REMEMBER YOU WERE IN DEBT (LUKE 7:36-50)

 

REMEMBER YOU WERE IN DEBT

BIBLE PASSAGE: LUKE 7:36-50

Picture taken from Google

Lesson Prepared by: Krisha of Solomon’s Wisdom FB page

Lesson taken from: dunstablebaptistchurchsermon

 MARCH 20, 2022

MEMORY VERSE

  Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little..

LUKE 7:47

 

INTRODUCTION:

I don’t know if you know the feeling of in debt? Let me start by saying that we had been in situations where we had no choice but to borrow money to pay for an emergency (another debt which was already due). It is extremely difficult. Why I said that? Because not only you’re dealing with that emergency, you're also dealing with the anxiety of having to pay for that new debt with a high-interest  or personal loan because there is no cash to take care of it. It also brought on a lot of anxiety and frustration when we had no salary anymore and we were strapped with debt! I hope my co-workers before won’t get mad upon hearing this; they don’t want me to open up about our debt. Honestly, it was traumatic; I know they would understand. There was a point where I easily got nervous when someone is calling my name at our gate; I foresaw that would be an employee from a barangay where I needed to settle issues. There were so many things I can’t do before: I didn’t to go to the Mall, someone might recognize me, I didn’t want to answer calls, I easily put them in my block list. I was afraid riding in a jeep, some parents would ask me for things I couldn’t answer. I don’t want weekdays to come; I just want Saturday and Sunday because weekdays were the schedules of payment for money lender. I became anxious, worry and paranoid. Until one time, God spoke to me through prayer, while praying, suddenly thoughts came to my mind. “Why not face the problems, don’t run away?” Then that’s the time ideas came to my mind and asked some people including my siblings to help us. I need a very firm budgeting and be faithful in my giving in the church.  SO YOU SEE, BE IN DEBT IS HARD.

How about our sin-debt, is it hard? Is it hard that because of that debt, you’ll go to hell? Let’s answer these questions by the lessons points prepared.

LESSON OUTLINE:

1.  THERE WAS AN UNPAYABLE DEBT (LUKE 7:42)

And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most?

 

Jesus was invited by Simon the Pharisee to come to his house and a woman entered to the house uninvited when she knew that Jesus was there and we know the story we’ve read and what she did to Jesus. I imagine how she washed Jesus feet at the table because in verse 38 says, “And stood at his feet behind him…” So I searched a little and this picture possibly the posture of Jesus and his companions (show the picture). In verse 39 says, “Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner.”

 

Simon just spoke to himself, but Jesus heard his heart, and He said in verse 40, “Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on. ⁴¹ There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty.⁴² And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most? The Lord Jesus Christ point out that both have debt. Sometimes people see other sins clearly than their sins. Like the Pharisee, some people think they are more respectable; they think “I’ve never murdered, I’ve never stole something, and I’ve never cheated my spouse.” But whether we are respectable or shameless, WE ARE SINNERS. The Lord wants to say to Simon, “You’re a sinner (debtor) too, you’re just like her.” The amount of debt is not important whether your debt is 500 pence or fifty; all that matters is you both cannot pay. You cannot adequately pay your debt.  Let’s recite Romans 3:23, “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of GOD.”  

 

Have you imagined that you were in debt? Remember everyone is in debt and take note WE HAVE NOTHING TO PAY! WE HAVE A SIN DEBT AND NOTHING TO PAY. No matter how old you are; you’re 5 years old, 16 years old, 40 years old, 70 years old, it TOOK THE SAME GRACE, IT TOOK THE SAME BLOOD to save you. Imagine we are saved from hell. God delivered, saved and changed you. Bible says, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

 

2.  REMEMBER THE LORD CANCELED YOUR DEBT (LUKE 7:42)

And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most?

 

Where can we find forgiveness in our sins? Sins and forgiveness are a picture of…

In verse 48 says, “And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven.” In the next verses say, “And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also? And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.”

 

Jesus in the story and his interaction with the woman compares our sin with being in debt to a money lender and the debt is so great and we are unable to pay it for ourselves. For sure, most people would be kept up at night if you had a large debt that you cannot pay to a money lender. You keep on thinking how you you’re going to pay that debt. Like the feeling I’ve shared a while ago, every knock on the door would cause your stomach to churn and leap inside you because you’ll be worried that the money lender has finally sent the debt collector around to solve the issue but this money lender isn’t evil money lender. The money lender is gracious and rather than sending the debt collectors around, he sees that neither can afford to pay the debt and out of love, he cancels the debt. All the fears and anxieties are canceled along with the money; the debtor is able to live in peace.

