From His Heart

Dr. Jeff Schreve: Some of you are here and your life, you're making it so complicated. It's not that complicated. For God to work in your life, what is God looking for? He's looking for simple obedience to the simple message. God says, this is what I want you to do. Now do it. You need to start doing what God tells you to do.

Guest (Male): Life is truly not designed to be complicated. But have you consciously or subconsciously taken God's uncomplicated plan for your life and complexified it? And that is a real word, and also not a word you hear a lot, but it surely depicts the reality of how so many people allow the troubles in their lives to create chaos and complexity leading to calamity.

You're listening to From His Heart with Pastor Jeff Schreve and a message today to help that truth seep deeply into your mind and your heart. It's called, It's Not That Complicated, and it's taken from Pastor Jeff's five-lesson series, Got Trouble? What to do when you don't know what to do. Turn now in your copy of God's word to the book of 2nd Kings, chapter five, and allow Pastor Jeff to explain how living during troubled times is not that complicated.

Dr. Jeff Schreve: Could it be that the answer to your big problem, whatever your big problem is, could it be that the answer is more simple than you think? It's not that complicated. We're going to look at the story of Naaman the Syrian in 2nd Kings, chapter five. I want to share with you three discoveries from this passage. Discovery number one, we all have trouble in life.

2nd Kings, chapter five, verse one. Now Naaman, captain of the army of the king of Aram, which is another name for Syria, was a great man with his master. He's a great man. Some way, somehow, this pagan guy, the Lord is blessing his life. He's a valiant warrior. But in all the good, there's some bad. He's a leper. That's the disease that Naaman had.

It gets progressively worse and there's no cure for it. Verse two. Now the Arameans had gone out in bands, they had little marauding bands, and they would go out like little terrorist groups. They had taken captive a little girl from the land of Israel, and she waited on Naaman's wife. She said to her mistress, I wish that my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria, then he would cure him of his leprosy. So there is some good news because they tell Naaman about a God, the God of Israel, Yahweh, who can work miracles.

The first discovery that we learn today is trouble. We all have trouble and there's always some bad, but there's a God who can work miracles. Discovery number two, we all want our trouble to go away. Verse four. And Naaman went in and told his master, his master was Ben-hadad II, his master was the king of the Syrians, king of the Arameans.

He went in and told his master saying, thus and thus spoke the girl who is from the land of Israel. Then the king of Aram said, go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel. And he departed. So he is going to make this long journey on a horse because a slave girl in Israel said there's a prophet there in Samaria who can cure you of your leprosy. One of the things that we're going to learn in this story is when Naaman, the leprous general, comes to Elisha, Elisha tells him something that's not hard to do and he doesn't want to do it.

But he was already to do something hard and something heroic. Tell me what you want me to do, Elisha. You want me to go tackle a dragon and slay a dragon? I'll do it. I'm mighty in valor. I'm strong and courageous and I can handle that. We'll go to great lengths, we'll do difficult things, whatever it takes to get better, to get our trouble to go away.

Discovery number three, we all have to come to grips with God's simple answer. So Naaman came with his horses and his chariots and his entourage and stood at the doorway of the house of Elisha. Really important, verse 10. 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.

He didn't even come to the door. Just sent a messenger. You go tell him this. The great, the mighty Naaman, the Syrian general. Elisha just sends an errand boy to the door. Verse 11. But Naaman was furious and went away and said, behold, I thought 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 cure the leper. That's the way it's supposed to be done.

Are not Abana and Pharpar, 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. He is spitting nails. He is so mad. The word for rage literally means, or furious means, to crack off. It means to burst out in rage. We talk about people going ballistic, people blowing their top like a volcano. That's what happened to him.

He was so mad and he went off in a rage, which means burning anger. Think of him. All of a sudden, he's at the door of Elisha and Elisha doesn't come to the door. Elisha says, go down to the Jordan, here's the message, go down to the Jordan about 25 miles away, go down to the Jordan and dip in the Jordan seven times and you'll be cleansed. He uncorked. He just lost it. He freaked out, he was so angry.

