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Hi, I'm Nancy Dufresne. Welcome to our podcast channel. We know you'll be blessed by today's message.

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You know, I just thank God for what he has highlighted in the Word for me, because it kept me on course. It safeguarded my life, and I had to see it so that I could walk in it. I had to see it so it would govern my life, and I wouldn't make the choices that would not bring me into the fullness of what God has in every season of my life. So. And I'm learning more about this. You know, I've. I've got to see all that God has. And I'll just be honest with you. I've struggled seeing what God had for me. When I got saved, I was so much under condemnation. I was just thankful to be saved. Like, you know, they let me in the house. You know, some people you don't let in your house. But for me, it was kind of like they let me in the house, and then they asked me to serve. So it was like, oh, my God. I didn't only just get to come in, but now they want me to do something. That was my attitude when I got saved. And some of it may have been because of the condemnation of the memory, of the things, of the mistakes that I had made. But I was also glad that I was so grateful for what God had done in my life. And I am still that grateful. I'm not living in condemnation of the past. I know I'm a new creature in Christ now. But I always stir myself up to be grateful and to acknowledge what God has done in my life and what he's shown me in the Word. And, you know, when we talk about reverence and honor and put a premium on what God has assigned us to do, because every one of us have an assignment. And when we make that our priority, the blessings of God that are there for us are really more than what we can imagine. And I want to look at that tonight in the Word. You know, I saw something this morning, and let me just segue before I get right into reading the Word. I learned something this morning in Reverend Joel's service, which was an awesome service. And I. And I. I learn that there's another generation that we're dealing with in the church. You know, there's one. They call them the baby boomers. And then there's. What is it? The X generation. What. What's another one? The millennials. I learn that there is the designated driver generation. I got it. I realize why they don't want to get in when it's time to flow in the river. They don't want to drink because they all think they're the designated driver. In my generation, there was no designated driver. You all went, you partied, you didn't know how you got home. In my generation, when the music started, you were out on the dance floor. Nobody was standing back. My parents were very strict, and the only. I don't know why strict parents would let you go to a dance. I mean, it's just. But it's the only place they let us go. And there would be dances in our city. They're like, you know, start at 8, end at 12. And so for four hours when we got there, we were going to dance all night. So when that music started, we were just waiting for somebody to ask us to dance. And I'm gonna tell you something. He didn't have to be cute. He did not have to be cute. He came and asked you to dance. You getting on the floor. Cause you got four hours to boogaloo. You got four hours to get down. You know what I'm talking about? That's what we had. So I realize now, now it helps me go back to my church and deal with the designated driver generation that wants to stand a little aloof and not jump in when we got the flow going. And I'm going to have a message on the designator driver generation. Just want to let you know. But I'm not preaching that tonight. Tonight we're going to go to Second Kings because we're going to look at the blessing of someone that put a premium on the things of God. Second Kings 4, chapter 8. Chapter 4, verse 8. Sorry. And again, most of you know my testimony when I, you know, we. My husband and I, we got saved. We went to a community church. And we were not changing in a community church. And just by different circumstances, we got invited to a word of faith church. And when we got there a year after we had been saved, you know, we realized this is the place that God planted us. And we just locked and loaded, you know what I mean? You just, you know, this is where God has for you. This is where the Word is being preached, and this is where things beginning to happen now, you know. And so we made up our mind that this is what God had for us. And you know, the scripture that says, you know, he places you in the body as it pleases him. This is our motto. If it pleased him for us to be here, it would be displeasing to him if we weren't here. And, you know, my husband is, you know, 17 years older than I am, so he was in a whole nother generation, you know. And so, you know, for him, you know, he processes things different. But this is how he processed coming to church. The man had excellent. Has excellent work ethics, and he would. This is the way he processed it. You know, if I don't go to work, they're not going to give me a paycheck. If I don't go to church, I'm not going to get the blessing of being there. So if I want a paycheck, a spiritual paycheck, I'm going to show up. And when I miss, my check's going to be short. And my husband, who ran a shift in a plant with several hundred people, he knew that if he couldn't deal with someone's attitude by talking to them, then he would just, you know, not punch them out, but punch them out. Like, go home. I punched your time card. You're