 

Have you found forgiveness for your sins in Jesus Christ? Simon the Pharisee could not conceive that the prophet, a man sent from God would accept this sinful woman but Simon didn’t see that Jesus was more than a prophet, He is the saving God who doesn’t back at a distance to hurry to get involved but He’s the One who comes into the world who take on Himself humanity and who goes through all the difficulties and all the trials of life. He doesn’t go to the holy group of the Pharisees who are trying to keep themselves separate from the sinners and in fact he comes close to desperate sinners who know that their sin was so great that they cannot shake them off by themselves. Jesus doesn’t send them away.   We cannot adequately pay the price of our sins of ourselves but Jesus who had no debt of His own has come to pay the debt that we owe. At the cross, Jesus paid that debt with His own blood securing the payment for the forgiveness of the sins of all who would believe on Him. There at the cross, His final words were called out loudly with every breath in His dying body, “IT IS FINISHED” in other words, “IT IS PAID” I can go to bed at night, lay my sweet head down and start sleeping peacefully because I am going to hell no more. AMEN! WE are saved by the grace of GOD!

 

3.  MORE SINS FORGIVEN MEANS MORE LOVE SHOWS TO THE PAYER (LUKE 7:42- 47)

And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most? ⁴³ Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged.

 

What was the cause of this woman’s strange actions? The answer comes to us from Simon himself.  Jesus asked Simon, “Which of the two debtors will love him more? The one who cancelled his debt with 500 pence or fifty? He answered in an obvious question. He answered, “I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most.” Out of his own mouth, comes the answer and in the next verses, Jesus says,

“And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman?  I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet. My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment.”

Jesus still speaks to Simon; He made a comparison. In the first century, it is customary to wash the feet of the guest with water; Simon didn’t do that. It was customary to give a welcome kiss to the honored guest; Simon didn’t honor his guest with a kiss. It was customary to refresh a guest by pouring oil on their head; Simon gave him no oil. It was customary to give a welcome kiss to the honored guest; Simon gave Him a meal but that’s all He gave Him. Simon the Pharisee, gave Jesus the minimum but this embarrassing woman who dares came in and crash the party, the notorious sinner. What does she give Jesus? The woman washed Jesus’s feet not with water but with her own grateful tears flowing from a forgiven heart. The woman kissed his feet but Simon didn’t want to kiss his face but the woman couldn’t stop kissing feet, the feet which Simon wouldn’t wash. There was no oil offered but the woman brought not just simple oil but a fragrant oil and anointing Jesus with this fragrance. It would come a great cost to herself. Luke 7:47 says, Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.  In Tagalog,

Kaya nga sinasabi ko sa inyo, Ipinatatawad ang kaniyang maraming kasalanan; sapagka't siya ay umibig ng malaki: datapuwa't sa pinatatawad ng kaunti, ay kakaunti ang pagibig.

 

Do you love Jesus the most? What does comparison reveal? Simon’s minimum revealed he hadn’t really experienced the forgiveness of his sins, but this notorious sinner revealed that her sins had been taken far, far away and not just her sins, her many sins. If you’ve received forgiveness of your sins, ask yourselves, “IS THAT OBVIOUS BECAUSE OTHER SEE YOU LOVE JESUS CHRIST?”

 

 

CONCLUSION:

If you remember that you were in debt? What do you feel? Do you stay on your feet and do nothing? Are you grateful and do things to please the payer? If you remember you were in debt, would you also forgive others? To put your feet on the ground, always remember you were a debtor. 

HAVE I FINISHED THE WORK? (JOHN 17:1-4)

 

HAVE I FINISHED THE WORK?

BIBLE PASSAGE: JOHN 17: 1-4

Picture taken from Google

Lesson Prepared by: Krisha of Solomon’s Wisdom FB page

Lesson ideas taken from: https://www.blueletterbible.org/

 

MAY 08, 2022

MEMORY VERSE

I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.

JOHN 17:4

 

INTRODUCTION:

John 17 is the prayer of Jesus. He prays on behalf of those he would leave behind before he ascended to heaven. In verse 4 that we have read says, “I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.”

