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2 Kings 5 (Part 2) Bible Study (Gehazi's Greed and Punishment) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh · Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago

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  Let's come together now to the Book of Second Kings, chapter 5
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  and place your finger there, verse 15.
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  As we will complete this chapter together this evening, I'll tell
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  you upfront that the focus of our study will be on two
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  individuals and the change in their spiritual condition, the
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  radical change in their spiritual condition.
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  The 1st is Damon and how his faith was converted to the true
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  and living God. The second is Gehazi, Elijah's
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  servant and how he compromised in his faith in the true and
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  living God. In Naaman, we're going to
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  witness the remarkable transformations of the
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  convictions of a very unlikely person.
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  In Gehazi, however, we are going to look at a minister and a
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  pupil of one of God's most remarkable prophets in all of
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  history and how this man was eaten up by covetousness.
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  This section is not only going to offer us lessons from each of
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  these individuals, it's also going to highlight striking
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  contrast between them. And when we carefully examine
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  those contrasts, it's only going to add to the stockpile of
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  revelation that we seek to accumulate tonight.
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  And that's what we do here. We discipline ourselves to read
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  and study our Bibles carefully, to dig into mine in order to see
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  all that God has to offer. And so let's do that.
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  Let's come to 2nd Kings 515. Last week, we studied how naman
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  was miraculously healed and cleansed of leprosy.
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  And right away we're going to notice that there was another
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  type of cleansing that took place in this man's life.
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  Not externally, internally, not on his skin, but in his soul.
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  Let's read the first few verses, beginning in verse 15.
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  Then he being named and returned to the man of God, he and all
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  his company. And he came and stood before
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  him. And he said, Behold, I know that
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  there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel.
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  So except now a present from your servant.
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  But he said, as the Lord lives before whom I stand, I will
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  receive none. And he urged them to take it,
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  but he refused. The Naaman said, If not, please
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  let there be given to your servant 2 mule loads of earth.
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  From from now on your servant will not offer burnt offering or
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  sacrifice to any God but the Lord in this matter.
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  May the Lord pardon your servant.
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  When my master goes into the House of Ramon to worship there
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  leaning on my arm, and I bow myself in the House of Ramon.
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  When I bow myself in the House of Ramon, the Lord pardon your
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  servant in this matter. He said to him, go in peace.
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  You know what we have before us tonight, The study, one of the
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  most notable Gentile converts in the Old Testament.
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  And again, as we mentioned in verse 14, we learned that this
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  name in his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little
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  child, and he was clean. But right away in verse 15, we
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  realized that there was an inner transformation, a genuine
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  conversion. He was saved.
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  And I want you to look back at verse 15 because this is more
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  interactive than on a Sunday. Is there anything from verse 15
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  that stands out to you that would validate Naaman's
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  transformation? And you can say it out loud.
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  You don't have to give a whole sermon, but just a word or two
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  about what you noticed from verse 15 that would indicate
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  that this man indeed was different.
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  Yes. OK, so he returned to the man of
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  God. That's significant because he's
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  going to make certain requests to the man of God.
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  We're going to elaborate on that.
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  Any other observations from verse 15?
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  Exactly. He made this claim about the
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  exclusivity of the God of Israel.
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  Absolutely. Anything else?
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  He humbly came and stood before Elijah.
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  Yeah. So he stands before Elijah.
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  Different posture, different mindset.
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  Anything about his mindset that was different from how we
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  studied him last week. Humble.
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  Absolutely. So I, I think we can look at 3
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  marks of this man's transformation and and some of
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  us already talked about at least two of them.
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  The first one was his confession, his profession.
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  He made this claim that there is no other God but the God of
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  Israel. Now, it was not uncommon for a
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  Pagan at this time to discover of a new deity and then to Adam,
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  to his panoply of gods. But that's not what Naaman does
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  here. He doesn't add this God to the
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  list of other gods that he respected and revered.
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  He makes this profession that a faithful Israelite would have
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  made, that there is no other God but this God.
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  And that's what the Bible unequivocally declares over and
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  over and over again, that there is only one Lord and it's this
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  Lord. And this is what Naaman does.
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  It's a massive declaration for somebody with his background to
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  make. Absolutely.
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  So he's already lining up with what the Scripture says about
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  the exclusivity of this God and his claims and his prerogatives.
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  The second thing that Naaman does, though, is that he is
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  demonstrating a willingness to respond sacrificially to the
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  experience that he had with the grace of God.
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  Notice what he says to Elijah. So accept now a present from
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  your servant. So a couple of people already
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  mentioned that Naaman goes back to the man of God.
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  It could have been very easy for him to have that miracle at the
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  Jordan River and then to make his way straight back home to
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  Syria. But instead, he, he travels many
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  miles back to come before the man of God because he wants to
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  leave something with the man of God.
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  And as we're about to discover, take something back with him to
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  Syria. Now, if you think that's
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  unrealistic for somebody to do this, to go back home after
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  experiencing such a marvelous thing, do you remember when
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  Jesus healed 10 lepers? How many of them came back to
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  give him thanks? One.
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  And he was a foreigner according to the Lord's words, just like
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  Naaman was. So Naaman goes above and beyond
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  to ensure that he can do what he can by properly responding to
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  this encounter that he had with God.
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  And so he makes this offer out of his gratitude.
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  He wants to repay the spiritual and the human instrument rather
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  for the miracle. But we're going to learn Elijah
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  rejects it and for a good reason.
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  So it's not that he just wants to give something though.
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  He wants to take something. Look at verse 17.
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  The Naaman said, if not, please let there be given to your
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  servant, 2 mule loads of earth. From now on, your servant will
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  not offer burnt offering or sacrifice to any God but the
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  Lord. Was Naaman commanded to worship
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  the Lord? No, he he discovered a fresh
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  desire to worship the Lord, and there's no doubt that his
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  understanding of the things of God will develop.
