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Alright, we're here in second Kings chapter 5 and we're looking at the topic of greed with Gehazi And let me just kind of give you an overview of this chapter Second Kings 5 is very famous chapter. It's a great chapter We often focus on the first half of it because it's an exciting story You've got this man Naaman who's the captain of the host of Syria He is a powerful man, and he ends up getting leprosy and then the king is like well You know you and Israel you need to heal this man and Elisha says I'll heal him and So then Naaman eventually comes and when Naaman gets there You know Elisha just treats him like a normal person where basically it's like just give him the news go dip in the Jordan River Seven times and then he's like what he didn't come out to meet me. I'm powerful I'm special and then he's like he tells me to dip in this why can't I dip in this river? And then his father's that are with him like hey He's asking you to do something simple if he asked you to do something complicated You do it if he asked you to climb a mountain on your hands and knees you do it Why don't you just dip in the river and then he does it and he's healed and then Naaman He gets healed and he's very thankful. He's very appreciative the Bible does not directly mention this guy's spiritual salvation I believe Naaman gets saved in the story though I believe he also gets the gospel he gets saved And he's very thankful and he now believes in the true God And then that's where we pick up the story here in verse 15 Verse 15 and it returned to the man of God who is the man of God Elisha not Gehazi It's referring to Elisha in return 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 they take a blessing of thy servant and what he's saying to Elisha is I'm willing to give you money because I'm thankful Now what Naaman is doing is a good thing. He's appreciative. He's doing a good thing Right out of the kindness of his heart. He's very thankful and he offers money a Similar example is if you go out soul winning and somebody offers you money They're doing it to be nice But do you think it's a good time to accept money? No, and I've been offered money out so many before and I'm always like no No What I tell people is hey if you're really thankful what you can do is visit our church And you can leave it in the offering plate to give the church, but you know don't give it to me, right? You say why I'm afraid I'll get leprosy if I take the money It's not the time to take money as you're out soloing doing the Lord's work And then says in verse 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 What does it mean to urge what it means is Elisha's saying no, and he's like please take it Please just take it, and he's being nice, but Elisha's like no no no I won't accept it, right Verse number 17 and Naaman said shall there not then I pray thee be given to thy servant two mules burdened of earth For thy servant will henceforth offer neither burnt offering nor sacrifice unto other gods But unto the Lord and this thing the Lord pardoned thy servant that when my master goeth into the house of Remmon to worship there and he leaneth on my hand and I bow myself in the house of Remmon when I bowed down myself in the House of Remmon the Lord pardoned thy servant in this thing So what he's saying in verse 18 is this My boss worships this false god Remmon. I don't believe in Remmon. I believe now in the true Lord I don't believe in this, but I don't want to lose my job So my boss is worshiping Remmon, and then he taps me and says hey, it's time to bow down Forgive me for doing this. I know it's wrong, but I'm gonna do it anyway. Is that not what he says He said what application can we take did you know that some people are Catholic and they get saved and they still go to Catholic Church because they don't want their family to find out Well, what's your proof second Kings chapter 5 what we just read he doesn't believe in Remmon But he's gonna be in the house of a first God Pretending to believe in it because he doesn't want his boss to find out Did you know that we can get Catholics saved and guess what they don't want their mom and dad to find out? Doesn't the Bible speak about in the book of John people that didn't want to Confess that they believed in Jesus because they didn't want to be thrown out of the synagogue They don't want people to find out Hey, I actually believe in Jesus now obviously if you've got a relative you think they get saved in years later They're a hardcore Catholic. They did not get saved, but sometimes you get people say and they don't want to admit That they don't believe this anymore because they don't want people to find out Isn't it obvious that in Muslim countries if a Muslim gets saved. It's very likely. They'll still pretend to be Muslim I Mean common sense you say why would they do that because they don't want their head chopped off I Promise you there's a lot of Muslims that get saved, and they just pretend they still believe in it Why they don't want their family to find out? There's Hindus they get saved, and then they don't let people know why because they don't want their family to find out Right what's your proof second Kings 5 verse 18? I think it's a pretty strong proof of that Verse 19 and he said I'm doing peas so he departed from him a little way Now we're going to pick up with a story with this man Gehazi Which is like the right-hand man the chief helper of Elisha point number one this greedy man, Gehazi You see labor you see labor You see work or effort in order to fulfill his greed It says in verse 20, but Gehazi the servant of Elisha the man of God said behold My master had spared name in the Syrian and not receiving at his hands that which he brought But as the Lord liveth I will run after him and Take somewhat of him look if he started running immediately when name and left Elisha would be like where are you going? So guess what some time goes by Before he starts going after name and if time goes by and he's way ahead of you guess what you got to run pretty Fast got to put in a lot of labor You got to put in a lot of effort, and here's what I'm saying to fulfill his greed It's not like it just rained down from the sky He put in labor and work in order to get this money, and I think to myself Why not just put labor and effort into a real job into all this work instead of dishonest game But you see to fulfill his grade. He puts in labor. He puts in efforts go to Luke 12 Luke 12 Luke chapter 12 Let's look at a few more verses about this labor involved in being covetous Now look when there's people in the secular world there are people that that you know have a lot of money because they work very hard for it and You know obviously don't love money the bottle is very clear about that But here's the thing if somebody has money they probably put in labor effort to