The Sin of Gehazi

Introduction: The Conversion of a Pagan and the Apostasy of an Israelite

0:03 Now will you give attention to the reading of the Word of God in 2 Kings chapter 5, 2 Kings chapter 5, and as was announced this morning, our study will focus on verses 20 through 27, 2 Kings chapter 5, and beginning our reading with verse 20. You will remember, I trust, the setting. Naaman, the great military leader of Syria, has by sovereign grace been wonderfully healed of his leprosy, and by the same sovereign grace been brought to a saving knowledge of the true and living God.

0:47 In an expression of gratitude to God, he seeks to give to the servant of God a present. The present is refused for wise and good reasons. And now the narrative continues. And now the narrative continues.

1:31 And he said, He laid them upon two of his servants, and they bare them before him. And when he came to the hill, he took them from their hand and bestowed them in the house. And he let the men go, and they departed.

2:15 But he went in and stood before his master. And Elisha said unto him, Whence comest thou, Gehazi? And he said, Of thy servant went no whither. And he said unto him, Went not my heart with thee?

2:32 When the man turned from his chariot to meet thee, is it a time to receive money, and to receive garments, and olive yards, and vineyards, and sheep, and oxen, and men's servants, and maidservants? The leprosy, therefore, of Naaman shall cleave unto thee and unto thy seed forever. And he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow. And now give attention to the reading of

3:04 several verses from the New Testament, James chapter 1. James chapter 1, verses 13 through 16. James 1 and verse 13. Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God. For God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempteth no man. But each man is tempted when he is drawn away by his own lust.

3:41 And enticed, then the lust, when it hath conceived, beareth sin, and the sin, when it is full grown, bringeth forth death. Be not deceived, my beloved brethren. The major part of 2 Kings chapter 5 contains the fascinating and thrilling record of the mighty work of God in the conversion of this pagan Syrian meetings. military leader by the name of Naaman. And as we underscored in our study of that passage,

4:23 it is true here as in so many aspects of the life and ministry of Elisha, the conversion of Naaman is in a real sense a wonderful picture and preview of gospel days when multitudes of the hordes of the Gentiles would be brought to the knowledge of the true and the living God. But it's very interesting that the chapter which gives us in such detail this fascinating and thrilling record of the conversion of a pagan to the knowledge and worship of the true and the living God closes with a record of that which we could call in a real sense

5:07 the conversion of an external Israelite to the thinking and lifestyle of a pagan. In other words, chapter 3. Chapter 5 of 2 Kings is a two-way street on which we see a pagan moving into the orbit of the worship of the true and living God. And on that same street we see an external Israelite moving from all identity with the living God into a pattern that can be called nothing less than the pattern of paganism. So in a sense the chapter contains the

5:49 record not only of a marvelous conversion but of a sad and tragic apostasy from the living and the true God. We come tonight in fidelity to the word of God and I confess it's the only reason why I preach on this passage. As a herald I must be true to the whole message of God and I wish we could move from that glorious section that we last considered in which we had the undeniable evidence of the true and the living God, and move from that glorious section that we last considered in which we had the undeniable evidence of the true and the living God, and move from that glorious section that we last considered in which we had the undeniable evidence of the true and the living God, and move from that glorious section that we last considered of Naaman's true conversion so graphically portrayed and move on then to the next miracle

6:28 in the life and ministry of Elisha. But God has ended this chapter with this sad, this sobering, this tragic record of this one who turns away from all of his light and privileges and in faithfulness to the word of God we must consider that which God would say to us from this portion of his word. Consider with me then, as we think our way through the passage, in the first place, the sin of Gehazi described in verses 20 through 24. And we have it described to us basically in three segments, in its conception, in its commission, and in its covering.

The Sin of Gehazi Described: Conception, Commission, and Covering

7:13 First of all then, the sin of Gehazi described in its conception. Verse 20. But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha, the man of God, said, Behold, my master hath spared this Naaman the Syrian, in not receiving at his hands that which he brought. As the Lord God liveth, I will run after him and take somewhat of him.

7:40 You will remember the picture. Beginning with verse 5 in this chapter, we see Naaman laden with the gifts that his own master, the king of Syria, had given him. As he makes his approach out of Syria into Israel. These gifts are carried upon a beast of burden.

8:01 The gifts, as we noted in a previous exposition, would amount to thousands of dollars in terms of current currency and the worth of that currency. And when Naaman comes with those gifts to the house of Elisha, Elisha pays no attention to them. He sends a message. He sends out directions through his servant with respect to Naaman's healing.

