Jesus Christ means, and he was a little embarrassed about it. Amen? And so, I'll try to explain that to him just quick, but it's amazing, amen? To live that long and not know the difference. That's just something else. Of course, he didn't learn it in college, I guess, and there he is sitting in jail. He had to be in his fifties, that old guy there sitting on the front, and he didn't know. Amen? But anyways, 2 Kings chapter 4. If you'd like to follow along, 2 Kings chapter 4. When I'm at the prison, I give the reference. I so bad want to say, if you want to follow along in your funny Bible, why read the real Bible? Go ahead and turn there. But we don't say that. Amen. We're looking at the Bibles in there. They've got about, what, five or six varieties of them in there. What a mess. 2 Kings chapter 4. And then you wonder why there's so much confusion. Amen. Oh, I did also a missions conference. Amen. October. 28 through the 31st don't forget it stash money Amen, that means save put aside Okay, I got that done. St. Kings chapter 4 and Let's start reading in verse The story here is about if we won't read the whole story But in verse 8 tells about Elisha and this great woman woman the Shunammite woman We're gonna pick up the story in verse number 18 2nd Kings chapter 4. I Verse number 18. The Bible says, 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. Not really preaching on this part about it, but you know, it's amazing to me, and this is a true story that really happened, amen? We're not reading a parable here. And this woman had her son, her only son, die. You know what you don't see this woman doing? This woman doesn't lose it. She doesn't become an emotional wreck. She's not out of control. She's not just losing all control of everything and just going into a panic. She very calmly, I don't know how calmly by me, she carries him up, lays him on the bed. She shuts the door. She goes to the young man and says, go get me the asses and saddle him up. She goes to her husband and says, I'm going to go visit the man of God. And if you notice there, her husband said, verse 23, he said, why are you going to go today? He said, it's not a Sabbath, it's not a new moon, there's no reason to go see the man of God today. And her countenance to him, to her husband, was such that he never inquired, and he never said, what's wrong? He just said, why are you going today? Well, she's like most of us, she's going to be sobbing and weeping. He's going to be like, honey, what's wrong? What happened? Did the cat die? You burn the toast? He doesn't even ask her what's wrong. Why? That woman's composed. I just thought that was interesting. I mean, nowadays, we get so emotional. I mean, we make little things get big things. We just can't handle it in life. You know what I'm saying? And we live in a world that has forgotten and lost the ability to cope with trouble. And now they say if you don't have a bottle, you don't have a pill, you don't have a psychiatrist, you don't have therapy, or you don't have this, you can't get through trouble. But listen, as a Christian, hey, trouble's bad, but you've got the Spirit of God. She didn't have the Spirit of God. We've got the Word of God. She didn't have the Word of God like we do. We've got the church. We've got preaching. We've got fellowship. We have everything that is necessary to get through trouble and cope with life. We live in a day and age where everybody wants life to be easy. And something happens and it's such a big tragedy. I'll give you an example. I was reading the news the other night. I was on Fox News and I saw this headline. Man shot in Maine hunting turkeys. Right? Something like that. That's too bad, so I click on, right, man shot hunting turkeys. Right? So you think, well, you think, you know. So here's what happened. I click on the story and I read it, and here this one guy was hunting turkeys, he shot at him. What he didn't know was on the other side of Waze was another guy hunting the same flock of turkeys. And one BB of a shotgun shell hit that man, and it was so bad, he refused medical, He didn't need any help and he went home. But the headline said, Man Shot Hunting Turkeys. That's the world we live in. Everything's a tragedy! Oh my! And here we've had our forefathers, you know, arms blown off and legs blown off in battle, still trying to fight. Here a man gets one BB pellet hits him. And we make a headline on national news. Why? We've forgotten how to handle tragedy in life. Her husband didn't even know what was going on. She was so composed. Everything was so fine. She didn't flip out. She didn't go into panic. She didn't start running around in circles. She just said, hey, I need to go see the man of God. She's thinking. Because that's a good place to go. Because if anybody can help her, it's the man of God. So what I know is she's not lost her mind. You ever see somebody, they're in such a tizzy, they're so stressed, something has bothered them so much, they're not even thinking right. I mean, they're doing like the worst possible thing. Not this woman. We as