going home. And when you start missing some money on your paycheck, now, you might listen to me, I might get your attention. And he brought that thinking over when it came to, you know, faithfulness in the church. And don't get me wrong, there were a lot, you know, we didn't do everything perfect. We had a lot of mistakes and we had a lot of renewing of the mind. But when we got ahold of the truth, we stuck with it. And since probably before June, God's been dealing with me about addressing some things to the young people, this next generation, because if we don't train them up, there's gonna be some things that are missing in their life. You know, I've trained my daughters, but it's funny that we're having to say the same thing to her children. Just because they're born in the family, they don't automatically have the truth. We're having to train them. And so every generation, we're going to have to train. And one thing we want them to know that we know and we're not taking for granted that we cannot outdo God. We cannot outdo him. You cannot sell out to God and end up short. And if you are, then you're doing it wrong. You can't outgive God. You can't out serve God. You cannot lay down your life for the things of God and then not get an overabundance return if you exercise your faith. Now, if you're not exercising your faith, then you're not going to see it. And that's what we have to understand. I've got to exercise my faith for the promises that God has for me, for my faithfulness, for my loyalty, for my diligence, for my right attitude, for my servant's heart. And when the enemy comes in and tries to take something from me, I've got to back him down with what God said was already mine. We plead our case. Amen. And this is what I love about this woman. There are so many details in this account that we can bring into our life today. Amen. Second Kings 4:8. And it fell on a day that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a great woman and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was that as oft as he passed by, he. He turned in thither to eat bread. So first of all, we understand that this woman was a wealthy woman, a woman of means. She was not someone in poverty, and she was not someone that had a lot of material needs. This is what you find when you see that she was a great woman. She's a woman of means, but she's a hospitable woman. And so she insists on the man of God eating there. Verse 9. And she said unto her husband, behold, now I perceive that this is a holy man of God. Now here is what's so important she perceived, which means she recognized. And this is what we have to teach the next generation is to recognize, you know, what's of God and what needs to be valued and what needs to be esteemed. We have to train them to recognize that. I can't tell you how many people God had put his hand on them to serve in the church and wanted to bring them up in a position, you know, to be a supply. And because of the world standard, they didn't stay in that position because the world standard began to wear on them and they left the value of what they were doing that God had chosen them to do. And you got to be careful that when you know that God's placed you somewhere and he's got you to bring a supply, that you better understand that while you obey him and you bring that supply, there's a whole lot of supply coming back to you. Now, I love what Dr. Frang used to say, you know, payday isn't every day, but it comes. That's why you have to saturate yourself in this word and find out what the benefits are for doing things the way God wants them done. But I can tell you that people have left their position for dental insurance. My husband And I were not the first choice. We weren't even the second choice. In fact, we were probably the fourth. There were when the, when our pastor was going to go and relocate and pioneer another work somewhere else, he was searching for someone to put in that church. And there were two other ministers that, you know, at different times he was grooming them to take the church. And one couple left because there was no dental insurance. I don't even know if they still go to church today. Why? Because the pressure of what the world standard is got to them. And they left the place of pastoring this great church that my husband and I now get the pleasure and the privilege of pastoring left a congregation, in my opinion, one of the most loyal. Now, let me qualify. It's not like they don't have issues still renewing their mind, but I know they're watching. But they are loyal, militantly loyal. And there were other people that could have pastored them. But because of the world standard pressing on them, they failed to see what God had. And we don't want this next generation to miss what God has for them because they don't perceive correctly. She said, I perceive that this is a holy man of God. And then of course, you know, she's recognizing the anointing. And because of that, the anointing moves you to activity, it moves you to be active, to do something. She said, I perceive this a holy man of God which passes by us continually. Let us make a little chamber. Let us do something. Let us, let's be a supply to the prophet of God, to the man of God. Now again, she wasn't coming with some motive of getting. But you can't out give God. So when you're going to do something and put a value on what God puts a value on, there's going to be a return. And that's what we got to realize. When we put a value on what God puts a value on, there's going to be a return for us. That's how he has set it