1 00:00:00,880 --> 00:00:03,720 Let's come together now to the Book of Second Kings, chapter 5 2 00:00:04,960 --> 00:00:07,160 and place your finger there, verse 15. 3 00:00:08,400 --> 00:00:14,120 As we will complete this chapter together this evening, I'll tell 4 00:00:14,120 --> 00:00:16,800 you upfront that the focus of our study will be on two 5 00:00:16,800 --> 00:00:20,080 individuals and the change in their spiritual condition, the 6 00:00:20,080 --> 00:00:22,920 radical change in their spiritual condition. 7 00:00:23,680 --> 00:00:29,520 The 1st is Damon and how his faith was converted to the true 8 00:00:29,520 --> 00:00:33,760 and living God. The second is Gehazi, Elijah's 9 00:00:33,760 --> 00:00:37,800 servant and how he compromised in his faith in the true and 10 00:00:37,800 --> 00:00:41,840 living God. In Naaman, we're going to 11 00:00:41,840 --> 00:00:44,960 witness the remarkable transformations of the 12 00:00:44,960 --> 00:00:47,200 convictions of a very unlikely person. 13 00:00:48,800 --> 00:00:54,560 In Gehazi, however, we are going to look at a minister and a 14 00:00:54,560 --> 00:00:58,840 pupil of one of God's most remarkable prophets in all of 15 00:00:58,840 --> 00:01:04,519 history and how this man was eaten up by covetousness. 16 00:01:06,840 --> 00:01:10,120 This section is not only going to offer us lessons from each of 17 00:01:10,120 --> 00:01:14,440 these individuals, it's also going to highlight striking 18 00:01:14,440 --> 00:01:18,360 contrast between them. And when we carefully examine 19 00:01:18,360 --> 00:01:21,240 those contrasts, it's only going to add to the stockpile of 20 00:01:21,240 --> 00:01:23,920 revelation that we seek to accumulate tonight. 21 00:01:24,680 --> 00:01:27,360 And that's what we do here. We discipline ourselves to read 22 00:01:27,360 --> 00:01:31,360 and study our Bibles carefully, to dig into mine in order to see 23 00:01:31,360 --> 00:01:34,640 all that God has to offer. And so let's do that. 24 00:01:35,000 --> 00:01:39,440 Let's come to 2nd Kings 515. Last week, we studied how naman 25 00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:42,800 was miraculously healed and cleansed of leprosy. 26 00:01:43,040 --> 00:01:46,200 And right away we're going to notice that there was another 27 00:01:46,200 --> 00:01:48,920 type of cleansing that took place in this man's life. 28 00:01:49,680 --> 00:01:55,840 Not externally, internally, not on his skin, but in his soul. 29 00:01:57,120 --> 00:01:59,600 Let's read the first few verses, beginning in verse 15. 30 00:02:00,280 --> 00:02:04,240 Then he being named and returned to the man of God, he and all 31 00:02:04,240 --> 00:02:07,000 his company. And he came and stood before 32 00:02:07,000 --> 00:02:09,639 him. And he said, Behold, I know that 33 00:02:09,639 --> 00:02:12,000 there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel. 34 00:02:12,480 --> 00:02:15,200 So except now a present from your servant. 35 00:02:16,200 --> 00:02:19,920 But he said, as the Lord lives before whom I stand, I will 36 00:02:19,920 --> 00:02:22,760 receive none. And he urged them to take it, 37 00:02:22,760 --> 00:02:25,880 but he refused. The Naaman said, If not, please 38 00:02:25,880 --> 00:02:29,080 let there be given to your servant 2 mule loads of earth. 39 00:02:29,840 --> 00:02:33,480 From from now on your servant will not offer burnt offering or 40 00:02:33,480 --> 00:02:37,080 sacrifice to any God but the Lord in this matter. 41 00:02:37,080 --> 00:02:38,720 May the Lord pardon your servant. 42 00:02:39,040 --> 00:02:42,440 When my master goes into the House of Ramon to worship there 43 00:02:42,560 --> 00:02:46,160 leaning on my arm, and I bow myself in the House of Ramon. 44 00:02:46,280 --> 00:02:49,600 When I bow myself in the House of Ramon, the Lord pardon your 45 00:02:49,600 --> 00:02:55,600 servant in this matter. He said to him, go in peace. 46 00:02:55,600 --> 00:02:59,400 You know what we have before us tonight, The study, one of the 47 00:02:59,400 --> 00:03:02,760 most notable Gentile converts in the Old Testament. 48 00:03:03,440 --> 00:03:06,840 And again, as we mentioned in verse 14, we learned that this 49 00:03:06,840 --> 00:03:09,360 name in his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little 50 00:03:09,360 --> 00:03:12,480 child, and he was clean. But right away in verse 15, we 51 00:03:12,480 --> 00:03:17,160 realized that there was an inner transformation, a genuine 52 00:03:17,160 --> 00:03:19,800 conversion. He was saved. 53 00:03:20,600 --> 00:03:23,280 And I want you to look back at verse 15 because this is more 54 00:03:23,280 --> 00:03:27,240 interactive than on a Sunday. Is there anything from verse 15 55 00:03:27,240 --> 00:03:30,200 that stands out to you that would validate Naaman's 56 00:03:30,200 --> 00:03:33,520 transformation? And you can say it out loud. 57 00:03:33,520 --> 00:03:35,680 You don't have to give a whole sermon, but just a word or two 58 00:03:35,680 --> 00:03:38,160 about what you noticed from verse 15 that would indicate 59 00:03:38,160 --> 00:03:40,280 that this man indeed was different. 60 00:03:40,400 --> 00:03:44,120 Yes. OK, so he returned to the man of 61 00:03:44,120 --> 00:03:46,080 God. That's significant because he's 62 00:03:46,080 --> 00:03:47,880 going to make certain requests to the man of God. 63 00:03:47,880 --> 00:03:48,920 We're going to elaborate on that. 64 00:03:48,920 --> 00:03:50,720 Any other observations from verse 15? 65 00:03:52,080 --> 00:03:54,280 Exactly. He made this claim about the 66 00:03:54,280 --> 00:03:56,160 exclusivity of the God of Israel. 67 00:03:56,160 --> 00:03:58,080 Absolutely. Anything else? 68 00:03:58,080 --> 00:04:01,520 He humbly came and stood before Elijah. 69 00:04:03,760 --> 00:04:05,760 Yeah. So he stands before Elijah. 70 00:04:05,760 --> 00:04:07,720 Different posture, different mindset. 71 00:04:07,960 --> 00:04:10,480 Anything about his mindset that was different from how we 72 00:04:10,480 --> 00:04:13,320 studied him last week. Humble. 73 00:04:13,520 --> 00:04:17,680 Absolutely. So I, I think we can look at 3 74 00:04:17,839 --> 00:04:21,360 marks of this man's transformation and and some of 75 00:04:21,360 --> 00:04:23,360 us already talked about at least two of them. 76 00:04:23,360 --> 00:04:25,800 The first one was his confession, his profession. 77 00:04:26,520 --> 00:04:29,800 He made this claim that there is no other God but the God of 78 00:04:29,800 --> 00:04:32,200 Israel. Now, it was not uncommon for a 79 00:04:32,200 --> 00:04:38,600 Pagan at this time to discover of a new deity and then to Adam, 80 00:04:38,600 --> 00:04:43,920 to his panoply of gods. But that's not what Naaman does 81 00:04:43,920 --> 00:04:46,400 here. He doesn't add this God to the 82 00:04:46,400 --> 00:04:49,040 list of other gods that he respected and revered. 83 00:04:50,000 --> 00:04:53,880 He makes this profession that a faithful Israelite would have 84 00:04:53,880 --> 00:04:56,920 made, that there is no other God but this God. 85 00:04:57,520 --> 00:05:00,400 And that's what the Bible unequivocally declares over and 86 00:05:00,400 --> 00:05:04,240 over and over again, that there is only one Lord and it's this 87 00:05:04,240 --> 00:05:06,880 Lord. And this is what Naaman does. 88 00:05:06,880 --> 00:05:10,720 It's a massive declaration for somebody with his background to 89 00:05:10,720 --> 00:05:12,360 make. Absolutely. 90 00:05:12,800 --> 00:05:15,880 So he's already lining up with what the Scripture says about 91 00:05:15,880 --> 00:05:21,040 the exclusivity of this God and his claims and his prerogatives. 92 00:05:22,440 --> 00:05:25,240 The second thing that Naaman does, though, is that he is 93 00:05:25,440 --> 00:05:29,960 demonstrating a willingness to respond sacrificially to the 94 00:05:29,960 --> 00:05:32,800 experience that he had with the grace of God. 95 00:05:32,800 --> 00:05:37,000 Notice what he says to Elijah. So accept now a present from 96 00:05:37,160 --> 00:05:40,560 your servant. So a couple of people already 97 00:05:40,560 --> 00:05:43,520 mentioned that Naaman goes back to the man of God. 98 00:05:44,040 --> 00:05:48,000 It could have been very easy for him to have that miracle at the 99 00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:50,280 Jordan River and then to make his way straight back home to 100 00:05:50,280 --> 00:05:52,800 Syria. But instead, he, he travels many 101 00:05:52,800 --> 00:05:56,640 miles back to come before the man of God because he wants to 102 00:05:56,640 --> 00:05:58,440 leave something with the man of God. 103 00:05:58,680 --> 00:06:01,640 And as we're about to discover, take something back with him to 104 00:06:01,640 --> 00:06:05,200 Syria. Now, if you think that's 105 00:06:05,200 --> 00:06:08,800 unrealistic for somebody to do this, to go back home after 106 00:06:08,800 --> 00:06:11,400 experiencing such a marvelous thing, do you remember when 107 00:06:11,400 --> 00:06:15,000 Jesus healed 10 lepers? How many of them came back to 108 00:06:15,000 --> 00:06:17,200 give him thanks? One. 109 00:06:17,400 --> 00:06:20,240 And he was a foreigner according to the Lord's words, just like 110 00:06:20,240 --> 00:06:23,920 Naaman was. So Naaman goes above and beyond 111 00:06:23,920 --> 00:06:28,720 to ensure that he can do what he can by properly responding to 112 00:06:28,720 --> 00:06:31,200 this encounter that he had with God. 113 00:06:32,440 --> 00:06:34,640 And so he makes this offer out of his gratitude. 