Elisha’s Ministry - The Wolf At The Door - Lust When It Has Conceived Brings Forth Sin - Gehazi 2kings 5:20-27 Part 1 Of 2 Series

ELISHA’S MINISTRY - THE WOLF AT THE DOOR - LUST WHEN IT HAS CONCEIVED BRINGS FORTH SIN - GEHAZI 2Kings 5:20-27 PART 1 of 2

SERIES – MESSAGES ON ELISHA – HIS LIFE AND MINISTRY Number 15

Just a touch of revision from the last Elisha message. We need to recall 2Kings 5 v 15. Open at that verse and keep your bibles opened there. 2Kings 5 v 15 “When he returned to the man of God with all his company, and came and stood before him, he said, “Behold now, I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel, so please take a present from your servant now,””

After Naaman was healed of his leprosy, he returned to Elisha to give him a present, but Elisha refused to profit from the ministry given to him by God. The gospel is, “freely received, freely given”, and people who want to profit from the gospel are charlatans and false prophets, followers of Balaam. Take note of the tele-evangelists. Naaman further urged Elisha to receive his gift as he was so grateful for his healing, but Elisha was firm in his resolve. There is a huge difference between being supported in the gospel, and profiting by the gospel. Missionaries in the field are supported in the gospel, but the Benny Hinns and other prosperity gospel preachers, are profiting by the gospel.

Now when Naaman was offering a gift to Elisha, there was one listening whose mind was beginning to stir. It all began with the mind. The pride of life and covertness wanted what it did not have. Can we go down to 5 v 20 and read that verse. 2Kings 5 v 20 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.” The mind is a dangerous enemy, and Gehazi was allowing his mind to grow desire and lust. There was also the thought of “making him pay”.

Before we go any further with that I want to explore the origins of these sins. Can we turn to Genesis chapter 3.

Verse 1 - Genesis 3 v 1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made, and he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” Doubt will mess with the mind, even to doubt what God has said emphatically and decisively. That is why we must hold fast to the word of God and not deviate from it. Satan began to cast doubts in Eve’s mind.

Verse 5 - Genesis 3 v 5 “for God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” This is the pride of wanting to be what one is not supposed to be. The lie that they could be uplifted to be like God was the progression of Satan’s lie. That is the pride of life.

Verse 6 - Genesis 3 v 6 “When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate, and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.” Now we see the full blossoming of desire, which here is illegal desire. It is lust as the bible would identify it. Eve saw the tree that is was good for food and a delight to the eyes. That is what we call the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes. Then her mind told her she would become wise. That again is the pride of life. There is nothing wrong with desiring food, especially when hungry, but NOT when it is forbidden by God, and illegal.

What we have just looked at was the introduction of sin to the human race. It took the form of the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. They are the agencies Satan uses right through history. The Apostle John wrote this verse - 1John 2 v 16 “All that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world,” and well he knew it, for he understood what his Lord went through. Turn to Luke chapter 4.

Let us read verse 1 to verse 4. Luke 4 v 1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led about by the Spirit in the wilderness Luke 4:2 for forty days, being tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days and when they had ended, He became hungry. Luke 4:3 The devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread,” Luke 4:4 and Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’” That is the first temptation, the lust of the flesh. You may say, “But Jesus was hungry so what’s wrong with eating?” What is so wrong is to give ground to the devil, and that is what Eve did. She entertained Satan’s soft talk and failed. Jesus did not do that, but rebuked Satan with the word of God. That is why the expression, “Thus says the Lord” is so important and vital in scripture, and in our lives.