2 Kings 5:15-27

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?