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Following God's Commands When They Don't Make Sense
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Church family, as we gather together across all campuses, we declare that Christ is our living hope. Even in moments of affliction, anxiety, and uncertainty, God's people will always sing this truth. Today, we're continuing our study through the series Kings and Prophets, looking at the story of Naaman from 2 Kings 5—a powerful reminder about following God's commands, even when they don't make logical sense.
Let me start with a personal illustration. Recently, I underwent a longevity assessment with some doctor friends, Dr. Gordon and Jessica Chen. Through various tests—blood work, genetic testing, and a VO2 max evaluation—I discovered something fascinating about how the body works.
During cardio exercise, I learned that fat burning doesn't work the way most of us assume. When your heart rate is low, your body burns fat because fat takes longer to convert into energy. But once your heart rate crosses a certain threshold, your body switches to burning carbohydrates for quicker energy. There's an optimal "fat max heart rate" zone where you burn the most fat—not by killing yourself with extreme intensity, but by staying in a specific zone.
Here's the key insight: What I thought would achieve results was actually counterproductive. The same principle applies to our spiritual lives. Just as physical longevity requires understanding how our bodies actually work, spiritual longevity requires trusting God's wisdom over our own logic.
Point 1: God can show mercy to those in affliction, even to those far from God.
Listen to 2 Kings 5:1: "Now Naaman, the commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master and in high favor, because by him the Lord had given victory to Syria. He was a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper."
Naaman was the commander of the Syrian army—Israel's oppressor. Syria constantly raided Israel, taking people captive. Yet despite his power and status, Naaman suffered from leprosy, a terrible, contagious, incurable disease that ate away at the skin and carried deep shame.
Notice something profound: God doesn't limit His mercy to those within His covenant community. Even though Naaman was far from God, an enemy of Israel, God was willing to show him grace. The sovereignty of God extends over all nations and all circumstances. As you watch the news and see world events unfold, remember: God is ultimately in control. Everything is going according to His sovereign plan.
Point 2: God gives clear commands in times of affliction and distress.
A young Israeli girl, taken captive in one of Syria's raids, served in Naaman's household. She told his wife about the prophet in Samaria who could cure him. Naaman's king sent him to the king of Israel with a letter and an enormous gift—about 11.2 million dollars in silver and gold.
The king of Israel was terrified. "Am I God, to kill and make alive?" he cried out. He thought the Syrian king was trying to provoke another war.
But then the prophet Elisha heard about this and sent word to the king: "Let him come to me, that he may know there is a prophet in Israel."
Naaman arrived at Elisha's house with all his horses, chariots, servants, and attendants—great pomp and circumstance. He expected the prophet to come out, bow to him, wave his hand over him with some grand prayer, and heal him on the spot.
Instead, Elisha didn't even come out of the house. He sent a messenger with this command: "Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored, and you shall be clean."
Think about this:
No doubt his servants and soldiers began murmuring and snickering. "Is our great commander really going to that dirty river and get in that water—seven times?"
Here's the truth: There are times when God's commands make logical earthly sense, and times when they don't. In fact, most of the time, God's commands are counter to logical, earthly sense.
Let me give you some examples:
On modesty: The world tells you that the more provocative you dress, the better you'll attract someone. But God's Word says, "Dress in modesty. The man I have for you will look at your character, not just your appearance."
On integrity at work: Everyone in your industry cuts corners. The government doesn't check. Nobody checks. But God says, "Work as if you're working for Me. Honor diligence and integrity, and I will honor your efforts."
On marriage struggles: Your friends say, "Pack up and leave. Life's too short." But God says, "Stay and fight for this marriage. I will be with you. I won't leave you in this trial."
On generosity: When finances are tight, everyone says, "Don't give to God anymore." But God says, "Whether I give you much or little, honor Me with whatever I have given you, and I will honor your obedience."
On sexual purity: The world says, "You have to test drive the car before you buy it." But God says, "Live in purity. I will honor your obedience."
When you follow God's Word—when you do things that make no sense to your friends and family—they will snicker. They will laugh. They will think you're a fool.
The gospel itself goes against human logic. God's message of salvation doesn't make sense to the world.
Even the first command of God—to have a relationship with Him—goes against human logic. God created us in love for relationship with Him, but our sin separates us from Him. We deserve hell. We deserve eternal judgment.
But here's what God does in His love and mercy: He sends His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus lives the perfect life of obedience we could never live. At the cross, God places all our sins—every lie, every burst of anger, every impurity—upon Jesus. He suffers and dies in our place, paying the penalty for our sin. Three days later, He rises to give us a future and a hope.
Even the way we experience forgiveness goes counter to logic. We think, "Well, if I become a really good person, if I do enough rituals or traditions, then I'll be right with God." But God's Word says no. You cannot be saved by your works, your morality, or your rituals. The only way to be forgiven and reconciled to God is to place your trust and faith in what Christ did for you at the cross.
This is why 1 Corinthians 1:18 says: "The word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God."
