Participants:
Series Code: TWH
Program Code: TWH180825A
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00:31 Matthew 15:21,
00:36 shall we pray? 00:38 Father God, 00:40 into Your hands now we commend ourselves 00:43 and asked you 00:46 to feed us with Your Word, 00:50 teach us those things that would have us to know 00:52 and then enable us Lord to do them 00:56 that in so doing 00:59 we may be children of the Most High God. 01:03 In Jesus' name, amen. 01:06 Matthew 15, begin with me if you will at verse 21. 01:09 The Bible says, "Then Jesus went out from there 01:12 and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon." 01:16 I'm reading from the New King James. 01:18 'And behold, a woman of Canaan 01:22 came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, 01:25 "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! 01:30 My daughter is severely demon-possessed.' 01:35 But he answered her not a word. 01:37 And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, 01:40 'Send her away, 01:44 for she cries out after us.' 01:48 But he answered and said, 01:50 'I was not sent except to the lost sheep 01:54 of the house of Israel.' 01:57 Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, 02:02 'Lord, help me!' 02:06 But he answered and said, 02:08 'It is not good to take the children's bread 02:12 and throw it to the little dogs.' 02:17 And she said, 'Yes, Lord, 02:21 yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs 02:24 which fall on the master's table.' 02:29 Then Jesus answered and said to her 02:31 'O woman, 02:33 great is your faith! 02:37 Let it be to you as you desire.' 02:41 And her daughter was healed 02:43 from that very hour.'" 02:47 This self same story is written 02:52 in the Gospel of Mark 7. 02:58 And we will go back and forth between the two 03:01 in order to get as clear and understanding 03:03 of what is happening as is possible. 03:08 But I want to deal today 03:10 with an aspect of spiritual growth 03:14 that is not doctrinal per se, 03:18 nor the doctrinaire, 03:20 nor is it even part of 03:22 what we might call systematic theology. 03:26 It is rather 03:29 an issue of spiritual quality of life. 03:34 Or we might say quality of spiritual life. 03:39 And since this sayonara sermons 03:44 are supposed to leave some sort of legacy. 03:48 I should like us to ruminate 03:50 on this demonstration of faith 03:56 that was so exemplary 03:59 that Christ said something about it 04:03 only two times interestingly enough in the New Testament. 04:07 And both times they were said 04:11 to or about non Jews. 04:17 And I must question myself 04:20 if I am there yet. 04:22 And perhaps you will have occasion to do the same. 04:26 So I'm calling it actualized faith. 04:31 In short it is 04:32 Christ praised faith. 04:37 While I was in school, 04:39 I stayed around long enough to get 04:42 an additional bachelor's in Behavioral Sciences, 04:46 and there's nothing to be impressed about, 04:48 I don't think there is more useless degree 04:53 than a B.S. in Behavioral Science. 04:56 Can't do anything with it. 04:58 It's not enough of anything to follow in that path. 05:03 It's a little sociology, a little psychology, 05:05 a little bit of this, and a little bit of that. 05:08 But to my mind it's not a degree 05:12 you can do much with B.S. 05:14 or B.A in Behavioral Sciences and... 05:22 So for our discussions what I want to leave with you 05:25 comes out of what little I remember 05:29 of my behavioral scientist studies. 05:37 Let me toss a name at you, Dr Abraham Maslow. 05:42 Now that name may not be familiar to you, 05:45 but what he brought to psychology probably is. 05:48 He was one of the more eminent psychologists 05:52 of the 19th and early 20th century. 05:56 So Abraham Maslow and Sigmund Freud 06:01 who are both humanistic psychologists 06:04 really left their mark on psychology. 06:08 Now I need to say this, psychology 06:10 is a rather new science. 06:14 It's because we want to blend this all together 06:16 just a little bit. 06:17 It is only about a 150 years old. 06:20 Now that ought to tell you something about psychology 06:23 if that does not 06:26 the first psychologist Wilhelm Wundt, 06:31 sounds like William Wharf, was a German guy 06:35 who opened up a laboratory in 1882 06:41 that I'll tell you something else. 06:44 From 1844 be close of the 2300 days 06:49 to about World War I 06:54 there was a reaction in this country 06:56 and across the world 06:58 against what we call the second great awakening. 07:03 Second great awakening was a religious consciousness 07:07 that took over the world in the wake of the 2300 days 07:12 that made men and women sensitive to the need for God. 07:18 And the pendulum Satan saw would swing back the other way 07:21 because in those years between 1844-1917 07:27 a number of things happened. 07:29 Darwinism, Fascism, Marxism, 07:34 Communism, Utopianism, Dystopianism, 07:37 which we'll come back to in just a little bit. 07:39 All of them in reaction against God 07:43 and man's leaning towards God, 07:48 that's a religious movement 07:50 that I get tossed in there also, 07:51 got to hold on that 07:52 'cause we don't want to poison anybody's mind. 07:55 Psychology popped up 07:58 about the late 1880's as a science. 