up. And we have to get in the scripture and we have to see, and it's all over the scripture what God will do. You know, a faithful man shall what abound in blessing? A faithful man will abound. That mean being faithful? I get to abound. What about the joyful giver? The generous joyful giver will be fully furnished, fully supplied. See, there are promises in there for us putting a premium on what God puts a premium on. And we've got to make sure that this next generation understands that that There may be some things that you go through. There may be some times when it looks like it's not working, but in the end, it's going to work. In the end, everyone's going to go through tests and trials. Everyone is going to face situations where the devil is going to sit on your neck and tell you it's not working. Nobody gets out of that. But in the face of the devil telling you that it's not working and telling you an end that you don't want to hear, you have to saturate yourself with the truth. Because God rewards those that what diligently seek him. He is a rewarder. How about that? He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. So when I open up my Bible to seek him, there's a reward coming for that. When I hook up in my local church and I serve, there's a reward coming for that. When I'm faithful and joyful about it, there's a reward coming for that. Because God watches everything and he knows the motive of your heart. And like I said, I have seen people, and it's been sad in, you know, 30 some years that I've been saved to see people walk away from what God had for them just because the world tried to make them feel like they weren't established or they weren't going anywhere. You know, I don't know how many people have, you know, had this happen to them, but it goes off. You know, you tell them, you know, you pastor a church, oh, must be nice. Like, you should get a real job. How many people don't think that, you know, the ministry is not a real job, banker's hours. But you know what? You can't. You. You have to disregard all that because the blessings that come along with us, putting a premium on what God puts a premium on. And that's honor. Because the Bible, one of the definition is to esteem as better than yourself. So when I look at His Word and I look at what he's called me to do, I have to esteem that highly. And when I do that, there's a benefit for it. And we've got to rehearse this over and over to this next generation that God is stirring. There are so many young people right now in my church that are being stirred by God and have said, you know, when Dr. Efrain was here, he laid hands on me and he said, the hand of the Lord is on you for good. And, you know, they're remembering these things that have been spoken over them, and they're asking me, you know, what do I do to cooperate? You know, like they think something. It's like something mystical, you know, you know, I gotta bring them down to earth. You know, hey, read your Bible, Pray in tongues. How about that? How about serving the church? How about show up all the time? How about develop your character? It's not hard. But the fact that they're asking me, I know that God is stirring in them. And I want them to know the right value system. Because there is a value system that, that God has. And we have to take on that value system. Because if we don't take on the value system of God, we will take on a value system. And if we don't take on the value system of God, the only value system left is the world. And the world doesn't dictate to us what is valuable. There was. My husband quoted this, and I didn't even know if it was real or not until one time, you know, I saw it printed someplace else. I thought, where'd he get that? But he would quote this, he would say there was a president of President Garfield, that when he was elected to president, he made the statement he had to step down from ministry to become the President of the United States. Step down to become the President of the United States. Because the calling of God was a high calling. You know, being the CEO of some corporation is not the highest calling. If God called you to serve in children's church, that's a higher calling, that's got greater benefits. Amen. So she said, let us make him a little chamber. And you know, she, she. She builds on a room for him like a little apartment. Why? Because she recognizes that this is a prophet of God. He's a man of God. This is God's business right here. This belongs to God. And so I'm going to treat it with the honor and the respect that he should be treated with. So she was very generous, her and her husband. And then let me take you down to verse 11. It fell on the day that he came thither and turned into the chamber and lay there. And, you know, I just imagine him stopping and going into his room. I imagine that it had an outside door where he probably didn't have to go through the house, maybe. I mean, maybe it was two stories, I don't know. But I imagine he goes in there and while he is enjoying the comforts that she has provided for him, then the anointing that's on his life starts stirring to benefit her. While he is enjoying. And at A very early age, when God showed me these passages or basically began to highlight to them, I, my husband and I, we realize when we make things easier in the natural for our pastor and for the church, try to be a greater supply financially, then we realize because of this, the anointing is going to work. Because what we need, we don't need from a man. We need the movement of God. And that's what we were looking at, the