114 00:06:34,640 --> 00:06:37,800 He wants to repay the spiritual and the human instrument rather 115 00:06:37,800 --> 00:06:40,360 for the miracle. But we're going to learn Elijah 116 00:06:40,400 --> 00:06:42,000 rejects it and for a good reason. 117 00:06:42,640 --> 00:06:44,600 So it's not that he just wants to give something though. 118 00:06:44,600 --> 00:06:47,120 He wants to take something. Look at verse 17. 119 00:06:48,080 --> 00:06:50,880 The Naaman said, if not, please let there be given to your 120 00:06:50,880 --> 00:06:54,600 servant, 2 mule loads of earth. From now on, your servant will 121 00:06:54,600 --> 00:06:58,840 not offer burnt offering or sacrifice to any God but the 122 00:06:58,840 --> 00:07:01,800 Lord. Was Naaman commanded to worship 123 00:07:01,800 --> 00:07:07,000 the Lord? No, he he discovered a fresh 124 00:07:07,000 --> 00:07:13,760 desire to worship the Lord, and there's no doubt that his 125 00:07:13,760 --> 00:07:16,600 understanding of the things of God will develop. 126 00:07:17,120 --> 00:07:20,480 But there's no denying the the purity of this priority. 127 00:07:20,480 --> 00:07:23,640 He wants to do what he can to honor God, and it is no 128 00:07:23,640 --> 00:07:27,400 different for a person who has genuinely encountered and been 129 00:07:27,400 --> 00:07:29,560 changed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 130 00:07:30,440 --> 00:07:33,160 In the same way, Naaman wants to go back home and reorient 131 00:07:33,200 --> 00:07:35,880 everything around the true God being central. 132 00:07:36,160 --> 00:07:39,920 When you've really experienced the gospel and responded to it 133 00:07:39,920 --> 00:07:43,880 and repentance and faith, you will want to set up your life in 134 00:07:43,880 --> 00:07:49,000 a way where Christ has preeminence and that he will 135 00:07:49,000 --> 00:07:52,240 have your supreme devotion. If you've been cleansed by the 136 00:07:52,240 --> 00:07:54,000 blood of Jesus, that will be true of you. 137 00:07:54,000 --> 00:07:56,640 And if it's not true of you, then you have to question 138 00:07:56,640 --> 00:08:00,000 whether or not you really have tasted of His grace. 139 00:08:01,680 --> 00:08:04,600 And I find it fascinating how this is the same name in who 140 00:08:04,600 --> 00:08:09,000 earlier when he was commanded by Elijah to go dip himself 7 times 141 00:08:09,000 --> 00:08:11,760 in the Jordan, made these boasts about how the rivers and 142 00:08:11,760 --> 00:08:13,280 Damascus were far greater, right? 143 00:08:14,040 --> 00:08:16,640 And now what is he doing? He wants to take back with him 144 00:08:16,640 --> 00:08:21,120 the dirt of Israel in order to honor God through it above 145 00:08:21,120 --> 00:08:23,840 everything else back home. This man changed. 146 00:08:24,200 --> 00:08:29,440 He's different, but it's not just his view of God that's 147 00:08:29,440 --> 00:08:31,880 altered. How he views himself is 148 00:08:31,880 --> 00:08:35,600 radically changed as well. How does he refer and identify 149 00:08:35,600 --> 00:08:37,520 himself when he comes before the man of God? 150 00:08:38,280 --> 00:08:41,320 He says what? Your servant. 151 00:08:41,320 --> 00:08:45,120 And he says that twice more in verse 18. 152 00:08:45,120 --> 00:08:49,200 Your servant, your servant. Compare this to how we saw 153 00:08:49,200 --> 00:08:53,040 Naaman interact with Elijah in his first introduction. 154 00:08:53,120 --> 00:08:55,800 Look at verse 11 of Second Kings 5, just as a reminder. 155 00:08:56,200 --> 00:09:00,000 But Naman was angry and went away saying, behold, I thought 156 00:09:00,000 --> 00:09:04,440 that he would surely come out to me and stand and call upon the 157 00:09:04,440 --> 00:09:07,400 name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place and 158 00:09:07,400 --> 00:09:11,160 cure the leper. Much different, wouldn't you 159 00:09:11,160 --> 00:09:14,480 say? And just like how Naman wanted 160 00:09:14,480 --> 00:09:18,760 to worship the Lord, go back home and change everything about 161 00:09:18,760 --> 00:09:21,240 how he views the world and views these different gods and his 162 00:09:21,240 --> 00:09:24,840 idols, this is also a pattern for a person who's experienced 163 00:09:24,840 --> 00:09:30,080 the Gospel of Jesus Christ. No matter who you are, even if 164 00:09:30,080 --> 00:09:34,000 you are the general of a nation's army, like Naman, you 165 00:09:34,000 --> 00:09:40,000 will also want to serve your servant. 166 00:09:41,640 --> 00:09:46,440 So when Christ doesn't work in your heart, He doesn't just 167 00:09:47,400 --> 00:09:50,240 secure you. He doesn't just declare your 168 00:09:50,240 --> 00:09:55,880 positionally as a St. he makes you into a servant, and the 169 00:09:55,880 --> 00:09:59,920 effects of the gospel in that regard are repetitive throughout 170 00:09:59,920 --> 00:10:01,800 the New Testament. One of my favorite texts to 171 00:10:01,800 --> 00:10:07,160 prove that is Titus 214 when it talks about he who redeemed us 172 00:10:07,560 --> 00:10:10,720 and delivered us from all lawlessness and to purify unto 173 00:10:10,720 --> 00:10:15,960 himself a people who are zealous for good works. 174 00:10:17,560 --> 00:10:20,680 You're not saved by good works. You're not saved even by zealous 175 00:10:20,680 --> 00:10:23,680 good works, but you are saved for zealous good works. 176 00:10:24,840 --> 00:10:27,160 So here you have name and now saying, yes, I want to worship 177 00:10:27,160 --> 00:10:30,560 the true God, but I also want to be a servant. 178 00:10:31,080 --> 00:10:32,840 So he calls himself your servant. 179 00:10:33,240 --> 00:10:36,320 When you're saved, you're going to want to serve, serve God's 180 00:10:36,320 --> 00:10:40,720 people, serve God's Kingdom, and you'll do so with joy. 181 00:10:43,760 --> 00:10:48,200 Did you notice that in verse 16, Elisha rejects the gift, but he 182 00:10:48,200 --> 00:10:51,800 said, as the Lord lives before whom I stand, I will receive 183 00:10:51,800 --> 00:10:53,720 none. And he urged them to take it, 184 00:10:53,720 --> 00:10:56,560 but he refused. This is even more strange when 185 00:10:56,560 --> 00:11:00,040 you remember how Elijah unreservedly accepted the 186 00:11:00,040 --> 00:11:04,200 service of the shanimite woman, all those meals, and she even 187 00:11:04,200 --> 00:11:06,400 extended her home, built a room for him. 188 00:11:06,640 --> 00:11:11,880 He didn't object. So why is Elijah denying this 189 00:11:11,880 --> 00:11:14,560 gift here and now? I believe it's in the same 190 00:11:14,560 --> 00:11:17,760 chapter where you get a clue that indicates Elijah's wisdom 191 00:11:17,760 --> 00:11:20,720 and discretion in this matter. Scroll down to verse 26. 192 00:11:20,720 --> 00:11:23,960 We didn't read it yet, but look at what he says to Gehazi when 193 00:11:23,960 --> 00:11:26,760 he confronts Gehazi about his greed as we're going to read 194 00:11:26,760 --> 00:11:30,680 later verse 26. But he said to him, did not my 195 00:11:30,680 --> 00:11:33,880 heart go when the man turned from his chariot to meet you? 196 00:11:34,520 --> 00:11:39,440 Was it a time to accept money and garments, olive orchards and 197 00:11:39,440 --> 00:11:43,640 vineyards, sheep and oxen, male servants and female servants? 198 00:11:43,640 --> 00:11:47,480 There it is. It wasn't the right time. 199 00:11:49,840 --> 00:11:52,560 So it's not that Elijah's ministry had this unbending 200 00:11:52,560 --> 00:11:55,480 policy where you couldn't receive any donations or 201 00:11:55,480 --> 00:11:58,640 charity. It's that at this particular 202 00:11:58,640 --> 00:12:02,400 moment he discerned that it was not appropriate to do so. 203 00:12:04,240 --> 00:12:06,560 And why was it wrong? Why would it have been foolish 204 00:12:06,560 --> 00:12:08,880 for him to accept this gift? Here's what I believe. 205 00:12:08,880 --> 00:12:12,240 And I, I think this is the case that the scripture is making. 206 00:12:13,040 --> 00:12:15,720 Elijah understood that he was dealing with a foreigner and he 207 00:12:15,720 --> 00:12:18,640 did not want to give the slightest impression to him, 208 00:12:18,640 --> 00:12:23,280 naman or the people that he was going to go back to that this 209 00:12:23,280 --> 00:12:27,080 miracle was somehow earned or it was purchased in any way. 210 00:12:29,960 --> 00:12:33,800 So Elijah's thinking beyond what's happening here, he's 211 00:12:33,800 --> 00:12:36,120 thinking that when Naaman goes back and those around him that 212 00:12:36,120 --> 00:12:38,920 knew of his condition and travel to Israel to receive healing 213 00:12:38,920 --> 00:12:41,720 from the God of Israel, and they asked how was it that you were 214 00:12:41,720 --> 00:12:44,760 healed by the God of Israel? He would respond based on what 215 00:12:44,760 --> 00:12:50,200 Elisha does here with nothing, nothing at all. 216 00:12:51,440 --> 00:12:54,880 I didn't pay anything. I, I didn't have to perform in 217 00:12:54,880 --> 00:12:56,560 any way. He just asked me to do something 218 00:12:56,560 --> 00:13:00,160 in simple faith, and in simple faith I received my cleansing. 