R. Edward Miller emphasizes the duality of faith in his sermon 'Faith to Give and Receive,' using the story of Elisha and the faith of a young slave girl named Nara to illustrate how both giving and receiving faith are essential for miracles to occur. Nara, despite her dire circumstances, demonstrated remarkable faith by encouraging Naaman to seek healing from Elisha, showcasing that faith can thrive even in adversity. Miller highlights that while God's power is always present, it requires faith from both the giver and the receiver to manifest. He draws parallels with the New Testament, emphasizing that obedience and faith are crucial for experiencing God's miracles. Ultimately, the sermon encourages believers to carry their faith into the world, just as Nara did, transforming her from a captive into a missionary.

Without to finish up this revival series, we're talking about Elijah and Elisha. Elijah has now been, in the story, has been taken by the whirlwind of the heavenlies. And we go back to Elisha, and it is the time of fruit bearing for Elisha. And there's just one incident I'm going to use out of the many, that is life, to illustrate that fruit bearing. And we're going to start with the second book of Kings, chapter five. The Syrians had gone out by companies and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel, a little maid. And she waited on Naaman's wife. This little girl had been kidnapped. Her village had been destroyed. She became a slave. But she plays a very important part in this history of Elisha. We're not given a name in scripture, but I have given her a name, Nara, N-A-R-A-H, Nara. In Hebrew, that word means a slave girl. And that's what she was. Now, when miracles are wrought, when the word of God flows anointing, when the Holy Spirit's moving, there has to be faith on two sides. There has to be faith to give. There has to be faith to receive. There was no lack of faith. There was no lack of power and anointing in Jesus. But in Nazareth, he could not do many mighty works. Why? Because of their unbelief, not because of his. You see what I mean? It was there. The power was there. So much so, when the woman touched the hem of his garment without even advising him that she was going to, the power flowed, didn't it? Because there was faith to receive. There was faith in him to give, there was faith in her to receive, and immediately there was a flow. There has to be faith on both sides. There has to be the faith to give, and that comes from the ministry. They have to have that faith, and there has to be the faith to receive, because I don't care how much power or how much anointing or how much gifting a ministry may have, it will do no good when there's unbelief to receive it. And we, you remember, I mentioned the story of the woman that, Matthew 9, 20, Behold, a woman which was deceived with an issue of blood twelve years came behind him and touched the hem of his garment. For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole. And skipping to Luke 8, 45 to fulfill the rest of the story. And Jesus said, Who touched me? When all denied, Peter and they that were with him said, Master, the multitude throng you and press you. What do you say who touched me? And Jesus said, Somebody touch me, for I perceive that virtue, that word means power, is gone out of me. And Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort. Your faith has made you whole. The woman was made whole from that hour. She but touched him. But she touched him with faith, and that's why Jesus said, Your faith made you whole. It was there in him. It was already there. And the strange thing is, so many people touched him and got nothing. That tells you something, doesn't it? Peter said, Well, Lord, what a question. Everybody's touching. They're thronging you. They press you on every side. He said, No, somebody touched me. What a difference. What a strange thing. What a, what a, how should I say, a word of almost condemnation to all those people that were touching him and received nothing. Has anybody ever said to you? They have to me many times. Well, why is it has gone so wonderful and so great and we have the healing service and a few people get healed and the rest go home without anything. You ever hear people say that? I can tell you why. In the day of Jesus, one people, one person, one woman received and the rest of them got nothing. Why? One person, the rest of them banged against him. There was that touch of faith. There was that touch of faith to receive from God. And we're going to leave that now. We're going back to our story. We're going to carry on the giving and receiving of faith. Second Kings 5. We said 2, 2 to 19. We're going now to carry on where we left off. And this Nara, this little servant maid, she said to her mistress, would God my Lord were here with a prophet that is in Samaria for he would recover him of his leprosy. This little girl that had been kidnapped, was made a slave, lost her home, lost everything she had. But