Click the link below for the full series: https://www.easterngate.org/sermon-series/elisha-gods-double-agent/
In the ninth message of Elisha: God’s Double Agent, Pastor Jeff Anders turns from Naaman’s cleansing to Gehazi’s judgment in 2 Kings 5:20–27. The servant who had heard the messages, witnessed the miracles, and shared in Elisha’s ministry went out from the prophet’s presence a leper. What brought a man with such privileges to such a place? This message searches the desire in his heart and warns God’s people about greed and covetousness.
From Naaman’s Cleansing to Gehazi’s Leprosy
After reviewing the miracles God had worked through Elisha, Pastor Anders returns to Naaman’s conversion. The Syrian captain humbled himself, trusted the Word of God, and was made clean. He wanted to give Elisha silver, gold, and garments, but the prophet refused. He would not send Naaman home with the idea that God’s grace and goodness could be bought.
Gehazi saw those same gifts and wanted some for himself. He ran after Naaman, claimed that Elisha had sent him, and invented a need involving two sons of the prophets. Naaman generously gave him silver and garments and sent servants to carry them. Gehazi hid what he had received, dismissed the servants, and returned to stand before his master as though nothing had happened (2 Kings 5:20–25).
When Elisha asked where he had been, Gehazi lied again. But his actions were not hidden from God. Elisha confronted him, and the leprosy from which Naaman had been delivered came upon Gehazi and his seed. The Gentile who had been diseased was now clean; the servant of the man of God went away diseased (2 Kings 5:25–27).
Included in the Ministry, Then Isolated from It
The Privileges Gehazi Had
- He heard the messages. He was close to a man who proclaimed the Word of God.
- He saw the miracles. He was involved in the account of the Shunammite woman and her son, and he witnessed God’s power at work.
- He shared in the ministry. Elisha was truly called, equipped, and empowered by God, and Gehazi had the privilege of serving alongside him.
Yet the man who had been included was now isolated. His leprosy separated him from the ministry he had shared. Pastor Anders points out that we need to understand what happened, not merely observe what happened. Sin can leave a servant of God set aside and no longer useful in the work.
A Warning for Every One of Us
Do not assume that you could never fall into such a trap. Peter was certain he would never deny the Lord, yet he did it before the next morning. Pride says we are above another man’s failure. Humility recognises our weakness and takes the warning personally.
Two things stand out in Gehazi: the desire in his heart and the deceit on his tongue. His greedy heart and lying lips led to disease and departure. This sermon concentrates on the first of those dangers; the fuller treatment of the deceit and its consequences is left for another message.
The Desire in His Heart
What Covetousness Really Is
Greed is not simply having money. A wealthy person is not necessarily covetous, and a poor person is not necessarily free from covetousness. The issue is desiring something that it is not the will of God for you to have. That desire may involve money and possessions, but it can also involve a position, a promotion, or something else outside God’s will.
Gehazi was not ignorant of Elisha’s decision. He knew the prophet had refused Naaman’s gifts, yet he determined to get some anyway (2 Kings 5:20). The opportunity did not create the greed; it brought what was already in his heart to the surface.
Good-Sounding Reasons Do Not Change God’s Will
Pastor Anders illustrates the excuses Gehazi might have made: the money was already designated, the prophet’s house could use improvements, the sons of the prophets and their widows had needs, and Gehazi himself had very little. These are illustrations of how a covetous heart can reason, not additional details supplied by the Bible. None of those reasons could make it right to pursue what God had refused.
When our hearts pursue money instead of the Master, and material things instead of the One who supplies them, we are headed in the wrong direction. Discontentment with God’s will can lead to decisions that take us right out of faithful service.
What Greed Destroys
It Corrupts a Nation
God forbade covetousness in Exodus 20:17. In Jeremiah 6:13, covetousness and false dealing marked the people from the least to the greatest, including their religious leaders. The same combination seen in Gehazi—greed and lies—was bringing destruction upon the land. A nation given over to covetousness is travelling a dangerous road.
It Makes a Fool of the Individual
Jeremiah 17:11 warns about riches obtained wrongly and the foolish end of the man who gathers them. Pastor Anders connects that warning with the rich man in Luke 12 who built bigger barns and expected years of ease. Death was at his door. He would leave the things behind and would not enjoy the future he had planned. Accumulating possessions while failing to be rich toward God is not wisdom.
It Troubles the Home and Leaves the Heart Empty
Greed brings trouble into a man’s own household (Proverbs 15:27). It also promises satisfaction it cannot deliver. The lover of silver is not satisfied with silver; increasing possessions brings increasing demands, and much of what the owner gains is simply something to look at (Ecclesiastes 5:10–11).