He was angry for two reasons. Number one, he was insulted. I've come 100 miles on this horse and I've come to see you and I've got all this gold and all this silver and I've got 10 Armani suits, $2,000 a piece, just your size. This is how you treat me? You don't even come to the door? Do you not know who I am? He was insulted and he was incensed.

And he says, that's not the way you do things. I don't know how long you've been a prophet, Elisha, but let me tell you something, that's not the way you deal with a guy like me. And that's not the way you cure leprosy anyway. That's what he thought. If you're going to get God to work in your trouble, whatever your trouble is, there's something that's going to precede his working in your life.

Number one, you have to jettison your pride. Because God is opposed to the proud. He gives grace to the humble. If you don't jettison your pride, God will never do anything in your life. Before Naaman could get healed, he had to be humbled. Because he was a guy who walked in pride. All about me. What is pride? Pride's the big 'I', middle letter in the word 'pride', I.

And Naaman thought he was really a hotshot. And he didn't like the way Elisha was treating him. He had to jettison his pride before God could work in his life. 1st Peter, chapter five, verse five, says, humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God. God is opposed to the proud and gives grace to the humble. Therefore, humble yourself, the scripture says, under the mighty hand of God. He's not going to do in your life if you're walking around in pride.

Pride is the sin that sends people to hell. You want to know why people go to hell? It's because of pride. Rotten pride. There are people who come to this church and have been coming to this church off and on for years and years and years, and they've heard the gospel and they've heard the gospel and they heard the gospel, but they walk in pride.

And pride says, I don't need that. I can make it on my own. I'm a self-made man. Have you seen how much money I have in the bank? Have you seen all that I've accomplished? I don't need to come down front. I don't need to humble my life before the Lord Jesus Christ. I don't need to do that. God's opposed to the proud. He'll line up against you if you're proud. He'll knock your head off if you're proud.

You don't believe that? You read about Nebuchadnezzar who thought he was such a big hotshot and God took him out. Lost his mind. He was living like a wild man out in the wilderness for seven years. Hair out like feathers, his nails grew like the nails of a bird. He just lost his mind. God will deal with you harshly if you're not going to humble yourself under his mighty hand. So the Lord had to deal with Naaman's pride. And then not only if we're going to see God do something in our lives, we have to jettison our pride, but we have to make sure we're not leaning on our own understanding. You must lean not on your own understanding.

Guest (Male): You're listening to From His Heart with Pastor Jeff Schreve, and he'll continue to explore this truth when we return in just a moment. But you know, life is not that complicated. But when it comes to money, it can seem to be complicated. Can you avoid those pitfalls? Yes. In Pastor Jeff Schreve's latest series we aired at the beginning of this month called, God and Money: What the Bible Says About Managing Money.

Pastor Jeff unpacks what the Bible teaches about finances, stewardship, and the heart behind our giving. This new series is our gift of thanks to you for your support to From His Heart this month of any amount. You can receive the series, God and Money, on a USB flash drive, CDs, DVDs, or MP3 download. Your choice. Simply call 866-40-BIBLE, 866-40-BIBLE, or go to fromhisheart.org. Now, let's get back to the series, Got Trouble? What to do when you don't know what to do, and part two of the lesson, It's Not That Complicated.

Dr. Jeff Schreve: What's the problem here for Naaman? Not only was he insulted because he wasn't dealt with the way he should have as a mighty, noble man, but then he was given this stupid solution to his problem. Go wash in the river Jordan, dip yourself seven times. Go to that dirty pond. He's like, the waters in Damascus, Pharpar and Abana, they're better than all the waters of Israel. Why do you want me to go down into that dirty mud hole you call the Jordan River and dip myself seven times? What a stupid plan is that?

That's not what he thought in his mind he should do. He had it all figured out. He had the ceremony all figured out of what Elisha was supposed to do and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. You want to be cleansed of your leprosy? Then go to the Jordan.

