April 22, 2025 • 25 mins
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
God doesn't heal on partial humility. He heals when humility
has been made complete.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Jonathan Evans explains the difference between self promotion and God's promotion.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
Continue to exalt yourself if you want, then He'll let
you stay there.
Speaker 3 (00:17):
But if you humble yourself, he will exalt you.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
This is the alternative broadcast featuring the timeless Biblical teachings
from the archives of doctor Tony Evans. Success, power, prestige.
Naman had it all except for the one thing he
wanted most. As a mighty commander, he was feared on
the battlefield, but behind closed doors, he was fighting a
(00:42):
battle he couldn't win. Today, Pastor Jonathan Evans steps into
Name and Story from Second King's Chapter five, giving us
a first hand account of what it means to look
hole on the outside while decaying on the inside, and
how true healing only comes when we surrender to God's way.
Let's listen in as Jonathan tells Name and Story.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
I was known as a valiant warrior.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
Anytime I stepped foot on the battlefield, people would play dead.
Speaker 3 (01:12):
For fear that I would kill them.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
That's just the way that it was at the top
of my game. And you couldn't tell me nothing. It's
similar to what you're trying to do with your life,
aren't you. You're trying to build a status before men.
You're trying to build a reputation. You want to have
a four star status by the world. But there's a
(01:39):
difference between me and you because I actually reached success.
Speaker 3 (01:45):
I was at the height of life, but I had
one major problem.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
Don't you hate it when things are going well, but
you know yourself, there's this one thing that if it
wasn't for that one thing, everything.
Speaker 3 (02:06):
Would be great. I'm feeling it right now just talking
about it. I can't stand it. It was a nuisance
in my life. You see. I had this annoying disease.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
That was on me, and all of my power and
prestige could do nothing about it.
Speaker 3 (02:31):
You see, in your day, they don't know.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
That much about it, but in my day, we called
it leprosy. I was living life, but I was living
life as a leoper.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
You see. I was decaying from the inside out. I
was hurt.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
Everything in my life looked great, but it wasn't. My
nerves were numbs, so I can hurt myself for scratch
too hard, and I wouldn't even know that I was bleeding,
so infection would set in.
Speaker 3 (03:09):
I was a walking infection.
Speaker 1 (03:13):
My relationships were all broken, broken, family broken, friendships, everything
was broken. I was giving the perception of being whole
while being totally broken. People could not be around me
for fear that they would get infected.
Speaker 3 (03:33):
With what I had. Can you imagine what.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
It feels like to be a captain and totally alone?
That's who I was, That's what it was, and I
had no hope because this disease, you see, it's incurable.
Speaker 3 (03:53):
And only death awaited me.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
What was it for me to gain the whole wide
world and totally lose my soul.
Speaker 3 (04:06):
It's a terrible.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
Feeling, you know, to be one way to people in
another way you know, to yourself.
Speaker 3 (04:16):
And if the truth be told, many of you have
the exact same disease, don't you.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
It may not be a disease on your skin, but
I can see that it's ravaging your souls. You're being
eaten alive by unforgiveness, aren't you. You have an addiction
that nobody else knows about but you, and it's crippling you.
Some of you have covetousness in your heart, you're trying
(04:46):
to get a position that God didn't even give you.
And there may be a few in here that you
know that you're struggling with adultery, aren't you? And nobody
knows it but you, And you may be thinking to yourself,
how in the world do you know me? I can
(05:08):
see straight through you. This is the way that it
was for me. And I know you're thinking to yourself
that I'm decaying spiritually. I go to church, but it's
not working. And there's some of you that.
Speaker 3 (05:31):
Can continue in your sins.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
And you don't even feel the wounds of your ways
because you're spiritually numb, aren't you.
Speaker 3 (05:40):
You're a leopard just like me.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
Broken relationships, broken marriage, broken families, broken this broken that
you look good to everybody else, But I know and
you know who you are, and you feel hopeless, don't you,
Because it goes on over and over and over again.
(06:05):
You think, like I thought, it's totally incurable. And if
you continue in this way, trusts me when I tell
you only death awaits death of a legacy, death of
a family, death of a destiny a purpose, death of
your usefulness to God. And for those of you who
(06:29):
have never even accepted God. If you continue that way, literally,
death awaits you. It's a bad place to be at
the top and at the bottom at.
