:10:00.840 person you would ever meet. I mean, verse 1 reads 00:10:00.840 --> 00:10:04.279 like a resume. Naaman, he was a commander of 00:10:04.279 --> 00:10:08.519 the army. He was a great man. He was highly regarded. 00:10:08.919 --> 00:10:13.019 He was victorious. He was a valiant soldier. 00:10:13.179 --> 00:10:14.659 I mean, this guy is amazing. Do you know that 00:10:14.659 --> 00:10:17.139 even the name Naaman, do you know what it means? 00:10:17.279 --> 00:10:22.879 It means pleasant. Naaman was a good guy. He 00:10:22.879 --> 00:10:25.960 had every single thing going for him. He was 00:10:25.960 --> 00:10:28.419 successful. He was strong. He was popular. He 00:10:28.419 --> 00:10:31.919 was pleasant. This file reads like a profile 00:10:31.919 --> 00:10:36.940 piece, right? Until you get to one sentence that 00:10:36.940 --> 00:10:41.539 changes everything. But he had leprosy. That 00:10:41.539 --> 00:10:46.940 terrible, wasting skin disease. And here it is 00:10:46.940 --> 00:10:50.789 that we realize. Sometimes there are problems 00:10:50.789 --> 00:10:55.250 you just can't fix for yourself. No matter how 00:10:55.250 --> 00:10:58.690 great your resume might be, no matter how wonderful 00:10:58.690 --> 00:11:01.129 of a designer life you might have created for 00:11:01.129 --> 00:11:05.230 yourself, right? There is always something. There 00:11:05.230 --> 00:11:08.090 will always be something you can't handle. There 00:11:08.090 --> 00:11:10.029 will always be something that will come along 00:11:10.029 --> 00:11:13.529 and ruin everything. And it might come from the 00:11:13.529 --> 00:11:15.980 outside. right it might be like the death of 00:11:15.980 --> 00:11:18.740 a loved one it might be like a relationship broke 00:11:18.740 --> 00:11:20.980 down for you maybe the doctor called and and 00:11:20.980 --> 00:11:23.820 you found out you had an illness maybe it was 00:11:23.820 --> 00:11:26.559 a financial crisis you were going through or 00:11:26.559 --> 00:11:30.159 relational betrayal i tell you no amount of success 00:11:30.159 --> 00:11:33.720 no amount of power no amount of of achievement 00:11:33.720 --> 00:11:37.500 can shield you from those things that are gonna 00:11:37.500 --> 00:11:41.559 come and happen to you or or maybe or maybe It 00:11:41.559 --> 00:11:45.000 all started from the inside, right? Anxiety that 00:11:45.000 --> 00:11:47.500 destroyed you, resentment that brought you down, 00:11:47.580 --> 00:11:51.620 bitterness, addiction, you know, pride. I don't 00:11:51.620 --> 00:11:55.799 know. The point is that at some point, something 00:11:55.799 --> 00:12:00.779 is going to rise up and it is going to take you 00:12:00.779 --> 00:12:05.840 down. And you will realize at that moment that 00:12:05.840 --> 00:12:09.759 all your self -sufficiency cannot help you. It 00:12:09.759 --> 00:12:14.240 isn't enough. It never was enough. You don't 00:12:14.240 --> 00:12:17.179 have what it takes to overcome your problems. 00:12:17.259 --> 00:12:21.779 And it is at that point. And it is probably not 00:12:21.779 --> 00:12:26.120 until you come to that point that you will start 00:12:26.120 --> 00:12:30.480 really, really seeking God. I mean, Naaman's 00:12:30.480 --> 00:12:33.720 file, it looks flawless. Maybe your file looks 00:12:33.720 --> 00:12:35.879 flawless too, by the way. You're all some pretty 00:12:35.879 --> 00:12:37.899 accomplished people here this morning. But I'll 00:12:37.899 --> 00:12:40.419 tell you, every case, every file has something 00:12:40.419 --> 00:12:44.639 in it, something hidden that reveals the truth. 