"The Children's Bread"

Mark 7:25-30

25        For a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell at his feet:

26        The woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation; and she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter.

27        But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it unto the dogs.

28        And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs.

29        And he said unto her, For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter.

30        And when she was come to her house, she found the devil gone out, and her daughter laid upon the bed.                                                                                              (KJV)

There are certain patterns in the scripture that we should learn from.  A pattern is a prototype of something that is an original.  It is something that should be followed that becomes the standard for measurement.  Anything and everything of value has been or will be measured at some point in its process.  Unfortunately we live in a world and a society that doesn’t want anything that is absolute.  I personally believe that the word of God is absolute and its patterns will measure us if we will simply submit.  There are something’s we must know and other things we already know but there are times when we do not act as if we remember them.  Today I want to stir up your pure mind by the way of remembrance and to do that I want to begin with some relevant questions.  

Are you ready?  Here we go … Do you believe you have a purpose for being on the planet? Yes or No?  With purpose comes responsibility and accountability …would you agree?  Have you been delivered from anything?  What is it that you have been delivered from?  Most of us know Him as Savior but very few acknowledge Him as Lord so I want to discuss the concept of Lordship.  

In our text even Jesus is seeking a place of rest because He was exhausted physically and spiritually.  All of us must find a place of rest and this must become the place where we cease from our labors and we enter the rest that is only found in the Lord.  Jesus is seen deliberately withdrawing to the boarders of a Gentile country because He needed time to prepare Himself & His disciples for what was ahead.  No self respecting Jew was apt to enter a Gentile area like Tyre which was the capitol of Phoenicia and was immediately north of Judaea.  Please let me make it clear that there is a time to labor and a time to rest.  In the church we have convinced everyone that we must be working or we are not successful.  God even rested when He finished His creation.

I want us to see the picture: Jesus is trying to rest and He is interrupted by a Gentile woman as she starts out with three strikes against her:
   1. She is a Gentile – one of the 7 nations driven out of the promise land
   2. She is a woman

   3. She is interrupting His rest

But when you get desperate enough; when your need is greater than the humiliation, when your need is more important than protocol, when you need requires extreme measures, you will do whatever needs to be done.  She knew Jesus was a Jew and she was a Gentile and that they were enemies.  She also knew that she may find rejection from Him but she was willing to take a risk since she had already rejected by her culture because of her daughter’s condition.  Desperate situations require desperate measures.

There are four things I want you to see here about Jesus Lordship: 
1. Jesus listened to her cry – He didn’t have to but He did

She “begged” Jesus to heal her daughter.  The word “besought” means she literally, “begged” Him to heal her demon possessed daughter.  We must understand that she did not know who He really was because she had limited understanding of who He was.  But it did not stop her because she was desperate.  Here is the point I want us to see: Jesus begins leading her through a process that would lead her to Lordship.  We know Him as Savior because He saved us but we have not fully embraced Him as Lord in our lives.  I will talk more about that in a few minutes.

The second thing He did was:                                          

2. He stressed the need for humility to those that are rejected                                        

Jesus said two things to her that would seem to be rather harsh.  With the Holy Spirits help I want to bring some understanding to what He said and why … are you ready? Jesus said “Let the children be filled first”.  He was saying that the Jews who were God’s chosen people must be reached first.  Please understand that He was not rejecting her only stating what she already knew and what was common knowledge to both people groups.  Jesus had primarily came to the house of Israel that was His ministry purpose to affect and change them.  Yet this woman would learn a couple of things from this and also it would be used by the enemy as a stumbling block for generations to come.  There are some things we can learn from her here.  She learned persistence, humility, and trust.  She also learned that there was only one true religion and one true Messiah … No doubt she worshiped idols.  She must learn to recognize Him not just for the miracles but His Lordship – He was the ONLY hope she really had.

Jesus also said:  “It is not meet to take the children’s bread and cast it to the dog’s”?  I admit that statement bothered me for many years as it did not seem consistent with the character of God and His nature.  So what does this really mean and why did He say it?  The words appear to be harsh but I do not believe He is harsh at all. Sometimes truth appears to be harsh but the motive that is used when it is spoken carries a lot of weight with translation.  I have searched the scripture and never found where Jesus ever rejected anyone.  Even the religious people … He corrected them which they took as rejections but He did not reject them.  So why would He say this to her?  May I propose she had to be moved from her current view of Him to a new opinion of Him.  Her faith was based on what she heard about him not what she personally knew about Him.  This was about developing and growing her faith.

The third thing I want you to see about Jesus here is: 
3. Jesus led the woman to persist and believe

How do I know that?  Look at her own profession when she was confronted with truth.  She admits that she is nothing and accepts the position as a dog from the Jews view point.  However being a dog in the family of humanity entitled her to at least the crumbs that fell from the table of the children.  I want you to see this … it is critical that you do: 

In verse 28: 

And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs. 

Did you see it? She calls Him – LORD and says yes … in agreement.  This is the point in time when you receive Him as Lord and things change about how you see Him and How you serve Him.  The way you see Him is the way you will treat Him!