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  But there's no denying the the purity of this priority.
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  He wants to do what he can to honor God, and it is no
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  different for a person who has genuinely encountered and been
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  changed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
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  In the same way, Naaman wants to go back home and reorient
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  everything around the true God being central.
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  When you've really experienced the gospel and responded to it
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  and repentance and faith, you will want to set up your life in
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  a way where Christ has preeminence and that he will
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  have your supreme devotion. If you've been cleansed by the
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  blood of Jesus, that will be true of you.
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  And if it's not true of you, then you have to question
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  whether or not you really have tasted of His grace.
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  And I find it fascinating how this is the same name in who
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  earlier when he was commanded by Elijah to go dip himself 7 times
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  in the Jordan, made these boasts about how the rivers and
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  Damascus were far greater, right?
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  And now what is he doing? He wants to take back with him
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  the dirt of Israel in order to honor God through it above
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  everything else back home. This man changed.
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  He's different, but it's not just his view of God that's
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  altered. How he views himself is
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  radically changed as well. How does he refer and identify
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  himself when he comes before the man of God?
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  He says what? Your servant.
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  And he says that twice more in verse 18.
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  Your servant, your servant. Compare this to how we saw
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  Naaman interact with Elijah in his first introduction.
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  Look at verse 11 of Second Kings 5, just as a reminder.
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  But Naman was angry and went away saying, behold, I thought
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  that he would surely come out to me and stand and call upon the
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  name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place and
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  cure the leper. Much different, wouldn't you
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  say? And just like how Naman wanted
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  to worship the Lord, go back home and change everything about
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  how he views the world and views these different gods and his
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  idols, this is also a pattern for a person who's experienced
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  the Gospel of Jesus Christ. No matter who you are, even if
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  you are the general of a nation's army, like Naman, you
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  will also want to serve your servant.
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  So when Christ doesn't work in your heart, He doesn't just
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  secure you. He doesn't just declare your
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  positionally as a St. he makes you into a servant, and the
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  effects of the gospel in that regard are repetitive throughout
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  the New Testament. One of my favorite texts to
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  prove that is Titus 214 when it talks about he who redeemed us
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  and delivered us from all lawlessness and to purify unto
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  himself a people who are zealous for good works.
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  You're not saved by good works. You're not saved even by zealous
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  good works, but you are saved for zealous good works.
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  So here you have name and now saying, yes, I want to worship
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  the true God, but I also want to be a servant.
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  So he calls himself your servant.
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  When you're saved, you're going to want to serve, serve God's
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  people, serve God's Kingdom, and you'll do so with joy.
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  Did you notice that in verse 16, Elisha rejects the gift, but he
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  said, as the Lord lives before whom I stand, I will receive
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  none. And he urged them to take it,
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  but he refused. This is even more strange when
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  you remember how Elijah unreservedly accepted the
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  service of the shanimite woman, all those meals, and she even
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  extended her home, built a room for him.
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  He didn't object. So why is Elijah denying this
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  gift here and now? I believe it's in the same
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  chapter where you get a clue that indicates Elijah's wisdom
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  and discretion in this matter. Scroll down to verse 26.
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  We didn't read it yet, but look at what he says to Gehazi when
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  he confronts Gehazi about his greed as we're going to read
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  later verse 26. But he said to him, did not my
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  heart go when the man turned from his chariot to meet you?
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  Was it a time to accept money and garments, olive orchards and
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  vineyards, sheep and oxen, male servants and female servants?
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  There it is. It wasn't the right time.
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  So it's not that Elijah's ministry had this unbending
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  policy where you couldn't receive any donations or
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  charity. It's that at this particular
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  moment he discerned that it was not appropriate to do so.
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  And why was it wrong? Why would it have been foolish
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  for him to accept this gift? Here's what I believe.
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  And I, I think this is the case that the scripture is making.
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  Elijah understood that he was dealing with a foreigner and he
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  did not want to give the slightest impression to him,
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  naman or the people that he was going to go back to that this
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  miracle was somehow earned or it was purchased in any way.
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  So Elijah's thinking beyond what's happening here, he's
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  thinking that when Naaman goes back and those around him that
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  knew of his condition and travel to Israel to receive healing
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  from the God of Israel, and they asked how was it that you were
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  healed by the God of Israel? He would respond based on what
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  Elisha does here with nothing, nothing at all.
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  I didn't pay anything. I, I didn't have to perform in
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  any way. He just asked me to do something
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  in simple faith, and in simple faith I received my cleansing.
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  And through that I'm sure that the message of the grace of God
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  would be unmistakable. That's what Elijah was trying to
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  protect. Paul made similar objections
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  when he served among the Corinthians.
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  He refused to be a financial burden to the Christians of that
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  area because he discerned that in that context, there were
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  adversaries that were trying to muddy his testimony and claim
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  that he was doing this for financial gain.
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  So he gave him no evidence to work with.
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  Even though he cut off the right of an apostle to receive
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  compensation for his work, he would not exercise that right
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  because he had a greater ambition in mind.
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  Both Elijah and Paul, among others, serve as a wonderful
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  example for ministers today and how they should operate in
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  wisdom. You have to learn how to be
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  flexible in your ministry and in your service, especially when
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  people want to respond by giving you something for your service.
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  There are times when the best thing to do is to not receive
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  anything. Could have Elijah use this As
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  the leader of the sons of the prophets?
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  We got a glimpse of how much the sons of the prophets needed
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  support, material support. I'm sure he could have used
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  this. I'm sure his students could have
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  benefited from this. But he refused to accept it
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  because in this mind he understood that there is a
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  superior spiritual goal that overrided any temporary material
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  profit. This is a man who had great
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  wisdom. Unfortunately, it wasn't shared
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  by his assistant, as we're going to discover.
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  So he tried to give it to him and he wouldn't take it.