00:12:46.039 --> 00:12:49.919 We aren't as strong as we look. We can't handle 00:12:49.919 --> 00:12:55.360 things on our own. We need help. We need God. 00:12:56.819 --> 00:12:59.639 That's the first reason why people go seeking 00:12:59.639 --> 00:13:02.059 for God. This second one, by the way, in your 00:13:02.059 --> 00:13:04.960 notes has a bit of a typo. But there's another 00:13:04.960 --> 00:13:06.960 reason why people go seeking for God. And it's 00:13:06.960 --> 00:13:10.200 not just that we realize that we can't help ourselves. 00:13:10.379 --> 00:13:13.059 It's actually we realize that the world can't 00:13:13.059 --> 00:13:16.059 help us either. Other people can't help us either. 00:13:16.159 --> 00:13:20.059 The system can't help us either. You see, when 00:13:20.059 --> 00:13:22.379 Naaman realizes that he can't help himself, what 00:13:22.379 --> 00:13:24.720 does he do? He goes looking to the world for 00:13:24.720 --> 00:13:27.710 help. He heard that, oh, maybe there's someone 00:13:27.710 --> 00:13:30.809 down in Israel who could help him. And so he 00:13:30.809 --> 00:13:32.690 says, I know how the world works. I know how 00:13:32.690 --> 00:13:34.809 the world works. I know how to get what I want 00:13:34.809 --> 00:13:37.370 from the world. And so he heads off to Israel 00:13:37.370 --> 00:13:38.990 and he takes with him the three things that he 00:13:38.990 --> 00:13:41.350 thinks get you what you want in the world. He 00:13:41.350 --> 00:13:44.789 takes money. He takes his connections. And, of 00:13:44.789 --> 00:13:48.000 course, he goes taking his own power. But because 00:13:48.000 --> 00:13:50.360 that's how the world works, right? He takes money. 00:13:50.480 --> 00:13:52.960 He takes lots of money. You know, scholars argue 00:13:52.960 --> 00:13:55.539 over how much money this is. Some people say 00:13:55.539 --> 00:13:57.720 like Naaman could very well have been like a 00:13:57.720 --> 00:14:00.779 billionaire, that kind of money. Why would he 00:14:00.779 --> 00:14:02.620 take so much money? Because that's how the world 00:14:02.620 --> 00:14:04.659 works. That's how you get things from the world. 00:14:04.700 --> 00:14:09.169 Money talks. Money gets you things, right? Second, 00:14:09.389 --> 00:14:11.750 he takes his connections. I find this funny. 00:14:12.049 --> 00:14:14.590 Naaman had all these connections with all the 00:14:14.590 --> 00:14:17.129 people at the top, the people at the very top. 00:14:17.210 --> 00:14:20.809 He has a letter of reference from the king himself 00:14:20.809 --> 00:14:23.950 that he takes down to Syria because Naaman knows 00:14:23.950 --> 00:14:25.230 that in the world, you know how you get things 00:14:25.230 --> 00:14:28.230 done? It's not what you know. It is who you know. 00:14:28.409 --> 00:14:31.889 And that's why he goes looking for help. And 00:14:31.889 --> 00:14:33.889 where does he go when he's looking for help? 00:14:34.009 --> 00:14:36.519 He goes. To Israel, and he goes straight to the 00:14:36.519 --> 00:14:39.120 top there. He goes straight to the king there, 00:14:39.379 --> 00:14:41.919 right? He says, king, from my king to your king, 00:14:41.980 --> 00:14:44.220 here is a letter of reference. I'm here to get 00:14:44.220 --> 00:14:46.500 the help I need. Look at the connections I have. 00:14:46.659 --> 00:14:48.659 Now give me what I want. But the world can't 00:14:48.659 --> 00:14:51.879 give him what he wants. And the third thing is, 00:14:51.980 --> 00:14:54.620 he goes with all his power. We're going to see 00:14:54.620 --> 00:14:57.279 this a little later in the reading, but Naaman. 