02 When God calls: Rethink Greatness ( (2 Kings 5)

Krisan Marotta: Thanks for listening to the Wednesday in the Word podcast. I'm Krisan Marotta. This is the second talk in our series, When God Calls, and our passage will be 2 Kings chapter 5. Well, last night we looked at uh Elisha's calling and his uh the day he graduated. Today we're going to ask the question how do you do great things for the kingdom of God? So I'm making the assumption that we all want to be great. How do we how do we do great things? What does that take? So in 2014, Admiral William McGraven gave a commencement speech at the University of Texas, and in his speech he gave ten tips for how to change the world. So he and he learned these tips from his years as a Navy SEAL. So he started with if you want to change the world, start off by making your bed. Very good point. And he can included, if you want to change the world, don't back down from the sharks, and if you want to change the world, you must be your very best in the darkest moments. And at the end of his speech, he describes this brass bell that hangs in the middle of the SEAL training compound. I personally haven't seen it, so I'm I'll take his word for it. But apparently all you have to do to quit the program is you ring the bell. So if it's too hard, if it's getting to you, if it's too much, you can ring the bell and all the training and hard work will stop. So his final piece of advice was if you want to change the world, don't ever, ever ring the bell. So that's one idea of greatness. About 300 years earlier, Alexander Pope, uh, you may have read of him in seventh grade English class, he was writing poetry in England, and one of his poems is called The Quiet Life, and he describes the perfect life as this tranquility of going about your day-to-day life, doing your chores, working hard, and no one ever knowing your name. So I'm going to read you a little bit of the poem. He starts, happy the man whose wish and care, a few paternal acres bound, content to breathe his native air in his own in his own ground, whose herds with milk, whose fields with bread, whose flocks supply him with attire, whose trees in summer yield him shade in winter fire. And he goes on to talk about each quiet day, and he concludes, Thus let me live unseen, unknown, thus unlamented die, steal from the world and not a stone tell where I lie. So he concludes, just let me be quiet, unassuming, nobody knows who I am, I just do my thing. So what which of those is your idea of greatness? Is it the life-changing, world-changing, Navy SEAL kind of picture that Admiral McGraven paints, or is it the quiet life, unassuming, doing your daily chores that Alexander Pope has? I think in Charlottesville, we're particularly addicted to changing the world. There's a phrase I hear a lot, and I think I've heard it from everybody I know. It doesn't seem to matter who you are, what age or stage of life. I hear it from parents who work, I hear it from parents who stay home, especially from students, professionals, people in ministry, and I bet if I asked for a poll, half of you would raise your hand and say, you have said this too, and that is I feel like I should be doing more. Right? Everybody feel that way? Whatever I'm doing, it's not enough. You know, if I stay home with kids, I tell myself I should be out doing a career. If I'm working, I tell myself I should stay home. If I'm single, I should be married. If I don't have kids, I should have them. Or if I'm a student, I should sign up for every last club internship, fundraising opportunity, and mission trip available. You know, there's this there's this vague sense of whatever I'm doing, it's not enough. There I ought to be doing something anymore. Or something more. So we're gonna address that question. Do we have to do more to be great in the kingdom of God? So last time we looked at the calling of Elijah or last night, and we talked about how the only qualifications God requires is humble, faithful obedience, and that he will equip you for the rest. So over the next two talks, we're gonna build five principles for how to run your race well or how to live out your calling well. And the first two were have a humble, faithful obedience. When God calls, burn your ox, just say yes. And the second, trust that he will equip you for whatever he calls you to. So today we're gonna ask, okay, well, if I found my calling and I'm obeying and I'm following God and he's equipping me, how do I succeed? How do I do great things from the kingdom? And to answer that, we're gonna look at 2 Kings 5. And in this, so turn there if you've got your Bibles. We're gonna look at the contrast between how the world measures success and how God measures success, and what it takes to be great in God's eyes versus what it takes to be great in the world's eyes. So as we go through this, we're gonna see a series of con contrasts. So 2 Kings 5, this is the story of Naaman. Many of you may be familiar with it. And we're just gonna jump right in. So 2 Kings 5, we'll start in 1 through 6. Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master and in high favor, because by him the Lord had given great had given victory to Syria. He was a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper. Now the Syrians on one of their raids had carried off a little girl from the land of Israel, and she worked in the service of Naaman's wife. She said to her mistress, Would that my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria, he would cure him of his leprosy. So Naaman went in and told his lord, Thus and so spoke the girl from the land of Israel. And the king of Syria said, Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel. So he went, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten changes of clothing. And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, which read, When this letter reaches you, know that I have sent to you Naaman my servant, that you may cure him of leprosy. So that's setting the stage for us. Syria is, and some of your translations may have a ROM. It's a small country in the northeastern corner of Israel. It is now modern Syria, but not all of modern Syria. It was smaller than that. And about a century before this story takes place, David, when he was king, had conquered that area, and so they were still paying taxes to Israel. But there were all these battles and skirmishes at the time. The king of Israel was King Joram at the time, and the king in Syria or Aram was Ben Hadad Second. And they the Syrian king kept getting more and more bold and sending out raiding parties into Israel to kind of capture slaves and burn fields and provoke a war. And was becoming a thorn in the side of Israel. And in one of these raids, apparently they'd brought back some Israelite slaves, including this girl who ended up in Naaman's household. So Naaman is the commander-in-chief of the army. He's a valiant soldier. It says he was rewarded with victory. He was in high esteem. He was great in his master's eyes, but he had leprosy. So leprosy was a terminal illness. It's actually probably not what we think of as leprosy today, but it was a very similar disease. It was a skin disease that would eventually isolate you from all your friends and family because it was highly contagious from the joys of life. So apparently his case is not yet so advanced that he is in fear of losing his high-ranking position, but he would know it's just a matter of time. So in spite of his rank, his position of respect, his power, eventually he's going to lose it all. So God intervenes through the least significant member of his household. And that's the first of our contrasts. So earlier on this raid, uh the soldiers had probably raided an Israelite village, they'd taken a young girl captive, and she was placed in Naaman's home. And she says, If only my master would see the prophet who's in Samaria, meaning Elisha, he would cure him. So she either heard of Elisha by reputation or she'd seen him or heard of his miracles, and she has enough faith and courage to say to her mistress, My God has the power to heal, and you could you could go see his prophet. Now, she's not gonna be, she's risking a lot to speak up, because if her words prove true, she's not gonna get rewarded, and if her words prove false, she could pay with her life. So she has not a whole doesn't have a lot to gain by speaking up. Naaman, on the other hand, so think about his position versus her position. He's a military officer, he's successful, he's in a high position of power in the government, he's male, he's an adult, he's the head of his household, he's rich, he's free, he has the king's favor, he has everything the world has to offer. And this young girl is a a testimony to his military might and power because she was captured on one of his raids. So here she is, she's an alien in a foreign land, she's young, she's female, she's a slave, she's at the bottom of the social ladder. She's not likely to be rewarded if her words prove true, and she could pay with her life if her words proved false. And Naaman has no reason to listen to her. He has access to the best medical care of his day. Why would he listen to this foreigner, probably wasn't even educated, who just happens to be in his household. And yet, God put her there for a reason. You never know how God's gonna use you, but she was in the right place at the right time. And I think that's the first lesson to take away. You don't have to be great. We don't even know her name. And yet God had her in the spot he wanted her to be, right at the time he needed her to be there, and she had the faith and courage to speak up. So her life as a slave was not likely to be easy, it wasn't probably rewarding. She had little hope of marriage or family or love and comfort of her own, and yet God had a plan, and her plan was going to bring about this, her little part of the story would bring about a lot the salvation of a lot of people. You can contrast her with Jezebel, who is currently queen or the queen mother at this time. She was a foreigner as well. She came to Israel, she had all the power and wealth the nation could offer, she was ruling, and yet all she did was bring evil and destruction to the land, while this unnamed Israelite slave girl brings glory to God. So God's work does not have to be done by those with a name, those who are great, those who are powerful, those who are rich, or those who have put high career success. In fact, I'd say a lot of his work is done by the unnamed, faithful few who are