As Christians, we take the Bible as the standard for our faith.

There are many religions in the world, but we are not just believing in one of them; rather, we seek to know and serve the living God. Even if you did not know Him, He is the One who created us. He created the heavens and the earth, and everything in them. We aren’t making our own hearts beat by our own strength right now, are we? It is God who makes our hearts beat. We don’t consciously move our lungs to breathe while we sleep, do we? It is God who works so that our lungs keep moving. I bless you in the name of Jesus that you may meet this God and receive not only the movement of your heart and breath, but also the greater and eternal grace He desires to give you.

What God wants to give us is what He Himself possesses. What God has is life, and it is eternal life. And He desires to give that to us. God is happy, and He wants to give that happiness to us. God is the God of victory. God never fails. On the contrary, demons have nothing but failure. A demon enters a person to bring failure, but God wants to give us victory. Those who are in God are victors, even if they lose everything on this earth, even their very lives. Why? Because God brings them back to life. In this way, God is our Father who desires to give us everything He has without holding anything back.

It is about this very God that the Bible records. Numerous people appear in the Bible, and among them are those who met God. There is Moses, Abraham, Joshua, Elijah, Elisha, Peter, Paul, John, and so many others. Who are they? They are precisely those who met God. This is why if you read the Bible carefully, you can see what kind of heart enabled them to meet God, and why they could enjoy His grace unlike so many others. That is why we need to read the Bible.

Even now, I am sharing bits of the Bible with you. But this alone might not be enough. So, I encourage you to make up your mind and read the Bible for yourself. It tells us about the God we seek to serve. Of course, if you don’t read it correctly, you might misunderstand it. That is why I am here to help you read and understand it rightly.

The Bible tells us about those who met God, but it also tells us about those who failed to meet Him. It includes stories of people who almost met Him but didn’t, or those who clearly had the opportunity to meet Him but missed it. You should understand why they failed to meet Him and learn from them, saying to yourself, “I shouldn’t do that. I came to church to meet God, so I must surely meet Him.”

People who meet God have various experiences. Some sick people meet God and are healed. Those who are poor in spirit meet God and obtain eternal happiness. The ways in which each person meets God are all different; however, what God ultimately wants to give us is the eternal life and happiness that He possesses.

As a pastor, I am introducing God to you and sharing how you can meet Him. When I introduce Him in this way, God Himself sometimes works directly. That is why the sick are healed. Jesus commanded us, “Preach the gospel. These signs will follow those who believe the gospel: In My name they will cast out demons; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” Thankfully, I learned this Word from the very beginning when I came to Sungrak Church. So, even as a new believer, as soon as I believed in Jesus, I laid my hands on the sick whenever I saw them. In fact, many people were healed. At first, I lacked boldness, so I prayed for those who seemed easier to heal—like people with colds, headaches, or back pain—rather than those with serious illnesses. I felt a bit burdened to pray for those with cancer. I didn’t even dare to say I would pray for the blind or the deaf. However, as I gradually experienced God’s work, I eventually began to obey the Word and lay hands on people to pray, regardless of what their illness was.

Of course, that does not mean everyone was healed. For example, there was an incident like this. When I was traveling to China to preach the gospel, a blind person attended the meeting. Near the end of the meeting, I said, “I will pray for you, so if you are sick, please come forward to receive prayer,” and that blind person came forward.

At that time, I was leading a meeting at a church where the floor was made of dirt. It wasn’t a place with good facilities. I don’t know why, but a thought suddenly came to me. I thought, “Let me try doing exactly what Jesus did.” There is a story like this in the Bible. A blind man came to Jesus, and Jesus put dirt in His hand, spat on it, made mud, and rubbed it on the man’s eyes. It sounds messy, doesn’t it? But Jesus did that on purpose. Then He said, “Go wash in the Pool of Siloam.” So the blind man washed, and he was able to see. Remembering that Word, I tried it too. I gathered some dirt from the ground and spat on it. Then I applied it to the eyes. After that, I told the person to go outside, wash, and come back. When the person returned, I asked, “Can you see?” and they said, “I can see!” People went wild. They started shouting, “Me too! Me too!” and many sick people flocked to receive prayer. Those who couldn’t lift their arms were able to lift them, those with back pain were healed, and those with various skin diseases were cured. Many people were healed like this.

Evening came and everyone went home, but the lady who had said her eyes were opened was still there. So I asked her, “Why haven’t you gone home?” and she said she couldn’t see. I asked, “Wait, didn’t you say you could see earlier?” and she replied, “I said it by faith.” She meant it wasn’t that she could actually see yet, but that she spoke that way by faith. She hadn’t actually opened her eyes. However, because of her confession, “I am healed!”, others gained strength and courage, and many other sick people were healed. Yet, this blind lady herself could not see. So I kept praying for her, but in the end, I never saw her open her eyes.

