This story is obviously connected to last week's
message. It's meant to be set in comparison and
in contrast to what came before it. The story
of Naaman, the Syrian. the foreigner, the alien
of Israel that came and traveled because this
young servant girl told him of the prophet of
God. Naaman comes and Naaman is miraculously
cured and he comes to faith and he confesses
the God of Israel. Now, on the other half of
the story, we find Gehazi. the servant of the
man of God, the servant of Elisha. A man who's
very different, but very similar to Naaman in
some ways. Last week we saw that Naaman was a
portrait of an unbelieving man and found utter
relevance for the unbeliever today. Today we
find... That Gehazi is a portrait of the unbelieving
man and that he has an incredible amount of relevance
for those present today who don't believe in
Jesus Christ. We're going to look today at the
privileges and the advantages that Gehazi had
providentially come into possession of with regards
to being near and close and around to the prophet
of God. Those opportunities that God in his providence
has given to him to know the truth and to know
grace. But we're also going to look and examine
his heart. The heart of the servant of Elisha.
Finally, we will look at his sin. As we read
through this narrative, it was clear and obvious
that he blatantly and outrightly lied to the
face of Naaman. He sinned. So we'll look at these
today, God willing, beginning first with his
privileges. Gehazi had been given providentially
certain privileges and advantages and opportunities
in his life. Consider his position as the servant
of the man of God. Is there a greater privilege?
Is there a greater opportunity, is there a greater
advantage to knowing the will of God than serving
the one who speaks authoritatively on behalf
of God himself? Is there more privilege than
being around Elisha, the prophet of the living
God? He was around him all the time. He was with
him during the day. when he wasn't ministering.
He was with the prophet when he was ministering.
He was with the prophet when he was prophesying.
He was with the prophet when he wasn't prophesying.
He was around the prophet of God. He was near
to the prophet of God. Think about the interactions
and the conversations they had. The training
and the instruction that Gehazi received. There's
the possibility. That just as Elisha was the
servant of Elijah and Elisha succeeded Elijah,
that Gehazi was being mentored and trained to
succeed Elisha. There's the possibility that
he was being raised up to succeed the man of
God. Think about the privileges for his faith
that this man was in possession of because of
his status, because of his position as the servant
of God. He was around the word of God all the
time. He heard God speak in and through Elisha.
He was with him when it took place. But now consider
also the previous works in the ministry of Elisha
that Gehazi witnessed with his own eyes, that
he experienced, that he took part in. If we just
go back a couple chapters in 2 Kings and we think
about some of the miraculous deeds and the miraculous
works that God worked through Elisha, Gehazi
saw them all. He was right there. He was present.
When the Shunammite woman wanted to be gracious
and kind to Elisha, and Elisha says, you're going
to have a child in the next year. And then very
soon, when that boy was older, he got sick. And
the child died. The woman runs and she goes and
she finds Elisha, the man of God. And who is
it that Elisha sends to greet? The Shunammite
woman who's lost her son. Gehazi. Elisha sends
Gehazi to check on, heal the boy, to take his
staff and to put it on his face. But nothing
happens. Gehazi was present. He witnessed. He
saw the divine and miraculous power of God at
work through the prophet of God regularly. He
witnessed and he saw these things. He was present
when a man had brought 20 loaves of bread and
given them to the prophet. And the prophet says,
give them to the sons of the prophets. He saw
the miraculous deeds. Consider what he just witnessed.
Think about what Gehazi just witnessed that we
looked at last week in the story of Naaman. What
just happened before his very eyes? Naaman is
miraculously healed by the divine and sovereign
power of the living God according to the word
of the prophet. Gehazi was there. He was present.
And it's at this very time that we see his heart.
Gehazi witnessed great deeds. and great works,
he saw the divine power of God actively working.
He was around it. He was near to it. He was close
by. He was associated with it, and he even took
part in it at times. Yet, he remained in unbelief.
He did not believe in the God of Israel. He was
given great privilege, yet he continued in unbelief.
How many today have been given providentially
great religious privileges and advantages, yet
they continue in unbelief in their hearts? They
hear the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
They're around the people of God. They have the
word of God. They have a Bible. They're around
the church. They hear the worship. They see the
transformed lives. They've seen the power of
God at work. They've seen individuals be saved.
They know the gospel. Yet they continue in the
hardness of their hearts. They're around it.
