Syrian Leper Gospel Chapel Ministries HOME SERMONS SERMON NOTES
#229 THE SYRIAN LEPER, 2 KINGS 5:1-16
Chapter 1 "Two Parables"
"Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable, because by him the LORD had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour, 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.
"And 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, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment. And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, Now when this letter is come unto thee, behold, I have therewith sent Naaman my servant to thee, that thou mayest recover him of his leprosy. And it came to pass, when the king of Israel had read the letter, that he rent his clothes, and said, Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy? wherefore consider, I pray you, and see how he seeketh a quarrel against me.
"And it was so, when Elisha the man of God had heard that the king of Israel had rent his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, Wherefore hast thou rent thy clothes? let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel. 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 Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean.
"But Naaman was wroth, 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 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? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage.
"And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?
"Then went he 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 little child, and he was clean. And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came, and stood before him: and he said, Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel: now therefore, I pray thee, take a blessing of thy servant. But he said, As the LORD liveth, before whom I stand, I will receive none. And he urged him to take it; but he refused." (2KI 5:1-16)
This Old Testament message holds as prominent a place in the gospel as the parable of the Prodigal Son. The history of Naaman and the Prodigal Son seem to be synonymous in that they both had seemingly received their inheritance in this life. The Scriptures tell us that not many rich or noble people are called, but it doesn't say, "None." Naaman was a man of great pomp; he had the position of captain of the host. He was a great man with his master; he was honorable because the Lord had given deliverance unto Syria through him. He was a mighty man, but he was a leper.
Let's consider the parallel of this story to that of the Prodigal Son. LUK 15:12 tells us, "And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living." The Prodigal Son received his station in this life. He was given much riches, his portion in this world.
They were both brought to higher values by God's providence. When God put His finger upon them, it marred the heart's value of the things of this life. The Lord put His finger on the Prodigal Son by removing his station in life. However, with the Syrian the Lord put His finger upon him physically. The Syrian was a leper. The effect was the same; it was a matter of God’s providence marring the glitter of the things of this life.
They were both brought to a carefully planned repentance by a deliberate act of the will after their rebellion was broken. Take notice of LUK 15:17-18. "And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee." By a deliberate act of the Prodigal Son's will, using his logic, he very carefully planned his repentance.
The same use of logic was true of the Syrian as we see in 2KI 5:13-14, "And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?" It was logical to admit they were right, so he obeyed. It was a logical act of the mind; he humbled himself, and he obeyed. "Then went he 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 little child, and he was clean." His leprosy was gone, completely washed away.
The Prodigal Son pondered his plight with his human reasoning, using logic, he analyzed what he was doing. He changed his mind, returned, and repented, but that repentance was in a planned order. And so it was with the Syrian. The logic of his folly came to his attention; he changed his mind and turned from his rage and obeyed. Do you see the parallel in the history recorded of these two?
Naaman had supposed the procedure would be so much different. Perhaps he envisioned the man of God striking his hand over the sores, offering big prayers, and performing a great ritual to make the great wonder happen. He also thought the man of God would come and show him some honor for his station in life. The man of God never even came out to see him; he sent his messenger to tell him to go wash in Jordan. He never paid honor to the Syrian's station in life. The Syrian saw the logic when the men said,"if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?" The logic of this settled in the man's mind; he repented of his rage, his attitude, and he obeyed. He dipped seven times in Jordan, and his flesh became like a small child's. He was cleansed.
We need to consider the parallel between the two accounts; there are some tremendous truths here that illustrate how the gospel message comes to you and I. How do we respond? Are we waiting for some tremendous, big experience to happen? We must be able to understand the simplicity of the gospel; it includes logic, planning repentance, and obeying.