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  So notice what he says in verse 17.
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  Naaman, that is the Naaman said, if not, please let there be
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  given to your servant 2 mule loads of earth, for from now on
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  your servant will not offer burnt offering or sacrifice to
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  any God but the Lord. OK, you won't take anything.
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  Fine. Can you at least do me this
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  favor? Can you fill up two of my cars
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  with some of the dirt of the land of Israel?
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  I want to go back and I want to worship God and honor him.
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  What does dirt have to do with devotion?
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  Here's how some explain it. That name.
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  And though he is truly changed, he's still in the infancy of his
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  faith. And with many heathens of this
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  time, they understood gods as localized deities.
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  So you have the God of the hills and the God of the valleys and
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  the God of that country and the God of that city.
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  And some would claim that Naman is still operating with that
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  filter. And when you, when you read back
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  at first kings, you don't have to turn there now where the
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  Syrians go to war with Ahab, God criticizes the Syrians for that
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  very kind of thinking that the God of Israel is is is the God
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  of this location and not that location.
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  And the Lord proved otherwise, that he's the God of everything
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  and over everything. So the idea here is that in the
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  innocence of his heart and the purity of his devotion, in order
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  to stay connected to the Lord, the God of Israel, he wants to
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  take some of the ground that God governed so that he can relate
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  and engage with him. That's the explanation many
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  people give. Here's why I have trouble with
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  that. Because if this is how Naman was
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  thinking, surely Elijah would have corrected him.
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  He would have gently redirected him and clarified this
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  misunderstanding. What's more likely is that
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  Naman, though he he was freshly saved, perhaps was able to
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  gather some information about how this God, the God of Israel,
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  should be worshipped. And there is one particular law
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  from the book of Exodus that would give commentary to why
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  Naman made this request and why Elijah allowed it.
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  You have to turn to Exodus 20 to see it and look down with me in
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  verse 24. This is the Lord speaking to the
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  people of Israel and what He demanded of them and how they
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  should worship Him. An altar of earth You shall make
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  for me and sacrifice on it Your burnt offerings and your peace
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  offerings, Your sheep and your oxen.
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  In every place where I caused my name to be remembered, I will
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  come to you and bless you. An altar made out of what?
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  Dirt, Earth. So this was before the
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  Tabernacle would be instituted and the temple would be
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  constructed. God made a way for the people of
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  Israel to construct an altar to worship Him, and even after the
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  Tabernacle in the temple was made, this was still applied in
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  many instances on special occasions.
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  Or people were too far from the temple and they desired to
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  glorify God in this fashion. Why dirt though?
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  Here's why God is so practical and so kind.
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  This would leave it open for anybody to worship.
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  This didn't limit people who had the ability to put together
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  special materials or stones in order to God, for God to be
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  honored, even if you couldn't afford anything.
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  Everyone has access to dirt, which means that it's an open
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  invitation for anybody to seek him and honor him and glorify
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  him, no matter where they are. It speaks of the accessibility
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  of God. And Naman, living in Syria,
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  understood that he couldn't make his way to the to the House of
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  God in Jerusalem. And so he asked, can I take some
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  of this dirt and build an altar so that I can present burnt
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  offerings on it? Elijah has no objections to
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  that. And it's evident that in this,
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  this man's conscience is is changing and he's now becoming
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  more sensitive to matters that he was not really concerned
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  about before. And it could be that on his way
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  back from the Jordan to the man of God in Samaria, he's not
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  thinking about his way of life back in Syria.
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  And he's concerned about how different things are going to
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  conflict now with his new found convictions, including his job.
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  And so he couldn't wait, I'm sure, to get to Elijah to get
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  some kind of guidance and clarity about something that was
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  pricking his heart. And he brings it up in verse 18.
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  Notice what he says in this matter.
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  May the Lord pardon your servant.
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  When my master goes into the House of Ramon to worship there
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  leaning on my arm, and I bow myself in the House of Ramon.
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  When I bow myself in the House of Ramon, the Lord, pardon your
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  servant in this matter, there's something bothering Naman.
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  He knows that he's heading back to a place that honors and
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  worships different deities, but he made this claiming confession
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  that he will not worship anything or anyone else except
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  the God of Israel. So this scenario is playing in
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  his mind and he needs to be soothed.
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  He needs some kind of assurance. And what we learned from this
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  scenario is that Naman was not just the governor, rather the
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  general of. Of the army of Syria.
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  He was also some kind of an aide to the king of Syria, and one of
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  his responsibilities evidently was to join the king of Syria.
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  Whenever the king would go into the temple of Ramon and worship
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  this false God, and he would assist them in his worship.
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  It could be that the king of Syria was advanced in age and he
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  needed some kind of assistance to posture himself in certain
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  ways in order to worship Ramon the way Ramon demanded to be
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  worshipped, which will then require Naman to position
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  himself in a similar fashion. And and this concerned him.
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  He was discovering who the God of Israel was and he and he's,
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  he's asking the prophet, look, this is part of my duty.
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  I'm not really worshipping though, but when he leans on my
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  arm, notice how that's that's highlight that's so important,
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  showing that he's depending on naman again for physical
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  assistants to participate in these rituals.
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  When he leans on my arm and part of my job is to help him do
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  that. Will the Lord pardon me?
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  This is probably a very poor equivalent to kind of make sense
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  of this. Just imagine a Christian
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  caregiver who is living with a old elderly Muslim man.
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  And that Muslim man is a devoted Muslim and, and so he needs help
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  to pray several times a day and requires help to realign himself
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  and posture himself in order to pray in the way his religion
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  tells him to, to, to pray. And this requires the Christian
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  caregiver to do what he needs to do to assist him in that regard.
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  This is the struggle that Naaman has, and it amazes me how
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  practical something from the Old Testament can be to our lives
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  today. You know why?
