Welcome to Windber PA's First Assembly of God's The Sermon Compassion by David McGee Page

This is a machine transcript of the sermon. It won't be completely accurate of what's said in the sermon.

But Scripture today is the second things, chapter four, beginning in verse eight through verse thirty seven and is a tax that I don't believe I've ever spoken on this one, that this past week about four in the morning and woke up and it was this dream. This vision. This that the show at the aspect I don't feel my shock and I was looking at this and I may think invention. I will never spoken the thyroid of the house at job, but in my office all week I've been reading over this text and reading the Scripture wondering how is this going to come across so I'm no idea so it is very interesting tact and very interesting Scripture of what happens with Elijah and Elisha, this is not always always say what I like to first analyze and model explain the moment, but the focus of him. I believe the focus of what we believe is is so very important, because we have a list of things in our minds in our lives that we believe in, but I came across an individual who he spoke of his son being in a total atheist and I said while he believes that he believes that there are rule. There are reasons not to believe at least fill has a list of beliefs you see what we do is whether we believe the Scriptures are believe we have a list of things as to why we believe we there is a list of things why people believe there is no God, there is a list of things that we believe why there is a God, and it's where we put our trust and how that they trust of our Scriptures and of the Scriptures comes through our life through our experience through our words, our thoughts, our actions, even how we plan our life and how we plan on where God wants to take us in our future. So it's all in front of us and it's all part of our belief system. Well, here we have Elisha and Elisha was Eli Joe's replacement as God 's prophet for Israel. Now Eli shall had a great example to follow any light you because Elijah was this guy who try and call down fire from a from heaven on my caramel and when I was in Israel stood there on our mole and have a big God statute Aaron of Vienna, Pavilion, where this event probably took place and it was there that you like to call down fire from heaven against the prophets of bail and things like that. It's a great show of strength and fire while we find that Eli Shell was his propolis is an apprentice is a student in Elisha followed Elijah everywhere you went, and he was willing to follow him. He is willing to learn from in order to gain the power to know the work which God had called him to do so he needed to know what it was that God had called him to and he was learning this from this great prophet Elijah about Elijah and Elisha concentrated their efforts on the needs of the people and what we find from this story today and in second Kings chapter four is that there is a great need of an individual, and we see how this plays out in this person 's life. And if there's maybe a couple of things we take away from this is how that God has a way of blessing us how that problems have a way of finding us and how do we then determine what were going to do with those difficulties and how those difficulties diminish a bus and where we go will those difficulties, and I am assuming that this is the direction that we're going to go with this. With this text today so that's what I have in front of us so we know as Eli did then was this fiery profit who freed the people of Israel to worship God, Elisha was a man who put people in touch with their personal all-powerful God, and we spoke about this in the Sunday school lesson this morning. This is the lesson I thought was a really good one because it spoke about the power of God, the all-knowing, omniscient, all-knowing God omnipotent all-powerful omnipresent everywhere present, God, how that God is transcendent. He is in the heavens. They get these in the earth, so it's a combination of knowing you are knowing everything in the VIP and that the transcendence is when God is in the heavens. It's like he wound up the earth, and strode off in the space and he'll come back at a later date and check in on it while then there is the idea that God is so involved in the year and am what's going on, he can't see the forest for the trades, but when God is above it and any and Internet's, we find that God is well aware of all the things are happening and then and and all and bad atmosphere we have the God knows our thoughts from afar off. He knows our thoughts before we think them and enhance all knowledge that God doesn't remember the past and he doesn't see into the future. He has all knowledge. It's everything the past, the present of future is all before God at the same time. So when God interacts in our life. God is interacting our life from a position that we are learning how to follow him where learning how to allow God to be part of us. It isn't that were asking God to somehow come down and rearrange some popsicles in our life, we are allowing God to be in our hearts in our lives to come out through us as we approach life as we approach the problems of life and the difficulties of life, the joys of life in and the needs of my life. So we are allowing God to come in the same spirit that raised Christ from the dead dwell in you, he shall quicken your mortal bodies shall quicken us. And so there is the spirit of God alive inside of us. It is quick and powerful is alive and active. Sharper than any two edged sword researchers as so it is dividing the salt of the spiritual something that is inherent within us, as from that position of being inside of us that God is at work doing living through us to touch the lives around us. So whatever we pray we don't pray for the perspective gone move this situation move that situation got any new rid of that person. I think my my life entirely enough in our lifetime. Now it's not like God coming down here moving the chest that the chess players on the board. God is inside of us directing us because he knows our path. He knows our future. He knows all of these things. The content in his compassion and his love and his grace is mercy, and touches our life and I see this in what Elisha Elisha is doing here in verse to read as we read through this thesis text today, so a second Kings, chapter four, beginning at verse eight one mail I surpassed through shin, a leading lady of the town talk them into stopping for a meal and then everything is custom whenever he passed through. He stopped by for a meal that's my kind of late, but as my colleague, you know sometimes I visit people I can. I said to you I can back every week for surgery him coffee. Note that this let me know. I'll be back, and so on. So here we have hospitality helping people helping people in need. So here's a lady who saw this man coming to come out where, as we read, I will find out she wasn't quite sure who he was. She had an assumption. This man is important. He's a prophet of God, and the importance was not that she, he was able to do something for her. The value was. She was able to do something for him and so this is