When my nephew learned to do the monkey bars, I wanted to try too. I thought, “How hard can it be? After all, My 6-year-old nephew knows how to do this!” I quickly discovered as I began to try the monkey bars that I could not even move one arm. It was so tough. I had to jump down because I knew I was not going anywhere. I was pretty humbled. Pride does that to us, doesn’t it? It always leads us to humility. Today we will look at the story of a man named Naaman who had to let go of any pride and choose humility instead.
BREAK THE ICE
When was a time when you were a kid when you had to be humbled?
SMALL GROUP QUESTIONS
Bible Study Questions
1. What are some negative effects of pride?
WATCH SERMON RECAP
2. Read 2 Kings 5:1-7. Describe the intensity of Naaman’s situation.
2 Kings 5:1-7
"The king of Aram had great admiration for Naaman, the commander of his army, because through him the Lord had given Aram great victories. But though Naaman was a mighty warrior, he suffered from leprosy. 2 At this time Aramean raiders had invaded the land of Israel, and among their captives was a young girl who had been given to Naaman’s wife as a maid. 3 One day the girl said to her mistress, “I wish my master would go to see the prophet in Samaria. He would heal him of his leprosy.” 4 So Naaman told the king what the young girl from Israel had said. 5 “Go and visit the prophet,” the king of Aram told him. “I will send a letter of introduction for you to take to the king of Israel.” So Naaman started out, carrying as gifts 750 pounds of silver, 150 pounds of gold, and ten sets of clothing. 6 The letter to the king of Israel said: “With this letter I present my servant Naaman. I want you to heal him of his leprosy.” 7 When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes in dismay and said, “Am I God, that I can give life and take it away? Why is this man asking me to heal someone with leprosy? I can see that he’s just trying to pick a fight with me.”
"The king of Aram had great admiration for Naaman, the commander of his army, because through him the Lord had given Aram great victories. But though Naaman was a mighty warrior, he suffered from leprosy.
2 At this time Aramean raiders had invaded the land of Israel, and among their captives was a young girl who had been given to Naaman’s wife as a maid. 3 One day the girl said to her mistress, “I wish my master would go to see the prophet in Samaria. He would heal him of his leprosy.”
4 So Naaman told the king what the young girl from Israel had said. 5 “Go and visit the prophet,” the king of Aram told him. “I will send a letter of introduction for you to take to the king of Israel.” So Naaman started out, carrying as gifts 750 pounds of silver, 150 pounds of gold, and ten sets of clothing. 6 The letter to the king of Israel said: “With this letter I present my servant Naaman. I want you to heal him of his leprosy.”
7 When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes in dismay and said, “Am I God, that I can give life and take it away? Why is this man asking me to heal someone with leprosy? I can see that he’s just trying to pick a fight with me.”
3. Read 2 Kings 5:8-15. In what way did Naaman need to humble himself in light of his circumstance?
2 Kings 5:8-15
"But when Elisha, the man of God, heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes in dismay, he sent this message to him: “Why are you so upset? Send Naaman to me, and he will learn that there is a true prophet here in Israel.” 9 So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and waited at the door of Elisha’s house. 10 But Elisha sent a messenger out to him with this message: “Go and wash yourself seven times in the Jordan River. Then your skin will be restored, and you will be healed of your leprosy.” 11 But Naaman became angry and stalked away. “I thought he would certainly come out to meet me!” he said. “I expected him to wave his hand over the leprosy and call on the name of the Lord his God and heal me! 12 Aren’t the rivers of Damascus, the Abana and the Pharpar, better than any of the rivers of Israel? Why shouldn’t I wash in them and be healed?” So Naaman turned and went away in a rage. 13 But his officers tried to reason with him and said, “Sir, if the prophet had told you to do something very difficult, wouldn’t you have done it? So you should certainly obey him when he says simply, ‘Go and wash and be cured!’” 14 So Naaman went down to the Jordan River and dipped himself seven times, as the man of God had instructed him. And his skin became as healthy as the skin of a young child, and he was healed! 15 Then Naaman and his entire party went back to find the man of God. They stood before him, and Naaman said, “Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel. So please accept a gift from your servant.”
