that we are introduced to the focus of this message. His name is Gehazi. Gehazi means valley of vision. Now, Gehazi was the servant of Elisha, who was the servant and student of the great prophet Elijah. And in chapter four, we see the unfolding of the ministry of Elisha. There we see the miracle of the widow and the oil. There we witness the miracle of the Shunamite woman’s son. But there is some interesting interaction going on in chapter four between Elisha, and his servant Gehazi. The book says that there was a great relationship between these men. Such a relationship that when Elisha was in need of counsel, he relied on his servant Gehazi. Listen to the text, in verse 12
“And he said unto his servant, Gehazi. Verse 13 “and he said unto him (Gehazi), say unto her”… verse 14 “Elisha asked Gehazi “what then is to be done unto her”. This was a real relationship. There was trust involved. There was understanding involved. There was love involved. So much so, that in verse 27, when this same Shunammite woman came to let Elisha know that her son was dead, it was Gehazi who pushed her away from Elisha. This relationship was one greater than servant / master; this was a relationship of father / son. In verse 29 Elisha tells his servant/son to go ahead and lay his staff of the head of the dead boy, and after Elisha had worked a miracle and raised the dead boy to life, the first person he called upon was not the mother or the father, but he called Gehazi.
There is something to be said about relationship in the Body of Christ… But even with this great relationship, even with Gehazi standing in the midst of and participating in the miracles of the master, he still had some issues that had not yet surfaced, but were about to be manifested. See, I don’t care how close you are to the preacher. I don’t care how much you spend time in the master’s presence. I don’t care how often you are found in the congregation of the believers. You must always remember that there is something on the inside of you, that is trying to get out. And that something is you. It is the you that came out of your mother’s womb. It is the you that no one else can see. It is the you that should be dead, but still has residue in your memory banks, and is just looking for an opportunity to resurface. And that part of you is called your flesh. The Bible calls it the natural man. And we must recognize that the natural man is an enemy of God. He is bent on causing you to do that which is just natural, rather doing what is supernatural.
Watch this: In chapter four Gehazi is the model servant. Attentive to his master. Attentive to his duties. He is alert, awake and aware. He is offering sagacious suggestions that will bring honor to the one he serves… But just one chapter later, this same Gehazi becomes a reproach, and disgrace, and a dishonorable servant because he allows himself, to be himself. Don’t miss that. See, in chapter 5 there is the great story of the healing of Naaman. Naaman is the captain of the host of Syria, and the Bible says he is a great man, an honorable man because the Lord had given him favor, he was a mighty man of valor… but he was a leper. Meaning he had an issue that he could not get rid of on his own. The story says that Naaman was told about this prophet in Samaria named Elisha who could bring deliverance from