Speaker 3 (06:44):
The same time, isn't it. It hurts?
Speaker 1 (06:52):
And in my pain, I didn't know what else to do,
so I sent in my men, a band of men
to go ransack Israel.
Speaker 3 (07:03):
I wanted to put a hurt on somebody else.
Speaker 1 (07:05):
And you may ask why in the world would you
want to hurt somebody else, Because that's what hurt people do.
It's a symptom of being hurt. That's what I know
to do, That's what I was good at. So I
sent my men, the band of them to Israel, to
(07:27):
ransack Israel, simply because well, I was bored. And they
came back with slaves, one of which was a little
slave girl. We had ripped her out of her home.
She was crying, She was in desperation because we put
her in a place she didn't want to be.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
And I could care less, but I did her a favor.
Speaker 1 (07:56):
The favor that I did her because of all of
the tears that I saw Boo who and going on.
Speaker 3 (08:02):
Is I allowed her to work for me.
Speaker 1 (08:06):
I made her a slave to my wife, do what
she tells you to do. And little did I know
that while I was harming her, she would make a
statement that would set the stage for my salvation. One
day she said something to my wife that gave me.
Speaker 3 (08:28):
Hope upon hope. And sometimes you.
Speaker 1 (08:32):
Need a word to give you hope.
Speaker 3 (08:36):
And this day this little girl went to my wife
and said, I just wish that my master with the
Prophet is some miria.
Speaker 1 (08:45):
If he were with the prophet, he will be cured
of his leprosy.
Speaker 3 (08:51):
What did she just say?
Speaker 1 (08:55):
Is there a possibility that I can be cured of
my leprosy?
Speaker 3 (08:59):
And who said this little slave girl?
Speaker 1 (09:04):
Couldn't my salvation come through the word of a bond servant.
I put her in a position she did not want
to be. She was crying and complaining.
Speaker 3 (09:20):
But somehow she was still willing to help me.
Speaker 1 (09:25):
Let that be a lesson to all of you complainers
about I don't want to be here.
Speaker 3 (09:30):
I wish God didn't place me there.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
Well, if you'd stopped thinking about yourself, maybe you.
Speaker 3 (09:34):
Can serve His purposes. Maybe you can actually be usable.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
If you're not thinking about the human trinity, me myself.
Speaker 3 (09:46):
And I.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
Christian narcissist, Maybe there's a leper around you that needs salvation.
She said that I can be saved in this place
called Israel, place that I just attacked.
Speaker 3 (10:02):
And how can the place.
Speaker 1 (10:03):
That I attacked now be the place and location of
my salvation? Maybe you know that you were once an
enemy of God and that's the same location of your salvation.
I couldn't believe what I heard, so I ran to
my king, the King of Aram, and I let him
(10:24):
know that the slave girl said thus and thus to me.
Speaker 3 (10:29):
I have hope, King of Aram.
Speaker 1 (10:31):
Can you please write a letter to the King of
Israel so that I may go get healed.
Speaker 3 (10:39):
The King of Aram wrote that letter for me. I
took it and I began to pack my things. I
took ten changes of clothes with me, because well, I
got it like that. But the reality is.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
I took ten changes, of course, because lepers had to
change often to appear healthy. That's why you don't even
know who you are. You're changing all the time to
appear like something you're not. And then I grabbed ten
(11:18):
talents of silver with me, and six thousand shekels of
gold for the journey and your day.
Speaker 3 (11:24):
You call it a bank rolls.
Speaker 2 (11:28):
I had that too, but as Name and would soon
find out some things can't be bought, no matter how
much wealth you bring. Jonathan will explain when he continues
Name and Story in just a moment, don't go away
the biblical roles.
Speaker 4 (11:44):
Of husbands and wives the source of our authority as believers,
understanding the concept of grace, winning spiritual battles. They're all
important subjects, but seem as different as night and day.
What it surprise you to know there's a common thread
running through through all four You can discover what it
is by taking the course on Ephesians in the Tonyevans
(12:06):
Training Center. One by one you'll dig into the powerful
themes of this book and make new discoveries about what Jesus'
death accomplished, how to maintain unity at home and at church,
what spiritual armor is all about. The course includes custom
content from Tony not available anywhere else. Work through it
at your own pace, collaborate with other students, get your
(12:28):
specific questions answered through our online forum. Connect with the
Tony Evans Training Center at Tonyevans dot org. It's like
having a seminary on your smartphone or other device. Start
today Tonyevans dot org.
