but it comes from the lips of a gentile woman who was in a desperate situation, who came seeking the Lord Jesus Christ after she had heard about him, and she comes to him asking for mercy. She comes to him seeking for a crumb of mercy, and she comes to him asking for help.

I would say that there is not one single Christian who has never prayed this prayer. I should imagine it's a prayer that we pray if not every single day. There is always a time in the life of a believer when this prayer flows from our lips or flows out of our minds, because we are constantly in need of the help of our Lord. If we don't need his help, then we are in a desperate situation. If we believe that we can continue on in this journey of life without the help of our Saviour, then you are in a serious backslidden situation, for every single believer truly knows how weak they are.

And so this is the prayer, this is the anthem of their song every single day. When they get up in the morning, it is, Lord, help me. When they continue on in the day, it is, Lord, help me. As they come to the end of the day, it is, Lord, help me. And thank you for helping me through this day. And now, help me through the night. Enable me to sleep. Keep away the horrible dreams. Keep away the anxiety. Keep away the trouble from my mind. Lord, help me.

And it comes from a Gentile woman who was despised by the Jews and by the Pharisees, but who saw something in Christ Jesus that none of these Pharisees saw. As I was looking at this chapter, it seems to have purposely been placed together by the Holy Spirit to demonstrate to us what is true religion, what is a true faith, what is true love to God.

It begins with these Pharisees, the Pharisees who came to the Lord Jesus Christ to accuse him to try and trip him up with their questions, to try and find fault in his ministry, to try and find fault in his apostles. They were concentrating upon the outside of the cup. They were concentrating on the things that they could see. and they come to the Lord Jesus Christ and they want to accuse his apostles of sinning and breaking the tradition of the fathers. They say to him, why do thy disciples transgress the traditions of the elders? For they wash not their hands when they eat bread.

Jesus says to them, why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your traditions? If you remember, the Lord Jesus Christ had a lot to say to the Pharisees. Remember, he came to his own, and his own received him not. He was the glory of Israel. He was the Messiah sent to the Jewish nation, but the Jewish nation rejected him. They wouldn't have anything to do with him. The majority of them, especially the leaders, and they cast him aside and in the end crucified him. He didn't fit what they desired to have.

And so the harshest words that Jesus spoke were spoken to those Pharisees and to the scribes. In Matthew 23, we have that great list of the woes that are proclaimed upon the scribes and the Pharisees. He tells them that they are blind guides. which strain out a gnat and swallow a camel. Woe unto you, in verse 25, woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but with but Within they are full of extortions and excess. Thou blind Pharisees, cleanse first that which is within the cup and the platter, that the outside of them may also be clean. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful without. but are within full of dead men's bones and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

And so the Lord Jesus speaks to these Pharisees who were complaining or were accusing the apostles of not washing their hands. And he tells them that it's not the outside of the cup that is the problem. It's not the outside That is the insight. He tells them that from within come fornications and blasphemies.

Verse 16, you are also without understanding, do you not yet understand that whatever enters in at the mouth and goes into the belly and is cast into the draught or the gutter, but those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart, they defile a man. For out of the heart proceeds evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands, does not defile a man.

The outside was what they were concerned about. They came to Jesus and saying, look at the outside of your apostles, look what they're doing with their hands. And it wouldn't matter. whether the Pharisees washed their hands or wouldn't matter, whether the Pharisees washed their clothes or whether they were presented perfectly. Jesus says the outside cannot change the inside. The problem lies with the heart. The inside must change the outside.

And so Jesus exposes their hypocrisy. by giving them a taste of their own medicine, we might say. He exposes their hearts. He exposes their hypocrisy, that they were changing not only the traditions of men, but they were changing the commandment of God, the commandment of God, which said, honor thy father and thy mother. He that curses father and mother, let him die the death.

And the Pharisees were saying, you know, well, we don't have to follow this commandment. If our mother and father, they are lacking substance, if our parents, if they are unable to provide, we could say they can't have any food or they haven't got any rent or they haven't got enough money for clothes, we don't have to give them. If we can just say that the money that I've got here is for God, I've allocated this money for God and therefore I don't have to help my parents. And it's like they're saying, well, God needs this money more than my parents.