movement of God in our life. Amen. And that's what people sometimes fail to recognize, that when you're doing what you're supposed to be doing and you're putting a premium there is what God has for you is moving in your direction if you will exercise your faith. Amen. Now, you know, I realize that many of you came to receive impartations. We certainly came to sit under the word and to be encouraged and, you know, enlightened and miracles. We came for healing and miracles. But you know what? I came for something else also. I came for that. Plus I came to get land. I came to get funding for a building. I came to get material to build a bigger sanctuary. That's what I came for. Because when I'm where God wants me to be, he's working on behalf of what I need. So when I come, I come for all of those reasons, but I come for some other ones, too. And some people don't recognize that when you are where God wants you to be, there are things happening for you if you'll recognize them and believe for them. My husband has this testimony that one time we were going through a difficult time financially, and it was only because of our lack of revelation of the word. And the secretary, because he had a business and the business was slow. The secretary called him because the pastor was going to go. Another pastor had invited him to be in a service, and it was three hours away. And so she wanted to get somebody to drive him. And so, you know, she called my husband and, you know, my husband, you know, was. Was under pressure financially, and he's thinking within himself, geez, you know, I could be sitting here waiting for a customer to come so that I could make some money and feed my family, take care of my family, because he was born with that ethic, you know, to take care of your family. And so we're in a season where we're having to learn to use our faith and all that. So, you know, he, you know, he says, you know, well, why do I have to go? You know, which is not the right answer. Okay. But he was under pressure. Let's give him a break here. So. And this is his testimony. He says, you know, I'm thinking to myself, why do I have to go? So I tell the secretary, why? Why me? She goes, because you're not doing anything right now. And he's like going, oh, brother, thanks, you know. So, you know, you know, he got the car, washed it, gassed it up, you know, and went to, you know, take the pastor. And the pastor's, you know, in the passenger side, and he's driving, and he's complaining to God because he's under pressure financially. I mean, you know, this is what happens when your mind's not renewed. And so he's like going, you know, God, I could be there. I could be missing a sale, you know. And he said. He tells me, he goes, debbie, I'm driving and I'm complaining inside my heart, you know, and he goes. All of a sudden, I see this vision, like on the dashboard, and I see these two hands. You know, like the Allstate commercial where it shows the two hands and the houses in the middle. He says, I see these two hands. And God says to me, son, I've got you in the palm of my hands. And he said, son, when you're taking care of my business, I'm taking care of your. So he drove the pastor, obviously, that alleviated the pressure from his mind because God spoke to him and settled his heart. But when he got back, you know, and the next day he went in to open up the shop, he had some sales. People started coming in, and he got sales, and he realized it's because he had deferred. Obviously not at the beginning with a good attitude, but God was trying to teach him, you know, son, if you take care of me and what I put a premium on, I will move for you. And God would show us these different things so we would know that we don't have to try to take care of ourselves. Be about God's business and believe God, for the power of God to work on your behalf. So, you know, we've got to teach this next generation, because it's not about. And I say this in our congregation all the time because I've dealt with it for so many years. It's not about how much you make. It's about how well you know how to believe. Because if you look at Proverbs, you know, it tells you that you know, much in the hand of the wicked, really, I'm paraphrasing, is not going to end up in much, but little in the hand of the righteous. What? There's supernatural power on that and you're going to end up gaining more. And we got to look at things like that. And we have to teach this next generation to look at that, to put a value on what God has, you know, assigned them to do. And that's where the full blessing is going to come if they will use their faith. So you got to believe this and then act on it. You know, Dr. Frank used to say all the time, who. Who put you on a fixed income? For us that know the word, it's not about our a paycheck, it's not about our salary. Because most of us that know how to believe know that, you know, your salary is just your seed point. You believe for a whole lot more that comes in different areas. Amen. So as he's enjoying this, now, the anointing is starting to work on her behalf. What can be done for her? And so, you know, he tells the servant, call her verse 13. And he said unto him, say now unto her, behold, thou has been careful for us with all this care. What is to be done for thee. You have been careful for us with all this care. I recognize what you have done for me. Now, what can the anointing on my life do for you? There's always a return. There's always a blessing when we are about our Father's business and we put a premium on it. Now, what can be done