she had faith to receive, not faith to give, but she had faith to receive. Somehow, before she had been kidnapped, before she'd been carried away, she was very familiar with Elisha. Now, such a thing as she is saying, if he'd go to the prophet, he would get healed from his leprosy, is an amazing thing to say. Leprosy wasn't something that got healed very often. And furthermore, in those days, it wasn't like just that's the coming of the Holy Spirit and the gifts of healing and so on. That was before that. And when, we'll see a little bit later, when this letter was sent to the king asking him to do it, he said, well, the man's mad, he's trying to pick a war with me. People didn't do that. How did this little girl have the faith to know that her prophet would do what nobody else had ever done? It's amazing faith that Nara had, you know. And another amazing thing is that they believed her. You know what that tells me? That tells me that she knew her God. And that tells me that being a slave, instead of getting bitter, and instead of doing what all the other slaves, lying and doing their best to get out of everything and make things miserable for their owners, you know what she did? She gave their trust. Her spirit was so right, they said, she will not lie to us. They trusted her. They believed her totally. That tells me a lot about that little girl. There's another story very similar in the wild entries, but I won't go into it, but it is possible. She had such victory in her heart, she had such faith in her God, that she knew her God and she knew her prophet, if he'd just go there, he'd get healed. And that faith was contagious, because faith is, and her words were positive, and her words were out of a lips that were accustomed to speaking truth, they knew they could trust Nara. These were high class people, these were the ruling class, this was, her, Naaman was the general of the king's army. I think it's wonderful, I think it's exemplary, I think it's extraordinary, that that girl was believed in such a momentous, in such an important occasion, and they did. And we go on, reading, she had that faith to receive. And so someone went in and told Naaman, the general, saying, thus and thus said that little Nara out of the land of Israel. And so, they told the king. And the king, they must have heard a lot about that little girl, because the king believed it too. And the king of Syria said, go, go, I will send a letter to the king of Israel. Didn't say the prophet. And he departed and took with him, Naaman departed and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment. He brought the letter to the king of Israel saying, now when this letter is come unto thee, behold, I have herewith sent my general Naaman, my servant to thee, that thou mayest recover him of his leprosy. Good Lord. When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes apart. He said, am I God? Expect me to kill and make alive? This general sends me a letter to recover a man of his leprosy. Look, he seeks a quarrel against me. He wants to make war with me. He was in a quandary. And Elisha heard about it. And Elisha, the man of God, heard the king of Israel rent his clothes. He said to the king, saying, verse 8, Wherefore hast thou rent thy clothes? Let him come now to me, and he shall know there is a prophet in Israel. He had faith to give. Faith to give. He was willing to put his name on the line. He was willing to face up to it. He said, send him to me. He'll know there's a prophet. Now he'd never healed anyone like that before. And yet, and yet he had no qualms. He had no maybes. He had no perhaps. He said, no, if the Lord will, you know, give him way out. He said, just send him to me. He'll know there's a prophet. So there was faith to give in the prophet. There was faith to receive in Nara, a little slave girl. So Naaman came with his horses, with his chariots. Stood at the door of the house of Elisha. All this retinue and all these soldiers with all their arms and all these horses and all this baggage as they carried talents of silver and many talents of gold. Elisha sent a messenger unto him. Didn't go out to sea. Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean. He was sure, wasn't he? He didn't have to go out there and go to some kind of a ceremony or go to some kind of a ritual or anything. He said, just go wash. It's taken care of. All you need to do is just go wash it off. Well, I read that Naaman. Let's see, where are we? There it is. Naaman was wroth. Naaman was angry. I don't blame him, do you? He thought he was making a fool of him. He was angry. I thought he'd come out to me and salute me and talk to me and find out what my problem was. He just said, go wash. I thought he'd strike the name, strike the place where my leprosy is and call the name of the Lord. And he'd cover my leprosy. Jordan. Well, we've got two rivers cleaner and better than that. Jordan was a muddy river. Better than all the waters of Israel. Why can't I wash in my own