 with that said, let's begin our study here in the gospel of Mark. We're in chapter 7. What I'll be doing is I'll be taking you from verses 24 to verse 30, but I'm going to also take you into Matthew chapter 15 to give you some things that Matthew gives to us in that book. It's the same particular event from two different perspectives, and you'll see the some of the things that Matthew adds in just a moment. So let's begin reading here in Mark chapter 7. We'll begin reading at verse 24. I'll read 30, and we'll be going through our study here. Now my my microphone's been cutting in and out, so just be ready. All right. I'm old and I'm still goofy. Beginning at verse 24. From there he rose and went to the region of Tyre and Sidon, and he entered a house and wanted no one to know it, but he could not be hidden. For a woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit heard about him, and she came and fell at his feet. The woman was a Greek, a syrophoenician by birth, and she kept asking him to cast the demon out of her daughter. But Jesus said to her, let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs. And she answered and said to him, yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children's crumbs. Then he said to her, for this same go your way. The demon has gone out of your daughter. And when she had come to her house, she found the demon gone out and her daughter lying on the bed. So let me give you an introduction. Let me lay a context, a foundation. So you can see why this is such an amazing work, because this woman who approaches Christ is a syrophoenician. And a syrophoenician also called by Matthew, a Canaanite, well, it's an unusual thing for this woman, a syrophoenician, to actually approach the Lord Jesus Christ. So in order to understand that, I have to give you a brief introduction that relates to the history of Israel as it pertains to who they are as they have been called by God and the Gentile world. You see, during the time of Christ, Scripture actually divided humanity into two categories. There was Jew and there is Gentile. That was the two categories all humanity is divided into. Either you're Jewish, if you're not Jewish, then you are called a Gentile. And so the Jews are spoken of in Scripture in a different way than the Gentiles are in the Old Testament especially. The Jews are referred to as the people of God. And the Scripture speaks of them as having great benefits, great blessings that have been given to them by God. When Paul spoke concerning these things to the Romans, he spoke on the blessings that God had given to Israel. For example, in Romans chapter 3 verses 1 and 2, he had asked the question, what advantage then is there in being a Jew or what value is there in circumcision? He goes on to say, much in every way. First of all, the Jews have been entrusted with the very words of God. And so the Jews were entrusted with God's Word. That is a great benefit because the God of the universe who keeps things to himself has revealed himself through his Word to his people. And so that's a great advantage obviously. They are not reaching for him in the darkness. He's already has revealed himself. Later on in Romans in chapter 9 verses 4 and 5, speaking of the people of Israel, he says, theirs is the adoption to sonship. There's the divine glory, the shekinah glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship, and the promises. There's are the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the rest. And from them is traced the human ancestry of Messiah, who is God overall, forever praised. Amen. So he speaks concerning these people, the people of God with all of these blessings and benefits. But in contrast, the Gentiles are regarded as pagans. In Scripture, they are actually spoken of as godless. In Ephesians chapter 2 verse 12, Paul said that the Gentiles were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel, and foreigners to the covenants of the promise. He said they are without hope and without God in the world. They are pagans. So the idea that a Gentile could be saved without first becoming Jewish was unthinkable. It was so embedded in the thinking of the people of that age in the Jewish culture especially. It was so embedded that the idea of a Gentile being saved without first becoming a Jew was unthinkable. And even the early church struggled with this idea. A good example of this occurred in the churches that are known as the Galatian churches. The Galatians had been influenced by Jews who insisted that circumcision is necessary for you to be saved. So Paul was led by the Holy Spirit to write the book of Galatians in order to correct that error. And he made it clear that these people who are referred to as Judaizers are trying to bring you into becoming Jews. These Judaizers entered the church to bring them into bondage. He said they spied out their liberty in Christ. They sought to bring them under the law of Moses. And so Paul corrected this. He said to them, the Galatian churches, if you're led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. He said that in Galatians 5.18. This is such a difficult situation that the church had the first council of churches that convened in order to rule on that question as to whether or not a Gentile male needed to be circumcised to become a full believer in Christ. And you see that account in both Acts chapter 11 as well as chapter 15 of the book of Acts. And so in Israel, the thought that salvation was for the entire world was simply rejected. Non-Jews were outcasts. They were pagans. They were outside of God's kingdom. They were outside of God's