Well, it's a pleasure to see you all. Be with you for these couple days as I'm returning from a swing through Kansas and Colorado, now Nebraska. Shall we turn to Second Kings Chapter Four? Second Kings Chapter Four. Second Kings four on verse eight. And it fell on a day that Elisha passed to Shunem where was a great woman and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was that as oft as he passed by he turned and thither to eat bread. And she said unto her husband, Behold now I perceive that this is an holy man of God which passeth by us continually. Let us make a little chamber, I pray, beyond the wall, and let us set for him there a bed and a table and a stool and a candlestick. And it shall be when he cometh to us that he shall turn in thither. And it fell on a day that he came thither, and he turned into the chamber and lay there. And he said to Gehasai his servant, Call the Shunamite, and when he had called her she stood before him. And he said unto him, Say now unto her, Behold, thou hast been careful for us, with all this care, what is to be done for thee? Wouldest thou be spoken for to the king, or to the captain of the host? And she answered, I dwell among mine own people. And he said, What then, is to be done for her? And Gehazi answered, Verily she hath no child, and her husband is old. and he said, Call her. And when ye had called her, she stood in the door, and he said, About this season, according to the time of life, thou shalt embrace a son. And she said, Nay, my Lord, thou man of God, do not lie unto thine handmaid. And the woman conceived and bear a son at that season that Elisha had said unto her, According to the time of life, And when the child was grown, it fell on a day that he went out to his father, to the reapers. And he said unto his father, My head, my head. And he said to a lad, Carry him to his mother. And when he had taken him and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and then died. And she went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, and shut the door upon him and went out. and she called unto her husband and said, Send me, I pray thee, one of the young men, and one of the asses, that I may run to the man of God and come again. And he said, Wherefore wilt thou go to him today? It is neither new moon nor Sabbath. And she said, It shall be well. Then she saddled an ass and said to her servant, Drive and go forward. Slap not by riding for me, except I bid thee. So she went and came unto the man of God to Mount Carmel, and it came to pass when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to Gehazi his servant, Behold, yonder is that Shunamite. Run now, I pray thee to meet her, and say unto her, Is it well with thee? Is it well with thy husband? Is it well with the child? And she answered, It is well. And when she came to the man of God to the hill, she caught him by the feet. But Gehazi came near to thrust her away. And the man of God said, Let her alone, for her soul is vexed within her, and the Lord hath hid it from me, and hath not told me. Then she said, Did I desire a son of my Lord? Did I not say, Do not deceive me? Then he said to Gehazi, Gird up thy loins, and take my staff in thine hand, and go thy way. If thou meet any man, salute him not. And if any salute thee, answer him not again. And lay my staff upon the face of the child. And the mother of the child said, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And he arose and followed her. Verse thirty-five. Then he returned and walked in the house to and fro and went up and stretched himself upon him, and the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes. And he called Gahezai and said, Call this Shunamite. So he called her, and when she was coming unto him, he said, Take up thy son. Then she went in and fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the ground, and took up her son. and went out. May the Lord bless to us the reading of his word. Now, I am sure I have read a very familiar portion to many of us who are in this audience tonight. I was thinking especially of this great woman that is brought before us here, and I think that as we look at her, we see some of the qualities that you might say constitute one pleasing in the sight of God. Now, I think this is the only woman in the Bible of whom it is said that she was great. We have various men in the Bible spoken of as great, especially our Lord Jesus Christ. We remember that it was said when he was born, he shall be great, and he shall be called the Son of the highest. Now, I think that the remarkable thing about this woman... who is constituted great is that this woman in the eyes of men did nothing unusual or nothing that would win her a name in the annals of earth. She didn't do any great thing as far as the world is concerned or that the world would call great. As far as we know, she never moved outside of her home circle. And yet God said concerning her that she was great. You know, most of us are waiting for some outstanding event of some kind to come across our path that is going to give us an opportunity to do something outstanding, something that will call us, you might say, to the attention of people, something that will cause perhaps people to speak about us. There are those we know in the world who do great things in the world. They have their names on buildings, they have their names on monuments, they accomplish great things as far as the world is concerned. But I remember an old preacher in Chicago saying quite often, well, all the things that are done in this