08:03 But in the legacy 08:06 of this reaction against God. 08:10 Maslow, Freud some of these other 08:15 humanistic psychologists 08:18 never included God in any of their studies, 08:22 in any of their practices, 08:23 and were for the most part agnostic 08:26 or outright atheist. 08:28 Hold on to me, more to come. 08:33 Freud said, 08:36 "Love, work, work 08:39 and love that's all there is." 08:44 He also said, 08:47 "Your parents ruin the first part of your life 08:52 and your children will ruin the rest." 09:01 That's why the world is in such a shambles. 09:07 Maslow is known for what he calls 09:12 the hierarchy of needs. 09:15 You may have studied this in school. 09:17 Maslow says, men and women all have basic needs, 09:23 they are ranked in a certain order 09:25 and that order chooses 09:27 how those needs must be met. 09:33 If we are to achieve any level of what he calls status, 09:39 or equilibrium, 09:40 or what he calls self actualization 09:45 there is an order of needs that have to be met. 09:50 First, he says our physiological need. 09:55 You put a man on the island, 09:57 what are the most important things 09:59 that he has to have. 10:02 One, food, the physiological necessity. 10:06 Two, water, the physiological necessity. 10:11 Three, sleep, a physiological necessity. 10:15 These needs he says are fundamental to survival. 10:21 If you don't get these needs met, 10:24 you will die, including sleep. 10:29 If you are severely sleep deprived, you can die. 10:34 No oxygen, you die quickly. 10:37 No water, you die slowly. 10:40 No food, you die slowly. 10:42 No sleep, a slow death. 10:46 Maslow said, 10:49 "If a person has been starved 10:52 of these essential needs, 10:55 all of their energy is devoted to getting his needs met 10:59 and getting them met first." 11:02 You're alone and by yourself, 11:04 the first thing you want to do is get fed. 11:07 Amen. 11:09 Yeah, got to get fed. 11:11 You don't get fed, you die. 11:14 Then you got to get water. 11:16 You don't drink, you will die. 11:20 The next level of needs 11:21 which are still basically biological 11:24 or physiological, he says, is for safety or shelter. 11:30 You studied this stuff in school. 11:32 Yeah, the Maslow's hierarchy of needs 11:35 and has dominated all psychological thoughts 11:37 since he put this out. 11:40 He says, "Human beings desire a relatively stable 11:44 and secure environment to protect them 11:47 from the elements, inclement weather, 11:50 predators, other human beings, 11:54 things that could do us harm, 11:56 that's why American spend some $20.6 billion 12:00 every year on home and office security. 12:04 Doorbells, and lights, and whistles 12:06 and all kinds of things because we desire to be safe. 12:11 You cannot really relax 12:14 unless you are safe 12:19 which is why most people when they buy a new house, 12:22 the first thing they do is change the locks. 12:29 Dr. Elden Chalmers, an Adventist psychologist says, 12:34 "When a woman is considering marrying a man, 12:38 one factor is, 12:41 will this guy look out for me 12:44 and keep me safe." 12:48 Amen. 12:50 Yeah, that's want they want to know. 12:51 Can you handle the job of keeping me safe? 12:57 Now men look out for other stuff. 13:02 But women want to know, can he keep me safe? 13:05 Can he take care of me? 13:07 Can he support me? 13:09 Now it is true that a small number of women 13:13 like dating wild men, 13:18 but dating and being married 13:21 is not the same thing. 13:24 Amen. 13:26 Nobody wants to spend all of their life, 13:28 their entire life on the wild side. 13:32 And though it may be fun at 18 or 19 13:35 to date an atavistic barbarian, 13:39 you don't want to be married to one. 13:43 You don't want to bring Tarzan home. 13:52 When you get married, 13:54 you need consistency, amen, 13:59 sanity 14:03 and security. 14:06 How about that, Pastor. 14:08 Yeah, you want consistency, 14:12 sanity, and security. 14:18 You may want to date the Tasmanian devil, 14:22 but not spend your life with it. 14:29 Next come social needs. 14:32 They include the need to belong. 14:37 This is one of the reasons why kids join gangs, 14:40 even bad gangs because there is in us 14:44 and in a intrinsic need to belong to something. 14:49 And also why people who join the church 14:51 and get baptized in the church 14:53 tend to live longer than those who do not. 14:59 Amen. 15:01 And you want to add a couple of years 15:02 and make them good years, join a church. 15:11 One of the reasons why people stay 15:13 even in abusive relationships 15:17 because there is in us 15:18 a need to belong to something, 15:23 to belong to someone, to be part of something. 15:28 That's why people retire after a long working career 15:31 and come to 3ABN in their retirement years 15:36 because there is a need to belong to something, 15:39 particularly something that is bigger than us. 15:45 Let me add 15:49 that when we belong, 15:55 we actually grow. 15:58 Once you leave the physiological stuff, 16:02 we move into what Maslow calls 16:07 cognitive realities. 