00:14:57.799 --> 00:15:01.100 is fully prepared to do anything to get his cure. 00:15:01.200 --> 00:15:05.259 He is willing to do the most courageous task 00:15:05.259 --> 00:15:08.600 to accomplish the bravest feat, whatever it will 00:15:08.600 --> 00:15:12.360 take, whatever he must do, he is willing to do 00:15:12.360 --> 00:15:15.379 it to earn his cure. He's got the money. He's 00:15:15.379 --> 00:15:17.899 got the connections. He's got the power. And 00:15:17.899 --> 00:15:19.940 usually if you have these things, then you can 00:15:19.940 --> 00:15:24.080 get what you want from the world. But Naaman 00:15:24.080 --> 00:15:26.460 finds out those things aren't going to help him 00:15:26.460 --> 00:15:29.950 either. When he gets to Israel and he brings 00:15:29.950 --> 00:15:32.289 all his money and all his connections and power 00:15:32.289 --> 00:15:33.970 to the king, the king of Israel starts freaking 00:15:33.970 --> 00:15:36.830 out. He's like, well, what are you doing? I can't 00:15:36.830 --> 00:15:40.049 help you. He says, you think I'm God? You think 00:15:40.049 --> 00:15:43.090 I can sort out your problem for you? Can I bring 00:15:43.090 --> 00:15:46.049 people back to life? You think I can heal you? 00:15:46.129 --> 00:15:48.950 You think that's how it works down here? I don't 00:15:48.950 --> 00:15:51.250 even know where to begin. He starts ripping his 00:15:51.250 --> 00:15:54.429 clothing. He is so frustrated. Naaman, he says, 00:15:54.450 --> 00:15:56.870 that's not how it works. That's not how it works. 00:15:56.889 --> 00:15:58.669 You want healing. I can't help you with that. 00:15:59.129 --> 00:16:01.250 If you want healing, you can't get that here, 00:16:01.370 --> 00:16:03.889 right? The world can't give that to you. That 00:16:03.889 --> 00:16:09.190 is something only God can give you. Now, I don't 00:16:09.190 --> 00:16:11.269 think we should be too hard on Naaman because 00:16:11.269 --> 00:16:15.649 in many ways, we're all just like Naaman, right? 00:16:15.710 --> 00:16:18.149 When we have trouble, where do we go, right? 00:16:18.830 --> 00:16:21.610 We look to money. We look to our connections. 00:16:22.429 --> 00:16:24.649 We look to our own power. We go to the top. We 00:16:24.649 --> 00:16:26.970 go to the top doctors. We go to the top lawyers. 00:16:27.350 --> 00:16:30.610 We go to the top scholars. Go to the top authors. 00:16:30.769 --> 00:16:33.009 We listen to the top podcasts, whatever. We're 00:16:33.009 --> 00:16:36.269 always looking to the world to get the answers 00:16:36.269 --> 00:16:38.549 to our big problems. But Naaman ends up learning 00:16:38.549 --> 00:16:42.169 what we all have to learn. And that is all of 00:16:42.169 --> 00:16:44.190 us will come to a point, and actually maybe some 00:16:44.190 --> 00:16:45.929 of you here, you've already come to this point 00:16:45.929 --> 00:16:47.669 through life experience, where we're going to 00:16:47.669 --> 00:16:50.250 realize that not only can we not help ourselves, 00:16:51.149 --> 00:16:55.230 But the world also can't help us either. And 00:16:55.230 --> 00:16:59.350 until we realize those two things, we really 00:16:59.350 --> 00:17:02.690 won't turn to God. And we really won't start 00:17:02.690 --> 00:17:08.309 seeking after God. Now, if that is where the 00:17:08.309 --> 00:17:12.470 name and file ended, it'd be a pretty sad file, 