Christians, I'm not saying I want trouble, but we ought to be able to handle it. So, verse 24, then she... Saddled an ass and said to her servant drive and go forward slack not thy riding for me except I bid thee amen I like that verse amen. I think that's that's inspired right now amen That's how we're supposed to do it drive. Amen forward and don't slack amen verse 25 That was I was half joking on that okay, I So she went and came unto the man of God to Mount Carmel. It came to pass when the man of God saw her afar off. It's interesting where he's at, amen? He's at Mount Carmel. There's a good study in the Bible on Mount Carmel. We don't have time tonight. It says, And it came to pass when the man of God saw her afar off that he said to Gehazi the servant, Behold yonder is that Shunammite. And it's interesting, he doesn't even call her by name. He doesn't even call her a great woman, although God does. And she was, but he just called her Shunammite. Well, to some people that would have bothered them. You can't use my name? You can't call me by name? I mean, you know, Elisha, I put you up in my house. I built a room just for you. I fed you. I've taken care of you. You can't even call me by name? He said, oh, there's that Shunemite woman. But we live in a day and age where everybody has to be just, we all want these fancy titles and we all want to show me the respect I deserve. Let me ask you, what respect do you deserve by the way? Hey, you honor me. What honor do you deserve by the way? He said that's Shunammite. That's all he says about her. Anyways, it's just interesting to me. Verse 26, 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. He saw something even her husband couldn't see, her servant didn't see, and Gehazi didn't see. But the man of God saw, he said, Something's wrong. That's the first person that noticed something was wrong. He didn't know something was wrong because she's flailing about and has totally lost it. He's got a spiritual discernment that the others just lack. Why? He's the man of God. He's the seer. He can see things nobody else can see. We're not talking physical, this is spiritual. So he realizes there's a problem. You know, having been brought up, Literally my whole life around men of God. I have. I've known a lot of men of God. You know what? It's amazing to me, it shouldn't be, but it is to me, how they see things that nobody else can see. They do. They're seers. That's what they were. Prophets were seers. They could see. They had a spiritual discernment. And men of God, and your pastor, and these other older men of God, they can see things that none of us can see. Is it because we're wicked? Well, I mean, it's not because we have open sin in our life. It's just that they are men of God. And God gives them a heart and a discernment that we lack. And here's the problem. You would think that we would take full advantage of that. But many times we resist it. And we don't like it, we even deny it. And we say, they see something, say, I see that, or this is going on. We're like, no, that's not going on. They're the man of God, they know. Gehazi didn't think anything was wrong. You say, how do you know? He's trying to get her away from the man. He's like, get off of him, get away from him. He wanted her to keep her distance. If Gehazi knew what was going on, he wouldn't have treated her like that. But he doesn't have a clue what's going on. 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." How did he know to have him go do that? Listen, this is what the woman told Elisha. She said, did I desire a son of my Lord? Did I not say, do not deceive me? She never said, my son died. She didn't say, he's laying on your bed. She just simply said, I didn't ask for him. Did I say, don't deceive me, don't tell me you're going to give me a son, then me not get one. And that little bit of information Elijah knew, he knew something wrong with that son. And he knew that that son was laid up. He said, go lay the rod, my staff, on that child. He knew he was laid up. I don't know if he thought he was either terminally ill or dead or sick on a bed, but he knew he was laying such that Gehazi could put that rod, that staff, on that child. He didn't know just that little bit of information. You know what? It's interesting to me when someone's Grieved or vexed or having trouble many times if they just begin to speak you can quickly know what's going on If you have discernment and that's what happened. She just said a couple simple statements and Elisha knew what was going on Verse 30 and the mother the child said as the Lord liveth and as thy soul liveth. I will not leave thee And He arose and followed her. I've heard people say that to the man of God, I'll never leave thee. It's like Bird Jack said, people said, people, he said, I've had people tell me, I'll be with you to the end. And the end just came a lot sooner than I thought it was going to. But this woman met it. Why? She knew her only hope for that child was in the man of God. Amen. Let's pray. Lord, I love you. And I do thank you for the opportunity to be