the be attitude of the woman who is approaching the profit she sees that he is a man passing through town. He needs a meal need some I take care of her, so she says she feels that she can do this, so she approaches Elisha as his condo, house will have me. Also, every time he comes to town soft for a meal first night because there were no McDonald's. With that in the local restaurants, verse nine, I'm certain, said the woman to her husband, businessman who stops by with us all the time as a holy man of God, while Leanne on a small room upstairs and furnish it with abandon a desk and chair of the land so that when he comes by, he can stay with us. So she has this understanding inside of her that something is very important about this person and she needs to help take care of him. Now I know that and has been stranded here for a week and a half, but I'm not been at why could add a room on for her to come and stay with us and patted the problem in the alley because of the cancellations of flights and everything in. So, on what we have a room will have a designated his aunt 's room so that she would. She flies into the area we know she's can be staying for a while and making pies so we know that here's a stranded wayfaring person standing on the road hitchhiking out of lights rope and we just picked her up, but youngest what's going on so and so it happened that he came by. He went to the room and lay down for a net so she she not only took care of the life sure in saying no. This guy needs and a meal. We also know that he needs a place to stay. Every agent is a place to stay so with one another room on the roof out and in Israel and those in the places we've seen it that they basically have a one story house, and the upstairs. The roof was kind of like their patio. There was very common for them to have stairs up to the roof, and they would be on the roof of their home that evening because that was kind of their cool place to be off of the ground up in the air, and yet have some type of privacy and their small holes their holes were maybe fourteen by fourteen younger. Nothing like you know, ranch style homes with cathedral ceilings and all that they are just like small square buildings that made out of dirt brick ill mudbrick and on the top. They have a roof and that is, like their lounge area in evening wear to school the day they they kind of go up there, so it's in this place then that they build another room on for the profit and so he has his own place to have his meal he had has a place for him to rest, to lay down and rested as his desk and all that stuff is in place so it goes up anyways down for a nap open to recharge. There were no there there. We know we're recharged and ready to roll. So the one analysis in a in a position that while the prophet of God is in a position now where he wants to reward her and the next verse is interesting since I got a through the okay design utilizes said you've gone far beyond the call of duty and taking care of us. What do we do for you. You ever request we can bring to the king were to the commander of the Army so. Shows a man who's well-connected is well-connected, not only in the community by these well-connected in the nation. So here's this woman of influence, a leading lady in the town and she's been going out of her way to take care of it was, and so Elisha says there's got to be something I can do for you. There's got to be something I can do for you. And so, in the first contact. He says, is there something I can do for you and politically know you have any political ideologies, political means and you want to go because I know we know the K with all the connections we can do this for you and how it all began. It began by I think we need to give this guy meal will now sort of gone to the place where there's a room and now there is this request presented are what you have agreed you have a request of the king or anyone else with you. We can do, she replied nothing unsecured is satisfied in my family. I have no needs. She has know what you need to see if she don't like us while notes almost coming for Christmas. What is what is your list of things that you need and we can come up with a list of our right as we know all the things we don't have while this lady is saying there's nothing that I need. I have my family and my friends at my home. I have all this is nothing I can left nothing of any first fourteen July. She conferred with the Hayes are so& not satisfied with this okay is not to let her goodness, though unrewarded. So I said they got this got to be something we can do for her. So is talking this over with his sermon, but what can we doubt case. I said well she has no son and her husband is an old man while in Israel, if you didn't have any children that was considered to be a curse from God. While election, knows that this woman is not cursed of God, and he knows that what is taking place here as been a is is like the image of God the gift of God because she has been very congenial and her hospitality and gone beyond the call of duty build a room for MN and the whole works. So call her any life is certainly called her and she stood at the open door, so she comes the door of the room that she has gotten and prepared for him this is where this time next year you going to be nursing an infant son will while this is probably one of those desires of your heart, you know, you never to get yet he still desires. God knows the desires of your heart and we get the desires of our heart by giving you see, there are things in life that we do, we do know a lot of people do things with strings attached. While with God. He knows our thoughts far-off. He knows our thoughts before we think them. He knows what they are any understand us better than we know ourselves, and the challenges. Not everybody do something to get something we're doing something in order to honor God 's gifts that he's already given us so we get in here, she says. He says there are, you have an infant son of my master, holy man, she said don't play games with me. Don't tease me with such fantasies. It was almost one of those moments where she's challenging her innermost thoughts that she's never told anyone but yet she's told God, and now the man of God says to have a son who have a child. While woman conceive. Verse seventeen and a year later, just as Elijah said she had a son fall within the timeframe that the prophet has spoken. There are ways that God speaks to our hearts that opens us up to be receptive. We I think of it as how God has worked in our life to bring about a certain place, bring about a certain circumstances bring about certain conditions that speak to us. It speaks to us about having faith is based on less about belief that God is going to do some I don't understand why not. It's not out of debt that God owes us you been a good boy. Therefore, I'm going to reward you with this. It's out on an open heart and an open attitude towards God, and that he is a God who loves us. He cares for us and he's going to bring about the best in our life. It is hard to look at that. Sometimes when things are going well. The challenge is that we have a list of things we believe and why we believe them, and no