As with the parable of the Prodigal Son, we see God's hand of providence bringing a man who held a desirable station in life to submission to God's will. Then we see a well-planned repentance through God's tender, Fatherly love. It was in the tender love of God the Father who put His finger upon their idol that brought them into their right place. The Lord took away the Prodigal Son's idol, his wealth, and brought him to poverty. The Lord put His finger upon the physical body of the Syrian, but He allowed him to keep his pomp and wealth. In both cases it accomplished one and the same thing. It brought them to humble repentance as a breaking of the will. Their will was brought into submission to the will of the Father. That is the bottom line.
PSA 94:11-13 tells us, "The LORD knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity. Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O LORD, and teachest him out of thy law; [teaches him to submit to His will] That thou mayest give him rest from the days of adversity, until the pit be digged for the wicked." You see, he calls the people who are chastened blessed. They are taught to understand the Lord's will and do it.
Chapter 2 "But he was a leper"
"Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honorable, because by him the LORD had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper." (2KI 5:1)
This Old Testament account of God's way in saving a soul first reveals the man's desirable station in life, but also God's intervention by putting His finger upon all this worldly pomp. There is logic in the teaching of this text. In all his pomp, wealth, and honor this Syrian, Naaman, would have never had occasion to come unto the prophet of Israel had the Lord not smitten him with the plague of leprosy. If the Lord had not placed His finger upon that man, logic will tell you he would not have willingly come to the prophet of Israel. This text also teaches us that the Lord intervenes because you and I would not have occasion to come to Christ for salvation if the Lord would allow us to entertain our thoughts and our pleasures in the things of this life.
The Lord comes to intervene one way or another to get our attention and break our will. He will give us to see that we are lepers by nature, and we need the heavenly Physician. He will use some means to do this; with the Prodigal Son, the Lord took away his possessions, with Naaman, the Lord sent a physical condition. Sometimes the Lord will work in us to see our spiritual condition; He may convict us of sin spiritually where we would see our spiritual leprous condition. The Lord intervenes, and without His intervention there would be no repentance.
As the king's favorite, Naaman was commander in chief of all the royal armies. There is scarcely a position held in more public esteem than a general who has just obtained an early victory, yet the poorest slave in all Syria would have dreaded to take Naaman's place because of that one word, but. "...but he was a leper." Think of General Swartzcoff's enormous popularity in the Gulf War; he was a hero admired by the whole nation because of the early victory in the war with Iraq. However, Naaman was not envied by even the lowest ranking person because he was a leper. He had a living death in his body. All of his glory and pomp was tarnished by the leprosy.
The plague of leprosy has no cure. In Israel the laws pertaining to a leper seemed to convey the idea of death. It was so dreadful that God commanded in LEV 13:45, "And the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and his head bare, and he shall put a covering upon his upper lip, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean." The plague of leprosy was so dreadful, like a living death.
Think how the realization of such a loathsome, living death must cause such a proud man to cry out like Paul; "O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" ROM 7:24. Leprosy was a disease that kept growing and advancing. One could see a portion of their body literally dying and falling off. The flesh would actually fall away. One could watch death gradually consume their body while they were yet alive.
As Naaman rode in his pomp or stood in the royal courts of the king, or triumphed at the head of his army, there was still that miserable consciousness of that little word "But...he was a leper." Think of how this robbed him of the glory and his joy because of the word but.
Who in all the kingdom of Syria would want to take Naaman's place? What was all his honour, wealth, rank, and power worth with that fatal, ghastly stamp of death on its face? "...but he was a leper!" The picture of this is so awful. The poorest private in Naaman's ranks would not want to exchange for all his honor because he is a leper; yet Naaman is a representative of man by nature.
Every descendant of Adam's race is infected with the leprosy of sin and it excludes them from God's love and fellowship as "...the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and his head bare, and he shall put a covering upon his upper lip, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean." (LEV 13:45) You and I are infected with the leprosy of sin; that is the status of every man by nature. It is important to see the parallel; the leprosy of the body and of the soul are synonymous in so many ways. Both diseases are hereditary, progressive, incurable by human means, and fatal in every case not cured by Divine intervention.