If you die tomorrow, will you say this, “GOD I AM READY TO GO HOME BECAUSE I HAVE GLORIFIED YOU ON EARTH WITH THE WORK YOU LEFT ME AND SENT ME?” A pastor said in his preaching, if you can’t say that on your deathbed then you’ve lived a wasted life. Life only matters and has meaning if you can say, “I HAVE FINISHED THE WORK.” You probably would say that the verse is about Jesus, talking to the Father and not primarily for you or for Christians but Paul mentioned also, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:”  

The question “HAVE I FINISHED THE WORK?” is hard to answer because we have flaws and shortcomings in this world but like what I said, we should answer that when we are on our way to our deathbed. In the present we are still okay we are not on the brink of physical declining but let’s not wait for that time to come before you realize that there is a work that we needed to accomplish. Here are the two questions we need to consider in doing the work God has entrusted to us.

LESSON OUTLINE:

1.  IS GLORIFYING GOD A BIG DEAL IN YOUR LIFE? (JOHN 17:4)

 

How did Jesus glorify the Father? At the birth of Jesus, the angels declared, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” He brought glory to God through His works:

·       When they brought the man in a cot to Jesus and let him down through the roof, Jesus said, “Your sins have forgiven.” The result of this miracle was when the multitude saw this, they marveled and glorified God (Matthew 9:8)- paralyzed man.

·       When Jesus was sitting on a mountain side near the Sea of Galilea, and they brought to him multitudes of people who were lame, blind, mute, and maimed, and He healed them all, the crows wondered when they saw the mute speaking, and the blind seeing and the maimed being made whole, and they glorified the God of Israel (Matthew 15:31).

·       When Jesus and His disciples came to the city and they met a funeral procession coming out of the city, carrying in a casket the only son of the widow, Jesus stopped the procession and commanded the dead boy to arise, and he sat up and began to speak. We read that a great fear came upon all the people, and they glorified God and declared that a great prophet had risen among them and that God had visited His people (Luke 7: 11 – 16)

·       When Jesus met the woman that was bent double from her waist, when He laid His hands on her, she was made straight, and she glorified God (Luke 13:11-13).

·       When Jesus held the ten lepers, one of them turned back and glorified God with a loud voice (Luke 17:15).

·       At the crucifixion of Jesus when the sky turned dark and the earth shook, and the rocks were split, the centurion glorified God, and declared, “Certainly this was a righteous man.” (Luke 23:47)

 

So, you see, Jesus works point to the Father. Personally, we are out of the track of our real purpose. We are sidetracked. Let’s remember that the purpose of our lives is to glorify God. The purpose of our redemption is that we might be to praise of the glory of His grace. How do we glorify God?

·       Let your light so shine before men, that they see your good works and glorify your father which is in heaven.”

·       Jesus said that the Father is glorified as we bear much fruit (John 15:8).

·       By being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ to the praise and glory of God (Phil. 1:11)

·       By living an honest life before the heathen, that even though they speak against you, that they by your good works that they see, glorify God (1 Pet. 2:12).

 

Paul declares that we are not our own, we have been bought with a price, therefore we are to glorify God in our bodies, and our spirits which are His (1 Cor. 6:20). Sad to say that some live to bring glory to themselves. Each of us live for the glory of God or for our own glory. Jesus spoke of how the Pharisees were seeking the glory of men. Remember when Jesus was tempted by Satan, He had the opportunity to receive the glory of the world. Satan had offered it to Him. He chose rather to glorify the Father. Also, Jesus declared, that He didn’t seek His own glory. In the church of Corinth some were saying, I am of Peter, others I am of Apollos, still others, I am of Paul. Paul wrote to them saying, Let no man glory in men.”

We need to be reminded that whether we are eating or drinking or whatever we do we are to do all for the glory of God. DOES MY LIFE BRING GLORY TO GOD?

 

2.   ARE YOU ACCOMPLISHING THE WORK GOD GAVE US TO DO? (JOHN 17:4)

 

When Jesus was just 12 years old, He had a sense of mission. When he was discovered to be missing when the family was returning to Nazareth after the feast, and they sought for Him until they found Him in the temple sitting with the doctors of the law, listening to them and asking them questions. To the scolding of His parents, he replied, “How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?” (Luke 2:49)

·       He later in life said that He did not come to do His own will but the will of Him that sent Him (John 6:38).