8:25 And then after Naaman is healed, even though Naaman presses upon him to receive a gift, in verse 15, it is Elisha who says in verse 16, As Jehovah liveth before whom I stand, I will receive none. And even though Naaman urged upon him to take the gifts, the man of God was resolute in his determination that Naaman would have to take the gifts. He had no misconceptions whatsoever concerning the grace of God. He had been healed by grace.

8:59 He had been saved by grace. And in a sense, if Elisha were to receive any monetary gift, he would have obscured the very central message of the God of Israel, that He is the God who saves by grace. And so Elisha will allow nothing to obscure the glory, is God, and he says, as surely as that God of grace lives, Naaman, I will take nothing at your hand. But now Gehazi, beholding all of this, and listening even to the language of the man

9:36 of God, his master Elisha, begins a process of rationalization, utterly insensitive to the issues of Jehovah's honor, utterly insensitive to the great concern of the glory of God and the manifestation of his grace. He rationalizes this entire situation into what he would call an unfair advantage. And so he says, my master hath spared this Naaman in not receiving at his hand that which he brought. In other words, Naaman.

10:16 Naaman has really received too good a deal in this whole operation. I mean, it's enough that he gets healed of his leprosy. He comes within the orbit of the knowledge of the true and living God, and for all of that, he ought not to go off scot-free. And so he reasons that it's not good for Naaman to go back to Syria without being relieved of some of that burden of the precious metals and the ten changes of raiment, which were a very expensive thing.

10:46 A very expensive item in that circumstance. And so by this process of rationalization, he is able to conceive of his sin in the very form of a virtue which he will seal with an oath. Look at the language. Whereas the man of God said, as Jehovah liveth, I will receive none.

11:11 In other words, the very livingness. And the nature of the livingness. The very living God of Israel demands that I take no gift from your hand. Gehazi, by this subtle process of rationalization, says, as surely as Jehovah lives, something ought to be taken from Naaman's hand.

11:35 And so this sin is conceived in what we might call the deep subterranean depths of the corruption of this thing. A sin called the human heart of Gehazi. There in that depths, there is in the language of James, that frightening intercourse of the seduction of sin with corrupt human nature. And the result of that is a conception.

12:09 And so we have set before us the sin of Gehazi described, first of all, in its conception. Then secondly, in verses twenty-one to twenty-three, in its actual commission, so Gehazi followed after Naaman. Once the sin is conceived in the depths of his heart, now his feet and his hands and his eyes, the entirety of his humanity is now committed to pursue what was conceived in the heart. And so he begins to take off after Naaman, obviously running.

12:47 He's not walking. He wants to overtake him in a hurry. He's committed now to this sin in principle. And one can sense something of what was in his mind and what was in his eye.

13:00 No doubt as he came over the brow of a knoll, and his eyes were fixed upon those beasts of burden that carried the precious metals and the changes of raiment. There was a glint in his eye, and there was, as it were, a fresh pumping of adrenaline into his system. And he quickened his pace until Naaman, perhaps through the words of one of his servants, turned and saw this man running. And he dismounted, and turned to him, and asked him a question.

13:31 Is everything well? It was obvious that he was coming on an errand that involved great intensity and great solicitude. He's running. He's earnest.

13:41 And so he asked him this all well. And his answers were all is well. But he said to Naaman, . . . . . . . That's all.

13:47 Pretty please, Naaman.или?REligiously. From the time that my master refused your gift, a terrible thing has happened.

13:53 There has come into the presence of my master two of the sons of the prophets from one of the other areas where there are pockets of these schools of the prophets. And the apparent representation is this. It's not absolutely clear from the text, but everything suggests it. That he represents in his story, in his well-conceived lie, that these two men came not asking for something for themselves, but representative of the destitution which existed among their fellow sons of the prophets.

14:28 For the thing that he asks is far more than would be needed for the provision of two individuals. Remember, it took two servants to carry that amount back. So when he said, take two talents, there were pounds of the precious metal and two pounds of the precious gold. And two changes of raiment.

14:49 This was no little gift of twenty-five or thirty dollars. It too would have numbered up into the thousands of dollars. It was sufficient, according to verse twenty-six, for the purchase of lands and servants and garments and olive yards and vineyards and many other commodities. And so in its actual commission, he conceives of this story, which Naaman would have no basis or grounds to doubt.

15:16 He has been brought. He has been brought to the knowledge of the true God of Israel. It was through the very words of this servant Gehazi that he was directed to go and to wash seven times in the Jordan River. So he has no reason to suspect the motives of Gehazi.

