Noah Jonah Naaman Matt. 24:37-39 Matt. 12:39-40 Luke 4:27 Real or Fable ??

Noah

Jonah

Naaman

Matt. 24:37-39

Matt. 12:39-40

Luke 4:27

Real or Fable ??

Real Man

"And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.“ Luke 4:27

Characters:

Naaman

Little Maid

King of Israel

Elisha

Servants

Phoenicia

Phoenicia

Philistia

Philistia

IsraelIsraelAmmonAmmon

MoabMoabJudahJudah

JerusalemJerusalem

Dea

d S

eaG

alile

eJ

ord

an

Jo

rda

nR

ive

rR

ive

r

©

Divided Divided KingdomKingdom

EdomEdom

SyriaSyria

SamariaSamariaMediterranean

Mediterranean Divided Kingdom of Israel

Divided Kingdom of Israel

Naaman lived in Syria

Maid from Israel

Elisha lived in Samaria

Sad Man

Captain of Syrian army

Honorable man

Mighty man of valor

BUT “...he was a leper.”

Leprosy

Worst corruption this side of the grave

Caused by micro-organism

Very contagious

Three signs:

Brightspot

Rising onsurface

ScalesLike snow

Maid’s Suggestion

Helped Naaman’s wife

“Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy.”

Her advice was accepted

Went to King of Israel - disturbed

Elisha calls for Him

Tells the king of Israel: “Let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel” 2 Kings 5:8

Messenger told him: “Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean.” 2 Kings 5:10

Mad Man

V. 11 - Wroth = furious

V. 12 – Rage = hot displeasure

Prophet gave a simple way

Mad Man

He will come out to me and stand

He will call on name of Jehovah

He will strike his hand over the place

Mad Man

Abana and Pharpar

Better than Jordan

“May I not wash in them, and be clean?”

Mad Man

If told to do something difficult or expensive you would do it.

Do that which is easy and will only take a short time to do.

Glad Man

He dipped 7 times in Jordan River

Flesh was like a child – cleansed

Returned to prophet and praised God

Offered him gold and silver

What leprosy is to the body

Sin is to the Soul

Leprosy destroys the Body

Sin destroys the soul - Rom. 6:23

Comparison of Leprosy and Sin

Begins Small

Spreads over whole body

Contagious

Unfit for society

Separated

Sad Man

Sin is incurable by human means

Sacrifices = shedding of blood

Separated from God

Must be cleansed to be happy

Mad Man

Go away angry when told what to do

“I thought”

…in my opinion we should

…God’s way is too simple

23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; 24 But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. 25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

Mad Man

Some want to substitute

Follow their plan

Do not think baptism is necessary

Glad Man

When we obey the commands

Baptism for remission of sins

Free from all sins

Praise God – rejoice

Happy - give our life to God

Do you have leprosy of the soul ?

Do you have spots of infection ?

Are you young and just entering sin ?

Are you older and rooted in sin ?

You need to be cleansed !!

GOD’S SIMPLE PLAN FOR GOD’S SIMPLE PLAN FOR SALVATIONSALVATION

hearhearhearhear believebelievebelievebelieverepentrepentrepentrepent

confessconfessconfessconfessbaptismbaptismbaptismbaptism

Rm.10:17Rm.10:17

Mk16:16Mk16:16

LK. 13:3LK. 13:3LK. 13:3LK. 13:3

Rm.10:10Rm.10:10Rm.10:10Rm.10:10

1 PET. 3:211 PET. 3:211 PET. 3:211 PET. 3:21

When you are cleansed then you need to return and give glory to God.

Luke 17:12-19

V. 17 “Where are the nine?”

Naaman got what he went after when he kept the commandment of God.

We shall get what we want [life] when we obey the commandments of God.

Sermon by Arthur Pigman

Evans Church of Christ

515 Gibbs Road

Evans, Ga. 30809

706-855-1249

arthurpigman@cybrtyme.com

www.evansgachurchofchrist.orgwww.evansgachurchofchrist.org

Sunday Morning May 6, 2007