It was so heartbreaking. It’s deeply painful in moments like that. I kept praying for power, feeling frustrated and thinking, “If only I had a little more power, this person would have opened their eyes wide.” Even though I always pray like this, I still feel frustrated. If I were to pray for ten blind people, how many of them would open their eyes? How wonderful would it be if all ten could see? But it doesn’t usually happen that way. In fact, even Jesus didn’t do it like that. Jesus did not make every blind person open their eyes.

Why is that? The person one being prayed for must also have faith, right? While there must be power, the individual themselves must have faith as well. When the faith of both people comes together and the Word works, then God’s work moves forward. If even one side lacks faith, it is difficult for this work to proceed.

Therefore, to meet God, no matter how much power He has, the heart of the person seeking to meet Him is very important. Is it because God is unable to unilaterally force people to meet Him? He is the Almighty. If He were to appear in a dream holding a long sword and vividly threaten us, saying, “Hey you! If you don’t believe in Me, you’re dead!”, we would probably fall to our knees the moment we woke up, wouldn’t we? But God does not do that. God never bypasses faith. Faith is not something done by force; it is something done voluntarily. That is why the heart we have when God bestows His grace is so vital. When we seek to meet God, it is important to prepare our hearts to be worthy of that encounter.

That is why the man ‘Naaman’ in today’s scripture is so important. Even Jesus mentioned him, saying, “There were many lepers in that region at the time, but only Naaman, the commander of the Syrian army, was healed.” There were countless lepers in Israel as well, yet this miracle was not given to them. Instead, it happened to a foreigner, a man from Aram—known today as Syria. Why? It was because he was worthy to receive it.

Naaman was the commander of the Syrian army. In other words, he was the Secretary of Defense for what is now the country of Syria. So, can you imagine how great his influence was? He had nothing to envy. He had power, wealth, and honor. He was a man who had saved his nation. The king relied on him. When the king went into the temple to offer sacrifices, he would set everyone else aside and hold onto this man as he entered. This man would support the king and walk with him as the king went before the god he served. He was a man held in great trust. That is why all the people trembled before him.

One day, the Syrian soldiers entered the borders of Israel and captured a young girl. They gave this girl to Naaman’s wife as a gift. So, this Israeli girl became a servant in Naaman’s house. But as she watched her master, she felt so sorry for him. He had leprosy. His skin must have been in a terrible state, wasn’t it? Covered in scabs and sores. This man had money, power, and honor, but he was suffering so much because of this one disease. So she said to Naaman’s wife, “If only my master were before the prophet in Israel! He would heal him of his leprosy.” When Naaman’s wife heard this, she told him right away. Naaman’s ears perked up. He thought, “If there is a prophet in Israel whom God uses, then I must go to him and be healed.”

Naaman was so desperate that he did not take even the words of a young girl lightly, and he did his best to be healed. His earnestness was truly enough to catch God’s attention. God does not heal every sick person. One must have the earnestness to be healed and seek God with that heart. This man truly found the right way.

Naaman said to his master, the king of Aram, “O king, I heard there is a prophet in Israel, and I wish to go there and be healed.” So the king replied, “Do not worry. I will write a letter for you,” and he gave a letter to Naaman. What do you think he wrote? He wrote, “Please heal my beloved servant, Naaman.” Carrying this letter, Naaman went to the king of Israel. He did not go empty-handed; he took a great deal of silver and gold with him. He also took several sets of finely crafted clothing. Then, presenting all these gifts and the letter to the king of Israel, he said, “Please heal me.”

After the king of Israel read the letter, he first sent Naaman away. He fell into great despair and became very worried. Why was that? He was anxious, thinking, “What? Am I God? How can I heal him? This is trouble. The king of Syria is using this as a trick to attack us! He is looking for an excuse to invade! This is a disaster.” He worried so much that he even tore his clothes. Tearing one’s clothes was a custom of that time to show deep distress. Since it wasn’t just anyone but the king himself who tore his clothes, it meant he was in total despair.

The prophet of Israel heard this news. His name was Elisha. Even those who haven’t attended church might have heard the names of Elijah and Elisha. Both were prophets, with Elijah coming first and Elisha following after him. Their names have very interesting meanings that represent a single prophecy. Elijah means “The Lord is God,” and Elisha means “God is salvation.” Elisha follows Elijah. Just as before Jesus came, John the Baptist took on the role of Elijah to prepare the way, when God’s Son, Jesus, came to this earth later, He came as the God of salvation, just like Elisha. In other words, Elisha in the Old Testament served as a shadow, foreshadowing the ministry of Jesus who was to come.