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  Because it provides instructions for many of us who are in
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  settings or employed in places that intersect with people or
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  organizations that believe differently than you.
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  What do you do when you are surrounded or when you are
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  connected, not in your faith, but in your interactions and in
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  your duties with systems or beliefs or employers that don't
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  line up with the Scriptures? And there there is wisdom here
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  from name inside, and there is discretion and instruction from
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  Elijah's side from naming. You know what we learned that
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  when you're put in positions where you don't know if you're
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  compromising, you should seek the guidance of godly people,
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  including your spiritual leaders.
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  Our thinking can often be clouded when we're trying to
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  assess situations, and we can be overwhelmed, causing us to
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  either overestimate or underestimate our involvement in
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  certain actions or practices. That's where the body of Christ
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  comes in. And don't just go to any nominal
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  Christian. Naaman went to Elijah, the man
• 23:12
  of God who represented the Word of God.
• 23:15
  And so he's really seeking a person who operates and is
• 23:18
  sensitive to what God's will is in his Word.
• 23:21
  Do the same, do the same and from Elijah side what we learn
• 23:28
  mature believer is not to be so rigid or legalistic and how you
• 23:35
  also advise and counsel people in nuanced predicaments.
• 23:41
  You know you have some Christians who believe
• 23:42
  everything is black and white. I'm sorry to tell you not
• 23:46
  everything is so straightforward.
• 23:48
  Are the things in the Scriptures that are clear and indisputable?
• 23:51
  Absolutely. And wherever it is clear, you be
• 23:54
  clear with your convictions and with your counsel.
• 23:57
  But there are some things that are muddy.
• 23:59
  There's some things that are Gray.
• 24:02
  And if you're not careful in how you advise other believers, you
• 24:06
  can hinder them and you can actually invite unnecessary but
• 24:10
  great harm in their lives because you are not considerate
• 24:14
  or careful of how to apply God's Word in a situation that
• 24:19
  necessarily doesn't have a verse to give direction in.
• 24:24
  And I've seen it. I've seen it.
• 24:26
  People become overly simplistic in how they deal with people's
• 24:30
  lives and situations in their lives and they get those people
• 24:33
  in trouble or confused or falsely condemned.
• 24:39
  So be prayerful, seek the Lord for wisdom and and and
• 24:42
  discernment on this and and ask God to be as close as possible
• 24:46
  to his will. And something that doesn't seem
• 24:48
  to be so obvious. What does he tell him?
• 24:53
  Go in peace. God knows your heart.
• 24:56
  You don't have to worry about that.
• 24:58
  You're not worshipping him. This is not this is not Naman
• 25:02
  going into the House of worship of Ramon so that he can blend in
• 25:06
  and pretend that he's not really a different person.
• 25:08
  Remember, he's going back home with piles of dirt to dedicate
• 25:12
  an altar to the God of Israel. That's going to get you some
• 25:15
  attention. This is him saying, look, I
• 25:18
  serve my king. This is my job.
• 25:20
  And part of my job is I have to go into this place.
• 25:22
  He leans on my arm. I have to go down with him to
• 25:25
  make sure I can bring the old man back up.
• 25:27
  Is God going to condemn me for that?
• 25:30
  And I just go in peace. Go in peace now we noted the
• 25:35
  beginning of the study. Three significant changes in
• 25:38
  Naaman that validate his conversion, while in contrast, I
• 25:41
  want us to look at 3 unfortunate marks of Gehazi's change.
• 25:48
  Naaman knew it. Inner cleansing.
• 25:50
  Gehazi is about to see an inner decay.
• 25:53
  Let's read verse 20. Gehazi, the servant of Elijah,
• 26:00
  the man of God said, see my master has spared this name in
• 26:04
  the Syrian in not accepting from his hand what he brought.
• 26:09
  As the Lord lives, I will run after him and get something from
• 26:14
  him. What stands out to you from
• 26:17
  verse 20? Again, short answers.
• 26:21
  What stands out to you that's concerning red flags in Gehazi.
• 26:25
  Yes, I will run after him and get something from him.
• 26:30
  Is that in alignment with the man of God or in defiance of the
• 26:33
  will of God? Defiance, yes.
• 26:36
  Anything else? As the Lord lives, this man even
• 26:42
  has the audacity to invoke the name of God in this matter.
• 26:46
  Good. Anything else?
• 26:51
  Go ahead. OK, in what way?
• 26:53
  He presume that they should have proceeded.
• 26:56
  Yeah. So he thinks that this whole
• 26:59
  thing of Elijah not accepting this gift is actually foolish of
• 27:02
  him. So he's criticizing Elijah
• 27:04
  ultimately. Any other observations before we
• 27:07
  break this down together? Yeah.
• 27:13
  Why did Elijah do this? Why did he let this man go
• 27:18
  again? It's it speaks of his criticism
• 27:21
  of the man of God. Well, that's precisely what's
• 27:25
  happening here. The concern is that he says
• 27:28
  something against Naman. He says something against
• 27:30
  Elijah, and he does something with the name of God.
• 27:34
  How does he address Naman? Look back again at verse 20,
• 27:39
  This name in the Syrian, does that sound like the language of
• 27:44
  somebody who values another person created in the image of
• 27:47
  God? Nor is there any evidence that
• 27:51
  Gehazi is rejoicing in this rare transformation that took place
• 27:56
  in Naaman's life. There's there's no mention of
• 27:58
  how this man is different. There's no mention of how this
• 28:00
  man changed and aligned himself to the truth.
• 28:04
  All you see here is that he is a dollar sign to Gehazi.
• 28:12
  Notice what he says. As our brother mentioned, I will
• 28:14
  run after him and get something from him.
• 28:18
  Unfortunately, that's how some leaders in ministry view people.
• 28:22
  View souls that walk into the church as profitable consumers
• 28:30
  to fill their pockets or satisfy their egos.