in church. Pray, bless now the Word of God as we read it and try to preach it. Lord, I need you tonight. In Jesus' name. Amen. So she... I meant to pray in the beginning. I forgot. Anyways, if I had gone to Bible college, they could have taught me to pray before I started. You know what I mean? But anyway, she said, as the Lord liveth and as I so liveth, she said, I won't leave thee. She understood that Elisha was the only hope she had for her son. It's interesting to me. She didn't go to the doctors. She did not even ask her husband for help. She went to the man of God. Why? She had a problem. She had a problem that she had never faced before in her life. And yet, as I said, I don't mean to belabor the point, but I think it's important that we understand it did not fill her for a loop. She didn't go in her room and shut the door for five days and refuse to eat, refuse to come out, and refuse to talk. She just handled business. She took care of things. And the man of God knew right away that something was wrong, but he didn't quite know. And I know many times we come into church, and we might think we hide it, but it's on us. Amen? And people, especially a spiritual person or the pastor or somebody, can look and say, oh, something's not right. Something's bothering them. And maybe you don't know, but then you just talk a little bit, and it's quick. You quickly know what's going on. And so she said, I'm not going to leave you. And it's interesting to me that when Gehazi first saw her, he said in verse number 26 Gehazi said, Run now I pray thee to meet her and say unto her, Is it well with thee? Is it well with thy child? Is it well with thy husband? Is it well with thy child? And she answered it as well. Even though it wasn't well, why? She wasn't going to deal with Gehazi. She's not going to waste her time because, yes, did Elisha have discernment? Yes, that woman also had some discernment. If you go back in verse number Eight. The Bible says, And 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 that as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread. Her bread must have been good. Amen? Hey, if it wasn't good, I don't think he's going in for more bread. If it's hard and it's moldy and it's, you know, whatever, it's got too much salt or whatever, he's not going back for more bread. Well, I bet that woman's glad she knew how to make bread. Amen? Just throwing it out there. Verse 9, she said, Under her husband, behold, now I perceive that this is an holy man of God. Let me ask you, was Elisha a holy man of God? Sure he was. Sure he was. Who perceived that? That woman did. It took her a little bit, but she spent a little bit of time around that man of God, and she realized He was holy. There's something different about Elisha. I wonder when people spend a little bit of time around us, what do they perceive about us? We say, well, they just take me wrong. Probably not as wrong as you'd like to think they do. Well, they just don't really know how spiritual I really am. That's because you're probably not as spiritual as you think you really are. How about it? How do people perceive us? How do people with a little bit of true discernment, how do they discern us? She discerned them as a holy man of God. She said, which passes by us continually. And it's interesting, it didn't scare that woman. You know, some people are scared to be around holy people. They do, they don't want to be around holy people. It didn't scare her. In fact, she wanted him around more. That was who she wanted to be with. Tells me a lot about the woman. She found a holy man of God. She said, man, I want him in my house as much as I can. She said, I'll make as much bread. In fact, we'll build him a room if that's what it takes. Verse 10, she said, Let us make a little chamber, I pray thee, on 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 into us, that he shall turn in thither. So this is the beginning of this woman and Elisha and their friendship. And she perceived that he was a holy man of God, so much so that she wanted him around. Listen, I do not believe, though, that she wanted him around because she thought she was going to benefit. I don't believe she said to her husband, hey, let's build a room. I'll make him bread anytime he comes. We'll put a bed and a table and a chair, a stool and a light. And listen, if we have the man of God come, we'll benefit from it. I don't believe she said that. I don't believe she's looking for benefits. I believe she's looking to be a blessing. The Bible says that before she discerned that he was a holy man of God, what was she? She was hospitable. She knew Elisha and she wanted to be hospitable to him. And she wanted him to feel welcome and comfortable at her house. And then when she realized he was a holy man of God, she wanted him there more. Why? Because that's what she wanted to be around. She's not looking though to gain from it. So many people today, everything in life is, what can I get out of it? That should not be our mindset. Now, is she blessed by having Him? She is blessed. I'm telling