They're near to it. They're close to it. They're
associated with it. They're nearby to it. But
their hearts are still hard and unbelieving.
They don't know those realities. They aren't
in possession of those realities in their own
life. Just like Gehazi. Gehazi teaches us, brothers
and sisters, that yes, unbelief is common to
those who are far and distant from Christ, those
who are in the world and those who are in the
culture. Unbelief is prevalent, but unbelief
is also present here. Unbelief is also present.
in and around the gospel, in and around the people
of God, you don't get any closer than Gehazi
got. You don't have more privileges and more
advantage and more opportunity. You're not exposed
to more of the means of grace than Gehazi was.
Unbelief is still present even to those who are
closest to the work of God in this world. We
see that. in Gehazi. We also must see his heart.
We have to see what was taking place inside of
him, the condition of his heart. We see glimpses
of this in those previous experiences and previous
works that he partook in with Elisha. We see,
for example, When the Shunammite woman is running
to Elisha because her son has passed away, her
son is dead. She runs up to the prophet of God
and she throws herself at the prophet's feet.
And what does Gehazi do? In 4 .27 we read, When
she came to the man of God to the hill, she caught
hold of his feet. She's mourning, brothers and
sisters. She's sad. She's grieved. Her heart
is broken. Her heart is upset. She is sad because
of the reality of her life. And Gehazi came near
to push her away. But the man of God said, Let
her alone, for her soul is troubled within her,
and the Lord has hidden it from me and has not
told me. Gehazi? does not understand his master.
Gehazi doesn't understand the situation. It's
not registering. It's not clicking with him.
But we also see it when Elisha sends Gehazi to
heal the boy. We read in verse 31 of the same
chapter, Then Gehazi passed on before them and
laid the staff on the lad's face, but there was
no sound or response. So he returned to meet
him and told him the lad was not awakened. Why
wasn't the lad awakened? Why did the power of
God not go forth from Gehazi with the prophet's
staff? Why didn't it work? We see at the end
of chapter 4, in verse 43, his attendant, meaning
Gehazi, his servant, what will I set, what? Will
I set this before a hundred men, speaking of
the 20 loaves of barley bread that were just
given to the sons of the prophet? Listen to his
words. What? Will I set this before a hundred
men? How is it possible that this will feed all
of them? Sounds reminiscent of the little faith
of so many in the New Testament. Gehazi didn't
believe. He didn't understand, and he didn't
truly comprehend. and perceive the power of God
at work through the prophet of God. He had no
faith. We see these glimpses in his previous
works and his previous interactions, but we see
it much more clearly in verse 20 today of our
text. So, pardon me, but Gehazi, the servant,
of Elisha, the man of God, thought, behold, my
master has spared this Naaman, the Aramean, by
not receiving from his hands what he brought.
As the Lord lives, I will run after him and take
something from him. What's happening in Gehazi's
heart? What is the atmosphere? What's the dynamic
of his heart? What's the condition of his heart?
We see it very clearly. We see the events, the
interactions, the talk, the discussion. We see
what's going on in his inner man and it reveals
his unbelief. He's repudiating his own master
in his heart. His master refused. to take anything
from Naaman. But now Gehazi says in his heart,
I know what's best. My master doesn't know what
he's talking about. I'm going to take something
regardless of what my master said. He's repudiating
the prophet. But we also see that he's stereotyping
Naaman as a Syrian. What's he mean by this? When
he says the Aramean, well, he means this Gentile.
This man's not an Israelite. This man is a Gentile
dog. He does not deserve that wealth. He does
not deserve that influence. He does not deserve
that gold and that silver. He's condescendingly
making a determination and judgment about what?
Naaman deserves in his life. All the while ignorant
and blind to the reality of his own sin and his
own iniquity and his own heart. He's irreverent
toward the Lord and his name. And he's doing
it under the guise of religion. As... the Lord
lives. Do you know what he's doing in his heart
right now, brothers and sisters? Gehazi is orchestrating
his sin. He is scheming how he's going to take
what he wants from Naaman, and he uses the name
of the Lord as he's scheming. Do you see the
irreverence and the flippancy that he has with
regards to the holy name of God? Most obviously,
he's full of covetousness and greed. He wants
what Naaman has. So what does he do in his heart?
He plans it out. He schemes. He's cunning. He
orchestrates what he will do to get what he wants.