16:11 Now really this is 16:14 the image of God stuff. 16:16 But he was too much of a humanist to admit that 16:18 so he called it cognitive. 16:22 That is why this need to belong 16:25 that is why being married on face 16:28 is better than being alone. 16:32 And the church said... 16:36 Somebody ought to say amen. 16:39 Yeah, being married 16:41 on face is better 16:44 than being alone. 16:47 To it, a mate that is a spouse 16:52 who is long and strong on support 16:55 and encouragement, 16:58 and light on criticism 17:02 worth their weight in gold. 17:05 Let me add obiter dictum, 17:11 if a person doesn't love you, 17:15 they forfeit the right to criticize you. 17:21 Did you hear what I said? 17:25 If a person does not love you, 17:28 they forfeit the right to criticize you. 17:33 Amen. 17:36 Jesus or rather John 17:39 notes in Revelation 3:19, 17:44 quoting the words of Jesus, 17:45 "As many as I love I rebuke and chasten, 17:50 but I get the right to rebuke and chasten you 17:53 because I love you." 17:56 So even Christ puts it in perspective, 17:58 as many as I love, I correct. 18:01 And Ellen White says, Christ uttered the most, 18:02 His most scathing rebukes with tears in His eyes, 18:05 those tears were love. 18:07 Sometimes, you forgive my pejorative of English, 18:09 stuff has to be said. 18:13 Sometimes you got to straighten stuff out. 18:16 Amen. 18:19 But do it in love. 18:21 Why? 18:23 Oh, why would anybody take counsel, 18:26 much less criticism from somebody that hates them? 18:34 Amen. 18:41 The fourth 18:44 is the need for esteem. 18:47 Now Maslow calls these cognitive. 18:51 But really these are God given desires that are in all of us. 18:55 Everybody needs to belong, 18:58 everybody needs to love and being loved, 19:00 and forget this iron man stuff, I am a rock, I am an island, 19:04 I don't need anybody, I can do it by myself. 19:08 Oh, you can't. 19:13 So the next level that God put in us 19:16 is the need for esteem. 19:21 Everybody needs affirmation, Shelley. 19:25 We all need affirmation. 19:27 JD call them attaboys. 19:32 We don't say attaboy in New York, 19:33 but I understand what he meant. 19:36 Everybody needs to be encouraged, don't you? 19:41 Everybody needs to feel 19:44 that at least one person 19:47 feels that they are worth something. 19:51 Amen. 19:52 We all have that need. 19:54 Somebody's got that feel that you're worth something 19:58 or you begin to question 20:01 your own worth. 20:04 Guess what marriage is for? 20:06 Go outside and get your head whipped, 20:08 you got to come home, have somebody to stroke it. 20:13 Amen. 20:15 Somebody is getting little rough, 20:17 when you're fighting World War I in the street 20:20 and then you come home and it's World War II. 20:27 Yeah, you've got a God given need inside of you 20:30 for somebody to value you. 20:35 It's part of life. 20:38 It is a basic psychological need. 20:43 And we all have it. 20:45 We all have a desire to be good at something. 20:50 Amen. 20:51 Everybody wants to know that they're good at something. 20:57 The problem is, 21:00 when you are good and you compare your good 21:06 with my not so good, now we got a problem. 21:13 Nothing wrong with being good and knowing you're good. 21:17 Because if you don't know you have a gift, 21:19 then you have no push to improve that gift. 21:24 That's all right to know that you're good. 21:27 Just don't compare your good with my good. 21:31 'Cause my good ain't good as your good. 21:33 But that doesn't matter 21:35 because God asked me to do the best 21:37 with what I got just like you do the best 21:39 with what you got. 21:41 Amen. 21:43 Nothing wrong with knowing you've got a skill 21:45 as long as you don't compare yourself 21:47 to those who don't have that skill 21:50 and don't think that your skill makes you more favorable to God 21:55 because of your skill. 21:57 That make sense? 22:01 Almost another sermon, getting really close. 22:06 Now Maslow added one other element, 22:11 but he was too much of a humanist to realize 22:15 that it was really God consciousness. 22:20 And like most 19th and 20th century psychologists, 22:23 he had no real use for God. 22:25 You look at the list of the top 10 22:27 19th and 20th century psychologists as I said before, 22:30 they're either agnostic or outright atheists. 22:36 Nietzsche said in 1882, 22:40 "God is dead. 22:43 He will remain dead and we have killed Him". 22:48 In the latter half of the 1800s, 22:50 the world suffered through as I said before 22:52 a reaction against the second great awakening. 22:56 And in that time Darwinism, 22:58 Marxism, Communism, Fascism, Utopianism, Dystopianism, 23:03 a humanistic ideologies 23:06 which left to themselves squeezed God out. 23:15 Now here's where things get a bit tricky. 23:19 As I said you before, 23:20 psychology is a fairly recent science. 23:24 Wilhelm Wundt, I kept thinking William Wharf, 23:28 but it's Wilhelm Wundt. 23:30 In 1889 opened the first laboratory 23:34 for studying psychology. 23:38 It is by nature humanistic. 23:43 If you don't believe me, ask Dr. Magna Parks. 