When Naaman heard Elisha's command, he was furious. "I thought he would surely come out to me, stand, and call upon the name of the Lord his God and wave his hand over me and cure the leper. Aren't the rivers of Damascus better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?"
He turned away in rage.
Isn't that what we do? When we're going through hard seasons—financially, in our marriages, in our health—and we hear God's Word, and it doesn't accord with our logic or expectations, we grumble. We get upset. We say, "That can't possibly be the answer."
But here's what I love: God has patience with us even in our disbelief.
Point 3: God uses other people in weak moments to encourage us toward obedience.
This is where the story takes a turn. Naaman's servants came near and said to him: "Father, if the prophet had spoken a great word to you, would you not do it? Has he not said to you, 'Wash and be clean'?"
God could have cast this pagan Syrian out of His sight and let him die in his leprosy. Instead, the Lord sent people around him to encourage him toward obedience.
For those of us who are already believers in Christ, this is crucial: We must surround ourselves with God-fearing, Christ-exalting, Bible-believing people.
It doesn't matter how long you've been in the faith. If you live your Christian life in isolation, your sinful heart will slowly but surely draw you away from God's truth. You can be sitting in an auditorium with hundreds of thousands of people and still be living in isolation—no one around you to encourage you toward obedience when you face hard moments, confusing moments, and forks in the road.
Hebrews 3:13 says: "Exhort one another every day, as long as it is called 'today,' so that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin."
In hard moments, when you're facing challenges and you're by yourself, sin will be deceitful. It will try to lure you away from God's truth. This is why God commands us to encourage one another toward obedience.
This is why small groups are so vital at Christ Fellowship. Small groups are our midweek Bible studies where we gather to study God's Word, form friendships, and encourage one another. When you're in a small group, you have people in your life who know you and can speak truth into your life when you're tempted—in your sexual life, in addictions, in your marriage, in challenges.
If you've been here for years and you're still struggling in the same sin, still making the same mistakes, it's likely because you're living in isolation. You don't have people speaking truth and encouraging you toward obedience.
You must surround yourself with community. Whether you're in a big church or a small church, if you're not in Christ-centered community through a small group, you're doing life alone.
We have four steps in our discipleship process:
Don't miss step two. If you've never been part of a small group, today is the day. We're launching a new Rooted cycle, and it's phenomenal. We have a summer session from June 21st to 27th. Even if you're on vacation one or two weeks, this is the perfect time to join. Scan the QR code in front of you, and our team will help you get connected.
How does the story end? "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."
Naaman didn't partially obey. He fully obeyed. And he experienced the grace and mercy of God.
Then he returned to Elisha and declared: "Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel."
He went from being an enemy of Israel, far from God, to declaring that the God of Israel is the only true God.
Fast forward 850 years. Jesus is preaching in His hometown of Nazareth. The people there—within God's covenant community—are resisting faith in Him. So Jesus makes a profound statement. He quotes this very story:
Luke 4:27: "And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elijah, and none of them were cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian."
Jesus is saying: The truth of God, the gospel, is not only for those within God's people or within the church walls. The gospel goes to those who are far from God—to other countries, to pagan peoples, to communities unlike our own.
This is why, as Christ Fellowship, we're committed to taking the gospel to different places. Through our Christmas offering, we're launching global campuses in countries like Cuba, Dominican Republic, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and now Argentina—launching October 5th of this year.
But not only are we going to different nations. We're also planting a brand new campus right here in our own community: Westchester.
Westchester is at the heart of Miami. It's a real, hurting community where many of you grew up, work, or have family. Imagine a light—a beacon of hope, Jesus Christ—shining in that community. We're launching this campus at Florida Christian School, in the middle of residential homes and families that need a spiritual home.
If you live in the zip codes surrounding Westchester, I'm challenging you: Make Westchester your church home. Why? Because where you live is where you can invite your neighbors, the people you see at Starbucks, the people at the parks. You can invite them to a church that's minutes away.
We're hosting a Westchester Vision Night on June 17th. I'm not asking you to commit for six months. I'm just asking you to come and see what God is doing. Be part of this launch team.
Yes, it might be more comfortable to stay where you are. Yes, it's logical to stay at your current campus. But sometimes God calls us to step out of our comfort for the sake of reaching a hurting community. I've been part of campus launches. There is no greater joy in ministry than seeing a church grow from nothing. We started Miami Springs as a small group; it's now the Dorado campus with a thousand people. You will never regret this step. It will be the best season of your life.
Father God, we're grateful that through the story of Naaman—a man from nearly 3,000 years ago—You're teaching us that no person, no country, no community is too far from You.
For those of us who haven't yet taken steps into community or small groups, may this be your moment.
For those of us called to the Westchester community, bless this team. Prepare the soil of that community so that more people come to the saving knowledge and grace of Jesus Christ.
Bless us as we go to more countries and communities for the sake of Your gospel. In the precious name of Jesus we pray. Amen and amen.