219 00:13:01,400 --> 00:13:05,880 And through that I'm sure that the message of the grace of God 220 00:13:05,880 --> 00:13:09,880 would be unmistakable. That's what Elijah was trying to 221 00:13:09,880 --> 00:13:14,240 protect. Paul made similar objections 222 00:13:14,480 --> 00:13:16,120 when he served among the Corinthians. 223 00:13:16,800 --> 00:13:19,240 He refused to be a financial burden to the Christians of that 224 00:13:19,240 --> 00:13:22,320 area because he discerned that in that context, there were 225 00:13:22,320 --> 00:13:26,240 adversaries that were trying to muddy his testimony and claim 226 00:13:26,240 --> 00:13:27,920 that he was doing this for financial gain. 227 00:13:27,920 --> 00:13:29,880 So he gave him no evidence to work with. 228 00:13:30,640 --> 00:13:34,040 Even though he cut off the right of an apostle to receive 229 00:13:34,040 --> 00:13:37,200 compensation for his work, he would not exercise that right 230 00:13:37,400 --> 00:13:39,440 because he had a greater ambition in mind. 231 00:13:40,920 --> 00:13:43,920 Both Elijah and Paul, among others, serve as a wonderful 232 00:13:43,920 --> 00:13:47,880 example for ministers today and how they should operate in 233 00:13:47,880 --> 00:13:49,840 wisdom. You have to learn how to be 234 00:13:49,840 --> 00:13:53,360 flexible in your ministry and in your service, especially when 235 00:13:53,360 --> 00:13:56,520 people want to respond by giving you something for your service. 236 00:13:57,560 --> 00:14:00,960 There are times when the best thing to do is to not receive 237 00:14:00,960 --> 00:14:06,240 anything. Could have Elijah use this As 238 00:14:06,240 --> 00:14:08,040 the leader of the sons of the prophets? 239 00:14:08,840 --> 00:14:11,240 We got a glimpse of how much the sons of the prophets needed 240 00:14:11,240 --> 00:14:15,200 support, material support. I'm sure he could have used 241 00:14:15,200 --> 00:14:16,520 this. I'm sure his students could have 242 00:14:16,520 --> 00:14:19,200 benefited from this. But he refused to accept it 243 00:14:19,200 --> 00:14:21,560 because in this mind he understood that there is a 244 00:14:21,560 --> 00:14:26,040 superior spiritual goal that overrided any temporary material 245 00:14:26,160 --> 00:14:28,880 profit. This is a man who had great 246 00:14:28,880 --> 00:14:30,880 wisdom. Unfortunately, it wasn't shared 247 00:14:30,880 --> 00:14:32,680 by his assistant, as we're going to discover. 248 00:14:34,480 --> 00:14:37,120 So he tried to give it to him and he wouldn't take it. 249 00:14:37,120 --> 00:14:39,360 So notice what he says in verse 17. 250 00:14:39,360 --> 00:14:43,360 Naaman, that is the Naaman said, if not, please let there be 251 00:14:43,360 --> 00:14:47,320 given to your servant 2 mule loads of earth, for from now on 252 00:14:47,320 --> 00:14:50,400 your servant will not offer burnt offering or sacrifice to 253 00:14:50,400 --> 00:14:53,840 any God but the Lord. OK, you won't take anything. 254 00:14:53,840 --> 00:14:55,160 Fine. Can you at least do me this 255 00:14:55,160 --> 00:14:58,200 favor? Can you fill up two of my cars 256 00:14:58,200 --> 00:15:00,120 with some of the dirt of the land of Israel? 257 00:15:01,400 --> 00:15:05,960 I want to go back and I want to worship God and honor him. 258 00:15:07,160 --> 00:15:09,000 What does dirt have to do with devotion? 259 00:15:11,000 --> 00:15:13,400 Here's how some explain it. That name. 260 00:15:13,400 --> 00:15:17,160 And though he is truly changed, he's still in the infancy of his 261 00:15:17,160 --> 00:15:20,200 faith. And with many heathens of this 262 00:15:20,200 --> 00:15:24,920 time, they understood gods as localized deities. 263 00:15:26,280 --> 00:15:28,840 So you have the God of the hills and the God of the valleys and 264 00:15:28,840 --> 00:15:30,960 the God of that country and the God of that city. 265 00:15:31,880 --> 00:15:34,800 And some would claim that Naman is still operating with that 266 00:15:34,800 --> 00:15:37,400 filter. And when you, when you read back 267 00:15:37,400 --> 00:15:39,920 at first kings, you don't have to turn there now where the 268 00:15:39,920 --> 00:15:45,560 Syrians go to war with Ahab, God criticizes the Syrians for that 269 00:15:45,560 --> 00:15:50,120 very kind of thinking that the God of Israel is is is the God 270 00:15:50,120 --> 00:15:52,120 of this location and not that location. 271 00:15:52,400 --> 00:15:54,720 And the Lord proved otherwise, that he's the God of everything 272 00:15:54,720 --> 00:15:59,360 and over everything. So the idea here is that in the 273 00:15:59,360 --> 00:16:02,840 innocence of his heart and the purity of his devotion, in order 274 00:16:02,840 --> 00:16:05,600 to stay connected to the Lord, the God of Israel, he wants to 275 00:16:05,600 --> 00:16:08,680 take some of the ground that God governed so that he can relate 276 00:16:08,680 --> 00:16:11,760 and engage with him. That's the explanation many 277 00:16:11,760 --> 00:16:14,440 people give. Here's why I have trouble with 278 00:16:14,440 --> 00:16:17,120 that. Because if this is how Naman was 279 00:16:17,120 --> 00:16:20,040 thinking, surely Elijah would have corrected him. 280 00:16:20,760 --> 00:16:23,920 He would have gently redirected him and clarified this 281 00:16:23,920 --> 00:16:27,160 misunderstanding. What's more likely is that 282 00:16:27,160 --> 00:16:32,560 Naman, though he he was freshly saved, perhaps was able to 283 00:16:32,560 --> 00:16:36,440 gather some information about how this God, the God of Israel, 284 00:16:36,760 --> 00:16:40,280 should be worshipped. And there is one particular law 285 00:16:40,280 --> 00:16:44,240 from the book of Exodus that would give commentary to why 286 00:16:44,240 --> 00:16:48,920 Naman made this request and why Elijah allowed it. 287 00:16:49,080 --> 00:16:52,840 You have to turn to Exodus 20 to see it and look down with me in 288 00:16:52,840 --> 00:16:57,400 verse 24. This is the Lord speaking to the 289 00:16:57,400 --> 00:17:00,400 people of Israel and what He demanded of them and how they 290 00:17:00,400 --> 00:17:04,680 should worship Him. An altar of earth You shall make 291 00:17:04,680 --> 00:17:08,920 for me and sacrifice on it Your burnt offerings and your peace 292 00:17:08,920 --> 00:17:11,520 offerings, Your sheep and your oxen. 293 00:17:11,960 --> 00:17:15,200 In every place where I caused my name to be remembered, I will 294 00:17:15,200 --> 00:17:18,240 come to you and bless you. An altar made out of what? 295 00:17:19,599 --> 00:17:27,160 Dirt, Earth. So this was before the 296 00:17:27,160 --> 00:17:29,360 Tabernacle would be instituted and the temple would be 297 00:17:29,360 --> 00:17:32,760 constructed. God made a way for the people of 298 00:17:32,760 --> 00:17:39,960 Israel to construct an altar to worship Him, and even after the 299 00:17:39,960 --> 00:17:44,640 Tabernacle in the temple was made, this was still applied in 300 00:17:44,640 --> 00:17:46,440 many instances on special occasions. 301 00:17:46,440 --> 00:17:50,120 Or people were too far from the temple and they desired to 302 00:17:50,440 --> 00:17:54,920 glorify God in this fashion. Why dirt though? 303 00:17:54,920 --> 00:17:57,920 Here's why God is so practical and so kind. 304 00:17:58,880 --> 00:18:01,640 This would leave it open for anybody to worship. 305 00:18:03,560 --> 00:18:06,120 This didn't limit people who had the ability to put together 306 00:18:06,120 --> 00:18:09,160 special materials or stones in order to God, for God to be 307 00:18:09,160 --> 00:18:12,120 honored, even if you couldn't afford anything. 308 00:18:12,440 --> 00:18:17,320 Everyone has access to dirt, which means that it's an open 309 00:18:17,320 --> 00:18:21,240 invitation for anybody to seek him and honor him and glorify 310 00:18:21,240 --> 00:18:24,120 him, no matter where they are. It speaks of the accessibility 311 00:18:24,120 --> 00:18:27,080 of God. And Naman, living in Syria, 312 00:18:27,080 --> 00:18:29,720 understood that he couldn't make his way to the to the House of 313 00:18:29,720 --> 00:18:32,040 God in Jerusalem. And so he asked, can I take some 314 00:18:32,040 --> 00:18:35,520 of this dirt and build an altar so that I can present burnt 315 00:18:35,520 --> 00:18:38,160 offerings on it? Elijah has no objections to 316 00:18:38,160 --> 00:18:42,200 that. And it's evident that in this, 317 00:18:42,200 --> 00:18:46,160 this man's conscience is is changing and he's now becoming 318 00:18:46,160 --> 00:18:48,920 more sensitive to matters that he was not really concerned 319 00:18:48,920 --> 00:18:52,360 about before. And it could be that on his way 320 00:18:52,360 --> 00:18:55,760 back from the Jordan to the man of God in Samaria, he's not 321 00:18:55,760 --> 00:18:59,520 thinking about his way of life back in Syria. 322 00:18:59,520 --> 00:19:02,200 And he's concerned about how different things are going to 323 00:19:02,200 --> 00:19:06,680 conflict now with his new found convictions, including his job. 324 00:19:08,720 --> 00:19:10,880 And so he couldn't wait, I'm sure, to get to Elijah to get 325 00:19:10,880 --> 00:19:13,280 some kind of guidance and clarity about something that was 326 00:19:13,280 --> 00:19:16,440 pricking his heart. And he brings it up in verse 18. 