"But when Elisha, the man of God, heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes in dismay, he sent this message to him: “Why are you so upset? Send Naaman to me, and he will learn that there is a true prophet here in Israel.”
9 So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and waited at the door of Elisha’s house. 10 But Elisha sent a messenger out to him with this message: “Go and wash yourself seven times in the Jordan River. Then your skin will be restored, and you will be healed of your leprosy.”
11 But Naaman became angry and stalked away. “I thought he would certainly come out to meet me!” he said. “I expected him to wave his hand over the leprosy and call on the name of the Lord his God and heal me! 12 Aren’t the rivers of Damascus, the Abana and the Pharpar, better than any of the rivers of Israel? Why shouldn’t I wash in them and be healed?” So Naaman turned and went away in a rage.
13 But his officers tried to reason with him and said, “Sir, if the prophet had told you to do something very difficult, wouldn’t you have done it? So you should certainly obey him when he says simply, ‘Go and wash and be cured!’” 14 So Naaman went down to the Jordan River and dipped himself seven times, as the man of God had instructed him. And his skin became as healthy as the skin of a young child, and he was healed!
15 Then Naaman and his entire party went back to find the man of God. They stood before him, and Naaman said, “Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel. So please accept a gift from your servant.”
4. What was the result of Naaman’s obedience?
Application
1. What is a desperate situation where you are currently in need of help?
2. In what ways might pride be holding you back from growing?
3. How has God used your difficult situation to help you grow?
MOVING FORWARD
Naaman ultimately took a step into the Jordan River and obeyed. So, what step can you take today toward humility and obedience? First, share this with your group. Then, after everyone has shared, pray together for courage and boldness to take the steps God is leading you towards.
GOING DEEPER
When it comes to humility, there is no better example for us than Jesus. He left the perfection of heaven to come to sinful earth, all to rescue humanity from sin and death. While religious leaders at the time avoided sinners and the sick, Jesus went out of His way to associate with them. Let’s take a few minutes to learn from Jesus’ humility and be inspired to learn from His example.
Jesus touched and healed those who were sick:
We studied Naaman’s story and his battle with leprosy, but he is not the only person in Scripture who struggled with this devastating disease. There was an unnamed man in SCRIPTURE who also had leprosy. Everyone during this day avoided lepers out of fear of becoming “unclean” and contracting the disease, but Jesus did not. Instead, he shocked everyone by touching this man and healing him. As a result, this man was changed forever.
Jesus associated with “sinners”:
The religious leaders in Jesus’ day took great pride in their “sinlessness.” They were so serious about looking pure and perfect to the rest of the world around them that they refused to associate with those around them who were struggling with sin. In His humility, Jesus modeled something different. He associated and even ate with sinners to show them a different way to live and offer forgiveness.
Jesus sacrificed:
Perhaps the greatest marker of humility is sacrifice. Throughout His entire ministry on earth, Jesus modeled sacrifice. He served the people around Him, even taking on the role of a hired servant at times. Ultimately, He gave up His life so that humanity could be rescued. There is no greater picture of humility than His sacrifice.
Reflect:
As Paul wrote about Jesus’ humility in Philippians 2, he called followers of Christ to follow Jesus’ example and live in humility. Now that we have looked at several examples of His humility let’s take a few minutes to reflect on how we can follow the example He set.
1. Read Philippians 2:3-8
2. What stands out to you regarding Jesus’ humility?
3. What is one area of your life that you would like to grow when it comes to humility?
After everyone has shared, pray together. Ask God to give each one of you a spirit of humility and to help you as you seek to live like Jesus, who always looked out for the interests of others.
MONTHLY MEMORY VERSE (Available for download on Sagebrush App)
You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. 1 Peter 1:8
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