Gerry van der Wende: There is Healing in the River

There is Healing in the River
January 20, 2013
Rev 22:1-5

Introduction

Last week on Yahoo I saw a picture of Hindus washing themselves in the Ganges
They did this to renew their belief in their gods
But did you know that Satan often counterfeits something that is of God and uses it to draw people away from the faith
Satan is the devil who deceives the whole world - Rev 12:9
he comes and appears as an angel of light (2 Cor 11:14) but inside his disguise he is a dragon
While Hindus may bathe themselves in the Ganges, a counterfeit, there is a far bigger meaning behind water, in the Bible
God uses the picture of water in the Bible, as a symbol; or representation of the Holy Spirit
John 7:37-39 - streams of living water
So the Holy Spirit filling us and overflowing to others as streams of living water, is a picture of how God spreads his healing work
Today we are going to speak about the healing the Holy Spirit brings into our life

Reading

Example of Naaman

2 Kings 5:1-19
We see in the first verse, that God had already been working in Naaman's life
Naaman was someone God could do something with
His name meant pleasantness, and Naaman was not a bad person.
His wife had a Hebrew slave girl, and it was she who told her mistress about the prophet Elisha in Samaria
She knew that God heals
So Naaman goes to the king and shares this information with the king
The kings says, by all means, go!
In ancient times, people were open to going to someone for help with stuff that was happening in their lives

Naaman is humbled

Elisha sends his servant to tell him to was in Jordan seven times
This was not social etiquette
Naaman was an important person, and he had an issue with pride
He felt slighted by Elisha not doing the usual prophet thing he expected
And he was prejudiced against Israel, and even Israel's natural features, like the River Jordan
So he gets angry and doesn't want to listen

What was God doing?

God wanted His name to be glorified
God did not want Elisha to get the glory, or anyone else
This was to be a witness to Naaman, that it isn't the messenger that brings healing, only God Himself
So Naaman has to swallow his pride
But then also, God wanted Naaman to take a step of faith
He had to wash himself in Jordan, seven times
Why not once?
It was to see if Naaman would be obedient, and would go the whole way
He was obedient, and God healed him
As a result, Naaman became a believer

The lesson for us

The lesson for us goes beyond healing, and obedience
The river for us is the ongoing flow of God's grace toward us and through us, to others
Steps of faith are expected of us
And total obedience is required of us
This is radical Christianity
People like to keep a bit of control over their lives
They may want healing in some way
But they are not always ready to throw all caution to the winds, and go radically for God
God will give us steps to take, steps of faith
He will be watching the state of our heart, how far will we go in obedience
Ezekiel 47:1-12
A river flows from God's throne, which flows into our heart and from us to others
Wherever this river flows, it brings healing
Are we ready to throw everything to the winds, so that this river will flow through us unimpeded
Are we ready to give God our dignity, are we ready to give him our finances, our time
Are we ready to give Him total control, who gave u[p everything for us including his own life?
Today, we can turn to him and say, I surrender all
Lets sing it
"I surrender all"

Prayer

Gerry van der Wende