00:17:12.650 --> 00:17:14.309 depressing. Might as well just put it in the 00:17:14.309 --> 00:17:17.309 paper shredder and forget about it. But no, there 00:17:17.309 --> 00:17:20.119 is more. to this file than that. Because the 00:17:20.119 --> 00:17:23.160 file doesn't just tell us why people seek for 00:17:23.160 --> 00:17:25.660 God. It actually ends up telling us how people 00:17:25.660 --> 00:17:28.779 end up finding God. If you read the name and 00:17:28.779 --> 00:17:31.400 file carefully, you will see he discovers, again, 00:17:31.539 --> 00:17:34.779 he discovers two things. And they are, in fact, 00:17:34.779 --> 00:17:37.400 the same two discoveries that all of us must 00:17:37.400 --> 00:17:42.019 come to if we are really going to find God in 00:17:42.019 --> 00:17:43.960 our lives. I'm telling you guys, the name and 00:17:43.960 --> 00:17:47.019 file is super important. super important. Here 00:17:47.019 --> 00:17:50.160 is the first thing we learn from the Naaman file, 00:17:50.220 --> 00:17:56.819 that if we want to find God, that will only happen 00:17:56.819 --> 00:18:02.039 when we finally figure out what our real need 00:18:02.039 --> 00:18:06.519 is. When we finally figure out what our biggest 00:18:06.519 --> 00:18:10.589 problem really is. You see, Whatever problem 00:18:10.589 --> 00:18:13.069 you have, whatever problem you have, we need 00:18:13.069 --> 00:18:15.630 to realize that our presenting problem is actually 00:18:15.630 --> 00:18:19.490 not our biggest problem. Whatever we think we 00:18:19.490 --> 00:18:21.410 need, we have to understand that our biggest 00:18:21.410 --> 00:18:25.390 need is actually not our biggest need. There 00:18:25.390 --> 00:18:28.170 are problems, bigger problems beyond your problems. 00:18:28.369 --> 00:18:31.609 And there is a bigger need beyond your needs. 00:18:31.789 --> 00:18:33.609 So I'm just going to come out and say it and 00:18:33.609 --> 00:18:36.329 then we can talk about it. But the biggest need 00:18:36.329 --> 00:18:42.200 we have. is to have a relationship with God. 00:18:42.740 --> 00:18:45.599 The biggest problem we have in life is when we 00:18:45.599 --> 00:18:48.000 don't have a relationship with God. Now, I am 00:18:48.000 --> 00:18:51.480 not trying to downplay or minimize any needs 00:18:51.480 --> 00:18:54.700 or any problems that we may have in our lives 00:18:54.700 --> 00:18:57.680 or downplay any of the real needs and real struggles 00:18:57.680 --> 00:19:00.259 and real problems that we see in our world all 00:19:00.259 --> 00:19:04.500 the time. But I will say this, no matter how 00:19:04.500 --> 00:19:08.700 big the need, There is one need that is above 00:19:08.700 --> 00:19:14.839 them all. We need a relationship with God. Put 00:19:14.839 --> 00:19:18.220 another way. We don't just need something from 00:19:18.220 --> 00:19:26.420 God. We need God. We need God more than we need 00:19:26.420 --> 00:19:31.039 a solution to our problem. So, you know, maybe 00:19:31.039 --> 00:19:33.420 you would say, well, then my biggest need, in 00:19:33.420 --> 00:19:37.430 fact. is not my need to get a job. My biggest 00:19:37.430 --> 00:19:41.269 need is not to get healed. My biggest need, I 00:19:41.269 --> 00:19:42.730 mean, these are all real needs, but my biggest 00:19:42.730 --> 00:19:46.849 need is not to get out of debt. Our biggest need 00:19:46.849 --> 00:19:50.549 is a relationship with God. That is the first 00:19:50.549 --> 00:19:53.670 step to finding God. Do you guys remember this 00:19:53.670 --> 00:19:56.509 story? Remember the story from the New Testament 00:19:56.509 --> 00:20:00.869 in the Bible? where four friends bring this paralyzed 00:20:00.869 --> 00:20:04.049 man to Jesus. It's a very familiar story. It 00:20:04.049 --> 00:20:06.369 seems obvious when they bring their paralyzed 00:20:06.369 --> 00:20:09.730 friend to Jesus what his need is. Obviously, 00:20:09.730 --> 00:20:14.170 he needs to walk. Jesus, he's paralyzed. But 00:20:14.170 --> 00:20:18.349 then Jesus says to the man, he says, son, your 00:20:18.349 --> 00:20:22.369 sins are forgiven. And I'm sure his friends were 00:20:22.369 --> 00:20:27.680 like. Yeah, okay, but obviously that's not what 00:20:27.680 --> 00:20:31.940 we brought him here for. To which Jesus would 00:20:31.940 --> 00:20:35.400 probably say, well, that just goes to show you 00:20:35.400 --> 00:20:38.859 don't know what his deepest need is. The real 00:20:38.859 --> 00:20:42.420 problem isn't that he can't walk. The real problem 00:20:42.420 --> 00:20:44.980 is that he doesn't have a relationship with God. 00:20:45.059 --> 00:20:48.279 The real problem is that he's not right with 00:20:48.279 --> 00:20:53.819 God. Naaman. Had leprosy. Yes, that is a real 00:20:53.819 --> 00:20:57.940 problem. But he also had no connection with the 00:20:57.940 --> 00:21:00.640 living God of Israel. And that is the bigger 00:21:00.640 --> 00:21:03.900 problem. Now, I know you can look at the story 00:21:03.900 --> 00:21:06.220 and you can say, ah, Rob, but look, see, see, 00:21:06.259 --> 00:21:09.960 God does heal Naaman. God does solve his problem. 00:21:10.099 --> 00:21:13.420 But if you look closer, look closer. When Naaman 00:21:13.420 --> 00:21:17.190 was cured. Notice what he says when he comes 00:21:17.190 --> 00:21:19.869 up out of the water and his flesh is restored. 00:21:19.990 --> 00:21:25.089 He looks like a newborn baby. He says to Elisha, 00:21:25.089 --> 00:21:28.250 he says, thanks for meeting my need. No, that's 00:21:28.250 --> 00:21:30.089 not what he says. Let me read that again. He 00:21:30.089 --> 00:21:34.309 says, thanks for solving my problem. No, he doesn't 00:21:34.309 --> 00:21:36.490 say that either. If you look at what does he 00:21:36.490 --> 00:21:42.089 say? He says, now I know. that there is no God 00:21:42.089 --> 00:21:49.009 in all the world except in Israel. Now I know 00:21:49.009 --> 00:21:56.289 God. The leprosy was gone. Yes, but more than 00:21:56.289 --> 00:21:59.289 that, he had finally encountered the living God. 00:21:59.869 --> 00:22:03.049 Naaman went down to Israel looking for a cure 00:22:03.049 --> 00:22:07.660 to leprosy, but what he found was God. Naaman 00:22:07.660 --> 00:22:11.099 washed seven times in the Jordan River, but not 00:22:11.099 --> 00:22:15.240 only did he develop new skin, he developed a 00:22:15.240 --> 00:22:21.039 new faith. And this is true of all people who 00:22:21.039 --> 00:22:24.599 find God. People who find God don't just find 00:22:24.599 --> 00:22:28.440 a solution, they find a savior. They come to 00:22:28.440 --> 00:22:31.880 realize that the problem that they thought they 00:22:31.880 --> 00:22:35.480 had wasn't in fact their biggest problem, the 00:22:35.480 --> 00:22:38.500 bigger problem. Was that they actually didn't 00:22:38.500 --> 00:22:40.819 know God. That they didn't have a relationship 00:22:40.819 --> 00:22:44.119 with God. You this morning. Again you might have 00:22:44.119 --> 00:22:46.640 financial problems. You might have relationship 00:22:46.640 --> 00:22:50.660 problems. These are real real problems. I'm not 00:22:50.660 --> 00:22:53.700 downplaying them. But they're not your biggest 00:22:53.700 --> 00:22:58.539 need. Your biggest need. Is to have a relationship 00:22:58.539 --> 00:23:01.400 with God. Because if you had that. And this is 00:23:01.400 --> 00:23:05.180 important. If you had that. Then you would actually 00:23:05.180 --> 00:23:08.779 find. That these other problems don't destroy 00:23:08.779 --> 00:23:12.319 you. They don't consume you. They don't ruin 00:23:12.319 --> 00:23:14.940 you. Why? Because you've got this other thing. 00:23:15.039 --> 00:23:18.500 You've got this something, this someone, this 00:23:18.500 --> 00:23:22.819 God who is more significant than anything else 00:23:22.819 --> 00:23:25.940 and therefore gives you a surety and a confidence 00:23:25.940 --> 00:23:28.940 and a hope and a security in your life that you 00:23:28.940 --> 00:23:31.700 can get through anything if you have that God. 00:23:32.400 --> 00:23:34.720 You know, in other words, people who find God. 00:23:35.039 --> 00:23:39.079 They don't just find the answer to a problem, 00:23:39.299 --> 00:23:44.980 right? They find a God who will walk them through 00:23:44.980 --> 00:23:50.359 any problem. That's what the Naaman file shows 00:23:50.359 --> 00:23:54.180 us. All people who come to God and find God must 00:23:54.180 --> 00:23:58.819 first figure out what their real need is. But 00:23:58.819 --> 00:24:04.299 lastly, lastly, everyone who finds God. also 00:24:04.299 --> 00:24:08.980 discovers what Naaman discovered. And that is 00:24:08.980 --> 00:24:12.440 that our salvation is something that we receive. 00:24:12.779 --> 00:24:17.539 It is not something that we achieve. This, I 00:24:17.539 --> 00:24:19.500 would say, is the most important finding in the 00:24:19.500 --> 00:24:22.240 whole of the Naaman file. Here's what happens. 00:24:22.299 --> 00:24:24.759 When Naaman goes to the prophet Elijah's place 00:24:24.759 --> 00:24:27.619 and he goes to get his healing, he ends up being 00:24:27.619 --> 00:24:30.539 really, really upset. Why is he upset? Well, 00:24:30.579 --> 00:24:33.279 for three reasons, really. First, Naaman's upset 00:24:33.279 --> 00:24:35.740 because the prophet didn't even come out to meet 00:24:35.740 --> 00:24:38.099 with him. And so he's like, doesn't he know who 00:24:38.099 --> 00:24:41.099 I am? Doesn't he know how important of a person 00:24:41.099 --> 00:24:43.380 I am? Why doesn't he even come out in person? 00:24:43.420 --> 00:24:46.299 He just sends his servant out to give me a message. 00:24:46.420 --> 00:24:48.940 I'm an important guy. See, he's already being 00:24:48.940 --> 00:24:54.069 humbled here, okay? Secondly, Naaman wanted Elisha 00:24:54.069 --> 00:24:57.349 to conjure up some Harry Potter spell and do 00:24:57.349 --> 00:25:03.849 some spectacular thing. So that he would feel 00:25:03.849 --> 00:25:06.650 special like that. But Elisha won't do that either. 00:25:06.930 --> 00:25:08.970 And the reason is because Elisha wants to make 00:25:08.970 --> 00:25:10.990 very clear that this healing he's about to get 00:25:10.990 --> 00:25:15.130 is from God and not from Elisha. But third, and 00:25:15.130 --> 00:25:17.769 I think this is the most significant one. Naaman's 00:25:17.769 --> 00:25:20.819 upset because he wanted to do something. He wanted 00:25:20.819 --> 00:25:25.559 to do some mighty thing for God. Like Bilbo. 