Speaker 2 (12:44):
The alternative is a one hundred percent listeners supported broadcast,
which means we rely on you to keep this important
word going. Visit Tonyevans dot org today or call one
eight hundred eight hundred thirty two twenty two so let
us know how we can count on your support, and
as our way of saying thanks for your donation, we'll
(13:05):
send you all ten full length messages from Pastor Jonathan
Evans Powerful Survivor audio collection, along with doctor Tony Evans
daily devotional book Life under God. In Survivor, Jonathan unpacks
how in life's toughest moments, God equips and strengthens our
faith as we trust Him to see us through and
(13:25):
At Life under God, you'll find daily encouragement and biblical
insights to help you live in harmony with God's will.
Get both of these powerful resources today when you visit
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thirty two twenty two. But don't wait, this is the
final day. We're offering them bundled together in the special
(13:47):
thank you package again. That's one eight hundred eight hundred
three two two two or online at Tonyevans dot org.
Now let's return to Jonathan Evans as he continues Naman's narrative.
Speaker 3 (14:01):
I fully planned on being able to.
Speaker 1 (14:06):
Pay for my own salvation, to take the journey, take
the letter, take the clothes, take the money.
Speaker 3 (14:15):
And pay for my healing well, because I had earned it.
Speaker 1 (14:20):
And so I made the journey to try to get
my healing situated. And I took my letter that was
given to me by my king, and I handed it
to the King of Israel with hope in my heart
because now I knew that I was going to be saved.
Speaker 3 (14:37):
I had the money, and now I'm in the right place.
And I took my letter and gave it to the king,
and he read it, and.
Speaker 5 (14:47):
It said, as this letter comes to you, behold, for
I have sent my servant that you make hear him
of leprosy, cure him of leprosy. I am the King
(15:07):
of Israel.
Speaker 3 (15:09):
I'm not God. I cannot kill or make alive. I
can't heal this man of leprosy. What do you mean
I paid you? How can you not cure me of leprosy?
I made this journey, I did all of the things.
Speaker 1 (15:28):
What do you mean I've gone to the most powerful places.
How can you not do your job. And at this
moment I realized that God was teaching me that salvation
is not achieved, it's received.
Speaker 3 (15:50):
I was furious. I knew I should have never listened
to that slave girl. She lied to me.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
It said to my face that there was a prophet
in Israel, and at that moment I realized that she
never said anything about a king. I took it upon
myself to hear a word and then go do something else.
(16:20):
Doesn't that sound familiar?
Speaker 3 (16:25):
Many of you are hearers of the word, but not
doers of the word.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
And then you complain that you're still a leper. You
don't go to Jesus.
Speaker 3 (16:35):
You take your money to the judge and do it yourself, don't.
Speaker 1 (16:39):
You You're not interested in your majesty.
Speaker 3 (16:44):
You'd rather use your money.
Speaker 1 (16:45):
You don't want to go to God's wisdom, You'd rather
use your own. You come to church and listen to
the serpent, but figure you've done enough to figure it
out yourself. Else learning a valuable lesson. I wanted healing,
(17:07):
but I wanted healing my way. Then Elisha, the prophet
made mentioned why is the king of Israel so frustrated?
Send him to me, and he will know that there
is a prophet in all Israel. I knocked on the
doorway of Elisha, and his messenger came out.
Speaker 3 (17:28):
And when his messenger came out, he said.
Speaker 6 (17:31):
To me, the Prophet Elisha has sent me to tell
you go and wash in the Jordans seven times, and
your flesh will be restored to you and you will
be clean.
Speaker 3 (17:48):
I'm tired of these servants telling me what to do.
I was waiting for one of those healing services where
he would touch my head and we'd all fall down
like Dom knows.
Speaker 1 (18:05):
But no, he wants me to dip in the dirty
jord Doesn't seem like God knows what he's doing. Doesn't
he know he's a prophet, isn't he?
Speaker 3 (18:23):
There are rivers in Damascus that.