Do you see the atmosphere of his heart, brothers
and sisters? Do you see the condition and the
nature of his heart? It's plain and clear, is
it not? His heart is dominated by sin, iniquity,
and corruption, isn't it? And not just any sin,
but self -righteous, arrogant, prideful corruption,
just like Naaman. He's full of pride and pomp,
just like Naaman was full of pride and pomp in
his life. But similar to Naaman, the sin in his
heart is just the symptom. Just like Naaman,
these are just expressions and manifestations
of something much deeper. Unbelief. Unbelief.
Gehazi doesn't believe. that which he is so closely
related to. He doesn't believe that which he
is so close to, brothers and sisters. And how
do we know that this is unbelief? Is there something
beyond the fact that his heart is dominated by
this sin? Well, we have to remember, what has
he just witnessed? What has he just seen? What
just took place with Naaman? This man who has
had this horrible skin disease is miraculously
healed. And Gehazi witnesses Naaman cleansed,
purified, washed, transformed. He sees the power
of God at work in the life of Naaman. He sees
the grace and the mercy of God at work in the
life of Naaman. And where is his heart at? As
he's witnessing this unfold, as he's seeing Naaman
change and return with gratitude and the fullness
of generosity and joy and peace and confession
of the God of Israel, where is... Gehazi's heart.
Sin and self. It's as though the grace of God
was never extended. It doesn't even register
in Gehazi's mind what's happened to Naaman. The
blessings that have been bestowed on him. The
good work that God has just done in this man's
life. The power of God that just went forth that
transformed Naaman. It's like he didn't even
see it. Why? Why isn't he affected by this work
of God in the life of Naaman? Why doesn't he
marvel? At what God has just done. Why doesn't
he praise and adore and worship the God of Israel.
Because he's just been gracious and kind and
merciful. To this man who knew nothing about
the God of Israel. Because his heart is full
of unbelief. Because he's consumed with himself.
He can't look beyond his own unbelief. Just like
Naaman couldn't look beyond. His own. Unbelief.
Gehazi has the heart of a Pharisee. He has the
heart of a Pharisee. Do you remember all the
wonderful works that Jesus worked? That Jesus
did? All the miracles, all the cleansings, all
the healings? And did the Pharisees blink an
eye at the mercy? At the compassion that Jesus
Christ had on those who were needy? No. It's
like it never even happened. If anything, they
tried to conceal it and cover it up. Why? Because
of their unbelieving, hard, wicked hearts. Gehazi
has the heart of the older brother in the story
of the prodigal. Gehazi's problem isn't so much
his self -righteous attitude, his condescending
outlook upon Naaman. His problem is that there
is no faith in his heart and the God of Israel.
He has never experienced the grace and mercy
and compassion of God in his own life, even though
he's around it all the time. He's never known
it. And it has no effect on him or his heart.
A sure sign of an unbelieving heart, friends,
is that it's unaffected and it's unchanged by
the gospel of Jesus Christ. A sure sign that
you are dead in your sins and trespasses. that
you don't know Jesus Christ, is that your heart
doesn't melt at the thought of Jesus Christ dying
on the cross. A sure sign of your unbelieving
heart is that there's no change produced in your
heart. You always come back to your sin. You
always come back to your iniquity. You always
come back to your corruption, your self -righteousness,
your arrogance, your pride. The course of your
heart stays the same. Yeah, there can be ups
and there can be downs, like waves. But the trajectory
and the course of your heart is self. The trajectory
and the course of your heart is sin, is pride,
is arrogance. And the preaching of the gospel
does nothing for it. The people of God do nothing
for your soul. Yeah, they might bring conviction
occasionally, encouragement and lifting you up
a little bit. They might make you feel good in
your emotions, in your attitude, in your heart
sometimes, but it doesn't change the reality
of the hardness of your heart, the unbelief that
resides in you, the void of true faith within
you. That's a sure sign. Of an unbelieving heart.
We've seen his privileges and his heart. But
we also must see. His sin. Now when we consider
his sin. We see this primarily in verses 21.
To 25. We cannot. Separate or disconnect this.
From his heart. We have to ask ourselves why.
Does Gehazi. Take advantage of this opportunity
in this time. Why does he transgress outwardly?
Why does he sin in this moment at this time?