15:32 He looks upon him in a real sense as an extension of the very authority and power of the prophet of God, Elisha. And so in the commission of his sin, Gehazi indulges in the worst kind of deception, taking advantage of the guilelessness of the man Naaman, taking advantage of the reputation of his master Elisha, only to serve the ends of the wickedness conceived in the deep subterranean depths of his own corrupt and polluted heart. And so he receives then from Naaman precisely what he had asked

16:17 and even more, instead of one talent and two changes of raiment, he has two talents and they are placed upon two servants and they go before him and we read in verse 24, and when they came to the hill, he took them from their hand and bestowed them in the house and he let the men go and they departed. And here we have the sin of Gehazi described in its covering. After the commission of his sin, he comes to that point in the proximity of his home and of his master where detection is now a threat. And so by some plausible reason, he tells these servants,

17:01 well, you men have been very kind and you've gone far beyond the call of duty and your master needs your presence and your protection. I'll relieve you of the precious metal and the change of raiment and I will take it and deposit it at the feet of my master. And what joy will come to the two sons, what praise will be brought to Jehovah as they see their need provided. Bear to your master something of the expression of our gratitude that he has been the instrument of God to meet our needs.

17:34 And so he very conveniently covers his sin in all likelihood implicating his own family for the text tells us that he deposited these things in the house. And as with everything else, Achan, who also likewise in all probability involved his own family in his sin, there is every indication that this man likewise makes his wife and children, if children were there, privy to what he has done. And now he, as it were, sighs a sigh of relief because he has now committed the perfect crime for which his conscience does not even know.

18:19 He does not even know. He does not even know. He does not even know. He does not even know.

18:19 He does not even know. He does not even accuse him loudly because, remember, he has convinced himself that what he did was really virtuous. It isn't right for Naaman to go back with misconceptions that everything is for nothing. If God renders us gracious favors, we should in turn be conscious of our obligations to render something in response to him.

18:47 And so by that process of rationalization, with respect to the sin itself, and then by the deception of thinking, well, no one knows, and at the right time I will be able, by some plausible excuse, to extricate myself from my intimate relationship with the prophet of God and with that life of Spartan discipleship and self-denial, I'll be able to extricate myself from all of that and I'll be able to enjoy the fruit of my sin. And he foolishly thinks that he has perfectly and efficiently covered his sin.

The Sin of Gehazi Exposed: Searching Question, Blatant Lie, and Sober Revelation

19:29 Well, so much for the sin of Gehazi described in the text. Now consider, secondly, the sin of Gehazi exposed, verses 25 and 26. But, but, there is a transition coming. But he went in and stood before his master and in the experience, he went in and stood before his master.

19:54 In the exposure of Gehazi's sin, we have, first of all, the searching question of verse 25. And Elisha said unto him, Whence comest thou, Gehazi?

20:09 Perhaps Elisha noticed that his face was red, that he had been exerting himself, that he'd been engaged in some kind of strenuous physical activity, or looked and had the appearance of a man who had completed a long journey, who had been engaged in a long journey, who had been involved in running. Whatever was there in the external and the visible, he asks this very searching question, Whence comest thou, Gehazi? You see, this is often the method of God in grace. When men have wickedly sinned and turned away, God often sends forth the first overtures of grace with a question,

20:53 a question calculated to reveal whether or not he was a good man. Whether or not they have come to see the folly of their sin and are prepared to own and acknowledge the horrendous nature of their sin. It was the first word from the mouth of God after the defection in Eden.

21:12 The first word from the mouth of God after the defection in Eden was a question. Adam, where art thou?

21:25 What was the question? Adam, find from behind the bushes all the things that are in your heart. Own up to the fact that you disobeyed me. Acknowledge that you have wickedly and foully revolted against me.

21:41 Adam, own your sin. I come in the overtures of grace and mercy. Where are you? It's the first question that was asked Cain after he slew Abel.

21:55 Where is thy brother?

21:59 But like Adam who equivocated, like Cain who equivocated, so was he. For we see in the sin of Gehazi exposed not only the searching question but the blatant lie. Look at it in verse 25. Thou, Gehazi, and he said, with the blood no doubt pumping up into the back of his neck and into his ears and his breath coming quicker with each moment, O thy servant went there no wither.

22:37 I've been nowhere, Elisha.

22:43 I've just come from my house. I've come from my house. I've come from my house. I've done nothing unusual.

22:47 Business is normal today. A bald-faced, blatant lie. He takes the overture of grace that comes saying, I know your sin. Own it.

23:04 Acknowledge it. And perchance there will be mercy and forgiveness. He says, I'll play games with God. Thy servant went no wither.

23:15 Blatant, bald-faced, lie.

23:21 Then in the exposure of sin, his sin, we see the sober revelation given in verse 26. And he, that is Elisha, said unto him, now notice, this sober revelation comes first of all as a revelation of his actions, then of his thoughts, and then of the root of his sin. There is a revelation of his actions. The prophet says, went not my heart with thee?