Speaker 1 (18:25):
Are much better than the rivers in Israel. I'm tired
of hearing from all these low people. Unless God was
trying to make me a low person, he was beginning.
Speaker 3 (18:40):
To teach me that he would not heal me of
my pain until he first healed me of my pride.
What was I going to do?
Speaker 1 (18:57):
I had to figure out whether I really wanted to
deny myself.
Speaker 3 (19:01):
For this healing.
Speaker 1 (19:04):
And many of you would rather stay lepers not because
Jesus can't heal you, but because you simply don't want
to dip into your healing. So you'll stay in leparous unforgiveness.
You'll stay in a leparius marriage, You'll stay in these
leparous circumstances and a leperous heart.
Speaker 3 (19:24):
You'll just stay in it.
Speaker 1 (19:26):
Because you'd rather have you than God. I had to
make a choice. I was standing at a crossroad. I
had to decide whether I was going to keep my
position and lose my healing, or gain my healing and
lose my position.
Speaker 3 (19:45):
But I could not have them both.
Speaker 1 (19:50):
I made my choice. I decided I was too tired.
I'm tired of being sick and tired. I wanted to
change in my circumstance. I will let my position go.
You don't want to apologize because you want to keep
your position. You don't want to give your life to
God because you want to keep your life, and all
(20:11):
the while you're dying.
Speaker 3 (20:16):
So I decided to.
Speaker 1 (20:19):
Do what I wouldn't normally do to get what I
wouldn't normally get.
Speaker 3 (20:25):
And I went to the Jordan River.
Speaker 1 (20:27):
And yes it was still dirty, but I dipped I
dipped one time and nothing happened. I dipped two times,
three times, four times, and my situation was unchanged.
Speaker 3 (20:42):
I was getting skeptical.
Speaker 1 (20:45):
I dipped five times, six times, still nothing, and then
I dipped a seventh time, and when I came back up,
I had the skin of a little child. It was
(21:07):
almost if I was born again. I wonder why God
made me dip seven times. He wouldn't heal me on one, two,
or three. Those attempts were just a part of getting
to seven. Because God doesn't heal on partial humility. He
(21:31):
heals when humility has been made complete. Continue to exalt
yourself if you want, then he'll let you stay there.
Speaker 3 (21:44):
But if you humble yourself, he will exalt you. I
chose for myself and I chose life. That's why I
have it now. I'm no longer a leper. That was
my decision. But what will yours be after hearing this story?
(22:09):
Is it going to be life? Or will you stay
a leper?
Speaker 2 (22:17):
Pastor Jonathan Evans bringing name and story to a close,
and he'll come back shortly with a personal challenge for you.
Today's message from Jonathan was entitled life or Leper? And
if you'd like to hear the full length version, including
material we didn't have time to present on the broadcast today.
You can find out how to do that when you
(22:37):
visit our website at Tonyevans dot org. And while you're there,
don't miss your final chance to get doctor Tony Evans
Life under God three hundred and sixty five day devotional book,
along with all ten full length messages from Jonathan's recent
audio series Survivor. These resources are our gift to you
when you support this ministry with a financial contraby, helping
(23:01):
us continue bringing God's Word your way each day. Just
visit Tonyevans dot org to make your request. You'll find
the details for this special offer right on the homepage.
Or call us any time of the day or night
at one eight hundred eight hundred thirty two twenty two.
Our resource team is ready to assist you with your request.
(23:22):
That's one eight hundred eight hundred three two two two.
In a broken world, believers are called to lead with compassion. Tomorrow,
we'll revisit a timeless sermons series that reveals how one
man's faith in God sparked renewal in the face of
overwhelming obstacles. Right now though Jonathan is back with this
(23:43):
closing challenge.
Speaker 1 (23:45):
Now it's your turn. We had that testimony from Naman,
not for you to just see something you like, but
for you to decide whether you really want to be healed.
Speaker 3 (23:59):
Many of you are ravaged by different things, continuously.
Speaker 1 (24:03):
Over and over and over again.
Speaker 3 (24:06):
And God is.
Speaker 1 (24:07):
Waiting for full humility so that he can give you
what you're asking for. And some of you you may
not even have accepted Christ. You haven't lost your life
so that you can find it. And today, hopefully is
your day that you'll come with complete humility and say
(24:29):
I've been doing it my way, but now I'll do
it your way, and my humility will be made complete
God doesn't heal on partial humility. He heals when humility
has been made complete.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Jonathan Evans explains the difference between self promotion and God's promotion.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
Continue to exalt yourself if you want, then He'll let
you stay there.