promises. And that was such a common belief that to disagree with it was to be just recognized as somebody who believed in error. The problem with this is that the religious leaders had forgotten what their purpose was. What is the purpose of the nation of Israel? Well, there to be God's witnesses to an unbelieving world. In the book of Isaiah 42 verse 6, Isaiah writes, I the Lord have called you in righteousness. I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles. It was not God's intent to leave the world in darkness. It was God's intent to bring salvation to it. And he intended to save not only Jew but Gentiles alike. In Galatians 3, 8, and 9, Paul says the Scripture foreseen that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preach the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying all the nations will be blessed in you. So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer. Now the gospel was first to be given to the Jews. And that's what Jesus had instructed his apostles to do when he first sent them out to preach. Matthew chapter 10 verse 6 tells us that he had said to them, go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. The first thing they were to do is to speak to the nation of Israel. His ministry centered on reaching Israel, but his goal was reaching the world. Isaiah 65 1 says, I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me. I was found by those who did not seek me to a nation that did not call my name. I said, here I am. Here I am. So God's saving love was not only for one nation, God's saving love is for the world that he created and his desire is to reach both Jew and Gentile. His desire in Scripture is to show his mercy to all. In 1 Peter 2 verse 10, the apostle Peter said to the Gentiles that you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God. You had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. So in this story, when the woman came to Jesus, Jesus made it clear, I have a priority. I'm to accomplish redemption in Israel. And then I'm going to send my disciples to tell the world that redemption is possible for them. And so this is what we're seeing here. This particular incident occurs immediately after his discussion concerning the things that are clean and unclean, and that was intended to reveal Jesus' disregard for the Pharisee concept of defilement. Jesus is about to minister to a woman in the pagan environment of Tyre and Sidon. And so that obviously would be the appropriate application of his teaching that he had just recorded. Now, it says to us in verse 24, from there he arose and went to the region of Tyre and Sidon. He entered a house and wanted no one to know it, but he could not be hidden. And so Jesus has been ministering in northern Israel for some time. He travels northwest to the border region of Tyre and Sidon. The region is located northwest of Capernaum. It's in what is called modern Lebanon. So he goes. He withdraws to the region as we've been looking at the passages prior to this. There are two basic reasons he's doing this. Jesus had left to rest with the disciples and the rest had been interrupted. Mark 630 and 31 tells us that the apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. Then because so many people were coming and going, they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, come with me by yourself to a quiet place and get some rest. So they are leaving this place where they've been going about 35 miles to the north in order to rest. That's one of the reasons, but the second is that he had been pressured by the crowds. They wanted to crown him king. We saw that in John 615 when it says Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force to make him a king. He departed again into a mountain himself alone. Well, he's left and he's entered into a house and notice the verse 24. He wants no one to know it, but he cannot be hidden. He couldn't be hidden from the crowds. You see by this time Jesus had become very well known throughout the region. In Mark 3, 7 and 8 it reads that Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the sea and a great multitude from Galilee followed him and from Judea and Jerusalem and Itamiah and beyond the Jordan and those from Tyre and Sidon. A great multitude when they heard how many things he was doing came to him. So again, he's about 35 miles to the north of Capernaum, but he still cannot escape notice. Those who had seen him perform miracles had told the people in that region what he had done and now there he is. He's amongst them. He's there for a time of rest, but the people found out that he's there. So his time of rest is very short lived. Well, he's in this house. There's a woman who comes to him and she's crying out to him. Now he's being both pursued in one way and rejected in another in another in Israel, but the Gentiles are now seeking him. It's like what it says in Isaiah 45-22, turn to me and be saved all you ends of the earth for I am God. There is no other. And so he's in this house and it says to us in verse 25, a woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit heard about him and she came and fell at his feet. The woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by birth and she kept asking him to cast the demon out of her daughter. So the woman is referred to and I'm going to give you a little information on this. She's referred to in various ways. One, she's referred to as a Greek. When it says a woman was a Greek, that was the basic way of just referring to her as being non-Jewish or a Gentile. She's referred to as Syrophoenician. That's because of the country