23:49 When the man, turned from his chariot to meet thee. He doesn't need to name names.

23:57 He says, I was in the spirit, and as a prophet, could be taken up in prophetic vision, and see things that were not visibly present. He is acknowledging to Gehazi, that when he ran to meet Naaman, it was as though he was running with Elisha, tied to the skirt of his garment. I said, went not my heart with thee? Was I not there under the inspiration and illumination of the prophetic spirit?

24:33 Went not my heart with thee when the man turned aside to meet thee? He first of all lets him know, I know all about your actions. I saw them. I heard your plausible story.

24:53 I saw you walk with the servants back to your own house, to meet the prophet, house. I beheld you lifting the precious metals and that rich ornamental attire from them. I saw you deposited in your house. I know all about your actions. Furthermore, he says, I know something

25:12 more. I know the very thoughts and the intents of your heart. Notice as he goes on, is it a time to receive money and to receive garments? That was the external sin. And olive yards and vineyards

25:31 and sheep and oxen and men's servants and maidservants? Gehazi, I know what you intended to do with that money at the convenience season. You intended to dabble in some real estate. You intended to do a little dabbling down at the local slave market. You intended to make yourself

25:53 a woman. You intended to make yourself a woman. You intended to make yourself a woman. You intended wealthy man and to luxuriate in your houses, in your lands, in your servants. He exposes his sin

26:04 with this sober revelation, not only of the full knowledge of his deeds, but of his thoughts. And then he goes to what we would call the heart of his sin. He says, is it a time to do this? In other words, he says, Gehazi, the root of your sin is your total insensibilities to the great realities of your peculiar position with me at this point in the purposes of God and in the history of redemption. In a time when Baal worship is rife throughout the land, when men have attached their

26:45 hearts to the worship of this pagan God, when they are pure materialist and sensual, Gehazi, is it a time for one who represents me and in representing me represents the God of Israel and the essence of true religion? Is it a time for you to be playing the part of a pagan? For after all these things do the Gentiles sin. So he not only reveals his actions, the intents of his heart, but the very heart of his sin.

27:27 Which was this total spiritual insensitivity, total indifference to the purposes of God at that point in the history of what God was doing. There was a sense in which he was prepared to say, I don't care what anyone thinks of the name and honor of God, so long as I can have my vineyards and my olive yards, my maidservants and a fancy set of vines. So much then for the sin of Gehazi described, the sin of Gehazi exposed. Now notice thirdly the

The Sin of Gehazi Judged: Nature and Significance of the Judgment

28:09 sin of Gehazi judged in verse 27. The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee and unto thy seed forever. And he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow. The sin of Gehazi is judged. Notice firstly the nature of the sin of Gehazi. The sin of Gehazi is judged by the

28:34 nature of the judgment. Not leprosy in general, but he says the leprosy of Naaman. That leprosy which was identified with the pagan will now become yours. The leprosy of Naaman will come upon Gehazi, but not Gehazi alone. The text says, and unto thy seed forever. Now what does that

29:02 mean? Well, it means at least this much. That the leprosy would come not only upon Gehazi, but upon his immediate progeny then living. And that leprosy would be with Gehazi and with his living seed until their death. The word forever,

29:23 as it's used in the Old Testament, does not always mean forever in the sense of unending. There are certain contexts in which it can mean nothing else. But the least this judgment can mean is that both Gehazi and his immediate progeny would bear leprosy to the day of their death. It could mean that for future unborn generations, the plague of leprosy would follow the entire line of Gehazi. So much for the nature of the judgment. Now what was the significance

29:59 of this? Well, you'll remember as a leper, he would be cut off from the life and from the worship of the people of God. A leper was put outside the camp. No Israelite who wished to maintain fellowship and communion with God and with his people and with the entire ritual ordained of God in conjunction with the tabernacle and later on with the temple could come into living contact with a leper. And a leper was responsible to identify himself by placing

30:35 his hand upon his lip and crying, unclean, unclean. In other words, the nature of this judgment was precisely that of making him a de facto pagan. The pagan Naaman has acknowledged the true and living God. He in a sense is now an Israelite. You have manifested the heart of a pagan. You will occupy the posture of

31:01 a pagan. And with his leprosy, he would be cut off from the life and the fellowship of the people of God. Now someone says, well, isn't that a bit harsh of God? My first answer is, nay, O man, who art thou to reply against God? But it wasn't harsh. As Matthew Poole

