You know, once in a while a
revolutionary product or service comes along that changes everything.
Since 2001, the world had been introduced to the iPod and iTunes,
the iPhone, the iPad, and even the mini iPad. Each one of these
products put a figurative 'Dent in the Universe', by not only
completely changing the way people listen to music, make calls and
interact with computers, but completely changed their respective
industries.
A person is very fortunate if
they have the opportunity to work on such a product or service in
their career... This is a day I've been looking forward to because
today we're introducing a revolutionary product, a 'killer App',
that is:
Completely native to every human
on the planet
Completely intuitive
Works on partial or distorted
data – the less the better!
Is Very stable - almost
impossible to crash – and -
Works EVERY time!
This is an application that's
based on a process that's been in use since biblical times and has
actually been documented numerous times in the Bible. It's a Killer
App to run your life , - and we are calling it the iThought.
Our development team has been
working night and day on this and I'm pleased to announce that we
have with us today a couple of very special guests who are going to
talk about the I Thought and how it has worked for them in a real
life situation.
Ladies and Gentlemen, please
help me welcome them. All the way from Damascus, Syria, ….General
Naaman, and his right hand man, Raadar!(Parts played by Gen. Joe Skaff, US Army ret. and Jonathan Massey)
The
Interview
AC:
Thanks for coming so far to be with us today. General, I'm going to
start with you. You're here with us because you've had some personal
experience with the “IThought”, correct?
GN: Yes,
that's right, I was healed of leprosy.
AC:
Wow! That's amazing! I read that in your bio info, but I still find
it astounding. Like, NOBODY gets healed of leprosy these days! But
more about that later. You've also brought someone with you...
GN: Yes,
Raadar here serves as my administrative assistant. He's been with me
a very long time, and I couldn't get along without him...
AC:
Welcome, Welcome!
R: Thanks
for having me!
AC:
So General Naaman, We know you're a military man, but tell us a
little about your position, and who you work for.
GN. Well,
I'm the Commander of the Armies of King Hadad II of Syria. I
basically fight the king's wars for him and execute his military
policies in the region.
AC:
So you're the boss, the buck stops with you...
GN That's
right.
AC:
And Raadar...that's an unusual name!
R: My
parents tell me it means 'to see ahead...” in our language.
AC:
I see... And you're the guy who looks ahead and helps the boss deal
with the buck, right?
R: Yeah, I
pretty much know what the General wants and I arrange to get things
done for him.
GN: I'll
say! He really knows what I'm thinking, and is even a step ahead of
me most of the time.
AC:
Sounds like a pretty good guy to have around.
GN: Yes, I
trust him completely – even with my life.
AC:
Raadar, how long have you served General Naaman?
R: Ever
since I was in the service. I got assigned to the General, and I've
been with him through every campaign.
AC:
OK, so General, does your name have a meaning too?
GN: Yes, it
means 'pleasantness'. But believe me when you have leprosy, you don't
feel very pleasant...
AC:
I'll bet … Now you haven't always been the Commander of the Syrian
Army. How did you get to be where you are?
GN. Well, I
started off like everyone else. I actually got pressed into service
when I was very young – even younger than Raadar here. I was just a
foot soldier, a grunt. I fought just like everyone else, but I always
had this sense that there was someone watching over me, like a
spiritual presence, protecting and guiding me. Gradually, over the
years, it seemed like I was in the right place at the right and I
started getting promoted. Eventually, the King took notice and I was
put in charge of the whole army. I started winning battles, and just
never stopped. I know now that it was The LORD, but back then I just
thought I was a great General.
AC:
So this is a little strange. You feel like it was The LORD who helped
you win battles, but The Lord is the God of Israel, and Syria's not
exactly Israel's friend...
GN. That's
right. In fact, we used to run raids into Israel all the time. We'd
beat their army real bad and then take spoils as a reward – you
know, livestock, materials, and even people – we'd haul 'em back to
Syria for the slave markets.
AC:
Speaking of which, I guess a Hebrew slave girl had something to do
with this story...
GN: Yeah,
I'd been away a long time on deployment, so I brought this slave girl
home for wife as a present. She's the one who actually told me about
the prophet in Israel who could heal people.
AC:
That was pretty amazing, that you would listen to advice from a slave
girl.
GN: Well,
she told my wife first, then my wife started in on me about going to
see this prophet – and you know how that goes – I eventually went
to the King and asked for leave to go see Elisha.