just going about their days. And I think she we can see the what we called the primary qualification last night, the humble, faithful obedience. She was in a position where she could speak and she spoke up. Okay, so there's our first contrast. Now let's go on with the story. Naaman's prepared to pay richly for his healing. So his wife tells her husband what the servant girl says. There's this man named Elisha in Samaria. He's a prophet of the God Jehovah. He can heal you. He gets an audience with the king. The king encourages him to go visit the prophet, and he writes a letter of introduction on his behalf. So Naaman puts together a caravan with what appears to have was probably most of his life savings. Ten talents of silver is about 700 to 750 pounds of silver. So not pieces like pounds. And six thousand shekels of gold is 125 pounds of gold. And ten suits of clothing is also worth a king's ransom because in his culture, kings and royal officials tried to dress like their gods, so they would weave these suits of the most expensive fabrics, embroider them with gold and silver thread, maybe even embellish them with jewels. So one article of clothing, one suit would be worth a king's ransom. So he's loaded. He's rich and he's gonna take all this money to pay for his healing. On top of that, he has a letter addressed to Joram, the king of Israel, that says, you know, gives him introduction and an audience with Elisha. So for whatever reason, he listens to the voice of this little slave girl and he heads off to Samaria. So let's pick up the story in then in 5.7. When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, Am I God to kill and to make alive? That this man is sending word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? But consider now and see how he's seeking a quarrel against me. So the king says, I can't do this. I'm not God, I can't heal him. So he thinks it's a trap that the commander of Syria is here to make this impossible request. His re the king will, of course, fail in the request, and then the two nations will go to war. So that's his reaction. Then 5-8. It happened when Elijah, the man of God, heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, that he sent word to the king saying, Why have you torn your clothes? Now let him come to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel. So Naaman came with his horses and his chariots and stood at the doorway of the house of Elijah. So here's our second contrast: the king versus Elijah. The king panics. He's the one with all the power, all the wealth, all the position of authority, but he does not know God. He panics and says, I'm in a bad way, there's no way out of this. The prophet, however, does. He says, Why are you so upset? Send him to me. So Joram is the second son of the late Ahab and Jezebel. Jezebel is still alive. And he immediately realizes I'm not God, I'm only a king, but he has no faith, he has no recourse, no path. Elijah, of course, is not just any old prophet. He is the the uh prophet with the double portion and all the faith that we saw last night, the double portion of the spirit. Okay, so once again we see the rich and powerful are bankrupt when it comes to wisdom, but the um the faithful have all the wisdom. The king has no clue, and uh Elijah does. He says, uh he knows God, he knows how God works, he knows that the Lord is willing to heal physically and spiritually, so he says, Send Naaman to me. So look at 5-9. So Naaman came with his horses and his chariots and stood at the doorway of the house of Elijah. Elijah sent a messenger to him, saying, Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh will be restored to you, and you will be clean. But Naaman was furious, and went away and said, Behold, I thought he would 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 cure the leper. Are not Abanah and Parphar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage. So here's another of our contrasts. Naaman gets the message from Elijah that or from the king to go see Elijah. Elijah's willing to see him. He drives up with his chariot and his entourage and all his men and his riches, and he expects a show. He expects Elisha to come out and maybe, you know, chant a little bit or jump up and down or say an incantation or do something to uh bring about this healing. He's gone to great lengths, he's prepared to pay with great expense, he's an important man, and Elisha doesn't even answer the door. He sends a messenger out to talk to him. I mean, this is like the Emperor of China coming to see Billy Graham, and Billy Graham sends out the neighbor kid and says, Oh, here, go do this. You know, it's like, where's the red carpet? Where's the entourage? The feast, the pomp and circumstance. That's what Naaman's expecting. That's what's worthy of a great man like Naaman. I mean, could you imagine Billy Graham sending out a neighbor kid to say, oh, excuse me, Mr. Amper, the Mr. Graham says go jump in the mud, you know, seven times. So Naaman doesn't get his show, but he could have at least gotten a quest, right? I mean, Elijah could have said, okay, scale the highest mountain and bring me back an eagle feather, or bring ten times that gold and silver, or go conquer this land and bring me back the swords of the