matter what the circumstance that we are facing, it doesn't change our belief I believe, does not change does not alter because things don't work the way we thought they should always good. She got angry in your mind. Bad things happen, storms, hurricanes come lives are lost. The property is destroyed if my life is lost never lost because it's in Christ. So therefore I can never die. I could just change residence in the things I possess a hundred years and now some of you that I have, so we lose them. Now it's really just in my lifetime that they disappear. So what do I lose. Because I can't take it with me have it is my home and I can't transfer got like a transfer by John deer tractor residence at their note. I need to have at the rate of leaves, we sum up playing the horses like a lady last week that this lady last week that it will do is to go. She said in our grandma 's Libyan evidence is to be the racetrack button on the horses. Oh my gosh, you know, I don't think there's racing racetracks in what is betting on you now. People have their beliefs and that's all grandma did whenever she was on earth was go to the racetracks and play bingo, so I guess that's what you didn't have a not so if preachers and his racetracks in heaven. Now there's there's a race in heaven. I had been just three out of a moving out of the race. I don't. I don't know that much about the then racetracks the racetracks and have no signing our child grew up verse eight p.m. nineteen. Child grew up on Monday. Went to his father, who is working with the harvest Hanscom complaining my head, my head, and his father ordered a survey carried to his mother. The sermon took him in his the servant took him in his signs and carried him to his mother delay on her lap until noon and he died of migrants, what would we do it there's no doctor. There's no emergency room. The child was God 's gift to her and now the child has died. What is she going to do with it. Seek here is the challenge of life and faith of what we believe in what goes on in how we deal with so the woman then she took up and laid him on the bed. She took up her son and she laid them on the bed of the man of God, and shot him in alone and left so she did what she knew she knew that God had given her this child by the word of the prophets, and now the child had died, so she takes him back to the bed where the prophet lies and puts him in his bed and she closes the door. Now an endless sea interactions that she takes this moment of him, placing her son on the profits that closes the door and she doesn't complain, and she doesn't do anything but she has said in her mind. She's got to go find you why should the unfortunate vowels. She said she is. She she called her husband verse twenty two. Get me a servant and a donkey, so I can go to the holy man. I'll be back as soon as I can. Her response was not even to tell her husband. The sun is gone. She hasn't got a husband and say our son is dead. See, this is one of those things that she knows in her heart, which he has to do. She doesn't understand why she have to do it, but you have to do it in order to find out what's going on. We have to check in with our spirit, because before we really understand what's going on. Now it's obvious what's going on the job has some copy problem. No, my head, my head so may be an aneurysm. Maybe something broken his handset strokes, blood clot yell whatever was the child of cause the child's death, and now she doesn't know what happened, but she puts him in the bed and says I've got to go find the proper. That's the challenge. The husband know if I do say you got a go to church on Sunday and some is why it's not Thanksgiving with my Christmas not Easter way by the church. If I ever get those questions I get those questions, and I'm the preacher now you're right about the lady who called for her son is assigned its newest hybrid church united up. He doesn't start to call the later signing. I get up Simon of the church faces. I don't want to go to church and yes I got a go to church yet again to the church is not aligning our church insisted with Sonia, the preacher. My mom never games of choice in a image where it is like my mom and dad would seem we never had to worry about getting up and going to church with you to get up and go to the barn and finish all the chores on time. If the amount he would have to plan about to have three hours before we would go to church to get ready for church to get up in the barn earlier on Sunday morning so you get all the chores that a time so you get your bath and get it cleaned up and go to church, seeing there was no one like getting up and going through to get into the barn. Stop the but today. The husband says Weiler Davis today, the holy day holiday season. It is not a new moon is not a Sabbath, as you said, don't ask questions. I need to go right now than verse twenty four and twenty five she went ahead and saddled donkey ordering the sermon take the lead goes fast. You can tell you if you're going too fast when I get there we go to get there in a hurry, and off she went. So then I'm a good relationship. This has been wife because he doesn't know she doesn't go without telling him. And yet he lets her go without knowing why, so speaks of the relationship only men spotting her while she was still a long way off. Some days I look out there. Why, if the shipment right woman. It's a shame and a woman. That's the phrase this on my head when I woke up in my my dream. It's a shame and a woman that brought about the sermon so what it's about not quite sure, but is not for us to understand. But if the guy wants to do something through this story in our lives to help us. She has a way of knowing our path and giving us the strength to do to go to live to walk the path that is in front of us so look out their efficient iPhone quickly now asked her if something wrong, are you all right your husband, your child. She said everything is fine as I was out there is a what's wrong, what's wrong is wrong, what is our response. I don't need to talk to you why, because she doesn't need to review easy and in our life. There are people who want to know everything about us and they don't need to know there are only a few people in your life. One or two that we are to be transparent, not Internet and I'm not being negative in the sense that that whenever we want people to pray for us. There are people that you know we prepare request up. We need to do that but transparency is that everybody doesn't need to know everything about your life. I do this in an bereavement and grief I did a note. I realize how you doing, how you doing- well that those are those of good requests, but the challenges that there's only a few people who really need to know everything 's going on. People are interested in people, loving and caring. Want to know, but there's only a few that need to know in this case. She says the gays I having fun but don't talk the profit because the profit was the man who spoke to her about the child is a prophet who will be able to tell her what to do next very what is he living in, and she did not verse twenty seven, when she raced the holy man on the mountain. She threw herself at his feet and