Elisha was a powerful prophet. When he heard that the king had torn his clothes and was in distress, he sent a messenger to speak boldly to the king. “O king, why are you so troubled? Send Naaman to me.” How happy the king must have been! Elisha said, “I will make it known that there is a prophet in Israel.” He sounds so reliable, doesn’t he?

Naaman set off to see Elisha. He headed toward Elisha’s house, but how do you think he traveled? He brought all his chariots and horses right to the front of the house. Since he had been a commander in Syria, he arrived with what we would call tanks today, along with all those horses. Hundreds of soldiers arrived with their military equipment, swarming in front of the house. Then, they stood before the gate of Elisha’s house. Wouldn’t that have been terrifying? The atmosphere must have been intense. Passersby must have been whispering, “What’s going on? What’s happening?” and when the soldiers finally pulled up at Elisha’s house, people must have been shocked. “What? What is happening at Elisha’s house?”

When something like this happens, you would expect Elisha to throw the door open and run out barefoot, saying, “Welcome!” But he didn’t do that; instead, he sent his servant out. He didn’t even step outside himself. What do you think he said through the servant’s mouth? “Go and wash in the Jordan River seven times. Then your flesh will be clean and become like that of a little child.” And that was it.

“What! He’s not coming out? Is he just going to pass along a single word and be done with it? Does he think he is that high and mighty? How can this be happening? Does he have any idea who I am?” He probably reacted just like this, wouldn’t you agree?

We often say that, don’t we? “Do you know who I am?” Let me tell you a story. I was studying Chinese in a region called Chengdu. Actually, it’s easier for students to get visas, but quite difficult for others. Even students had to renew theirs every six months. At that time, there was an employee from a major corporation. Word was that he had been demoted and sent to China. He worked for a well-known company and went to the Public Security Bureau to apply for a visa. However, they wouldn’t grant it easily. That’s when he did what he usually did, asking, “Do you know who I am?” He even slammed the desk. He stood up abruptly, pounded the desk, and shouted, “Do you know who I am?” Where did he do this? At the Public Security Bureau! What did they care? They probably thought, “Do I need to know who you are?” Because of that one remark, they stopped approving visas for every Korean in that area. Later, he went back to apologize, but they wouldn’t accept it. It wasn’t until the president of the Korean Association went to apologize and promised, “We will make sure this never happens again,” that the visas were finally issued. International students suffered quite a bit because of him. So, if you go around saying “Do you know who I am?” in the wrong place, you’ll only end up in big trouble.

Naaman was exactly like that. He was currently the Secretary of Defense of a nation. He had traveled to a neighboring country by the king’s command, and even the king of Israel had approved this by sending him to the prophet. In today’s terms, he had gone to the home of a minister. Yet, this minister didn’t even dare to step outside; instead, he sent a servant telling him to wash in the Jordan River.

Naaman was so furious that he was about to turn back. As he turned away, he said, “Shouldn’t that man have come out, called on the name of the Lord, and waved his hand over the place to pray? And now he tells me to go wash in that tiny Jordan River? Does he think I came here because I have nowhere else to wash? There are two rivers in Damascus, where I live, that are much larger and better than this. I might as well go and wash there! Forget this!”

Then his servants quickly approached and tried to stop him. “My master! If that prophet had told you to do something even greater, wouldn’t you have done it? If he had asked for more than the gifts you prepared, wouldn’t you have given it? This isn’t even a difficult task; he only told you to wash in the Jordan River. Is there any reason not to do it? Please, go ahead!”

Naaman listened to these words and thought about it carefully, and he realized they were right. He came back to his senses. It wasn’t important whether that man treated him with respect or not; what truly mattered was that he had come before God to be healed. Then shouldn’t he just do whatever God tells him to do? At that moment, Naaman still hadn’t let go of his prestige, his pride, and his power. That is why, until then, he had no relationship with God. But after listening to his servants’ advice, he thought, “I was wrong. I will do as I am told,” and he went down to the Jordan River.

He went to the Jordan River and dipped himself once, right? There was no effect yet. He went in a second time; still no effect. A third time—nothing. If it were the way the world works, you would see a gradual improvement, like taking prescribed medicine and feeling better over time, right? But that wasn’t the case here. Even after the sixth time, there was no reaction at all. Most people would have probably said, “What? Do I really have to do this?” and after about three tries, they would have quit, saying, “I’m done! This is so annoying!” and walked away. But this man went in and out seven times. He was quite a remarkable person.