earth and all the great achievements that are accomplished in this earth, why they're all just for the big fire, because the earth and the works that are therein, they shall be burned up. And you and I could do something great that would put our names on some monuments here on earth that would perhaps caused people to write books about us, but you know we could be very insignificant and unimportant in the sight of God. But this woman was a woman of whom the Holy Scripture says that she was a great woman. And as we think of this woman who as far as we know, only on one occasion moved outside of her home circle, I think that this comes down to those of us who sometimes feel to ourselves, well, after all, what can I ever do, or what can I ever be, that I should amount to anything in the sight of God? After all, it seems that my life is in the humdrum of everyday activity. I don't seem to move out into a very large circle. I go to my work in the morning. I go around the same people all the time, and it seems that I'm in that rut, as it were, or in that routine, day after day, and week after week, and year after year. Or it might be perhaps one says, well, you know, I'm just a housewife, or I'm one who doesn't have a great spear, you might say, of service. Well, what could I ever do that would ever bring me any renown or make me of any account as far as God is concerned. Well, I think that this incident of this woman here is a wonderful illustration to us where a person is recorded in God's Word who eventually was brought before the King to, because if we were to turn to the eighth chapter of Second Kings, We would notice on one occasion a famine was going to come upon the land, and Elisha told her to leave her land, and so she went into another land, the land of the Syrians, I think it was, and she was there for seven years, and when she came back, she came back at the most opportune moment. Because right in the presence of the king, why, there was Gehazi, and the king was asking him about some of the miracles that Elisha had performed. And you remember, Gehazi was telling about how Elisha had raised a little boy from the dead. And right at the opportune times, why that woman comes into the presence of the king as she's asking for her land. You know, when we're in the will of God, and when we're moving according to the will of God, we're always on time. We're always in the right place at the right moment, and it's wonderful to see how the Lord orders our lives and how the Lord can do things for us in a most unusual way. Now, she had been out of the land for seven years, and at the precise moment that the king was asking about the child that was raised from the dead, Gehazi looks around and he says, Why, Your Majesty, here is the woman. Why, this is the woman whose son was raised from the dead. And so the king asks about what had happened, and she tells him the whole story. That thing which she didn't desire, as we're going to see in a little while, is given her. She's unable to stand in the very presence of the king. And she tells him what happens, and what is the result? The king commands, that the land that she had left seven years before is to be returned to her, and all the fruit that had come forth from that land in those seven years was to be given to her in addition to the land being returned to her after her absence of seven years. You know when we're in the will of God, and we're doing the will of God just in the most common ordinary way. It's wonderful to see the Lord working for us. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Do you see God day by day in your life? Do you see God day by day working in little things in your life? to give you an indication that his eye is upon you, that his hand is toward you, that he is very interested in all that pertains to you. I think that in this incident here, in this woman, we see some of those spiritual qualities that are precious to God and that enable us to be in his will, to be doing his work. to be in the right place at the right time, for the right testimony perhaps. And if you and I are characterized by some of these spiritual qualities, why, who knows, seest thou a man diligent in his business, he shall stand before kings. Why, there's no telling where you and I may be brought, if we're just faithful, in the commonplace ordinary things of day by day living. It says it fell on a day that Elisha passed to Shunim where was a great woman and she constrained him to eat bread, and so it was that as oft as he passed by he turned him thither to eat bread. Now I think that the first quality that I want to mention is the quality that we see further down in this chapter, but I am sure that it was that which was really untrue, you might say, the root quality from which everything else springs, and that is, I think that first of all, this was a woman who was characterized by confidence in the Lord, because as you and I see in the twenty-third verse when her husband asks, why is it that you go to see the prophet, it is neither new moon nor Sabbath, and she says it is well, and when Gahazai comes with the questions, is it well with thy husband, is it well with thy child, is it well with thee, she is Very steadfast in her confession, it is well. In other words, the first thing that we notice about her is that she is a woman who has confidence in the Lord. Now we know that this is the root quality in all spiritual life. We must have confidence or faith in God. You know, Hebrews chapter eleven tells us that without faith it is impossible to please God. For he that cometh to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Faith in God, how does faith come? How does a person get faith in God? Does faith in God suddenly come through a window and strike you and suddenly you've got faith? Is that how faith comes? How do we become strong in faith? I remember one time speaking in Lyman and I was quoting the verse, Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God. And Brother Cal Lindeman came up to me after the meeting and he says, you know, my little boy came home from Sunday school many years ago, and he said, you know, I know how you get faith. And he said, well, I asked my little boy, well, how do you get faith? He says, well, faith cometh by hearing and hearing. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing. Now, that's how we get faith. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing the Word of God. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. The more often you and I hear the Word of God, the more often you and I come to the Word of God, the greater and the stronger will become our faith in God. After all, isn't that how faith came in the first place? We heard the Word of the Gospel. We were awakened to a sense of our need. We were awakened to a sense of our guilt. We learned that we were sinners and that we couldn't save ourselves. And as we heard that gospel message, we thought to ourselves, well, can it be that Jesus died for me? Is it possible that when he died on the cross and bore sins heavy load there, is it possible that there was provision made for me? And then we heard the wonderful invitation, Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. And when you and I came, when you and I believed, We were born of God and faith was begotten in our hearts. Faith was born in our hearts when you and I received the testimony that God gave concerning His Son. After all, that's how we're saved. We're saved by believing God. We're saved by believing the record that God gave of His Son. and that faith grows as you and I learn more about the God who has saved us. And as you and I learn more about the Lord Jesus who died for us and rose again and lives for us and cares for us and is interested in all that pertains to us. You know, D.L. Moody prayed much that his faith might be strengthened. He prayed much that he might become strong in faith. And one night he was reading Romans ten and verse seventeen. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God. And when he read that verse he says, Why, that's how I get strong faith. And he no longer prayed for strong faith. He spent more time reading the Word of God so that he could become strong in faith. And we know what a strong man of faith D.L. Moody became. When the trials and the difficulties of life hit you and me, and you know we all meet the trials and the difficulties of life, we all meet upsets, and we all meet disappointments we all have our difficulties and our troubles do you and I have confidence in God saying it shall be well I know that he's working all things together for good because I am one of those who love him and one of those who am called according to his purpose the first thing we notice about this woman was that she was a woman whose confidence or faith was in the Lord. But then you notice the second thing we notice about her. It says it fell on a day that Elisha passed to Shunem where was a great woman, and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was as oft as he passed by, he turned and feathered to eat bread, and she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is an holy man of God which passeth by us continually. The second thing we notice about her was that she was a woman of spiritual discernment. She says, Behold, I perceive that this is an holy man of God. You know, there were many religious prophets in the days of Elijah and of Elisha. You know that there were eight hundred and fifty prophets to one in the days of Elijah, and they were the prophets of Baal. We know how in Israel there was constantly the struggle against idolatry and against prophets who were not prophets of God at all. They were false prophets. And so it took real spiritual discernment for a person to discern whether or not a person was a man of God or whether he was not. As Elisha passed by continually, and as she saw how he behaved, as she heard, how he spoke, why she realized, and she confessed, I perceive that this is unholy prophet of God. Now, you know we're living, we believe in the Laodicean period of the church's history. We believe that we're in the very last stage of the church's history on earth. We live in a day when materialism, as far as the religious realm is concerned, seems to be uppermost. Everything today seems to be figured in the way of money and materials and manpower, instead of the Holy Spirit's power, the Holy Spirit's ministry, the Holy Spirit's enabling, the Holy Spirit's work. You know, I think that today we need very much to have our eyes anointed with ISAB that we may see. Because there are many spiritual movements abroad today that are offering so-called spiritual experiences to believers that supposedly put them in a realm of super-spirituality. Take, for instance, this so-called tongues movement. How many believers there are who feeling perhaps that their lives are not quite as spiritual as they would like them to be? And this comes along as a promise to give them something that they have been lacking and something that they have been missing. And the result is that believers