held tightly to him place of submission. I really don't know what to do, but I'm the type what's going on case I came up trying to pull her away the front of the profits apprentice, no you can't do that yet. Hang on his feet. The leave her alone. Can't you see she's in distress. But God hasn't let me in on why I'm completely in the dark so. Should doesn't know what he supposed to be doing. He doesn't know exactly how he supposed to handle the situation. So, salinity, do Saddam in the dark, sometimes whenever we pray we don't do how we should pray for as we should hope New Testament something to know how to pray for the wish of the Holy Spirit intercedes for us with groaning to canopy under there. Sometimes we don't not a private sphere price through us. It's that same spirit inside of us. The praise verse twenty eight. Then she spoke up then I asked for a son master. This was not my idea to have a child. This was yours. Don't tease me with false hopes and I didn't have any hope until you came into my life about having a child having son idea. Then verse twenty nine. He worried gaze. I don't lose a minute grab my staff and run as fast as you can. If you meet anyone don't even take kindly great empathy might reach you. You don't even answer lay my staff across the boys face utilizes not quite sure what he should do, because never in with Moses. He stressed his staff out over the as well, it's what they want my through on dry ground. So Elijah sent his staff to look to the boy right off the bat right. I think that the staffing go boy 's mother said as sure as God lives, and you live, you're not leaving me behind. I'm not leaving with your staff. I'm staying with you. That's the assurance I'm sticking to what God 's word has spoken to me through the I'm speaking I'm sticking with the word of God, and that's been a be my anchor, not the staff verse thirty one by case I arrive first lady staff across the boys face but there was no sound. There was no sign of life in case I went back to meet Elisha said the boy hasn't stirred so Elisha sends the staff. The staff doesn't work sometimes what we try doesn't work, does that mean it's over, it's done is not going to not so God has a way of continuing the story continues. Shifted. I also found the boy stretched out on the bed. He went into the room and locked the door. There is a way that we look at things and do things and sometimes we don't need other people 's input. Sometimes we just have to look at the situation from our inner person. It doesn't mean were supposed to be isolated all the time and make decisions on our own and all that it means that sometimes we have to check on the inside. I checked on the inside, locked the door, just the two of them in the Rimini. Pray God just like Jesus did with the generous, his daughter through the room. All the people out there, weeping, he goes in, closes the door and speaks to this time. Chef got in bed with the boy covered with his body map them I live in hand-in-hand is like with the breathing view the breath of life. I'm going there data-driven to see as God sees grab the strength of my strength. It's going to come to you as he was stretched out over him like that boy 's body became more so there's encouragement, but he didn't come back to life why she got up and he paced back and forth in the room like something is going on here she sometimes will we do things and having lived by faith. It's kind of a continuation is an ongoing story. It isn't. It is on hiatus like I pray it happens, I pray I set the ice at the staff that. Okay then I laid on his body and I I I praise them when I looked into his eyes and strength to strength. He became warm, but nothing changed. So what are we going to do. We quit now we go on it was a do they would back instruct himself over the boy again in the boy started sneezing seven times these days. Did you know that some say that this is the origin of the God bless you and someone sneezes because meeting was like an evidence of life coming back human when you sneeze at the altar. I thought of that, the story right here destroys at least neither the all the sign now that have to test it out, but it was just one of thinking young. We always say God bless you, and it's like the evidence of life sneezing that the thought is not biblical. It's just a thought, okay, and seven-time cc and he opened his eyes, because case. I said get the shivering woman and hear the call her and she came and Elisha said, embrace your son. Imagine the thrill of that whole situation and again it started, how to start it started with him comparison you want that guy. He needs a meal. He needs a place to stay. He blessed her with God 's word of having a son, the gift of God, and then something terrible happens with that gift and we don't know what to do with it. And so we take it to God again to the show tonight woman didn't know what to do with this crisis, but she took it to the man of God who made the promise White House. She locked the heart and locked the door so that no one would be able to disturb anyone. I shut the prophet did the very same thing because he was checking out from the inside. What should I do next and then I think is a challenge of our life. Sometimes we just don't know what to do next, we have to check out on the inside God 's work, leading us on his path. The path of our life with his knowledge, his presence, his power is leading us on the path of life and in this place of taking our next step. God will guide us. He will bless us. He will protect us. Nothing will ever separate us from him, and he will help us each step of the way it isn't that we know everything and what to do. The woman didn't know what to do. So she went to the profit profit in Washington even elected to be displayed with the moment and as he went, he discovered how it would all come about and what is he doing the very end. Embrace your son. She fell any license fee place of submission face of the ground. The reverential awe and then she embraced her son. They went out together. So instead him embrace God 's gift to us, which is our life and our life is our gift from God to us, and a lot of things will transpire in this life in our life the gift that God has given to us. Let us check in with what God is teaching us in his spirit in our spirit by his spirit and his work. God will never contradict his work so never think that some of your thoughts that the thoughts we have that they're not all gods. There are three places that thoughts come from the come from our self become from the evil one. They come from God our responsibility is to know what our God 's thoughts. If we know God 's thoughts were okay. That's why we study his word. That's what we come to church as well. Read the Scriptures. That's what we talk about them in a way that brings understanding to our minds and our hearts with an expectation of our spirit father, thank you for the blessings you have given us for the gift you have given us the gift of life. We asked the Lord your blessing upon us and upon this. Your word for Lord we bring it. We bring your word to our hearts and lives in ask you oh God, to teach us the truth of your spirit. We pray in Jesus name. Everyone said the