And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness (Luke 4:1). We see from this Scripture that Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. Note that He was led into the wilderness, that He did not go just because He wanted to go, a force, a spirit constrained Him to go. Whatever can control you is your master.

 And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about. And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all. And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read (Luke 4:14-16).

Jesus had a custom of going to the synagogue to read before He was led into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when He came back in the power of the Holy Spirit, the power of the Holy Spirit did not remove that custom. This shows that there are some customs that align with the Holy Ghost. I put it to you that respecting elders is a good custom; it is not the kind of custom that changes when a man gets born again. Being good to people should not pass away with the old nature.

In this present generation we live in, the more some people go to church the more they become arrogant and despise people. But the funny thing about it is that they were not like this until they got born again. This is because they were taught to live by “I know who I am.” The Bible says the law of God is simple, converting the soul (Psalm 19:7). How did the law of God become so complex that as you get to know more of God’s word and God is giving you confidence, that confidence is now making you think that people are small compared to you?

Someone sent a clip to me with the title: Little Kids Getting Low.”  Little children, 3-8 years old were dancing at a birthday party. What I saw in that clip shocked me to the point that I can’t even show it in the church. What I saw made me afraid, sad, and helpless; and it has increased my zeal for prayer because I realized that it is only prayer that is our hope. I saw children dancing, and the kind of dance they were dancing, you would not believe it until you see it yourself. One of the girls danced so lowly that I felt that except God intervenes on her behalf, she would be an “apostle” on the reverse. There have been apostles such as John, Paul, Peter etc and there has been apostles on the reverse like Bob Marley, Fela Kuti, Madonna, Michael Jackson, etc.

If an apostle passes through a generation, that generation will know that he or she came. When I watched that girl dancing, I almost wished that something will happen and all those children will just disappear from the earth; so that potentially what evil could come out of them in the future will not even happen. But do you know where it started from? It started from one generation knowing what is right and not passing it to the next generation.

I knew that when we were young, before ever we were allowed to go for any birthday party, our parents must know the celebrant’s parents; and they will investigate to know the expected standards of  the party, whether matured people will be there; or else they would send a much older person to follow us. I want to let you know that if you are in the habit of allowing your children to go out to play and you don’t investigate where you allow them to go, you will not be right to call yourself a descendant of Abraham, it will be better you call yourself Lot. This is because Lot did not know the amount of evil that was going on in his house.

 And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted….” Luke 4:17-21

We must know that anointing is to be used to carry out a duty. You don’t receive anointing for yourself, whoever gave you the anointing, gave you an enablement to do something. What this Scripture implies is that Jesus was sent, and He had a right to say “My Master has sent me.”

 Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable, because by him the LORD had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper. 2 Kings 5:1

If Naaman was an Israelite, he would not have been the captain of the host, because in Israel lepers live outside the town. I want you to know that the rules of the house are different from the rules outside. Don’t go and import any from out there into your family or church. In Syria a leper was a general, in Israel a leper is an outcast.  There are places where just anybody can be a pastor. Did you not read that Naaman was a great man? There are places where a man is a pastor because he went to Lagos Business School, he has leadership skills, he has an MBA, he is eloquent; but with all that he could be a leper. In Israel, being a great man alone does not make you a captain of the host, you must be cleansed. Naaman would never have been a captain in Israel.

Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean. And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came, and stood before him: and he said, Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel: now therefore, I pray thee, take a blessing of thy servant. 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.” 2 Kings 5:14-16.

When Naaman was cleansed, he went back to the prophet with some gifts to testify to his cleansing, but the prophet would not receive the gifts from him. Why did Elisha refuse the gift? The very essence of a miracle is to attract and initiate a relationship with the giver of the miracle. If that is not achieved, then that miracle is useless. There are many anointed preachers who do miracles, but after the miracles, is there any relationship between the people who received the miracle and the God who anointed the preacher? There are many people who crowd a church as members, but do not know a thing about God other than that He solves problems.

Verse 15 of 2 Kings 5 shows that Naaman knew that the God of Israel is different from other gods. Naaman only knew about God, nothing more. He thought that this God of Israel is just a bigger God than the others. That was why he offered Elisha two mules to sacrifice to his God, because that is what witch-doctors do. So it was a wrong timing for the prophet to receive gifts from Naaman. Naaman’s plea for pardon from Israel’s God for his obedience to his own master who worshipped a god, is inferred by Elisha’s refusal of the gift, creating a clear-cut distinction between Israel’s God and other gods.