your enemies. He could have given Naaman a Herculean feat to accomplish, and Naaman would have been happy. He would have done it. That's a challenge worthy of a man like Naaman. Ask him to conquer the nations, ask him to release his slaves, to champion a cause, to perform a great act of bravery. That's what Naaman would do. That's how you be great. So of course he's annoyed. He's like, you're telling me to go dip in a river. I mean, for him, he must have thought, you know, okay, I have leprosy, it's incurable, but let's keep this in perspective. I'm an important person. I'm that I'm a great soldier, I'm loved and respected by my king. I've journeyed thousands of miles, or probably hundreds of miles, at my own expense. I've gone over mountains and valleys, and he sends me to the out a lowly servant to tell me to go jump in the river. And the rivers he names in are the rivers of Damascus, and they're fed by snow melt from Mount Hebron. So it runs coastal clear most of the time. The Jordan River is also eventually gets that same snow melt, but depending on the season, it can be either this great raging river, or if it's in the dry season, it can be kind of a muddy mess. So we ass I assume, since he's not risking his life by jumping in the river, that we're in the dry season, and this is more of the muddy kind of trickle-down mess, you know, and it's like, okay, you want me to go jump in a river? I mean, that's a good way to get another disease. This is this is not a good plan. It's almost as silly as casting your life on a Jew who died on a cross 2,000 years ago, right? That's ridiculous. At least according to the world. Yet, God backs Naaman's silly act with his power and his promise, just like he backs the cross of Christ. So, what's Elijah trying to teach him? I think he's trying to show him grace is free. Grace is unmerited favor. Naaman wants to complete his great act or pay handsomely for it, like vent like a vending machine, put in his money and take out his grace. But it doesn't work that way. The God of the universe is not controlled or manipulated or bought. You don't twist his arm by magic. Elijah doesn't have to entice him with some kind of show or you know great performance to get his attention. You don't earn his favors, there's no magic formula. In fact, God's prophet doesn't even have to answer the door for God to act. So grace is free, it's freely given, and it's no cost, and that's what I think Elijah wants Naaman to see. To be great in the kingdom of God, you have to humble yourself. And that's eventually what Naaman's going to do. Let's look at 513. Then his servants came and spoke to him and said, My father, had the prophet told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? So had he Satan won a quest, wouldn't you have done it? How much more then when he says to you, Wash and be clean? So he, that is Naaman, went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God. And his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean. And when he returned to the man of God with all his company, and came and stood before him, he said, Behold now, I know there is no God in all the earth but in Israel. So please take a present from your servant now. But he said, This is Elijah, as the Lord lives before whom I stand, I will take nothing. But he urged him to take it, but he refused. Naaman said, If not, please let your servant be at least given two mules loads of earth, for your servant will no longer offer burnt offerings, nor will he sacrifice to other gods, but to the Lord. In this matter may the Lord pardon your servant, when my master goes into the house of Ryman to worship there, and he leans on my hand, and I bow myself in the house of Ryman. When I bow myself in the house of Ryman, the Lord pardon your servant in this matter. And he said to him, Go in peace. So he departed from him some distance. So Naaman's servants intervene. Naaman thinks this is ridiculous, he's angry, he's furious at Elijah's response, he's about to leave, and yet his servants catch him. Now who do you think they've been talking to? Probably the slave girl. How else would they know that this prophet has anything to do? So this is not their God, not their culture. They have no reason to trust that what Elijah says will prove true. Again, they could lose their lives if they urge their master to humiliate himself or do something silly. So where did they get this kind of faith? Maybe they were talking with the young Israelite slave girl in their household. And maybe in time she told them about her God and how compassionate he is and the prophet in Samaria and what the God of Israel can do. So they appealed to Naaman and they said, Look, if if the prophet had said, Go do this great quest, wouldn't you have done it? So of course you would have. Because that's a what a valiant warrior would do. But how much more then when he tells you, just go wash and be cleansed? If the end result is your healing, shouldn't you do that? And Naaman relents, he humbles himself before God. Think about it, he, this proud, glorified man of value, had to humble himself first by listening to the voice of a slave and his household, then by listening to his underlings, his servants. Then he has to take off all his clothes in front of his troops