23:46 She's no longer Magna Parks, 23:47 she's been remarried since her husband died. 23:49 But she is a PhD in psychology. 23:55 Psychology has developed 23:57 a parallel universe to religion. 24:04 Many say that 24:06 psychology is a religion. 24:12 And God has no place in it. 24:15 Psychology basically is a study of the human mind 24:19 how it functions, its effect on behavior. 24:23 It has many subfields. 24:25 You've got developmental psychology, 24:27 you've got clinical psychology, you've got abnormal psychology, 24:30 you've got functional psychology, 24:32 you've got analytical psychology, 24:33 you've got applied psychology, 24:35 you've got many, many subfields 24:38 to psychological study. 24:41 Here is where the danger lies. 24:45 The goal in life according to Maslow 24:50 and accepted by the vast majority 24:52 of psychologists 24:54 is self actualization. 25:00 Self actualization. 25:04 That put Maslow on a collision course with heaven. 25:08 Because the aim of psychology 25:11 is not sinlessness or salvation, 25:16 it's self actualization. 25:20 Or peace with whatever you are 25:25 and whatever you, 25:27 wherever you find yourself. 25:29 Now if you're connecting dots, 25:31 you can see how that can be problematic. 25:35 Self actualization replaces sin. 25:38 Isn't it interesting how you take almost any word 25:42 in the English language, 25:43 add the word self to it and it becomes a problem. 25:46 Yeah, that's going to be the door 25:48 that Satan uses to get in. 25:50 Pick a word, add self to it, it's going to be a problem. 25:57 Psychologists say and one of the great ones, 26:02 Baruch Spinoza said, "If you're going to have faith 26:07 in anything, have faith in yourself. 26:13 And that sound like a problem to anybody? 26:17 Which by the way is the message of the new age church, 26:20 the emergence church, and contemplative prayer. 26:23 Don't go out, don't go up, go in. 26:29 So the philosopher psychologist said, 26:32 "Faith in God is an illusion. 26:35 A useless dependence on a nonexistent deity. 26:39 You're wasting your time." 26:42 So for many new age psychologists, 26:45 for many humanist psychologists, 26:48 God simply has no place. 26:54 So in their minds, 26:55 faith is fake. 27:00 And if you look at the top ten psychologists 27:02 of the past two centuries, Skinner, Piaget, 27:05 Freud, Bandura, 27:09 Festinger, James, Pavlov. 27:11 Remember, Pavlov and the dogs with the saliva look, 27:14 Rogers, Erikson, Vygotsky, and Maslow, 27:18 none included Christ in anything they had to say, 27:21 in any of their writings or in any of their teachings 27:24 and their minds 27:26 that has dominated psychology. 27:31 So Maslow says here's what we need, 27:35 the ultimate in life is self actualization, 27:40 the total realization of all your potential. 27:45 Ladies and gentlemen, that is fake news. 27:50 It is the ultimate illusion, 27:52 if not the ultimate delusion for a number of reasons. 27:57 Psychology as preached and practiced today 28:00 is devoid of God, 28:02 and I believe a direct and demonic shot at true faith. 28:08 Strong statement. 28:12 Here is why. 28:13 Number one, who can determine 28:16 what your ultimate potential is? 28:19 You? 28:22 How many sitting here today 28:24 think you have reached your ultimate potential? 28:26 You've gone as far as you can go, 28:28 you know as much as you can know. 28:29 You've done everything you can, you cannot get any better, 28:32 you've reached your ultimate potential, 28:34 you have self actualized. 28:36 Anybody willing to stand and make that statement? 28:38 Not me. 28:43 Two, 28:45 who can decide when you've reached it? 28:52 You see, your potential 28:54 is a combination of your education, 28:57 your opportunities, and your drive. 29:00 Some people have education and opportunity, 29:02 they're just lazy. 29:04 They don't get anywhere. 29:06 Some people have drive, 29:08 but never get the education or the opportunity. 29:12 You know, there are some people who can really do some stuff, 29:15 but they don't get encouragement, 29:16 they don't get the education, 29:18 they don't get the opportunities, 29:19 so they never reach potential 29:20 because they just haven't had the opportunity. 29:28 So how can the idea 29:30 of a totally self actuated person 29:33 even make sense outside of God, 29:36 particularly in light of Matthew 16:26? 29:40 What does it profit a man 29:43 to get everything he wants and lose his soul? 29:51 So you're as rich as Mark Zuckerberg. 29:53 Now two weeks ago, Mark Zuckerberg 29:55 lost $90 million. 30:01 He lost $90 million. 30:04 How much money do you have 30:07 so that you can lose 90 million 30:10 and not jump off a building at some place? 30:13 Lost 90 million. 30:15 Most of us will never see 90 million. 30:21 So in Maslow's mindset, Mark Zuckerberg 30:24 because he is famous and rich has self actualized. 30:30 But my question is, is his name written in the book of life. 30:35 So what does it profit a man to be Mark Zuckerberg 30:38 and lose his own self? 30:40 You forgive my pejorative of English, 30:41 that ain't no self actualization in hell. 30:51 So the greatest gift of God to man 30:55 is the way of salvation through Jesus Christ 30:59 and the key to that gift is faith in God. 31:04 Amen. 31:08 In all of your getting, 31:10 you got to get faith or you ain't got nothing. 