To an extent, Elisha achieved something, but what the church has never noticed is that if God achieved what He wanted to achieve in Naaman, the Syrian army would never have surrounded Elisha’s house. If Naaman, a whole army general got born again, can you imagine how much the gospel would have penetrated the entire Syrian army? But it is evident that this did not happen. By the time Elisha told Naaman to go in peace, the current was already to enter Syria, all that God was expecting was an harvest. What short-circuited God’s work in Naaman? We’ll see later.

Then the king of Syria warred against Israel, and took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place shall be my camp. {camp: or, encamping} And the man of God sent unto the king of Israel, saying, Beware that thou pass not such a place; for thither the Syrians are come down. And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of, and saved himself there, not once nor twice. Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for this thing; and he called his servants, and said unto them, Will ye not shew me which of us is for the king of Israel? And one of his servants said, None, my lord, O king: but Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel, telleth the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy bedchamber.  2 Kings 6:8-12

The king of Syria was the one who sent Naaman to go to Israel to be cured. And if the work of Naaman had been achieved, this king would not have forgotten that there was a prophet in Israel. It does not make sense that the King of Syria would want to arrest a prophet who sees even to what he does in his bedchamber.  This connotes that the revival that Naaman was supposed to start did not work, Syria still do not know God. Where was Naaman when the king of Syria wanted to arrest the prophet? It is either Naaman had been sacked or he had been posted to another battalion or he was dead. Whatever had been expected of Naaman’s revival had failed, because if he had effectively penetrated Syria with the revelation he got some people would have known that there was a prophet in Israel. The missionary ministry of Naaman failed because all along, the devil had planted somebody in Elisha’s ministry that would neutralize the ministry of Elisha. God’s purpose for Israel as a model for other countries would have taken place through Naaman’s healing.

Naaman had offered Elisha gifts which he declined, and this made Naaman realize that Elisha’s God was a different God – a God who is principled and whose priests are not driven by their bellies.

As Naaman left the prophet, he went away with the revelation of this new God, to go share with his people, but his revelation was truncated. But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, Behold, my master hath spared Naaman this Syrian, in not receiving at his hands that which he brought: but, as the LORD liveth, I will run after him, and take somewhat of him” (2 King 5:20). Gehazi destroyed Naaman’s revelation of the God of Israel. Naaman would never have thought that Gehazi lied to him because Gehazi’s action was in line with the way the priests of other gods acted. Do you notice that Naaman’s regard for Elisha had reduced?

When Gehazi said “my master has sent me” was he speaking the truth or not? I put it to you that he was speaking the truth following biblical standard.

No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Mat. 6:24

No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Luke 16:13

From the above Scriptures we can see that it is possible to serve mammon, otherwise Jesus would not have said that one cannot serve God and mammon. Jesus said this to His disciples because He knew that one or two of them were not His servants. You may be following somebody, but he is not your master.

Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. Romans 6:16-19  

Do you know that it is possible for somebody to be following you for twenty years but he is not your servant? Jesus had a ministry for three and half years and Judas was the treasurer. Jesus was not Judas’ master even though Judas followed Him. The master of Gehazi had planted him a long time in Elisha’s ministry and he rose to the top. It was Gehazi’s action that truncated the revival that would have erupted in Syria; and it was leprosy that ended Gehazi’s life, because his master (satan) is the giver of leprosy.

Who is your master? who decides what you do? When you get angry, who is pressing your buttons? Are you a puppet that some demons can operate? Are you Gehazi? Are there times when that other master sends you to do some things? Wives, how many times have you spoken in a very irreverent way to your husband? Because a force that you are not conscious of, controls you? Children, are there times you do some things and wonder where they came from? What are the things that suddenly spring up in you? Remember, whoever you yield yourself to, is your master. I want you to know that that the anger, bitterness, that you refuse to let go off will master you. That magazine that you read when your parents are not there, will soon master you. That drink you normally drink and say it is only a little quantity will soon become your master. That brother’s house that you go to, that you know that your brethren must not know that you are there at that time will master you very soon. It is time to ask God to check you out and illuminate your darkness.

Whether we agree or not, it is written in heaven that Gehazi destroyed a potential revival.