Speaker 3 (00:17):
But if you humble yourself, he will exalt you.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
This is the alternative broadcast featuring the timeless Biblical teachings
from the archives of doctor Tony Evans. Success, power, prestige.
Naman had it all except for the one thing he
wanted most. As a mighty commander, he was feared on
the battlefield, but behind closed doors, he was fighting a
(00:42):
battle he couldn't win. Today, Pastor Jonathan Evans steps into
Name and Story from Second King's Chapter five, giving us
a first hand account of what it means to look
hole on the outside while decaying on the inside, and
how true healing only comes when we surrender to God's way.
Let's listen in as Jonathan tells Name and Story.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
I was known as a valiant warrior.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
Anytime I stepped foot on the battlefield, people would play dead.
Speaker 3 (01:12):
For fear that I would kill them.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
That's just the way that it was at the top
of my game. And you couldn't tell me nothing. It's
similar to what you're trying to do with your life,
aren't you. You're trying to build a status before men.
You're trying to build a reputation. You want to have
a four star status by the world. But there's a
(01:39):
difference between me and you because I actually reached success.
Speaker 3 (01:45):
I was at the height of life, but I had
one major problem.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
Don't you hate it when things are going well, but
you know yourself, there's this one thing that if it
wasn't for that one thing, everything.
Speaker 3 (02:06):
Would be great. I'm feeling it right now just talking
about it. I can't stand it. It was a nuisance
in my life. You see. I had this annoying disease.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
That was on me, and all of my power and
prestige could do nothing about it.
Speaker 3 (02:31):
You see, in your day, they don't know.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
That much about it, but in my day, we called
it leprosy. I was living life, but I was living
life as a leoper.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
You see. I was decaying from the inside out. I
was hurt.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
Everything in my life looked great, but it wasn't. My
nerves were numbs, so I can hurt myself for scratch
too hard, and I wouldn't even know that I was bleeding,
so infection would set in.
Speaker 3 (03:09):
I was a walking infection.
Speaker 1 (03:13):
My relationships were all broken, broken, family broken, friendships, everything
was broken. I was giving the perception of being whole
while being totally broken. People could not be around me
for fear that they would get infected.
Speaker 3 (03:33):
With what I had. Can you imagine what.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
It feels like to be a captain and totally alone?
That's who I was, That's what it was, and I
had no hope because this disease, you see, it's incurable.
Speaker 3 (03:53):
And only death awaited me.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
What was it for me to gain the whole wide
world and totally lose my soul.
Speaker 3 (04:06):
It's a terrible.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
Feeling, you know, to be one way to people in
another way you know, to yourself.
Speaker 3 (04:16):
And if the truth be told, many of you have
the exact same disease, don't you.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
It may not be a disease on your skin, but
I can see that it's ravaging your souls. You're being
eaten alive by unforgiveness, aren't you. You have an addiction
that nobody else knows about but you, and it's crippling you.
Some of you have covetousness in your heart, you're trying
(04:46):
to get a position that God didn't even give you.
And there may be a few in here that you
know that you're struggling with adultery, aren't you? And nobody
knows it but you, And you may be thinking to yourself,
how in the world do you know me? I can
(05:08):
see straight through you. This is the way that it
was for me. And I know you're thinking to yourself
that I'm decaying spiritually. I go to church, but it's
not working. And there's some of you that.
Speaker 3 (05:31):
Can continue in your sins.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
And you don't even feel the wounds of your ways
because you're spiritually numb, aren't you.
Speaker 3 (05:40):
You're a leopard just like me.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
Broken relationships, broken marriage, broken families, broken this broken that
you look good to everybody else, But I know and
you know who you are, and you feel hopeless, don't you,
Because it goes on over and over and over again.
(06:05):
You think, like I thought, it's totally incurable. And if
you continue in this way, trusts me when I tell
you only death awaits death of a legacy, death of
a family, death of a destiny a purpose, death of
your usefulness to God. And for those of you who
(06:29):
have never even accepted God. If you continue that way, literally,
death awaits you. It's a bad place to be at
the top and at the bottom at.