31:18 Amen. 31:23 So Maslow made the mistake of mentioning some people 31:28 who he thought had reached self actualization, 31:32 they've done it all. 31:35 Baruch Spinoza, philosopher, 31:39 and then what caught my attention, 31:41 he put in there, Aldous Huxley. 31:45 Checking my time. 31:47 You remember who Aldous Huxley is? 31:50 From a rich British Huxley family. 31:54 He wrote the book Brave New World. 31:59 Brave New World was the first 32:01 of what they call the dystopian novels. 32:04 You know what utopia is, that's perfection, 32:07 dystopia is perfection turned upside down. 32:10 It's a world where right is wrong, and wrong is right, 32:13 nothing makes any sense, 32:15 and the government is out to destroy you 32:16 rather than help you. 32:17 Brave New World was the first, 32:20 1984 is the dystopian novel. 32:23 Animal Farm is a dystopian novel. 32:26 Handmaid's Tale, a really grouse novel 32:29 is a dystopian novel. 32:31 Lord of the Flies is a dystopian novel. 32:34 Hunger Games 32:38 is a dystopian novel. 32:42 But Maslow says, 32:45 this guy has reached self actualization. 32:51 Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, a deist, 32:55 Eleanor Roosevelt, and Einstein. 33:00 Einstein did some great stuff. 33:03 My question is, is his name written in the book? 33:09 So can it be that if you're not famous, 33:11 you cannot be so self actualized. 33:14 I am so glad that you can be nothing 33:17 in the eyes of man 33:19 and great in the kingdom of heaven. 33:23 Now there's some of us who have some notoriety. 33:26 People see us on 3ABN, 33:28 but there's nobody here who is famous. 33:32 And if you think you are, look again. 33:36 You're not famous. 33:39 God has given you a position. 33:41 And there comes some disability with that position. 33:45 Forget that famous stuff. 33:50 Fame is an illusion. 33:52 Amen. 33:54 Anybody know who Clara Bow is? 33:57 Nobody. 33:59 One of the most famous actresses of all time. 34:02 Nobody even knows her name. 34:05 It's an illusion. 34:07 It's not real. 34:09 Look what Christ Himself said to Daniel 34:12 when he was homeschooling him in Daniel 10:19, 34:17 "Don't be afraid," the Lord said, 34:20 "for you are very precious to God," that's fame. 34:25 Amen. 34:26 That's what I'd like to hear. 34:28 Don't worry about anything. 34:31 You're very precious to God. 34:33 Very, very precious to God. 34:35 That's from I think the Jerusalem translation. 34:41 Matthew 5:19, "Anyone who obeys God's laws 34:44 and teaches them will be called great 34:47 in the kingdom of heaven." 34:49 It doesn't really matter what you call down here 34:53 as long as your name is written there. 34:57 So Maslow didn't connect the dots on self actualization 35:03 doing what you're supposed to do, 35:05 being where you're supposed to be, 35:07 fulfilling your highest goals can only be found in Jesus. 35:13 Hebrews 11:6, "Without faith it is impossible." 35:20 Paul writes and admonishes the Corinthians 35:22 in 2 Corinthians 8:7, 35:25 trying to get through this quickly. 35:27 But abound in everything and the first thing 35:29 he begins that list with is faith. 35:32 Faith is the PIN number 35:35 to your heavenly bank account. 35:39 That makes sense. 35:41 Yeah, faith is the PIN. 35:43 So you can get in there and get the goodies. 35:46 Ellen White says, "Prayer is the key 35:48 in the hands of faith to unlock heaven's storehouse 35:53 where are treasured 35:54 the boundless riches of omnipotence." 35:58 There's stuff waiting for you, but you need a PIN number 36:01 and faith is your PIN. 36:04 Without the PIN, you can't get in. 36:10 Fifth Volume Testimonies, page 630, 36:13 "God's blessed promises are set 36:17 in a framework of faith." 36:22 Ellen White talks in Early Writings, page 81, 36:24 she is walking along in vision with an angel, 36:26 and the angel handed her a green cord. 36:30 It was wound up very tightly. 36:33 The angel said, "Take this green cord 36:35 and keep it close to your heart." 36:38 The angel said, "But don't let it stay coiled up too long 36:43 because it's going to be difficult 36:44 to straighten out." 36:45 And whenever you want to see Jesus, 36:47 just straighten out that cord to its longest length. 36:51 But don't let it stay coiled up too long 36:53 because the longer it's coiled up, 36:54 the more kinky it gets 36:55 and the harder it is to straighten out. 36:57 She says, "The Lord impressed me 36:59 that that cord was fake." 37:04 Use it often when you want to see Jesus, 37:09 and when you want Jesus to be near to you. 37:16 4 Testimony, 377, 37:18 "Faith is ever interested in others," 37:21 which was kind of shocking to me. 37:22 I thought really faith was a one-on-one relationship 37:24 between me and God. 37:26 But Ellen White says that true faith 37:27 always has an interest in other people. 37:33 Now in every thesis there must be a case study. 37:38 Now is a sermon, seven minutes. 