327 00:19:16,680 --> 00:19:19,040 Notice what he says in this matter. 328 00:19:19,040 --> 00:19:20,920 May the Lord pardon your servant. 329 00:19:21,560 --> 00:19:25,400 When my master goes into the House of Ramon to worship there 330 00:19:26,000 --> 00:19:29,520 leaning on my arm, and I bow myself in the House of Ramon. 331 00:19:29,720 --> 00:19:33,000 When I bow myself in the House of Ramon, the Lord, pardon your 332 00:19:33,000 --> 00:19:41,440 servant in this matter, there's something bothering Naman. 333 00:19:42,520 --> 00:19:44,800 He knows that he's heading back to a place that honors and 334 00:19:44,800 --> 00:19:48,600 worships different deities, but he made this claiming confession 335 00:19:48,600 --> 00:19:50,880 that he will not worship anything or anyone else except 336 00:19:50,880 --> 00:19:55,040 the God of Israel. So this scenario is playing in 337 00:19:55,040 --> 00:19:57,440 his mind and he needs to be soothed. 338 00:19:57,440 --> 00:20:01,080 He needs some kind of assurance. And what we learned from this 339 00:20:01,080 --> 00:20:05,000 scenario is that Naman was not just the governor, rather the 340 00:20:05,000 --> 00:20:07,600 general of. Of the army of Syria. 341 00:20:07,600 --> 00:20:15,200 He was also some kind of an aide to the king of Syria, and one of 342 00:20:15,200 --> 00:20:18,520 his responsibilities evidently was to join the king of Syria. 343 00:20:18,520 --> 00:20:22,320 Whenever the king would go into the temple of Ramon and worship 344 00:20:22,320 --> 00:20:26,720 this false God, and he would assist them in his worship. 345 00:20:27,920 --> 00:20:32,240 It could be that the king of Syria was advanced in age and he 346 00:20:32,240 --> 00:20:35,480 needed some kind of assistance to posture himself in certain 347 00:20:35,480 --> 00:20:39,360 ways in order to worship Ramon the way Ramon demanded to be 348 00:20:39,360 --> 00:20:45,840 worshipped, which will then require Naman to position 349 00:20:45,840 --> 00:20:48,920 himself in a similar fashion. And and this concerned him. 350 00:20:49,400 --> 00:20:51,800 He was discovering who the God of Israel was and he and he's, 351 00:20:52,280 --> 00:20:56,200 he's asking the prophet, look, this is part of my duty. 352 00:20:56,680 --> 00:21:00,200 I'm not really worshipping though, but when he leans on my 353 00:21:00,200 --> 00:21:03,520 arm, notice how that's that's highlight that's so important, 354 00:21:03,960 --> 00:21:07,840 showing that he's depending on naman again for physical 355 00:21:07,840 --> 00:21:10,240 assistants to participate in these rituals. 356 00:21:10,400 --> 00:21:14,040 When he leans on my arm and part of my job is to help him do 357 00:21:14,040 --> 00:21:17,880 that. Will the Lord pardon me? 358 00:21:19,320 --> 00:21:22,560 This is probably a very poor equivalent to kind of make sense 359 00:21:22,560 --> 00:21:24,080 of this. Just imagine a Christian 360 00:21:24,080 --> 00:21:29,960 caregiver who is living with a old elderly Muslim man. 361 00:21:29,960 --> 00:21:33,600 And that Muslim man is a devoted Muslim and, and so he needs help 362 00:21:33,600 --> 00:21:39,120 to pray several times a day and requires help to realign himself 363 00:21:39,120 --> 00:21:42,200 and posture himself in order to pray in the way his religion 364 00:21:42,200 --> 00:21:45,040 tells him to, to, to pray. And this requires the Christian 365 00:21:45,040 --> 00:21:49,440 caregiver to do what he needs to do to assist him in that regard. 366 00:21:51,080 --> 00:21:55,360 This is the struggle that Naaman has, and it amazes me how 367 00:21:55,360 --> 00:21:58,080 practical something from the Old Testament can be to our lives 368 00:21:58,080 --> 00:21:58,800 today. You know why? 369 00:21:59,080 --> 00:22:03,000 Because it provides instructions for many of us who are in 370 00:22:03,720 --> 00:22:08,800 settings or employed in places that intersect with people or 371 00:22:08,800 --> 00:22:10,960 organizations that believe differently than you. 372 00:22:14,400 --> 00:22:18,800 What do you do when you are surrounded or when you are 373 00:22:18,800 --> 00:22:22,800 connected, not in your faith, but in your interactions and in 374 00:22:22,800 --> 00:22:29,240 your duties with systems or beliefs or employers that don't 375 00:22:29,240 --> 00:22:32,080 line up with the Scriptures? And there there is wisdom here 376 00:22:32,080 --> 00:22:36,480 from name inside, and there is discretion and instruction from 377 00:22:36,480 --> 00:22:39,280 Elijah's side from naming. You know what we learned that 378 00:22:39,280 --> 00:22:41,160 when you're put in positions where you don't know if you're 379 00:22:41,160 --> 00:22:45,640 compromising, you should seek the guidance of godly people, 380 00:22:46,400 --> 00:22:48,000 including your spiritual leaders. 381 00:22:49,400 --> 00:22:51,600 Our thinking can often be clouded when we're trying to 382 00:22:51,600 --> 00:22:56,080 assess situations, and we can be overwhelmed, causing us to 383 00:22:56,080 --> 00:23:01,320 either overestimate or underestimate our involvement in 384 00:23:01,320 --> 00:23:04,880 certain actions or practices. That's where the body of Christ 385 00:23:04,880 --> 00:23:08,520 comes in. And don't just go to any nominal 386 00:23:08,520 --> 00:23:12,680 Christian. Naaman went to Elijah, the man 387 00:23:12,680 --> 00:23:14,760 of God who represented the Word of God. 388 00:23:15,160 --> 00:23:18,080 And so he's really seeking a person who operates and is 389 00:23:18,080 --> 00:23:21,160 sensitive to what God's will is in his Word. 390 00:23:21,360 --> 00:23:28,240 Do the same, do the same and from Elijah side what we learn 391 00:23:28,400 --> 00:23:35,640 mature believer is not to be so rigid or legalistic and how you 392 00:23:35,640 --> 00:23:40,480 also advise and counsel people in nuanced predicaments. 393 00:23:41,360 --> 00:23:42,760 You know you have some Christians who believe 394 00:23:42,800 --> 00:23:46,120 everything is black and white. I'm sorry to tell you not 395 00:23:46,120 --> 00:23:48,200 everything is so straightforward. 396 00:23:48,920 --> 00:23:51,200 Are the things in the Scriptures that are clear and indisputable? 397 00:23:51,200 --> 00:23:54,600 Absolutely. And wherever it is clear, you be 398 00:23:54,600 --> 00:23:57,040 clear with your convictions and with your counsel. 399 00:23:57,960 --> 00:23:59,600 But there are some things that are muddy. 400 00:23:59,600 --> 00:24:01,600 There's some things that are Gray. 401 00:24:02,200 --> 00:24:06,080 And if you're not careful in how you advise other believers, you 402 00:24:06,080 --> 00:24:10,840 can hinder them and you can actually invite unnecessary but 403 00:24:10,840 --> 00:24:14,680 great harm in their lives because you are not considerate 404 00:24:14,680 --> 00:24:19,600 or careful of how to apply God's Word in a situation that 405 00:24:19,600 --> 00:24:22,720 necessarily doesn't have a verse to give direction in. 406 00:24:24,800 --> 00:24:26,240 And I've seen it. I've seen it. 407 00:24:26,240 --> 00:24:30,600 People become overly simplistic in how they deal with people's 408 00:24:30,600 --> 00:24:33,880 lives and situations in their lives and they get those people 409 00:24:33,880 --> 00:24:37,840 in trouble or confused or falsely condemned. 410 00:24:39,320 --> 00:24:42,520 So be prayerful, seek the Lord for wisdom and and and 411 00:24:42,520 --> 00:24:46,560 discernment on this and and ask God to be as close as possible 412 00:24:46,560 --> 00:24:48,760 to his will. And something that doesn't seem 413 00:24:48,760 --> 00:24:52,760 to be so obvious. What does he tell him? 414 00:24:53,280 --> 00:24:55,800 Go in peace. God knows your heart. 415 00:24:56,440 --> 00:24:57,720 You don't have to worry about that. 416 00:24:58,040 --> 00:25:02,240 You're not worshipping him. This is not this is not Naman 417 00:25:02,240 --> 00:25:06,520 going into the House of worship of Ramon so that he can blend in 418 00:25:06,520 --> 00:25:08,720 and pretend that he's not really a different person. 419 00:25:08,720 --> 00:25:12,800 Remember, he's going back home with piles of dirt to dedicate 420 00:25:12,800 --> 00:25:15,520 an altar to the God of Israel. That's going to get you some 421 00:25:15,520 --> 00:25:18,480 attention. This is him saying, look, I 422 00:25:18,480 --> 00:25:20,560 serve my king. This is my job. 423 00:25:20,560 --> 00:25:22,600 And part of my job is I have to go into this place. 424 00:25:22,720 --> 00:25:25,040 He leans on my arm. I have to go down with him to 425 00:25:25,040 --> 00:25:26,760 make sure I can bring the old man back up. 426 00:25:27,040 --> 00:25:28,920 Is God going to condemn me for that? 427 00:25:30,400 --> 00:25:35,440 And I just go in peace. Go in peace now we noted the 428 00:25:35,440 --> 00:25:38,440 beginning of the study. Three significant changes in 429 00:25:38,440 --> 00:25:41,160 Naaman that validate his conversion, while in contrast, I 430 00:25:41,160 --> 00:25:46,000 want us to look at 3 unfortunate marks of Gehazi's change. 431 00:25:48,720 --> 00:25:50,160 Naaman knew it. Inner cleansing. 432 00:25:50,160 --> 00:25:53,240 Gehazi is about to see an inner decay. 