When the plague of AIDS was first brought to widespread attention, it was called the plague of leprosy because it was incurable and progressively got worse. That was the parallel that made the connection rather than any resemblance in its nature. Another point; they are both fatal in every case that is not cured by Divine intervention. Naaman was cured by divine intervention, and the leprosy of sin and the leprosy of the body are both fatal.
Leprosy was not the product of poverty or poor living conditions, degradation, or crime. It infected the greatest favorite of the monarch as well as the beggar on the street, and so it is with sin. You and I must understand that the leprosy of sin has infected every human being.
By God's restraining grace some are spared from grosser sins, but the seeds of sin are in the heart. In ROM 3:23 we read, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" all have that disease of spiritual leprosy.
It is a sad, but stern fact that, until the Holy Spirit's work of regeneration renews the heart of man through the enlightening of the understanding, the inflaming of the affections, and the renewing of the spirit of the mind, until the Holy Spirit works in him the work of regeneration and a new creation, a person may seem to be religious; he may attend church and attempt to deal honestly, but he is still a leper.
Naaman was "...captain of the host of the king of Syria, [he] was a great man with his master, and honorable...he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper." (2KI 5:1) Naaman was not a bum, a criminal, or one who had a low standard of living. He was honorable and a hero, but he was a leper. That is the but that is the message of the gospel and where it must begin; but we are lepers.
Chapter 3 "A Word in Season"
Let's consider how Naaman's understanding was enlightened through one whom he had taken captive who heaped coals of love upon his head. Now let's see how this Syrian leper was cured by the same sequence taught in the gospel of the New Testament. The very first element in the sequence is the enlightening of one's understanding; often it is through such simple means.
In Naaman's case his cure was effected through the love and compassion of one who was most insignificant, one of his captives. It was one who had such love for her captor that she brought him to the cure. This is the gospel. Naaman's cure was effected through the love of a very insignificant person. Naaman had all the pomp that accompanies a high station in life, and the Lord cured this dignitary through the most simple means. She was a maid he had taken captive.
The Lord does not rely on Doctors of Divinity or schools of theology. Most often His servants are of the meaner sort, i.e., of the lower class. The apostles were fishermen rather than learned men. That was a most offensive aspect to the scribes, Pharisees, and chief priests. Those men were merely fishermen; they were publicans and sinners, and they were the ones the Lord chose to be the apostles.
Here we see a little maid who had been taken captive; you can understand that Naaman was not looking to that source for the way of his salvation. The Lord's ways are so much different than our ways. 2KI 5:2 says, "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 was a slave, a servant to Naaman's wife.
Although she was torn from her home by this cruel captor and forced to work as a slave, no thoughts of anger or revenge seemed to fill the heart of this captive maiden. She was not only willing to inform Naaman about a possible cure, but seemed to pray for him. Do you see the Spirit of Christ revealed in this little maid? 2KI 5:3 tells us, "And 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." In other words she directs Naaman's attention to the prophet of Israel who was the symbol of the Lord Jesus Christ. She brings to his attention that there is a cure; she didn't preach a long sermon with all the doctrines of grace and theological teachings. She merely pointed out there was a cure in the prophet of Israel; there was a way to be cleansed from his leprosy. She pointed to the Lord as the cure.
Even though this maiden was in captivity, she remembered the prophet of Israel and spoke a word in season. Speaking a word in season means speaking when it is the right time and place for your message. One can see a person wrapped up in his pomp and worldly things; trying to speak to him is futile if he won't hear you because there is no place for what you say. Now the Lord made a way open; the man had God's finger upon him. He was a leper, and she talked about his problem. She didn't reprove him of his wealth; she dealt with what was important to him. If you and I are to speak a word in season, we must first be a good listener and observer. We must find the area we can speak to the person that will touch his heart. If we are to speak a word in season, it must be done in a way that goes to what is of interest to that person. She did it.