A bigger house, a nicer car, or more income will not cure an empty life. Before making the move or the purchase, find out what God’s will is. Something can look good and still be wrong for you. An entire life spent living for things instead of God is an empty way to live.
Your Life Is More Than Your Possessions
The Lord’s warning in Luke 12:15 strikes at the deception that our possessions define us. One day somebody else may live in that house, and the car may belong to another owner or sit in a junkyard. Those things are not who you are.
If you are a child of God, you belong to the One who created and owns the universe. You are His child, an heir of God and a joint-heir with Christ. The coming kingdom and the glory of the New Jerusalem far outweigh anything this world can offer. Do not let temporary things become the centre of your life.
The issue is not whether God gives you much or little. The issue is whether you will be content with what His will provides. Find His will, get in it, and stay in it.
Lay Up Treasure in Heaven and Trust Your Father
Your Investments Reveal Your Heart
Earthly treasures decay, lose their value, or are stolen. Heavenly treasure lasts. Where we invest our resources reveals what we love: temporary possessions, or a ministry that touches lives for eternity (Matthew 6:19–21).
We cannot serve two masters. God requires our whole allegiance, obedience, and devotion; we cannot give ourselves to Him and to mammon at the same time (Matthew 6:24). Gehazi already had the great privilege of serving God alongside Elisha. In chasing the silver and garments, he lost sight of what mattered most.
Do Not Let Material Needs Dominate Your Life
The Lord also tells His people not to let worry about food and clothing rule their lives. The Father feeds the birds and clothes the fields with lilies. Surely He knows how to care for His children. Worry cannot change the things beyond our control (Matthew 6:25–30).
This does not mean we stop buying food or obtaining clothes. It means those necessities are not what life is about. Our lives are to centre on God’s will and serving the Master, not on possessions or the fear of doing without them.
Godliness with Contentment Is Great Gain
Covetousness Is Not a Small Sin
Ephesians 5:3 places covetousness alongside fornication and uncleanness as conduct that does not belong among the saints. Colossians 3:5 calls for it to be put to death and identifies it with idolatry. We must not excuse in our hearts what God condemns in His Word.
Contentment rests upon the Lord’s abiding presence. Because He will not leave or forsake His people, we can live without covetousness and be content with what we have (Hebrews 13:5).
True Prosperity Is Not Measured in Dollars
Pastor Anders turns to 1 Timothy 6:6–8 to explain true gain. Godliness and contentment are genuine prosperity. A believer living in poverty may have that gain, while someone with many possessions may have neither godliness nor contentment. We brought nothing into the world and will carry nothing out. Whatever we have now is more than we brought with us.
The Desire to Be Rich Is a Snare
Those determined to be rich expose themselves to temptation, snares, and foolish and hurtful desires. The love of money opens the door to all kinds of evil; those who pursue it can wander from the faith and pierce themselves with many sorrows (1 Timothy 6:9–10).
That warning fits Gehazi. Greed moved him to misuse the Lord’s name, misrepresent the man of God, chase Naaman’s money, and lie about his actions. Pastor Anders asks us to imagine him afterward, isolated with other lepers, remembering the messages, miracles, and ministry he once shared. That scene is a preaching illustration, but the warning is plain: greed left him empty.
Surrender Everything to God
In closing, Pastor Anders points to other dangers of greed: Judas betrayed the Lord, the rich young ruler turned away from Christ, worldly desires choke the Word, and greed disqualifies men from church leadership. Covetousness is not harmless. It must be dealt with before it carries us further down the wrong road.
The answer is surrender. Yield yourself, everything you have, and everything you are to God. Acknowledge that it all belongs to Him and that He has the right to do with it as He pleases. The closing prayer asks the Lord to bring His people to that surrender and rescue those whose greedy hearts are already directing their decisions.
Take-Homes
- Take Gehazi’s warning personally. Hearing good preaching and sharing in ministry do not make us immune to a covetous heart.
- Examine what you want, not merely what you own. Covetousness pursues what is outside God’s will.
- Do not dress up disobedience with good-sounding reasons. A need or an opportunity does not overrule God’s direction.
- Remember what greed costs. It can damage a nation, trouble a family, empty a life, and draw a believer away from service.
- Do not measure your life by possessions. If you belong to Christ, your identity and your future are in Him.
- Invest in what lasts. Lay up treasure in heaven and trust the Father with your daily needs.
- Measure gain by godliness and contentment, not by dollars or possessions.
- Surrender yourself and all you have to God. Seek His will and be content with His provision, whether He gives you much or little.