you, you get God's man and God's people involved in your life, you will benefit from it. Way more than the worldly people. She did benefit. Eventually, you know the story, we're not going to read it all, but because of Elisha, she has a son. That's a pretty good blessing, right? Well, to some people. To others, it's not. But to most, a son is a blessing. Amen? I know sometimes they're hard to see as a blessing, but they are! Right? The Bible says they're a reward! And then when he dies, she needs him again. She's a pretty good blessing. And so, just tonight, as we look at this woman, and just the life of this woman, and her attitude, and her discernment with Elisha, I want to say this, that in verse number 8, her relationship with Elisha, her friendship, it started out as just a little thing. Did you see that in verse 8? One time she constrained him to eat bread with her. Not a big deal, right? How many people have you eaten bread with? It's not a big deal. It's not earth-shattering news, right? I mean, it's not stopped the presses. She's not having them in for a week or a month. Just one time, just come, eat one meal with us. Seemingly just a little thing. But you know what happened? It grew into something more. But it started with that first time. What if she missed it? What if she missed that opportunity to get Elisha involved in her life and the life of her family? What if she had missed that? She could have missed it. But she didn't. It started as just a little thing. And then the Bible doesn't tell us a whole lot about this woman a little bit, but you know what her life is filled with? It's filled with good things. They're filled with some trouble. Even when she invites Elisha into her house and begins to feed him and they build him a room and he begins to come over and over, they still have some trouble and sorrow in their life. What is it? They don't have a child. Because she doesn't let that keep her from being a blessing to the man of God and giving and being sacrificial and being friendly and wanting Him involved in her life even though her life was not perfect. She did not let it affect her. Many people, they have a problem in their life and their whole life comes to a stop because of one problem or trouble in their life. Listen, as I already said, we're all going to have trouble. But as Christians, what do we have to do? We still have to live for God. There's still a Christian life to be lived. There's still a service for God to be done, and fellowship with God, and serving God by serving others through a world to reach, and all this that we're to be doing for God. We can't let sorrow and trouble hinder us. She did not let it hinder her. She was willing to give and spend of herself, even though she had sorrow in her life. She had no children. But she continued to have the man of God. Then she has a child. Seemingly that sorrow is washed away, only to come back even stronger one day when he dies. But she's doing right. The Bible says she's a great woman. She's taking care of the man of God they've sacrificed and built a room on their house for him. How could God that something bad happened to such a good person? Because he's God. That's why. So, she has sorrow. They meet the man of God, they begin to give and sacrifice for Him and get close to Him. And then their sorrow seemingly goes, but then it comes back even stronger when the son dies. But yet again, she doesn't let it stop her. She's not going to quit. She's not going to throw up her hands. She's not going to get bitter and mad. She's going to go to the man of God. And it's not convenient. He's not there. I mean, think about it. He could have died when Elisha was staying with them, right? It would have been a lot easier, a lot more convenient. Now she's got to put some effort out. Listen, I like this woman. She doesn't go to her husband and say, hey, you need to go get the man of God for me. She goes. And the Bible says this, verse number 24 says, then she saddled an ass. She had the servant get him, but she saddled it. How'd she do that? She'd probably done it before. She wasn't afraid of doing a little bit of work. She was afraid to go all the way to Mount Carmel. That was a haul for her. I went around the corner. She's not riding a horse. She's riding a donkey. You understand? It's pretty good. And what's happened just a few minutes or an hour ago? Her son died. By the way, her only son died. And within minutes, she's saddling that ass and riding miles and miles to go get the man of God. Done put on her husband. Why? He's out in the field working. He's earning a living. She figures, I'll go. I ain't got a son to take care of no more. I'm not going to bother my husband, and I'm not saying that would have been wrong. I'm just telling you the story. There's something about this woman. And then she has the discernment to see Elisha is a holy man of God, and the discernment to see Gehazi is not a holy man of God. He is a fraud, and she saw right through him. That's interesting. How about us? You know, in our life, you know what we all have? We all have