31:24 says, and I quote him, nor was this punishment too severe for Gehazi's wickedness, which was both great and various. It was comprised of horrid covetousness, which is idolatry, the profanation of God's name by a wicked oath, downright theft, deliberate and impudent lying, and that to a prophet, which was in a manner of lying, which was in a manner of lying to the Holy Ghost himself, a desperate contempt of God's omniscience, justice and holiness, a horrible reproach fastened upon the prophet in his religion, and a mischievous

32:04 scandal given to Naaman and all other Syrians who might hear of his sin. This was no little sin. Now I've sought to open up the passage by considering with you the sin of Gehazi, in its conception, in its commission, in its covering. The exposure of that sin and the judgment of that sin now. Consider with me what is the burden of this passage. And

Warning 1: Beware of Incomplete and Insincere Repentance

32:33 I say again, I wish that I could speak of more pleasant things. For this passage is essentially a beacon to warn us. And I want us to consider now the sin of Gehazi as a warning. A warning!

32:50 Concerning what? Well, first of all this. It says to us in tones that are clear and tones that are distinct, beware of an incomplete and an insincere repentance. In a day of Baal worship, something caused Gehazi to be found among the true worshippers of Jehovah. In

33:18 all likelihood, Gehazi was one of the sons of the prophets. So there had to be something in Gehazi that at least appeared at one time in the form of repentance, of adherence to Jehovah the true God, of love for his word, his people, his servants, his honor, his cause, his truth. For from those ranks, it was the practice of the man of God to take a servant to minister to his needs. And that's a clear image of what we are hearing in this passage.

33:57 And yet some defects that showed up along the way, when we saw him in the presence of that great Shunammite woman, we began to have questions about this man Gehazi. But now there are no more questions. God, as it were, allows us to see the true state of his heart. And what had happened in Gehazi was simply this.

34:24 He was the victim of an incomplete and an insincere repentance. In whatever initial actings of repentance and faith were present in his heart, there was no thorough dealing with the sin of covetousness and with the sin of dishonesty. And given the right circumstances, that sin or those sins conceived in his heart and brought forth this tragic incident, which together we have examined from this portion of the Word of God. One man of God said and said rightly,

35:08 When Naaman's donkeys rode off with the chest of gold and silver and garments strapped to their back, Gehazi's heart was locked up in those chests.

35:25 And Jesus said, Where your treasure is, there will also be. And when the donkeys rode away, Gehazi's heart rejoined his heart. And then it was said, It was relatively easy to conceive so cunning a story.

36:01 Blatant, outright lies, misrepresentations. He can dare to stand before a man that he knows, who in communion with God can raise the dead.

36:26 My friends sitting here in this building,

36:31 I would be greatly surprised if there were no Gehazi's.

36:36 Some men and women who are here because in a day of bail, where people, who miss their bails sensuality as they sit and watch the drivel of Sunday night television. As they bow before the God of bail, watching the behemoths cutting each other's heads all afternoon in the professional football games. Something of desire to be found attached to the living God is evident or you wouldn't be here. Something of desire for the honor of God

37:19 must be working in you or you would not come to a place where you know there's not going to be any entertainment. There's going to be serious, joyful worship of God in psalms and hymns of praise. The reading of his word, preaching that is true to the word and attacks the conscience. There must be something of repentance and some faith at work in your heart.

37:45 But oh my friend listen, beware of an incomplete, and an insincere repentance. Because that thing that you are presently sparing will one day be your undoing. For a lengthy time Gehazi's monster of covetousness and dishonesty did not rise up to destroy him. Some of you have read the story, and I guess it's been repeated more than once, of the man who took his little pet boa constrictor, and fondled it, and fed it, and nourished it.

38:30 One day his friends came and found him strangled to death by the very beast that he had nurtured. I tell you it's enough to make any servant of God tremble to look across a sea of faces like this and wonder who is nurturing in the deep, murky depths of his heart tonight, some boa constrictor of covetousness. Of pride, of avarice, of dishonesty. All the one to the word, and to the gospel,

39:15 and to the people of God. When will the circumstances be right for your heart to be shown the terrible thing it is? What you spare now someday will slay you. Remember Gehazi.

Warning 2: Beware of Mere Association with God's People

39:42 Remember Gehazi. When he walks out from the presence of the man of God, with the leprosy now, where he and all humanity can see it, it's a testimony that what he spared years before finally came to the light. And secondly the sin of Gehazi is a warning in this respect. It says to us beware.

40:13 Beware of being satisfied with mere association with the true people of God while never partaking of their grace. One of the phrases in this passage that haunts me when I meditate upon it is this. Verse 20. But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha, the man of God.

40:41 And then you have that blasphemous oath that is the first incident that flows from this section of the narrative. Servant of Elisha, the man of God. He had heard this man pray. No doubt he prayed with it.