for you? You have cared for me with all this care. Now, it's no secret that we were Dr. Dufresne's favorite church. Don't send me any letters, any postcards. Not gonna believe you. But I'm gonna tell you something. Dr. Frank says I go where my favorite's at. And he goed to us a lot because we were his yes men. Whatever he said, we go yes, doctor. We figured. Listen, when he went home, that's a different story. But when he's with us, we were just like, yes, doctor, whatever you want. But you know, we did get the last week with him and we did get Jesus walking in. I'm just saying. I'm just saying. Why? Because I refused to let the congregation treat him casually no matter how many times he came. I gave him a good talking to before he showed up. I don't care how many times Dr. Efrain's here, you're not gonna treat him like he's anybody else. He's a prophet of God and we're gonna honor him and we're gonna hold him to the Highest esteem of that office to. Because that office is. Is. Will do something to help us. First of all, that office rescued this church. And just that alone, if it never did any other thing, it rescued us. But I'll tell you, it did so much more. But I told them all the time. Don't you. Don't you think just because, you know, like, I don't know, someone in the last couple of years, I was looking by him, we go, we almost had him like, once a month. I mean, I'm going through old, you know, CDs and stuff. I'm like, oh, my God. No, no. Oh, my God. We almost had him once a month for almost two years. But I never let them take him for granted. Why? He was a prophet of God, and we got a benefit for that. And this is what this next generation needs to understand that once you put a premium on what God's called you to do, and you do it the way he wants you to do it, there is a return. But you better start calling for it. You better know, listen, when I come to church and I come to serve, there's a blessing when I come here to be in my spot, right here where I'm supposed to be. And, you know, people do watch if we come or not. I remember there was a meeting. I believe it was over Pastor Eberly's church, and it was Dr. Dufresne. It was a minister's meeting. And I remember because of something with our schedule, we didn't get there the first day. We got there the second day. And I remember somebody came up to me and they said, oh, my gosh, I didn't see you here yesterday. And I thought, oh, they would not. Not have come. And you know it. You know, when they said that, I went, oh, my gosh, people are watching you. You know what I mean? And I mean, it just kind of struck me like, yeah, people expect you to be at certain places, and I realize that we can't be at every place. You understand what I'm saying? It just. It just said something to me that because of what, you know, what they had seen, this is what they were expecting. That's not a bad thing for people to expect for you to be there. Amen. So he said, you know, you have cared for us with all this care what is to be done for thee? You have cared for us with all this care what is to be done for thee? Wouldest thou be spoken to through the king or the captain of the host? And she answered, I dwell among my own and he said, what is to be done? And of course, you know, the servant said, you know, really, her husband is older and they don't have a child. And so the prophet tells her, by this time next year, of course, you know, she kind of argued with him a little bit, but only because she was not doing it to get something. We don't do it to get. We do it because we esteem. But because we do it because we esteem, we get. But I don't do it to get. I do it because I put a value on it. But because I put a value on it, God puts a value on me and I receive. Amen. And when you don't put a value on the things of God, you end up losing. I think about this one man came to my husband early on in our church and he said, we were not pastoring, we were just in the congregation. And he said, you know, he said, johnny, he goes, I've come into some money. I got a little inheritance. Somebody told me that you were good with money, maybe you could tell me where I could invest my money. And my husband said, well, I'll tell you what he said, the best place to invest your money is in the church. He said, no, no, no, I wasn't talking about that. I'm talking about like a real investment. You get it? I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about a real investment. He said, I'm talking about a real investment. He said, there's, that's a safe, safe place to put your money. Now, my husband wasn't telling him to put it all in there, you understand that? But it's like, you know, if you, if you're gonna think about investing, first of all, invest in the kingdom. First of all, you want everything taken care of, first of all, you invest in the kingdom. Well, you could tell he just, you know, was twitching and everything, you know, and he didn't. But I don't know if you remember when all those SNL's went under. He lost every penny of it. He lost every penny of it because he put it in one of those SNLs. He lost every penny of it. There was nothing protecting that money because he didn't even tithe on it. But look at the mentality. He didn't think putting money in the kingdom of God was an in real investment that had a return. He did not think it was of an investment that had a return. Amen. See, that's how we got to think that everything that we invest in the kingdom of God, it's A great return. Our time, our effort, our loyalty, our love. There's a return for everything. I tell my congregation. Attitude