May 18, 2025
Today we’re talking about miracles. Do you believe in miracles? A miracle is NOT just something unusual. A miracle is something that seems impossible! It’s a reversal of the laws of nature. Have you ever felt you needed a miracle? Most of us have!
We don’t always get that miracle. It’s devastating when we don’t. God doesn’t always come through with a miracle. But the possibility of miracles is part of our Christian faith. Jesus worked miracles! He healed, multiplied food, and made wine out of water. It’s ok if you’re skeptical. Somebody said Jesus fed 5000 people with two fish and five loaves of bread. “Well, they sliced the bread REALLY thin.”
When it comes to miracles, most of us just want to know how to get one! God invites us to come to Him with prayer requests and ask for miracles. We pray in church, at home, wherever we are (especially when we’re about to take a test) when we need a miracle!
God produces a miracle when it furthers His purposes, such as to build faith. How do you get a miracle? There’s no special prayer. But there is an approach: an attitude of submission and obedience to God. He doesn’t guarantee He will answer with a miracle. But obedience puts you in line with God, so if He wills, God can answer.
Our Scripture today is about a man named Naaman. He lived 2900 years ago. He was a military leader in Aram, a region north of Israel. 2 Kings 5:1 says, Namaan “was a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded…he was a valiant soldier…but he had leprosy.” Namaan’s famous, a great success, and the king thinks he’s awesome, but he has leprosy, a disease they didn’t know how to treat or cure. Leprosy was a skin disease that was contagious, so if you had it you have to keep your distance from everybody! It would make you an outcast!
Namaan would really love to be healed. He was a very important guy. And in the story we’ll look at today, Naaman wants a miracle on his terms. He refuses to do what Elisha tells him to do. But he’s got friends and servants who convince him to give it a try. And he does experience a miracle!
Sometimes, we get a nudge from God, that we should do something. But we don’t want to. Uh-uh. No way. And the thing is, you don’t know what could happen if you submit to God. You don’t know what could happen if you decide to obey and follow God’s nudge.
We all have times we have a decision to make. Do you do the right thing? Or do you compromise, and go against what you know is right? God knocks on the door and asks you to forgive someone, or to give up something that’s bad for you. To do something for your family, or to share when someone has a need.
It’s not just about choosing between two options. It’s about listening to God and obeying. Instead of following my will, do I choose thy will, God’s will. That’s how Jesus taught us to pray, “thy kingdom come, thy will be done…” God, your will be done. When you pray the Lord’s prayer, you’re inviting God to take the wheel. “Whatever you say, God.” The opposite would be to say, “I don’t need you God, you can take a seat while I go do things my way.”
We’ve all had times we decided we know best and gone against God’s way. Then later we realized, I made the wrong decision. And you end up asking God for help.
Choosing to say to God, “Thy will be done,” puts us in the right position for a miracle, if it suits God purposes.
So, the story about Naaman is really a story about us. It’s about being stubborn, thinking my way is best. But realizing, God’s way is better.
Naaman needs a miracle, he needs his leprosy to disappear. His wife has a slave girl from Israel. The girl hears about Naaman’s leprosy and goes to the lady who owns her, Naaman’s wife. The slave girl says, if only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.”
Naaman’s wife tells him about this prophet, Elisha, who can heal, and Naaman goes to the king with the news. “By all means, go,” the king of Aram replied. “I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” The King of Aram sends riches with Naaman, silver, 6000 gold shekels, and 10 sets of clothing! The King of Aram’s letter to the King of Israel asks that Naaman be cured.
But when Naaman arrives in Israel, the King of Israel reads this letter from the king of Aram and tears his clothes! He is thinking, Oh no! Why is the king sending me this man to be healed? What if I don’t heal this great military leader! The King of Aram’s army will attack us! While the king of Israel is terrified, Elisha the prophet and healer, hears about Naaman’s arrival and that the king tore his robes. Elisha sends a message to the king: “Why have you torn your robes? Have the man come to me and he will know that there is a prophet in Israel.”
Naaman and his men look very impressive, pulling up with their chariots and horses at Elisha’s house. Elisha doesn’t even go to meet Naaman. He sends a messenger out to tell Naaman to wash himself seven times in the Jordan river, and he’ll be healed.
Naaman gets mad! He’s about ready to go home in disgust! He says in vs. 11, “I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy.” Naaman wants a great show! Elisha isn’t giving him that. So Naaman decides to leave. He feels disrespected!
But Naaman has some friends who say, come on, if the prophet told you to do something difficult, like go kill a lion and bring him back, you would! He told you to do something easy, just wash in the river. Why not do it?
Naaman gets over his pride, washes in the river 7 times and is healed! He had to get to the point of surrender where he would abeyed and did it God’s way. Then God miraculously healed him!
A time when I had to get over me for a miracle was in 1992, Kevin and I served 2 churches in the Mahantango Valley. One church had a building project they had just done. They came to a realization, there were some big contractor bills left they hadn’t paid, $14,000. With consistory we decided to have a miracle Sunday and bring in $14,000 in one Sunday. That’s quite a lot for a little church! Consistory and pastors would lead the giving. At our consistory meeting we would all put a piece of paper in with the amount we would give. We could encourage the congregation with how much we would give, before asking everybody else to give on Miracle Sunday. These were the first churches Kevin and I served. I say Kevin married me for my money because he owed more in student loan debt than I did! We had a big student loan debt. At the time we had only one car between us. We were each paid as just 2/3 of a pastor. I didn’t want to make a big pledge. I thought we couldn’t! But we got a nudge from God. We pledged $300. Today, that’s almost $700! We pledged on faith, not sure if we could come up with that!
Something amazing happened. Kevin did a funeral and got paid an honorarium by the funeral home. That helped! But then, the guy whose son had died knocked on our door. He said “I really appreciate you doing the funeral. I want you to have this: $100. Kevin said, “No, the funeral director already paid me!” The guy insisted, no, I want you to have this! The man realized Kevin had been paid, but he gave him another $100! It was a God thing! That was the only time in all our ministry, we have been paid twice for a funeral! It’s like, have you ever bought a week’s worth of groceries, and paid the grocery store twice? No, that’s silly. It was a miracle! We stepped out in faith, and God sent a miracle to help us pay our pledge.
There were more miracles: one of the consistory members, John, his first grandchild was born on Miracle Sunday! Then another miracle, the church surpassed the $14,000 goal and brought in $17,000 on Miracle Sunday! It was a multiple Miracle Sunday!
What I want for you, is for you to have a faith-building story you tell for the rest of your life. A story how you needed a miracle, you felt a nudge from God, and you obeyed! You didn’t say, “No God, sorry, you’re asking too much.” You stepped out in faith, and you experienced a miracle! It grew your faith. For me, miracle Sunday showed me you can’t outgive God. God is very generous!
Now, Naaman, he isn’t just healed from leprosy. He’s changed. He knows who healed him. He even asks to take some dirt home from Israel. He says from now on I will only make sacrifices to and worship the God of Isarel.
My challenge for you this week is to ask, what decision are you struggling with? Are you willing to surrender to a nudge from God?
We all want a miracle! If you want to experience God in an unusual or supernatural way, obedience to God is the way you position yourself for what God might do. You could refuse, and regret it, and never know what God might have done through you or in you. Or imagine if one day this is a story you tell, how you surrendered to God, and he was faithful. You’ll have a faith-building story to tell, about how God showed up and worked a miracle! Amen.
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