AC:
And he was willing to let you go...
GN: Yes. It
was during a time when we had peace with Israel. King Hadad saw it as
a opportunity to build a bridge with the King of Israel, and he even
wrote a letter to the king of Israel and sent me with a very nice
gift.
AC:
Raadar, you were in charge of looking after the gift. What was it?
R: It was
impressive: ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and
ten changes of clothing. Here in the States, you'd call it 750 pounds
of silver and 150 pounds of Gold. We must have had a hundred men,
just assigned to guarding the treasure.
AC:
Sounds great, but I guess that all that almost caused an
international incident...
GN: When the
King of Israel read the letter, he got really upset and he tore his
clothes and started going on about not being able to cure anyone –
only God could do that - and that I was trying to start a war with
him. Things got bogged down real quick.
AC:
So what happened then?
GN: Well, we
waited outside the palace for quite a while. It was pretty tense. We
saw messengers going in and out, and eventually, the King sent word
for us to go out to the house of Elisha, near the Jordan river.
AC:
And here's where the I Thought app starts to come in, right?
GN: Yeah,
well, I thought I knew a thing or two about this. I've been around
the holy men in Syria and the temple of Rimmon. They make a pretty
big to do about things and it's all very impressive - but when we
got to Elisha's house, it was just a shack out in the middle of
nowhere. … I thought the prophet would at least come out to meet
us and then do some sort of hocus pocus, and call on his God – and
then I'd be healed. But he didn't even come out! He sent his servant
and told me to go wash in the Jordan seven times!
AC:
So, Raadar, sounds like the General was pretty ticked!
R: He was
mad! I thought he was going to leave right then and there. He said he
could've stayed home and washed in our beautiful rivers Abanah and
Pharpar, and done just as well...
AC:
What was goin' through your mind at that point?
R: I just
thought we'd come an awful long way to go back empty handed, and that
the prophet hadn't asked the General to do anything really hard, so
why not try it?
AC:
It must have taken a lot of courage to speak up...
R: Yeah, I
knew I was kinda treadin' on thin ice, but the General is pretty good
to listen a lot of times, and he was really sick. I didn't want him
to die, so I just figured it was worth the risk...
AC:
And General, it must have taken a big man to listen to your servant
after you had been publicly humiliated in front of your men...
GN: That was
tough. But Raadar was right. We had come an awful long way – and
when you've got leprosy, you'll do almost anything to get rid of it –
even embarrass yourself.
AC:
So you went down in the muddy Jordan river...
GN: Seven
Times!
AC:
And when you got done...
GN: I was
healed! My skin was as clean as a baby's bottom!
AC:
Wow! What a great story! You sort of had to become like a little
child yourself in order to be cleansed, didn't you?
GN: I never
thought of it that way, but I guess so...
AC:
So after all that, tell me what you think about the IThought...
GN: Remember
me telling you about how I knew that the Lord had favored me? When I
came up out of that water clean, I knew right then it was Him who Him
who had healed me and given me victories – even over His own
people. There is no God in all the earth like El Shaddai, the God of
Israel! Believe me, I'll think twice about using the IThought again!
AC:
And Raadar what about you?
R:
Definitely. If the General had gone with his first thought, we'd have
gone home and he'd still have leprosy. I say stay away from the I
Thought. It's no good.
AC:
Well, there you have it. A real-life story about the power of the God
of Israel, how the I Thought can sabotage your thinking and how a
trusted friend can save the day – if you're willing to
listen...Gentlemen, thanks for coming in today and sharing your story
with us. Let's have a big hand for General Naaman, and Raadar!
(Applause.
Naaman and Raadar return to their seats.)
So, what do you think? Recognize
the I Thought? You should – it comes pre-installed on every human
being … and remember me saying that it is very stable? … The
reason for that is that the Ithought is powered by the URPRIDE operating system
- one of the most powerful things on earth!
As we saw with Naaman, and as
every one of us knows, it takes something pretty big to overcome
URPRIDE – namely, the desperation that comes with suffering. You see, when we're in pain, we
want to get out of it so badly that we are willing to 'become as a
little child' and do almost anything. That's one reason that God
allows us to experience pain – to crash URPRIDE and the erroneous
conclusions the Ithought gives us.