is everything with God. When you're gonna do something for God, listen, he's looking at your heart. He's looking at your attitude. You know, you don't stomp your feet or suck your teeth when you gotta do something for God, you know what I mean? Like, I gotta go and serve. I gotta go and serve. There is no benefit for that. But when you do it joyfully and you do it because you love God and you love the things of God, honey, the returns are just, you know, you can't even fathom what God will do for you. But you got to look at it that way. We have had too many people, too many get discouraged because they wanted everything right now. And they didn't realize that you prosper as your soul prospers. When you develop, then more comes. But in the process of developing, they look at what the world has to offer and they feel like they're behind. That is such a lie of the devil. We are not behind. When we're doing what God's called us to do, we are not behind. You know, we got to put a value on. On. On learning how to follow the spirit. That will gain us a lot. We won't have. Dr. Frank used to say there is the possibility of never having a misstep again in your life. There. We. There is a potential there that if we learn how to follow the spirit, we could never have another misstep again in our life. How much prosperity would that bring to us? Amen. So he says, by this time next year, he says, no, my Lord, you know, and of course, I love the dialogue there because it shows her heart. She was not doing all of this to get something, but yet God wanted to reward her for what she had done. So she gets her heart's desire. And you know what? Anything you get from God, guess what? The devil, he wants to attack it. And so, of course, the attack comes and her son dies. But I love this. It's like, you know, being hooked up in the local church. Where did she go and take that boy? She said, take him up to the prophet's room. Take him to the place where the prophet was, why she was connected. And now she's going to make a demand on what she's gotten. So she says, you know, know, saddle up the horses or the donkeys and let's go and ride. And her husband is saying, why? I mean, this is like a. Not a ceremonial time. When you should be going, you know. And so, you know, she just said, I'm going and I'm coming back. Everything's good. And so he. She goes and she goes to find the prophet, and the prophet sees her from afar. But God does not reveal what. What the problem is. So he tells his servant, go and ask her, is everything okay? She. She's a woman of faith. Yeah, it's okay. Yeah, it's okay. Why? Because I'm going to get what belongs to me. Sure, it's okay. You know, when the enemy tries to withstand you and say, you know, look at what you're doing. You could be doing this and you could be doing that. No, no, no, this is okay. This is fine right where I'm at. Why? Because the blessing of the Lord that maketh rich and addeth no sorrow, when I go out and try to do it myself, there's going to be sorrow and toil with it. So she said, no, all is well. And then I love this when he sees when she finally gets to him, because of course, you know, she's not going for the ministry of helps. She's going for the man of God, which I love. It's like, listen, I'm not dealing with, you know, I'm not getting attached to anybody else in the ministry of help. I'm attached to my man of God. That's a whole nother sermon anyway. Sometimes people get attached to what they shouldn't be attached to, but that's a whole nother sermon. She grabs hold of him. What is she doing? She's not going to be denied what belongs to her. God got him that baby from dead loins, and he's going to raise him up. What is she doing? Staying close. Staying close. What did Pastor Nancy tell us? Stay close. It's time to stay close. When she said that, it reminded me of my husband. In 2010, he had a stroke. He went when he was about 40 something, he started having strokes, and his father had had strokes and two brothers had had strokes. They had both. They all. He had a father and two brothers. The two brothers died in their 50s, and his brother, his father died somewhere like 61, 62. But from strokes, they started having strokes. And so then it was stroke after stroke until they died. And at 40 something, my husband, he had just gotten saved and he had a stroke. And for two weeks, one arm, he could not move it. He didn't tell anybody. He put that arm in his pocket. And he would work, you know, he was an electrician and he would work with, you know, one hand, he could move his fingers, but he couldn't raise his arm. But we had just gotten saved, and we were listening to Brother Copeland. So my husband was quoting, no weapon formed against me shall prosper. He know by his stripes I am healed. He didn't even tell me until after two weeks, his arm started moving again. And then he told me. He did not tell me while he was going through the test and trial. So now here, you know, fast forward, he's in time. He has. He has another stroke, and it's pretty massive. And so, you know, he's going to the hospital, and, you know, Dr. Dufresne is in our life then. And Dr. Dufresne, you know, he. You know, he kind of gives me some instructions and he makes it through. And then he came to our church, actually, right after he got out of the hospital. You know, this happened in December. We were having a meeting with him in January. So he came in January. He's sitting in our den with us. And he said, pastor Johnny, he said, I went to the Lord and I pled my case. And I said, lord, I need him. And if I need