men of leisure. Don't forget missionary Sunday school, church and dinner afterwards. Sign up, pleaseBut Scripture today is the second things, chapter four, beginning in verse eight through verse thirty seven and is a tax that I don't believe I've ever spoken on this one, that this past week about four in the morning and woke up and it was this dream. This vision. This that the show at the aspect I don't feel my shock and I was looking at this and I may think invention. I will never spoken the thyroid of the house at job, but in my office all week I've been reading over this text and reading the Scripture wondering how is this going to come across so I'm no idea so it is very interesting tact and very interesting Scripture of what happens with Elijah and Elisha, this is not always always say what I like to first analyze and model explain the moment, but the focus of him. I believe the focus of what we believe is is so very important, because we have a list of things in our minds in our lives that we believe in, but I came across an individual who he spoke of his son being in a total atheist and I said while he believes that he believes that there are rule. There are reasons not to believe at least fill has a list of beliefs you see what we do is whether we believe the Scriptures are believe we have a list of things as to why we believe we there is a list of things why people believe there is no God, there is a list of things that we believe why there is a God, and it's where we put our trust and how that they trust of our Scriptures and of the Scriptures comes through our life through our experience through our words, our thoughts, our actions, even how we plan our life and how we plan on where God wants to take us in our future. So it's all in front of us and it's all part of our belief system. Well, here we have Elisha and Elisha was Eli Joe's replacement as God 's prophet for Israel. Now Eli shall had a great example to follow any light you because Elijah was this guy who try and call down fire from a from heaven on my caramel and when I was in Israel stood there on our mole and have a big God statute Aaron of Vienna, Pavilion, where this event probably took place and it was there that you like to call down fire from heaven against the prophets of bail and things like that. It's a great show of strength and fire while we find that Eli Shell was his propolis is an apprentice is a student in Elisha followed Elijah everywhere you went, and he was willing to follow him. He is willing to learn from in order to gain the power to know the work which God had called him to do so he needed to know what it was that God had called him to and he was learning this from this great prophet Elijah about Elijah and Elisha concentrated their efforts on the needs of the people and what we find from this story today and in second Kings chapter four is that there is a great need of an individual, and we see how this plays out in this person 's life. And if there's maybe a couple of things we take away from this is how that God has a way of blessing us how that problems have a way of finding us and how do we then determine what were going to do with those difficulties and how those difficulties diminish a bus and where we go will those difficulties, and I am assuming that this is the direction that we're going to go with this. With this text today so that's what I have in front of us so we know as Eli did then was this fiery profit who freed the people of Israel to worship God, Elisha was a man who put people in touch with their personal all-powerful God, and we spoke about this in the Sunday school lesson this morning. This is the lesson I thought was a really good one because it spoke about the power of God, the all-knowing, omniscient, all-knowing God omnipotent all-powerful omnipresent everywhere present, God, how that God is transcendent. He is in the heavens. They get these in the earth, so it's a combination of knowing you are knowing everything in the VIP and that the transcendence is when God is in the heavens. It's like he wound up the earth, and strode off in the space and he'll come back at a later date and check in on it while then there is the idea that God is so involved in the year and am what's going on, he can't see the forest for the trades, but when God is above it and any and Internet's, we find that God is well aware of all the things are happening and then and and all and bad atmosphere we have the God knows our thoughts from afar off. He knows our thoughts before we think them and enhance all knowledge that God doesn't remember the past and he doesn't see into the future. He has all knowledge. It's everything the past, the present of future is all before God at the same time. So when God interacts in our life. God is interacting our life from a position that we are learning how to follow him where learning how to allow God to be part of us. It isn't that were asking God to somehow come down and rearrange some popsicles in our life, we are allowing God to be in our hearts in our lives to come out through us as we approach life as we approach the problems of life and the difficulties of life, the joys of life in and the needs of my life. So we are allowing God to come in the same spirit that raised Christ from the dead dwell in you, he shall quicken your mortal bodies shall quicken us. And so there is the spirit of God alive inside of us. It is quick and powerful is alive and active. Sharper than any two edged sword researchers as so it is dividing the salt of the spiritual something that is inherent within us, as from that position of being inside of us that God is at work doing living through us to touch the lives around us. So whatever we pray we don't pray for the perspective gone move this situation move that situation got any new rid of that person. I think my my life entirely enough in our lifetime. Now it's not like God coming down here moving the chest that the chess players on the board. God is inside of us directing us because he knows our path. He knows our future. He knows all of these things. The content in his compassion and his love and his grace is mercy, and touches our life and I see this in what Elisha Elisha is doing here in verse to read as we read through this thesis text today, so a second Kings, chapter four, beginning at verse eight one mail I surpassed through shin, a leading lady of the town talk them into stopping for a meal and then everything is custom whenever he passed through. He stopped by for a meal that's my kind of late, but as my colleague, you know sometimes I visit people I can. I said to you I can back every week for surgery him coffee. Note that this let me know. I'll be back, and so on. So here we have hospitality helping people helping people in need. So here's a lady who saw this man coming to come out where, as we read, I will find out she wasn't quite sure who he was. She had an assumption. This man is important. He's a prophet of God, and the importance was not that she, he was able to do something for her. The value was. She was able to do something for him and so this is the be attitude of the woman who is approaching the profit she sees that he is a man passing through