Everything That Glitters Is Not Gold Pastor Sean Pinder I am not trying to be popular.

I am trying to endure to the end, because the race is not given to the swiftest nor to the strongest (Ecc. 9:11), but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved (Matt. 24:13). Lets go into 2 Kings 5. God is on the throne. I hate foolishness. I hate the devil with a passion. Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity (2 Tim. 2:19). You cannot love God and love sin, amen? You cannot serve two masters; you cannot serve God and the devil. You have to make up your mind. I made my mind up: I am serving Jesus. This is what I want to talk about today: Everything That Glitters Is Not Gold. This is a message of warning. Tell someone, Everything that glitters is not gold. I dont care how good it looks; you had better make sure Jesus is in it. 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)

Naaman was a big shot, but he had a problem. And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman's wife (2 Kings 5:2). This little girl, who came from Israel as a captive, became a servant of Naamans wife. I like this little girl because she did not hold her peace. She did not care where she was, she was going to tell it. This is not a time to hold your peace. People are on their way to hell in sin. It is time to cry aloud and spare not (Isaiah 58:1). I dont care what their position is. But Im afraid to tell my boss about Jesus! I would be afraid not to because, when I go stand before Jesus, no blood is going to be on my hands. Listen to this; this little girl is about to preach to her boss lady. And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord [Naaman] were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy (2 Kings 5:3). This girl is testifying about the power of God. And one went in, and told his lord, saying, Thus and thus said the maid that is of the land of Israel. And the king of Syria said, Go to, go, and I will send a letter unto the king of Israel. And he departed, and took with him ten talents

of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment. And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, Now when this letter is come unto thee, behold, I have therewith sent Naaman my servant to thee, that thou mayest recover him of his leprosy. And it came to pass, when the king of Israel had read the letter, that he rent his clothes, and said, Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy? wherefore consider, I pray you, and see how he seeketh a quarrel against me. (2 Kings 5:4-5) The king of Israel was so backslidden that he had no faith in his God. He did not even believe God could do it. And it was so, when Elisha the man of God had heard that the king of Israel had rent his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, Wherefore hast thou rent thy clothes? let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel. So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha. And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean. But Naaman was wroth, and went

away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the LORD his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper. (2 Kings 5:8-11). Naaman got upset. Isnt that just like real men of God? They never do what you want them to do because they are obeying the Holy Ghost. But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought That is where people make their biggest messups: in their minds. I thought. The Holy Ghost didnt give me this idea, but I thought That is presumption. I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the LORD his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper. He was saying, I thought he would just come out and hit me on the spots where I have leprosy and the leprosy would vanish. But no, Elisha did not even go out to see him because he was no respecter of persons. Naaman was next to the king, but Elisha did not care. He said, Im yielded to the Holy Ghost. I dont care what your position is. I dont care how much money you have. Im moved by the Holy Ghost.

Listen to what Elisha said. He sent someone to tell Naaman, Go dip in the Jordan and your flesh is going to come again. Naaman got mad. Jordan was not one of the most beautiful rivers around at that time. So he said: Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage (2 Kings 5:12). Not everything that glitters is gold. The miracle is not where you think it is; it is in some of the most unlikely places. Are you listening to me? Naaman got upset: I dont wanna go into the Jordan river. Its muddy! You know, some of the biggest blessings are right where the mess is. They are right where the mud is. Verse 13 says, And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? This sounds like some Christians. If God tells them to go someplace, they will skip and go to Haiti right now. But God is just asking them to give to someone in need and they cannot do that. This sounds like the church! Naamans servant pretty much rebuked him, telling him, Humble yourself! You are

prideful, Naaman. If Elisha was asking you to do some big thing, some big taskif he had asked you to go take out a military from another nationyou would have been willing to go do that. He said, Just humble yourself. Look at verse 14: 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. How many times did Naaman dip himself? He dipped seven times. The Bible says he, 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. God is a miracle-working God. He is still a miracle-worker. 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 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 5:15-16) Naaman thought he could pay for his healing. You cannot buy healing. I heard a

man of God testify that somebody came to him with a check for $10,000.00 and said, Ill give you this $10,000.00 check if you can get my daughter healed. The man of God ripped it up and gave it back to him. Thy money perish with thee (Acts 8:20). Naaman urged [Elisha] to take it; but he refused. You cannot buy divine healing. You cant pay for it; it is priceless. And Naaman said, Shall there not then, I pray thee, be given to thy servant two mules' burden of earth? for thy servant will henceforth offer neither burnt offering nor sacrifice unto other gods, but unto the LORD. (2 Kings 5:17) Naaman was converted because one little girl was willing to preach the Gospel to him. Look at verses 18-19: In this thing the LORD pardon thy servant, that when my master goeth into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he leaneth on my hand, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon: when I bow down myself in the house of Rimmon, the LORD pardon thy servant in this thing. And he said unto him, Go in peace. So he departed from him a little way. Listen to what Elisha said to Naaman: Go in peace. God understands, you know.