are carried away with this teaching, and the result is that they are led away from our Lord Jesus Christ. You know, we need spiritual discernment. We need to be able to discern what is of God and what is not of God. We need to be able to discern what is truth and what is not truth. Because today the enemy is coming in like a flood, and he's coming in and he's carrying away and is misleading believers. And instead of believers being helped, why believers are being stumbled and their lives are being marred and ruined. How can you and I get spiritual discernment? there's only one way and that is to get into the presence of the Lord and read his word and find out what he wants us to know you know I was reading Leviticus chapter twenty one the other day you know in Leviticus chapter twenty one we have the account of the priesthood and you notice in Leviticus twenty one in verse sixteen It says, And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto Aaron, saying, Whosoever he be of thy seed in their generations that hath any blemish, let him not approach to offer the bread of his God. Now you notice here it speaks of priesthood. And it speaks of offering the bread of God. That is, coming into the presence of God to function there as a priest. Now, of course, we all believe here, I think, in the priesthood of all believers. We believe that that is a distinctive truth that we lay hold of and we seek to practice, not only in our prayer meetings, and I might say it's a good thing to remember that the prayer meeting is also a function of the priesthood. If we're not at the prayer meeting in prayer, if we're neglecting the prayer meeting, we're not functioning as priests. We're only partially functioning. Because we don't want to limit the Lord's Supper and offering our praise to the Lord as that alone being priesthood. Because the prayer meeting is also the place where you and I function... as priests. And so it speaks here of a man offering the bread of his God. And notice the eighteenth verse. For whatsoever man he be that hath a blemish, he shall not approach. A blind man or a lame, now a blind man, of course, is a man who's in the dark. And we know there's much religion or religious practice today that is only in the dark. A man who is lame, that is a man who isn't walking straight, he can't function as a priest. But then it says he that has a flat nose. Now that's an awful funny blemish, isn't it? Why would a man with a flat nose be disqualified from being a priest? Well, if he had a flat nose, it was probably an indication that he couldn't smell, or his sense of smell wasn't as good as it should be. His sense of discernment was not what it should be. And where the sense of discernment was lacking, a man could not function as a priest. And so we see how important it is that we should have a sense of discernment, that we should be able to discern what is of God and what is not of God. And you know, I think that when we come together on Lord's Day morning, I think we should have that sense of discernment. We should remember what we're there for. What are we there for? We're there to remember our Lord Jesus Christ. we're there to break bread in memory of his death. And you know, this place is a place where we show our spiritual discernment. Sometimes the meeting is going along and we seem to be carried right into the presence of the Lord, and we're being occupied with the Lord and with his death, and all of a sudden some brother will give up, get up, and he'll give it out of him like, oh, what a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear. What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer. Now that's a beautiful hymn. It's a precious hymn. It's a precious hymn for the prayer meeting. But it isn't a hymn that is suitable, you might say, to remember, our Lord Jesus Christ. Or it might be perhaps that a brother gets up and he begins to pray and he begins to pray for the whole world. And he's praying for the sick. Well, those things are good. Praying for the world and praying for the sick and praying for the unsaved. Those things are very good for the prayer meeting. But when we're there to remember our Lord Jesus Christ, why we want to remember that we're there to think upon him. And the hymns and the offerings of prayer or praise, they should center around that one whom you and I are gathered to remember. And everything that we say or every part that we contribute to that gathering should be for the furtherance of the object for which we are gathered together. Now we know that in the religious world there isn't much spiritual discernment. They say, come and worship with us, and you go there and you're listening to a sermon. We know that to worship our Lord Jesus Christ, we're offering to him praise and Thanksgiving were occupied with his death. The prayer meeting is the prayer meeting, the petitions, the requests. The remembrance feast is where you and I come together to offer to him our thanks, our worship for what he has done for us. Spiritual discernment, so necessary if you and I are going to be pleasing in the eyes of all of God. Then the third thing we notice about her, and this of course has often been spoken about, and that is in the first verse she constrained him to eat bread, and so it was that as oft as he passed by he turned him thither to eat bread. She was a woman who was given to hospitality. She was a woman who used what ability the Lord had given her in the particular sphere in which she was placed. You know, many of us want to do the unusual