* Two men in the same business but with two different goals.
* Elisha’s end goal was that God would be brought glory.
* Gehazi wanted God to get the glory and himself to get the gold.
* Gehazi called Naaman “the Aramean,” fully recognizing he was an enemy to Israel.
* He may have thought, “Isn’t the wealth of the wicked stored up for the righteous?”
* This was true, but the righteous never have to chase it.
* Elisha refused the reward - it was not “the time” to receive rewards.
* Elisha’s services weren’t for hire - he was simply to obey God’s command.
* But Gehazi had witnessed Elisha’s ossum power for a long time and new now he could cash in.
* Notice - the reward came to Elisha - he didn’t have to go after it (even though he refused it).
* Gehazi had to run after it - and it was his running that proved his motive - he wanted it bad.
* Elisha didn’t say receiving a reward was wrong - he just said it wasn’t the right time.
* Gehazi wanted Naaman’s stuff so he got Naaman’s stuff.
* He got to keep the gold but he had his leprosy to go along with it.
* The same will happen to us when we allow our ambition to take the lead.
* If God wants us to have something He’ll bring it to us in His time in His way.
2 Kings 5:20-27 (6/1/17)
Don't Run After It
June 1, 2017 • Benham Brothers
2 Kings 2:10 (8/30/23)
August 30, 2023 • Benham Brothers • 2 Kings 2:10–15
Our one job as a believer is the stay close to God. The closer we are to Him the more He provides for us and protects us. EX: Me w/my younger kids at the airport. The Bible says, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” (James 4:8) God wants to be close to us - just like a good father wants to be close to his kids. Jesus echoes this - “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit.” (John 15:5) A branch on a vine stays really close - it wraps around it. Jesus didn’t say, “I am a tree trunk, and you are the branches.” We see a picture of this in the Old Testament. Elijah had been the prophet and it was time for him to depart. But he never died - a chariot of fire took him to heaven. His predecessor, Elisha, desperately wanted his blessing before he left. He specifically wanted a double portion of his spirit. Elijah essentially said, “if you stay close to me you can get it!” Vs 9-14 - Elisha got what he asked for! Staying close to Elijah gave Elisha three things: 1) Provision - God provided for both prophets. 2) Protection - they were under God’s divine protection. 3) Power - Elisha received the mantle! How do we stay close to God? The same way we stay close to our spouse - communication! You can be physically apart but talk all the time and you’ll be close. You can live with each other but never talk and you won’t be close. Talk to God and then listen to Him. How? Bible People Creation Circumstance Inner Voice
2 Kings 2:19-21 (6/2/16)
June 2, 2016 • Benham Brothers
• If the land would be healed then the spring that fed the land had to be purified - it needed salt. • We are to be salt in our culture if we want to see our land healed. • The aspects of SALT: • 1) Sustains - put it on a steak and it preserves the steak. • 2) Seasons - it brings out the natural flavors of what it’s applied to. • 3) Startles - smelling salts wakes up the unconscious person. • 4) Sanitizes - gargle with lukewarm salt water when you have a sore throat. • 5) Stings - when it’s cleaning it burns. • 6) Sacrifices - it gives its life for what it’s applied to. • 7) Scatters - salt isn’t meant to be put into a pile. • 8) Small - you never just use one crystal of salt - you need a lot of them. • 9) Strengthens - hikers bring salt tablets to give them strength for a long journey. • 10) Melts Slugs - put salt on a slug and watch what happens.
2 Kings 2 & 4 (7/4/14)
July 4, 2014 • Benham Brothers
* On two ocassions we see the prophet Elisha being called on to fix something that was broken. * 2:19-21 - The land in his city would not yield any produce because the spring that watered the land was bad. * So what did Elisha do? Notice four things: * 1) He didn't focus on the land - he went directly to the spring. This was the source of the problem. * Clean hands come from a pure heart. * 2) He added salt to the water - Christians are called to be the salt of the world. * Salt enhances and preserves the substance of what it's applied to. * 3) He "threw" the salt in the water - he was aggressive with the evil in the water. * We have to get aggressive with the way we deal with any sin in our hearts. * 4) The salt lost its life! Once you put salt onto or into something you never see it again! * 4:41 - There was famine in the land and one of the prophets added an unknown plant to the stew. * The stew became poisonous - there was now death in the pot. * Notice three things: * 1) The very thing that was supposed to nourish now brought death. * The stew itself wasn't bad - it was the one wild root. We can't let this into our hearts either. * 2) There was already flour in the stew, but it wasn't put there by Elisha. * This is just like christians - we need to "mix" in with the world and bring life to it. * 3) Elisha didn't pour the stew out and start over - he used what was already there but just added life to it. * We must bring life to every situation and person we come in contact with - to breathe life! * Salt influences - if we're not influencing the environment around us we're not being salty.