Speaker 3 (06:44):
The same time, isn't it. It hurts?
Speaker 1 (06:52):
And in my pain, I didn't know what else to do,
so I sent in my men, a band of men
to go ransack Israel.
Speaker 3 (07:03):
I wanted to put a hurt on somebody else.
Speaker 1 (07:05):
And you may ask why in the world would you
want to hurt somebody else, Because that's what hurt people do.
It's a symptom of being hurt. That's what I know
to do, That's what I was good at. So I
sent my men, the band of them to Israel, to
(07:27):
ransack Israel, simply because well, I was bored. And they
came back with slaves, one of which was a little
slave girl. We had ripped her out of her home.
She was crying, She was in desperation because we put
her in a place she didn't want to be.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
And I could care less, but I did her a favor.
Speaker 1 (07:56):
The favor that I did her because of all of
the tears that I saw Boo who and going on.
Speaker 3 (08:02):
Is I allowed her to work for me.
Speaker 1 (08:06):
I made her a slave to my wife, do what
she tells you to do. And little did I know
that while I was harming her, she would make a
statement that would set the stage for my salvation. One
day she said something to my wife that gave me.
Speaker 3 (08:28):
Hope upon hope. And sometimes you.
Speaker 1 (08:32):
Need a word to give you hope.
Speaker 3 (08:36):
And this day this little girl went to my wife
and said, I just wish that my master with the
Prophet is some miria.
Speaker 1 (08:45):
If he were with the prophet, he will be cured
of his leprosy.
Speaker 3 (08:51):
What did she just say?
Speaker 1 (08:55):
Is there a possibility that I can be cured of
my leprosy?
Speaker 3 (08:59):
And who said this little slave girl?
Speaker 1 (09:04):
Couldn't my salvation come through the word of a bond servant.
I put her in a position she did not want
to be. She was crying and complaining.
Speaker 3 (09:20):
But somehow she was still willing to help me.
Speaker 1 (09:25):
Let that be a lesson to all of you complainers
about I don't want to be here.
Speaker 3 (09:30):
I wish God didn't place me there.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
Well, if you'd stopped thinking about yourself, maybe you.
Speaker 3 (09:34):
Can serve His purposes. Maybe you can actually be usable.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
If you're not thinking about the human trinity, me myself.
Speaker 3 (09:46):
And I.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
Christian narcissist, Maybe there's a leper around you that needs salvation.
She said that I can be saved in this place
called Israel, place that I just attacked.
Speaker 3 (10:02):
And how can the place.
Speaker 1 (10:03):
That I attacked now be the place and location of
my salvation? Maybe you know that you were once an
enemy of God and that's the same location of your salvation.
I couldn't believe what I heard, so I ran to
my king, the King of Aram, and I let him
(10:24):
know that the slave girl said thus and thus to me.
Speaker 3 (10:29):
I have hope, King of Aram.
Speaker 1 (10:31):
Can you please write a letter to the King of
Israel so that I may go get healed.
Speaker 3 (10:39):
The King of Aram wrote that letter for me. I
took it and I began to pack my things. I
took ten changes of clothes with me, because well, I
got it like that. But the reality is.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
I took ten changes, of course, because lepers had to
change often to appear healthy. That's why you don't even
know who you are. You're changing all the time to
appear like something you're not. And then I grabbed ten
(11:18):
talents of silver with me, and six thousand shekels of
gold for the journey and your day.
Speaker 3 (11:24):
You call it a bank rolls.
Speaker 2 (11:28):
I had that too, but as Name and would soon
find out some things can't be bought, no matter how
much wealth you bring. Jonathan will explain when he continues
Name and Story in just a moment, don't go away
the biblical roles.
Speaker 4 (11:44):
Of husbands and wives the source of our authority as believers,
understanding the concept of grace, winning spiritual battles. They're all
important subjects, but seem as different as night and day.
What it surprise you to know there's a common thread
running through through all four You can discover what it
is by taking the course on Ephesians in the Tonyevans
(12:06):
Training Center. One by one you'll dig into the powerful
themes of this book and make new discoveries about what Jesus'
death accomplished, how to maintain unity at home and at church,
what spiritual armor is all about. The course includes custom
content from Tony not available anywhere else. Work through it
at your own pace, collaborate with other students, get your
(12:28):
specific questions answered through our online forum. Connect with the
Tony Evans Training Center at Tonyevans dot org. It's like
having a seminary on your smartphone or other device. Start
today Tonyevans dot org.
