Introduction

  • Guest preacher: Ernest Smith, Lead Pastor of Front Range Church (Castle Rock, CO), a Lake Pointe church-plant (2013).
  • Ernest recounts Lake Pointe’s partnership, highlighting the Strategic Launch Network and personal support from Pastors Steve & Josh.
  • Sets the stage by confessing a lifelong struggle with comparison and the cultural pressure to “be successful.”
  • Central tension: God’s definition of success vs. our drive for status, wealth, and control.
  • How God re-defines achievement through Naaman’s healing and our own obedience.

Scripture References

  • 2 Kings 5:1–15
  • 1 Kings 22:34–40
  • Romans 6:23

Key Points / Exposition

1. Naaman: Acclaimed Yet Incomplete

  • Background (2 Kings 5:1): Commander of Aram, victorious, wealthy, favored—yet afflicted with leprosy.
  • His name means “pleasant”; described as a “man of valor.”
  • Lesson: Earthly accolades cannot cure the deepest need; there is always a “but” that human success cannot fix.

2. An Unnamed Servant Girl: Faithful in Captivity

  • Captured Israeli teen suggests Naaman visit the prophet Elisha (v. 3).
  • Demonstrates:
    • Kingdom influence is not bound by circumstance or status.
    • God often advances His plans through overlooked, ordinary obedience.

3. The Clash of Expectations

  • Naaman arrives with (a) a royal letter and (b) ~$7.5 million in gifts, assuming healing can be bought.
  • Elisha refuses to meet him personally; sends instructions through a servant—bathe seven times in the muddy Jordan (vv. 9–10).
  • Naaman’s anger: affront to his dignity; “better rivers in Damascus” (v. 12).
  • Exposure of an idol: “Success must be maintained; respect is owed to me.”

4. Success as a Modern Idol

  • Quotes: Tim Keller on achievement making us feel like gods.
  • Contemporary testimonies—Tom Brady, A.J. Brown, Mike Tyson—prove fame/money don’t satisfy.
  • Diagnostic questions: Whom do you deem “successful”? Where are you striving to maintain image, income, or control?

5. The Jordan Decision: Practicality vs. Simplicity

  • Command sounds illogical and too easy, mirroring the scandal of the gospel.
  • Parallel drawn:
    • Our “spiritual leprosy” = sin.
    • Only Christ’s cross and resurrection cleanse (Romans 6:23).
    • Many stumble because grace feels “too simple.”

6. True Success = Surrender

  • Naaman finally obeys, is healed, and confesses, “Now I know there is no God in all the earth except in Israel” (v. 15).
  • Application: release control—careers, finances, marriages, children, health—so God can act.
  • Ernest’s testimony: Wife’s workplace trauma, lost income, mental/emotional battle; God provided healing, ministry fruit, and financial supply once they opened their hands.

Major Lessons & Revelations

  • Earthly success is fragile and enslaving; it must be dismantled or it will collapse.
  • God esteems faithfulness over fame; He often works through anonymous servants.
  • Obedience precedes understanding; miracles follow humility.
  • The gospel’s power lies in its simplicity—receive, don’t achieve.
  • Real success is living inside God’s will, trusting His control, and reflecting His glory.

Practical Application

  1. Identify the area you’re striving to control (career, image, wealth, relationships). Physically open your hands in daily prayer, releasing it to God.
  2. Resist comparison: celebrate others’ victories; remember your calling.
  3. Serve where you are—like the captive girl—trusting God to multiply small faithfulness.
  4. Share the gospel’s simple cure for sin; don’t complicate what Christ finished.
  5. Participate in generous mission giving (Annual Missions Offering) to advance kingdom work beyond your reach.

Conclusion & Call to Response

  • Invitation to surrender idols of success and trust Christ for cleansing.
  • Call for first-time or returning faith commitments.
  • Challenge to give above and beyond through the Annual Missions Offering, fueling church plants and global partners.

Prayer

“Father, we open our hands—take our careers, marriages, finances, health, and prodigal children. Replace our idol of success with Your peace. We trust Your goodness and power; do what only You can do. Heal, restore, and use us for Your glory. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

References & Resources

  • Strategic Launch Network (church planting).
  • Annual Missions Offering (Lake Pointe).
  • Worship songs: “This Is Our God,” “Who Else Is Worthy,” “I Speak Jesus.”
  • Book giveaway for recurring online givers: “The Songs of Jesus” by Timothy & Kathy Keller.

Notes Powered by Bible Note https://biblenote.ai/