town. He needs a meal need some I take care of her, so she says she feels that she can do this, so she approaches Elisha as his condo, house will have me. Also, every time he comes to town soft for a meal first night because there were no McDonald's. With that in the local restaurants, verse nine, I'm certain, said the woman to her husband, businessman who stops by with us all the time as a holy man of God, while Leanne on a small room upstairs and furnish it with abandon a desk and chair of the land so that when he comes by, he can stay with us. So she has this understanding inside of her that something is very important about this person and she needs to help take care of him. Now I know that and has been stranded here for a week and a half, but I'm not been at why could add a room on for her to come and stay with us and patted the problem in the alley because of the cancellations of flights and everything in. So, on what we have a room will have a designated his aunt 's room so that she would. She flies into the area we know she's can be staying for a while and making pies so we know that here's a stranded wayfaring person standing on the road hitchhiking out of lights rope and we just picked her up, but youngest what's going on so and so it happened that he came by. He went to the room and lay down for a net so she she not only took care of the life sure in saying no. This guy needs and a meal. We also know that he needs a place to stay. Every agent is a place to stay so with one another room on the roof out and in Israel and those in the places we've seen it that they basically have a one story house, and the upstairs. The roof was kind of like their patio. There was very common for them to have stairs up to the roof, and they would be on the roof of their home that evening because that was kind of their cool place to be off of the ground up in the air, and yet have some type of privacy and their small holes their holes were maybe fourteen by fourteen younger. Nothing like you know, ranch style homes with cathedral ceilings and all that they are just like small square buildings that made out of dirt brick ill mudbrick and on the top. They have a roof and that is, like their lounge area in evening wear to school the day they they kind of go up there, so it's in this place then that they build another room on for the profit and so he has his own place to have his meal he had has a place for him to rest, to lay down and rested as his desk and all that stuff is in place so it goes up anyways down for a nap open to recharge. There were no there there. We know we're recharged and ready to roll. So the one analysis in a in a position that while the prophet of God is in a position now where he wants to reward her and the next verse is interesting since I got a through the okay design utilizes said you've gone far beyond the call of duty and taking care of us. What do we do for you. You ever request we can bring to the king were to the commander of the Army so. Shows a man who's well-connected is well-connected, not only in the community by these well-connected in the nation. So here's this woman of influence, a leading lady in the town and she's been going out of her way to take care of it was, and so Elisha says there's got to be something I can do for you. There's got to be something I can do for you. And so, in the first contact. He says, is there something I can do for you and politically know you have any political ideologies, political means and you want to go because I know we know the K with all the connections we can do this for you and how it all began. It began by I think we need to give this guy meal will now sort of gone to the place where there's a room and now there is this request presented are what you have agreed you have a request of the king or anyone else with you. We can do, she replied nothing unsecured is satisfied in my family. I have no needs. She has know what you need to see if she don't like us while notes almost coming for Christmas. What is what is your list of things that you need and we can come up with a list of our right as we know all the things we don't have while this lady is saying there's nothing that I need. I have my family and my friends at my home. I have all this is nothing I can left nothing of any first fourteen July. She conferred with the Hayes are so& not satisfied with this okay is not to let her goodness, though unrewarded. So I said they got this got to be something we can do for her. So is talking this over with his sermon, but what can we doubt case. I said well she has no son and her husband is an old man while in Israel, if you didn't have any children that was considered to be a curse from God. While election, knows that this woman is not cursed of God, and he knows that what is taking place here as been a is is like the image of God the gift of God because she has been very congenial and her hospitality and gone beyond the call of duty build a room for MN and the whole works. So call her any life is certainly called her and she stood at the open door, so she comes the door of the room that she has gotten and prepared for him this is where this time next year you going to be nursing an infant son will while this is probably one of those desires of your heart, you know, you never to get yet he still desires. God knows the desires of your heart and we get the desires of our heart by giving you see, there are things in life that we do, we do know a lot of people do things with strings attached. While with God. He knows our thoughts far-off. He knows our thoughts before we think them. He knows what they are any understand us better than we know ourselves, and the challenges. Not everybody do something to get something we're doing something in order to honor God 's gifts that he's already given us so we get in here, she says. He says there are, you have an infant son of my master, holy man, she said don't play games with me. Don't tease me with such fantasies. It was almost one of those moments where she's challenging her innermost thoughts that she's never told anyone but yet she's told God, and now the man of God says to have a son who have a child. While woman conceive. Verse seventeen and a year later, just as Elijah said she had a son fall within the timeframe that the prophet has spoken. There are ways that God speaks to our hearts that opens us up to be receptive. We I think of it as how God has worked in our life to bring about a certain place, bring about a certain circumstances bring about certain conditions that speak to us. It speaks to us about having faith is based on less about belief that God is going to do some I don't understand why not. It's not out of debt that God owes us you been a good boy. Therefore, I'm going to reward you with this. It's out on an open heart and an open attitude towards God, and that he is a God who loves us. He cares for us and he's going to bring about the best in our life. It is hard to look at that. Sometimes when things are going well. The challenge is that we have a list of things we believe and why we believe them, and no matter what the circumstance that we are facing, it doesn't change our belief I believe, does not