Is This The Time?

Monumental Moments

Grace Community Church

Allen Snapp

Feb. 9, 2025

Is This The Time?

Please turn in your Bible to 2 Kings 5. Last week we were in chapter 6 and we’re going to tie it into today’s message in a few minutes. While you’re turning there let me ask you a question: raise your hand if you’ve heard of a bible character named Gehazi. Don’t be embarrassed if you haven’t. Of those who raised your hand, keep your hand up IF you actually know who he is and what he did.

In the days of the prophet Elisha there was a military commander in Syria whose name was Naaman. Naaman was a great leader and military commander in Syria but he had leprosy. They had an Israeli servant girl who told him that there was a prophet in Israel who could heal him of his leprosy so Naaman loads up 10 talents of silver, 6000 shekels of gold, and ten changes of clothing and finds his way to Elisha’s home.

⁹ So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha’s house. ¹⁰ Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, “Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.” 2 Kings 5:9-10

Elisha doesn’t even go outside to meet him! He sends a servant with an unimpressive message: wash seven times in the Jordan and your flesh will be restored. Naaman is an important man – and this guy doesn’t even come out to speak to him in person? Naaman’s mind is going – maybe Elisha doesn’t want to get contaminated by his leprosy. Maybe Elisha doesn’t think Naaman is good enough for an in-person consultation. Naaman clearly feels offended and insulted and is ready to go home but his men say to him, if the prophet had asked something difficult or great of you you’d have done it, why not try doing what he says. What do you have to lose?

¹⁴ So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy.¹⁵ Then Naaman and all his attendants went back to the man of God. He stood before him and said, “Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel. So please accept a gift from your servant.”¹⁶ The prophet answered, “As surely as the Lord lives, whom I serve, I will not accept a thing.” And even though Naaman urged him, he refused. 2 Kings 5:14-16

Notice that this time Elisha does meet with Naaman in person, but it’s a different Naaman. He is a changed is a man. He’s had an encounter with the living God and he will never be the same. He’s ready to renounce the false gods of Syria and worship Yahweh, the God of Israel. He’s also grateful: he wants to give Elisha a generous gift to show his gratitude. He has the equivalent today of over 3,000,000 dollars. Elisha could have become a very wealthy man that day but he refuses to take a dime. We’ll touch on why in a minute but here’s where Gehazi comes in. Verse 19:

After Naaman had traveled some distance, ²⁰ Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said to himself,

“My master was too easy on Naaman, this Aramean, by not accepting from him what he brought. As surely as the Lord lives, I will run after him and get something from him.”

²¹ So Gehazi hurried after Naaman. When Naaman saw him running toward him, he got down from the chariot to meet him. “Is everything all right?” he asked. ²² “Everything is all right,” Gehazi answered. “My master sent me to say, ‘Two young men from the company of the prophets have just come to me from the hill country of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and two sets of clothing.’”

²³ “By all means, take two talents,” said Naaman. He urged Gehazi to accept them, and then tied up the two talents of silver in two bags, with two sets of clothing. He gave them to two of his servants, and they carried them ahead of Gehazi. ²⁴ When Gehazi came to the hill, he took the things from the servants and put them away in the house. He sent the men away and they left.

²⁵ When he went in and stood before his master, Elisha asked him, “Where have you been, Gehazi?” “Your servant didn’t go anywhere,” Gehazi answered. ²⁶ But Elisha said to him, “Was not my spirit with you when the man got down from his chariot to meet you? Is this the time to take money or to accept clothes—or olive groves and vineyards, or flocks and herds, or male and female slaves?  2 Kings 5:19-26

When Gehazi returns Elisha asks, “is this the time?” Is this the time to take money? To accept clothing? Or land or livestock or servants? Is this the time to make ourselves wealthy, Gehazi?

God’s not against wealth. Naaman was wealthy and Elisha was ok with that. In the previous chapter we meet a wealthy Shunammite woman who builds an extension on their home so that whenever Elisha is passing through he had a place to stay with them. Elisha accepted her generosity. But not now. Is this the time, Gehazi?