37:43 Matthew 15:21, put your finger there 37:46 and if you have double marker, you want to go to Mark 7:24 37:51 because they recite the same incident. 37:54 Mark adds some nuances that Matthew does not add. 38:00 And then Matthew adds some explanations 38:03 that Mark does not have. 38:05 When you read the Book of Mark, 38:06 you will know that Mark jumps into miracles right away. 38:09 Not like Matthew, not like Luke, 38:10 certainly not like John, 38:12 Matthew is big on genealogy 38:14 and Jewishness and all that stuff. 38:15 Mark didn't care about any of that, 38:17 he jumps into miracles very first chapter. 38:23 So each gives us some details that only is... 38:26 Now Matthew does not mention that she was Syrophoenician, 38:30 Mark does. 38:31 Mark also affirms 38:33 as does Ellen White that she was Canaanite, 38:35 living in Syrian territory under Phoenician control. 38:38 Here's another big word. 38:40 She was living 38:41 in the Phoenician thalassocracy. 38:45 Isn't that a pretty word? 38:51 A thalassocracy is an empire that is ruled from the sea. 38:55 The Phoenicians were sea people. 38:56 The city of Sidon was on the coast 38:58 and the city of Tyre 39:00 actually was an island off of the coast. 39:01 So she was living 39:03 in the Phoenician thalassocracy, 39:06 the Phoenician empire, north, slightly west of Israel. 39:11 The Phoenicians were sea people. 39:14 Christ came to this area 39:18 and Christ commended this woman 39:20 for her great faith, "Oh, woman, great is thy faith." 39:24 Let's quickly unpack this story and then we're done. 39:27 She doesn't know Jesus, but she has heard. 39:30 Now what's interesting is the Greek tenses here. 39:33 Her is in the aorist tense, 39:35 aorist simply means she may not have heard a lot, 39:39 she may not have heard a long time, 39:41 she may not have heard many times, 39:43 simply that this occurred, she heard about Jesus. 39:49 And hearing about Jesus evidently was enough. 39:53 Somehow she had gotten word 39:56 that Jesus was in her vicinity. 40:00 She had heard that Jesus heals all. 40:04 And when she discovered that, she found Jesus. 40:08 The Bible says, she worshipped Him, 40:10 meaning she fell at His feet which Mark makes plain. 40:14 And she asked Him, "Heal my daughter." 40:17 Now already she is showing great faith 40:20 because she's going to a man that she's never seen, 40:22 never spoken to, a religion that she is not familiar with, 40:27 people who hate her for being who she is, 40:30 and she's going to this place 40:33 because of her love for her daughter. 40:37 Ellen White says, 4 Testimony, 377, 40:41 "Great faith is ever interested in others." 40:44 Well, this lady, it was her daughter, 40:46 for the Roman centurion, 40:47 the other person that Christ commended 40:49 for having great faith, it was his sleigh. 40:52 This woman is serious 40:57 about finding some help. 41:05 And Christ is going to test her seriousness. 41:09 Do you not know that Christ tests you? 41:11 Yeah. 41:13 If you have not been tested, keep on living, 41:15 you will be tested. 41:17 Amen. 41:18 It's coming. 41:22 So Christ is testing her. 41:24 The first thing He does when she asked for help 41:28 is Christ gives her the silent treatment. 41:34 Bible says, He answered not a word. 41:38 Mark doesn't say it, Matthew does. 41:41 Not a word. 41:43 Here is a thing. 41:44 Most people are not intellectually wired 41:48 for silent treatment. 41:50 Yeah. 41:52 Most people don't do well in the absence of information. 41:56 Amen. 41:57 That's why when you counsel for marriage 41:59 you tell them communicate, communicate, communicate. 42:03 Technically it is better to scream than to say nothing. 42:08 Yeah, if you're screaming, 42:09 at least I know what's on your mind, 42:11 if you're saying nothing, 42:12 then I tend to guess and I usually guess wrong. 42:15 Now screaming is not good. 42:17 But of the two, yelling or total silence, 42:22 yelling is better, because in silence 42:26 all kinds of things come up in your mind. 42:32 So Christ gives this woman the silent treatment. 42:40 Didn't say anything. 42:43 Not a word. 42:45 But she was neither dissuaded nor distracted. 42:51 That's another aspect of great faith. 42:53 It's perseverance. 42:56 Amen. 42:58 When you really believe it, 43:00 you hang in there till you get it. 43:05 Here's the amplified version of Hebrews 10:23. 43:10 I love this. 43:11 "Let us seize and hold tightly the confession of our hope, 43:15 without wavering for he who promised is reliable, 43:19 and trustworthy, and faithful to his word." 43:24 So you hang in there, because you know that the God 43:28 that you are praying to is faithful. 43:31 She didn't have that scripture, all she had was need. 43:35 And sometimes, when all you got is need, 43:39 Christ gives you the answer to that need 43:43 because it is your need that commends you to Jesus. 43:47 You've got no place else to go. 43:49 You can't get anything from anyone else. 43:51 It's your lack of other options 43:54 that tugs them the heartstrings of Jesus. 44:00 Hebrews 10:35 and 36, 44:02 "So do not throw away 44:03 this confident trust in the Lord," 44:06 this is from the New Living, 44:07 "remember the great reward it brings you." 44:10 So don't fatigue, hold on to your faith. 