• 28:33
  I will get something from him. A true servant of God, like
• 28:39
  Elisha, is someone who will be willing to help others even if
• 28:42
  they don't get anything in return.
• 28:44
  A true servant of God will be concerned with the spiritual
• 28:47
  change, transformation, and development of any person,
• 28:52
  whether or not they put something in the donation box,
• 28:54
  whether or not they partner with that ministry financially.
• 28:58
  A true man of God will trust in God providing for His ministry
• 29:01
  as He ministers to people's souls, not their pocketbooks.
• 29:08
  But men like Gehazi view ministry as a profitable
• 29:11
  business. They use it as a platform to
• 29:15
  gain, and that is a very dangerous approach to the
• 29:19
  ministry, as you're going to discover.
• 29:20
  So it's not just how he views Naaman, though.
• 29:22
  How he views this man's miserable condition manifests
• 29:26
  and how he speaks about the man of God, the true man of God.
• 29:30
  Don't you find it interesting? Look back at verse 20, how the
• 29:34
  Holy Spirit reminds us that Gehazi was the servant of
• 29:38
  Elijah, the man of God. We already know who Gehazi is.
• 29:42
  We we've read this enough to understand Gehazi was Elijah's
• 29:46
  personal assistant. So why is the Holy Spirit
• 29:49
  bringing this to our attention once more so that we again would
• 29:55
  see and not forget that Gehazi experienced something special.
• 30:01
  He had certain advantages that other people did not have.
• 30:05
  He had a personal discipleship relationship with Elijah.
• 30:10
  He witnessed remarkable miracles.
• 30:13
  He saw in Elijah that it's possible to be consistently,
• 30:18
  wholly, consistently compassionate.
• 30:22
  He learned what it meant to walk with God in private by by
• 30:25
  observing Elijah's ministry. And with all of that, and all
• 30:29
  these other privileges, he still succumbed to covetousness.
• 30:35
  You know what we learned from that?
• 30:35
  We learned that unusual spiritual advantages do not
• 30:40
  promise personal change. They certainly can help promote
• 30:45
  it. But please know this.
• 30:46
  The choice to be influenced depends on the heart living in
• 30:48
  that environment. You've probably been puzzled as
• 30:52
  I have been early in my walk, where you see somebody who sat
• 30:57
  under incredible spirit empowered, faithful preaching of
• 31:01
  God's Word, or someone who grew up with parents that were truly
• 31:06
  godly and, and, and not fake godly, not legalistically godly,
• 31:10
  no godly with joy and with the fruit of the Spirit and with
• 31:15
  testimonies of God's provision and power.
• 31:17
  And they served and they made service to God.
• 31:19
  An incredible thing to seek and to enjoy.
• 31:23
  Or maybe even somebody who had access to incredible resources
• 31:27
  or relationships that would enable them to still serve God
• 31:31
  and yet they still pursue the world.
• 31:35
  If that's ever confused you, don't be too confused.
• 31:38
  Look no further than Ghazi. He's seen it all.
• 31:45
  He heard it all, and yet his heart was still filled with
• 31:50
  wickedness and even criticize him like he didn't learn
• 31:55
  anything. He didn't interpret the
• 31:56
  situation the way his master did.
• 31:59
  He says, as our brother said, my master has spared this name in
• 32:03
  the Syrian. In other words, what a fool.
• 32:08
  We're struggling here. We're suffering here.
• 32:11
  Instead of understanding that Elisha was being strategic
• 32:14
  spiritually because his heart was coated with covetousness, he
• 32:18
  can only see a loss. And lastly, let's look at how he
• 32:23
  invokes the name of the Lord. You might be thinking that
• 32:24
  Gehazi is conscious of God and how he assesses this, but I say
• 32:28
  it's just the opposite. Notice he says as the Lord
• 32:32
  lives, as the Lord lives, I will run.
• 32:35
  I will run after him and get something from him.
• 32:40
  What what do you think he means by saying as the Lord lives?
• 32:42
  Here's what I think. I think he's careless and I
• 32:46
  think he's just being offhand, like how people throw around the
• 32:49
  name of Jesus and and express the name of God flippantly.
• 32:57
  So for him to use the name of the Lord in this situation tells
• 33:01
  me something. He didn't fear God.
• 33:04
  He wasn't truly conscious of God.
• 33:07
  He didn't truly Revere God. And it shows right here as the
• 33:12
  Lord lives, we see that the absence of this genuine
• 33:18
  reverence for the Lord is seen in how he is committed to
• 33:21
  materialism. Does he say I will walk to him?
• 33:23
  No, he says I will run after him.
• 33:27
  I'm not going to lose this opportunity.
• 33:28
  I'm going to exert all the energy.
• 33:30
  I'm going to give up whatever time it takes for me to catch up
• 33:32
  to naming. And I want to tell you today
• 33:35
  that that is dedication. This is enthusiasm.
• 33:41
  And unfortunately, many professing Christians show
• 33:44
  greater excitement for personal gain than for spiritual maturity
• 33:50
  and influence. They'll run after to make more
• 33:54
  money. When you ask those same people
• 33:57
  to serve in the church, that running turns into crawling
• 34:02
  there. There's a lot of hesitation
• 34:03
  there, hesitation to work double the hour so that you can make a
• 34:07
  little bit more cash. No problem with that.
• 34:12
  I will run after him. OK, run.
• 34:16
  See what's going to happen when you make money your God.
• 34:21
  So what happens? He arrives in verse 21.
• 34:26
  So Gehazi followed Naman, and when Naman saw someone running
• 34:29
  after him, he got down from the chariot to meet him and said is
• 34:33
  all well. So this is what something about
• 34:36
  Naman, his change is consistent because he recognizes somebody
• 34:39
  running to him. And he quickly learns that this
• 34:41
  is Elijah's servant. And remember, this is the
• 34:43
  commander of the Syrian Army Army.