And so they broke the commandment of God by the vain tradition of their fathers. They looked for an escape route to get around God's commandments. but they forgot that Jesus sees the heart. Jesus sees the motives. Although they said, you know, we're giving all this money to God, yet Jesus was able to look into their hearts and to see the deceitfulness of their own hearts and to say that they were keeping this money back for themselves.

They didn't want to look after their parents. They didn't want to look after the people around about them. They just wanted to be seen of men. As Jesus tells us, they liked to pray on the corners of the streets to be seen of men. They liked to have the top rooms in the feasts to be seen of men. They liked to be called rabbi and teacher to be seen of men. It was all external. Their religion was just about the outside and in causing them to feel good about themselves. Oh, what a godly, what a godly man, what a godly lady. Oh, what a great prayer they are. Look at their, look at their perfect clothes. What a perfect Christian, what a perfect Pharisee they are. But Jesus says, no. You're just like a whited sepulcher. You look okay on the outside to men. You look all right to people. But to God, you are full of dead men's bones. Uncleanness. And so the outside cannot change the inside. But the inside must change the outside.

Jesus says, you will know them by their fruits. We cannot say that we are a born again believer in the Lord Jesus Christ and it not be manifested upon the screen of our lives. It must be. It must be seen that we are followers of the Lord Jesus. It must be seen that we love the Lord Jesus Christ with all of our heart, soul, and mind. And our lives and our actions must manifest all that has taken place within our hearts.

There is some today who say, you know, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter what we wear. It doesn't matter what we do. as long as God looks at our hearts. But if the heart is changed, Jesus says, if the heart is changed, then what comes out of the mouth will also change. If the heart remains unchanged, then out of the mouth will still come uncleanness and vileness. And so our words and our bodies, our screens, as it were, to what has taken place within our hearts. Our actions expose our hearts.

Jesus says about the Pharisees, leave them alone. They are blind, leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into the ditch. They were blind. They were spiritually blind, they were unconverted, they were unregenerate. They were blind as to the fact of who the Lord Jesus Christ was. And they fell into the ditch, the ditch that leads to hell, the broad road that leads to destruction.

There were so many prophecies of the Lord Jesus Christ. These were men who were theologians, they loved the law, yet they could not see when presented with the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world, they could not see him, they could not view him by faith because they are only concerned about the external, everything that must look right. And to them, the Lord Jesus Christ did not look right. They'd added and added to the law of God, so much so they could not see the perfect, spotless Lamb of God.

John tells us in verse chapter one, verse nine, that was the true light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world. And the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God. even to them that believe on his name, which were born not of blood, nor of the will of flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."

And here we see the distinction now, the separating line. These men who looked apart, These men that could quote the word, these men that were adhered to being, you know, super Jews who could not see Christ. They didn't receive him. But as many as receive him, Jesus now comes to expose their hypocrisy by traveling to a Gentile place. by travelling to visit a Canaanite woman.

Jesus knew exactly what he was doing and where he was going. He went to the place where the hypocrisy of the Jews would be exposed the most. A place where they would never even tread foot in because they believed that it would defile them. A place where they believed the inhabitants were dogs. and that the Jew should never have anything to do with such a people. But the Lord Jesus Christ, he came unto his own and his own received him not. But he came as a light also unto the Gentiles. And so he was going into the darkness of the Gentile region to shine as a light in a dark place. And he was going to demonstrate his love for the vilest of the vile. by being sought out by a Gentile woman who was going to fall at his feet and pray a prayer that everyone is going to be praying for the rest of time. Lord, help me.

Tyre and Sidon was a Gentile region. And Mark tells us, Verse 24, I've read that already. From thence he arose and went to the borders of Tyre and Sidon and entered into a house and would have no man know it but he could not be hid for a certain woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell at his feet.

This is what true religion really is. You can imagine the Pharisees. There's no humility. There's no bowing down to the Lord Jesus Christ. You can imagine them standing there with puffed out chests and heads filled with pride and knowledge. having no humility to stoop down at the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ, yet we find this Gentile woman, a woman whose life no doubt would have been surrounded by paganism and the worship of Baal and Ashtroth, maybe even sacrificial worship where they offered up their children to their gods. But now she's left all of that She sees that these are no gods at all, and she comes to the true and living God who manifested himself through his son, the Lord Jesus Christ, the God-man.