him, you need him. This is what being connected does. He said, and The Lord said, Fifteen more years. And then he said, After 15 more years, then we'll talk about it again if you want more time. My husband has already passed 15 years. Yeah, but here's what doctor said, stay close. And my husband knew what stay close meant. Be it his meetings, have him in our church, be around him as much as we could. Why? And he's gone. Probably over, I think, 18 years. I don't even know how many years now. It's been. There's a benefit for being connected. There's a benefit for putting a premium on what God puts a premium on. There's a benefit, and we got to stand our ground with it. And we have to let this next generation know that there are benefits for what they're doing. You are not living less than. Don't ever think I'm living less than. Because I'm doing the will of God. Because the will of God. When you're doing the will of God, the miracles that can happen for you. You know, when my husband and I got saved, you know, we. You know, we came out, you know, from a bad past and everything, and we wanted to do right, but, you know, we had all kinds of issues because of the life that we had lived. You know, we grabbed hold of this one thing that if we hook up and lock and load There were things that we were believing for with family members that money can't buy. God, dealing with your children to serve God, all of that money can't buy, that's still part of the benefit and the blessing. Let's not discount that. My husband is 82 years old and his siblings and his father died in the 1560s. He's got one sister that's younger than him, and his mother lived to 80. He has outlived almost all of them. And he wouldn't have if he hadn't gotten saved and God hadn't been properly connected. And he knew that. He knew I'd have been dead long time ago. So, you know, do we get blessed monetarily? Yes. But there's so many other blessings that we have to recognize. Amen. We do not live with less than. And what we got to do is get in this word and see what God has for us. Well, you know, really, right here, the end of this, right here, which is not the end. She got her son raised back from the dead, so she got her son restored. But if you go to chapter eight, verse one, you're going to see something else that happened here. Second Kings eight and one. And I love this. When I saw this, I went, oh, my gosh. This is why we stay steadfast with the things of God. Chapter 8, verse 1. Then Elisha. Then spake Elisha unto the woman whose son he had restored to life, saying, arise and go thou and thine household, and sojourn wheresoever thou can sojourn. For the Lord has called for a famine, and it shall also come upon the land. Seven years she got forewarned of something coming as a benefit for her care and putting a premium on the prophet of God. She got warned of something coming, and he says, it's going to be for seven years. So. So you need to. You need to get out of here because you won't make it here. And the woman arose and did after the saying of the man of God. Now this is like, this is tremendous right here. Just this right here. How many people would really listen? She moved out of her country and left everything. How many people would have that much trust in someone that's further down the road than you? Because we've got this mentality that no one can tell us anything. I hear from God myself about that one. I hear from God. Well, yeah, I'm glad you hear from God, but you haven't experienced everything in life. You have. You have not experienced every trick of the devil yet. And there are People that have gone on and are bearing fruit that can help us if we'll listen. I mean, when you put yourself in that place, would I sell my home or just walk away from it because I won't be able to make the payment anyway? I could starve to death here. Do you know the relationship that she had to have, the trust that she had to have, the premium that she had to have that she put on that man to listen to him and do what he said? We get instructions all the time in services. Amen. And the woman arose and did after the saying of the man of God, and she went with her household and sojourn in the land of the Philistines. Seven years now, you understand, she's not around her people. She can't be living as comfortable as she had been. But she was alive and he had given her a time, a time frame. You see, people that are connected, they hear things that other people don't hear. Because she put a value on the man of God. She could hear something that no one else could hear. Amen. And it came to pass, verse three, at the seven years in now, she already knows. The prophet said, it's going to be seven years. So she knows that when seven years are up, I can go back home. Seven years in that, the woman returned out of the land of the Philistines, and she went forth to cry unto the king for her house and for her land. And the king talked with Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, saying, tell me, I pray thee, all the great things that Elisha has done. The king got interested in the miracles that the prophet had done. And here is the servant that was there and. And that had, you know, witnessed him. So he starts talking about this one woman's son that he had raised from the dead. What are the chances that she's coming up? Because, see, when you put a premium and put a value on what God wants you to put a value on, you find yourself at the right place at the right time. So it's time now, seven years, she comes back, and the king just, you know, coincidentally gets interested