44:14 Verse 36, "Patient endurance is what you need now, 44:16 so that you will continue to do God's will, 44:19 then you receive all that He has promised." 44:21 Amen. 44:23 Christ silence was strategic. 44:24 It was a strategic test which she passed. 44:28 Messages to Young People, page 121, Ellen White says, 44:31 "Conflicts and obstacles actually increase our faith." 44:36 So don't ask for it to be easy, 44:39 ask for enough faith to climb those mountains. 44:45 So He is not talking, but He didn't say get lost, 44:48 He didn't say scram, He didn't say take a hike, 44:50 He didn't say anything. 44:52 The disciples were busy saying that. 44:54 In Matthew 15:23, His disciples thought that Jesus silence 44:59 was meaning that He was thinking 45:01 like they were thinking. 45:02 They didn't like her, they didn't want her there, 45:04 and they thought Jesus felt the same. 45:06 That His silence meant He too distained her. 45:10 So they piped up. 45:11 Jesus, send this woman away. 45:16 Her cries and cry is in the imperfect tense 45:19 was mean she kept on crying, she just stayed on it, 45:22 stayed on it, stayed on it. 45:24 And the disciples said, "You know, frankly Jesus, 45:26 this woman is getting on our nerve. 45:32 She is hounding us, send her away." 45:37 But see, if your burden is great, 45:40 you stick with it. 45:44 The Bible says, she worshiped Him, 45:45 meaning she fell at His feet. 45:49 She went down to her knees or prostrate 45:52 because her burden for her daughter was great. 45:56 Now that falling on her knees 45:57 wasn't something Christ demanded. 45:59 Christ doesn't demand you 46:00 to flagellate yourself, do that kind of thing. 46:03 No, that was her burden, 46:05 Christ wants obedience, not obeisance. 46:08 The truth is, she had Him at have mercy. 46:14 When you ask Christ for mercy and your prayer is sincere, 46:18 that is a prayer that Jesus will never ever turn down. 46:24 Amen. 46:25 Never, never turn down. 46:28 Any time you ask Jesus for mercy, 46:30 guess what you get. 46:32 Mercy. 46:36 James 5:11, "We call them blessed who endure, 46:39 who have heard the perseverance of Job 46:43 and seen the end intended by the Lord. 46:47 And the Lord is very compassionate and merciful." 46:52 Now take note. 46:53 Jesus only performed one miracle in Phoenicia, 46:58 in this town, 47:00 only one just like He did only one miracle in Samaria, 47:05 which means that Christ went up there 47:07 to that alien country 47:09 specifically to meet this woman. 47:11 Only did one miracle, He turned around and came back. 47:15 That shows you how important she was to Him 47:17 and how important you are to Him. 47:20 Amen. 47:22 That says, He will move heaven and earth just to save you 47:27 and just as He spoke with this woman in Phoenicia, 47:32 He spoke with this woman in Samaria at Jacob's Well 47:35 who had five husbands and one living boyfriend 47:39 because He was anxious to save their souls. 47:44 So again she asked, Lord, lift me, Lord, help me. 47:48 Christ knew her sincerity, He's reading her heart, 47:51 He tests her just one more time. 47:54 "I'm here for the lost sheep of Israel." 47:58 Mark says, "Let the children be filled first." 48:01 Now it doesn't say they won't be filled, 48:03 they need to be filled first. 48:05 It's not good to give bread to the little dogs." 48:10 Almost done, to little dogs. 48:14 He was sending her a dog with her. 48:19 Yeah, that was code. 48:23 He didn't say, it's not good for me to give food 48:27 to the dogs in a street. 48:30 The term here little dogs means household pets. 48:35 Little dogs, little pets around the house. 48:39 So though He is challenging her, 48:42 He is at the same time softening her, soothing her, 48:47 because He's got a blessing in store for her. 48:50 So He's saying, "It's not good for me to give the food 48:56 to the household pets." 48:58 Now she's thinking in her mind 48:59 since He's sending her clues at least I'm in the house. 49:04 Amen. 49:05 Yeah, I'm a household pet not a street dog, 49:09 I'm in the house. 49:11 So now she's pushing forward. 49:12 She's pushing forward because she knows 49:15 she's got a chance 49:16 and she sees a little window opening and she says, 49:20 "Yes, Lord, You're right, that is true, 49:23 but even the house pets 49:28 get food from the master's table." 49:33 And Christ had no intention of drowning 49:36 or draining her fledgling faith. 49:39 In fact, He is so impressed. 49:41 The Greek word is stomatos, his mouth was open. 49:46 He is amazed that this alien woman 49:50 from an alien country has this kind of faith. 49:56 I got a question before we close. 49:58 Here it is. 50:00 What got that woman her faith, 50:04 her miracle? 50:06 What got her a miracle? 50:08 Was it her persistence or her faith? 50:16 Now there are three answers, 50:18 two of them are right, one is wrong. 50:24 How many of you think was her faith? 50:29 Anybody think it was her persistent? 50:34 Not a persistence. 50:38 It's her persistence and her faith. 