Go east to the Jordan River. Get back on your horse and go 25 miles and dip yourself seven times in the Jordan River. Now he didn't want to do that because that didn't compute with him. And then his servants, they came to him in verse 13. And they said to him, my father, had the prophet told you to do some great thing, some hard thing, some heroic thing, the head of Medusa, would you not have done it? How much more then when he says to you, wash and be clean?

The Message says, so why not this simple wash and be clean? See, you have to jettison your pride, you must not lean on your own understanding, and you must obey the clear and simple word from God. Is it really hard what he was asking Naaman to do? Of course not. Naaman, I know you're spewing lava of anger out all over the place here, but think about this. We've just come 100 miles.

The guy tells you to get back on your horse and just ride another 25 miles and dip seven times in the Jordan. Well, why wouldn't you do that? What do you got to lose except your leprosy? It's a simple word. And what does he do? He says, all right, I'll do it. Verse 14. So he 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.

He got off his, got onto his horse from Elisha's doorstep and he rode 25 more miles and he gets there to the east and he gets off his horse. There's the Jordan River. I've baptized people in the Jordan River. It was a dirty pond when I was there. I guess it was, according to Naaman, he thought it was a dirty river. Somebody preached a sermon one time they called it seven ducks in a dirty pond. I mean, this is what I need to do? So he goes down in the river, he's thinking, this is stupid. Dips himself down.

One, leprosy. Two, leprosy. Three, leprosy. Four, leprosy. Five, leprosy. Six, leprosy. Seven. Wow. It's gone. My leprosy is gone. That white skin is gone. And not only did God heal him and cure him and take that away and cleanse him of his leprosy, but he did something even more. He gave him the flesh of a little child.

How much money do some of you ladies spend on wrinkle cream? You go down and dip seven times in the Jordan, maybe it'll do something for you, who knows? Ephesians 3:20, now to him who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all we ask or think according to the power that works within us, to him be the glory. God does so much more.

All of a sudden this guy, wrinkles gone, and skin is like a baby's skin. Verse 14 is an Old Testament picture of a person who is born again. A person who puts his faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and is born brand new. It's a visual representation of John 3, that you must be born again. That he put his faith and trust in the word of God. He stepped out, even though he didn't think this is going to work, he did it and he stepped out and bam, and his life was changed.

Not only was his leprosy taken away, that was wonderful, but more than that, his heart was changed. Because he says in verse 15, he gets back on his horse and he goes 25 more miles to get to Elisha. And when he returned to the man of God with all his company, he came and stood before him and he said, behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel. So please take a present from your servant now.

Elisha wouldn't take a present. He wouldn't take all the gold, he wouldn't take the Armani suits. He said, no. And here was his reason. I'm not a prophet that you can buy. This didn't come from me, this came from God. You need to know that. And here is Naaman and Naaman has a pagan background, so he thought and the people that lived in the area of the day that the pagans that lived around Israel, they thought that God was localized. You had a god of Moab and a god of Edom and a god of this and a god of that.

And so he asks for two mule loads of dirt to take back with him so that he can build an altar there and sacrifice and give praise and worship to the God of Israel. And this is the God of Israel's soil. And Elisha doesn't correct him, he just says, go in peace. Go in peace. His life had been changed all because he did what the prophet told him to do. It wasn't hard. It's not that complicated for God to work in your life. What is God looking for?

He's looking for simple obedience to the simple message. Whatever he says to you, John chapter two, verse five, do it. Do it. And in John chapter two, he told those servants, fill the water pots with water, and then draw some out, and lo and behold, the water became wine. Whatever he says to you, do it. I've told you before, I tell you again, it's worth repeating, it's worth remembering. God will not do what you can do and you cannot do what he can do.

It takes faith to get back on your horse and go to the Jordan River and dip yourself seven times. That's a step of faith. He couldn't cure himself of the leprosy. Neither could Elisha. All of the power came from God. But he wasn't going to be cleansed and cured unless he did what the Lord told him to do. We must obey the clear and simple word from God.