that she's living in. Syria had a next Phoenicia and so it's now Syrophoenicia. So that's the location. She's an ancient Lebanon. So Mark speaks of her as we just read as a Syrophoenician but this is where it gets a little more interesting because Matthew calls her a Canaanite. In Matthew 15, 22, behold a woman of Canaan came from that region. Now let me give you a little bit of information referring to that. Every one of the gospels, when you read your Bible, every one of the gospels had a purpose that it was written to achieve. Sometimes we don't realize that. We think that the Bible is just a book you pick up and read and that's true, you do. But there are purposes for each gospel. When Matthew wrote his gospel, Matthew wrote it as an apologetic. He wrote it for the Jewish readers. That's why when you read Matthew, you find a lot of scriptures there that are Old Testament references. Why? He was writing specifically to Jewish readers and so it's called an apologetic. When Mark was writing, he was writing primarily for Romans, a Gentile audience and that's why he'll explain certain things because these are non-Jews that he's intending to write to. It's to the Romans. Luke wrote in order that he might be able to reach the Greek and the Greek philosopher and the Greek thinker of that day and John wrote in order that he might deal with a problem that had taken place within the early church, a philosophy called Gnosticism that had entered in and in doing so, the way he writes is different than the other four gospels. Each one had a purpose. That's why the written Matthew wrote as an apologetic and so he uses the term Canaan, a Canaanite, whereas Mark speaks of a syrophoenician. Now why the difference? Well, seeing that Matthew was writing to mainly Hebrew readers, he was reminding them of their history. Canaanites were ancient enemies of Israel. So Matthew uses this name to remind them. It's to remind the reader of the problems that Israel had had in her history with Canaanites. In Israel's history, Canaanites were enemies and were constant military threats. They were also constant seductive influences on Israel through idolatry. In 1 Kings, for example, there's a king by the name of Ahab. King Ahab married a princess of Sidon. Everybody knows her name Jezebel. I wonder how many mamas, when you had a little girl said, ah, this shall be Jezebel. Most, even today, when people don't know the history of what that means, what a Jezebel is, well, we still don't use that name anymore than the boy being born is never named Judas. There are associations with names and sometimes we forget the history. Well, Jezebel was a Sidonian princess. She was the one who introduced idolatry in a very strong way through her husband, a king of Israel by the name of Ahab. And it was through her that idolatry became rooted in the nation. In 1 Kings 21, 25 and 26, it says there was never anyone like Ahab who sold himself to do evil in the eyes of the Lord urged on by Jezebel his wife. He behaved in the vilest manner by going after idols like the Amorites the Lord drove out before Israel. And so this seduction to idolatry was specifically from Canaan. In Israel's history, at one time had been just the nation of Israel, but it was divided into two tribes, into two nations, two kingdoms, the northern and southern kingdom. And the division of the nation came because of a king by the name of Solomon, because of Solomon's foreign wives. In 1 Kings 11, verse 3, speaking of Solomon, it says he had 700 wives of royal birth and 300 concubines and his wives led him astray. I want you to think about that for a minute. 700 wives and 300 concubines. And he was the wisest guy. I'm not sure about that at all. Actually, most of those, the overwhelming majority would have been brides that were taken that he probably never even had relations with that were part of agreements that he had with different foreign nations and all. And they were part of the covenants that he had established with them. But many of these wives were Canaanites. Now the Jews did not necessarily have good relationships with Canaanites. That's because they were so used in seducing the nation away from God. And so they normally didn't have good relationships with Canaanites. And that's why it's significant that Matthew refers to her not as a syrophoenician but as a Canaanite. But it gives us something else that I want to touch on before we look at the passage with any depth. That would reveal something deeper to us. That reveals to us that Jesus came to save people from all walks of life. Because when you read Matthew's Gospel in his genealogy of Jesus Christ, two of the women that are mentioned, Tamar and Rahab, are Canaanites. That reveals that God intended to save people from all nations, all tongues, and all tribes. Even those who had practiced idolatry and even those that are in this room right now. He intended to save the world. And so when you read this, Matthew wanted to remind us of the fact that God, his love is so great that he intended to save the world through the giving of his son Jesus Christ. He wants to save people from every nation, every tongue, every tribe. And this woman becomes the type of those who will come to Christ from the world. The message of the gospel is for all mankind, not just the nation of Israel. In Romans 9, 25, and 26, as he says also in Hosea, I will call them my people who are not my people and her beloved who is not beloved. And it shall come to pass in the place where it was said of them, you are not my people. There they shall be called sons of the living God. And so this woman comes to Christ, this woman of Canaan, this syrophoenician, and she falls down at his feet and she asks him to deliver her daughter from demon possession. And what she's doing is she's becoming a tremendous example to us in a variety of ways, but including intercessory prayer. And I want to give you some insight into that by turning you to Matthew chapter 15 for a moment. And I want you to look at Matthew with me so if you haven't turned there already, please turn to Matthew chapter 15. It's a book to your left if you're not used to turning your Bible yet. Matthew 15. And I'll begin reading to you at verse 21. And I'll read to verse 28. Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon. Behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region, cried out to him saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David. My daughter is severely demon-possessed. But he answered her not at word. And as disciples came and urged him, said, Send her away, for she cries out after us. But he answered and said, I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then she came and worshiped him saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, It is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs. And she said, Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their master's table. Then Jesus answered and said to her, A woman great is your faith. Let it be to you as you desire. And her daughter was healed at that very moment. I want to share with you a few things about prayer. Because we see the way she speaks to him and the response of Christ. And as I was preparing this message, I couldn't help but think about the elements of prayer that we see here. And how can we learn from this as she approaches him? Again, this is a Gentile woman. She's not part of the covenant promises of Israel. She's far from them. She's despised as a pagan woman. And yet she's praying. A pagan is praying to God. And does he answer? Well, we see that he does. And so she becomes a tremendous example of intercessory prayer. And you see, in this gospel, he gives us various aspects. Matthew gives us various aspects we can learn from. First, for example, when we pray, we need to know that God is able to answer our prayer. We need to know he's able. In Hebrews 11.6, it says, without faith, it's impossible to please God. Because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. We don't just say, Hey, big guy, can you, if you're there, can you hear me? We don't do that. Believers don't do that. We know you on a shadow of a doubt that we have a God who is able to answer our prayers. This woman believed that Christ could and would answer her prayer. So we need to know who we are to approach. God has given us an invitation. Call unto me. I will answer thee. I'll show you great and mighty things which thou knowest not. Jeremiah 33.3. Call unto me and I will answer thee. God gives us an invitation. You can come to me and I promise you, I will answer you. And not only will I answer you, I'll show you great things, things you don't even understand yet. So we approach the one who can meet the need. We approach a personal God who cares. Like it says in Psalm 50, verse 15, call upon me in the day of trouble. I will deliver you. You shall glorify me. In 1 Timothy chapter 2, verse 5, there is one God, one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. So we approach the one who can meet the need. That's what she did. And she approached him and she spoke to him and she gave him a title that the Jews knew was the title of Messiah. She said, Son of David. She knew that Jesus is a descendant of David and therefore she called him by a Messianic title. And so first we know who we're praying to. Second, notice she cried out to him. Mark 726 says she kept asking him to cast the demon out of her daughter. She cried out repeatedly is what that means. She cried out to him and kept crying out. So this gives me another insight into prayer, earnest persistence. Prayer is not just an apathetic, half-hearted attitude. Well, maybe you will, maybe you won't. I'm going to give you a shot. Let's see if you can. That's not how you speak to God. There's this attitude of persistence. Lord, I know this is in your will. I know you're able to do this. Lord, I'm going to hold on and I'm going to ask you and I have to keep asking. I'll keep asking. It's not a lack of prayer for me to repeat. Very often it's a demonstration of faith. It's not a lack of faith. It's a demonstration of faith. It's like what it says in Matthew 7 verse 7, asking it will give unto you. Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be open to you. When the word ask, seek and knock are used in the Greek, what it means is keep on asking. Keep on seeking. Keep on knocking. Don't stop. There are people who stop. Well, I asked you a couple of times you didn't listen. No. Well, we'll see this in a moment. Persistence is an element of prayer. It reveals a heart and a desire. Somebody once said prayers not felt by us are seldom heard by God. If we're just saying it and we don't mean it, then what's the point of saying it? But James 5 16 says the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. In Psalm 77 2 in the day of my trouble, I sought the Lord. My hand was stretched out in the night without ceasing. My soul refused to be comforted. I didn't give up. I held fast. I kept saying, God, I know your word. I know that you can. Lord, I'm asking that you will. And you know, sometimes these prayers that you pray, they may last weeks. They may last months. And sometimes there are prayers that may last a lifetime. A constant prayer. And you think, why