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Topic: A Lover of Gifts?
(Open Heaven 11 October 2019)
Memorise: And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. – Luke 12:15
Read: 2 Kings 5:15-27 (KJV)
15 And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came, and stood before him: and he said, Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel: now therefore, I pray thee, take a blessing of thy servant.
16 But he said, As the LORD liveth, before whom I stand, I will receive none. And he urged him to take it; but he refused.
17 And Naaman said, Shall there not then, I pray thee, be given to thy servant two mules’ burden of earth? for thy servant will henceforth offer neither burnt offering nor sacrifice unto other gods, but unto the LORD.
18 In this thing the LORD pardon thy servant, that when my master goeth into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he leaneth on my hand, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon: when I bow down myself in the house of Rimmon, the LORD pardon thy servant in this thing.
19 And he said unto him, Go in peace. So he departed from him a little way.
20 But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, Behold, my master hath spared Naaman this Syrian, in not receiving at his hands that which he brought: but, as the LORD liveth, I will run after him, and take somewhat of him.
21 So Gehazi followed after Naaman. And when Naaman saw him running after him, he lighted down from the chariot to meet him, and said, Is all well?
22 And he said, All is well. My master hath sent me, saying, Behold, even now there be come to me from mount Ephraim two young men of the sons of the prophets: give them, I pray thee, a talent of silver, and two changes of garments.
23 And Naaman said, Be content, take two talents. And he urged him, and bound two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of garments, and laid them upon two of his servants; and they bare them before him.
24 And when he came to the tower, he took them from their hand, and bestowed them in the house: and he let the men go, and they departed.
25 But he went in, and stood before his master. And Elisha said unto him, Whence comest thou, Gehazi? And he said, Thy servant went no whither.
26 And he said unto him, Went not mine heart with thee, when the man turned again from his chariot to meet thee? Is it a time to receive money, and to receive garments, and oliveyards, and vineyards, and sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and maidservants?
27 The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed for ever. And he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow.
Bible in One Year: 1 Chronicles 26-27, Revelation 6:3-17
Open Heaven 11 October 2019 Friday Daily MESSAGE:
It is sad but true that some people love gifts more than their very lives. In other words, they are covetous and love to reap where they did not sow. In order not to be caught in this devilish snare, our Lord Jesus Christ warns us against covetousness in today’s memory verse. One man who loved gifts exceedingly was Elisha’s servant, Gehazi. His master rejected the gifts offered by someone who God had healed through him, because he understood the principle of “freely ye have received, freely give,” which led him to say in 2 Kings 5:16a:
“As the LORD liveth, before whom I stand, I will receive none.”
However, greedy Gehazi was not happy with this response, so he decided to run after the rejected gifts. He went and collected them in secret, not knowing that in the realm of the spirit, “there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known” (Luke 12:2). Imagine the shock he felt when Elisha said to him in 2 Kings 5:26:
“…Went not mine heart with thee, when the man turned again from his chariot to meet thee? Is it a time to receive money, and to receive garments, and oliveyards, and vineyards, and sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and maidservants?”
Dumbfounded, Gehazi could not answer these questions. You need to learn some critical lessons from his experience today. Gehazi did not know that the spiritual eyes given to his master followed him as he executed his devious scheme. If Elisha’s spiritual eyes could see the things Gehazi did in secret, how much more will God’s eyes which runs to and fro the earth, see those who secretly toy with sin? Also, learn that there is a time for everything. There is a time to receive gifts and there are times they must be rejected. Elisha asked Gehazi whether it was the right time to receive gifts. Gehazi did not consider this when he went ahead to demand and not just receive gifts from Naaman. However, this earned him God’s judgement, and he instantly became leprous. Beloved, it is vain to run after gifts that are not approved of God, Ecclesiastes 5:10-11 says:
“10 He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity. 11 When goods increase, they are increased that eat them: and what good is there to the owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with their eyes?”
Beware of the love for gifts because some gifts are ill-motivated and can destroy your future, like it happened to Gehazi. May the Lord spare you the agony of gifts from ill-gotten wealth in Jesus’ Name.
Open Heaven 11 October 2019 Friday Prayer Point:
Father, please deliver me from the snare of covetousness in Jesus’ Name.
Open Heaven 11 October 2019 Friday Hymn 3: Trust and Obey
1 When we walk with the Lord
In the light of His word
What a glory He sheds on our way!
While we do His good will,
He abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey
Chorus:
Trust and obey,
For there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus,
But to trust and obey.
2 Not a shadow can rise,
Not a cloud in the skies,
But His smile quickly drives it away;
Not a doubt nor a fear
Not a sigh nor a tear,
Can abide while we trust and obey.
3 Not a burden we bear,
Not a sorrow we share
But our toil He doth richly repay;
Not a grief nor a loss,
Not a frown nor a cross,
But is blest if we trust and obey.
4 But we never can prove
The delights of His love
Until all on the altar we lay;
For the favour He shows,
And the joy He bestows,
Are for them who will trust and obey.
5 Then in fellowship sweet
We will sit at His feet,
Or we’ll walk by His side in the way;
What He says we will do
Where He sends we will go
Never fear, only trust and obey.
