In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the importance of fulfilling ministry in ordinary, everyday circumstances. He refers to a woman who opened her home to a passing prophet, demonstrating the value of hospitality and charity. The preacher also shares a story about a man who humbles himself before God by reflecting on his past as a shepherd. He highlights the need for rest and reflection in order to serve God effectively. The sermon concludes with a call for believers to use their gifts and talents to make a significant impact in the spiritual realm.

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 2 Kings chapter 4, 2 Kings chapter 4, 2 Kings 4 and verse 8, 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 thithered 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 and thither. And it fell on a day that he came thither, and he turned into the chamber, and lay there. And he said to Gehazi his servant, Call this Shunemite. 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? Wouldst 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 he 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 bare 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 Elad, 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. Slack not thy 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 Shunammite. 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 35. 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 Gehazi, and said, Call this Shunammite. So he called her, and when she was come in 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 cause 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 in 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 sphere, 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 too. Because if we were to turn to the 8th chapter of 2 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 time, 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 asked 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 enabled 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 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 thithered to eat bread. Now I think that the first quality that I want to mention is a quality that we see further down in this chapter, but I am sure that it was that which was really and truly, I 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 23rd 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 Gehazi 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 11 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 have 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 is 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 we'll 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 sin's 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 10 and verse 17. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God. And when he read that verse, he says, well, 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'm 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 Shunam 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 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. 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 850 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, when she realized and she confessed, I perceive that this is an holy 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 are 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 he's 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? Well, there's only one way and that is to get into the presence of the Lord and read His Word and find it. You know I was reading Leviticus chapter 21 the other day. You know in Leviticus chapter 21 we have the account of the priesthood and you notice in Leviticus 21 in verse 16 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 18th 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 hath 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 get up and he'll give an 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 well 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 we're 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 our God then the third thing we notice about her 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 and 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 1 Peter chapter 4 for a moment 1 Peter chapter 4 and verse 8 perhaps we could read the 7th verse but the end of all things is at hand be ye 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 9th verse speaks of using hospitality and the 10th 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 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're necessary for the servant of the Lord I think that they're 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 wait just like they did for Daniel to find some fault with him and so one day they came to the king and they said 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 is 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 die than 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 well 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 garments and I remember what 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 12th verse he said to Gehazi his servant called Ishunomite 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 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 mine own people would you like to be spoken to for the king she's done so much for him what shall we do for her would you like to be spoken of to the king would you like to be brought into the captains 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 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 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 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 mine 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 says 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 well 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 through 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 is gone I just want to get these two other points here in the 29th verse when the child was dead and she laid hold of Elijah the 29th verse it says 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 man 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 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 single minded towards 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 held 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 she was single minded she would have no substitute she would have no one in the place of Elisha and lastly in the 36th verse when the child is alive it says and he called Gehazi and said call this Shunammite 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 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 as 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 been to go in and just pick up that child and just embrace it to herself to her breast and just walk on perhaps saying as she held that child 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 unto 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 seeketh 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 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