ISA 50:4 says, "The Lord GOD hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned." We have to identify wherein they are weary. Is it in their course of life, in their children, in their health? Where is there a place we can get to their heart. That is the area one builds upon to show them that Christ is the solution. Everyone has problems. We must find the vacuum in each life and fill it with the Word of God. That is having "the the tongue of the learned." "He wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned" means we must first hear where that man's problem is to know where his vacuum is that we may speak a word in season.
There is much difference between speaking a word in season to those whose hearts the Lord has prepared, and what Jesus spoke of in MAT 7:6, "Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you." Many times people go out thinking they are speaking a word in season. Notice, we are told in ISA to "speak a word…" It is a simple, caring gesture, not a longwinded preaching.
When we learn to hear and find the vacuum to speak a word that is for their comfort, for their admonition, in a way they have an ear to hear, they are more apt to listen.
As the Lord opens our understanding in the law of love then we, as this maiden, become an example to the world and shine forth as a lily among thorns. When you and I receive the ear of the learned to be able to decipher wherein they need instruction, where the Lord has built a vacuum, we are able to speak a word in season. Then we will shine as in SON 2:2, "As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters." Then it becomes a desirable admonition that is received by the other person's heart. It is placed in good soil that has been watered or prepared by the Lord.
The lesson we learn from this great example of self-sacrificial love is that we never lose an opportunity for Christ to be revealed in us. This little maid could have been filled with bitterness and anger; with a revengeful spirit she could have pointed to Naaman and said it was the Lord's penalty for what he had done to her. She could have rejoiced in his sorrow.
The Spirit of Christ comes forth so preciously in that little maid. She had the opportunity to be a witness for the Lord. The Lord used the captivity of that girl as His means, in His hand, to bring the message to Naaman. Sometimes the Lord allows us to go through some very trying circumstances to put us in a position to be His witness, to be a proper candidate to be His witness, to be able to speak a word for Christ.
1CO 4:12-13 tells us, "And labour, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it: Being defamed, we intreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day." The Lord allows you and I to be made the offscouring of the world for the very purpose of being His witnesses. In other words, when we are reviled, we do not revile again in retaliation. That is demonstrating the Spirit of Christ.
Our hope of salvation is obtained through cheerful endurance. Patience in Scripture means cheerful endurance; it doesn't mean we just grit our teeth and ride it out with grumbling and murmuring. No, the word patience means cheerful endurance. It means that when we are in the heat of the fire, in the purging process, we sing our Psalms in the night as the Apostle Paul did in prison. His singing Psalms in the night shook the walls; he became a witness to the jailer. That singing after they had been abused is cheerful endurance. He wasn't there complaining about the terrible Romans; he was a witness to the salvation of souls.
We see this in ROM 5:3-4, "...we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope." Do you see how important patience is? That is where you and I come to the hope of our salvation. It is through our patience and walk that the Lord has ordained.
It is a rare thing to find a person today who is truly content with their station in life. Most people grumble about something; if it isn't too hot, it's too cold. If it isn't too wet, it's too dry. Farmers often grumble because the weather doesn't cooperate with their work schedules. Business men grumble about the economy. There is always something to grumble about; it is truly rare to find a person who is content with the things they have. The history of this captive maiden is a blessed example of what we learn in HEB 13:5-6, "Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me."
As we go through the trials of this life, through possible persecutions, what a blessed testimony it is if we can speak from a heart that is content. If all we do when faced with persecution is complain and grumble about those who come against us, we will accomplish two things. First, no one cares to listen to it. Secondly, you have brought reproach upon the cross of Christ. Put the shoe on the other foot. If people observe how you have been persecuted, crucified in the flesh, and you speak only of the wonders God has performed, blessing and preserving you, you become a witness for the Spirit of Christ. That is boldly saying the Lord is my helper. Then I will not fear what man will do to me.