get that money now if you work an honest job At least it's an honest job the example of gehezah is dishonest game But people that get money in dishonest ways they put in effort to get that money It's not like it just rains down from the sky They got to put in some work or labor to do it and you just kind of wonder why not just do an honest job Why not just have honest work instead of putting in labor in a dishonest and sinful way? But that's what you see with gehezah Luke 12 verse 16 and he spake a parable unto them saying the ground of certain rich men brought forth plentifully And he thought within himself saying what shall I do? Because I have no room there to bestow my fruits. I Mean, that's that's a that's a tough problem. It's like man. I have so much money. What am I gonna do? I don't know what to do Sell it You know it's really nice if you don't have much in your house, right? It's like you got so much stuff, you know the possessions you own end up owning you Is that not true and he's got so much stuff. What do I do? Let me just give you some advice sell it Get rid of it Do whatever burn it it's gonna make your life better right verse 18, and he said this will I do I will pull down my barns and build greater. You know it takes work to build Takes labor to build takes effort to build and because this man is so greedy Guess what he's got to put an effort and labor and work to fulfill his greed and Build greater, and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods You know I don't have that problem. You know we just don't have that much stuff, right? Verse 19, and I will say to my soul soul that was much good laid up for many years Take thine ease eat drink and be merry God said unto them thou fool this night thy soul shall be required of thee then who shall those things be which thou has provided So does he that layeth up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God the Bible saying it's foolish to live your entire life For things of this life you say why because everything's gonna be done one day, and you're gonna have no rewards in heaven Look if you're a safe person that lives for everything in this life You never read the Bible you never go so and but one day One day, I'm gonna start serving God. What a foolish foolish foolish thing to do You Say why because we only live 70 to 80 years And the things of this earth are nothing compared to the things in heaven And how about just having compassion on the unsaved people that are out there? Regardless of what rewards you get what about just compassion on the unsaved people? I'm thankful. I heard the gospel. What if I never heard it. I'd be an unsaved person You ought to be thankful that you heard the gospel say you know I'm gonna live my life to just you know Try to you know you can't pay back the gift, and it's a gift, and you don't have to pay it back But you ought to you know be thankful for the gift that you've been given of eternal life and say God I'm gonna spend my life devoted to you Go and go to Exodus 18 Exodus 18 Exodus chapter 18 Exodus chapter 18 Exodus 18 verse 21 Exodus 18 verse 21 When you think of the word greed you think of covetousness right very similar word Exodus 18 verse 21 Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men Men that have the ability what's the determination of having the ability to be a leader such as fear God men of truth hate and covetousness Do you notice it's not about a special ability you've been given the able man is one that fears God Why fear God and keep his commandments for this is the whole duty of man it starts with fearing God When we try to teach our kids at a young age is to fear God Men of truth hating covetousness hating greed not living their life for money money money and Place that's over them to be rulers of thousands and rulers of hundreds rulers of 50s and rulers of tens And I certainly believe you can make the application to preachers or men of God that they ought to be people that fear God They ought to be people that are men of truth and they ought to be people that hate covetousness They're not greedy people. They don't live their life for money money money. They're not in it for the money Go to Bible to 2 Kings 5 2 Kings 5 This is not a career you take out because you want to make money It's a career that you take out because you want to do the work Now here's the thing why is it that he said in Exodus 18 you've got to hate covetousness Because if you are a ruler or a leader of a large group of people you will have access to money Right At our church the way we do things and churches do things differently We have multiple people that count the offering but I have access to money as the leader of this church and If somebody's only and imagine if you're the leader of like thousands of people you have access to a lot of money So you better be someone who hates coverage this because even whether you're saved or not It doesn't change the fact that if you are given a covetousness and you have access to money what's gonna take place? You're gonna be like a haze. I write I want more money, right? That's just the way it is. So you better be someone that hates covetousness if you're a leader Whatever one we see labor get haze. I puts in labor to fulfill his greed Point two we see lying get haze. I is a liar verse 21 second Kings 5 verse 21 So get haze I followed after name in and when name and some running after him He lighted down from the chair to meet him and said is all well Name is like I left, you know two hours ago. Like why are you running after me? What's going on? And he said all is well My master hath sent me saying behold even now there become to me from Mount Ephraim two young men of the sons of the prophets Is that true? No No indication whatsoever. That's true Give them I pray the a town of silver and two changes of garments now He doesn't directly say that Elisha told me to say this but that's what he's trying to imply, right? He says give them I pray the a town of silver who's that town of silver going to Aga haze I and Two changes of garments make it seem like there's two of them. So two changes of garments, but he really wants that town of silver right and So what is he doing? He's lying. And did you know the people that are greedy and covetous? They tell lies in order to get money. They are dishonest to get what they want That's what you got to do People that are greedy people that are covetous they put in labor to get the money and they also tell lies in order to get the money verse 25 This is when he comes back, but he went and served before his master and Elisha said unto him when's comest thou to hazy? Where'd you come from? And he said thy servant went no thither wither Once again, what does he do tells a lie? He tells lies to get money and he tells lies Cover it up He puts in labor and now he's lying to get the money Right and look when you do wrong, isn't