41:03 He had seen this man wrestle with God. He had seen this man be the instrument of bringing a boy back from the dead. He had seen him time and time again in the consistency of vital godliness and in the power of his true position as God's representative in Israel. Yet, yet...

41:26 When the circumstances are ripe, he sells his soul for some lumps of gold and silver. And some fancy dress. Am I speaking tonight to some men and women, boys and girls, who are content to be kept, as it were, from many sins because of your association with true people of God? In that sense, you're a Gehazi.

41:58 You are a servant of a man or a woman of God. You may be married to a godly man, a godly woman. You may be son or daughter to someone who walks with God and knows God. And it's the virtue of their godly influence that hedges you up from what's really in your heart.

42:16 But, my friend, listen. The hour is coming when what's there will have its day. Oh, beware of mere external association with true people of God. Gehazi is a warning to be content with nothing less than the grace of Elisha, the man of God.

Warning 3: Beware of Thinking You Can Cover Your Sin Forever

42:41 Having that grace of God operative in your own heart. But then, thirdly, the sin of Gehazi is a warning in this respect. It says to us, beware, beware of thinking. You can cover your sin forever.

42:58 Oh, how smug he must have felt when he walked away from his tent, like the cat that just caught the mouse and licks its little whiskers. Now, when you see, beautiful thing, I can see my vineyards now and my olive yards, and I can just hear me sitting back, like Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof. You know, if I were a rich man, I'd have the servants and I could say to this one. He was just like that, just like Tevye.

43:27 He wanted his beautiful house, one staircase going up, one coming down, one going nowhere, just for show. The human heart is no different. No different. No different.

43:41 His sin is all covered. And he saunters into the presence of the man of God, as if to say, well, boss, any jobs for today? Any tasks for today? Any duties?

43:57 Whence comest thou, Gehazi? Nowhere. Is that so? And then what happened at that moment?

44:09 The day of judgment intruded right into that very situation. Because the Scripture says, there is nothing covered that shall not be revealed. Luke chapter 12. Nothing that shall not be revealed shall not be revealed.

44:36 All of those lies you've told your mom and dad about where you were and what you were doing and who you're with, you've licked your whiskers because you said the perfect lie, the perfect cover-up, nothing covered that shall not be revealed. Paul said that part of his gospel, Romans 2.16, was the proclamation that a day is coming when God will judge the secrets of men's hearts. Oh, my friend, young or old, you've got to know that God will judge the secrets of men's hearts.

45:05 Oh, my friend, young or old, young or old, young or old, young or old, young or old, young or old, young or old, young or old, young or old, young or old, young or old, young or old, young or old, young or old, young or old, young or old, young or old, young or old, young or old, young or old, young or old, young or old, young or old, young or old, young or old, young or old, young or old, young or old, young or old, young or old, young or old, young or old, young or old, young or old, young or old, search the heart I

45:50 try the way. What of you woman sitting here tonight who's been untrue to your husband and you're convinced nobody knows but your consort in sin and you may have covered the sin for a month, two, six a year, two, ten, fifteen twenty years, the perfect nothing covered but it shall be revealed what about you man who's been untrue to your wife and there's been no repentance, no acknowledgement of your sin, perfectly covered your tracks, you haven't left a speck of dirt out of place

46:32 nothing covered that shall not be revealed meanwhile while you cover it God says you will not prosper he that covereth his sin shall not prosper. Can you imagine Gehazi trying to enjoy the fact that there in his house was hidden the fruits of his deception of his blasphemous oath. Can you imagine trying to cheer himself up from the time he left his house and got to Elisha's house in the enjoyment of his sin? Can you imagine him trying to do so?

47:12 It's rough business isn't it? When conscience is thundering out its message and you're trying by rationalization as it were to stuff a kerchief in its mouth, he that covers his sin shall not prosper. Beware my friend of thinking you can cover your sin forever. That's the warning of Gehazi.

Warning 4: Beware of Entertaining Low Views of God

47:35 And then in the fourth place the sin of Gehazi is a warning saying beware of entertaining low views of God.

47:46 In a real sense the mother and father of every sin, or I should say the mother of every sin is low views of God and its father is the corruption of the human heart and when corruption joins low views of kin will always be brought forth. He had low views of God's omniscience. He thought he could actually transact business out there under the Palestinian sky and no one would know but Naaman, his servants and himself. What a fool.

48:22 What a fool. He thought he could be indifferent to the honor of God and not receive the judgment of God. That he could be insensitive to the claims of God and not receive the frown of God. At every point he had low views of God as God says in Isaiah 50 thou, I'm sorry Psalm 50, thou thoughtest that I was altogether such a one as thyself.