·       When Jesus had come to a city of the Samaritans with His disciples and they had gone into the village to buy some food and the women came to draw water, after the episode when the people had finally left, His disciples offered Him some of the food, and He answered, “I have meat to eat that ye know not of. My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.” (John 4:32, 34)

·       When the Jews sought to kill Him for healing of the Sabbath day in John 5:17, He responded to them, “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.”

·       Also in John 5 verse 36, He was speaking of how that John the Baptist bore witness of Him, but He declared that He had an even greater witness, and that the works that the Father had given Him to finish, they also testified of Him.

·       In John 9:4, He said, “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.”

·       John tells us that while Jesus was hanging on the cross, He cried, “I thirst.” And a soldier dipped a sponge in some vinegar and put it to His lips, and when He tasted of the vinegar, He said, “IT IS FINISHED.”

 

What is the work of the Father that He came to finish?  THE WORK OF REDEEMING MANKIND FROM SIN. The Old Testament sacrifices could not put away sin, they only covered sin. Hebrews 10:4 “For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.”

The Old Testament saints could not come into the perfected state until the finished work of redemption through Jesus Christ.

Peter said that we are not redeemed with corruptible things such as silver or gold, form our empty lives, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: (1Peter 1:18-19).

The work of creation was finished in six days, and on the seventh day God rested from the work of creation, not that He was tired, but the work was finished.

The work of redemption was finished when Jesus cried from the cross, “IT IS FINISHED.” And He said, “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit:” and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.” (Luke 23:46)

God has still unfinished business on this earth. The business of God is to bring men to the redemption that has been provided for them through His Son. God has called upon us to help finish his work. He has commission for each of us. The question is…

ARE WE ACCOMPLISHING THE WORK GOD GAVE US TO DO?

 

CONCLUSION:

Let’s read 2 Timothy 4:6-8,

For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. ⁷ I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: ⁸ Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

Paul at the end of his life could write Timothy and declared he had fought a good fight; he had finished his course, and he had kept the faith. May we can say these words at the end of our lives. In additional there’s a crown waiting for those who have finished His work. Keep it up!

 

 

IT'S IN GOD'S HANDS (2 KINGS 5:1-27)

 

IT’S IN GOD’S HAND

BIBLE PASSAGE: 2 KINGS 5: 1-27

Picture taken from Google

Lesson Prepared by: Krisha of Solomon’s Wisdom FB page

Lesson ideas taken from: https://baptistlessons/

 JULY 03, 2022

MEMORY VERSE

As he came forth of his mother's womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand.

ECCLESIASTES 5:15

 

INTRODUCTION:

People think that they are in control of their lives without realizing that there’s a Supreme God who made everything. People feel this way especially when they do need nothing which means

they are supplied of everything; they have better job and still strong and no sickness to be worried about. In the other hand, there are also people who are incapable of acquiring something in this world and waiting for God’s blessings but times go on and they are tempted to be greedy and thinking they can be acquiring something according to their means and without thinking the possibility of the chastening of the Lord.

 

Our topic for this month is “giving” we’re talking about different situations in life wherein we can see how these characters in the Bible dealt with the sin of covetousness and how they realized that God is in control of their lives. 

 

Do you believe that one way of proving you’re maturing is through giving? It is quite possible to covet not only what belongs to others but to covet what belongs to God.  This happens when you are keeping a portion of His property.  Scripture relates that our relationship to material possessions is a key to understanding our relationship to God.  The opposite of covetousness is the two Spirit-given qualities: contentment and generosity. If you’re a babe in Christ, do you give generously? At the infant level there is no giving. Like many in the church, he must be fed, entertained, and cleaned up.  He cries when he doesn’t get what he wants.