trouble. Every one of us. But to spend all our time dwelling on our trouble is only going to stop us. It's only going to hinder you. And listen, your trouble can be little things. It could be a little thing. But I'm telling you, if you dwell on it long enough, it'll become a big thing in your life. You know, the Bible has a lot to say about little things. And I'm not trying to downplay this woman not having any children. I realize that that is a big thing. But compared to your only son dying, it's sort of a little thing, isn't it? I mean, if you had a choice to have no children or have one, then watch them die and have to bury a child, I'd say you'd probably take no children. But she did not let that hinder her. And so even though we have things in our life, they might seem small. Little things, little things. The Bible has a lot to say about little things. And this woman, there was things she could have let bother her. He said, here comes a Shunammite. She could let that bother her. But in the end, that's such a very little thing. Right? But she didn't. Let's go to, I want to look at a couple of verses. Go to Genesis chapter number 19. Genesis chapter number 19. You know, as I was thinking about this, and, you know, even as that man of God came and went, and we don't know how many times he was there and all that, but, you know what that woman did is she took care of that man of God in such a way that he wanted to come back. You know, I was talking to an evangelist a while ago, and he had gone to a church, and he had stayed with the pastor and his family in this church, and you know what he told me? He said, I told him next time I'm coming back, I'm not staying with him. Well, I mean, right or wrong, I'm just telling you what he told me. Now, why do you think he told me that? You think it's because they had great hospitality and took such good care of them and made them feel welcome? No. It was so bad that he said, I'm not going to stay with them. They're going to put me in a motel or somewhere else. I don't think that's how that woman did it. But listen, you all know it. When somebody stays with you, it can be an inconvenience. If you're not careful, it can bother you. You know, you've got different types of people and different schedules and different likes, and it can be awkward. And you've got to make it work. But if you're so full of yourself, then you can't make it work. And then people don't feel comfortable and don't want to come back. But that's not how she did it. Why? Because this lady, even though the Bible doesn't give us all the detail, this lady just made things work in life. Look in Genesis 19. I want to think about little things. She didn't let little things stop her or big things. Look in Genesis 19 here in verse number 20. And we're jumping the middle story. Look in verse 17. This is Lot, and the angels have forced him out of Sodom. And he's in verse 17. It says, And it came to pass when they, the angels had brought them, Lot and his family, that went with them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life, look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain, escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed, and lot send them, O not so, my lord." This is an amazing verse. I mean, here the Lord's delivering him out of Sodom, he's arguing with the Lord about where he should go. Verse 19, Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shown unto me, and saved my life. And I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die. So even though the Lord said, Go to the mountain, he said, No, I can't do that, Lord, I'd die up there. Verse 20, Behold now, this city is near to flee unto, and it is a what? A little one. In other words, compared to Sodom, just a little city. He said, surely it's not as bad. He said, Lord, don't make me go to the mountain. Just let me go to this city. It's just a little city. Many times, that's the attitude we have. It's just a little thing. Just little, just small, just one time. It's not a big deal, not a big sin, not a big lie, right? Just a little one. And then look what he says. Verse 21, it says, And he said unto him, See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow the city for which I have spoken. And the city was called Zoar, verse number 22. And verse 30, go down verse 30, it says, And Lot went up out of Zoar and dwelt in the mountain. What made him leave Zoar? I mean, he's basically arguing with the angels, arguing with the command of the Lord. No, don't put me in the mountain. Let me go to this little city called Zohar. He says, it's just a little one. Next thing you know, he's heading out of Zohar, going up the mountain. You say, well, he probably got right with God. I don't think he got right with God. He went in that little city and realized it was just a smaller version of Sodom. That's what I believe. He saw some of the same things in Sodom, and he said, I need to get out of here. And he went up in the mountain. So even though it was a little city, still trouble. And that is not where God wanted him. Go to Song of Solomon, chapter