and his drivers and his entourage and probably shed his pride along with his clothes, walk down to the muddy banks of the Jordan, stand there for a moment, feeling like a fool, and then looking at the sores of his leprosy, and then in an act of humble faith, step in. So I think probably with the words of the man of God echoing in his ears, he steps in the water, and he must have felt ridiculous, you know, once, twice, three times, you know, until he gets to seven. And when he comes up the seventh time, he's clean. But he's not just physically clean, he's now spiritually clean. Notice he comes back to Elijah and he says, Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel. So he was physically healed, but more important, he's spiritually healed. As a soldier, he would have traveled to all kinds of lands, probably conquering them. He would have seen all kinds of other gods and what people do to worship them, but now he says, There is only one God. He is your God, as the God of Israel. So he would have been aware of like Baal in Phoenicia or Ryman in Aram or Moloch in Amnon, but now he knows Jehovah is the only God. And his idols, whom he'd probably called on hundreds of times, did nothing for him. Probably had to bow before them in many ceremonies, and yet none of them could do anything for him. Jesus uses this story to rebuke the leaders of his day. He's in his hometown of Nazareth, and they're rejecting him. This is Luke 4.27. He says, And there were many in Israel with leprosy at the time of Elijah the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed, only Naaman the Syrian. So I think he's explaining to the Jews that God was willing to cleanse their generation. He was willing to call them to them, he was trying to get their attention, and yet they wouldn't turn back to him. Only a Syrian turned back to him, and he was healed. So when the pagan general came to the prophet, God saw his heart, saw his faith. He eventually humbled himself and is cleaned. And you can imagine probably the Jews, this must have ticked them off. I mean, they don't want to see the guy that's been raiding their villages and burning their fields given grace. Why should he get healed? Why should he be shown grace like that? This was probably not a popular thing for Elisha to do. And yet God says, Love your enemies. Grace is free, it's open to everyone. Jew, Gentile, friend, and foe. So again, Naaman wants to pay for his grace, but Elisha refuses. He says, Please accept a gift from your servant. And Elisha now faces him, he um and he sets the general straight. He says, basically, no, you can't pay for grace. God is a God of mercy, our salvation, both spiritual and physical, is a gift from God. It's not as a result of our works. So the same salvation is offered to rich and poor alike. All you have to do is humble yourselves. So he says, basically, as surely as the Lord lives, whom I served, I will not accept a thing. Even though Naaman urges him, he refuses even a personal gift. I mean, one if he had taken, let's see, I added this up, it would have been about a million dollars in silver and gold, even with you don't not counting the suits. That's how much Naaman was offering him. So now Naaman's concerned because he has this little speech about please let your servant be given as much earth as a pair of mules can carry for your servant. We'll never again make burnt offerings and sacrifices to any other God. So he wants to take back dirt from the land of Israel so he can build a shrine or a temple there, an altar there to offer sacrifices to God. So he's still got a lot to learn. He's a new believer, and he says, you know, as part of my duties I have to go in with the king to the temple of Ryman, and when he bows down, I have to bow down with him. Will God forgive me for that? And Elijah says, basically, yes. I think that's just showing he's just still a new believer, he's got a lot to learn. Um and yet God sees his heart, his faith. Okay, now we would think the story should end there, right? Naaman's got his grace, he's got his healing, he's come to faith, but the story doesn't end. Look at 519 and 20. He said to him, Go in peace. So he departed from him some distance. But Gehazi, the servant of Elijah, the man of God, thought, Hmm, behold, my master has spared this Naaman the Armenian by not receiving from his hands what he brought, as the Lord lives, I will run after him and take something from him. So Gehazi, his willing servant, had food, shelter, clothing, everything he needed. He has a good job, he's doing all right until the moment he sees all that gold and silver. Perhaps he'd never seen that much money in his life for such beautiful clothes, and he basically says, This is a crime for Elijah not to have some of this. He should have this. Finally, we could be rich. We could live like we ought to live. We we can have the kind of lifestyle a prophet of God deserves. And his um, I think his mind gets clouded with greed. So he decides, my master was too easy on Naaman. I'm gonna go get some of that wealth. Look at 521 through 24. So Gehazi pursued Naaman. When Naaman saw one running after him, he came down from the chariot to meet him and said, Is all well? He said, All is well. My master has sent me, saying, Behold, just now