rivers? So he turned and went away in a rage. And his servants came near him and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, would you have done it? Well, how much rather than he said he'd wash and be clean. And they appeased his wrath and persuaded him. Then went he down. Dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God. And his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child. He was clean. He returned to the man of God and all his company came and stood before him. Believing is obedience. Obedience is believing. It was all set. Naaman had to do one thing more. He didn't have the faith to receive. So God didn't ask that. But he did ask him to obey an order. That's all. Just obey an order. Obedience is an act of faith. And God took that. That was enough. But he did what was told to do. He went down and dipped in Jordan. And lo and behold, that wonderful, wonderful miracle took place. And now he comes back to the prophet. And he said these words. These are marvelous words. I hope they're underlined in your Bible. Behold, Now I know there is no God in all the earth but in Israel. Now I know that your God is a true God and there is none other like him. Why? A miracle. How do you expect people that don't know our God to know? How do you expect people that have their own God? How do you expect them to know that we are right and they are wrong? Now I know. Look what he's done. There's no other God like that. That's what the Christian church was sent out with. We were sent out that way. We were sent out to prove. In Mark we read. That we were to go out and heal the sick. Go ahead, it's a leopard. Raise your hand. Raise the dead. He said and the signs following would confirm the word that was preached. Didn't he? These signs shall follow them. These signs shall follow. Why? To confirm the word of God. Confirm that we are preaching truth. To confirm that it is true. To confirm that God is true. To confirm that he's a God. The kind of God that will do that kind of a thing. Now I know. Now I know. He said look. Would you let me take a little bit of this earth. Earth. Just as much as a mule will carry. And take it with me. Two mule burdens worth. Just so I can maybe build an altar there. And some place a little bit out of Israel God. Because they had the idea that God was very localized. And he wanted to carry this thing with him. But he said something wonderful. First he said he wanted to take a blessing. Take some of the gifts he gives you. He said no I don't want that. And then he said in verse 17. Your servants will henceforth offer neither burnt offering nor sacrifice unto other gods but unto the Lord. Little Nara was a slave missionary to Syria. What a way to become a missionary huh? What a way. One of her converts was a general. And now he's saying I will worship no other god except your God. And I'll tell you something else. The Bible doesn't say this but I know it. General of the army would sit down at the feet of Nara and say tell me about your prophet and about your God. Do you believe that? I do. I do. They say you've got something different. And who knows how far that went. But one thing we do know. That after that. During that time period of history. Syria made no more wars against Israel. It made a difference. Just one person that believes God. In the midst of such adversity. In the midst of such trial. In the midst of being a slave girl. She still believes God. I think that's wonderful. So she was a missionary to Syria. And so he goes on in this story. And Elijah said to him to go in peace. So he departed from him a little way. Now I want to go to something else. I'm going to go to the book of Acts verse 28. Chapter 28 verses 1 to 11. We're talking about faith to give and faith to receive. Acts 28 verse 1. When they were escaped. Then they knew that the island was called Milita. And the barbarous people showed us no little kindness. For they kindled a fire and received us everyone. Because of the present rain. Because of the cold. And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks. And laid them on the fire. There came a viper out of the heat. And fastened on his hand. And when the barbarians saw that the venomous beast. Hang on his head. They said among themselves. No doubt this man is a murderer. He escaped the sea. But vengeance suffered not to live. And he took off the beast into the fire. And felt no harm. Because he knew that the abiding spirit. And Paul was so certain of it. That he was bit by a serpent. It didn't even disturb him. Go back in the fire. And carried on his business. He had faith. In the God. In the spirit of God. That dwelt within him. Didn't Jesus say. That if you're bit by a serpent. You'd feel no ill. You could take poison. And it wouldn't make you sick. No. He knew it was so. He knew that the spirit of life was in him. And no devil was going to take it out. Through the teeth of a serpent. And all he did was shake it off. He had faith to give. Well he did give I see. When