Some of you are here and your life, you're making it so complicated. It's not that complicated. God says, this is what I want you to do. Now do it. Why do you call me Lord, Lord, Jesus said, and do not do what I say? Insanity is doing the same things over and over again and you expect a different result. We have people that over the years I've talked to people and they come in for counseling and you tell them, this is what you need to do.

But they don't do it. It's not hard. They don't want to do it. And then they'll come back two weeks later. I've got this problem and this problem and this problem. Well, you're not doing what you're supposed to do. So no kidding, you're going to have those problems. You need to start doing what God tells you to do. The scripture says, Matthew 6:33, Jesus said, seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things that you worry about, they'll be added to you.

I'll take care of you if you'll just seek me first. How complicated is that? It's not complicated. It just requires you to say, Lord, I'm going to do that. I'm going to put you above sports. I'm going to put you above my friends. I'm going to put you above everything. I'm going to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. And Lord, I'm just going to trust you that you're going to provide for all my needs, just like you promised in your word.

Matthew 6:24, where Jesus said no man can serve two masters. He'll either love the one and hate the other, or cling to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and riches. And that tends to be the thing we tend to serve. We put above all else, our money. The Lord says, no, don't do that. Obey me. You seek me first and I'll take care of you. Obedience, to be morally obedient to God.

One of the problems we have in our churches today, the people in church morally don't look any different from the people outside the church when it comes to living together. I do that. We love each other, so we can live together. So we have sex together, we're not married. And the adultery in the church is just like outside of the church. The divorce in the church is just like outside of the church.

God says, come out from among them and be holy. It's time, we're living in a world that's going to hell on a fast ride. And if we don't start standing up as God's people and saying I'm going to walk with God, we're going to lose the whole thing. Do you understand that? It's time for God's people to say, I'm going to come out.

I know it's a struggle and I know it can be difficult and I know that there are sins that the Bible talks about that are besetting sins, sins that so easily entangle us. I understand that. But God forbid that we ever have a heart as children of God that says I'm going to do whatever I want to do. I'm going to thumb my nose up at God. How do people do that?

I think one of the reasons that people do that is because they don't know the Lord. There is no fear of God there. But if you're a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, you can't just live any way you want and just say, who cares? I'm just under grace. I can just do what I want. Being under grace is not a license to sin. It's the vehicle that we can have a relationship with God. Come into his presence, come out from among them and say God help me to be the Christian you want me to be. Help me to shine for you like you want me to do.

Obedience. So many of the problems that we have, it's because we're just simply not obeying God. And if we'll hear God's word and do what he says, the Lord will show up big time and life will begin. That tangled mass you called your life, it will begin to untangle. God is the great untangler and God can take your mess and turn it into a message. And he wants to do that. But here is the thing. He's waiting for you to go to the Jordan and dip seven times. He's waiting for simple obedience. The song says, trust and obey, because there's no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey.

Guest (Male): Our prayer is that today's teaching and this message, It's Not That Complicated, has presented the gospel message to you in an uncomplicated, clear and straightforward way as God intended. To find out more about what it means to surrender it all to Christ and to live in obedience and truth, we want to invite you to fromhisheart.org and click the Why Jesus icon on your homepage.

You'll get a clear explanation of how much God loves you. Simply click the Why Jesus icon on our homepage for help from Pastor Jeff and free resources to get you started on your journey of faith. Today's message was part two of the lesson, It's Not That Complicated, from the series, Got Trouble? What to do when you don't know what to do. You can find out more about this series when you go online to fromhisheart.org.

When you are there, we hope that you'll consider making a financial gift to From His Heart this month. It'll help us continue to reach out to lost and hurting people around the world each and every day. And with that gift of any amount today, we'd say thank you by sending you Pastor Jeff's new three-lesson series, God and Money: What the Bible Says About Managing Money. You can get it in the format of your choice when you call 866-40-BIBLE or go to fromhisheart.org.

Thank you for listening today. I'm Larry Nobles inviting you to join Pastor Jeff Schreve next time for the next lesson in the series, Got Trouble? What to do when you don't know what to do. That's when we'll open up God's word and find real truth, real love, and real hope from his heart.