No pride, no hope in self, but she casts herself at the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ. and asks him for mercy. Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David. They're completely different words. Who should have known that Jesus Christ was the son of David? The Pharisees. Who shouldn't have known that Jesus Christ was the son of David? This Gentile lady. But she came asking for mercy. She came having some understanding that he was the son of David, the promised one, the Messiah. And she came and fell at his feet with a request to ask for help that her daughter was grievously vexed with the devil.

Her words demonstrated her faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. She approached him humbly, asking for mercy. Do not deal with me as I deserve to be dealt with. I understand who I am. I understand that I don't deserve anything from you, but please look with pity upon me and consider my case. My case is too great for me. I can't deal with it myself. My gods are unable to help me. I've tried every means and now I'm coming to you, the Lord Jesus Christ, and I'm asking for you to look with pity upon me and deal with my difficult situation.

Oh Lord, the word Lord can be translated as sovereign. She demonstrates her faith in Christ that he is sovereign, that he has the power and ability to change the present situation. You wouldn't come to somebody and ask for help if you didn't think that they were able to help you. She comes to Jesus with an impossible case, that her daughter is grievously vexed with the devil. If she didn't believe he was able to help her, she wouldn't have sought him out. She wouldn't have searched for him. But she came to him believing that this man was able to deliver her daughter from the grievous devil possession. She believed Him to be Lord, Master, Sovereign.

But not only that, Son of David. She believed Him to be King. All authority and all power had been given to the Lord Jesus Christ. She believed Him to be the Anointed One of God. the one who had come to deliver his people from their sins. But Jesus doesn't answer her a word. Not a word. ignores her pleadings, he ignores her case completely, in so much that she leaves the Lord Jesus Christ and goes after his disciples. She begins to present her case to the disciples and they become annoyed with her. They say to Jesus, send her away, for she cries after us. We can't be dealing with this extra stress. We've come here for some rest and recuperation. We're trying to hide ourselves from all these problems. Get rid of her.

But he says to them, I am not sent, but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Jesus' first priority was to the Jewish nation. He came to his own people to bring them, to fulfill prophecy, to bring them from their types and shadows, to bring them to the fullness of their sacrificial system. He first came to them, but they rejected him. The lost sheep of the house of Israel did not want to be found. They were blind leaders of the blind. And they fell into the ditch of unbelief and rejected the Lord Jesus Christ.

And so Jesus is now demonstrating to them, do you want to see what real religion is? Do you want to see somebody with true living faith? I'm going to reject this lady. I'm going to tell her, I'm going to keep my mouth shut and I will show you what true faith is. I am going to draw out of her something what you don't have. True living faith.

Why does Jesus give her no answer? We might say that's rude. There's somebody coming to you and begging you and saying, please have mercy upon me and help me. Oh Lord, son of David, this is my, look at my daughter. She's totally vexed with the devil. You would say it's rude not to answer her, not to even acknowledge her. But the Lord Jesus Christ is doing something. He's proving her. He's proving her need. He's demonstrating to his disciples. This is what true living faith is. It doesn't let go. True living faith never gives up. It keeps pressing and pressing and pressing at the throne of grace, even if there's no answer, because faith says he's heard. Faith says, I have a high priest at the right hand of the Father, whoever lives to intercede for me. Faith says he's heard my cry and he has promised to hear me.

Isaiah says in Isaiah 30, and speaking of the woes of Judah, in verse 18, it says, therefore will the Lord wait. that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you. For the Lord is a God of judgment. Blessed are they that wait for him. The Lord waits that he might be gracious. Blessed are they that wait for him. Jesus is waiting. He's waiting for his perfect moment in which he himself will be most glorified. Then this woman is waiting in desperation for the answer to her request. And the waiting, as we wait for the Lord, it doesn't delay anything. The Lord waits that he may be gracious. He's waiting for his time. He's waiting for his perfect time to deliver his people out of their condition. And they are to wait for him.