• 34:45
  He doesn't have to get out of his chariot.
• 34:46
  But what does he do? He gets out of his chariot and
• 34:49
  he meets him on his level. I believe we're going to see
• 34:53
  Naman in heaven. And so he meets him face to
• 34:57
  face, eye to eye, the ass. Is everything OK?
• 35:00
  And what does Ghazi do? Lies.
• 35:06
  Gehazi lies about himself. Gehazi is going to lie in the
• 35:09
  mouth of Elijah. Gehazi is going to lie about the
• 35:11
  sons of the prophets. Gehazi is going to lie to a lie
• 35:14
  to a brand new believer. Read it with me verse 22 and he
• 35:21
  said all is well. That's a lie about himself.
• 35:27
  He's self deceived. All is not well.
• 35:29
  Do you remember the last time that this question was asked?
• 35:31
  It was when Elijah asked the Shunammite woman is all well,
• 35:34
  she said all is well. In her case all was well, in his
• 35:38
  case nothing was well. Far from being well, all is
• 35:43
  well. Do you think people are honest
• 35:44
  with their spiritual condition? Many cases no.
• 35:48
  Either they are lying to themselves or they are self
• 35:51
  deceived. All is well.
• 35:53
  Now the next slide. My master has sent me to say did
• 35:56
  Elijah send him? No, he misrepresented the man of
• 36:00
  God. There have just now come to me
• 36:05
  from the Hill Country of Ephraim, two young men of the
• 36:07
  sons of the prophets. Please give him a talent of
• 36:10
  silver and two changes of clothing.
• 36:11
  He's lying about the sons of the prophets.
• 36:16
  What do we learn from this? When a person is consumed with
• 36:20
  greed, he rarely becomes an honest person in the process.
• 36:27
  When a person lives for selfish material gain, that will often
• 36:35
  be met with the encouragement to manipulate, to be disloyal, and
• 36:40
  to implement trickery so that you can attain more.
• 36:47
  And the way that Gehazi lies shows that he was he was a
• 36:52
  skilled deceiver. Why?
• 36:55
  Because he uses the guise of religious and charitable work to
• 36:59
  demand and donation from Naman. We have two students from our
• 37:05
  seminary that needs some money and some change of clothing.
• 37:08
  Are you willing to make that donation?
• 37:10
  Haman says. I'm going to give you more than
• 37:11
  what you're asking. Remember, this is a changed man
• 37:14
  now. He's generous, right?
• 37:16
  You're telling me that I can make Elijah's multiply in
• 37:19
  Israel? Let's do it.
• 37:23
  It pains me to say this, but I have to tell you the truth.
• 37:25
  It really does hurt me to say this, that there are some
• 37:29
  ministries today that do the same.
• 37:33
  They do one, they convince generous, good hearted people
• 37:35
  like Naman that they're helping fulfill a need when in actuality
• 37:39
  all they're doing is adding more to their personal bank accounts.
• 37:43
  You don't think ministries are doing that at 2024?
• 37:46
  You'll be shocked at the judgement seat of Christ.
• 37:49
  Oh yeah, there are many people. We're taking advantage of God's
• 37:55
  vineyard not to serve and feed and help and clothe and bring
• 37:58
  the gospel, but so that they can they can have more and they're
• 38:03
  willing to use the gifts of God's people to do so.
• 38:07
  If you're that kind of a minister in this place or
• 38:10
  hearing this later on, you don't fear God and you better repent
• 38:13
  because I'm telling you straightforward, God's going to
• 38:16
  expose you. You don't play around with God.
• 38:20
  You don't play around with God's people and how they partner with
• 38:23
  the gospel for personal advantage.
• 38:26
  You evidently have No Fear of Him and you should.
• 38:34
  Lying begets more lying, doesn't it?
• 38:39
  Verse 23 and Naman said be pleased to accept 2 talents and
• 38:42
  he urged him and tied up two talents of silver in two bags
• 38:47
  with two changes of clothing and laid them on two of his servants
• 38:51
  and they carried them before Gehazi.
• 38:54
  Obviously this is a sizable donation.
• 38:55
  It's not like something you put in his pocket.
• 38:57
  Neyman had to send two service to carry the stuff.
• 39:02
  Gehazi is a little nervous here because he knows that he had to
• 39:05
  escape the supervision of Elijah to make this happen.
• 39:07
  So he has a little plan like he really thought this.
• 39:09
  I don't know how long this run was, but he came with an
• 39:14
  elaborate scheme. Verse 24, when he came to the
• 39:18
  hill, he took them from their hand and put them in the house
• 39:22
  and he sent them in away and they departed.
• 39:24
  So he didn't let him come too close to Elijah's whereabouts.
• 39:27
  He's OK. Stop here.
• 39:28
  Thank you so much. God bless you.
• 39:30
  We'll send you your tax receipt. Thank you for your donation.
• 39:33
  And he makes his way back to Elijah.
• 39:37
  And look at the slithery snake verse 25.
• 39:42
  He went in and stood before his master.
• 39:47
  Standing in the Bible is a posture of service.
• 39:50
  So he comes before his his teacher as well.
• 39:53
  Nothing had happened and he's just waiting for any orders for
• 39:56
  the day. Now I can understand where
• 40:00
  Gehazi found the confidence to lie to Naman but to have the
• 40:06
  courage to lie to the prophet. What's wrong with you?
• 40:13
  Have you not seen what God can do through this man of God?
• 40:18
  Are you not persuaded that you could be exposed?
• 40:23
  Well, this is one of the marks of a person who does not fear
• 40:27
  God. You believe that God is limited
• 40:31
  in many ways. A person who doesn't fear God
• 40:35
  thinks that he can actually keep things a secret in his life.
