Sunday, July 12, 2015

A TESTING OF FAITH!

Matthew 15:21-28..................21 Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed." 23 But He answered her not a word. And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, "Send her away, for she cries out after us." 24 But He answered and said, "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." 25 Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, "Lord, help me!" 26 But He answered and said, "It is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs." 27 And she said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters' table." 28 Then Jesus answered and said to her, "O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire." And her daughter was healed from that very hour.     NKJV

Ever cry out to God, but He does not answer you? This woman came to Him and cried out telling Him that her daughter is severely demon-possessed. 
Do we cry out and hear nothing? It could be God is testing our faith! What do you believe and where does your "trust" lie?
She heard HIM speak to His disciples........" I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."
She then spoke, "Lord, help me!"

Lord help me, the one who is crying out for an answer to the situation! LORD! HELP!
John 1:11-13...........11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. NKJV

And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, "Send her away, for she cries out after us." 24 But He answered and said, "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."
Ever been dismissed by someone, when you tried to get an answer?  I remember needing some help with a computer once on the job. I could not find anyone who seemed available that could take a moment to help me. It was about 8:10 am, and I needed to check-in. That meant I had to get the computer going since it had the database on it which I needed. Without it on, we could make "no sales" and I could not check-in. Then I saw a man who was over the "supervisors" and he was talking with the owner of company. I walked over, but not to intrude, I waited to ask a question. I can wait a long time!  As soon as they saw me, the man over the supervisor's listened and dismissed me. Yes, it was pretty fast and he moved on with his conversation. I thought surely one of them might come to see why the computer was not coming on. (Yes, I had checked all the cords, and all the plug-ins, and it was time to check-in for work.) I opted to go to main computer by the front door and check-in for work.
I left the computer guessing to another person who would be in about 9 am. And I went and did my job. I blessed those I came in contact with and moved on, AND with a thankful heart.

Let's think about this Gentile woman and the moment she had come on the scene. She asked for help!
A MIRACLE ON THE HORIZON APPEARS! Or does it?
Do we stand fast to see that of which we ask to occur in our lives? Think about what had just transpired in Jesus' life. Was He deterred in anyway to stop what He was doing? He just kept going to those who would receive! Read below:

Matthew 15:1-20..............15:1 Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, 2 "Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread." 3 He answered and said to them, "Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? 4 For God commanded, saying, 'Honor your father and your mother'; and, 'He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.'  5 But you say, 'Whoever says to his father or mother, "Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God"-- 6 then he need not honor his father or mother.' Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. 7 Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: 

8'These people draw near to Me with their mouth,
And honor Me with their lips,
But their heart is far from Me. 
9 And in vain they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.' " 

10 When He had called the multitude to Himself, He said to them, "Hear and understand: 11 Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man." 12 Then His disciples came and said to Him, "Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?" 13 But He answered and said, "Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. 14 Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch." 15 Then Peter answered and said to Him, "Explain this parable to us." 16 So Jesus said, "Are you also still without understanding? 17 Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated? 18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. 19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. 20 These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man."     NKJV


Yes, this is where Jesus just came from. He had an encounter with the scribes and Pharisees. And He saw the Pharisees offended by His sayings. Jesus told them, "Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch."  Jesus went on to tell the disciples of the evil which proceeds from the heart and named them. Wash your hands as much as you like, but that is not what defiles a man!

Then He has this woman coming to Him who is so ripe to receive, so ready to give Him an answer for anything He asks or speaks.

STEPPING FORWARD!
Do we as parents readily push forward, stepping out to help our children? When they cry, do we not come to their aide? Was there a dividing line coming?
The woman spoke, "Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters' table."
She knows the children's bread was that of the Jews and to eat at the Master's table. Although she knew Him to be sent for Israel, still she heard and saw the mercy and kindness He expressed to those He came in contact with on His walk through Canaan. She was saying, " I know I am not a Jew and of YOUR house, but I believe, and trust YOU can do something for my daughter."
She had an unwavering faith that Jesus could do that for which she asked. She called Him Lord, and worshiped Him. She expressed a like precious faith. Even in the discouragements of not being a Jew and of the house of Israel, yet she did not relent. She did not give up!
Then Jesus answered and said to her, "O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire." And her daughter was healed from that very hour.  

Will we continue to step forward and believe? Will our hearts betray us, let us down? This woman sought something for her daughter. She did not care if she was compared to the "dogs". She sought out Jesus, the Lord, and His goodness. She sought a miracle for her daughter. For whatever remained, even that of crumbs under the table, was enough for this woman. What He had hoped to see in the scribes and Pharisees, and did not find, He certainly found it in this woman, a Gentile.
Can we move beyond having hurtful feelings and do what the Lord asked? Can we move beyond and see other's healed or come to Jesus? Can we show we have a real desire for that which Jesus died to give us?

Father, Jesus said in Matthew 15:13...that "every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. He was talking about the blind leading the blind. We desire to not be those who are blind. We desire that Christ dwells in our hearts through faith and that we are rooted and grounded in love. (Eph.3:17) We come to the Master's table, to receive that good thing.
We seek to make YOU Lord over our hearts. We truly desire to stay in the light of God and His knowledge. 
Father, we see from the Canaanite woman, a woman who did not buckle down to fear. She did not fall into the fear factor and rely on her five senses. We do not know what she was thinking other than what she spoke. But ONE thing was evident, and that was she wanted her daughter delivered from evil. She chose to pursue Jesus and in making that "right decision" she was brought to healing.
Today, we desire to be men and women who will have that same courage to pray and keep praying.......keep asking, and speak YOUR truth. And as we do, we expect that light to shine and bring us into YOUR glorious presence. We desire to willing submit to Your authority and rule. 
Put a longing in our hearts to talk with YOU and to hear YOUR voice. Your Word says, the just shall live by faith...Romans 1:17. We pray to have faith-filled lives. May we live each day with a leading by the Holy Spirit. We desire to not walk in doubt and fear of what may happen, but we choose to seek YOUR voice and plan for us.


Quiet those voices from the outside that represent the world and five senses. We receive today that we are the accepted in Jesus, and we are free! Holy Spirit we loose You now into our lives and our homes. Have Your way today in us........in Jesus' name. Amen.



You can also visit my Youtube channel The Voice of Prayer for more teaching at http://bit.ly/1tNyBhV 






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