Some preachers would have put Naaman in hell. Elisha said, Go in peace. You have peace with God, brother! There is nothing like it. This story is about to get good, now. Look at verse 20: But Gehazi Gehazi was Elishas servant. He was thinking in his mind the whole time, My masters got to be out of his mind! This man went to give him half a million dollars, and he turned it down? Im gonna take matters into my own hands! You had better watch yourself. Taking matters into your own hands can get pretty costly. 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. Not everything that glitters is gold. Gehazi saw those changes of garments and that gold and he thought, Oh, boy! He had been looking at the thing too long. That was his problem: he had been looking at it and he started lusting after it. He saw himself with those clothes on. He did not want to control those wandering eyes. He should have

rebuked himself and said, Man, God doesnt want me to have this stuff! Then, he should have confessed it to his master. He should have said, Elisha, Im struggling. Im being tempted. But, just like Judas, he kept it to himself. Do you know the devil put that thought into Judas heart to betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver? Judas was with Jesus the whole time and never once did he confess that problem to Jesus. He kept on feeding that lust. The more he thought about it, the more he wanted it, the more it controlled him, and the more it got a stronghold inside of him. Are you hearing me? Does that sound like Achan? Achan saw a Babylonian garment and God had already told Joshua to give the commandment, When you destroy Jericho, nothing that comes out of Jericho belongs to you. It is holy unto the Lord. But Achan lusted at that thing and he did not care what God said. He was consumed by his lusts. The Bible says that every man is tempted, not just because of the devil, But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed (James 1:14).

This is not a shouting message; this is a heart-searching message. You had better put those eyes under control. Those wandering eyes are looking here, theyre looking there, theyre looking here and everywhere. You had better control those eyes! Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. (James 1:13-14) The verse says, every man is tempted That means every man and every woman. That word right there covers the face of the whole earthevery nation, every tribe, and every tongue. Every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Do not blame that one on the devil. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin (James 1:15). This is because you start enjoying the thought. You had better control those eyes. They are going to cause you to go to hell. Jesus said, if you have a problem with your eyes, take something and stab them out (Matt. 18:9). Yes, the devil puts the temptation before you, but you have a decision. You have a choice. He puts a

thought in your mind, but you have a decision to make. Am I gonna sit here and indulge in this thought, or am I gonna rebuke this devil? It is not the devils fault that you gave in to it because you had a choice. The devil cannot make you do anything. If I were to ask you to do something and you did it, did I make you do it? I just asked you to do it, but you didnt have to, did you? That is how some people get whipped with the devil. Do you see? Everyone has a choice to make. The devil puts it before you: Na-na-na-na-na! He makes it look really good. He is setting you up. That is what happened to Gehazi. He saw that stuff and he kept looking at it and looking at it. Let me read the rest of James 1:15: Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished That means when the act is actually carried out. What happens? It bringeth forth death. Do not err, my beloved brethren (James 1:15-16). I am telling you: everything that glitters is not gold. Remember Lot and Abraham? When it was time for Abraham and Lot to separate from each other, Abraham said, Lot, Ill let you choose whichever land you want.

Lot looked and he thought, The plains of Jordan! What a pretty place! He did not seek God, now. He said, This is what I want. The Bible says he did not know that Sodom and Gomorrah were in that area, and they were great sinners before the Lord. He chose a place that was full of the devil because everything that glitters is not gold. What about King Saul, when God told him to go and kill all the Amalekites in 1 Samuel 15? Kill all of them. Destroy everything. Dont bring anything back. Lets read it. I like this because this is very powerful with conviction. This is cleansing time. You are sanctified by the Word of God (1 Tim. 4:5). This is what fasting does: it keeps your passions under control. It keeps your appetites under control. Some people have a problem with stealing. Fasting will control anything. Why? Because it kills you and causes you to be more surrendered to the Holy Ghost. Some people cannot control their lying tongue. They will lie for everything. Do you know there are some people who cannot tell the truth? They lie, lie, lie. Let me show you something here about King Saul. This is Samuel rebuking him:

