Proverbs 28:13 He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.
Adam and Eve sinned when they ate of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Adam and Eve realized that they were naked and that something had changed as a result of their […]
Proverbs 26:27 Whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein: and he that rolleth a stone, it will return upon him.
Vengeance is mine, I will repay says the Lord. It is your job to get those who do you wrong. It is not your duty to take matters into your own hands and make the life […]
Proverbs 20:8 A king that sitteth in the throne of judgment scattereth away all evil with his eyes.
If a ruler is deemed to be weak, the people will be lawless. However, if a ruler quickly disciplines those who do wrong, then those who desire to do wickedness are not nearly as quick to do what […]
John 8:5-6 Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not.
The scribes and the Pharisees came to Jesus […]
Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
We have been instructed to add knowledge of the ways of the Lord to our life. In this passage, we see that the fear of the Lord is the foundation of knowledge. If you do not have the […]
Acts 17:23 For as I passed by, and behold your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.
Paul went to Athens to share with them the gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul understood the culture of the city and was able to […]
Psalms 137:1 By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.
The nation of Judah is held captive in Babylon. They are weeping as they remember how God use to bless them when they were in Zion. Now they are suffering God’s judgment for their sins and the sins […]
Psalms 130:6 My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning.
In this Psalm we see the Psalmist calling out to God for mercy. He is calling out to God for mercy because he realizes that he has sinned and fallen […]
Matthew 12:36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
Have you ever said something mean to another individual and then shortly there after told them that you were only joking? While you may be telling the truth and did not actually mean what you said, according to Christ that come the Day of Judgment, you will have to give an account for every idle word. It does not matter that you did not mean the cruel words; you must still answer to God.
It does not matter if only you hear your idle words or if they spread like wildfire and are heard around the world. You are going to be judged by God for every word that is uttered from your mouth. Earlier in this chapter, we see that Jesus knew the thoughts of the Pharisees and he was able to confront their false opinions as to where Jesus received HIS power. If Christ could hear the thoughts of men, what makes you think that HE cannot hear every word that you speak?
Acts 23:12 And when it was day, certain of the Jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul.
Over 40 Jews had so much hatred for Paul that they were willing to abstain from eating or drinking until they had killed him. Not only were they willing to abstain from eating or drinking, but they were willing to bind themselves with an oath. Most likely these 40 Jews were religious leaders. If they were religious leaders, they should have understood from the reading of the scriptures the significance of an oath. Nonetheless, these 40 men were willing to make an oath because of their agreed hatred of Paul.
II Kings 5:27 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.
Elisha had just exercised his faith in healing the leprosy of Naaman. When Naaman attempted to pay Elisha for Elisha�s faith, Elisha refused. However, Gehazi, Elisha�s servant, ran after Naaman and told a lie and received some treasures from Naaman. God had told Elisha what Gehazi had done and now, by faith, Elisha pronounces a punishment upon Gehazi because of Gehazi�s wickedness. Elisha understood that the same God who could heal Naaman could also make Gehazi diseased as a punishment for his sin.
Elisha probably preferred using his faith to do good in the world. However, Elisha understood that sometimes God has one to do something that is not pleasant. Elisha had to obey God in pronouncing judgment upon Gehazi so that you would understand that God is not pleased when one procures payment out of greed for God�s demonstration of power through ones life. Peter also had to deal with a man who attempted to purchase the power of the Holy Spirit.
The power of God as demonstrated through your life is not given to you for your personal wealth; it is given to you so that God might be glorified through you. When you lose focus of using God�s power for HIS glory and start to use it for your personal benefit, you actually bring discredit to God and these actions are an abomination unto the Lord.
All the good that Gehazi may had done for Elisha did not matter when Elisha pronounced a curse upon Gehazi and his family. Gehazi had sinned, and had at least created the image that Elisha could be bought and that all one had to do is bring payment and their problems would be taken care of. Elisha understood that his power was from God and that God would take care of his needs. Elisha thus by faith pronounced the curse and it came to pass. Gehazi left Elisha�s presence that very day a leper.
The world today has been feed a lot of prosperity preaching. Sermons like Jonathan Edwards �Sinners in the hands of an angry God� are not the predominant message. The world needs to understand that God is love and because of HIS love, HE will punish those who do not accept HIS free gift of salvation. The world does not understand how God could punish someone if HE really loves them. By faith you will proclaim the message of God�s love and HIS judgment.
Faith is used to bring glory to God. By pronouncing judgment upon Gehazi, Elisha caused all to realize that the power of God is not for sale. The power of God can be used in your life not only to do good things but also to allow bad things to happen. Elijah�s faith caused a famine for three and a half years so that God would be glorified.
The purpose of your life is to draw attention to God. God uses both good and evil to cause others to understand that HE is the only God. You need to be prepared to allow God to work through you. Yes, you would love to see God use you to do great good throughout the world, but God can also use you to be the bearer of bad news so that HE can remind the world that they need to repent from their evil ways. The important thing for you is to understand the will of God and obey. Do not attempt to second-guess God.