the people looked. What he should have swollen. Or fallen down dead. Suddenly they looked. And nothing happened. So they changed. Their minds. They changed their minds. People do you know. When we act in the faith of the Holy Ghost. They change their minds. And say wait a minute. Wait a minute. Something's going on. This man didn't die. He's just as strong as ever. And so the same quarter for possessions of the chief man. Of the islands name of Phobias. sick of a fever and blighted fluke to whom Paul entered in and prayed, laid his hands on him, and healed him. So when this was done others also which had disease came and were healed. And all of you workers and all of you pastors that are going home seek the Lord that he may confirm his word that you'll be speaking. Trust in the Holy Spirit that's in you. Realize he is in me. You don't have to heal anybody. All you have to do is obey. Jesus said, lay hands on the sick and they shall recover. He didn't say recover them, did he? You just do that and he'll do the other. I've seen thousands of people healed, literally. I never healed one of them. I couldn't. But if I didn't obey him, put my hands on him, and say a little prayer over him, God wouldn't do anything either. So between the two of us, I did a little tiny bit and he did a great big bit, but it got done. I'm sure you've heard the story of the flea and the elephant, haven't you? Well the flea was in the elephant's ear. And the elephant was working hard in the teak forest of India. And he was laying one big log up, picked it up with his trunk and with his tusks and sticking it on the tile and going to get another one. And he was working hard all day long. And finally night came and they took the elephant down to the river to give him, wash all the sweat off of him and give him a refreshing. And on the way down there, the little flea that was in his ear all day feasting, he said to the elephant, he said, we did a great job today, didn't we? No, we are working together with God. We do a great job. Oh, yes. Oh, yes. I put my hands on him, pray a little prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen. You're healed? Oh, well praise the Lord. What a surprise. I don't do anything. You don't have to do anything. You just do what you're told to do. And that's hard enough, isn't it? That will make the sweat break out on your forehead. Especially if you do it in the sense of a challenge and accept the challenge. Like Elisha, send him to me. He'll know there is a prophet in Israel. But there was a prophet in Israel. And that's where the fruit is because he had gone through all the preparation. And he had come to that place of faith. He knew who he was and who his God was. And he said, he said of himself like Elijah did, the God before whom I stand. He had that living relationship with God developed in his life. And therefore, when God works those kind of miracles, when God proves himself, then people begin to say, now I know your God is true. Now I know there is a real God. You know people all over the world want reality. They want reality. After all, we're all heading down the path into death. And then what? I'd like to know before I get there wouldn't you? But I'd like to know, not just have somebody tell me and I hope they're right. Because if I hope they're right and they are wrong, I can't come back to fix it. And I figured long ago that if God is going to demand of me that I know before I get there, He's going to be just enough to let me know and have some way to find out before I do. Now I know. Now I know there is a God that's true. Of all the gods there is one. Read the story of Nebuchadnezzar in the book of Daniel. After he spent seven years out there as an insane king, he comes back and says, now I know God reigns. We can sing, Our God Reigns. And I hope you can say, I know He reigns. Would I have to be seven years out like an insane person? But he did know. God wants us to have a God that we know is with us and in us. And we can expect Him to confirm His Word with signs following if I obey and follow His directions. I said I wouldn't speak long. We'll just cut it off here. But we have a wonderful God. And I trust you'll go home with a new faith in your heart, a new courage, a new impetus to seek His face and realize, yes we are going to have to go through some things. I mean that little Nara, she had to go through some pretty rough things to see her home destroyed, lose her father and mother, everything she had. Carried away as a slave, dumped in some home, and treated like a slave. And yet she took her God with her. She took her God with her. And the result is instead of ending up a slave she ended up a missionary to Syria. I like that don't you? God's wonderful. He does things so strangely but He does wonderful things. And I trust you can take your God home with you with a fresh faith, with a fresh zeal, with a fresh love, and know He is with me. And because He is with me then I can triumph. I can overcome. Shall we stand?