July 17, 2016
Scripture:
We have been thinking about the praise and worship that the Lord deserves. This morning we have been reminded of His love to us, and we have been giving the Lord praise and worship. May we ever desire to worship Him!
Hymn 341 - Jesus bids us shine
Prayer
Today we are going have a story from 2 Kings. It is the story of Naaman. Naaman was a Syrian captain or warrior. He was a very mighty man, but he had leprosy. Back then, if you had leprosy, you would eventually die from it. There was no cure. If you had leprosy, you had to stay away from others, so you wouldn’t infect them.
2 Kings 5:1-3, 11
Luke 4:27
God had delivered Israel into the Syrians’ hands. Naaman had conquered them. He took captives from their home and brought them back to Syria. Of the captives, he had taken home a little maid.
His leprosy caused the little maid to say something to Naaman’s wife. You can imagine the scene. The wife was crying over her husband. His sickness would be the death of him. The little maid asked her why she was so sad. She told her everything, and then the little maid said, “Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy”.
This little maid had (1) confidence or faith. There was no doubt in her mind that the prophet, Elisha, could heal Naaman of his leprosy. She didn’t say “maybe he could heal him” or “it’s a possibility.” She said “he would recover him.” Had she seen Elisha heal other lepers? No. The Bible tells us that no other leper was healed in the time of Elisha. But the little maid knew Elisha and she knew God, and she had no doubts. We also can have confidence in the Lord. He does what He says/said he would do.
The little maid also had (2) courage. She was in a country where they didn’t worship God. They might even have been taking her with them when they worshiped their idols. But she still had the courage to give a word about the One who has the power to heal. She wasn’t afraid of being laughed at; rather she gave a testimony of God’s strength. She didn’t worry about the Israelites taking revenge. She didn’t worry that Naaman would be disappointed and then be upset with her. She had courage to speak up and stand for her Lord in the situation.
She also had (3) compassion, which is sympathy. She could have said that Naaman deserved it for hurting her and her people. But she had compassion on him and told him a way to get healed.
Now we might not go out and preach, but we can be a light in our little corner. We can be a witness to our relative and friends. We can find opportunities to tell them of God. The maid knew who God was, she knew of the prophet, and knew Naaman could find healing. Hopefully we can be a testimony for God and shine for Him.
Naaman was not happy about washing in the Jordan River. He was looking for something greater. He didn’t want to follow Elisha’s instructions. Eventually he did. But this can be a picture of how we are washed from our sin.
The little maid didn’t have much. We have the Bible which is so much more. We need to follow and obey it, and not be rebellious and proud like Naaman. Hopefully in this day of darkness we can be lights here.
Philippians 4:19-23
This was Paul’s final “P.S.” for Philippians. He was a prisoner in Rome, possibly in chains, in a dungeon, guarded by soldiers, and unable to go to Philippi. So he wrote this letter. He had started the Philippian assembly years before, after God had given him a vision that sent him to Macedonia. First the Lord opened Lydia’s heart, and then later the jailer was saved. Now Paul wrote to those he knew so well. He told them how to live once they were saved—not how to get saved— and now is sending them final greetings.
Paul called the believers saints. Saints are those who are set apart, separate, holy ones. They were precious to Paul. He sent salutations to every saint, and told who they came from. In our meeting, we are so small that we can almost know everyone, and each believer is precious.
Paul was a captive in Rome, no doubt one of the biggest cities of his time. It’s where Caesar lived his palace with his many servants. Some of these servants probably brought Paul his food; others probably guarded him, almost prisoners themselves as they were chained to him. Of course, Paul would share the gospel with these servants. No one was more godless than Caesar, but those that sent greetings to the Church at Philippi were chiefly from his house! In spite of Nero, some of his servants got saved. You can picture them, after chores were done, stealing down to hear Paul preach or maybe tell the stories of his travels. Maybe they heard the story of when he was in jail in Philippi and an earthquake opened the doors. These believers had a freedom that even Caesar their master didn’t know, and it brought them into joy. Paul exhorted the Philippians to have joy, and he had joy, too. They were his joy!
Paul then added what he started with: grace. He wanted the Philippians to be in the grace of God. Grace saves us, but it also brings us through the trials and dangers of life. May it be deeply in our senses! God’s grace is with us, and it loves and cares for us. It was the grace of our Lord that brought Him down to earth, and Paul would later tell young Timothy to be strong in grace.
When we studied Ephesians, we saw the phrase “in Christ” often. Christ is in God’s presence, and God sees us as in Him, not as a floundering Christian. Philippians, though, uses the phrase “in the Lord” nine times. What does it mean? It shows that we are to be subject to the Lord, we are responsible to him. A Lord is “he to whom a person or thing belongs.” He is our Master, and we are to be obedient to Him. “Christ” brings us into heavenly places; “Lord” has practical effect for everyday life down here. William Kelly says, “When the truth is known, the grand things is to have the affections kept on the right object and withal in happy liberty, this is secured by rejoicing *_in the Lord_, which surpasses the heart at rest in this grace and Himself known and beloved, the most attractive and precious object before us.“*
Let’s look at these nine instances of the phrase “in the Lord.”
It’s important to see themes in Scripture like this. May we each go in the Lord. It’s easy to go on in our own natures, but we should occupy in the Lord instead. We belong to Him, and should be subject to Him.
Hymn 326 - To Israel’s land when Israel sinned
Prayer