433 00:25:53,320 --> 00:26:00,720 Let's read verse 20. Gehazi, the servant of Elijah, 434 00:26:00,720 --> 00:26:04,880 the man of God said, see my master has spared this name in 435 00:26:04,880 --> 00:26:09,160 the Syrian in not accepting from his hand what he brought. 436 00:26:09,880 --> 00:26:14,160 As the Lord lives, I will run after him and get something from 437 00:26:14,160 --> 00:26:17,960 him. What stands out to you from 438 00:26:17,960 --> 00:26:21,520 verse 20? Again, short answers. 439 00:26:21,520 --> 00:26:25,120 What stands out to you that's concerning red flags in Gehazi. 440 00:26:25,160 --> 00:26:29,120 Yes, I will run after him and get something from him. 441 00:26:30,840 --> 00:26:33,680 Is that in alignment with the man of God or in defiance of the 442 00:26:33,680 --> 00:26:36,120 will of God? Defiance, yes. 443 00:26:36,120 --> 00:26:42,720 Anything else? As the Lord lives, this man even 444 00:26:42,720 --> 00:26:46,240 has the audacity to invoke the name of God in this matter. 445 00:26:46,760 --> 00:26:48,160 Good. Anything else? 446 00:26:51,640 --> 00:26:53,680 Go ahead. OK, in what way? 447 00:26:53,680 --> 00:26:55,920 He presume that they should have proceeded. 448 00:26:56,960 --> 00:26:59,320 Yeah. So he thinks that this whole 449 00:26:59,320 --> 00:27:02,760 thing of Elijah not accepting this gift is actually foolish of 450 00:27:02,760 --> 00:27:04,520 him. So he's criticizing Elijah 451 00:27:04,520 --> 00:27:07,400 ultimately. Any other observations before we 452 00:27:07,400 --> 00:27:11,840 break this down together? Yeah. 453 00:27:13,280 --> 00:27:16,760 Why did Elijah do this? Why did he let this man go 454 00:27:18,120 --> 00:27:20,360 again? It's it speaks of his criticism 455 00:27:21,800 --> 00:27:25,240 of the man of God. Well, that's precisely what's 456 00:27:25,240 --> 00:27:28,040 happening here. The concern is that he says 457 00:27:28,040 --> 00:27:30,880 something against Naman. He says something against 458 00:27:30,880 --> 00:27:34,240 Elijah, and he does something with the name of God. 459 00:27:34,920 --> 00:27:39,240 How does he address Naman? Look back again at verse 20, 460 00:27:39,680 --> 00:27:44,960 This name in the Syrian, does that sound like the language of 461 00:27:44,960 --> 00:27:47,360 somebody who values another person created in the image of 462 00:27:47,360 --> 00:27:51,640 God? Nor is there any evidence that 463 00:27:51,640 --> 00:27:55,960 Gehazi is rejoicing in this rare transformation that took place 464 00:27:56,120 --> 00:27:58,480 in Naaman's life. There's there's no mention of 465 00:27:58,480 --> 00:28:00,680 how this man is different. There's no mention of how this 466 00:28:00,680 --> 00:28:03,720 man changed and aligned himself to the truth. 467 00:28:04,600 --> 00:28:10,200 All you see here is that he is a dollar sign to Gehazi. 468 00:28:12,480 --> 00:28:14,200 Notice what he says. As our brother mentioned, I will 469 00:28:14,200 --> 00:28:17,880 run after him and get something from him. 470 00:28:18,840 --> 00:28:21,680 Unfortunately, that's how some leaders in ministry view people. 471 00:28:22,280 --> 00:28:29,160 View souls that walk into the church as profitable consumers 472 00:28:30,000 --> 00:28:32,960 to fill their pockets or satisfy their egos. 473 00:28:33,800 --> 00:28:39,960 I will get something from him. A true servant of God, like 474 00:28:39,960 --> 00:28:42,720 Elisha, is someone who will be willing to help others even if 475 00:28:42,720 --> 00:28:44,560 they don't get anything in return. 476 00:28:44,560 --> 00:28:47,520 A true servant of God will be concerned with the spiritual 477 00:28:47,520 --> 00:28:51,640 change, transformation, and development of any person, 478 00:28:52,080 --> 00:28:54,480 whether or not they put something in the donation box, 479 00:28:54,880 --> 00:28:57,640 whether or not they partner with that ministry financially. 480 00:28:58,040 --> 00:29:01,640 A true man of God will trust in God providing for His ministry 481 00:29:01,880 --> 00:29:06,880 as He ministers to people's souls, not their pocketbooks. 482 00:29:08,640 --> 00:29:11,520 But men like Gehazi view ministry as a profitable 483 00:29:11,520 --> 00:29:15,720 business. They use it as a platform to 484 00:29:15,720 --> 00:29:19,040 gain, and that is a very dangerous approach to the 485 00:29:19,040 --> 00:29:20,160 ministry, as you're going to discover. 486 00:29:20,560 --> 00:29:22,520 So it's not just how he views Naaman, though. 487 00:29:22,760 --> 00:29:26,400 How he views this man's miserable condition manifests 488 00:29:26,400 --> 00:29:29,560 and how he speaks about the man of God, the true man of God. 489 00:29:30,800 --> 00:29:34,840 Don't you find it interesting? Look back at verse 20, how the 490 00:29:34,840 --> 00:29:38,560 Holy Spirit reminds us that Gehazi was the servant of 491 00:29:38,560 --> 00:29:42,600 Elijah, the man of God. We already know who Gehazi is. 492 00:29:42,600 --> 00:29:46,960 We we've read this enough to understand Gehazi was Elijah's 493 00:29:46,960 --> 00:29:49,760 personal assistant. So why is the Holy Spirit 494 00:29:49,920 --> 00:29:55,040 bringing this to our attention once more so that we again would 495 00:29:55,040 --> 00:30:01,120 see and not forget that Gehazi experienced something special. 496 00:30:01,760 --> 00:30:04,200 He had certain advantages that other people did not have. 497 00:30:05,920 --> 00:30:10,840 He had a personal discipleship relationship with Elijah. 498 00:30:10,840 --> 00:30:13,680 He witnessed remarkable miracles. 499 00:30:13,680 --> 00:30:18,400 He saw in Elijah that it's possible to be consistently, 500 00:30:18,400 --> 00:30:20,920 wholly, consistently compassionate. 501 00:30:22,080 --> 00:30:25,160 He learned what it meant to walk with God in private by by 502 00:30:25,160 --> 00:30:29,120 observing Elijah's ministry. And with all of that, and all 503 00:30:29,120 --> 00:30:32,320 these other privileges, he still succumbed to covetousness. 504 00:30:35,000 --> 00:30:35,920 You know what we learned from that? 505 00:30:35,920 --> 00:30:40,080 We learned that unusual spiritual advantages do not 506 00:30:40,080 --> 00:30:45,320 promise personal change. They certainly can help promote 507 00:30:45,320 --> 00:30:46,440 it. But please know this. 508 00:30:46,440 --> 00:30:48,880 The choice to be influenced depends on the heart living in 509 00:30:48,880 --> 00:30:52,680 that environment. You've probably been puzzled as 510 00:30:52,680 --> 00:30:57,520 I have been early in my walk, where you see somebody who sat 511 00:30:57,520 --> 00:31:01,840 under incredible spirit empowered, faithful preaching of 512 00:31:01,840 --> 00:31:06,320 God's Word, or someone who grew up with parents that were truly 513 00:31:06,320 --> 00:31:10,480 godly and, and, and not fake godly, not legalistically godly, 514 00:31:10,480 --> 00:31:15,320 no godly with joy and with the fruit of the Spirit and with 515 00:31:15,320 --> 00:31:17,440 testimonies of God's provision and power. 516 00:31:17,440 --> 00:31:19,640 And they served and they made service to God. 517 00:31:19,960 --> 00:31:22,480 An incredible thing to seek and to enjoy. 518 00:31:23,120 --> 00:31:27,440 Or maybe even somebody who had access to incredible resources 519 00:31:27,440 --> 00:31:31,600 or relationships that would enable them to still serve God 520 00:31:31,600 --> 00:31:35,320 and yet they still pursue the world. 521 00:31:35,720 --> 00:31:38,960 If that's ever confused you, don't be too confused. 522 00:31:38,960 --> 00:31:45,000 Look no further than Ghazi. He's seen it all. 523 00:31:45,000 --> 00:31:49,520 He heard it all, and yet his heart was still filled with 524 00:31:50,360 --> 00:31:55,160 wickedness and even criticize him like he didn't learn 525 00:31:55,160 --> 00:31:56,600 anything. He didn't interpret the 526 00:31:56,600 --> 00:31:58,280 situation the way his master did. 527 00:31:59,240 --> 00:32:03,600 He says, as our brother said, my master has spared this name in 528 00:32:03,600 --> 00:32:07,440 the Syrian. In other words, what a fool. 529 00:32:08,880 --> 00:32:10,840 We're struggling here. We're suffering here. 530 00:32:11,200 --> 00:32:14,080 Instead of understanding that Elisha was being strategic 531 00:32:14,080 --> 00:32:18,560 spiritually because his heart was coated with covetousness, he 532 00:32:18,560 --> 00:32:23,160 can only see a loss. And lastly, let's look at how he 533 00:32:23,160 --> 00:32:24,960 invokes the name of the Lord. You might be thinking that 534 00:32:24,960 --> 00:32:28,520 Gehazi is conscious of God and how he assesses this, but I say 535 00:32:28,520 --> 00:32:32,280 it's just the opposite. Notice he says as the Lord 536 00:32:32,280 --> 00:32:35,160 lives, as the Lord lives, I will run. 537 00:32:35,320 --> 00:32:38,080 I will run after him and get something from him. 538 00:32:40,040 --> 00:32:42,400 What what do you think he means by saying as the Lord lives? 539 00:32:42,560 --> 00:32:46,200 Here's what I think. I think he's careless and I 540 00:32:46,200 --> 00:32:49,440 think he's just being offhand, like how people throw around the 541 00:32:49,440 --> 00:32:56,320 name of Jesus and and express the name of God flippantly. 