it true? You got to tell lies to cover it up Well, I mean I actually got it from this right now and I didn't really leave I didn't go anywhere What are you talking about? Right? He tells lies in order to get what he wants go to Jeremiah 6 Jeremiah chapter 6 And Let me go on a rabbit trail to talk to you about Juan de la Cruz, okay Let me say this, you know, not everybody's in the internet world Maybe you don't know what I'm talking about But there was a man here in the Philippines that over on a ministry over, you know oversaw ministry I should say and I guess Bhutan city I think was a location and you know, he was an ordained evangelist and so he was preaching every single week and Preaching as if he has the Spirit of God while secretly stealing money from his church. That's a pretty wicked sin, isn't it? Now, let me say this as I explain the situation because I believe in major situations that we can learn from them When you see this story of Elisha and Gehazi, who is the man that's at fault in this story? Gehazi is Elisha to blame No in This situation of this ordained evangelist stealing money, I don't blame pastor Logan Robertson at all In fact, I think he handled it 100% perfectly I think he did a great job handling the situation and I think yeah We ought to pray for the church and pray for the ministry I don't need anything wrong just like I did the story. I don't blame Elisha for what took place And here's what I'd say. Although I had questions about this this Juan de la Cruz I almost said his real name there. He's like wait, what's Although I have questions about Juan de la Cruz It's like there's an expression that we use often in the US You can't see the forest for the trees and what that means is when you're involved in a situation Your emotions get evolved. It's hard to really see the situation clearly It's a lot easier to look from the outside and it's like yeah, I see questions about that So I understand, you know charity believeth all things you want to give people a chance. Let me be clear I don't blame pastor Robertson at all. I think he handled it perfectly that morning before he made it public He messaged me and other church leaders in the Philippines to warn us about this Juan de la Cruz guy And just say in case he wants to go to you, you know your church in the future Here's the thing. I think his family lives in Manila Right, although I guess, you know, I heard from somebody at a church earlier in the sermon He pretended a few years ago not to speak Tagalog even though he's from Manila Which well there's a lie which for whatever reason you you made right even though he speaks perfect Tagalog But anyways, it's like I was like no we will not accept this guy I'm sorry for the situation and then I messaged pastor Robertson back later I was like just to let you know I was like we don't need the money. I'm not concerned about it God has blessed us but on April 26 2023. I sent him money via LBC to pay the church rent I said I just want to let you know in case you weren't aware of that and Pastor Robertson wasn't aware of that because he had told this guy You've got to give me a list of all the people that you've stolen from or gotten money from Guess what? He didn't put my name on the list. I guess he assumed that I wouldn't tell Pastor Robertson about it Well, you guessed wrong. Mr. Juan de la Cruz. You made it into a sermon Congratulations, right and I sent him the money that was already paid for by Pastor Robertson He lied about it. You know, it's interesting you say well, how do I know? That the pastor is not lying because I talked to my good friend Richard signs He's like that's interesting because I paid for their church rent that month and what's amazing about it He sent me a picture on the same day April 26 2023 Richie paid for their rent also and so did I and I remember I told my wife when we sent the money I said I don't trust this guy You know what? But I said I'll pay him pay to rent one time and I told him I was like, honestly We have a lot of bills. We're not gonna be able to pay for it again I'll help you this one time, but honestly, we can't do this again. So I'm not upset about it. I already knew going ahead I don't trust this guy but on the same day By the Richard signs paid for their rent, which was already paid for by Pastor Robertson now look Everybody sins, but most people would not steal from people like that. Would they? As I said, I think a haze I say it is possible this guy saved I'm not giving you opinion Honestly, I don't really know this guy just I know enough about it He said well, why did you have questions about him before all this because he always asked me for money Oh, can you please help me pastor? Your sermons are such an encouragement. You're such a flatter It's so obvious. You're always trying to flatter me and I acted nice this guy alive And I'm like all you're doing is adding red flags inside my head the same guy They used to go came to our mission strip just to try to get Americans to give him money He's going around getting guys to give him money Same old story same old song and dance if you've been here for years for the people that we had at our church years ago Same thing they do And I'm not saying all of these people aren't safe, but it's a wicked sin that they're doing And it's supposed to know they're never welcome at our church ever any of our churches That it doesn't shock me not only because I know this guy always asking for money And then come to our missions trip just going around and getting people to give them money But you see this happen a lot of times Guys, and this is this is what they do. This is their plan They use things like the missions trips and the message people receives man. It's so hard to make it in the Philippines I'm barely surviving. I'm doing the Lord's work and they're very subtle about it how they're suffering for the cause of Christ Just get a job and work. Mr. Gehazi did a real job and work. Don't steal from people. I know this is true because he stole from us. What a wicked sin that person committed. Once again, I don't blame the pastor for this. I blame Ron De La Cruz. What a wicked sin. So I can verify what this pastor is saying. If there's any questions. Yeah, the guy's a thief and he's not welcome at our church. What a wicked sin this person committed. I mean, I want you to understand something and everyone in this room that goes soul winning can understand a certain degree. So let me give you a couple of examples. Let's say for example, you go out soul winning and you're not fully right with God. Isn't it hard to go soul winning? What about men that preach sometimes? Sometimes you preach and you're more right with God than other times because obviously your life's ups and downs. Isn't it hard to preach when you're not fully right with God? Why is it you see these people? They have no problem preaching even when they just stole