Speaker 2 (12:44):
The alternative is a one hundred percent listeners supported broadcast,
which means we rely on you to keep this important
word going. Visit Tonyevans dot org today or call one
eight hundred eight hundred thirty two twenty two so let
us know how we can count on your support, and
as our way of saying thanks for your donation, we'll
(13:05):
send you all ten full length messages from Pastor Jonathan
Evans Powerful Survivor audio collection, along with doctor Tony Evans
daily devotional book Life under God. In Survivor, Jonathan unpacks
how in life's toughest moments, God equips and strengthens our
faith as we trust Him to see us through and
(13:25):
At Life under God, you'll find daily encouragement and biblical
insights to help you live in harmony with God's will.
Get both of these powerful resources today when you visit
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thirty two twenty two. But don't wait, this is the
final day. We're offering them bundled together in the special
(13:47):
thank you package again. That's one eight hundred eight hundred
three two two two or online at Tonyevans dot org.
Now let's return to Jonathan Evans as he continues Naman's narrative.
Speaker 3 (14:01):
I fully planned on being able to.
Speaker 1 (14:06):
Pay for my own salvation, to take the journey, take
the letter, take the clothes, take the money.
Speaker 3 (14:15):
And pay for my healing well, because I had earned it.
Speaker 1 (14:20):
And so I made the journey to try to get
my healing situated. And I took my letter that was
given to me by my king, and I handed it
to the King of Israel with hope in my heart
because now I knew that I was going to be saved.
Speaker 3 (14:37):
I had the money, and now I'm in the right place.
And I took my letter and gave it to the king,
and he read it, and.
Speaker 5 (14:47):
It said, as this letter comes to you, behold, for
I have sent my servant that you make hear him
of leprosy, cure him of leprosy. I am the King
(15:07):
of Israel.
Speaker 3 (15:09):
I'm not God. I cannot kill or make alive. I
can't heal this man of leprosy. What do you mean
I paid you? How can you not cure me of leprosy?
I made this journey, I did all of the things.
Speaker 1 (15:28):
What do you mean I've gone to the most powerful places.
How can you not do your job. And at this
moment I realized that God was teaching me that salvation
is not achieved, it's received.
Speaker 3 (15:50):
I was furious. I knew I should have never listened
to that slave girl. She lied to me.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
It said to my face that there was a prophet
in Israel, and at that moment I realized that she
never said anything about a king. I took it upon
myself to hear a word and then go do something else.
(16:20):
Doesn't that sound familiar?
Speaker 3 (16:25):
Many of you are hearers of the word, but not
doers of the word.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
And then you complain that you're still a leper. You
don't go to Jesus.
Speaker 3 (16:35):
You take your money to the judge and do it yourself, don't.
Speaker 1 (16:39):
You You're not interested in your majesty.
Speaker 3 (16:44):
You'd rather use your money.
Speaker 1 (16:45):
You don't want to go to God's wisdom, You'd rather
use your own. You come to church and listen to
the serpent, but figure you've done enough to figure it
out yourself. Else learning a valuable lesson. I wanted healing,
(17:07):
but I wanted healing my way. Then Elisha, the prophet
made mentioned why is the king of Israel so frustrated?
Send him to me, and he will know that there
is a prophet in all Israel. I knocked on the
doorway of Elisha, and his messenger came out.
Speaker 3 (17:28):
And when his messenger came out, he said.
Speaker 6 (17:31):
To me, the Prophet Elisha has sent me to tell
you go and wash in the Jordans seven times, and
your flesh will be restored to you and you will
be clean.
Speaker 3 (17:48):
I'm tired of these servants telling me what to do.
I was waiting for one of those healing services where
he would touch my head and we'd all fall down
like Dom knows.
Speaker 1 (18:05):
But no, he wants me to dip in the dirty
jord Doesn't seem like God knows what he's doing. Doesn't
he know he's a prophet, isn't he?
Speaker 3 (18:23):
There are rivers in Damascus that.
Speaker 1 (18:25):
Are much better than the rivers in Israel. I'm tired
of hearing from all these low people. Unless God was
trying to make me a low person, he was beginning.
