Ron Hutchcraft Ministries - Generals With Secrets - #6782

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

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Man, it had been a week for bombshells. One of America's most revered military leaders, and then head of the super-secret CIA, resigned because of an admitted affair. For all the secrets of his agency, his personal secret exploded into headlines around the world.

I just groaned when I heard about these sordid revelations. I hate to see another hero fall and another family ravaged. And then, questions arose around another of this country's top military leaders. Well, sadly, it doesn't take me long to remember other "generals" whose secrets have blown their world apart, including high-powered politicians and sadly even preachers. With the scandal spotlight turned on military leaders, my mind raced to another general with a dark secret. And even though his exploits were in a different time, his story is the story of so many guys.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Generals With Secrets."

Now, according to the Biblical history in our word for today from the Word of God, 2 Kings 5:1 , Naaman was a "commander of the army" of the king of Syria. A "great man and highly regarded...a valiant soldier." But Naaman was a general with a secret; something that, in spite of all his conquests, he couldn't conquer. Like most men's secrets: Whether it's an addiction, or an affair, a collapsing marriage, a raging temper, a pattern of deceit, a sexual weakness, or that ticking emotional time bomb just behind all the smiles and the bravado.

Well, for General Naaman, it was a killer disease - leprosy; that medical monster that eats away fingers and feet and faces, and ultimately life itself. I can only imagine the general's disbelief the morning he saw that first telltale spot as he bathed. The man who had won so many victories was powerless against this one. That's a feeling so many of us men know when we face our inner monster.

So General Naaman organized a convoy to accompany him to seek out a prophet in Israel who reportedly could help. Of course, champions don't go to country preachers. Oh, no! Naaman went to the king! Who responded, "Am I God? Can I kill and bring back to life?" So General Naaman had no choice but to lead his whole convoy out to the "boonies" where the prophet Elisha lived.

Now, he tried to buy a cure with the fortune he brought with him, but no deal. Elisha was a prophet who ran a non-profit ministry. And the prescription he gave this military icon infuriated him. Like most guys, Naaman wanted to do something big to solve his problem. But the prophet told him to go dunk himself seven times in the dirty, stinkin' Jordan River. And even though Naaman was dying from his disease, his reply was simple, "Ain't gonna happen, Rev.!"

Well, it did happen. Naaman's servants convinced him to give it a try, and what a scene it must have been. One of the Middle East's greatest and proudest, stripped down, holding his nose and walking into a repulsively muddy river. Strange thing about God; He doesn't heal the proud. He heals us when we finally humble ourselves and do it His way.

And the Bible reports the outcome: "So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times...and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young man." And then General Naaman announced for all to hear, "I will never again make sacrifices to any other god but the Lord."

You know, for so many "generals" - "make it happen" guys like me - the problem isn't leprosy. It's cancer. Spiritual cancer that drives all the dark things that we hate, but that we do. Things that hurt the people we love - the searing words, the anger; the pornographic bondage, the marital betrayal, that uncaring selfishness, the sinful desires that take us to where we never thought we'd go. Secret or not, our "disease" is no secret to us or to God.

But, thank God, Jesus tells us where we can find the cure. And he tells us "make it happen" men that God saves us "not by works so no one can boast" (Ephesians 2:9 ). So much for my pride. He points us, not to a dirty river, but to a bloody cross. Where Jesus "carried our sins in His body" and "freed us from our sins by His blood" (1 Peter 2:24 ; Revelation 1:5 ).

And the moment a man is most powerful is when he finally realizes his powerlessness to fix himself when he bows his knee at the foot of Jesus' cross. You will not conquer until you've been conquered. This could be your day to finally make this happen for you. And I say, "Man, if you've never had experience of Jesus Christ coming in and changing you, as only He can, let this be the day. Go to YoursForLife.net and get this done, and become what the Bible calls "a new creation in Christ."