in what the miracles that the prophets has performed. And the servant is saying, well, there was this woman and she didn't have a baby, and then she got a baby, and then the baby died. And then the prophet raised her from the dead. And so, oh my God, there she is. What, kicked in favor? How about favor? He said, this is the woman. What does the king say? Oh, my gosh, this is a woman. He goes, look, it you can have your land back. And I will give you restitution for everything that your crops would have produced for the seven years that you were gone. Don't tell me it doesn't pay to honor God and to serve him with all your heart. Do not tell me it doesn't pay. Don't tell me it doesn't pay to obey. Don't tell me it doesn't. It doesn't pay to recognize and put a value on the things of God. You've come too late for that. She got her life spared. She got her heart's desire. She got her heart's desire raised from the dead. She got crops. You know, she got, you know, what is it? Retro. Retro. Pay. She gets her land back and she gets the value of everything that would have. That would have produced during the famine. She didn't lose a thing. You don't lose with God. You gain. And I'm going to tell you something. We better raise our children and our grandchildren and our great grandchildren knowing, honey, when you serve God with all your heart, with all your heart, and you do it with a right attitude, you are never going to end up with less, but you're going to end up with more. You find that more in the word of God, and then you just begin to declare it because God has it for you. He wants you to have it. You know, years ago, I taught this message, reverence, return to the church. Because, you know, there was a day when ministers were looked on with some respect. And now there's so much, you know, like disdain, you know. But you know what? That's changing. You know why it's changing? Because we're going to be operating in the fullness of what God has for us. We will be people that they will know they have to contend with. Let me give you this one last account. My husband, he served our pastor, and our pastor operated in the word of wisdom and the word of knowledge proficiently. It was amazing. My husband, he put him as the head usher, and so he'd be behind him. And so, you know, because of his association, how close he was. And my husband prayed in the spirit. There were times that he would come up to somebody. Of course, my husband didn't understand this. But before the pastor would begin to give utterance, my husband would have the utterance, you know, he would sense. So after service, he would say, now, Pastor, you know, when you walked up to this person and you begin to say this, God had already said that. And he said, well, John, that's because you're Close to me. And it's kind of like a runoff, you understand? Now, you know, my husband didn't have any clue that God was going to put him to pastor the church. So we don't even know we've got this equipment on the inside of us, okay? But we do know that we're close by association. So, you know, after we got the church, then my husband really began to operate in the word of wisdom and the word of knowledge, just like our pastor had operated it. God spoke to my husband. He said, you go to see the city manager, he said, because he wants to leave the city, but I'm not done with him now. At one time, the city didn't like us. You know, the city is particular about where churches go. And at one point, they didn't like us. And that's a whole nother testimony. Dr. Dufresne came and, you know, he took authority over his spirit. And of course, things had turned. But God spoke to my husband and he said, you go see the city manager. And he went to see the city manager. He got an appointment with him. And he said, sir, he goes, I'm here because God sent me. And God said to say to you that he's not done with you here. He says, he's told me to tell you that, you know, you've got some resumes in your desk all ready to give, to go to other cities to be a city manager. And the man looks at him and he said, I do. And he said, God wants you to know you're not. He's not done with you here yet. Don't put your. Don't put your resumes. Stay now. Because my husband told him, you have resumes in your desk ready to submit out to other cities. He knew that was true. And he said, God's not done with you. And he said. He said something else. Return to your first love and your first works. He was a Methodist man. This man. We have a man in our church that is in the city which got the appointment from a husband. The city manager comes to our guy in our church and he says, hey, he says, tell your pastor he has an open door policy with me anytime he wants to deliver a message to me. He said, you tell him to come and see me. We were having trouble with flooding in the city, and God spoke to my husband. He said, if you will, tell them in the springtime, there was a. I thought it was a canal or something to clean out all of that debris there in the springtime that when the rains come, the water Won't back up in the city. So my husband told the man in our church that is in the city, and so he was in charge of that. So he had them clean it up. And they said, why did you. Why did you decide to do that? Because my pastor said that God said if we would do that, our streets wouldn't flood. And the next time the rains came, we didn't flood. When you're operating in God, you get that respect back. And it's time for us to know who we are and get that respect back, because we have what people need. Amen. Amen. Hallelujah.