Romans 10:9-10

9          That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

10        For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (KJV)

A dog was a symbol of dishonor which referred to the wild dogs, the scavenging dogs of the streets.  Calling people a dog in Jesus day was a common practice and it was thought to be a term of insult and contempt.  That is to say that a Gentile was a Gentile dog, an infidel dog.  Later in history Christians were Christian dogs.  But you must see this and know that the word Jesus used for dog was not referring to the dog that came from the street but of the house pet kind, one that was part of the family and cared for and provided for.  The fact that the woman persisted to ask Him is an indication that it was not the same as we have thought.  In fact the word in the Greek indicates a little puppy.   How many know that you don’t look at a puppy the same way you look at a dog?  It is my opinion that Jesus used the word to see what was in her, to stir and activate her nature.  It was a test of her sincerity if you please.  She did not run off but was so desperate for her daughters healing that she would endure whatever it took.  Endure, persevere, and see what the Lord will do!

         

The fourth and finally thing I want us to see here today is:
4. Jesus met her need                                                                                                                  

He cast the devil out of her daughter because she would not quit or stop UNTIL!  There are crumbs that fall from the table every time you eat.  Have you ever tried to eat while you are driving?  Every time you eat in a car crumbs fall.  Every time you eat in church crumbs fall.  Here is the question … what is falling from your table that others who are hungry can pick up?  When He becomes Lord in and over our lives we will change how we approach Him and how we respond to Him.  There is a diet for your destiny and you are not what you eat but rather what you digest.  The church has become cream puffs – soft – looking good – want to taste good.  But what has happened to the prophetic alignment of son and daughters who are children of the Lord of the house?

That is to say: 

    When you don’t act like Jesus

    When you don’t talk like Jesus

    When you don’t walk like Jesus

    When you don’t respond like Jesus   - He is NOT the Lord of your life

Jesus said: “I am the bread of Life”. God help us!  The church in America is anemic, malnourished, and dehydrated.  People every Sunday are setting at tables without food and especially meat wanting a trained professional to do everything for them. 


There are three types of people in the church:           

1. Those with such a big ego they think I am talking about everyone but them today

2. Those that really don’t want to be delivered because they like where they are 
3. Those that have already been or are in the process of being delivered

Deliver us today Lord!

"The Spirit of The Age"

2 Timothy 4:1-4 (NKJV) 

Exhortation to Timothy to preach the word!
1. I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom:

2. Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.

3. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers;

4. and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.

There is a cry from a generation desiring TRUTH, yet when they are confronted with it; they reject, ignore, or even twist it for their own benefit.  This alone has created an issue in our world because those that process information this way sincerely believe that they are walking in the truth.  Please allow me a little flexibility here:  Do crazy people know they are crazy?  The answer is obvious .... right?  No they do not.  Today truth is being called heresy simply because it does not agree with what makes people feel comfortable.

In our text in Timothy: Paul warns us that the time will come and my friend it is HERE when men WILL NOT ENDURE sound doctrine.  The word ENDURE means to stand up for, be firm, hold fast, and stand erect.  Is is with great concern I report that unsound doctrines are being taught from the pulpits of America.  The word of God is being used but being twisted and changed then referred to as enlightenment.

There are those in the national spotlight of Christendom that are saying that the emerging church should be studying transcendental meditation.  Yet there are others suggesting that it is should be acceptable to people of faith ... to be aborted unborn babies and that alternate life styles is not in violation of the scripture.  There are those in Minnesota that are being subjected to harassment and abuse because of their faith and stand on the word of God.     

Our world wants to call into question our thought processes as if to suggest that we do not have to do all that or that in some way we have been taught or believe the wrong things.  I for one believe the Bible.  I personally believe it means what is says and says what it means and does not require all of our input.

Proverbs 30:12  There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness. (KJV)

Could it be that this is that generation?  It is just a question!  I still believe that the wages of sin is death according to Romans 6:23.  So what does that mean – what is sin? - the Biblical definition if sin is found in:

James 4:17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.   (KJV)

Here it is ... let's make it real plain ... If you are practicing sin, the price you will pay for following your desires is death.   Now I realize this is not pleasant to hear or to even think about but I for one do not want you to stand before God some day and all of us will - and hear you say - "but pastor you did not tell me".  As painful as it might be for both of us - Please consider yourself told.  The spirit of the age does not want us to even believe in the existence of sin.  I mean after all we are told: He is a good God and will not really send anyone to hell.  Please allow me to present the distortion of truth.  He is a good God - it is true.  He made mankind and said it is good!  He will not send you to hell and it is true ... you will send yourself by the decisions you make and the actions you commit as a result of those decisions.

In John 3:20-21 the scripture says:

20         Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.

21         But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God." (NIV)


Only those that truly FEAR God love truth.  Unfortunatley what the world and this generation are seeing is a church that lacks FEAR and has little or no PASSION.  The word fear means: to have honor, respect for; while passion means: desire, motivation to do!

