Newsletter
A WORD FROM “THE WORD”
The Plague of Powerlessness
Gehazi—Part II—II Kings 5:20-27
In the last edition of The Yoke we looked at The Problem of Powerlessness illustrated in Gehazi’s sheer and futile failure before the lifeless corpse of the Shunnamites’s son. (II Kings 4) With Elisha’s staff in his hand Gehazi was spiritually impotent before the awful specter of death. He waved the staff but nothing happened! He was powerless!! Not unlike the disciples of Jesus who, at the foot of Mt. Transfiguration found themselves powerless to heal the lunatic boy (Matt. 17:14-20). What a painfully precise picture of many a preacher, Christian and church waving our credentials before the abysmal needs of a lost world around us only to find ourselves helpless, hopeless and powerless!
The problems exposed in Gehazi’s life in II Kings 4 come to full term and fruition in II Kings 5, attendant to the healing of the leper, Naaman. Under the banner of The Plague of Powerlessness note with me, first of all…
I. THE PROBLEM THAT PLAGUED GEHAZI (VS. 20-24)
After much prodding from his soldiers Naaman finally dipped in the Jordan seven times and his leprous skin became like that of a baby. Thrilled with his healing, Naaman wanted to bless Elisha with a gift which was graciously and wisely refused. Watching his master turn his back on this lucrative offer, Gehazi is green with envy. His reaction displays a three-fold problem. First, the Problem of Covetousness (vs. 20-21). Not content with what he had he was greedy and saw in the wealthy Naaman a source to exploit for his own lustful pleasure. The man who has just been touched by God is immediately vulnerable to being exploited by religious shysters. Warning to all Christian workers: don’t ever take advantage of someone whose heart has just turned to the Lord. BEWARE!
Second, the Problem of Deceitfulness (vs. 22-23). One sin leads to another so now Gehazi stoops to lying, seeking to deceive the grateful but gullible Naaman. He concocts a story to illicit a favorable response from Naaman all the while lying through his teeth. Blind to his true nature, Naaman gives Gehazi more than his request.
Third, the Problem of Truthfulness (v. 25) Upon returning to the camp Elisha asks where he’s been. Gehazi denies having gone anywhere, blatantly lying to the man of God. Of old, Achan saw, coveted, took… so with Eve who saw, coveted, and took and invariably then one must lie to cover his tracks.
II. THE CONFRONTATION THAT CONDEMNED GEHAZI (VS. 25-26)
Stand erect before the phrase, But he went in and stood before his Master… And so we shall stand before our Master one day to give account of the things done in the body (II Cor. 5:10). Just as Elisha knew and saw through the lies of Gehazi, so our Master and Judge will see clear through to the heart and know the motive and intent of the heart. Jesus said, For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested, neither was anything kept secret, but that it should come abroad. (Mk. 4:22) One day we shall look into the face of our Lord Jesus Christ, now appointed to be our Judge, to give an account of how we have handled all that He has given us. Then to discover, as never before, what the Psalmist meant when he said, For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O Lord, Thou knowest it altogether. (Psa. 139:4)
III. THE DECREE THAT DESTROYED GEHAZI (v. 27)
For his pride and pretense Gehazi was consigned to live out the rest of his days with the leprosy of Naaman now stealing across his body. Interestingly, Naaman had been cleansed from that dreaded and incurable disease because he repented of the sin of pride and pretense. Gehazi will go to his grave with the horrible stench and stigma of leprosy. Thus the Biblical curtain closes on this pathetic man as he slips away to his separate house to ponder the rest of his dark and lonely days that …when sin is finished it bringeth forth death. He will ever be plagued with the memory of what might have been.
———— It’s on my heart…————————–
Dear Beloved,
Greetings to you in the blessed name of our Lord Jesus Christ! The last four months since our last edition of The Yoke have been rich and intriguing. In addition to seeing God at work in a number of churches, I’ve had the privilege on two occasions to lead pastors in searching studies on revival. Following a very significant meeting at Lexington, AL, FBC, I stayed over for an all day conference on revival for the Colbert-Lauderdale Association. Expecting maybe 10-12 pastors, we had over 30 who spent the day at their camp seeking God’s face for revival.
Then at the end of October I was in Asheboro, NC, where I conducted a revival meeting at the Union Grove Baptist Church, Sunday- Wednesday. On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of that week I led the pastors of that association in a Heart-Cry for Revival Conference during the day. On Thursday of that week I preached at a Prayer for S p i r i t u a l Awa k e n i n g Conference for the entire Randolph Associat ion, hosted by the First Baptist Church. These meetings were attended by very special blessings from God. Many thanks to pastors Earnie Taylor and Jason
Vinson in Alabama and DOM, Steve Sells and Pastor Ron Chaney in North Carolina whose tireless labor and deep commitment made these strategic meetings happen! PTL!!! Thank you, gentlemen!
One the home front things have been challenging, hectic and demanding. On October 14th, Jean had arthroscopic surgery on her knee to repair cartilage torn from a fall. She is doing well, recovering nicely and ahead of schedule. We have discovered during these days of forced inactivity that Jean is a bad patient and I am a horrible nurse!! Oh me! One week later we learned that our grandson, Samuel, has Crone’s disease. Though we were relived to finally get at the bottom of his prolonged sickness, this was quite a blow! Please pray for Samuel.
Shortly after receiving this news we discovered a massive water spray under our home, spewing water on our floors in the back part of our house that we keep shut off except when we have company. The hardwood floors had already begun to buck. The insurance company will cover all but a sizeable deductible. We’re now in the midst of moving everything out of that room and preparing to tear it out and replace it. This all occurring when my wife was 7-10 days removed from surgery and I’m in the midst of the most demanding part of my schedule for this year. God is providing grace and will continue to do so.
Now, a word for pastors who read this! While the heart of my ministry is preaching the revival message to God’s people calling them to brokenness and repentance, I am available for a much broader scope of ministry. I revel in the following assignments: Bible Conferences, Conference on Revival, Prayer Seminars, Deacon’s Retreats, Men’s Retreats, Staff Retreats, Family Revival Conference, Christian Life Convention, Couple’s Retreats, etc. All of these events can be offered in a multitude of creative venues. As God may lead, share this with the brethren.
FLASH!! STOP THE PRESS!!
For years I’ve wanted to return to the Holy Land! It’s been nearly 25 years since my last tour of these hallowed trails. It appears that the Lord may be orchestrating events to allow this to happen. As I write, we are finalizing these plans. I will co-host, together with a couple of close pastor friends a trip to Israel the week after Thanksgiving of 2011. Because the details are not firm, I have nothing more to report as The Yoke must go to the press! If you have interest in being a part of this memorable event, please contact me by phone or in writing quickly as I will begin to prepare an interest list. We will only have a limited number we can accommodate. We are sure that the interest level is high, so if you are seriously interested please contact me promptly and we will put you on the priority list. It will be first come, first served. As soon as the details are firm, we will communicate with all of you.
I would love to experience with you the fleshing out of those great lyrics, I walked today where Jesus walked and felt His presence there! My two previous visits to His land provide the most vivid and precious memories of my life. It is worth every penny you may spend, I promise you! Well, God bless! Keep praying for us. We love you! God bless!!
Yours because His,
Don Graham