542 00:32:57,920 --> 00:33:01,480 So for him to use the name of the Lord in this situation tells 543 00:33:01,480 --> 00:33:03,080 me something. He didn't fear God. 544 00:33:04,520 --> 00:33:06,080 He wasn't truly conscious of God. 545 00:33:07,640 --> 00:33:12,960 He didn't truly Revere God. And it shows right here as the 546 00:33:12,960 --> 00:33:18,920 Lord lives, we see that the absence of this genuine 547 00:33:18,920 --> 00:33:21,320 reverence for the Lord is seen in how he is committed to 548 00:33:21,320 --> 00:33:23,880 materialism. Does he say I will walk to him? 549 00:33:23,880 --> 00:33:25,560 No, he says I will run after him. 550 00:33:27,000 --> 00:33:28,480 I'm not going to lose this opportunity. 551 00:33:28,760 --> 00:33:30,320 I'm going to exert all the energy. 552 00:33:30,440 --> 00:33:32,880 I'm going to give up whatever time it takes for me to catch up 553 00:33:32,880 --> 00:33:35,920 to naming. And I want to tell you today 554 00:33:35,920 --> 00:33:40,880 that that is dedication. This is enthusiasm. 555 00:33:41,920 --> 00:33:44,520 And unfortunately, many professing Christians show 556 00:33:44,520 --> 00:33:50,640 greater excitement for personal gain than for spiritual maturity 557 00:33:50,640 --> 00:33:54,680 and influence. They'll run after to make more 558 00:33:54,680 --> 00:33:57,320 money. When you ask those same people 559 00:33:57,320 --> 00:34:00,600 to serve in the church, that running turns into crawling 560 00:34:02,280 --> 00:34:03,560 there. There's a lot of hesitation 561 00:34:03,560 --> 00:34:07,640 there, hesitation to work double the hour so that you can make a 562 00:34:07,640 --> 00:34:10,360 little bit more cash. No problem with that. 563 00:34:12,159 --> 00:34:15,000 I will run after him. OK, run. 564 00:34:16,080 --> 00:34:19,040 See what's going to happen when you make money your God. 565 00:34:21,520 --> 00:34:25,639 So what happens? He arrives in verse 21. 566 00:34:26,600 --> 00:34:29,880 So Gehazi followed Naman, and when Naman saw someone running 567 00:34:29,880 --> 00:34:33,080 after him, he got down from the chariot to meet him and said is 568 00:34:33,080 --> 00:34:36,040 all well. So this is what something about 569 00:34:36,040 --> 00:34:39,639 Naman, his change is consistent because he recognizes somebody 570 00:34:39,639 --> 00:34:41,600 running to him. And he quickly learns that this 571 00:34:41,600 --> 00:34:43,800 is Elijah's servant. And remember, this is the 572 00:34:43,800 --> 00:34:45,320 commander of the Syrian Army Army. 573 00:34:45,320 --> 00:34:46,880 He doesn't have to get out of his chariot. 574 00:34:46,880 --> 00:34:49,560 But what does he do? He gets out of his chariot and 575 00:34:49,560 --> 00:34:53,480 he meets him on his level. I believe we're going to see 576 00:34:53,480 --> 00:34:57,600 Naman in heaven. And so he meets him face to 577 00:34:57,600 --> 00:35:00,240 face, eye to eye, the ass. Is everything OK? 578 00:35:00,560 --> 00:35:04,600 And what does Ghazi do? Lies. 579 00:35:06,600 --> 00:35:09,480 Gehazi lies about himself. Gehazi is going to lie in the 580 00:35:09,480 --> 00:35:11,720 mouth of Elijah. Gehazi is going to lie about the 581 00:35:11,720 --> 00:35:14,640 sons of the prophets. Gehazi is going to lie to a lie 582 00:35:14,640 --> 00:35:21,680 to a brand new believer. Read it with me verse 22 and he 583 00:35:21,680 --> 00:35:25,840 said all is well. That's a lie about himself. 584 00:35:27,360 --> 00:35:29,200 He's self deceived. All is not well. 585 00:35:29,200 --> 00:35:31,400 Do you remember the last time that this question was asked? 586 00:35:31,400 --> 00:35:34,960 It was when Elijah asked the Shunammite woman is all well, 587 00:35:34,960 --> 00:35:38,040 she said all is well. In her case all was well, in his 588 00:35:38,040 --> 00:35:43,280 case nothing was well. Far from being well, all is 589 00:35:43,280 --> 00:35:44,840 well. Do you think people are honest 590 00:35:44,840 --> 00:35:47,440 with their spiritual condition? Many cases no. 591 00:35:48,520 --> 00:35:51,360 Either they are lying to themselves or they are self 592 00:35:51,360 --> 00:35:53,280 deceived. All is well. 593 00:35:53,760 --> 00:35:56,880 Now the next slide. My master has sent me to say did 594 00:35:56,880 --> 00:36:00,040 Elijah send him? No, he misrepresented the man of 595 00:36:00,040 --> 00:36:05,160 God. There have just now come to me 596 00:36:05,160 --> 00:36:07,640 from the Hill Country of Ephraim, two young men of the 597 00:36:07,640 --> 00:36:10,080 sons of the prophets. Please give him a talent of 598 00:36:10,080 --> 00:36:11,640 silver and two changes of clothing. 599 00:36:11,640 --> 00:36:13,520 He's lying about the sons of the prophets. 600 00:36:16,400 --> 00:36:20,960 What do we learn from this? When a person is consumed with 601 00:36:20,960 --> 00:36:25,320 greed, he rarely becomes an honest person in the process. 602 00:36:27,200 --> 00:36:34,440 When a person lives for selfish material gain, that will often 603 00:36:35,160 --> 00:36:40,440 be met with the encouragement to manipulate, to be disloyal, and 604 00:36:40,440 --> 00:36:44,680 to implement trickery so that you can attain more. 605 00:36:47,560 --> 00:36:52,120 And the way that Gehazi lies shows that he was he was a 606 00:36:52,120 --> 00:36:54,560 skilled deceiver. Why? 607 00:36:55,280 --> 00:36:59,960 Because he uses the guise of religious and charitable work to 608 00:36:59,960 --> 00:37:05,360 demand and donation from Naman. We have two students from our 609 00:37:05,360 --> 00:37:08,120 seminary that needs some money and some change of clothing. 610 00:37:08,280 --> 00:37:09,920 Are you willing to make that donation? 611 00:37:10,680 --> 00:37:11,840 Haman says. I'm going to give you more than 612 00:37:11,840 --> 00:37:14,400 what you're asking. Remember, this is a changed man 613 00:37:14,400 --> 00:37:15,760 now. He's generous, right? 614 00:37:16,360 --> 00:37:19,160 You're telling me that I can make Elijah's multiply in 615 00:37:19,160 --> 00:37:20,520 Israel? Let's do it. 616 00:37:23,080 --> 00:37:25,520 It pains me to say this, but I have to tell you the truth. 617 00:37:25,960 --> 00:37:29,400 It really does hurt me to say this, that there are some 618 00:37:29,400 --> 00:37:31,160 ministries today that do the same. 619 00:37:33,480 --> 00:37:35,800 They do one, they convince generous, good hearted people 620 00:37:35,800 --> 00:37:39,400 like Naman that they're helping fulfill a need when in actuality 621 00:37:39,400 --> 00:37:42,160 all they're doing is adding more to their personal bank accounts. 622 00:37:43,480 --> 00:37:45,760 You don't think ministries are doing that at 2024? 623 00:37:46,000 --> 00:37:47,920 You'll be shocked at the judgement seat of Christ. 624 00:37:49,480 --> 00:37:55,080 Oh yeah, there are many people. We're taking advantage of God's 625 00:37:55,080 --> 00:37:58,520 vineyard not to serve and feed and help and clothe and bring 626 00:37:58,520 --> 00:38:03,920 the gospel, but so that they can they can have more and they're 627 00:38:03,920 --> 00:38:07,080 willing to use the gifts of God's people to do so. 628 00:38:07,920 --> 00:38:10,320 If you're that kind of a minister in this place or 629 00:38:10,320 --> 00:38:13,640 hearing this later on, you don't fear God and you better repent 630 00:38:13,640 --> 00:38:16,120 because I'm telling you straightforward, God's going to 631 00:38:16,120 --> 00:38:19,960 expose you. You don't play around with God. 632 00:38:20,120 --> 00:38:23,720 You don't play around with God's people and how they partner with 633 00:38:23,720 --> 00:38:26,240 the gospel for personal advantage. 634 00:38:26,520 --> 00:38:29,680 You evidently have No Fear of Him and you should. 635 00:38:34,440 --> 00:38:36,600 Lying begets more lying, doesn't it? 636 00:38:39,400 --> 00:38:42,960 Verse 23 and Naman said be pleased to accept 2 talents and 637 00:38:42,960 --> 00:38:47,400 he urged him and tied up two talents of silver in two bags 638 00:38:47,400 --> 00:38:51,480 with two changes of clothing and laid them on two of his servants 639 00:38:51,720 --> 00:38:53,440 and they carried them before Gehazi. 640 00:38:54,040 --> 00:38:55,600 Obviously this is a sizable donation. 641 00:38:55,600 --> 00:38:57,200 It's not like something you put in his pocket. 642 00:38:57,760 --> 00:39:00,560 Neyman had to send two service to carry the stuff. 643 00:39:02,920 --> 00:39:05,360 Gehazi is a little nervous here because he knows that he had to 644 00:39:05,360 --> 00:39:07,920 escape the supervision of Elijah to make this happen. 645 00:39:07,920 --> 00:39:09,960 So he has a little plan like he really thought this. 646 00:39:09,960 --> 00:39:14,040 I don't know how long this run was, but he came with an 647 00:39:14,040 --> 00:39:18,960 elaborate scheme. Verse 24, when he came to the 648 00:39:18,960 --> 00:39:22,440 hill, he took them from their hand and put them in the house 649 00:39:22,640 --> 00:39:24,600 and he sent them in away and they departed. 650 00:39:24,600 --> 00:39:27,400 So he didn't let him come too close to Elijah's whereabouts. 651 00:39:27,400 --> 00:39:28,120 He's OK. Stop here. 652 00:39:28,120 --> 00:39:30,040 Thank you so much. God bless you. 653 00:39:30,040 --> 00:39:32,640 We'll send you your tax receipt. Thank you for your donation. 654 00:39:33,000 --> 00:39:34,840 And he makes his way back to Elijah. 