48:49 And that's exactly what Gehazi did. And it was his low views of God that even cleared the way for him to indulge such wickedness with such a high hand. Oh my friend beware of low views of God. The minute you've convinced yourself there's some place where God's eye does not reach. That's

49:11 the place you'll go to indulge your sin. The moment you convince yourself there's some sin that's not really sin, it's the thing you'll commit. That's why this generation is screaming in its own ears trying to convince itself that homosexuality is not sin because conscience tells it it's sin. And it hopes by screaming it thunders into its own ears.

49:41 That's why it's so militant on such issues as abortion and the so-called feminist blurring of all God-given sexual distinctions and role assignments from the Almighty. Why are they so uptight and aggressive and militant? It's because they're fighting their own conscience. And all of that goes back to having low views of God.

50:09 God doesn't have a right to tell a man what his role is, a woman what her role is. God doesn't have a right. As one man said to a woman, do you really think God's concerned what goes on in the bedroom? You bet your boots he is. We read about it

50:25 tonight. Thou shalt not commit adultery. And he says, adulterers will go to hell.

50:33 Oh, my friend, are you entertaining low views of God? Beware of it. Gehazi did, and it was his undoing. And then the message of his sin is also a warning. Beware, and oh, hear me

Warning 5: Beware of Covetousness and Lying

50:45 tonight. Beware of the sins of covetousness and lying in particular.

50:56 Jesus said in Luke 12 and verse 15, Beware of covetousness.

51:04 Colossians 3, 5 says, covetousness which is idolatry. Paul says in 1 Timothy 6, 9 to 11, speaking of those who would be rich and drown themselves in perdition. Hebrews 13, 5 says, be content with such things as ye have. I heard something recently that was very interesting to me. A man who

51:30 has very modest possessions in this world was asked if he was content with what he had, if he had enough. And speaking of another man who had much more of this world's goods, this individual said, well, I have more than he does because I have enough and he doesn't. You see what he was saying?

51:56 What I have, I'm content with it. What he has, he's not content. He must have more. Therefore, I have more than he does because I have enough. Now a Christian who's

52:14 caught the spirit of these admonitions can say, I have enough. Content with such things as you have It is not saying that in the providence of God there will not be greater acquisitions in the will of God. No. But it says those acquisitions do not come as the fruit of avarice and covetousness.

52:39 But they may come as the unsought fruit of good stewardship. And there's all the difference in the world. And listen to me, don't assume, don't assume your heart is free from covetousness. How long has it been since you prayed, oh God, from the sin of covet?

53:01 How long has it been since you wrestled with God to give you a heart free from covetousness? I know many of you men pray daily, Lord, keep me from lust. Living in this Sodom-like age with sexual innuendo screaming out from every crack in every wall, Lord, give me a pure mind and a pure heart. And we need to pray that and pray it daily. How long has it been?

53:31 It's been men since you prayed, Lord, deliver me from it. What about you wives?

53:38 You see someone else, they own their home or part of it. The bank owns the rest. They can see down the road 20 years from now they'll own it. And here you have to be kicked around from one rinky-dink apartment to another. What happens when you visit with that

53:51 couple that have a house of their own? Can you really rejoice in what God's given to them and go home content to your little rinky-dink apartment?

54:03 Can you? Come on now. Answer honestly in the presence of God. Or do you leave your heart in that home and covet?

54:16 The haze-eyes problem was that his heart was locked up in those boxes strapped to the back of those dumpsters. And who knows what you will do if you leave your heart in the home of that Christian friend with whom you had a meal today.

54:33 Maybe you left the heart in their beautiful cupboards and you go back to your old cracked ones with six coats of paint on them, peeling off. Are you free from covetousness?

54:53 God says you're not covet your neighbor's wife. Are you free from that? When you see some of the brethren who have very attractive wives naturally and then wives who keep themselves attractive by the discipline that they ought to exercise over their food and exercise.

55:12 Do you covet their wives when yours is not so naturally attractive and maybe through lack of discipline and lack of self-control is less attractive than she could be? Do you covet? Come on man, be honest. Do you covet? That was the seed

55:30 that led to David's death.

55:34 He saw a pile of flesh arranged a little more nicely than that which he had. The haze-eyes are warning. Beware of the sins of covetousness and the sins of lying. And you children listen to pastor. Lying

55:52 is one of the peculiar sins of children. Adults lie. Granted. But lying is one of the peculiar sins of children. God

56:04 says thou shalt not bear false witness. God says speak truth every man with his neighbor. God says he hates a lying child. Why did the haze-eyes lie? In order

56:20 to pursue his sin of covetousness and then to cover up the fruits of his sin of covetousness. Usually a lie either paves the way to a sin we desire or we try to cover the tracks of the sin we've committed.