would I waste my time for a whole lifetime praying for something that all I ever heard was the word no in response. I've read stories of great preachers who were evangelists who had traveled the world for the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ, who had a son that that was not following the Lord. And I remember reading of this particular preacher who he prayed for this child every day, God, bring my son to faith in you, bring my son to faith in you. Look at his life, Lord, bring my son to faith. And finally, this great evangelist died. Never saw his son come to faith in Christ. He died. But the day that he died, and then they had his funeral service at the memorial service, the son came to faith in Christ. So that that man didn't see it on the face of the earth. But he saw that it was answered when his son entered heaven. Keep praying. Don't give up. Don't give up. Hold fast. There are a lot of people who maybe that's not faith. That's not faith. You read the scripture, you see God's word, what he says, he can do what he will do, how he does it. I'll show you some things in just a moment and you pray. Father, my son doesn't know you. Father, I'm concerned for my daughter. Father, there's this need in the family. Lord, there's an illness. Lord, I'm asking in Jesus' name. I'm asking you because Lord, I know you can and I know who I'm speaking to. And I'm just asking in the name of Christ. And that's what you do. You leave it in his hands, but you know that he can and that's what matters. There's another thing about this is she recognized her own ability to solve the problem. That's why she says, have mercy on me, oh Lord. Mark reveals that she came and fell at his feet. She did so in worship and in humility. She recognized her own helplessness and she cried for mercy. Somebody said, when you go to God, ask for mercy and not for justice. A mother went to the emperor Napoleon to ask for mercy for her son. He had committed some breach of the French law and the emperor replied, Madam, this is the second time the boys offended. Justice requires that he should die. She answered, I didn't come to ask for justice. I beg for mercy. He answered he does not deserve mercy. Sire, she said, it would not be mercy if he deserved it. I asked for mercy. And when she put it that way, the emperor replied, well then, I will have mercy. In Deuteronomy 431, the Lord your God is a merciful God. And Psalm 86 verse six here, my prayer, oh Lord, listen to my cry for mercy. She says, my daughter is severely demon possessed. So she understood her need and she presented very specific petition. In Mark 726, it says she begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter. When you pray specifically, it reveals you've taken time to think about what you're asking. It reveals a genuine faith that God will move on your behalf. But notice his response. He answered her not a word. He didn't respond at all. He answered her not a word. Here's something else to keep in mind, and I've already alluded to it, prayers are not always answered immediately. Sometimes the Lord allows us to wait to refine our faith. In Psalm 40 verse one, the Psalmist said, I waited patiently for the Lord, and he inclined to me and heard my cry. I waited patiently. Isaiah 40 verse 31, those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength. They will mount up with wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint. Sometimes the Lord just gives us opportunity to just keep praying and to learn what patience is. Nobody likes patience. Who wants to learn to be patient? Nobody. Somebody once said, the only person who really prays for patience is doctors. You don't want it because very often what happens is your patience is tried. So what we want from God is an immediate response. But here he answered her not a word. Now by remaining silent, Jesus wasn't being cruel. You might find this interesting. Not only was it a benefit to her, but it's also a benefit to those who are watching because he's putting her faith on display for all to see. Remember when Jesus fed the multitude, many wanted to crown him king because he fed them. That was not pleasing to him. But here the woman's faith is real, and Jesus is showcasing it for those around her. So it says in verse 23, he answered her not a word. So notice the response of his apostles, his disciples came and urged them saying, send her away. What happens here is they're misreading the Lord's silence. They're assuming that he's rejected her request. Put yourself in their place for just a moment. She's already violated their rest, not to mention the fact that she's violated their social and religious norms. She's a loud woman. She's a pagan. She's undoubtedly an idol worshiper. And during the day of Christ, no self-respecting rabbi would tolerate such a woman. So we need to be very careful not to judge God's silence as rejection. There are times when our prayers are not answered in the way that we desire. And as I was thinking about this, I thought, well, what about prayer? What is it that we should know about it? Well, sometimes God may seem to be silent just because we're not asking for his help. We may think that he knows everything. I don't need to ask him. He knows already. James chapter 4 verse 2 says, you have not because you asked not. When I was a little boy and I was being taught something about prayer, I still remember in my catechism class how I was taught that God knows everything. I was taught that God is omniscient and that there's not a word that is formed on my mouth or thought in my mind, but that God already knows it all together. I