1. It’s never the time to say “yes” when God has said “no”

Gehazi heard his master say “as the Lord lives whom I serve I will not accept a thing.” Gehazi knew Elisha was saying God doesn’t want me to accept anything from you Naaman. I could be a rich man but God said “no”.

God told Elisha, I don’t want Naaman to think that My gifts can be bought. My power isn’t for sale. My kindness doesn’t have a price tag attached to it. Naaman is to walk away 100% a debtor to Me, says the Lord. All he can give to Me is his worship and gratitude.

We read in the gospels how angry Jesus got when he saw that they had turned his Father’s house into a marketplace, selling and making a profit off of God’s name. We can’t buy God’s grace, we can’t bargain with God. Salvation cost Jesus his life but it’s a free gift to us.

Gehazi should have known better. He had seen God do many amazing miracles being around Elisha.

When Elisha asked what he could do to repay the wealthy Shunammite woman who had done so much for him, she asks for nothing. It was Gehazi who pointed out to Elisha, “she has no child and her husband is getting old.” That’s her need. That’s what her heart yearns for from God. Elisha promised her that in a year she would hold a son in her arms. Gehazi helped make that miracle happen!

Some years later her young son dies while working out in the fields with his dad. She lays her dead son on the bed in Elisha’s spare room and goes to find Elisha. Gehazi saw her grief and then her joy when Elisha raised him from the dead. Gehazi saw Naaman healed of his leprosy.

But as Naaman rode off with all his wealth, Gehazi thought it’s a shame to see all that money go to waste. Greed entered his heart and he justified to himself saying yes when he knew God had said no. He chose greed over God, money over miracles.

Elisha saw in the Spirit the moment Naaman turned around and saw Gehazi running towards him. His heart went out as Naaman got out of the chariot and for money Gehazi distorted the message God wanted Naaman to leave with, that his money had nothing to do with God’s miracle; it was a free gift.

But there is Gehazi saying yes when God said no. He tells Naaman “we had two prophets show up unexpectedly and my master would like to give them each a gift of money and clothing.” Naaman generously gives Gehazi more than he asked for, he is truly a grateful man, but there’s no doubt that as Elisha saw this he groaned inwardly.

Is this the time? It’s never time to say yes when God has said no.

When this book tells us to do something – or not do something – we need to listen to it. All sins are just desires that have metastasized. God gave us the desire, but sin tempts us to take those desires beyond the safe boundaries God sets for us.

If God opens opportunities for you in 2025, take them! Ask and believe your heavenly Father will establish the works of your hands. But if an opportunity comes your way and God’s word clearly says “no” or you sense the Spirit saying “hold off”, listen to Him!

The blessing of the LORD makes rich, and he adds no sorrow with it. Prov. 10:22

2. It’s never the time to get ahead by deception and cover up

Gehazi lies to Naaman and then tries to cover it up when Elisha asks him where he’s been. “I didn’t go anywhere.” Gehazi is blowing through red lights that should have warned him he’s in trouble.

Two men left Elisha’s presence that day changed men. Naaman went from a self-important pagan to a humble worshipper of God, from a leper to a cleansed man. Gehazi went from serving God to a man living in the shadows of lies and coverup, from a clean man to a leper. For both of them, their outer reflected their inner. The last words of Elisha in this chapter are words of judgment spoken over Gehazi:

²⁷ Naaman’s leprosy will cling to you and to your descendants forever.” Then Gehazi went from Elisha’s presence and his skin was leprous—it had become as white as snow.

So when we turn to chapter 6 and the floating axe-head, Gehazi is nowhere in sight. He traded miracles for money, God for greed. Naaman came to Elisha, Gehazi left Elisha’s presence. Now, we’re not going to get into it, but in chapter 8 we see Gehazi again. It could be that the book isn’t totally chronological, but it’s also possible that Gehazi found his way back to God and redemption. That would be just like our God.

There are times when we are tempted to say yes when God clearly says no. Sometimes following our desires leads us to a place where we need to deceive and cover-up to keep the image up. Leprosy of the soul.

The answer is to bring it into the light. Confess it to God and ask Jesus’ blood to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. God made Naaman clean, and Jesus makes us clean through his precious blood but only if we turn from the darkness of lies and cover-ups and walk in the light.

Let’s pray together.