56:38 Lie is usually going ahead, paving the way or coming behind trying to cover the tracks. Isn't that true? You did something you shouldn't and mommy or daddy asked you a question like Elisha asked Gehazi. What did you do son?

56:53 What did you do dear? Oh well I uh and you quickly conceive a lie. Some of you young people and children have become so clever you can lie at the drop of a hat with a without any premeditation and you can do it looking mom and dad straight. You beware of that sin of lying. You pray that right here

57:15 tonight God will help you to see that he hates lying tongues. He says so in Proverbs 6 in verse 17 and he says all liars whether they're 6 or 60 year olds shall have their part in the lake of fire. You see God hates lying because it's a contradiction of everything that you and I are to reflect of his image. He's the God of truth. He made us in

57:40 his image. We are therefore to speak only the truth. Lying is one of the most blatant denials that we are made in the image of God. That's why God hates it so. Then there's a last word

Warning 6: Beware of Bringing Sin's Curse on Others

57:54 of warning from Gehazi and it is this. Beware beware of becoming an occasion of bringing sin's curse on others.

58:07 As I read those words I tremble in my own mind and spirit. The leprosy of Naaman shall cleave unto thee. That would be enough but he says and unto thy seed forever. Naaman you will live to see the fruit of your sin in your own children. Naaman

58:36 when you let your heart go out trapped in those boxes on the back of those donkeys did you know that you'd bring your own children to their graves?

58:54 It's a frightening thing. Some of you young people who refuse to repent and believe because you know that it'll mean the giving up of all of your faculties to the Lordship of Christ. Some of you who may be dabbling in sensuality and sexual wickedness. You may bring a curse upon unborn children. You may pick

59:16 up a case of some kind of venereal disease that'll never come to light until after it's done its damage.

The Ray of Hope: God's Mercy in Judgment

59:29 This is serious business friends but I'm so glad there's one little ray of hope in this whole passage. You know what that ray of hope is. Can you see any mercy in the midst of this judgment? Can you?

59:47 Yes. Suppose God had let Gehazi go on thinking he had committed the perfect crime but what hands day after day became the instrument to bring Gehazi to repent.

60:09 I'm not saying it did but there's nothing in the record to say it didn't. And how kind it was for God. To bring the day of judgment near and let Gehazi know that he couldn't play with sin and get away with it. That it might lead him to seek mercy. If Nahum and

60:28 the Syrian can come with leprosy and find both cleansing and forgiveness. Though cleansing is precluded by the word of God through Elisha. There's no word that forgiveness is precluded. And when his children would say Daddy, why do we have this terrible disease that rots our flesh and cripples our hands?

60:54 Who knows but what is a penitent Gehazi with tears streaming down his face would say, oh my dear children, this is the fruit of your dad's sin. Sin is a terrible thing. And with his gnarled hands, perhaps Gehazi became an evangelist to his own children and to his neighbors. You see, God's mercy is always mingled with his judgment.

61:25 And the reason he's left this account of Gehazi is not that we might, seeing that interpreted as a command, go thou and do likewise and destroy yourself and your family. No, no, it's put here as a beacon and a warning that we not play with sin. That we beware of an insincere and incomplete repentance. That we beware of thinking we can cover sin. That we

61:53 beware, beware of low views of God. And if I speak tonight to some who've been found out and this passage has been God's instrument to bring near the day of judgment, right there where you sit, here's the ray of hope. God does not expose you to leave you with a sense of confusion and helplessness, but he exposes you that you might flee to his Son. Oh, I plead with you.

62:24 Flee to him who bore our sins in his own body to the tree. Man, woman, boy or girl, teenager, whoever you be, don't be a Gehazi, but by the grace of God become an Elisha. Man of God, woman of God, forgiven, cleansed in communion and fellowship with the living God. To know his presence now and to be with him forever. Amen.

Prayer for Application and Obedience

63:08 Our Father, we thank you for the Holy Scriptures. We thank you for the richness and for the faithfulness of all that they convey to us, of your love and of your justice, of your wrath and of your mercy. And we pray that this portion of your word will so fasten itself upon our minds and heart that none of us shall escape its pressure until we have yielded to its impress. That measure of obedience and faith and repentance which is demanded of us, not by a fellow creature, but by you, the living

63:50 God. Seal then the word to our hearts and may it bear fruit unto eternal life and unto a greater measure of careful walking in holiness before you on the part of those of us who belong to you. Hear our prayer for the sake of your Son and for the honor of his name. Through whom we draw near to you. Amen.