was taught that at the age of seven, that the God of the universe that I worship or should know is a God who knows all things. And I still remember, there was a time in my life as a little boy, I still remember doing this, that I would go to bed at night and I was taught that you should pray at night when you go to bed. And I was laying in bed. I can still remember the exact words I used to say at the age of seven. I would say, God, I know you know everything. That means you would know what I would say if I were to say it. Seeing that you already know what I would say if I were to say it, good night. That's how I prayed, because if he knows everything and he knows before I say it, then why should I say it? And I prayed like that for a long time, not understanding. You have not because you asked not. It's not because God doesn't know your need. He wants you to express it so you own and understand it yourself. And so you have not because you asked not. Well, sometimes prayers are not answered because they're selfish. Because in James chapter four, verse three, he continued by saying, you ask and receive not because you ask amiss, that you may consume it upon your own lust. So you're asking wrongly because you have the wrong motives and that's why you don't receive. One, you're not asking, but two, you're asking with the wrong heart. Sometimes God is silent because we're involved in sin and are unrepentant. We're just continuing in sin and don't really care about it. And yet once in a while we pray. Well, Psalm 66, 18 says it like this, if I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. Sometimes I may lack faith and just stop praying. In Mark 11, 24, Jesus said, I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them. You'll have them. But I give up. I lack faith. Sometimes I'm simply praying contrary to God's revealed will in his word. In 1 John 5, 14, this is the confidence that we have in him that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. I've shared this more than one time, but it always comes to mind in this how a young woman was in my office many years ago now. And she said, I wanted you to pray for me. And I said, of course, what can I pray for? She says there's a young man. She was a high schooler. She says, there's a young man in my high school that I want to go out with. And I would like you to pray that God will have him ask me out. I'm a divine matchmaker, I guess. And I go, I said, really? And she says, yes, they said, well, may I ask a simple question of you? And she says, sure. I said, is he a believer in Christ? She says, no, he's not. I said, why would I ask God? Because God says in his word, you're not to be unequally yoke together with an unbeliever. It's opposed to the will of God for me to pray that. Why would you have me do that? She says, because God said, I can ask anything and he'll say yes. And that's how some people still do this day thing. They may be doing something that is very wrong, but doesn't the Bible say that I can ask? And whatever I ask, I'll receive. Believe that I receive it. I'll have them. No, you're praying out of the will of God. You need to know what the Scripture has to say. You need to know the tenor of Scripture, the things that God has pleased with. And that's how you pray according to his will. And so those are reasons that sometimes our prayers may not be answered. In the case of this woman, none of these things apply to her. You see, what happened is the disciples have misinterpreted his silence and it's their desire to send her away. Now, when this woman had come to Jesus, Jesus already had a priority. And I mentioned that earlier. It was to accomplish redemption in Israel. And then he was going to send the disciples to tell the world. But he answered. And that's what he says in verse 24 here in Matthew 15. I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. She came and worshiped him saying, Lord, help me. He reminds his people, actually, these are the many speaking to she overhears. He reminds them of his primary mission, which is to reach Israel. The Gentiles were of secondary concern in his initial ministry. But she comes anyway and she asks for help. And therefore in verse 26, he responds to her and he says, it's not good to take the children's bread and throw it to little dogs. Now, at first that sounds kind of insulting, doesn't it? He used an illustration that you would understand though. He's speaking of little dogs. Little dogs are the household pets, the household pets that may be there under the table waiting for the meal to end. There were two basic words that were translated into the single word dog. There was one word that spoke concerning wild dogs that used to be around the dump and all. And they would scavenge whatever. They were very vicious and greatly feared by the Jews. And that there's a word that is used for that particular kind of dog. And then there's a second word that is used. And that's for puppies or house dogs. The word that Jesus uses is not for these vile dogs. It's for the puppies. It's for the house dogs. It's for the household pet. And so he uses the illustration here about the household pets that wait underneath the table for a meal to end. He's saying it's not right to take the blessings that have been promised to God's people and to give them to people who for centuries have rejected God and encouraged God's people to do the same. So he confronts that and she says in verse 27, yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from the table. So she's refusing to be turned away knowing that the God she worshiped were powerless to help