two young men from the sons of the prophets have come to me from the hill country of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and two changes of clothes. Naaman said, Be pleased to take two talents. And he urged him and bound two talents of silver and two bags and two changes of clothes, and gave them to his servants, and they carried them before him. And then when he, this is Gehazi, came to the hill, he took them from their hand and deposited them in the house, and he sent the men away, and they departed. So now we now Gehazi has made a fatal mistake. He's deceitful. He represents as true what is not true. And the first lie he tells is my master sent me to you. Elijah had done no such thing. The second lie he says is two young men from the company of the prophets came to me. He says, Oh, we just got these visitors. This isn't for us. This is just for these two other guys. Um, so it's not, this request isn't for my master, it's these two other people that need the money. You know, my friend, they they need them. They're servants of the living God who healed you, and you know, you could just help them out a little bit. So, on second thought, we'll take some of that gold after all. I mean, how much trouble could that get him in? So Naaman agrees, he hears Gehazi's words, he says, Okay, I'll give you two talents. He sends his servants to help him carry all the loot because this would weigh an awful lot, all that silver. And so they go back and Gehazi gets to his house and he hides the loot in his home. The Septuagint translates it, he took it into darkness, which I like that translation. So he he takes his loot into his home and puts it in a dark secret place. But alas, that's not the end of the story. Look at 525. But he went in and stood before his master, and Elijah said to him, Where have you been, Gehazi? And he said, Your servant went nowhere. Nowhere. So you can almost hear an echo of the garden when after Adam sins, God comes to him and says, Where are you? And he says, nowhere, not just hanging out. And I think what he's asking is not so much where have you been, but where are you in relationship to me? What have you done, essentially? So I don't know if Elijah saw him leave or uh he was told supernaturally that what Gehazi had done, but in any rate he knows. Look at 526. Then he said to him, Did not my heart go with you when the man turned from his chariot to meet you? Is it a time to receive money and to receive clothes and g and olive groves and vineyards and sheep and oxen and male and female servants? Therefore, the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and your descendants forever. So he went out from that place, a leper as white as snow. It's a pretty harsh answer here, so we want to try to answer why. So Elijah says, Where have you been? Gehazi says, Oh, nowhere, and he says, Not true. You um you went back and you asked Naaman for the money. And that list is probably the things that Gehazi intended to buy with all the loot he received, the all the clothes, olive growth's vineyards, and so on. And basically Elijah's saying, Is it time to take money and accept clothes for the grace of God? So the problem is not so much his greed, but I think Gehazi confused the gospel. Elijah was trying to teach Naaman that grace is free, and Gehazi confused that message by putting a price on it. So he's undoing the work of Elisha. He's undoing what God was teaching, and he left the impression that, well, there are a few strings attached to grace. Um, after all, you can be bought, it can be manipulated, it can be repaid. And God wants Naaman to learn that salvation is free, and Gehazi has confused that message. So he is punished, um, and he has the punishment of Naaman attached to him, which is uh harsh, but it shows the importance God puts on his word and his message and the gospel. So let me wrap this up then. What does this have to do with calling and doing your work well? I think the first thing is beware of self-reliance. I think that's the lesson of Gehazi. Beware of trusting in whatever gold, silver, family, church, pedigree, education. We dare not cloud the gospel message, or dare not add any kind of self-reliance to it, or yes, grace is free, but you have to attend church every Sunday, or yes, grace is free, but here's the money you have to give to this cause, or whatever. And think how easily we do that. It's just so tempting to come up with all kinds of methods and tips and tricks and rituals to kind of grow our faith. And yet, those things may be gifts from God that He uses to grow our faith, but they are not things we do to get Him or force Him to act on our behalf. So, in and up, we are it's not a gospel of self-reliance. If we're counting on them and not God, that's the difference. The other thing I think we learn from this is sometimes following God makes you look stupid. So this is what we learned from Naaman. The path of faith often looks silly. Um for Naaman, he expected a quest, he expected payment, he expected to do great things, and yet the path for him was just humiliating himself, humbling himself, doing something that looked completely foolish in the world's eyes, and yet that was the path to healing. So you don't have to look out for yourself, you don't have to, you