00:25:25.660 --> 00:25:28.900 He wanted to go to the Lonely Mountain and kill 00:25:28.900 --> 00:25:31.900 the dragon himself. Or like Frodo. He wanted 00:25:31.900 --> 00:25:34.140 to take the ring of power. And he wanted to go 00:25:34.140 --> 00:25:37.900 to Mount Doom and throw it in there. Or like 00:25:37.900 --> 00:25:41.980 Dorothy. Go and get me the broomstick of the 00:25:41.980 --> 00:25:43.940 Wicked Witch of the West. Naaman would have said, 00:25:43.980 --> 00:25:47.099 I can do it. I will go do it. I'll accomplish 00:25:47.099 --> 00:25:50.400 it on my own. This is how Naaman. thought that 00:25:50.400 --> 00:25:54.099 salvation works, strong people, people like Naaman, 00:25:54.119 --> 00:25:56.039 they should be able to earn it. That's what they 00:25:56.039 --> 00:25:58.980 want to do. I don't know if you guys remember 00:25:58.980 --> 00:26:03.200 the story of Hercules. Hercules, to attain eternal 00:26:03.200 --> 00:26:06.380 life, Hercules had to do these 12 like incredible 00:26:06.380 --> 00:26:10.240 tasks. He had to kill the Nemean lion. He had 00:26:10.240 --> 00:26:13.920 to clean out the Aegean stables in like one day. 00:26:14.140 --> 00:26:17.019 And I got to tell you, this idea is deeply, deeply 00:26:17.019 --> 00:26:20.240 embedded in each and every one of us that to 00:26:20.240 --> 00:26:23.339 get God's blessing, surely, surely, surely, there's 00:26:23.339 --> 00:26:27.359 something I have to do to earn it. But just go 00:26:27.359 --> 00:26:33.279 wash in a river. Any idiot can do that. Any child 00:26:33.279 --> 00:26:36.400 could go and do that. A weakling could do that. 00:26:36.440 --> 00:26:39.259 Wait, Naaman says, are you saying that there 00:26:39.259 --> 00:26:43.160 is no difference between me and people like that? 00:26:43.279 --> 00:26:46.980 And that is exactly what Elisha is saying. Exactly 00:26:46.980 --> 00:26:49.160 what God is saying. It's exactly what Paul said 00:26:49.160 --> 00:26:51.900 in Romans 3, 23. For all have sinned. All have 00:26:51.900 --> 00:26:55.140 sinned. and fallen short of the glory of God. 00:26:55.200 --> 00:26:57.799 There is no difference between the prostitute 00:26:57.799 --> 00:27:00.380 and the king. There is no difference between 00:27:00.380 --> 00:27:04.619 the beggar and the commander. Everyone is in 00:27:04.619 --> 00:27:07.900 the same boat. Salvation is not something that 00:27:07.900 --> 00:27:10.900 you achieve. It is something that you receive. 00:27:11.740 --> 00:27:14.279 And actually... And actually the servants of 00:27:14.279 --> 00:27:15.839 Naaman know this better. They're like, listen, 00:27:15.960 --> 00:27:17.880 listen, listen, master, master, before you run 00:27:17.880 --> 00:27:19.819 away, before you go all the way back to Syria 00:27:19.819 --> 00:27:22.059 without your cure, listen, if he had asked you 00:27:22.059 --> 00:27:24.099 to do something really hard, if he had asked 00:27:24.099 --> 00:27:27.140 you to go and, you know, slay the lion or whatever, 00:27:27.400 --> 00:27:30.480 you would have done it, right? So why don't you 00:27:30.480 --> 00:27:33.940 do it if it's kind of easy, right? But here's 00:27:33.940 --> 00:27:38.170 the thing, it's not easy. This is, in fact, the 00:27:38.170 --> 00:27:43.069 hardest thing for Naaman to do. You might think 00:27:43.069 --> 00:27:45.289 it's easy for him to go wash in a river, but 00:27:45.289 --> 00:27:49.670 it turns out that was his kryptonite. That was 00:27:49.670 --> 00:27:52.509 the hardest thing to do. And maybe you can relate. 