her. Her love for her daughter and belief that Christ could heal her gave her strength to hold on. And so her response gives us one more aspect of prayer and that is humility. She knew she was sinful. She knew she was unworthy of asking for or receiving. Yet she still asked. I'm not asking for the children's bread. Only give me what they leave over. That will be enough for me. It's been said she knew that a crumb of God's power is more than enough. And Jesus commends her faith. Oh woman, great is your faith. Let it be to you as you desire. And her daughter was healed from that very hour. Turning back and concluding in Mark in chapter seven in verse 29 he said to her for this saying go your way. The demon has gone out of your daughter and when she had gone when she had come to her house she found the demon gone out and her daughter lying on the bed with a word from the master. That's all she needed. She went home confident. She knew he had answered her request. She arrives at home and the demon is no longer tearing her daughter. The little girl's resting in her bed. She's in peace. She's recovering from her ordeal with that demon. Her confidence delighted Jesus. It revealed simple faith in his power to set people free. And again it's been said that the Lord of glory surrendered to the faith of a woman. True faith drives us to seek mercy. It drives us to abandon idols. It drives us forsake our pride. And true faith drives us to seek his mercy. I believe and I'll close with this that the Lord has allowed us even as a nation but especially as a church that he has allowed us to have our faith tested through these things that we're going through as a nation. I really believe that. I believe that faith is being refined and our faith is being challenged. What are we going to trust in? Are we going to trust in the arm of the flesh, the arm of man? Or are we going to trust in the arm of God? We have an opportunity to make a decision. I'm not saying, and I don't want to be misunderstood, I'm not saying that we should be presumptuous and test God in ways that we ought not to. I'm not saying that what I'm saying is that I believe the core of our faith is being shaken. We have gone through so many things recently, so many things, and some have given up hope. Not every church is full like it used to be on a Sunday. Not every church is. Some are, thank God that they are, if the gospel is being preached. That's what we love to see that. But many churches have lost former members for a variety of reasons, including for the fearmongering that has been taking place for two years. I want this church to realize we're not in control, but God is. That God is able to do abundantly above all we could ask or think. And that my responsibility as a believer is to walk, hold in the hand of Christ through the shadow of death and to fear no evil because he's with me. And to know that he is with me, I can go anywhere and do anything he desires me to do because I'm never alone. And if for some reason the Lord should take me and for whatever reason he chooses or whatever way he desires, what did I lose? What did I lose? I lost nothing and I gained everything because I have prepared my life for 51 years to see him face to face. So why live in fear? I can live in confidence because I win either way. Now, I don't say that lightly. I don't. It could appear that I am, but I'm not. Somebody looks at me and says, yeah, you're old, you can die, but I'm young. And you can die too. Because only God knows the hour and the moment of our death. I just want to be ready whenever that moment comes. I want to be busy doing that which the Lord has called me to do when it is my time. I don't want to look back with regrets saying, I wish, could have, should have. No, I want to be able to say, Lord, I'm laying down my trophies before you. Lord, I'm laying down everything before you. All that I have came from you. Every victory came from you. Every blessing came from you. And I just want to say thank you for welcoming me into your kingdom. And I wanted to be faithful to the end and Lord I was. That's what I want to say to him the day that I see him. I was faithful, Lord, to the end. I wish I'd have done more. I didn't, but I did what I could. And guess what? God will say, well done, my good and my faithful servant. Enter in to the joy of the Lord. It has been prepared for you. And you know what? That, that's not pie in the sky by and by. That is living by faith day by day. So I see this pagan woman and I know myself. No, I'm not Jewish. I did an ancestry thing. I'm 1% Jewish. Okay. I'm 11% Basque that I did not know. That is interesting. I've never even eaten Basque food. I'm going to have to try it. But I'm 100% a child of God. And that's what matters. Hold on. Hold on. Your redemption draws nigh. Stand and you will see the salvation of your God. Hold fast because Christ is coming and don't give up. Hold fast and watch what the Lord will do. This year, this year is going to be used by God in our lives. At the end of this year, we're going to look back and say, look at what the Lord accomplished. Look forward with faith and see what he'll do. He never disappoints and he always accomplishes more than you expected. Never forget that. And this woman came to Jesus. She said, Lord, I don't, you know, you can say anything you want to me. Yes, I'm a little dog. I'm a puppy. But I want a crumb. Because I know a crumb from you is more than I deserve and more than I need. And maybe we ought to understand that too. A crumb from the table of God is more than we need. And it will fulfill us in every way possible. Father, we bless you.