655 00:39:37,720 --> 00:39:42,440 And look at the slithery snake verse 25. 656 00:39:42,440 --> 00:39:45,320 He went in and stood before his master. 657 00:39:47,520 --> 00:39:49,920 Standing in the Bible is a posture of service. 658 00:39:50,760 --> 00:39:53,080 So he comes before his his teacher as well. 659 00:39:53,080 --> 00:39:56,280 Nothing had happened and he's just waiting for any orders for 660 00:39:56,280 --> 00:40:00,640 the day. Now I can understand where 661 00:40:00,880 --> 00:40:06,080 Gehazi found the confidence to lie to Naman but to have the 662 00:40:06,080 --> 00:40:12,160 courage to lie to the prophet. What's wrong with you? 663 00:40:13,360 --> 00:40:16,680 Have you not seen what God can do through this man of God? 664 00:40:18,680 --> 00:40:23,360 Are you not persuaded that you could be exposed? 665 00:40:23,920 --> 00:40:27,080 Well, this is one of the marks of a person who does not fear 666 00:40:27,080 --> 00:40:30,400 God. You believe that God is limited 667 00:40:31,640 --> 00:40:35,000 in many ways. A person who doesn't fear God 668 00:40:35,000 --> 00:40:37,640 thinks that he can actually keep things a secret in his life. 669 00:40:39,200 --> 00:40:41,000 That's how you know, if you don't fear God, that you 670 00:40:41,000 --> 00:40:44,040 actually think that there's there's parts of who you are 671 00:40:44,640 --> 00:40:47,920 that will never be disclosed, that will never be unveiled, 672 00:40:47,920 --> 00:40:52,680 that will never be made known. The person who fears God 673 00:40:52,680 --> 00:40:56,320 understands that God not only sees things and knows all 674 00:40:56,320 --> 00:40:58,720 things, he can make these things known. 675 00:41:00,880 --> 00:41:06,480 One of the greatest fuels to sin is secrecy, but a person who 676 00:41:06,480 --> 00:41:09,120 fears God doesn't believe that they can keep their sins a 677 00:41:09,120 --> 00:41:13,960 secret. Name it rather Gehazi. 678 00:41:13,960 --> 00:41:16,680 He can invoke the name of the Lord and he can lie to the man 679 00:41:16,680 --> 00:41:20,600 of God who had unusual abilities because he didn't fear God. 680 00:41:21,160 --> 00:41:24,200 To fear God is to believe all that he says that he is and it 681 00:41:24,200 --> 00:41:26,960 actually applies to your life. That is not just some Sunday 682 00:41:26,960 --> 00:41:29,960 school story that it's real in 2024. 683 00:41:32,040 --> 00:41:36,320 That's why we're doing these Bible studies to realize, OK, 684 00:41:36,360 --> 00:41:38,200 you can't play the fool with God. 685 00:41:39,920 --> 00:41:42,600 This man does. So what does he do? 686 00:41:43,280 --> 00:41:45,680 He went and stood before his math master and Elijah said 687 00:41:45,680 --> 00:41:47,040 them. Where have you been, Ghazi? 688 00:41:48,000 --> 00:41:54,560 I would be sweating bullets. Doesn't even blink before he 689 00:41:54,560 --> 00:41:56,480 says the next thing. And he said them. 690 00:41:56,480 --> 00:42:02,040 Your servant went nowhere here. Here's one of the strongest 691 00:42:02,040 --> 00:42:03,920 contrast in the story. There are many. 692 00:42:03,920 --> 00:42:05,600 We're not going to be able to touch on all of them. 693 00:42:06,600 --> 00:42:09,120 What was Naaman's concern when he went back to Syria? 694 00:42:09,880 --> 00:42:13,240 That when he would go into the temple of Ramon and his boss 695 00:42:13,240 --> 00:42:17,080 would lean on his arm and he would fall down with him, that 696 00:42:17,080 --> 00:42:20,840 God might judge him for that? When does Elijah say go in 697 00:42:20,840 --> 00:42:24,520 peace? The Lord knows your heart while 698 00:42:24,520 --> 00:42:31,240 you have Ghazi, who pretends to be a servant of God, standing 699 00:42:31,240 --> 00:42:36,360 before his master, ready to do what he's called to do, when in 700 00:42:36,360 --> 00:42:43,840 reality his heart was corrupt with covetousness and he would 701 00:42:43,840 --> 00:42:46,720 be judged for it. What's the lesson in this? 702 00:42:46,720 --> 00:42:49,880 Here's the lesson. Before God sees what you do with 703 00:42:49,880 --> 00:42:51,800 your knees, with your hands, with your lips. 704 00:42:52,440 --> 00:42:55,640 Above all else, he looks at your heart. 705 00:42:57,280 --> 00:43:02,360 What's in your heart tonight? Not what's in your hand, not 706 00:43:02,360 --> 00:43:05,200 what you're highlighting, not what songs you sing, not what 707 00:43:05,200 --> 00:43:11,760 the preacher preaches. What is in your heart that is 708 00:43:11,760 --> 00:43:13,960 what God considers above everything else. 709 00:43:13,960 --> 00:43:19,200 That is the loud louder than your voice, more meaningful than 710 00:43:19,200 --> 00:43:22,200 what you do outside of your inner man. 711 00:43:22,200 --> 00:43:25,520 What is in the innermost part of your being? 712 00:43:27,520 --> 00:43:30,600 God saw what was in Naman when He would go back to Syria. 713 00:43:31,680 --> 00:43:34,560 God saw what was in Gehazi while he was still in Israel. 714 00:43:35,560 --> 00:43:40,960 And the Lord only cares about that and where that leads to the 715 00:43:40,960 --> 00:43:43,160 sincerity, the purity and the posture of your heart. 716 00:43:43,160 --> 00:43:48,080 Above all else He lies. Look at verse 26. 717 00:43:48,320 --> 00:43:52,120 But he said to him, Did not my heart go when the man turned 718 00:43:52,120 --> 00:43:56,720 from his chariot to meet you? Was it a time to accept money 719 00:43:56,720 --> 00:43:59,880 and garments? Olive orchards and vineyards, 720 00:43:59,880 --> 00:44:02,880 sheep and oxen, male servants and female servants? 721 00:44:06,680 --> 00:44:12,160 What did Gehazi take from Naman? What do you take specifically? 722 00:44:13,760 --> 00:44:17,480 Yeah, two talents of silver and two changes of clothing, Right. 723 00:44:18,600 --> 00:44:21,800 So why is Elijah giving this whole catalogue of things that 724 00:44:21,800 --> 00:44:23,240 are not even mentioned in the story? 725 00:44:23,480 --> 00:44:25,680 Like, at first he mentions what? Look at it again. 726 00:44:25,800 --> 00:44:27,600 Was it time to accept money and garments? 727 00:44:27,600 --> 00:44:29,720 Well, that's what he took. But then he goes on to say olive 728 00:44:29,720 --> 00:44:32,200 orchards and vineyards, sheep and ox and male servants and 729 00:44:32,200 --> 00:44:34,520 female servants. What is he saying here? 730 00:44:36,920 --> 00:44:38,120 Can I tell you what he's saying here? 731 00:44:39,360 --> 00:44:44,680 He is revealing to Gehazi what his true desires are in life. 732 00:44:47,840 --> 00:44:52,920 He's exposing Gehazi for what his ultimate ambitions are in 733 00:44:52,920 --> 00:44:56,920 life. To have money, to have nice 734 00:44:56,920 --> 00:45:03,160 clothes, to have land, to have estates, to have influence, to 735 00:45:03,160 --> 00:45:09,560 have comfort, to have profit. He might even be exposing what 736 00:45:09,600 --> 00:45:12,200 Gehazi was planning to do with that silver that he got from 737 00:45:12,200 --> 00:45:17,880 Naman. And essentially he is revealing 738 00:45:17,880 --> 00:45:21,360 to him that he knows, God knows what he ultimately wanted. 739 00:45:22,040 --> 00:45:26,080 And what he was doing was he was willing to use the ministry as a 740 00:45:26,080 --> 00:45:28,400 means to achieve those selfish things. 741 00:45:32,160 --> 00:45:35,320 What's the punishment? The last verse of our study. 742 00:45:35,800 --> 00:45:39,600 Therefore, the leprosy of Naman shall cling to you and to your 743 00:45:39,600 --> 00:45:41,920 descendants forever. So he went out from his presence 744 00:45:41,920 --> 00:45:45,720 a leper like snow. You want Neiman's money? 745 00:45:45,720 --> 00:45:54,680 Take his leprosy too. Leprosy is one of the most 746 00:45:54,760 --> 00:45:58,640 severe conditions that any human can endure. 747 00:45:58,640 --> 00:46:00,440 We learned that a little bit last week. 748 00:46:01,240 --> 00:46:08,040 So for the Lord to unleash this kind of disease on this man says 749 00:46:08,040 --> 00:46:12,520 something about how he feels about Gehazi's decisions. 750 00:46:13,840 --> 00:46:17,560 God doesn't play favorites. He healed a Gentile from leprosy 751 00:46:17,560 --> 00:46:20,200 and he inflicted an Israelite with leprosy. 752 00:46:21,280 --> 00:46:26,120 Do you see that? There's no partiality with God. 753 00:46:26,680 --> 00:46:29,760 Sin is sin no matter who sins. Righteousness by faith, as 754 00:46:29,760 --> 00:46:32,000 righteous as my faith, no matter who offers it. 755 00:46:33,160 --> 00:46:34,640 OK, here's here's a question for you. 756 00:46:34,640 --> 00:46:38,680 Now, as extreme as this might be, and you got to understand 757 00:46:38,920 --> 00:46:42,240 that this is, don't you dare believe that God is going 758 00:46:42,240 --> 00:46:45,600 overboard here, not, not for a moment. 759 00:46:47,160 --> 00:46:49,800 This could have had generational consequences. 760 00:46:50,040 --> 00:46:53,360 This could have made an impact not just on Naaman's perception 761 00:46:53,360 --> 00:46:57,160 of God, but others that Naaman would testify to what just 762 00:46:57,160 --> 00:47:00,560 happened. Now, Naaman ended up giving what 763 00:47:00,560 --> 00:47:05,040 Elijah said don't give because he wanted to, to protect the 764 00:47:05,040 --> 00:47:11,280 message and the image of God. And Gehazi just blows it all up. 765 00:47:12,560 --> 00:47:15,520 So this is severe. This could impact souls. 