The Servant of Elisha
by: Dalton Gilreath

I.              Introduction

A.   Most of us know the story of Naaman

                                          i.    He was captain of the Syrian army and a man of high renown

                                        ii.    However, he had leprosy

1.    He found his way to Elisha who told him of God’s remedy

2.    In time he obeyed and his leprosy was healed

B.   Many stop after Naaman’s cleansing and miss the rest of the story (2 Kings 5:16-27)

                                          i.    Naaman offers Elisha a financial reward but Elisha refuses to accept it

                                        ii.    Gehazi decided he will follow after Naaman and attempt to get some of the reward himself

1.    He lies to Naaman and does get some gain

2.    But Elisha knows about it and punishes him with leprosy

                                       iii.    Consider three lessons we learn from Gehazi

II.            Don’t make sacred things common

A.   Gehazi witnessed a miracle of God through Elisha

                                          i.    Why would he turn this into nothing more than an opportunity to get gain?

                                        ii.    Sometimes when we see or do something time and time again it becomes less special to us

B.   Consider worship (John 4:24)

                                          i.    When we attend services around four times a week it can easily become another “boring” activity if we allow it to be “common”

                                        ii.    Our worship must be with the proper heart and not just some everyday activity

C.   Consider creation (Psa 19:1)

                                          i.    Seeing nature every day can also desensitize us to the beauty of God’s design

                                        ii.    When I forget how incredible His creation is I forget about Him

D.   Consider family (Luke 8:21)

                                          i.    Sometimes we get tired of our family when we spend lots of time with them

                                        ii.    How do we feel about our church family?

III.           Remember I am not the center of the Universe

A.   Gehazi acted selfishly and greedily in attempting to collect a portion of Elisha’s reward

                                          i.    He had no business in that situation whatsoever

                                        ii.    But he acted as though he had rights to Elisha’s reward

B.   Consider property rights (Ex 20:15, 22:1)

                                          i.    Taking or coveting what belongs to another is violating the principle of property rights

                                        ii.    This is true of desiring another man’s wife, cheating the government on taxes, gossip, and much more

1.    Consider that gossip is taking another’s information and sharing it as if we had the right to do so (1 Tim 5:13)

2.    After all, anyone will listen if you whisper something

C.   Consider the church (Col 2:23)

                                          i.    Why do denominations have bands, women preachers, etc?

                                        ii.    The worship is about them instead of about God

1.    This makes the worship vain (Matt 15:9)

2.    Paul calls it “will worship” (Col 2:23)

IV.          Be careful with the phrase “All is well”

A.   Gehazi told Naaman all was well

                                          i.    Maybe in a worldly since things were well with Gehazi

                                        ii.    But spiritually he was not well and therefore all wasn’t well

B.   Someone may have a good job, a loving family, and live a happy stress free life

                                          i.    But if their spiritual life is lacking then all isn’t well

                                        ii.    Many will be living their worldly lives thinking things are great until the Lord comes again (Matt 24:36-39)

1.    Perhaps one of Satan’s greatest weapons is convincing people all is well when they are spiritually lost (Eph 4:18-19)

2.    Remember that lukewarm Christians will be spit out of God’s mouth (Rev 3:16)