money from people. I'm just saying, hey, I don't know for sure, but certainly red flags come up when someone's stealing from church. And it doesn't seem to bother their conscience at all. I wonder why. As I said, I don't know a hundred percent for sure, but it's just like, those are red flags that you look for. And this, the children of God are manifesting the children of the devil because look, all of us have probably stolen something before, whether it's something small from a store or a pen at a bank or whatever. But you know what? Most people in this room haven't stole money from churches. You say why? Because you have a conscience that would make you feel guilty about doing that, especially a large amount of money. But this person didn't seem to have problems at all with it. So what you're seeing is a Christian con artist. They attach themselves to church in order to use church to make money. I mean, they could go on to another field, but there's money in church, so what do they do? They use a church in order to make money. Right? That's what they do. And it's the same old story, same old song and dance. We've seen it before, and you see it here. It's no difference. And look, I don't know this person that well, but I know them well enough to verify that, yeah, this guy's a thief. Yeah, I trust exactly what the missionary pastor said about everything because, yeah, from my personal experience, number one, I would trust the man of God anyway that oversees it, but number two, from personal experience, I know this guy's a thief. I always had questions because when somebody always talks, let me help you out. You know churches that always talk about the first fruits offering and money, money, money? What do you think's inside their hearts? Money. Why do you think that? Because they always talk about money. When this guy is always asking me for money, I wonder what's inside his heart. It's like at the very least he's a very covetous person that is obviously not right with God. Right? And so look, I can verify enough about this situation. Once again, I support the pastor over there. I think we should pray for their church and their ministry. I don't know what the repercussions are obviously, but what a wicked sin to attach yourself to churches in order to take money. And I'll tell you what, this is why I take a really strong stance against this because there are people that are going to use you for the purpose of money. They will do whatever for the purpose of money. They'll attach to a church in order for what? In order to make money. That is what their intention is. Not because they love God and they want to serve God, but they just want to rip people off. That's the truth. Jeremiah chapter 6. Jeremiah 6. You say, why are you preaching at this? This doesn't involve our church. So we can learn from the situation. And so you realize that I wasn't too harsh years ago when I preached like this, when we dealt with situations like this. And you understand, okay, I finally get it. Pastor Stuckey was right several years ago when he took a really strong stance on this stuff. Okay, I understand now why you did things the way you did. I get it now. Okay? Look, when you have situations like this and we've dealt with situations like this, you know, one thing I love about churches like theirs and churches like ours, we don't hide stuff. You say, what do you mean? Because the easy thing to do would be to hide it so nobody finds out because it can make you look bad if something like that happens. We didn't hide it when something came out and neither did they. And they decided to go public about it because he doesn't want this person stealing money from people all over the US, which is what I'm sure the guy would do. And I want to make sure that doesn't happen either. So here's a second witness to make sure this guy, this Juan De La Cruz, who's Juan De La Cruz? Same first name. Okay? There you go. Same first name. Okay? Just so you know, yeah, this guy's a thief. And let me tell you something. People that donate money online, they should learn from this as well. Quit giving money to people that are like, oh, I'm serving God so much and I'm struggling. Why not just give it to actual pastors and trust them with the money? You can send money and say, hey, we want this money to be used for this purpose, for so many trips and stuff like that, and that's great. But when you have people from a church say, oh, I need money, you don't know anything about that person. And this happens a lot and it's an empty bucket. And these are people that love God, they're trying to help, and they're throwing their money away to people that are just ripping them off. That's the truth. That's what's taking place. And it's a shame because it gives the people here a bad name. People see this and they're just thinking, is everybody in the Philippines doing this? I'm just being honest. When my wife and I talk about this situation, it's an embarrassment and it needs to be called out so people are afraid to do this. What a horrible sin to steal from church! And look, the average person, they wouldn't do this. They'd feel guilty about it. But this person, I mean, if they felt guilty, they could have fooled me because they seem to be okay with stealing from a lot of different people. Jeremiah 6, verse 13. Jeremiah 6, verse 13. Jeremiah 6, verse 13, for from the least of them, even unto the greatest of them, everyone is given a covetousness. And from the prophet, even unto the priest, everyone dealeth falsely. Do you notice that covetousness, which is similar to greed, is mixed in with being false or telling lies or not telling the truth? Verse 14, they have healed also the herd of the daughter of my people, slightly saying, peace, peace, when there is no peace. They claim peace and there's no peace. What are they doing? They're lying. See, religious leaders have no problem lying oftentimes in order to make money. In fact, they lie in order to make money. Why? Because they're greedy. Jeremiah chapter 8. Jeremiah 8. You say, why are you angry about this? Somebody steals money from church that doesn't make you angry? Shouldn't that make you angry? I mean, they didn't steal that much from us. I mean, thankfully, the rent's a lot cheaper than it is here. We wouldn't have given them that much money. But it's just like, you know, it doesn't affect us that much, but it still makes me mad. I mean, they're stealing from good people in the U.S. and other countries that love God when they could send that money. You know, another thing that makes me mad about this is this. People like this, to the average person to beg, I am ashamed. Right? You know, like begging for something. But what's frustrating to me is when people will beg and beg and beg, they end up getting money. It works! And what's frustrating to me, let me just give you an example. You know, we've got a great man of God