• 40:39
  That's how you know, if you don't fear God, that you
• 40:41
  actually think that there's there's parts of who you are
• 40:44
  that will never be disclosed, that will never be unveiled,
• 40:47
  that will never be made known. The person who fears God
• 40:52
  understands that God not only sees things and knows all
• 40:56
  things, he can make these things known.
• 41:00
  One of the greatest fuels to sin is secrecy, but a person who
• 41:06
  fears God doesn't believe that they can keep their sins a
• 41:09
  secret. Name it rather Gehazi.
• 41:13
  He can invoke the name of the Lord and he can lie to the man
• 41:16
  of God who had unusual abilities because he didn't fear God.
• 41:21
  To fear God is to believe all that he says that he is and it
• 41:24
  actually applies to your life. That is not just some Sunday
• 41:26
  school story that it's real in 2024.
• 41:32
  That's why we're doing these Bible studies to realize, OK,
• 41:36
  you can't play the fool with God.
• 41:39
  This man does. So what does he do?
• 41:43
  He went and stood before his math master and Elijah said
• 41:45
  them. Where have you been, Ghazi?
• 41:48
  I would be sweating bullets. Doesn't even blink before he
• 41:54
  says the next thing. And he said them.
• 41:56
  Your servant went nowhere here. Here's one of the strongest
• 42:02
  contrast in the story. There are many.
• 42:03
  We're not going to be able to touch on all of them.
• 42:06
  What was Naaman's concern when he went back to Syria?
• 42:09
  That when he would go into the temple of Ramon and his boss
• 42:13
  would lean on his arm and he would fall down with him, that
• 42:17
  God might judge him for that? When does Elijah say go in
• 42:20
  peace? The Lord knows your heart while
• 42:24
  you have Ghazi, who pretends to be a servant of God, standing
• 42:31
  before his master, ready to do what he's called to do, when in
• 42:36
  reality his heart was corrupt with covetousness and he would
• 42:43
  be judged for it. What's the lesson in this?
• 42:46
  Here's the lesson. Before God sees what you do with
• 42:49
  your knees, with your hands, with your lips.
• 42:52
  Above all else, he looks at your heart.
• 42:57
  What's in your heart tonight? Not what's in your hand, not
• 43:02
  what you're highlighting, not what songs you sing, not what
• 43:05
  the preacher preaches. What is in your heart that is
• 43:11
  what God considers above everything else.
• 43:13
  That is the loud louder than your voice, more meaningful than
• 43:19
  what you do outside of your inner man.
• 43:22
  What is in the innermost part of your being?
• 43:27
  God saw what was in Naman when He would go back to Syria.
• 43:31
  God saw what was in Gehazi while he was still in Israel.
• 43:35
  And the Lord only cares about that and where that leads to the
• 43:40
  sincerity, the purity and the posture of your heart.
• 43:43
  Above all else He lies. Look at verse 26.
• 43:48
  But he said to him, Did not my heart go when the man turned
• 43:52
  from his chariot to meet you? Was it a time to accept money
• 43:56
  and garments? Olive orchards and vineyards,
• 43:59
  sheep and oxen, male servants and female servants?
• 44:06
  What did Gehazi take from Naman? What do you take specifically?
• 44:13
  Yeah, two talents of silver and two changes of clothing, Right.
• 44:18
  So why is Elijah giving this whole catalogue of things that
• 44:21
  are not even mentioned in the story?
• 44:23
  Like, at first he mentions what? Look at it again.
• 44:25
  Was it time to accept money and garments?
• 44:27
  Well, that's what he took. But then he goes on to say olive
• 44:29
  orchards and vineyards, sheep and ox and male servants and
• 44:32
  female servants. What is he saying here?
• 44:36
  Can I tell you what he's saying here?
• 44:39
  He is revealing to Gehazi what his true desires are in life.
• 44:47
  He's exposing Gehazi for what his ultimate ambitions are in
• 44:52
  life. To have money, to have nice
• 44:56
  clothes, to have land, to have estates, to have influence, to
• 45:03
  have comfort, to have profit. He might even be exposing what
• 45:09
  Gehazi was planning to do with that silver that he got from
• 45:12
  Naman. And essentially he is revealing
• 45:17
  to him that he knows, God knows what he ultimately wanted.
• 45:22
  And what he was doing was he was willing to use the ministry as a
• 45:26
  means to achieve those selfish things.
• 45:32
  What's the punishment? The last verse of our study.
• 45:35
  Therefore, the leprosy of Naman shall cling to you and to your
• 45:39
  descendants forever. So he went out from his presence
• 45:41
  a leper like snow. You want Neiman's money?
• 45:45
  Take his leprosy too. Leprosy is one of the most
• 45:54
  severe conditions that any human can endure.
• 45:58
  We learned that a little bit last week.
• 46:01
  So for the Lord to unleash this kind of disease on this man says
• 46:08
  something about how he feels about Gehazi's decisions.
• 46:13
  God doesn't play favorites. He healed a Gentile from leprosy
• 46:17
  and he inflicted an Israelite with leprosy.
• 46:21
  Do you see that? There's no partiality with God.
• 46:26
  Sin is sin no matter who sins. Righteousness by faith, as
• 46:29
  righteous as my faith, no matter who offers it.
• 46:33
  OK, here's here's a question for you.
• 46:34
  Now, as extreme as this might be, and you got to understand
• 46:38
  that this is, don't you dare believe that God is going
• 46:42
  overboard here, not, not for a moment.
• 46:47
  This could have had generational consequences.
• 46:50
  This could have made an impact not just on Naaman's perception
• 46:53
  of God, but others that Naaman would testify to what just
• 46:57
  happened. Now, Naaman ended up giving what
• 47:00
  Elijah said don't give because he wanted to, to protect the
• 47:05
  message and the image of God. And Gehazi just blows it all up.
• 47:12
  So this is severe. This could impact souls.
• 47:17
  But isn't the only time that the Lord Almighty inflicts his
• 47:23
  servant with leprosy in the Bible?