766 00:47:17,840 --> 00:47:23,040 But isn't the only time that the Lord Almighty inflicts his 767 00:47:23,040 --> 00:47:24,720 servant with leprosy in the Bible? 768 00:47:27,840 --> 00:47:31,320 If you know of another person in the Old Testament where the Lord 769 00:47:32,440 --> 00:47:37,360 calls for leprosy to infect them, well that would have all 770 00:47:37,360 --> 00:47:38,280 the same time. Wow. 771 00:47:38,920 --> 00:47:41,640 Say, say 1. Miriam is 1. 772 00:47:41,640 --> 00:47:48,400 And the other one, Miriam, is the first case of leprosy. 773 00:47:48,400 --> 00:47:50,040 We learned that last week. But there's another one. 774 00:47:50,440 --> 00:47:52,880 There's a total of 3, including Ghazi. 775 00:47:56,600 --> 00:47:58,120 If you know, you can say you said it. 776 00:47:59,600 --> 00:48:01,040 You're right. King Uzziah. 777 00:48:03,720 --> 00:48:09,000 Miriam. King Uzziah, Ghazi, what do they 778 00:48:09,000 --> 00:48:09,920 all do? They all sinned. 779 00:48:09,960 --> 00:48:12,120 I understand they all sinned, but they all sinned in a unique 780 00:48:12,120 --> 00:48:15,760 way. What led to Miriam's leprosy? 781 00:48:15,760 --> 00:48:21,520 What was her sin? She spoke against the man of 782 00:48:21,520 --> 00:48:24,520 God, Moses and Numbers 12, verse one. 783 00:48:25,200 --> 00:48:31,920 What was Uziah's sin? Let me read it to you in Second 784 00:48:31,920 --> 00:48:37,280 Chronicles 2616. But when he was strong, he grew 785 00:48:37,880 --> 00:48:41,400 proud. He grew proud to his 786 00:48:41,400 --> 00:48:43,720 destruction, for he was unfaithful to the Lord, his God, 787 00:48:43,720 --> 00:48:47,560 and enter the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of 788 00:48:47,560 --> 00:48:50,280 incense. And what was Gehazi? 789 00:48:50,280 --> 00:48:56,200 Sin, greed and deception. So Miriam was leprous because 790 00:48:56,200 --> 00:49:00,760 she was a gossip. Uziah became leprous because of 791 00:49:00,760 --> 00:49:04,360 pride. Gehazi became leprous because of 792 00:49:04,360 --> 00:49:08,200 greed and deception. Miriam was temporary. 793 00:49:08,240 --> 00:49:12,400 Uzziah was permanent. Ghazi is an interesting case, as 794 00:49:12,400 --> 00:49:13,960 we're going to read in the next chapters. 795 00:49:15,600 --> 00:49:19,960 That teaches me, when I consider all of those individuals, how 796 00:49:19,960 --> 00:49:22,200 God feels about these particular sins. 797 00:49:24,160 --> 00:49:31,360 For him to call for leprosy shows me how he views these 798 00:49:31,360 --> 00:49:34,640 particular vices. He feels very strongly about 799 00:49:34,640 --> 00:49:38,520 gossip. He feels very strongly about 800 00:49:38,520 --> 00:49:41,920 pride. He feels very strongly about 801 00:49:41,920 --> 00:49:46,080 greed and deception. You know what's interesting 802 00:49:46,080 --> 00:49:50,200 about all those cases? Every single one of them served 803 00:49:50,200 --> 00:49:53,400 God in a unique way, and every single one of them, because of 804 00:49:53,400 --> 00:49:56,240 their leprosy, were disqualified from ministry. 805 00:49:57,920 --> 00:50:01,440 Miriam was a prophetess. She became a leper, temporary, 806 00:50:02,680 --> 00:50:06,000 and she was isolated. Uzziah was called to be a king, 807 00:50:06,000 --> 00:50:08,280 but he was so arrogant that he thought that the rules of 808 00:50:08,280 --> 00:50:11,920 ministry didn't apply to him. So he dabbles in the priesthood. 809 00:50:12,640 --> 00:50:17,400 He's disqualified for ministry. Gehazi uses the ministry as an 810 00:50:17,400 --> 00:50:20,920 assistant to the prophet to try to make money, and he lies 811 00:50:20,920 --> 00:50:24,960 through his teeth just for an extra buck, and he's 812 00:50:24,960 --> 00:50:28,360 disqualified for ministry. Here's what this teaches me when 813 00:50:28,360 --> 00:50:33,760 I consider all of these things. If I'm a gossip, if I'm proud, 814 00:50:34,880 --> 00:50:43,160 if I love money, if I lie, I can't be used in the ministry. 815 00:50:45,040 --> 00:50:50,680 And that's for all of us. What did Gehazi forfeit for two 816 00:50:50,680 --> 00:50:52,880 talents of silver and two changes of clothing. 817 00:50:55,120 --> 00:50:57,320 So he went out the last part of verse 27. 818 00:50:57,560 --> 00:51:02,560 So he went out from his presence a leper like snow. 819 00:51:03,560 --> 00:51:08,400 He personally lost any potential to be used by God in a more 820 00:51:08,400 --> 00:51:13,400 significant way, and his sin brought havoc to his home. 821 00:51:14,360 --> 00:51:16,600 Because this would have generational effects. 822 00:51:18,400 --> 00:51:25,680 When we consider the pain that sin brings, when we consider 823 00:51:25,840 --> 00:51:32,240 what sin takes from us, it will be less attractive to the 824 00:51:32,240 --> 00:51:37,080 alternative in righteousness. A bit of a heavier Bible study 825 00:51:37,080 --> 00:51:43,320 tonight, but it's the Bible, and we have to thank God for His 826 00:51:43,320 --> 00:51:45,880 warnings as much as we might thank Him for His promises. 827 00:51:46,240 --> 00:51:48,320 Can we do that? Let's thank Him. 828 00:51:57,050 --> 00:52:01,970 And if the praise team can join the platform, Before I begin to 829 00:52:01,970 --> 00:52:04,650 pray, I just want to encourage you in this silent moment. 830 00:52:05,370 --> 00:52:10,200 Take these truths, meditate on them, and communicate them 831 00:52:10,200 --> 00:52:15,760 before the Lord. Ask the Lord to protect your 832 00:52:15,760 --> 00:52:46,840 heart. How we need you, Lord, Tonight 833 00:52:49,240 --> 00:52:55,000 we thank you for the purging, fiery, sharp word of God. 834 00:52:56,520 --> 00:52:59,520 We don't recoil, we don't shrink back, we don't duck. 835 00:53:00,600 --> 00:53:06,080 When the word of God in its surgical ability comes for our 836 00:53:06,080 --> 00:53:10,720 hearts, we open our arms and we extend our bosoms and we say do 837 00:53:10,720 --> 00:53:14,720 a work in this life. Whatever you need to cut out, 838 00:53:14,720 --> 00:53:17,840 Lord, cut it out. The early stages of things that 839 00:53:17,840 --> 00:53:21,200 might lead to catastrophes like Gehazi, we pray that you would 840 00:53:21,200 --> 00:53:24,800 deliver us from it right away. In the same way that we saw 841 00:53:24,800 --> 00:53:27,920 early signs that there's something off about Gehazi. 842 00:53:27,920 --> 00:53:30,360 Lord, if there's anything that's leading us in the wrong path 843 00:53:31,120 --> 00:53:33,400 that would create greater harm and devastation because it was 844 00:53:33,400 --> 00:53:36,960 not dealt with early on, we pray that you would consume it this 845 00:53:36,960 --> 00:53:41,680 evening. Please, Lord, help us really 846 00:53:41,680 --> 00:53:47,000 believe, like Elijah, that spiritual goals far outweigh 847 00:53:47,560 --> 00:53:51,760 anything in this life, and even if we have to make sacrifices 848 00:53:51,760 --> 00:53:55,520 for the temporary things in this world, it's always worth it for 849 00:53:55,520 --> 00:53:58,200 the eternal reward. Help us never forget that. 850 00:53:59,040 --> 00:54:03,640 Give us wisdom and discretion in all matters, how we advise, how 851 00:54:03,640 --> 00:54:08,360 we seek advice. Lord, may you renew that purity, 852 00:54:08,360 --> 00:54:12,560 in that longing that we see in Naman, who was so excited to 853 00:54:12,560 --> 00:54:17,120 worship, so excited to testify, so sensitive in his conscience, 854 00:54:17,120 --> 00:54:19,520 not wanting to grieve God in any matter. 855 00:54:20,080 --> 00:54:22,840 Lord, may you show us any area in our lives where we become too 856 00:54:22,840 --> 00:54:26,160 relaxed, but when we also know your comfort in places where we 857 00:54:26,160 --> 00:54:31,240 are overly analyzing. We need your help, Lord, Give us 858 00:54:31,240 --> 00:54:34,760 Your help in all things. And Lord, we all want to be used 859 00:54:34,760 --> 00:54:38,880 by You, and so in this case, we pray that You would keep our 860 00:54:38,880 --> 00:54:41,160 hearts from being infected by greed. 861 00:54:42,200 --> 00:54:48,080 That Lord, if we rely on lies and dishonesty for personal gain 862 00:54:48,080 --> 00:54:50,680 for any reason, Lord, we just pray that tonight would be the 863 00:54:50,680 --> 00:54:54,480 night where we would never lie through these lips again and 864 00:54:54,480 --> 00:54:57,800 that we would rather bear the reproach of telling the truth 865 00:54:58,680 --> 00:55:01,520 than to enjoy temporary gain from our lies. 866 00:55:03,680 --> 00:55:07,160 Use us, use us Lord, we want to. We want to be used until our 867 00:55:07,160 --> 00:55:10,720 final day and we want no sin to get in the way of our potential. 868 00:55:10,920 --> 00:55:13,800 So Lord, we pray this prayer as we sing the song. 869 00:55:13,800 --> 00:55:17,120 It's really a cry from our hearts that you would make into 870 00:55:17,120 --> 00:55:20,600 a reality in our beings. In Jesus name we pray. 871 00:55:20,960 --> 00:55:22,760 Amen, Amen. Let's stand and worship the 872 00:55:22,760 --> 00:55:23,120 Lord.