in Biko, Brother Realwin. The guy's not covetous at all. He's not going to get a bunch of money from people in the U.S. You know why? Because to beg, he is ashamed. But other people, they're not embarrassed at all. It's frustrating because, like, man, you have people who are actually good people and working and working and struggling and struggling and struggling, like Brother Realwin. He doesn't get, you know, and this guy obviously got a lot of money because he's asking people all over, probably got like 50,000 pesos every month would be my guess from various different people. He got a lot of money. However much it was, he got a lot of money. And it's like, what's frustrating is this actually works. Because unfortunately, people are too naive. You can't just give money to just every single person. And what I would say, the suggestion I would give, the suggestion was the same on the post from the pastor involved in the situation. Like, you know what, you know, ask the pastor ahead of time. Instead of just giving it to members that are claiming, I need this money, I need this money. And this is what people do. They should learn a lesson. You might be dumping your money into an empty bucket and just, and look, why does he need money from three different sources to pay their rent? Do you really need cocaine that day or something? Like, why did you really need the money? I've got to have this money now. Because I remember telling him, hey, man, I'm really busy right now. He's like, you know, I've got to get it paid before the end of the day. It's like, I'm busy. I've got to waste my time to go down to LBC and everything like that. And it's like, man, if he wants me to ever forgive him, he's got to pay back, you know, as the post said, seven times for time and money. My time is valuable to me, my friend. And it's just like, you know what, he's stealing money from people that's like, what are you using that money on, right? Jeremiah 8, verse 10. Jeremiah 8, verse 10. Therefore, I give their wives unto others and their fields to them that shall inherit them. For everyone from the least, even on the greatest, is given a covetousness. From the prophet, even on the priest, everyone dealeth falsely. And same thing in the next verse, peace, peace, when there is no peace. You're seeing the greed. You're seeing the covetousness and you're seeing that they're filled full of lies. They lie in order to fulfill their greed. Go to 2 Peter, chapter 2. 2 Peter 2. And the context of 2 Peter is in the context of false prophets. And notice what the Bible says. Verse 1, but there are false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves with destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways, by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. Did you know that the way of truth gets evil spoken of when situations like this take place? Because people say, oh, I told you. Told you there's a problem with your Baptist churches and the doctrines that you're teaching. And number one, let me just say this. A church like ours, we actually call out situations. We don't hide them. There's plenty of Baptist pastors in the Philippines that have openly committed adultery and they're still pastoring their churches. Right? But the truth is that the way of truth is evil spoken of. It causes people to look down on it. It's a stain. And it has to be called out. It's not a fun situation to deal with. But it does cause people to be like, oh man, why are there all these problems? I mean, it's just a reality. That's what the Bible's saying. Verse three, and through covetousness, shall they with feigned words, make merchandise of you? What does it mean by feigned words? It means fake words. Basically, they're being dishonest and they make merchandise of people. They steal from people. They rip people off. That's exactly what you see in this situation. Why do you think he's saved or not? That's irrelevant. There's no question. He's doing that exact thing. Making merchandise of people. Just lying in order to get money. While at the same time preaching sermons and soul winning and baptizing people. Turn it back to 1 Thessalonians 2. 1 Thessalonians chapter 2. 1 Thessalonians chapter 2. 1 Thessalonians chapter 2. You say, pastor, does this situation surprise you? It's not the first time something like this has happened. It's not going to be the last. You know why? Because, and look, I said this years ago before I moved to the Philippines, because we were talking about in the US, why is it you have all these pastors that attach themselves to the new IFB and it turns out they hated them the entire time? Because there's a market for being new IFB in 2023. And what I mean by that is if you say you're new IFB you can get a following from day one. I'm just being honest. Literally a person could start a church and say, hey, we're a new IFB church and then immediately the people that live in that area that are new IFB will join the church. And if it's a good church and a good pastor, great! Unfortunately, there's some people that just attach themselves in order to get money. They don't really care about the doctrine because they don't have any morals or ethics anyway. Same thing with someone who's a full-time soul winner. It's just like they could just become a full-time soul winner and like, oh, I'm new IFB. Look at all these people I'm getting saved. And people are like, oh, man, then they start sending money. I mean, it happens all the time. Quit sending the money. People that listen online, the situations have been several times. Learn from it. They're doing their work to be seen of men. That should be a red flag in and of itself. And they do it to make merchandise of you. That's what keeps taking place. That's what takes place with Juan de la Cruz. 1 Thessalonians 2 verse 5. For neither at any time use we flattering words, as ye know, nor cloak of covetousness. God is witness. Flattering words, you know, flattery, being insincere, dishonest, and a cloak or a cover of covetousness. They hide their covetousness with what? Flattering words. Now, this one day de la Cruz tried his best, but I never trusted him. I saw the covetousness, the flattering words. I just added red flags to him, personally, in my head. But that's what he tried to do. That's what he tried to do to me. I mean, he'd mess with me every once in a while. I mean, I was polite to him because, once again, I didn't know for sure this guy was a bad guy. Nor do I know 100% for sure now. I mean, he's a bad guy in the sense he's doing a wicked thing and he needs to be removed. Whether or not he's a reprobate, you know, I can't give a dogmatic opinion. But, you know, when you look at all these verses, it's like, well, you know, where there's smoke, there's water. You can say that. Where there's smoke, there's fire, I should say. Where there's smoke, there's water. Smoke, there's fire. Go to 2 Kings 5. 