• 47:27
  If you know of another person in the Old Testament where the Lord
• 47:32
  calls for leprosy to infect them, well that would have all
• 47:37
  the same time. Wow.
• 47:38
  Say, say 1. Miriam is 1.
• 47:41
  And the other one, Miriam, is the first case of leprosy.
• 47:48
  We learned that last week. But there's another one.
• 47:50
  There's a total of 3, including Ghazi.
• 47:56
  If you know, you can say you said it.
• 47:59
  You're right. King Uzziah.
• 48:03
  Miriam. King Uzziah, Ghazi, what do they
• 48:09
  all do? They all sinned.
• 48:09
  I understand they all sinned, but they all sinned in a unique
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  way. What led to Miriam's leprosy?
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  What was her sin? She spoke against the man of
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  God, Moses and Numbers 12, verse one.
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  What was Uziah's sin? Let me read it to you in Second
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  Chronicles 2616. But when he was strong, he grew
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  proud. He grew proud to his
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  destruction, for he was unfaithful to the Lord, his God,
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  and enter the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of
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  incense. And what was Gehazi?
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  Sin, greed and deception. So Miriam was leprous because
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  she was a gossip. Uziah became leprous because of
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  pride. Gehazi became leprous because of
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  greed and deception. Miriam was temporary.
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  Uzziah was permanent. Ghazi is an interesting case, as
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  we're going to read in the next chapters.
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  That teaches me, when I consider all of those individuals, how
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  God feels about these particular sins.
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  For him to call for leprosy shows me how he views these
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  particular vices. He feels very strongly about
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  gossip. He feels very strongly about
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  pride. He feels very strongly about
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  greed and deception. You know what's interesting
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  about all those cases? Every single one of them served
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  God in a unique way, and every single one of them, because of
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  their leprosy, were disqualified from ministry.
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  Miriam was a prophetess. She became a leper, temporary,
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  and she was isolated. Uzziah was called to be a king,
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  but he was so arrogant that he thought that the rules of
• 50:08
  ministry didn't apply to him. So he dabbles in the priesthood.
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  He's disqualified for ministry. Gehazi uses the ministry as an
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  assistant to the prophet to try to make money, and he lies
• 50:20
  through his teeth just for an extra buck, and he's
• 50:24
  disqualified for ministry. Here's what this teaches me when
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  I consider all of these things. If I'm a gossip, if I'm proud,
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  if I love money, if I lie, I can't be used in the ministry.
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  And that's for all of us. What did Gehazi forfeit for two
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  talents of silver and two changes of clothing.
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  So he went out the last part of verse 27.
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  So he went out from his presence a leper like snow.
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  He personally lost any potential to be used by God in a more
• 51:08
  significant way, and his sin brought havoc to his home.
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  Because this would have generational effects.
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  When we consider the pain that sin brings, when we consider
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  what sin takes from us, it will be less attractive to the
• 51:32
  alternative in righteousness. A bit of a heavier Bible study
• 51:37
  tonight, but it's the Bible, and we have to thank God for His
• 51:43
  warnings as much as we might thank Him for His promises.
• 51:46
  Can we do that? Let's thank Him.
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  And if the praise team can join the platform, Before I begin to
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  pray, I just want to encourage you in this silent moment.
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  Take these truths, meditate on them, and communicate them
• 52:10
  before the Lord. Ask the Lord to protect your
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  heart. How we need you, Lord, Tonight
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  we thank you for the purging, fiery, sharp word of God.
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  We don't recoil, we don't shrink back, we don't duck.
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  When the word of God in its surgical ability comes for our
• 53:06
  hearts, we open our arms and we extend our bosoms and we say do
• 53:10
  a work in this life. Whatever you need to cut out,
• 53:14
  Lord, cut it out. The early stages of things that
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  might lead to catastrophes like Gehazi, we pray that you would
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  deliver us from it right away. In the same way that we saw
• 53:24
  early signs that there's something off about Gehazi.
• 53:27
  Lord, if there's anything that's leading us in the wrong path
• 53:31
  that would create greater harm and devastation because it was
• 53:33
  not dealt with early on, we pray that you would consume it this
• 53:36
  evening. Please, Lord, help us really
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  believe, like Elijah, that spiritual goals far outweigh
• 53:47
  anything in this life, and even if we have to make sacrifices
• 53:51
  for the temporary things in this world, it's always worth it for
• 53:55
  the eternal reward. Help us never forget that.
• 53:59
  Give us wisdom and discretion in all matters, how we advise, how
• 54:03
  we seek advice. Lord, may you renew that purity,
• 54:08
  in that longing that we see in Naman, who was so excited to
• 54:12
  worship, so excited to testify, so sensitive in his conscience,
• 54:17
  not wanting to grieve God in any matter.
• 54:20
  Lord, may you show us any area in our lives where we become too
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  relaxed, but when we also know your comfort in places where we
• 54:26
  are overly analyzing. We need your help, Lord, Give us
• 54:31
  Your help in all things. And Lord, we all want to be used
• 54:34
  by You, and so in this case, we pray that You would keep our
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  hearts from being infected by greed.
• 54:42
  That Lord, if we rely on lies and dishonesty for personal gain
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  for any reason, Lord, we just pray that tonight would be the
• 54:50
  night where we would never lie through these lips again and
• 54:54
  that we would rather bear the reproach of telling the truth
• 54:58
  than to enjoy temporary gain from our lies.
• 55:03
  Use us, use us Lord, we want to. We want to be used until our
• 55:07
  final day and we want no sin to get in the way of our potential.
• 55:10
  So Lord, we pray this prayer as we sing the song.
• 55:13
  It's really a cry from our hearts that you would make into
• 55:17
  a reality in our beings. In Jesus name we pray.
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  Amen, Amen. Let's stand and worship the
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  Lord.