Once while sitting in an airplane a man questioned me endlessly about what I was doing. When I explained what I had just been through, he said, "Scientifically, you are not here."
"What do you mean?" I replied.
"Scientifically, you have been in the grave 13 years because the frustration and mental agony would have killed you. Ulcers, cancer, heart disease, or any of several other aliments would have killed you."
He went on to explain that he was the chairman of the burn clinic in Salt Lake. Then he wanted to know why I hadn't died 13 years ago. How did I live through this ordeal? From then until the time the plane landed, I was able to tell him of the wonders of how Christ had given me such peace in my heart. I explained how I was able to be submissive rather than frustrated and grumbling for I received it as from my Father's hand. I was able to tell him the Lord was my helper and I had no fear of what man could do to me. That is why I didn't die of frustration and discontent.
It is one of the choicest graces to have peace in the providence of God. MAT 6:31-33 says, "Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."
We must seek first the will of God and what can we do to serve His kingdom. What can I do out of the law of love? What can I do for my fellow man? The little maid had that Spirit of Christ. She wasn't grumbling about being torn from her family and land; she was concerned that God would be with the prophet of Israel and the welfare of her captor. She sought the righteousness of God with a right attitude toward her fellow man. "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."
A sense of true peace with God brings a desire for the reconciliation of our fellow man with God. If we understand true peace, our hearts burn to see our fellow man brought into reconciliation with God. This little maiden sought an opportunity to speak a word in season that her leprous captor might learn about the prophet of Israel. That was her desire; she spoke to her mistress because she didn't have occasion to speak to Naaman or the the king. She spoke to the lady she served. "And 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." (2KI 5:3) She saw the sad state of living death in her master; her heart was vexed, and she had a desire to remedy the situation. Not only that, she took the courage to speak to her captor's wife to tell her where to find the remedy. She was a witness for the Lord.
As we have come to see the beauty there is in Christ's precious atonement for our own souls, we should become valiant soldiers for Christ and His cause. JOH 4:28-29 tells us of the woman of Samaria who learned what a wretch she was; the Lord opened her eyes to see the leprosy of sin. She was so burdened for her fellow man that "the woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men, Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?" Do you see how the knowledge of her own corrupt nature gave her such a yearning desire that the men of the city would come and learn that this was the Christ. It was the knowledge of her own leprous condition that caused her to point others to Christ.
It is for this cause that Jesus prayed in His intercessory prayer in JOH 17:14-15, "I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil." The Lord Jesus is saying He did not ask that those like the little maid be taken out of the world; she had to be there under persecution and those circumstances to minister to Naaman. Christ's church is not of the world, but they must remain in the world to minister to those in need.
JOH 17:16-20 says, "They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word." The Father sent Christ into the world to bring forth the blessed message of the gospel, and Jesus says, "Even so have I also sent them into the world."
Jesus wants them to remain in this sinful world that they might be able to bring forth the gospel. They are set apart by the enlightening of the understanding to become witnesses for the Lord. Jesus prayed for them and those who come to the Lord through them. It was through the word of that little maid that Naaman became a believer. That is why they must remain in the world.
Now let's consider the responsibility that lays upon you and me. Every city is full of lepers who still need cleansing. We speak to them, buy from them, visit with them in the course of our everyday lives. If we realize the leprosy of sin will bring them into eternal condemnation, we should prayerfully seek occasion to speak a word in season.
Sometimes when a person is cursing and swearing, we may have the right occasion to speak a word in season. While such blasphemy is occurring, one can pray for the Lord to give us an opportunity to speak a word in season. Perhaps later in a conversation one may share a passage of Scripture to answer a question or something of this sort. Then may be the opportunity to talk of the sinfulness of sin.