2 Kings 5. 2 Kings 5. Hey, at least I just proved I'm not reading from a teleprompter, right? Where there's smoke, there's water, right? Where there's smoke, there's fire. Point number one, people put in labor to fulfill their greed. And it's true whether it's in a religious sense, like you see with Gehazi or this Juan de la Cruz, or it's true just in the secular world. This is what people do. Number two, they lie to fulfill their greed. But number three, what's interesting is, you see a largening in this story. 2 Kings 5, verse 22. And he said, all is well. My master has to fulfill their greed. 2 Kings 5, verse 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, the a talent, one talent, a song talent, of silver, and two changes of garments. So what does he ask for? One talent, two changes of garments. One talent, two changes of garments. Now remember, we read verse 16 earlier where it uses the word urge. Because it's going to use the same word in verse 23. To urge someone means they are resisting what you're trying to do or give them. And then you're urging them, no, please take this. Naaman is saying, please take the money, Elisha. And Naaman is doing it out of a good heart. You see the same word used here in verse 23. And Naaman said, be content, take two talents, and he urged him. Not one talent, but two. What does that mean? It means that when Naaman first offered the two talents, Gehazi is like, no, just one talent. You say, why? Because I think Gehazi was saved. I think he has a conscience. He's willing to take one talent, but he feels too guilty about taking two. That's what I believe. Now you could disagree. I know I'm going off one verse. You could have a different opinion. That's fine. Pastors have different opinions. But the urge is implying he's resisting, and then eventually he gives in. And he takes two talents. So I think he resists the two because he feels guilty about it. And the other thing you can see from the story, Elisha doesn't seem to question Gehazi's salvation. It's not like he says, thou wicked false prophet later on in 2 Kings 5. He doesn't say that, so I think Elisha certainly thinks that he's saved. But he urges him to take the two. But here's my point. It takes one, and it gets to two. And did you know that when you're greedy and covetous, it starts here, but it's just going to get more and more and more and more and more. That's the way it works. You say, well prove it to me. Well, let me finish this verse, verse 23. And it says, in bound two talents of silver, in two bags with two changes of garments, and laid them upon two of his servants, and they bared them before him. Go to Ecclesiastes 1. I'll prove it to you. Ecclesiastes chapter 1. You say, well, how much is the talent of silver? That's a great question. I can't be 100% for certain. What I read online, which seems astronomically high to me, it's one talent would be like $30,000, which would be like 1.6 million pesos. 1.7 million pesos. It's a lot of money. So, just give me one talent. I mean, if that's enough, just one talent. Right? It's like, that's a lot. It reminds me of a song, you know, I love this song. The part I always make, you know, I'm satisfied with, just a cottage below, a little silver and a little gold. I always think, yeah, if I don't have a silver and a little gold, I'd be pretty satisfied too. I mean, it sounds like a lot, right? Just a little silver. Just one talent of silver. I don't need two. One talent's okay for me, right? But anyways, maybe I'm the only one who's like on that song, like a little silver, a little gold. I mean, that's a lot, right? You know, just a few Bitcoins, you know, a few talents of silver, a few talents of gold, I'll be good to go, right? Please ask me one verse eight. All things are full of labor. Man cannot utter it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. Now, whether this would be with television and movies or whether it would be with listening to music or whether it would be, I'll be satisfied if I could just have enough money to buy this car. The eye is not satisfied with seeing. It's never going to be enough. You're always going to want more. That's just the way it works. I mean, realistically, inside of most of our heads, we're thinking, I wish I had a little bit more and then I could get this one thing I can't afford. But the reality is, once you get that, guess what? If I could just have a little bit more. That's the way it works. Go to Ecclesiastes four, I'll prove it to you. Ecclesiastes chapter four. Ecclesiastes chapter four. And look, you can do whatever you want. This person wasn't kicked out of our church. I'd recommend that if anybody knows this person, I'll be back with this Juan de la Cruz. He had plenty of witnesses that show that he stole money from various people, from churches, from soul winners, from people that love God. I personally, if you know him, if you know his wife, you know his kid, I would have nothing to do with those people whatsoever. You can do whatever you want because they didn't get kicked out of our church and you have free will to do what you want. I'm just trying to give you some helpful advice. If I was friends with that person before and I really knew them, I would have been a Republican. Isn't that what you're supposed to do when someone gets kicked out of church? Treat them as an unbeliever. Whether they are or not. I would just say the man stole money from church. I mean, that's a pretty wicked sin. Ecclesiastes four verse eight. There's one alone and there's not a second. Yea, he hath neither child nor brother, yet is there no end of all his labor, neither is his eye satisfied with riches. Your eye is never going to be satisfied. Your eye is never going to be satisfied. You're always going to want more. That's just the way it works. And inside your head right now, you're thinking, no, pastor, you're not correct. If I just had this, I would be satisfied. No, you wouldn't. You would always want more. What takes place is you're here, you want this, and as you get more, the distance stays the same and you just keep wanting a little bit more. And pretty soon you're like, man, I just want to be like Donald Trump and I'll be happy, right? If you follow bills, I'll be good to go. And no, you won't. That's just the way it works. You're always going to want more. Go to Philippians chapter four. Philippians chapter four. Philippians chapter four. Philippians chapter four. Verse 11. Not that I speak in respect of one, for I have learned in whatsoever state I know both how to be abased and I know how to abound. Everyone and all things I'm instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. Verse 13 is a very famous verse for UFC fighters. They always have this tattoo on them. It's just like I don't think the context of what Paul the Apostle is saying is I can beat up anybody through the power of God, right? It's like