2 Kings 5:1,10-11,13-14 (NKJV) Now Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great and honorable man in the eyes of his master, because by him the Lord had given victory to Syria. He was also a mighty man of valor, but a leper….And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you, and you shall be clean.” But Naaman became furious, and went away and said, “Indeed, I said to myself, ‘He will surely come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leprosy.’… And his servants came near and spoke to him, and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do something great, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” So he went down and dipped seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
As Christians, we need to learn to obey instructions and trust in the Lord. Sometimes, we tend to place too much importance on the person who lays hands on us to pray for healing and forget that it is God who heals. We need to remember that the person who ministers to us is just a channel for the power of God to flow. In fact, God can heal us without using anyone but simply when we reach out to Him by faith.
Naaman was a well-respected commander of the army and honoured by the king. He was very insulted when Elisha didn’t respect him by coming to him, and worse, asked him to simply dip in the River Jordan seven times. It was a ridiculous suggestion in his eyes. He protested and refused to listen to the man of God, but thankfully, his servants told him that if he would have done what was complicated, then why not give the simple a try—there was certainly nothing to lose. When he humbly did as he was told, he was healed.
Sometimes, instead of just believing in God, we find it challenging to take God’s Word as biblical truth and placing our faith in it. Very often, we tend to think that we need a very complicated process for healing or have someone special like an anointed preacher or pastor to minister to us. Instead, we should simply reach out to Jesus, who is our healer!
God wants us to take His Word for it. Therefore, don’t despise simple instructions and just take God’s Word for it.
Sermon Series: Focus on Jesus
只要遵行祂的话
列王纪下 5:1,10-11,13-14 亚兰王的元帅乃缦在他主人面前为尊为大，因耶和华曾藉他使亚兰人得胜；他又是大能的勇士，只是长了大麻风。……以利沙打发一个使者，对乃缦说：“你去在约旦河中沐浴七回，你的肉就必复原，而得洁净。”乃缦却发怒走了，说：“我想他必定出来见我，站着求告耶和华－他 神的名，在患处以上摇手，治好这大麻风。……他的仆人进前来，对他说：“我父啊，先知若吩咐你做一件大事，你岂不做吗？何况说你去沐浴而得洁净呢？”于是乃缦下去，照着神人的话，在约旦河里沐浴七回；他的肉复原，好像小孩子的肉，他就洁净了。
身为基督徒，我们需要学会遵行教导和信靠主。有时，我们往往过于重视那些按手在我们身上祷告医治的人，而忘记真正施行医治的是神。我们应当记住，那个服事我们的人只是神能力运行的一个渠道。事实上，神可以不借由任何人就能医治我们，我们只要凭着信心向祂伸出手去。
乃缦是一位受人尊敬的元帅，受到国王的敬重。当以利沙态度轻慢没有亲自见他，甚至只是简单地打发他去约旦河沐浴七次时，他颇觉受辱。在他看来这是一个荒谬的建议。他抗议并拒绝听神人的话，幸好他的仆人告诉他，如果他连大事都肯做，何不试试做小事呢——肯定没有什么损失的。当他谦卑地遵行先知的吩咐，他就得了医治。
有时我们不是单纯地信靠神，而是发现自己很难把圣经上神的话语当作圣经真理而接受并相信。我们往往倾向于认为需要一个非常复杂的步骤才能得医治，或者一定要特别受膏的传教士或牧师来服事。相反的，我们应当单单寻求主耶稣，祂才是我们的医治者！
神要我们相信祂的话语。所以不要轻视简单的指示，只要相信神的话语。
讲章系列：定晴在耶稣上