And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel? And the LORD sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed. Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the LORD? (1 Sam. 15:17-19) King Saul carried out the evil that was in his heart. He did not destroy everything that God told him to destroy. He was so controlled by his own lusts that he disobeyed the Word of the Lord. Look at what verse 23 says: For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king. (1 Sam 15:23) Did you know God was going to establish King Sauls kingdom forever? Jesus was going to come through his lineage. Only Jesus Kingdom lasts forever. King Saul had a chance for the Messiah to be his great-greatgreat-great-great grandson. He forfeited it! Jesus looked at the twelve disciples and

prophesied to them, telling them, You are going to sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. He promised them eternal positions in Gods Kingdom. Judas blew it. I dont care who prophesies over you. It does not give you the authority to go live like the devil and think it is going to come to pass. We are talking about Jesus here. Jesus prophesied over Judas, and Judas blew it for thirty pieces of silver. Help us, God! Thirty pieces of silver! He turned Heaven down for thirty pieces of silver. Gold is dirt in Heaven and he turned that down for thirty pieces of silver?! Jesus, have mercy on us! This is heavy stuff. Control yourself. The works of the flesh are adultery, fornication, lust, covetousness, lasciviousness, idolatry, and on and on (Gal. 5:19-21). Check yourself by them. That is what I do. Any time my flesh wants to get out of order, it is time to lock down and get into some prayer until the Holy Ghost delivers my soul. I am not going to stand before you like some phony preachers and tell you, I have it all together. I am for real. I get tempted just like anybody else, but I am telling you what I do to overcome temptation. Do you want to be a conqueror when it comes to temptation? Be honest; do not

deceive yourself and lie to yourself. Say, Self, you are being tempted. Get over it! Quit telling yourself, Oh, Im not being tempted. Then when you sit down, you replay the thought in your mind until you cannot even see the stop sign when you are driving. God knows what the devil wants to do to take us out. In the book of Proverbs, the Bible says, if a man knew the end of that temptation, he would not even have entered into it because it would have brought him to ruins. Everything that glitters is not gold. It looks nice, but there is a ditch ahead. It is a trap! Lets look at 2 Kings 5:21: So Gehazi followed after Naaman He was carrying his lust out. He was actually carrying it out! He should have gone to Elisha and said, Man, Im struggling. Pray for me. He did not want the other prophets to see him going to Elisha and Elisha praying for him. He was too prideful. He had arrived! So Gehazi followed after Naaman. And when Naaman saw him running after him, he lighted down from the chariot to meet him, and said, Is all well? Gehazi was running. He was running to his own destruction. Naaman came

down from the chariot to meet him and said, Is all well? Verse 22 says, And he said, All is well. My master Gehazi is about to tell a lie on the great prophet, Elisha! I have hung around with prophets. I would go through cleansing before I came into their presence! I would say, God, cleanse me of every evil thought. Cleanse me, cleanse me! I did that because those brothers would look right in your face. What in the world are you thinking, son? Youd better repent! I have hung around some real prophets! I would go into a time of prayer if I knew they were coming around me. I wanted to be clean! Are you hearing me? The Bible says in Psalms 66:18, If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. So, Gehazi was carrying out his lust; he was following his covetous heart. Listen to what he said in 2 Kings 5:22: My master hath sent me, saying This man is making this stuff up! Elisha did not send him. 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 thee, a talent of silver, and two changes of garments. (2 Kings 5:22).

He was lying. And Naaman said, Be content, take two talents. And he urged him, and bound two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of garments, and laid them upon two of his servants; and they bare them before him. And when he came to the tower, he took them from their hand, and bestowed them in the house: and he let the men 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. (2 Kings 5:23-25) Verse 24 says, And [Gehazi] bestowed them in the house, meaning he put them in a nice, safe place. Verse 25 says, But he went in, and stood before his master He was coming to stand before a prophet. You had better come with fear and trembling and humble yourself! And Elisha said unto him, Whence comest thou, Gehazi?... See, once you start lying, you are in trouble because one lie leads to a million different lies. It will start leading you to 10s, 50s, and 100s of lies. Before you know it, you are a liar. And he said, Thy servant went no whither.

Ive been needing some water for the past two hours! Elisha might have said. Where have you been, Gehazi? You have never done this! Youre acting strange, in fact. You had better be careful. You cannot fool a real prophet, nor can you fool God. Gehazi said, I didnt go anywhere. Now, watch this in verse 26: And he said unto him See, this was a prophet. The gift of the word of knowledge was exposing Gehazi. And he said unto him, Went not mine heart with thee In other words, W as not my heart with you? I saw you in the Spirit, brother! I saw you through a vision. 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? (2 Kings 5:26) Elisha said, God showed me every single thing you were doing! You cant deceive me! What have you been thinking lately? What have you been thinking today when you were by yourself? What were you entertaining? What was the devil playing in

your mind that you did not even rebuke? Wasnt my heart with you? Did not I see you by the Spirit of the living God in my prayer closet? Repent! Repent, says the Holy Ghost! Everything that glitters is not gold. That thought may seem enjoyable, but you are about to lose everything if you do not bring it under control, friend. Look at verse 27 of 2 Kings chapter 5. Look at what Elisha told Gehazi: 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. That is powerful, isnt it? Gehazi saw that gold, those garments, and that silver stuff, but he did not see leprosy coming with it.