athletes and fighters, it's like the context of what the Bible is saying. What is the context? The context is whether I have a lot or little, I can be satisfied. I can be content. I can be happy. What's interesting is he says I have learned. What does that mean? It means that Paul the Apostle in his old life actually had some money. He had a nice job. He had a good situation. And when he became an evangelist, he learned to be content with little. Learned to be content with less. And he says, hey, whether I'm abounding or whether I have nothing, I can be happy. But this should make sense to us because think about this. Sometimes you meet people that are really rich and they have everything given to them by their parents and then they're not thankful for anything they get. It doesn't make them happy. I had a friend of mine whose parents were both doctors. They had a lot of money. Their family was very rich. And as far as I know, I don't think they really spent time with their kids. They just took them on fancy vacations once a year or whatever. But I remember I got done with school that day and I was walking back because in high school I was half a day homeschooled. And then I see him at the basketball court and I'm like, what's wrong? And the guy, he had just turned 16. It was his 16th birthday which is when you're allowed to drive without your parents. Literally what he told me was my parents bought me a new car and it's not the one I wanted. I'm so sorry. I can't believe you had to go through that. The guy knows me. It's like how rude of a statement when he knows I don't have a car. My family's not rich. A new car. Not just a used car. A new car. It's not the car I wanted. You say, what's that called? It's called never being appreciative because you've had everything in life given to you. You know, honestly, it's good to actually have some suffering in your life because then you can actually be thankful for the things that you do get in life. And what Paul says is, but you can learn to be content. Maybe you can't right now but you can learn because happiness is not based on the possessions that you have. Don't get me wrong. If you get a possession, if somebody gives you something, it can be a blessing and you can enjoy it. What I'm saying is, you can be happy with little and Paul said I've learned to be content. But if you go down this road more and more and more, that's the way it works. And if you don't believe me, then just read the Bible. Read Ecclesiastes where he says, I hated life. Let's not go on our own wisdom. Let's just go on the Word of God with this topic and say, you know what, I'm just going to trust what the Bible says and I'm going to learn to be content with where I'm at now. And you know what could be true? Maybe God sees that Second Kings chapter five. Second Kings chapter five. With Gehazi, we see that he labors to fulfill his greed, to fulfill his covetousness. He lies. He lies to get the money. He lies in order to cover it up. We see a large inning. It starts with one talent. It goes to two talents. We see loss. We see loss. Notice what it says in verse 24. And when he came to the tower, he took them from their hand and bestowed them in the house and he let them in go and they departed. 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. And he said unto him, Went not my heart with thee? He said, what does that mean? You know, if you'd heard my sermon it really stands out to me. What Elisha's saying is that when you chose to commit that sin it destroyed my heart also. It'd be like raising your kids and you see your kids do wrong and it breaks your heart. And what Elisha's saying is because Elisha loved Gehazi. He cared about Gehazi. He's his right hand man and I believe Gehazi was saved. Elisha certainly believes that and he's like, Gehazi, when you committed that sin you get what Elisha's thinking. He's like, went not my heart with thee. When the man turned again from his chariot to meet thee. See, you know, often times when you see preachers you see them stand up and get mad and scream and you think, oh, they're just angry and hateful when in reality if you saw the inside look of a preacher or pastor what you'd really see is what you're seeing here from Elisha where it's like is it a time to receive money and to receive garments and olive yards and vineyards and sheep and oxen and men servants and maid servants? The leper see therefore of name and shall cleave unto thee and unto thy seed forever and he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow and what I'd like to ask Gehazi, was it worth it? I mean, you just wanted a little bit more money just a little silver and a little gold in real fashion, 1.6 million pesos, right? And then you'll finally be happy. Was he happy? No, he wasn't. He destroyed his life. He ended up getting struck with leprosy. Go to 1 Timothy 6, we'll close up. 1 Timothy 6. 1 Timothy 6. You know, one thing that's interesting to me because it is true that there are people in this world that work very hard and spend all their life on work, work, work and they do make money and they have a lot of money but from my personal experience when I meet people that are very greedy and very covetous, you know what I often see in people that lie in order to get money? They don't have much. They spend so much time trying to lie to get rich and then they end up with nothing. They end up with nothing. They're like greedy, greedy, greedy and then they don't have much. They don't even get what they want. They end up with nothing and I'm just thinking, you know why? Because people that are greedy, they don't know how to use money. They end up just wasting it. Right? You know, I remember the person who used to be at our church, they got kicked out several years ago. He would always ask me to eat at the restaurant Vikings and I would always say no. It's expensive. Brother, I can cover you. It's like, you know, we've heard this story with you. You always find a way not to end up covering you. But it's like, no, I mean, I would feel bad about using his money. It's like to me it's just like it might be the greatest restaurant. I don't know. I've never eaten there but it's like, you know what? I'm okay with just eating and I'm not a big fan of buffets anyway. It's like I'm okay with just eating whatever. I make fun of Jollibee a lot. I mean, I eat at Jollibee plenty of times. Right? It's just like and then they don't understand the value of it. They just spend it. They just waste it, which I've never been there but I guess the restaurant's like a thousand pesos or something for a buffet or something crazy. It's like that's a lot of money. It's like I'll pass. But people like that, they end up with nothing. They don't have anything. They're greedy, greedy, greedy and then they end up with nothing. That's what I see. Verse 76, verse 6, But godliness with content, man, is the same. For he brought