Speaker 3 (18:40):
To teach me that he would not heal me of
my pain until he first healed me of my pride.
What was I going to do?
Speaker 1 (18:57):
I had to figure out whether I really wanted to
deny myself.
Speaker 3 (19:01):
For this healing.
Speaker 1 (19:04):
And many of you would rather stay lepers not because
Jesus can't heal you, but because you simply don't want
to dip into your healing. So you'll stay in leparous unforgiveness.
You'll stay in a leparius marriage, You'll stay in these
leparous circumstances and a leperous heart.
Speaker 3 (19:24):
You'll just stay in it.
Speaker 1 (19:26):
Because you'd rather have you than God. I had to
make a choice. I was standing at a crossroad. I
had to decide whether I was going to keep my
position and lose my healing, or gain my healing and
lose my position.
Speaker 3 (19:45):
But I could not have them both.
Speaker 1 (19:50):
I made my choice. I decided I was too tired.
I'm tired of being sick and tired. I wanted to
change in my circumstance. I will let my position go.
You don't want to apologize because you want to keep
your position. You don't want to give your life to
God because you want to keep your life, and all
(20:11):
the while you're dying.
Speaker 3 (20:16):
So I decided to.
Speaker 1 (20:19):
Do what I wouldn't normally do to get what I
wouldn't normally get.
Speaker 3 (20:25):
And I went to the Jordan River.
Speaker 1 (20:27):
And yes it was still dirty, but I dipped I
dipped one time and nothing happened. I dipped two times,
three times, four times, and my situation was unchanged.
Speaker 3 (20:42):
I was getting skeptical.
Speaker 1 (20:45):
I dipped five times, six times, still nothing, and then
I dipped a seventh time, and when I came back up,
I had the skin of a little child. It was
(21:07):
almost if I was born again. I wonder why God
made me dip seven times. He wouldn't heal me on one, two,
or three. Those attempts were just a part of getting
to seven. Because God doesn't heal on partial humility. He
(21:31):
heals when humility has been made complete. Continue to exalt
yourself if you want, then he'll let you stay there.
Speaker 3 (21:44):
But if you humble yourself, he will exalt you. I
chose for myself and I chose life. That's why I
have it now. I'm no longer a leper. That was
my decision. But what will yours be after hearing this story?
(22:09):
Is it going to be life? Or will you stay
a leper?
Speaker 2 (22:17):
Pastor Jonathan Evans bringing name and story to a close,
and he'll come back shortly with a personal challenge for you.
Today's message from Jonathan was entitled life or Leper? And
if you'd like to hear the full length version, including
material we didn't have time to present on the broadcast today.
You can find out how to do that when you
(22:37):
visit our website at Tonyevans dot org. And while you're there,
don't miss your final chance to get doctor Tony Evans
Life under God three hundred and sixty five day devotional book,
along with all ten full length messages from Jonathan's recent
audio series Survivor. These resources are our gift to you
when you support this ministry with a financial contraby, helping
(23:01):
us continue bringing God's Word your way each day. Just
visit Tonyevans dot org to make your request. You'll find
the details for this special offer right on the homepage.
Or call us any time of the day or night
at one eight hundred eight hundred thirty two twenty two.
Our resource team is ready to assist you with your request.
(23:22):
That's one eight hundred eight hundred three two two two.
In a broken world, believers are called to lead with compassion. Tomorrow,
we'll revisit a timeless sermons series that reveals how one
man's faith in God sparked renewal in the face of
overwhelming obstacles. Right now though Jonathan is back with this
(23:43):
closing challenge.
Speaker 1 (23:45):
Now it's your turn. We had that testimony from Naman,
not for you to just see something you like, but
for you to decide whether you really want to be healed.
Speaker 3 (23:59):
Many of you are ravaged by different things, continuously.
Speaker 1 (24:03):
Over and over and over again.
Speaker 3 (24:06):
And God is.
Speaker 1 (24:07):
Waiting for full humility so that he can give you
what you're asking for. And some of you you may
not even have accepted Christ. You haven't lost your life
so that you can find it. And today, hopefully is
your day that you'll come with complete humility and say
(24:29):
I've been doing it my way, but now I'll do
it your way, and my humility will be made complete
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