change does not alter because things don't work the way we thought they should always good. She got angry in your mind. Bad things happen, storms, hurricanes come lives are lost. The property is destroyed if my life is lost never lost because it's in Christ. So therefore I can never die. I could just change residence in the things I possess a hundred years and now some of you that I have, so we lose them. Now it's really just in my lifetime that they disappear. So what do I lose. Because I can't take it with me have it is my home and I can't transfer got like a transfer by John deer tractor residence at their note. I need to have at the rate of leaves, we sum up playing the horses like a lady last week that this lady last week that it will do is to go. She said in our grandma 's Libyan evidence is to be the racetrack button on the horses. Oh my gosh, you know, I don't think there's racing racetracks in what is betting on you now. People have their beliefs and that's all grandma did whenever she was on earth was go to the racetracks and play bingo, so I guess that's what you didn't have a not so if preachers and his racetracks in heaven. Now there's there's a race in heaven. I had been just three out of a moving out of the race. I don't. I don't know that much about the then racetracks the racetracks and have no signing our child grew up verse eight p.m. nineteen. Child grew up on Monday. Went to his father, who is working with the harvest Hanscom complaining my head, my head, and his father ordered a survey carried to his mother. The sermon took him in his the servant took him in his signs and carried him to his mother delay on her lap until noon and he died of migrants, what would we do it there's no doctor. There's no emergency room. The child was God 's gift to her and now the child has died. What is she going to do with it. Seek here is the challenge of life and faith of what we believe in what goes on in how we deal with so the woman then she took up and laid him on the bed. She took up her son and she laid them on the bed of the man of God, and shot him in alone and left so she did what she knew she knew that God had given her this child by the word of the prophets, and now the child had died, so she takes him back to the bed where the prophet lies and puts him in his bed and she closes the door. Now an endless sea interactions that she takes this moment of him, placing her son on the profits that closes the door and she doesn't complain, and she doesn't do anything but she has said in her mind. She's got to go find you why should the unfortunate vowels. She said she is. She she called her husband verse twenty two. Get me a servant and a donkey, so I can go to the holy man. I'll be back as soon as I can. Her response was not even to tell her husband. The sun is gone. She hasn't got a husband and say our son is dead. See, this is one of those things that she knows in her heart, which he has to do. She doesn't understand why she have to do it, but you have to do it in order to find out what's going on. We have to check in with our spirit, because before we really understand what's going on. Now it's obvious what's going on the job has some copy problem. No, my head, my head so may be an aneurysm. Maybe something broken his handset strokes, blood clot yell whatever was the child of cause the child's death, and now she doesn't know what happened, but she puts him in the bed and says I've got to go find the proper. That's the challenge. The husband know if I do say you got a go to church on Sunday and some is why it's not Thanksgiving with my Christmas not Easter way by the church. If I ever get those questions I get those questions, and I'm the preacher now you're right about the lady who called for her son is assigned its newest hybrid church united up. He doesn't start to call the later signing. I get up Simon of the church faces. I don't want to go to church and yes I got a go to church yet again to the church is not aligning our church insisted with Sonia, the preacher. My mom never games of choice in a image where it is like my mom and dad would seem we never had to worry about getting up and going to church with you to get up and go to the barn and finish all the chores on time. If the amount he would have to plan about to have three hours before we would go to church to get ready for church to get up in the barn earlier on Sunday morning so you get all the chores that a time so you get your bath and get it cleaned up and go to church, seeing there was no one like getting up and going through to get into the barn. Stop the but today. The husband says Weiler Davis today, the holy day holiday season. It is not a new moon is not a Sabbath, as you said, don't ask questions. I need to go right now than verse twenty four and twenty five she went ahead and saddled donkey ordering the sermon take the lead goes fast. You can tell you if you're going too fast when I get there we go to get there in a hurry, and off she went. So then I'm a good relationship. This has been wife because he doesn't know she doesn't go without telling him. And yet he lets her go without knowing why, so speaks of the relationship only men spotting her while she was still a long way off. Some days I look out there. Why, if the shipment right woman. It's a shame and a woman. That's the phrase this on my head when I woke up in my my dream. It's a shame and a woman that brought about the sermon so what it's about not quite sure, but is not for us to understand. But if the guy wants to do something through this story in our lives to help us. She has a way of knowing our path and giving us the strength to do to go to live to walk the path that is in front of us so look out their efficient iPhone quickly now asked her if something wrong, are you all right your husband, your child. She said everything is fine as I was out there is a what's wrong, what's wrong is wrong, what is our response. I don't need to talk to you why, because she doesn't need to review easy and in our life. There are people who want to know everything about us and they don't need to know there are only a few people in your life. One or two that we are to be transparent, not Internet and I'm not being negative in the sense that that whenever we want people to pray for us. There are people that you know we prepare request up. We need to do that but transparency is that everybody doesn't need to know everything about your life. I do this in an bereavement and grief I did a note. I realize how you doing, how you doing- well that those are those of good requests, but the challenges that there's only a few people who really need to know everything 's going on. People are interested in people, loving and caring. Want to know, but there's only a few that need to know in this case. She says the gays I having fun but don't talk the profit because the profit was the man who spoke to her about the child is a prophet who will be able to tell her what to do next very what is he living in, and she did not verse twenty seven, when she raced the holy man on the mountain. She threw herself at his feet and held tightly to him place of submission. I really don't know what to do, but I'm the type what's