Because of his heart. He sins outwardly because
of the iniquity within him. Because of the unbelief
that resides within his own soul. It cannot be
separated. When opportunity comes for sin, the
unbelieving man and woman or young person will
take the opportunity. They'll pounce on it if
it's opportune because of the unbelief in their
hearts. So what did sin include? What was involved
in it? There are several things we see in these
verses. We see that he falsely claims to be sent
by his master. My master has sent me. Let's look
at this a little bit. So Gehazi pursued Naaman.
When Naaman saw one running after him, he came
down from the chariot to meet him and said, It's
all well. He said, All is well. My master. has
sent me. That's a lie. That's false. Elisha did
not send Gehazi. He came of his own free will
and his own want to. He pursued this himself.
Then what does he say? Behold, just now two young
men of all the sons of the prophets have come
to me from the hill country of Ephraim. Please
give them a talon of silver and two changes of
clothes. He also erroneously claims to be speaking
on behalf of the prophet of God. That's blasphemy.
That's a big deal. Elisha sent me, and Elisha
wants me to say. And he elaborates on this deceitful.
and made up tall tale about the school of the
prophets being in need. He makes up a story so
that Naaman will willingly, out of his good heart,
his generosity, out of his gratitude, give Gehazi
what he wants. Then he unjustly takes... that
which is not his. Do you see a sin? His transgression?
The blatant nature of it? What he has done and
what he has done on behalf of his master? He
does this with no regard whatsoever for his master's
original purpose in rejecting and denying the
gifts of Naaman. Why did Elisha reject those
gifts? Because he wanted Naaman to know that
the God of Israel is the one true living God
and that his mercy and his grace are free. You
don't do anything to get it. It's freely given,
even to those who are distant and far off, even
to those who are Gentiles. So Gehazi disrupts
that. Gehazi doesn't care about it. He goes forward
with his sin. He doesn't care about the implications
on Naaman's newfound faith. The fact that Naaman
did give something, that the prophet would receive
something for his services. Gehazi doesn't care.
He has no regard for anything but that which
he desires and that which he longs for. And he
does this all for the purpose of personal gain.
For his own personal ends. We read in verse 26,
Elisha speaking to Gehazi. Then he said to him,
Did not my heart go with you when the man turned
from his chariot to meet you? Is it a time to
receive money and to receive clothes and olive
groves? Now, what's Elisha talking about? Where
did olive groves come in? And vineyards? Vineyards?
Where did those come from? And sheep and oxen
and male and female servants? Elisha knows Gehazi.
Gehazi wants the money for his own personal wealth
and his own personal plans. He wants vineyards.
He wants servants. He wants sheep. He wants oxen.
He wants to build up his own estate, his own
kingdom, his own wealth. And what's he willing
to do to get it? Anything it takes. He doesn't
care what. To Gehazi, the work of God was something
that was useful in his life. To Gehazi, the prophet's
words and the prophet's work was something that
was beneficial and something that served his
own. purposes in his own life. The gospel was
something that could be used for his own life
and the improvement of his own life. It was wicked.
We see his unbelieving heart on display. One
might think, That Gehazi's sin would lead to
his repentance eventually. But we see later in
the story that he does not repent. He goes further
into sin. What does he say when Elijah questions
him? Where have you been? Your servant went nowhere.
Another lie. Another sin. He does not repent
in this episode or at this time, but he goes
further into his sin and he is emboldened to
go and stand before his master after hiding the
wealth and the money and the clothes that he's
just stolen from this newfound believer. Would
there be consequences? Would his unbelief be
found out? Would they follow him once he died?
Would they be punished in this life or the next?
Would his unbelief and sin lead to consequences
in his own life? Would it produce something bad?
Would it be seen and known and punished equitably?
The prophet of God is not ignorant. The prophet
of God is not ignorant of what the man has done
in his wickedness and his evil and his unbelief.
But he says, therefore, the leprosy of Naaman
shall cling to you and your descendants forever.
You want what Naaman has? You get what he had.
Leprosy. We might think this harsh, but brothers
and sisters, Gehazi chose to be a wicked crook.
He chose to act upon his unbelief and pursue
that which was according to his unbelieving wicked
desires. So he's punished for it. There are consequences
for unbelief and there are consequences for sin.