nothing into this world and it's certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be there with content. Two questions for you today. Do you have food? Well, since you're here and you're alive, the answer to that would be yes. Right? Honestly, in today's world, there are very few people that they wake up and they're like, I don't know if I'm going to have any money to buy any food today. That they're literally living meal by meal. Look, I've had times in my life when I didn't have a lot of money, but I'm just being honest, I have never gone through a day where I was concerned I wouldn't be able to eat that day. Now, in the Bible days, there's a lot of people you see that they're really struggling. A famine really meant, man, we are poor, this is our final day. Like, man, this is desperation time. But the Bible's saying if you just have food on a daily basis, I mean, look, you remember Elijah and then God is feeding him just every day. He has to trust in God and God will provide our needs. The Bible says God hasn't seen, I mean, His people, the psalmist said, begging for food. God provides. God provides our needs. Do you have raiment? The answer is yes. I mean, if you didn't have any raiment, we would make sure to get you some because we wouldn't let you come into church without it. You have food and raiment, so be content. Be happy with that. You know what's interesting? It doesn't mention having a place to sleep at night. It doesn't mention that. As far as I know, everybody at our church has a place to sleep at night. If you don't learn to be content with food and raiment, God might just have to keep you from getting more until you're finally willing to be thankful for the blessings He's given you. Verse 9. But they that will be rich, the people that are covetous, they want money, they go after money, fall into temptation and a snare and into many foolish and hurtful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. It's like the mouse that just falls into a snare and then they're destroyed. That's what people are like. It's like there's money in a giant human mouse trap or whatever and it's like money, money. I mean the Bible says it's going to be a trap but you're like I think I can get the money and get out. Right? Look, mice are pretty smart from my experience. They're really tough to kill sometimes. I think oftentimes they think the same thing. You think you can get that money, they always get snapped. That's what the Bible says. You think you can get that money, it's like yeah I know it's wrong, I'll be a little bit covetous but then I'll get out and it'll still serve God and no problems. It's not the way it works. For the love of money is the root of all evil. Not money, money's not the root of all evil, the love of money. The love of money is the root of all evil which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith which is a sharp object. What's the Bible say? Loving money is like taking a knife and just stabbing yourself. That's what the Bible's saying. When you go down this road of being greedy and covetous and loving money, just remember it's like taking a knife and just stabbing yourself with it. Does that sound like a lot of fun? That's what the Bible says is going to take place if you love money and you go after money. You can't blame other people for your problems when you become covetous and destroy your life. This always happens with people that win the lottery. Their lives are destroyed within a couple of years. There was a guy in West Virginia a long time ago. I didn't know this guy. He wasn't in a town I lived in but it was a famous story of winning the lottery. He won a lot of money. I don't remember how much it was and the guy was known to be a guy that went to church, had a family, he was a family man. He just lived off what God had given him, just had an honest job and everything and all of a sudden he made $80 million in the lottery. Now number one, why are you playing the lottery? Do whatever you want. I'm saying you're wasting your money and you shouldn't do it. This guy, because here's the thing, you're either going to lose money or this guy makes a ton of money and then all of a sudden this guy who just had an honest job and went to church, all of a sudden he started using that money to go to bars, started buying expensive wine, buying all these things he doesn't need. Within two years of that guy making all this money, his niece had ended up overdosing and dying from drugs, which she never did drugs before this but all of a sudden they have access to this different lifestyle. He's got a divorce. Within two years his life was destroyed and that's not an isolated event. This happens all the time. People go to casinos, they either lose all their money and destroy their life or they get a bunch of money and it destroys their life also. It's like it's a lose-lose situation because it's never going to be enough and it's not even going to make you happy. You think it is but it's not and I firmly believe, you can disagree, that's fine, I think Gehazi was saved but he destroyed his life. What I would say is, you know what, be content with what you have. It's not wrong to get money, work hard, if God blesses you, hey, you know, be thankful. Always put God first. Make sure you're thankful for what God gives and if God blesses you, praise God. Look, I pray for members of our church that God will bless them in their personal lives. But I love what Pastor Mendez always says. He says, I pray that God will bless people financially unless it's going to destroy their life. It's like, please bless brother so-and-so unless it's going to hurt him and then just make him have little. And look, that's the truth. It's like, I hope that people at our church are blessed financially and God does bless you in all areas of your life. Not just in terms of having a godly family and good health but I hope that he blesses you financially unless it's going to destroy your life. Unless you're not going to be thankful and if that's the case, you know what, it's better for you to just have very little. Because greed and covetousness, it's going to destroy your life just like it destroyed the life of Gehazi. Let's close in word of prayer. Your Heavenly Father, thank you for allowing us to be here today and I ask you to help us to apply this sermon to our lives. Help all of us including myself and my family. Help us not to be filled full of greed and covetousness. Help us learn to be content with the things you have given us and not to have this attitude to not be God. Thank you for everything you've given us. Thank you for the church family you've given us. Thank you for us hearing the gospel and getting saved and just ask you to bless all of us in this room and ask you to bless people financially as well but not if it will end up destroying our lives. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.