2KI 5:3 tells us of the little maid; "And 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." Do you see how simple her message was? She touched on the point that was so sensitive. We, too, must find the other person's tender point; he may be swearing, but he is talking about the economy. That is the point one must pick up. You capitalize on where he is and his problem. We may tell them we really don't have it so bad; we have food, clothing. When we think of how dreadfully wicked the world is, many people have it worse than you or I. We could justly be there too. In this tone of conversation, one can bring them to see the sinfulness of sin. A returning unto the Lord is what is needed. This type of conversation can be used often to start administering the gospel to people that are grumbling and crying and groaning about all their aches and pains and things they are dissatisfied with. You can capitalize on that to bring them the gospel. This little maid used the plague of leprosy as the opportunity to instill the truth.
How few there are like this little maid who tell these lepers about the prophet of Israel. There is such a dumb spirit in the churches today. By dumb I mean silence, the inability to speak. How many people use every opportunity to speak a word in season?
If you had found a cure for some deadly disease in your body would you not proclaim it to every person you knew who had the same? Of how much more value is their soul? If you found a cure for the leprosy of sin, would you share it? No, not in the way of being critical, but in a way of finding the vacuum in other's lives. Then one can fill it with the gospel.
Think of the reward Jesus speaks of which shall be found on the judgment day for those who have brought but a cup of cold water to some thirsty soul. Do you realize that when you hear a person grumbling and complaining about so many things, that man is showing you where he is thirsty. He has a vacuum that could be filled by you with the gospel. That is giving them a cup of cold water.
We read of the reward that the Lord will give in HEB 6:10, "For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister." Do you know who the saints are? They are those whom God has chosen from eternity. They may not yet have heard the gospel, but they are to be or will be saved because they are among those whom God has chosen for salvation. You must minister to their needs; you are not to judge who is or isn't a saint. You are to minister to every living soul because in so doing you may minister to a stranger not knowing you minister to an angel. You must minister to their spiritual needs as well as their physical needs of a cup of cold water.
Depend upon it beloved, every honest effort, however humble, which is made for the spiritual welfare of our fellow men will be remembered by our lovely Saviour. We do not do it for the reward, but the reward teaches how pleased the Lord is when we have a heart's desire to labor for welfare of His people.
In MAT 10:42 we read, "And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward." If a person comes to your door in need, you minister to them if only because they are a friend of your friend. Much more if you do it because you are doing it for Christ's sake. Ministering to the needs of others is so pleasing in the eyes of the Lord; the second table of the law is so vitally important to understand. We are to love our neighbour as ourselves. "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets." (MAT 7:12) We are to be kind and loving to that person in their need even though they may have been unkind to you.
This is not done for merit but from a motive of love. Those who are truly blessed will be filled with wonder to hear Jesus say He was so pleased. What a wonder that will be! I know of a couple of times in my life that the Lord came with a passage of Scripture to show me how pleased He was with something I had done. I don't know of anything that melts the heart in humility more than to think that the God of heaven was so pleased with something we can do.
Now see what happens on the Judgment Day. "Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." (MAT 25:37-40)
The Lord had just told them they were on His right hand and would inherit the kingdom of heaven because He was hungry and they fed him. They were so overwhelmed with the wonder that the Lord had even noticed, much less that He put it down for a reward. We do not realize how pleasing it is in the eyes of the Lord when we reach out to bring that cup of cold water to fill a vacuum in some person who is so frustrated about so many things. It is to turn their eyes unto Christ.
This is not speaking of only literal food and water; it also speaks of spiritual food and water. It is ministering unto the saints. That is so blessed to see in HEB 6:10, "For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister." Notice, He didn't say, "Labor of merit." Our whole motive for doing whatever we do must be a motive of love. We are showing a labor of love to the name of Christ by the ministering we do unto the saints. The Lord will reward every man according to his doings. Amen.
These on-lines sermons are a ministry of Gospel Chapel located in Conrad, Montana. We also have a daily devotion. See also, our sermon notes.
We pray this sermon has been a blessing to those who read it. If you share this sermon with a friend, please let us know. Thank you.
