23 Jun God’s Secret to Greatness | Part 2 “Who Has an Ear”?”
TESTIMONIES: Looking for your testimonies! If you have group wins to share, please email them to me! maparsons@waterschurch.org
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Key Verse: 2 Kings 5 ESV
We have a hearing problem today. This is not just Christians, but also the world has a hearing problem. James is telling us that we should take time to listen or we will be angry people. The word ‘save’ in this passage does not mean salvation from hell. It is the Greek word for save:
Greek: “Save” – “sozo” – “Make whole”, “keep safe”, “to rescue from danger”, “to restore someone suffering from a disease.”
Our soul is the sum total of us. The person who we really are. Our hearts receive much negativity that it saturates our souls, therefore, our souls are in need of salvation. This is more than just going to heaven, it is about living a healthy life, free from danger. Having a healthy and stable mind.
1. My Healing is connected to my Hearing God’s Word
James 1:19–21 (THV) – ‘Tim Hatch Version”
“Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to tweet/snap/instapost and slow to join their little echo chambers, for man’s limited angry opinion does not actually help/convince anyone.”
Our minds need healing. People take drugs to heal their minds. Anxiety is a serious problem today, especially among teens and young adults.
Ice-breaker question:
Q. What are some of the issues that surround young people (perhaps personal experience or one you have witnessed) that cause them to disconnect from hearing God’s voice and become filled with anxiety?
God loves us and does not want our minds taken captive by this world. The reason we keep on doing things that are self-destructive is that our hearts are sick. We need healing for our heart. God is in the business of healing, not just getting us to heaven. Christianity is not a ‘getting out of hell’ free card. If it was, we would have been sucked into heaven the moment we gave our lives to Jesus. Our lives are to radiate the goodness of God. We don’t hear God because we listen to too many other voices.
Q. What voices are you listening to that keeps your heart heavy and not allowing God to heal you?
2. There are Hazards to my HEARING God’s Word.
Naaman was a great man, but he was a leper. Like Naaman, there are some bad things in our inner part. We could have it all like Naaman but have spiritual leprosy. Spiritual leprosy affects our approach to God. We inherited a sin nature from Adam. He ran from God, his descendants ran from God and because of our spiritual leprosy, we too run from God. If we are doing what the crowd does, we are doing life on our own terms. Following everyone else is not original.
Q. When have you followed the crowd, so to speak, doing life (or even doing Christianity) on your own terms?
This little girl loved Naaman so much she wanted him to go to the Prophet and get healed. His boss sent him with all kinds of silver, gold, and clothes. He first went to the king, but the girl told him he was to go to the Prophet first. Naaman only wanted to deal with leaders, not some ‘backwoods’ preacher.
Hazard to Hearing God #1: Success.
Success says: “I only listen to people who are “equal” to me or as successful as I am.”
Success can go to our head as it did with Naaman. Success fills us with pride. Instead of listening to only those who tell us things we want to be true (the tendency to interpret new evidence as confirmation of one’s existing beliefs or theories) which is Confirmation Bias, we should allow others who may see something we don’t see speak into our lives. It should not matter if they are older, younger, of a different race, etc..
Q. What is an example of where you have allowed someone who you would not expect to hear from speak into your life and how had it affected you?
The King is upset because he cannot heal Naaman. Then Naaman goes to the house of the prophet (‘backwoods’ preacher), he (the prophet) does not even open the door! Instead, he sent his servant. He tells him to wash in the Jordan River, which is not at all impressive. Then Naaman turns away in a rage.
Q.When you have been so angry that you did not allow God to speak to you?
Hazard to Hearing God #2: Our Opinions.
Verse 11: Behold, I thought…
Naaman was expecting the prophet to come to the door, someone with dignity, not a servant. Our opinions are just opinions and not fact. Don’t let pride affect your opinion.
Pride says: “I ONLY LISTEN to ideas I ALREADY AGREE WITH.”
Sometimes we need to hear what we don’t want to hear. It may save our life, change our life. God does not think like us.
Q. How has pride got in the way of you hearing from God and why?
Naaman almost allowed his opinion to get in the way of him being healed, but the servants are the ones throughout the story that kept moving Naaman along. God speaks through servants.
Every week we gather at church someone’s life is touched. Pastor Tim reminded us of a man who came down for prayer because he had a ‘growth’. He humbled himself and came down to the altar for prayer and then when he went back to the doctor there was no growth. He was healed. Everyone who served had a part in that – parking, greeting, ushers, Waters Kids, etc..
3. HEALING happens when I humble myself and listen to the SERVANTS God sends.
God wants us healed: mind, body, heart, and soul.
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