You see the church at large has invested millions of dollars into buildings, media, audio-visual equipment, advertisement, cameras, projectors, etc. believing that this will cause people to be drawn to the gospel or create a passion for His house.  May I be just brutally honest here for a moment?  If all of these things were working as we believe we must ask ourselves the question:  Why aren’t people being saved?  That is not a condemning question just a soul searching one.  With today’s technology and our ability to spread the word of God quickly over the internet via streaming – if technology is the answer ... then why aren’t people being saved?  May I just suggest that the answer is in the churches lack of fear & passion.

The gospel has become diluted and watered down to make it acceptable for today’s generation and in the process we have forfeited our passion.  The spirit of the age says: We do not want to offend or call into question ones motives so we say nothing and patronize the churchgoer in hopes that they will have a pleasant experience and come back.  

Passion is about a desire that creates an appetite.  You will find time to do what you really want to do - no question.  Your desire is really about what you believe to be important.  So then the question is: how do we prioritize what is important?

John Wooden the famous UCLA basketball coach once said:   “There is a choice to make in all you do yet in the end the choices you make will make you”.  As an example ... do you like ice cream?  Is it good? Is it good for You?  Does it affect you?  Do you quickly see those affects?  Yes ice cream is good as to if it is good for you that becomes relevant only to the person being questioned and their individual health history.  But in answer to: does it affect you?  Absolutely!  You may not see the affect for a long time but eventually you will be wearying that decision around your waist.  The choices you make will affect you.  Your desire creates appetite for it and your belief’s grant the permission to indulge.

Now I am not trying to find fault or condemn rather make an observation.  What was it that gave Moses the desire to pursue God when it was going to cost him a life time of achievements?  Why did Jeremiah, Isaiah, and others continue to proclaim the very words that brought them persecution and hardships?  Why is it that people in the early church were able to forsake their possessions,    their comforts and even their very lives for the gospel?  What was it they possessed that enabled them to boldly preach under the threat of torture and death when the greatest struggle for many today is overcoming a bad self image?  I think the answer to these questions lies in their passion and unfortunately our obvious lack of it.

There is one thing you must know:  It does not come without confrontation!  While it is available to all those that hunger for truth it will not come without a fight.  I want to make this so clear that no one can miss what I am trying to say: For those seeking TRUTH the fear of remaining the same far outweighs any painful encounter with truth because they are desperate for the Lord and desperate to hear from Him. 

It is true that He loves us … we have heard it said and I have even said it myself but I want you to hear it with fresh hearing today – are you ready?  He is more concerned with our condition than our comfort and He loves us enough to tell us what we need to hear even though we do not want to hear it. 

The Spirit of the Age, what it does, how it affects and infects us, how to address it and what is on the horizon should the Lord delay His coming … will be discussed in a later blog.  Suffice to say: Truth is only truth after you have experience it because until then it is just information.  The church at large is educated far above our level of obedience.  We have continued our practice of ever learning which has actually affected our ability to come to the knowledge of the truth.  

Hebrews 5:13-14 (KJV)
¹³ For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.

¹⁴ But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. 

It is time for the body of Christ to grow up and accept responsibility for the Gospel.  When you mature you can handle the correction and redirection of the Holy Spirit when sin occurs in your life.

 

We started the year out with a fast which had great benefit for many of us yet I feel compelled to suggest to you that we only went on a hunger strike not a true fast.  But I want to call another corporate fast - This one will not be from food but rather I want us to fast from whatever it is that keeps us from seeking the Lord.  It can be television, video games, Facebook, computer games, newspapers, shopping, texting, phone conversations, emailing, busyness, over commitment.  Our lives have become a constant distraction to a passion for Him.  The deception of comfort, of happiness, of approval all create distractions that affects our passion.

I am calling for a true fast where we agree to just stop doing what we are doing and seek the Lord while He may be found.  Our busy lives have become a distraction that has kept us from seeking Him.  When we abstain from food we receive little benefit when our lives are filled with everything else. 

A true fast is when we abstain - with the designed purpose of seeking Him.  We place our focus on Him not food!  The children of Israel were guilty of abstaining from food and then questioning God why He wasn’t impressed with them.

Isaiah 58:3-4 (NKJV)
3 ‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and You have not seen? Why have we afflicted our souls, and You take no notice?’ “In fact, in the day of your fast you find pleasure, And exploit all your laborers.

4  Indeed you fast for strife and debate, And to strike with the fist of wickedness.

 You will not fast as you do this day, To make your voice heard on high.

  

Step number one at building a wall against the spirit of the age is found in:

Isaiah 55:6 (NKJV)
Seek the Lord while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near.

Isaiah 55:7 (NKJV)
Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the Lord, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon.

Come on people of God ... 

1. Seek Him while He may be found  

2. Call upon Him while He is near

3. Let the wicked forsake his way

4. And the unrighteous his thoughts

5. Return to the Lord 

Then here is what the Lord will do:

1. Have mercy on him

2. He will abundantly pardon