thing, don't we? We want to do the thing that will bring us to the attention and the admiration of people, but here was a ministry that this woman fulfilled in the ordinary, everyday circumstances of her life. As this prophet passed by, she opened her home, and as oft as he passed by, he was invited to share of what they had to offer. Turn to First Peter chapter four for a moment. First Peter chapter four. and verse eight. Perhaps we could read the seventh verse. But the end of all things is at hand. Be therefore sober and watch unto prayer. And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves, for charity shall cover the multitude of sins. Use hospitality one to another without grudging. As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God." Now notice this. The ninth verse speaks of using hospitality, and the tenth verse speaks of receiving the gift and ministering the same one to another. Now notice how the Spirit of God brings these two things together, our hospitality, and using the gift that the Lord has given to us. This woman used what she had. It wasn't what she didn't have. It wasn't whether she wanted something else. She was willing to use and function in that particular sphere in which she was placed. You know, I think that... Amongst the assemblies of God's people, there's enough talent and there's enough gift, there's enough ministry, whatever that ministry may be, to really and truly work a revolution, you might say, in the entire spiritual realm. If we would only each and every one of us do what we can. Remember what the Lord said to Moses? He says, what is that in thine hand? He had a rod in his hand, and the Lord used what he had in his hand. What do you have in your hand? What do you have at your disposal? This was a woman who used what she had at her disposal for the Lord, and the result was it led into a larger and a richer life as far as she herself was concerned. she was given to hospitality and then it says she says in the third tenth verse let us make a little chamber I pray thee on the wall and let us sit for him there a bed and a table and a stool and a candlestick and it shall be when he cometh to us that he shall turn in thither now someone has said this indicates that she was a woman possessed of great common sense. Great common sense. Because when it came to preparing a chamber for the prophet, she didn't, as it were, go wild. She just prepared just what would be necessary. You know, I remember a story that an old servant of the Lord told me one time about how he and another preacher were out preaching. and they came to the home of a very rough woman, but she was a real child of God, and it was in the days of the Depression. And so, of course, money was very scarce, and there wasn't much as far as the people having very much. And so when they came to her home for dinner, why, she just put on a simple bowl of bean soup, and as she put it on, she says, well, she says, if you're the Lord's servants, what I have is good enough for you, and if you're not the Lord's servants, it's too good for you. Well, this woman, she provided just what would be necessary, a bed, a table, a stool, and a candlestick. She provided for him what would be necessary for his spiritual benefit and his spiritual usefulness, as well as his physical convenience. You know, as I look at these things, why, if they are necessary for the servant of the Lord, I think that they are necessary for each and every believer. You know, as you and I look at these four things, why, they all present to us a little picture of the Lord Jesus Christ and what He is to you and me. A bed? What is a bed for? A bed is a place to rest. Do you and I find our rest in the Lord Jesus Christ? Do you and I find rest in Him? You know, we're living in a world today. of a lot of excitement and a lot of movement, a lot of confusion. And you and I need to come apart for a little while and just rest in our Lord Jesus Christ. Do you and I know what it is to retire into the quiet place and rest there? It's necessary. I was reading one time about a man who was the prime minister to the king. And he was a very wise man. He was a very capable man. He seemed to be a man but nothing disturbed. And because he did his work so well, and because he was so high in the estimation of his master, why he had many enemies. And his enemies laid weight, just like they did for Daniel to find some fault with him. And so one day they came to the king and they says, Your Majesty, we believe that he is plotting against you. We believe that he is conspiring against you. Oh, no, he says, I don't believe. We believe that he is. Every day at a certain hour we see him retire into a certain room, and we believe that in that room he's conspiring and plotting against you. And much as he hated to think of it, the king couldn't help listening to their suggestions. And so he called the man into his presence and he says, What is this I hear about you plotting against me? Oh, Your Majesty, I would rather dive and plot against you. Well, then why is it that you've got a secret room that you retire into every day? Who do you talk with in that room? Who is there in that room with you? He says, Your Majesty, would you like to see that room? He says, yes, I would. And so he took him into a little room that was just under a stairway in his home. And as he opened that room, while it was a very simple room, all that was there was just a table and a chair, and there on the wall were some garments that he used to wear. when he was a shepherd who cared for the