 

In the of the ten commandment the word “covet” is there. What does this word mean? Covetousness is the opposite of generosity. Covetousness is desiring and plotting to take

something that is not yours to have. In Colossians 3:5, covetousness is described as one form of idolatry – worshiping the other god. Why? If you don’t believe that your God is the source and you go to illegitimate means to get it and the bible warns us about this in Luke 12. Don’t say that I wouldn’t reach that point in my spiritual life to covet something that is not mine. “I’M OKAY.” Remember what we have read.  The story is introduced with Gehazi being described as “the servant of Elisha, the man of God.” Here is one of the things that makes this story so sad, and at the same time a warning to each of us. He was not a man without opportunities. As a servant of Elisha, he was also a student of Elisha. He had the privilege of knowing this great man of God. He had the example of Elisha’s life and the message of his lips as a tremendous source of instruction, challenge, learning, and motivation for godliness and a life of service. Yet he failed to capitalize and grow through this privilege.

Gehazi is the servant who saw great things happened. A servant of the prophet Elisha. He was first mentioned in 2 Kings 4:12, where Elisha would command him to do something. He saw many miracles take place. He witnessed a childless woman (and her old husband) have a child (verse 17). When the woman's child, a boy, died, he saw him live again (verses 35-37). He saw miracles other than that. He saw a poisonous pot of stew be purified and made safe to eat (verses 38-41). He also a hundred people satisfy themselves with but a few portions of food, with much leftover (see verses 42-44). These accounts would make us think that he was very fortunate to have witnessed with his own eyes things that no normal man can do without God. It must have been very exciting and hair-raising to see a dead boy back to life, something poisonous become edible, and a hundred people have their fill from a little amount of food.

In 2 Kings 5, Naaman was healed from leprosy and in return, he wanted to give something in return to the prophet, but Elisha said 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.” (“Saksi si Yahweh, ang buháy na Diyos na aking pinaglilingkuran,^[a] hindi ako tatanggap ng kahit ano.”)

This chapter revealed to us that something wrong in Gehazi’s heart: greed. Let’s remember that consequences follow our every choice, even if we serve God. EVERYTHING IS IN GOD’S HAND.

Have you ever thought of something about blessings and expect those from the Lord, but it seems like you’re waiting for so long?  Like the battle we have in this world, Gehazi, the servant, saw the opportunity to acquire wealth and he wanted to grab it. He made his way to acquire wealth through deception; he used Elijah’s name and the name of God. He also lied that there were two poor prophets who need support.  After doing the sin, Elisha told him in verse 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?

Tagalog: “Sinabi ni Eliseo, “Hindi ba't kasama mo ang aking espiritu nang bumabâ sa karwahe si Naaman at salubungin ka. Hindi ngayon panahon ng pagtanggap ng salapi, damit, taniman ng olibo, ubasan, tupa, baka at mga alipin!

It is not yet time, but Gehazi can’t wait for it. Greed grew in his heart. LET’S REMEMBER THAT…

LESSON OUTLINE:

1.  NO ONE IS ABOVE GOD’S AUTHORITY

To begin with this story, a little background is needed to appreciate the context. The children of Israel live in the divided kingdom, the ten northern tribes formed the kingdom of Israel and two southern tribes formed the kingdom of Judah. The books of I and II Kings record the history of both kingdoms whereas the books of I and II Chronicles mainly focus on the history of Judah. Elijah was a powerful prophet who was sent to call the people of Israel back to God, and Elisha was his successor, who asked for a double portion of Elijah’s spirit when Elijah was taken up into heaven; his request was granted. What is interesting about this story’s characters is that Syria, where Naaman was from, did not have a good relationship with Israel. They were often fighting in war, as they would be in the next few chapters. The fact that Naaman has a servant girl from Israel would imply that she had been taken captive in war, and the king of Israel’s reaction to Naaman’s message shows the tension that was present between the two nations as the king supposes that the king of Syria is just looking for a fight. Nevertheless, Naaman does indeed find Elisha and a very interesting story follows. https://twentyeighteighteen.com/

 

Naaman was a great man; he was a valiant warrior, but he had a serious disease. He was a great man with leprosy, and we know at that time it is incurable. He thought he could buy the cure by sending gold, silver and gold to the king of Israel. Then with the instruction of the prophet, he got furious because he didn’t expect the way of instruction the prophet had said. Because of his status, he expected something; he expected to be cured on that time and immediately but instead, the prophet had instructions to follow. The instructions were not acceptable to him, he expected to be washed in fancy places for the cure, but it was a simple river and there’s number of how many times to wash. At the end, he humbled and followed; his pride had to go. At the end, he said in verse 17,

“Dahil dito, sinabi ni Naaman, “Kung ayaw ninyo itong tanggapin, maaari po bang mag-uwi ako ng lupa mula rito? Kakargahan ko ng lupa ang aking dalawang mola. Mula ngayon, hindi na ako mag-aalay ng handog na susunugin sa sinumang diyos liban kay Yahweh”

We can see that really no one is above God’s authority, and everything is in God’s hand.