00:27:52.609 --> 00:27:54.849 Maybe you can relate because you want to earn 00:27:54.849 --> 00:27:57.609 it, right? God, I will go to church every week. 00:27:57.630 --> 00:27:59.970 I want to earn it. God, I will give you 10 % 00:27:59.970 --> 00:28:03.799 of my income. I want to earn it. God, I will 00:28:03.799 --> 00:28:07.380 volunteer. I will serve. I will give. I will 00:28:07.380 --> 00:28:10.240 do all those things. Then maybe I too can earn 00:28:10.240 --> 00:28:14.059 my salvation. But here is the thing. And I love 00:28:14.059 --> 00:28:17.240 this quote from Tim Keller. He says this, the 00:28:17.240 --> 00:28:21.480 great thing we must do to receive our salvation 00:28:21.480 --> 00:28:28.279 is to admit there is no great thing to do. Isn't 00:28:28.279 --> 00:28:32.009 that a great line? And so here is the great deed 00:28:32.009 --> 00:28:36.089 for Naaman to do. To admit there's no great deed 00:28:36.089 --> 00:28:40.890 to do. This is the biggest finding in the whole 00:28:40.890 --> 00:28:43.910 Naaman file. If you get this, then you have cracked 00:28:43.910 --> 00:28:47.930 the case. And when we discover this, when he 00:28:47.930 --> 00:28:51.490 discovers this, he's cured. And not only is he 00:28:51.490 --> 00:28:53.490 cured, but as we're going to see next week, his 00:28:53.490 --> 00:28:58.289 whole life begins to be transformed. And just 00:28:58.289 --> 00:29:01.049 winding down here now. You might say, well, okay. 00:29:02.009 --> 00:29:05.349 How is that even possible? How is it possible 00:29:05.349 --> 00:29:08.170 that there is nothing that we can do? How is 00:29:08.170 --> 00:29:11.589 it possible that our salvation costs us nothing? 00:29:13.029 --> 00:29:15.630 It's because of this. It's because the great 00:29:15.630 --> 00:29:17.750 thing that Naaman thought he could do, somebody 00:29:17.750 --> 00:29:22.869 else would actually do for him. Somebody else 00:29:22.869 --> 00:29:25.930 was going to go slay the dragon. The dragon of 00:29:25.930 --> 00:29:32.160 evil. The dragon of death. On the cross, Jesus 00:29:32.160 --> 00:29:35.420 did all that needs to be done. And guess what? 00:29:35.500 --> 00:29:39.980 He did it by grace. So now we're saved by grace. 00:29:40.079 --> 00:29:43.579 We are saved through faith. Look at it. And it 00:29:43.579 --> 00:29:48.279 is a gift for Naaman and for you and for me. 00:29:49.799 --> 00:29:54.140 That's why all we have to do is just go and wash. 00:29:54.480 --> 00:29:59.079 Go and wash. All of this is in the Naaman file. 00:30:00.100 --> 00:30:03.880 Naaman was a great, great person, just like many 00:30:03.880 --> 00:30:06.319 of you. I think you are all great people, right? 00:30:06.400 --> 00:30:10.480 But he was still clueless until he realized what 00:30:10.480 --> 00:30:13.900 his biggest need was and how only God could meet 00:30:13.900 --> 00:30:18.500 that need. And so may this gospel that saved 00:30:18.500 --> 00:30:23.640 Naaman's life also save our lives too. And may 00:30:23.640 --> 00:30:28.430 we all find in God, not just our healing. And 00:30:28.430 --> 00:30:31.450 not just the answer to a problem, but a God who 00:30:31.450 --> 00:30:34.490 loves us and a God who we can follow for the 00:30:34.490 --> 00:30:42.509 rest of our lives. Thanks be to God. Amen. Thanks 00:30:42.509 --> 00:30:44.390 for listening to this week's episode of Trinity 00:30:44.390 --> 00:30:46.970 Sermons. This sermon was recorded at Trinity 00:30:46.970 --> 00:30:50.049 Church Streetsville in Mississauga, Ontario on 00:30:50.049 --> 00:30:52.390 February 1st, 2026.