flock. He says, Your Majesty, he says, Every day I come here, and he says, I sit here, and I look at those diamonds, and I remember the lowest state that I came from. I remember what I was at one time, a shepherd, just a humble shepherd, who wasn't very much. And he says, As I sit here, and meditate for a little while and remember how low is my estate and how you have elevated me and what a responsibility you have given me. He says this little time in here refreshes me, humbles me and fits me to go forth and serve you to the best of my ability. You know, we need that little time apart to rest. Do you and I rest in Christ? And then it says, and a table. And of course, the table, of course, speaks of the bountiful provision. I was reading the other day that little expression, delight thyself in the Lord. And in a book of meditations, A writer suggested, what does it mean to delight thyself in the Lord? And he suggested it means seek delicacies from the Lord. Seek daily delicacies from the Lord. Just imagine Mephibosheth sitting at David's table. Wouldn't you like to have been Mephibosheth? And as the king looks at the various things, he'd specially pass something to Mephibosheth. Something that came to Mephibosheth right from the king himself. Do you ever have that experience? Do you sit at his word and receive some delicacy from him? Some special portion from him that just seems to fit you? The table, it speaks of Christ as the one who would feed our souls, who would minister to our souls. And the stool, of course, that where the learner sat. And you and I should be constantly learning of our Lord Jesus Christ. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me. And then, of course, the candlestick Christ our light. You and I need light today. We're living in days of confusion and chaos. We're living in days of darkness. And the only light we can go by is the light that the Lord gives us. But you notice something else about her. She was not only a woman of common sense or care who provided for the care of the prophet. But notice it tells us in the twelfth verse. He said to Gehazi his servant, Call this Shunamite. And when he had called her, she stood before him. And he said unto him, Say now unto her, Behold thou hast been careful for us, with all this care, what is to be done for thee? Wouldest thou be spoken for to the king or to the captain of the host? And she answered, I dwell. among my own people." Now she was a woman who was given to something that is very rare today. It's almost one of the lost arts of Christianity. You know what that is? Contentment. Contentment. I dwell among my own people. Would you like to be spoken to the king? She's done so much for her. What should we do for her? Would you like to be spoken out to the king? Would you like to be brought into the captain's court? My, what a wonderful opportunity. I wonder how many of us would pass it by, invited to the White House. How many of us would pass it by? To be brought into the elite, you know, into society, you know. Well, you know, to be something in the world. She says, I dwell among mine own people. She was content to be amongst her own people. You know, I know a certain brother, and this brother thought, oh, you know, the assembly people, my, they're just so common ordinary. They're not very much, she says. You know, I think I'm going to get into a, into a, into a, you know, more of the elite. I want to get into a bigger, a higher group. You know, people that really matter, after all, people in the assemblies, they don't matter very much. Well, he was there for a while, but you know, he came back. He found that he wasn't home there. he found he missed something there he lost something there I dwell among my own people she's content to be with her own people are you and I content to be with our people who are our people the Lord's people are our people oh yes I think of a young woman and this young woman she's a boy the boys in the assembly they're all so crude They're all so uncouth. You know, I've taken so many piano lessons and my mother has sent me to a training school and made something of me. I want something more polished, something more refined. Well, she did. She got herself a Christian scientist and he certainly was polished. He certainly was refined. And everything went along all right. He was a beautiful singer. And she could play the piano just beautifully. And they were going along very nicely until the Lord began to deal with her as the babies began to come. And she was facing death. And then it was a conflict. Well, shall we go to the doctor or shall we trust the Christian science practitioner? And it was her life was in the balance. And finally her husband to save her life, got the doctor and her life was saved, but her soul was restored, really and truly restored. And when it was restored, and she came back amongst her own people, then began hell on earth. Hell on earth began for her for a number of years, just hell on earth. And she never fought back. She never resisted. She never asked God why? Because she knew it was because of her sin that she was reaping, and because of the way that she bore it, I believe, why God came in and saved her husband. But it was only after years of great sorrow and great misery and grief that the Lord came in. and saved him. I dwell among mine own people. Are the Lord's people your people? Do you consider them precious? Do you love the Lord's people? Are they your people? I dwell among mine own people. She was a woman who was content with the lot that the