going on case I came up trying to pull her away the front of the profits apprentice, no you can't do that yet. Hang on his feet. The leave her alone. Can't you see she's in distress. But God hasn't let me in on why I'm completely in the dark so. Should doesn't know what he supposed to be doing. He doesn't know exactly how he supposed to handle the situation. So, salinity, do Saddam in the dark, sometimes whenever we pray we don't do how we should pray for as we should hope New Testament something to know how to pray for the wish of the Holy Spirit intercedes for us with groaning to canopy under there. Sometimes we don't not a private sphere price through us. It's that same spirit inside of us. The praise verse twenty eight. Then she spoke up then I asked for a son master. This was not my idea to have a child. This was yours. Don't tease me with false hopes and I didn't have any hope until you came into my life about having a child having son idea. Then verse twenty nine. He worried gaze. I don't lose a minute grab my staff and run as fast as you can. If you meet anyone don't even take kindly great empathy might reach you. You don't even answer lay my staff across the boys face utilizes not quite sure what he should do, because never in with Moses. He stressed his staff out over the as well, it's what they want my through on dry ground. So Elijah sent his staff to look to the boy right off the bat right. I think that the staffing go boy 's mother said as sure as God lives, and you live, you're not leaving me behind. I'm not leaving with your staff. I'm staying with you. That's the assurance I'm sticking to what God 's word has spoken to me through the I'm speaking I'm sticking with the word of God, and that's been a be my anchor, not the staff verse thirty one by case I arrive first lady staff across the boys face but there was no sound. There was no sign of life in case I went back to meet Elisha said the boy hasn't stirred so Elisha sends the staff. The staff doesn't work sometimes what we try doesn't work, does that mean it's over, it's done is not going to not so God has a way of continuing the story continues. Shifted. I also found the boy stretched out on the bed. He went into the room and locked the door. There is a way that we look at things and do things and sometimes we don't need other people 's input. Sometimes we just have to look at the situation from our inner person. It doesn't mean were supposed to be isolated all the time and make decisions on our own and all that it means that sometimes we have to check on the inside. I checked on the inside, locked the door, just the two of them in the Rimini. Pray God just like Jesus did with the generous, his daughter through the room. All the people out there, weeping, he goes in, closes the door and speaks to this time. Chef got in bed with the boy covered with his body map them I live in hand-in-hand is like with the breathing view the breath of life. I'm going there data-driven to see as God sees grab the strength of my strength. It's going to come to you as he was stretched out over him like that boy 's body became more so there's encouragement, but he didn't come back to life why she got up and he paced back and forth in the room like something is going on here she sometimes will we do things and having lived by faith. It's kind of a continuation is an ongoing story. It isn't. It is on hiatus like I pray it happens, I pray I set the ice at the staff that. Okay then I laid on his body and I I I praise them when I looked into his eyes and strength to strength. He became warm, but nothing changed. So what are we going to do. We quit now we go on it was a do they would back instruct himself over the boy again in the boy started sneezing seven times these days. Did you know that some say that this is the origin of the God bless you and someone sneezes because meeting was like an evidence of life coming back human when you sneeze at the altar. I thought of that, the story right here destroys at least neither the all the sign now that have to test it out, but it was just one of thinking young. We always say God bless you, and it's like the evidence of life sneezing that the thought is not biblical. It's just a thought, okay, and seven-time cc and he opened his eyes, because case. I said get the shivering woman and hear the call her and she came and Elisha said, embrace your son. Imagine the thrill of that whole situation and again it started, how to start it started with him comparison you want that guy. He needs a meal. He needs a place to stay. He blessed her with God 's word of having a son, the gift of God, and then something terrible happens with that gift and we don't know what to do with it. And so we take it to God again to the show tonight woman didn't know what to do with this crisis, but she took it to the man of God who made the promise White House. She locked the heart and locked the door so that no one would be able to disturb anyone. I shut the prophet did the very same thing because he was checking out from the inside. What should I do next and then I think is a challenge of our life. Sometimes we just don't know what to do next, we have to check out on the inside God 's work, leading us on his path. The path of our life with his knowledge, his presence, his power is leading us on the path of life and in this place of taking our next step. God will guide us. He will bless us. He will protect us. Nothing will ever separate us from him, and he will help us each step of the way it isn't that we know everything and what to do. The woman didn't know what to do. So she went to the profit profit in Washington even elected to be displayed with the moment and as he went, he discovered how it would all come about and what is he doing the very end. Embrace your son. She fell any license fee place of submission face of the ground. The reverential awe and then she embraced her son. They went out together. So instead him embrace God 's gift to us, which is our life and our life is our gift from God to us, and a lot of things will transpire in this life in our life the gift that God has given to us. Let us check in with what God is teaching us in his spirit in our spirit by his spirit and his work. God will never contradict his work so never think that some of your thoughts that the thoughts we have that they're not all gods. There are three places that thoughts come from the come from our self become from the evil one. They come from God our responsibility is to know what our God 's thoughts. If we know God 's thoughts were okay. That's why we study his word. That's what we come to church as well. Read the Scriptures. That's what we talk about them in a way that brings understanding to our minds and our hearts with an expectation of our spirit father, thank you for the blessings you have given us for the gift you have given us the gift of life. We asked the Lord your blessing upon us and upon this. Your word for Lord we bring it. We bring your word to our hearts and lives in ask you oh God, to teach us the truth of your spirit. We pray in Jesus name. Everyone said the men of leisure. Don't forget missionary Sunday school, church and dinner afterwards. Sign up, please