50:41 Got to be both. 50:42 Because persistence without faith 50:44 is not going to get you anything 50:46 and faith without persistence 50:48 is not going to get you anywhere. 50:50 The reason I know is not persistence is this. 50:52 Remember the story of the unjust judge. 50:55 Remember that story, widow came to avenge me. 50:59 And the judge respected neither God nor man. 51:04 But he said, 51:06 I'm going to take care of this woman's case 51:08 because she's getting on my nerves. 51:13 She's wearying me. 51:15 And before I lose my mind, 51:17 let me just take care of her case. 51:19 Now she got what she wanted, 51:21 but that was a matter of persistence. 51:25 Amen. 51:26 She just nagged a blessing out of Him. 51:31 So it can't be persistent 51:34 because you can't nag a blessing out of Jesus. 51:39 You can't. 51:40 You know people back in Christ day 51:42 used to walk around fasting, 51:44 you know, and prayer, just fasting rather, 51:49 trying to get a blessing out of Lord. 51:51 Christ went to the cross. 51:52 You think you skipping a couple of meals don't impress Him. 51:56 When we were in school, 51:58 and a guy wanted to impress a girl, 52:02 he would go fasting and prayer for her. 52:05 Particular theology majors 52:06 who were going to be in ministry, 52:08 they wanted somebody with a lot of hair, 52:09 played the piano, you know, about the guys back then. 52:11 I remember Raymond Baker was fasting 52:14 for Corliss Claiborne. 52:15 Corliss Claiborne couldn't care a hoot about Raymond Baker, 52:17 and he's skipping meals, 52:19 come into the cafeteria dragging himself 52:21 and drinking one glass of juice per day. 52:23 I'm fasting for you, baby. 52:25 I'm fasting. 52:26 And she is like please. 52:30 She wasn't impressed and neither was God. 52:34 You fasting and flagellating yourself and beating yourself, 52:36 which doesn't impressed God. 52:38 He didn't ask for that. 52:39 He didn't want you to die for Him. 52:41 He wants you to live for Him. 52:44 So perseverance doesn't get it done. 52:48 Faith alone doesn't get it done. 52:51 It's perseverance and faith. 52:54 Amen. 52:56 Believe that is coming and stay with it 52:59 until you get it 53:02 and don't fatigue. 53:06 Because Jesus is more willing to give you a good gift 53:10 than you are to ask so you don't have to nag Him. 53:13 Amen. 53:15 Because He's coming. 53:19 Let me close with this. 53:26 Christ spoke to Peter 53:30 and He said to Peter, 53:34 "Satan has desired to sift you as wheat." 53:39 I'm at Luke 22. 53:42 "But I have prayed for you." 53:46 The Amplified Classics says, 53:48 "I have pleaded for you in prayer 53:51 that your faith fail not." 53:56 In listening to Pastor John's unclean spirits, 54:01 it occurs to me 54:03 that every aspect of life 54:08 has been touched on 54:10 by the Lord. 54:14 And every aspect of life 54:18 has been poisoned by Satan. 54:22 Every aspect. 54:24 And that's what got me looking into the psychology thing. 54:27 The time it came up, how it came up, 54:31 the godless people who started it. 54:34 And then think about some young people 54:35 'cause I've got a grandson 54:38 who is talking about psychology. 54:41 So what's going to happen 54:42 when you take that course of study? 54:44 You're going to get a heaping, helping of humanism. 54:49 And you have to really keep your eyes focused on God. 54:53 It's not that it can't be done. 54:56 It's that you've got to take extra care 54:59 to stay on Jesus. 55:02 And to keep Jesus inside 55:04 because there are ideologies in this world 55:07 that will turn your mind around 55:11 that are being used by the enemy 55:13 to raise up a generation of skeptical, 55:18 irritable, parent disrespecting, 55:23 lawless young people 55:27 who are self righteous, 55:30 self indulgent, self satisfied, 55:35 and who rebel against authority. 55:38 It is out of the church, it is in the church. 55:42 And the only answer, 55:44 the only bulwark we have is faith in God. 55:49 Yeah, God's done His part. 55:51 Bank account is there. 55:53 We now have to respond to Him. 55:56 And so Christ said to Peter, 55:59 "Satan wants to scramble you 56:01 like an egg, 56:05 but I've prayed for you. 56:07 I am interceding for you 56:10 that your faith fail not." 56:15 And I'd like to have one sentence, 56:18 then I would leave with any congregation. 56:21 It would be, I'm praying 56:26 that your faith fails not. 56:30 And if you hang on and hold on, 56:34 soon and very soon 56:37 you'll hear the well done 56:41 from the Lord. 56:43 Then your life will truly be actualized. 56:49 Because Christ will say, "Come now, 56:53 enter into the joy of heaven." 56:57 Shall we pray? 56:58 Father God, 57:01 we ask You now to accept who we are, 57:06 and what we are, 57:08 and make us what You would have us to be. 57:13 Forgive us, Lord, for those times 57:15 when we've fallen short 57:18 and our faith has failed us and failed you. 57:24 But we recommit ourselves to You 57:29 to stand by You, 57:32 to stand with You, to stand for You, 57:37 and to stand strong 57:40 until Jesus comes again. 57:44 Dedicate us now, Lord, to that end 57:47 and we thank You in Jesus' name, amen. |
Revised 2018-09-24