Speaking
of which, out of the erroneous conclusions from Naaman's I Thought
story, we can develop a set of 'Just Because' Principles:
The
“Just Becauses”
Just
because you're “pleasant”: rich, powerful, beautiful, smart or
experienced, doesn't mean that your 'pleasantness' will save or heal
you!
Just
because you're prideful, stubborn, afraid or embarrassed, doesn't
mean God doesn't want to heal you!
Just
because you think you may be insignificant, - like the Hebrew slave
girl, doesn't mean that the Lord won't use you to save the day.
(Where would Naaman have been without the tip that 'there is a
prophet in Israel who would heal my master of his leprosy”)
Just
because you're not the boss, doesn't mean that you
don't have influence with the boss for his own good.
(Speaking up takes a sort of bold humility. You know your place, but
out of love and devotion, you speak up with a word of wisdom.)
Just
because the Lord sends you to a humble place doesn't mean that his
power is not there and that he can't work to save and deliver you.
And
finally, I would add this disconcerting principle:
Just because you've been a
Christian for a long time doesn't mean you understand the Cosmic
Reasons for why God does things!
The overriding principle in all
of this is what Isaiah said:
“...my
thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts. ( Isaiah 55:8-9, ESV)
neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts. ( Isaiah 55:8-9, ESV)
Whereas
the IThought is based on our own limited experience and
understanding, God's Thoughts and Ways are based on his Unlimited
wisdom, power and Goodness.
Basing
your life on the Ithought brings frustration anger and alienation. Just
as it says in Proverbs 14:12: “There is a way that seems right to a
man, but its end is the way to death... “
Basing
your life on God's Thoughts brings life and health and peace – even
if your life doesn't look very healthy or peaceful at the moment.
Proverbs
3:5,6:
Trust
in the Lord with all
your heart,
and
do not lean on your own understanding.
In
all your ways acknowledge him,
and
he will make straight your paths.
Acknowledging
the Lord means knowing Him and knowing what he thinks about things.
The database of this knowledge is the Bible. If you want to know His
ways you have to search the database!
But
here again, we have a Just Because Principle at work:
Just
because you think you know the database (The Bible) , doesn't mean
you know what God is up to in any specific situation!The
IThought always yields erroneous outputs! Even when applied to God's
will! And that can be very frustrating!
To
help you get through it all, you need a a different app: the IPRAY
The
IPRAY is powered by the HUMILITY operating system – the exact
opposite of URPRIDE.
URPRIDE
knows it all.
HUMILITY
knows that it doesn't know it all.
URPRIDE
is always a 'Do it yourselfer”
HUMILITY
asks for help
URPRIDE
only listens to itself
HUMILITY
'accepts influence' from others.
In
short, HUMILITY is far more reliable than URPRIDE because it is an
open system – it accepts inputs from sources that are wiser, more
experienced and more godly than ourselves and helps us to solve
problems that are otherwise too overwhelming to us in our own limited
resources.
Humility
powers prayer.
And
an essential aspect of prayer is LISTENING -
Listening
to 'The Master's Voice” (as our friend Nippur here is doing in the RCA Victor label)
Listening
to God's Word, the Bible
And:
Listening
to God's People, who may be better at listening than us!
But
this is not just a passive process. Listening Prayer is active.
Isaiah 55 again:
Seek
the Lord while he wills to be found
Call
upon Him when he draws near.
Let
the wicked forsake their ways,
And
the evil ones their thoughts,
And
let them turn to the Lord...
As
you activate your will in seeking the Lord, he will answer you.
...he
will have compassion and will richly
pardon...”(IS. 55:7)
As
Naaman turned away from his IThought, and became like a little child,
he was healed.
I
urge you too, by the mercies of God, to do likewise. Delete your
Ithought and install the IPRAY today. You'll be glad you did!
….
In order to help you install the IPRAY app we will have several IPRAY
teams standing by this morning during communion. They'll be located
at the back of the church and here at the front. The IPRAY teams can
help you uninstall the ITHought and help you with the IPRAY
application. They'll help you pray for anything – for giving up
your pride and turning your life over to the Lord, or for physical
healing - for yourself and for someone you care about. It's all fair
game. The IPRAY app is universally applicable!
Naaman's
servant spoke up in courage and humility: “if the prophet had told
you to do something really difficult, wouldn't you have done it? Why
not just do this simple thing? “Go down to the river to pray...”
Brothers
and sisters, Come! - and Pray!
AMEN.