After he dipped himself for the seventh time, his skin was transformed just like that of a little child. It turned clean and white. Naaman was astounded and confessed, “Now I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel.” From that moment, the attitude of Naaman’s heart was completely changed. He took his servants and went back to the prophet’s house. This, too, was different. Would most people go back to the prophet after being healed? They wouldn’t. They would head straight back home as if nothing had happened. But this man came back to the prophet. He came to express his gratitude and tried to give him the gifts he had prepared, saying, “Please, you must accept this.”

Then Elisha said, “As the Lord lives, whom I serve, I will receive nothing.” Since he went as far as to make an oath, he truly did not accept anything. Naaman urged him repeatedly to take the gifts, but Elisha refused to the very end. So Naaman said, “Very well. Then please allow me this one thing: Let me take as much soil as two mules can carry.” Why did he ask for this? He continued, “When I return to my home, I will no longer offer sacrifices to any other god, but only to your God, the God who healed me. I will build an altar with this soil and offer my sacrifices upon it. And I ask for your understanding on one more matter: When I return home and accompany the King of Aram into the temple, I must support him and bow my head as he worships. Please understand that I do this only out of duty to my master.” After hearing this, Elisha said, “Go in peace,” and sent Naaman on his way. In this way, Naaman became a man who met God and was recorded in the Bible, and even Jesus mentioned Naaman out of all those many people.

God desires to heal the sick. He is the God of healing. However, not everyone receives healing. Naaman laid down all his status, prestige, power, honor, and his splendid robes. Only then did he stand before God, one-on-one, as a simple individual God had created. When you stand before God one-on-one, the authority that once tried to boast, “Do you know who I am?” becomes nothing. Those splendid robes mean nothing. Even the countless soldiers following behind are nothing. These are all just a shell. In that state, one cannot meet God.

But Naaman laid all those things down. To go into the water, he had to take off all his clothes, didn’t he? Is it easy to show one’s naked body to others? Especially when it’s the body of a leper. Yet, he allowed that shameful scene to be witnessed. He laid everything down before God. It was in that moment that he was able to meet God.

We have come to church because we want to meet God. But if we still hold onto the attitude of “Do you know who I am?”, we cannot meet Him. If we do not lay down our pride, authority, knowledge, and honor, but instead think, “I am a person of influence! Do you know how smart I am?”, we will never be able to encounter the living God. We may meet people. When we come to church, people will treat us with kindness and respect. However, our purpose is not to meet people, but to meet God. Now, we must lay everything down before Him.

Looking back, meeting God was very difficult for me as well. The process of seeking Him took several years. I couldn’t let go of my pride, and I couldn’t lay down my knowledge. But the most decisive obstacle to meeting God was my own “self-righteousness”—thinking that I was right. I held onto thoughts like, “At least I’ve lived a holy life. Even if others are unrighteous, I haven’t been defiled and have lived a clean life. I’ve lived as a good person.” I just couldn’t let go of that mindset until the very end.

Even after I eventually laid those things down, there was still one more thing I couldn’t let go of: the eyes of others. When praying before God, everyone else was crying out, “O Jesus!!” and seeking Him with a loud voice. But I couldn’t make a sound like that when I prayed. Why? Because I was afraid of what others might hear. I had never prayed out loud like that before.

But what happens when someone is drowning? When you become desperate, what do you do? You naturally cry out, don’t you? If you were in that situation and just mumbled, “Um… excuse me? Are you there?”, what would happen? Regardless of anything else, you would scream, “Help! Save me!” Only when I reached that state of mind was I finally able to cry out, “God! Please help me!” It was after praying that way that I was able to receive the Holy Spirit.

In the same way, no matter how much God desires to give us, we cannot receive these good things if our hearts are not open or if we refuse to lay down what we are holding onto. No matter how strong the sunlight is, if you simply cover it with your palm, a shadow is formed. The light cannot pierce through it. Likewise, no matter how powerful God’s grace is, if our will is blocking it, that grace cannot enter.

I don’t know what it is that you are holding onto. Is it pride? Lay it down. Is it honor? Lay it down. Knowledge? Lay it down. Your own theories? Lay them down. Then, stand before God as a single, solitary human being. Even if people say to you, “Oh, you are wonderful. You have many accomplishments,” you are still a person who is lonely. You are empty. You are someone who cannot be happy without God—someone who is fearful and anxious. I bless you in the name of Jesus to strip away all those things, expose your true self, and receive the fullness of God’s grace.

God our Father, we pray for every soul gathered here before You at this time. Please help us to lay down all our pride, knowledge, theories, and honor, so that we may fully receive the great grace You provide. Work within us so that we may stand before You simply as ourselves, as one person. May we surely encounter the living God and come to possess the happiness that only You can give. We thank You and pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.