 

2.  CONSEQUENCE FOLLOW OUR EVERY CHOICE, EVEN WE SERVE GOD

Gehazi was blessed to be near with the man of God. He had that great opportunities and privileged but he lost them. Opportunity and privileged are no guarantee of success; it’s in GOD’s HAND.

Let’s read verse 27 of 2^nd Kings chapter 5, “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.” The consequence of his sin is leprosy. Leviticus 13:45-46 say,

“And the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and his head bare, and he shall put a covering upon his upper lip, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean. All the days wherein the plague shall be in him he shall be defiled; he is unclean: he shall dwell alone; without the camp shall his habitation be.

Sad to say that the consequence of his sin is not to him only but also to his descendants. He and his descendants are isolated.

Gehazi's greed was met with unpleasant consequences. We cannot expect to be exempted from the consequences of our sin, even if we spend all that we are to serve ministers or the church. Sin is sin and must be repented of and renounced.

3.  GOD CAN REVERSE THE IRREVERSIBLE CONSEQUENCES

What are the problems or situations we have right now which we think are impossible to have solutions? In case of Gehazi, his leprosy is incurable. He’d been outside the camp to avoid spreading of this sickness; he was unclean. Was his situation worst? Yes, you cannot do what you used to do. You are separate from friends and other people. Let’s read 2 Kings chapter 8: 4

And the king talked with Gehazi the servant of the man of God, saying, Tell me, I pray thee, all the great things that Elisha hath done.

This verse mentioned that Gehazi talked to the king. How come that he could talk to the king if he had leprosy. Commentaries wrote the possible reasons why he can talk to the king: the chronological order of the events, he might have talked to the king in a distance and many more. Let’s read the first six verses:

¹Then spake Elisha unto the woman, whose son he had restored to life, saying, Arise, and go thou and thine household, and sojourn wheresoever thou canst sojourn: for the Lord hath called for a famine; and it shall also come upon the land seven years. ² And the woman arose, and did after the saying of the man of God: and she went with her household, and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years. ³ And it came to pass at the seven years' end, that the woman returned out of the land of the Philistines: and she went forth to cry unto the king for her house and for her land. ⁴ And the king talked with Gehazi the servant of the man of God, saying, Tell me, I pray thee, all the great things that Elisha hath done. ⁵ And it came to pass, as he was telling the king how he had restored a dead body to life, that, behold, the woman, whose son he had restored to life, cried to the king for her house and for her land. And Gehazi said, My lord, O king, this is the woman, and this is her son, whom Elisha restored to life. ⁶ And when the king asked the woman, she told him. So the king appointed unto her a certain officer, saying, Restore all that was hers, and all the fruits of the field since the day that she left the land, even until now.

Now let’s read chapter 7 of 2^nd Kings (read from the Bible). Some commentaries mentioned no name with these four leprous men, but other commentaries said that there is possibility that this is Gehazi and his sons which mentioned by Jews on that time. It was not mentioned possibly because he was living in a curse. These leprous men can now eat and drink with God’s blessings. God made a noise of chariots so that the enemies would leave the place and their stuff. God prepared the food for them and for Israel because that time, it has famine. Remember what Elisha said to Gehazi that it’s not yet time to take money and now it’s time to have everything because it’s God’s will. The events in chapter 5, 7 and 8 are in order that we can see the blessing of Gehazi. In verse 8, he talked to the king and became a witness of Elisha to the king; it’s like a liaison officer. Whatever situation we are in right now, GOD CAN REVERSE THE IRREVERSIBLE CONSEQUENCES.

CONCLUSION:

Let’s remember Job’s situation. Despite Job’s immense loss and suffering in losing everything, including his children and livestock, he rightly praised God as “he fell to the ground in worship” (Job 1:20). He then said, “Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither. The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (verse 21). Basically, Job is saying that he came into the world with nothing and will leave the same way when he dies (cf. Ecclesiastes 5:15).

“As he came forth of his mother's womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand.” All that he ever had was a gift, and God is sovereign over those gifts.