Sheryl Brady - Don't Walk Away from the Opportunity of a Lifetime

Thank you. The Bible says in Second Kings, chapter 5, verse 1: Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master. That says a whole lot right there. He was honorable because by him the Lord had given deliverance unto Syria. He was also a mighty man in valor. And then there’s that three-letter word that kind of stings and changes everything: he was a mighty man in battle, but—somebody shout—but—he was a leper. And the Syrians had gone out by companies and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid, and she waited on Naaman’s wife. She said unto her mistress, «Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! For he would recover him of his leprosy.» And one went in and told his lord, saying, «Thus and thus said the maid that is of the land of Israel.» And the king of Syria said, «Go to, go; and I will send a letter unto the king of Israel.» And he departed and took with him ten talents of silver, six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment. Verse 9: So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot and stood at the door of the house of Elisha. And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, «Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean.» But Naaman was wroth, and he 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 strike his hand over the place and recover the leper! Are not Abana and Pharpar, 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. And his servants came near and spoke to him and said, «My father, if the prophet had bid thee to do some great thing, wouldst thou not have done it? How much rather then, when he saith to thee, ‘Wash and be clean’?» Then he went down and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God, and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a child, and he was clean. I want to pick up my text from verse 12, just that last clause: «And he turned and went away in a rage.» Look at your neighbor and say, «Neighbor, don’t walk away from the grace of a lifetime.» Turn to your other neighbor and say, «Neighbor, God is offering you the grace of a lifetime; whatever you do, don’t walk away.» Tell somebody else, «He’s offering you the grace of a lifetime; don’t walk away.» Spirit of God, I honor you and thank you for what we have felt in this room today. You gathered us from near and far. Some are here, some are online, and some are in other countries. We are at your table, and we need to hear from you, God. Live in this text; come alive in this room. Cause us to hear what you want us to hear and to see what you want us to see. When it’s all said and done, we’ll always give you the glory and the honor in Jesus' name. Somebody clap your hands and tell Him, «Amen, amen, amen.» Come on, clap like you love Him! Clap like you love Him, like you’re hungry! In Jesus' name, you may be seated today. Thank you.

Leprosy is one of the most feared diseases worldwide. We often hear about the extent of pain that those who suffer from leprosy have to face. However, there is also another kind of pain that comes with leprosy, and it’s called emotional pain. I’m sure we don’t know anything about that in this room—emotional pain. Lepers were shunned by their families; they were neglected. They were forced to beg for survival, forced to beg for food. They could not eat with the same utensils that other people used. Wherever they went, they had to holler out, «Unclean! Unclean!» for fear that someone might approach them. They were forbidden to enter the temple; they could not have come in here today and worshiped like you and I are able to worship. They couldn’t talk to others up close; they were forbidden to eat with anyone. Imagine not being able to touch your own child! They couldn’t touch anybody or anything for that matter; they couldn’t even touch a handrail or a doorknob, if they had them. Even those who were the most compassionate and caring had to keep a good distance away from them because leprosy was a highly dreaded disease, and there was absolutely no medication that they could use to fight it effectively. The king of Syria had a captain, and his name was Naaman. Naaman was a skillful man; he was brave and a highly respected leader. But there’s that word: Naaman was a leper. He hadn’t always been a leper, but he was in this text. And yet despite his giftedness, despite his skill, his charisma, and his influence, Naaman had some serious issues going on in his life.