Lord gave her. And then notice because our time has gone. I just want to get these two other points here. In the twenty-ninth verse, when the child was dead and she laid hold of Elisha, the twenty-ninth verse it says, Then he said to Gahaz, I gird up thy loins and take my staff in thine hand and go thy way. If thou meet any man, salute him not. And if any man salute the answer him not again and lay my staff upon the face of the child. and the mother of the child said, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And he arose and followed her. I think this shows to us that here was a woman who was single-minded. She was single-minded. She wasn't satisfied when the prophet Elisha, who incidentally is a beautiful type of our Lord Jesus Christ, when Elisha sent Gehazi with the staff. She wasn't satisfied with that. She didn't follow the servant. She says, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. She had her heart. She had her mind set on Elisha and no one else, but Elisha. A servant? He could be a gifted servant. A staff? It could be the staff of a prophet that Elisha perhaps had wrought many miracles with, but it meant nothing to her. Gehazi, the staff. It was Elisha that counted with her as the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. I wonder if our hearts and our minds are as single-minded toward the Lord Jesus. Oh, how many there are today who are following the servant? Or how many today are following some exhibition of power, the staff? Yes, the staff, the exhibition of power. Oh, there's power. There's excitement. There's movement there. And they're carried away with the movement. They're carried away with the excitement. They're carried away with the sensationalism. You know, I'm afraid that too many today in Christendom are seeking entertainment instead of edification. Seeking entertainment instead of Christ. Here was a woman, and she fell fast, she held fast to Elisha. She says, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. I want you, Elisha. You're the one that I want. No servant is enough for me. Now I esteem very highly the servants of the Lord, and I esteem very highly the writings of the servants of the Lord. But it must be Christ. Christ. Is my heart centered on Christ? Is my heart focused on Christ? Is my heart fastened on Christ? Am I satisfied with anything less than Christ? This was the case with this. She was single-minded. She would have no substitute. She would have no one in the place of Elisha. And lastly, in the thirty-sixth verse, when the child is alive, it says, And he called Gehazi and said, Call this Shunamite. So he called her, and when she was coming unto him he said take up my son then she went in and fell at his feet and bowed herself to the ground and took up her son and went out now you know you look at this and if you and I if we're speaking of the natural normal course of the mother's love if her child was dead and was suddenly raised from the dead as this child was and she heard the word thy son liveth what would have been the natural thing for that mother to do the natural thing for that mother to do would have gone had been to go in and just pick up that child and just brace it to her breast and just walk on perhaps be saying as she held that child Thank you, thank you, thank you. That would be the natural, normal course, wouldn't it? If her child was dead and suddenly alive and she heard the voice, take up thy son, why, she would naturally go in and pick him up and press him to her heart. But that's not what she did. That's not what she did. Notice what it says. When she was coming up to him, he said, take up thy son. Then she went in. and fell at his feet and bowed herself to the ground. It wasn't the ties of nature that were first with her. It wasn't the natural ties that were first to her. It was her gratitude. It was that she was a grateful, worshiping person. She went in first of all, and she fell at his feet. and bowed herself to the ground. Gratitude to the blesser was greater to her than the blessing itself. Gratitude and praise, gratitude and thanks. She went in, she fell at his feet, she bowed herself to the ground. And when she had rendered for what had been done, then she went, and she took the child, and she went out. Gratitude. What premium do I put on gratitude? Where do I place gratitude? Where does the Lord place it? What does the Lord think of it? You know, our Lord Jesus told us. He says, God is a spirit. He says, the Father seeks us worshipers. Am I a grateful Christian? Am I a Christian who is characterized by thanksgiving, by worship, by gratitude? Do I render to him for what he does for me, or what he has done for me? You and I look at this woman, and we see that, first of all, she was a woman of confidence. Secondly, she was a woman of discernment. Thirdly, she was a woman given to hospitality. Fourthly, she was a woman of common sense who had a care for the prophet. Fifthly, she was a woman of contentment. Sixthly, she was a woman single-minded. And seventhly, she was a woman of gratitude. Thanksgiving. Are you and I characterized? by some of these things. Are any of these things out of the reach of any of us here tonight? Any of these qualities that cannot be reproduced in your life and mine? They're all available. They're all accessible to you and to me. These are the things that God records concerning this woman. She was a great woman. You and I. can live for God, and you and I can make our lives count by having these qualities reproduced in your life and mine. Shall we pray?