number 2. I want to look at a few of these things, talking about little things. Song of Solomon, chapter number 2. I believe that great woman, she didn't let little things hinder her and bother her, and therefore, when big problems came into her life, you know what she was able to do? She was able to handle them. Song of Solomon, chapter number 2. And you know these verses. Verse number 15. The Bible says, Song of Solomon, chapter number two. If you're married, it should be an easy book to find, amen? Should be well-worn in there. Song of Solomon, chapter two, verse number 15. My attempt at human night didn't go very well. The Bible says, take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines, for our vines have tender grapes. Was it the big foxes he was worried about? It was the little ones. I'm sure there's something in there about little kids. Amen. I'm sure we can make an application. You've got to watch out for them little ones. Amen, Lyd. Amen, Robert. You've got to watch them little ones. But them little foxes, what do they do? They spoil the vine. The entire vine would be no good just because of a little fox. It's just a little fox. Have you ever seen a little fox? So cute, aren't they? But dangerous. Just a little thing. You know what we do? We let little foxes in our life. Lord tells us, you do this, go to the mountain. We say, oh, just a little one, let me go there, let me do that, just a little one, not a big deal, just a little one. Go over to Ecclesiastes chapter number 10. Ecclesiastes chapter number 10. Verse number one. Ecclesiastes is right before Song of Solomon. Verse 1, the Bible says, dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savor. So doth a little folly him that is in reputation for wisdom and honor. Again, you know the verse. How big is a fly? Not very big. Any of you ever go to bed for the night, turn the light off, and there's a fly buzzing? looking for a landing spot buzzing around your ear. You ever been there? Does that bother anybody besides me? I mean, it could be an army of 1,000 people outside. I could probably go to sleep. The marching band could be playing. I'd probably go to sleep. But you let a fly buzz around my head while I'm trying to sleep. Man, that drives me crazy. And the fly's going to have to die, or I'm not going to get any sleep that night. Right? It's just such a little thing. Isn't that sort of sad that such a little thing can bother me so bad? The boss says, there you let some dead flies get in the ointment of the pot to carry. Anybody want to buy that? What's it do? It loses its value. Why? It starts to stink and that's not what it's supposed to do. It's supposed to smell good. Amen, probably a good lesson in there to learn, but anyways, you let a couple flies in, and that which at one point, at one time, was precious and valuable, becomes something we want to throw away, and of no value. And what did it? Just some flies, dead flies, they don't have to be alive, even a dead fly can cause a problem. What about our life? Well, what's the relation he's making there? The second part of the verse, he says, so doth a little folly. Him that is in reputation for wisdom and honor. Let me ask you this. Who's in reputation for wisdom and honor? All of us probably are. You ever witness to somebody? You ever claim to be saved, to be a Bible believer, to believe in God? If you have, then to somebody you're in reputation, wisdom, and honor. If you're a parent or anybody in a position of authority, you're in a place of reputation, of wisdom and honor. And what's a little folly do? It'll do the same thing it'll do to that apothecary. It'll take that which is very valuable and precious and make it of little or no value. Everybody, right, we all want authority. Man, we love being in authority. We want to be in charge and just tell somebody what to do. We don't care what to do. We don't care if it's a dog. Just let me tell somebody what to do, right? Well, when you're in authority and you do something and you mess around a little bit of folly, you're just like that apothecary. That position you're in is going to lose its value. It's not going to be precious anymore. It's going to hurt those. that are around you. Why? It's just a little thing, just a little thing. Let's look at 1 Corinthians chapter number 5. 1 Corinthians chapter number 5. 