They might be in this life, but they will surely
and absolutely be in the next life. When the
Lord Jesus Christ, the great and mighty prophet
who knows all things, returns in power and glory
and might and pomp, when he comes in power, he
will judge the living and the dead. And he will
not be ignorant of your heart and the secrets
of your heart. He will not be ignorant of the
corruption and the wickedness and the iniquity
inside of you if you don't know Jesus Christ.
He will judge you equitably. He will judge you
rightly because he knows all. He's not an ignorant
prophet. Jesus Christ, is not a dummy. He knows
what's happening in this world. He knows what's
happening in your heart. He knows your intentions
and your motives. He knows in this church, in
this gathering, in this membership, who are his
and who are not. He knows those present who have
faith and those who do not have faith. He knows
those who are clothed in his righteousness and
those who are not clothed in his righteousness.
He is the all -knowing, all -powerful, mighty
king and God. And when he returns, he will judge
the living and the dead. And he will deal justly
with your unbelief and with your sin. Just as
Gehazi has been dealt justly with his unbelief
and his sin. There are consequences. It will
not be overlooked. When we consider Gehazi, we
have to recognize that his sin and his transgression
are demonstrating his unbelief and his ignorance
of the grace of God. What he has done and what
he has said and how he has done it demonstrate
the reality that he does not in fact know the
God of Israel. He doesn't know the grace and
the mercy of God. When we consider Gehazi, when
we consider Naaman, both were in unbelief at
one time. Do you know whose unbelief is worse?
Do you know which individual's unbelief is greater?
Gehazi's. Because it's not an ignorant unbelief.
It's an unbelief that he maintains, that he's
staunch, and he proceeds in in spite of all the
privileges, in spite of all the advantages, in
spite of all the grace, in spite of all the exposure
he has to the prophet of God, to the will of
God. His is worse by far. The gospel of Jesus
Christ is not something that you handle. It is
not something you look at. It is not something
you observe and you analyze and you evaluate
or you criticize. The gospel of Jesus Christ
is not something that you admire from a distance,
that you look at. The gospel of Jesus Christ
is not something that you make judgments and
determinations about. The gospel of Jesus Christ
is something that you receive and you bow down
to. It is something that affects you. It's something
that changes you. It's something that transforms
you. It's something that overcomes your life
and your sin. It's not something you merely look
at and you handle it and you steer clear of the
parts you don't like and you stay at a distance,
a safe distance. It's something you give your
life to, you submit to, and you surrender your
soul to because Jesus Christ is the center of
the gospel. Because he is the great prophet and
he is the great king. And when we come to him
in the gospel of Christ, we come to him as the
mighty, powerful, all -knowing king and prophet
and priest. The gospel is not something that
we look at in an unaffected manner. The gospel
is something that melts our hearts. That causes
us to tremble knowing the glorious realities
of what Jesus Christ has done for his people.
Knowing that he has given his life for sinners
who don't deserve it. Knowing that he suffered
on the cross for sinners who should have been
punished. That leaves you affected. It changes
you. It impacts you. It moves you. There is a
difference between being around the gospel. There
is a difference between knowing about the gospel,
being with or associated with people that know
the gospel. There is a difference between being
close and near to the gospel and knowing the
gospel in your soul. There's a huge difference
between knowing about the grace of God and redemption
and being the recipient of the grace of God and
redemption. There's a difference. It's something
that you individually and personally must experience.
You don't get the benefits by being around the
people of God. You don't get the benefits by
being close to it, by being near to it. You get
the blessings and the benefits of Jesus Christ
by being in Christ by faith and repentance, by
being in union with him by faith, by knowing
him personally, by your soul being affected and
changed by him, by you. being justified, by you
being sanctified, by you having the Spirit of
God dwelling within you. You must be the recipient
of the grace and the work and the power of God
in the gospel. The longer a person remains near
and close to the privileges, And the advantages
and the opportunities and the graces and the
mercy of God while remaining in unbelief? The
harsher and the more severe the punishment by
that great and mighty king who's also our prophet.
It's a heart of unbelief that condemns us before
God. It's our sin. It's not believing and not
trusting in the gospel. It's transgressing His
moral law. It's rebelling against Him and being
a lawless person because of the sin within you,
because of the corruption within you. But it
is a heart of faith that justifies the guilty
sinner before God. It is a heart of faith that
delivers you from iniquity and from sin and from
wrath and from hell and the justice of God. Which
heart are you in possession of?