know, like go for the gusto and be great in terms of the way the world measures greatness. Sometimes all God wants is humble faith and obedience. Well, most of the time. And so God chooses what the world sees as ridiculous to bring about his kingdom. Look, he's used these unnamed slaves, he's used people we would consider misfits and outcasts, he used something silly like jumping into a river, and of course, he uses the cross of Christ, and it's all a free gift, and all he's asking is that we trust him. So being great in God's kingdom, I think, is being faithful to the things that God has called you to do. So I would answer the question: how do you be great in the kingdom of God? You do what God has asked you to do, and if you're doing that, you're doing enough. So you do what he asks you, no more, and no less. And I think that's what we talk about calling, doing what God has asked you to do, the path he's put you on, the role he wants you to play. He may not give you a detailed roadmap. Often there's you know a series of little steps that you follow, but if he wants you to do more, he'll open the door, or he'll give you some kind of direction or some maybe thought that keeps coming in or wisdom or advice from a friend. But once you figure out what he wants you to do, do that and know more and know less. You don't have to be doing more. You don't have to accomplish a great quest or prove to God that you're worthy of salvation in some way. You only need to be humble and faithful and trust him. So I think that's hard for us because we want to have an impact. We think being great for the kingdom means I have a wide, visible, famous kind of impact on the world. And I we still may have impact, but I think as believers, our goal ought not to be impact so much as obedience or service as opposed to impact. So just do whatever Jesus says and leave the results up to God. And if that means one person's life is affected, or only your family, or your children, or your neighbor, or whatever, that's enough. That's what He's asked you to do. You don't have to be the Billy Graham who has a crusade of millions. I think what makes that hard is we're addicted to impact. You know, we go to like UVA and schools like that, or we move to Charlottesville because we want to change the world. We want to see ourselves as the key players in history, um, and we want to be at the center of things, and that's how you change the world. And I I struggle with that, and I think part of the when I really ask the question, I have to say, do I really want to change the world, or do I want to be the one who changes the world? And often I have to conclude, I really want to be in the spotlight. I want to be that one that has impact. But I think the lesson from Naaman is let God be God. It's his kingdom, it's his world, he's changing it, things are happening. We don't even know from what direction they're coming sometimes, but we have a part to play and a role to play. So it's not up to us to change the world. That was Jesus' job. He did that on the cross. It's up to us to love people and then be faithful to our calling. So don't aim for impact. Aim for love, aim for obedience. So let me just summarize. I've given you now, these are the two from last night and two this morning. So we're up, we're up to four out of our five. We'll do one more after lunch. So five, when God calls, five ways to run your race well. From last night, follow God's call with humble faith and obedience. That's what we learned from Elijah burning his ox. So just follow with, say yes, burn your ox, humble faith and obedience. The second one is trust God will equip you for whatever he calls you to do. That's what we learned from Elijah asking for the double portion of the Spirit. It's okay to say, God, I'm not adequate, I'm not equipped, I'm not good at this, I don't know that I can do this job. Just trust him that if he's calling you, he'll equip you. And then from today, I'd say number three is seek greatness by doing only that which he calls you to do. No more and no less. And then you can be content. You don't have to always be striving to do more. So greatness is doing whatever God has asked you to do, no more and no less. I think that's what we learn from Naaman. And then number four, aim for love, not impact. Aim for, or you could say, aim for obedience, not impact. That's self-sacrificing love. I think that's what we learn from Elijah and Gehazim. So there's four of our five. Let me pray for us. Father, thank you that you are a God who calls and equipped us. And I know we just pray that we are addicted to impact and fame and fortune, and we want to be the center of the action and the person that makes everything happen. And we just pray that you would give us contentment for for your past, for a heart that wants what you want, to be content with whatever the role you put before us is, and to know that you have a plan, you have a purpose, and maybe we'll be like the unnamed slave girl whose name doesn't get recorded, and yet she had a great impact on the nation, and she may never even have known it. We just ask that you would give us that contentment, that heart to follow you, and the desire to love more, to obey more, and not be so addictive to impact. In Jesus' name. Amen.