1 Corinthians chapter number 5, verse number 6. The Bible says your glorying is not good. Amen. It's because they weren't glorying about God, they were glorying about self. Verse 6, know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth a whole lump. Does it take a lot of leaven? Just a little bit. Hey, you just drop a little pinch of it in there, mix it around, can you ever get it all back out then? It's in there. You can try. But the hole has been leavened, just a little bit, just a little, I mean, just a little pinch. See, we think just a little bit of this, I'm telling you, contaminates you. And it does it real quick. A little bit of worldliness, just a little bit of flesh, no big deal. Just my personality, right? I mentioned it last night, Romans 8, 8. So then they that are in the flesh cannot, what? Cannot please God. Can't do it if we're in the flesh. Listen, we've got Christians, or saved people today, and they live their life in the flesh. And they say, well, I'm going to work harder walking in the Spirit. It's not how hard you work. It's all about yielding. Romans chapter 6, you've got to yield to the Spirit of God. You've got to quit giving into your flesh. You give in just a little bit, and you're giving over to the flesh. You can't have a little bit yield to the flesh and the rest of you be walking in the Spirit. That doesn't work that way. You're either in the flesh or you're in the Spirit. Here it says, just a little leaven. So, that verse should tell us that there ought to be a caution about what we allow in our lives, because just a little bit can contaminate the whole. And then we won't go there, but you know what James 3.5 says, that the tongue is a what? It's a little member. It is pretty little. Some peoples are larger than others, amen? Y'all ever hear the story? I'm sure I've told you. The preacher preached on the tongue. And he had a woman in his church that was known to have a problem with her tongue. You know, she was a gossip. And she came up to the pastor afterwards and said, man, Lord, I want to give my tongue to the Lord because I've not been using it right. He said, well, here's 40 feet of altar. Do the best you can. That's a big tongue, amen? Anyways, what does that have to do with this? Well, tongue's a little member, but yet what's it do? Great damage. Such a little thing has split churches, divided homes, and listen, it's caused wars. Such a little member. I mean, the tongue has caused more damage than the fist has ever done, than any weapon's ever done. But it's a little member. So anyways, I know I got a little off track there, but you know what this woman did? Now, I need to close this up. This woman did not let little things or big things hinder her. You know, and I got a lot more here. I didn't even get through my first page. How'd that happen? Come back next time for part two, amen? Wow. As we go through the Christian life, I'm trying to find a place to wrap this up at, amen? As we go through the Christian life, you know what we're going to have? We're going to have troubles. And the question is, what is it going to do to us? Some of us, we can never even get over the little things in life. If you think that's big, I promise you somewhere down the road, something bigger is coming. And there's going to be people in our life and experiences and lessons that need to be learned now, so when we reach those big problems, we're able to get through them. Why did the Lord bring Elisha into that woman's life? One of the reasons was she needed him later on in her life. Now, she may not have realized that at the time, but does she not need him? And we didn't get to the end of the story, but you know it. Eventually, her son is brought back to life again. Why? Because that woman kept her cool when problems were going bad. She didn't lose it. She went to where she needed to go, to the man of God. She didn't let little things bother her and knock her off. It's like that woman, remember that woman who came crying for her daughter, that the Lord basically called a dog? Remember that story? I'll never forget Brother Earl preaching that message on that. And she said, Lord, would you touch my daughter? She was a Greek. She was Gentile. The Lord wasn't sent to Gentiles. He was sent to the Jews. The Lord said, no. Basie said, get away, you're just a dog. The woman said, yeah, you're right, Lord, truth, Lord, but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the master's table. Boy, you call somebody a dog today? Those are fighting words. I mean, today might even start a riot, for all we know. They might start burning and looting. You tell the wrong person that. That woman said, no, you're right, Lord, I'm just a dog. But can't I get a crumb? What did the Lord say? Man, I haven't seen so great faith, not in all. He said, I haven't seen all that in any of the Jews. Why? She wasn't going to be offended. She wasn't going to let anything about her car, dog, car, you know, Elisha didn't even call the woman by name. You think he knew her name? Sure he knew her name. He didn't call her by name. It didn't bother her. We let little things bother us. And you know, the closer you get to somebody, the more you get to know them, right? That's not always a good thing. Because you get somebody, you get to know them better, and you learn more of their faults. You know what some people can't do? Some saved people cannot handle knowing people too well. Because they get to know them too well, and they find out some of their faults, and they can't handle that. Of course, they have no faults themselves. It's never a problem if anybody knows them better. But they cannot handle, they can only know some people so well, because if they know them anymore, they learn their faults, and they just can't get along with them. Amen. Okay, let's pray.