Sometimes we wait for a train, don't we? And the train is late and we say, well, it's ruined our day. We wanted to go to London. The train's an hour late. It's ruined our day. when we wait for the Lord that will not ruin our day. It will keep us at the throne of grace and we will receive our answer in due season when the Lord sees fit that we receive the answer. He is drawing this woman closer to himself. He's drawing out of her what is truly in her heart as he did with the Pharisees. He exposed their hearts. What is he doing? He's squeezing this woman. He's exposing what is truly in her heart, her desperate case.

Is that what he's doing to you today? Do you feel like this woman? You've come there and you've presented your case. You've used all the correct words. Oh, have mercy upon me. Oh, Lord, Master, Sovereign, Son of David, Messiah. You've presented your case, I've got this problem, I can't deal with this problem, and there's silence. Have you given up? Have you forgotten that the Lord waits, that he might be gracious? Have you given up and abandoned the throne of grace and gone to deal with your problems yourself?

This lady, she didn't abandon the Lord Jesus. No, his silence only drew her into a more desperate case. To whom else can she go? Nobody else is going to deal with her problem. Nobody else can fix her case other than the Lord Jesus Christ. But it gets worse for her. Not only does the Lord Jesus Christ not answer her, Not only does his disciples try and send her away, but then he says to her, I'm not sent to the Gentiles. I'm sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Now this is it. This is, as it were, as much as she can bear. She's not going to listen. to that. She says, mine is an urgent pressing case. So she falls down at his feet and she says, Lord, help me.

Now Jesus is exposing her eyes like a surgeon. He's opening her up and going right down into the innermost parts of her soul. I'm going to show you disciples what true religion is. I'm going to show you what a true work of grace is on a person. This Gentile woman that you call a dog, this Gentile woman that you despise and that you avoid, I'm going to show you what is in the depths of her soul. So he says to her, it is not right to take the children's bread and cast it to dogs. You imagine if somebody said that in today's world, the offense that would be taken. How dare you call me a dog? How dare you speak so rudely to me? I'm just as equal as everybody else. In fact, I'm better than everybody else. How dare you speak to me in such a way?

What does she say? It's true. It's true. I am a dog. I am who you say I am. But then she clings on to mercy. Although I'm a dog, although I do not deserve the food that has been reserved for the Jewish nation, just give me a crumb. Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the master's table. And Jesus says to her, oh woman, great is thy faith, be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.

She wasn't concerned about the harsh words of the Lord Jesus. She said, it's true. What you say about me is true. I am just a Gentile dog. But I just desire a crumb of mercy, just an off cast. Spurgeon once said, if any man thinks ill of you, don't be angry. For everything he says about you is true. Or he says you are worse than he thinks. How would you like it if Jesus says you're dark? You're an unclean, vile creature. You'll be offended and run away. Or would you say it's totally true? The inside of the cup is so unclean that I am a vile creature, but cleanse me and wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.

You see, the lady, she did not deny her unworthiness. She accepted her unworthiness. She accepted what Jesus saw of her. Think of Mephibosheth. Mephibosheth, when he was invited to sit at the king's table, he calls himself 2 Samuel 9, verse 7, And David said unto him, Fear not, for I will surely show thee kindness for Jonathan thy father's sake, and I will restore thee all the land of Saul thy father. And thou shalt eat bread at my table continually. And he bowed himself and said, What is thy servant, that thou shouldest look upon such a dead dog as I am? Similar wording. similar understanding of self.

And that is the true work of the Spirit of God, to convict somebody of their sin, to bring them to a knowledge of their own uncleanness, not concerned about the outside. Pharisees obsessed with outward appearance yet forgot the transformation of the heart. God says to them, a new heart will I give you. I will take away your stony heart and I'll give you a heart of flesh.

This woman had had her heart changed, walked away from her idols, walked away from her gods, and came and saw something in the Lord Jesus Christ, saw Him as the Messiah, the Son of David, saw Him as her sovereign. and falls at his feet and worships him, saying, Lord, help me. I'm not worthy to eat from the table, but just grant me a crumb of mercy.

And so sometimes the Lord doesn't answer us straight away. Why not? Because he is drawing out, he is drawing out what is truly within our hearts. He is waiting that he may be gracious. He is not, he is delaying for his own purposes. He's exposing what truly or dissecting our soul to bring us to rock bottom, to bring us to cry out, Lord, help me.

May that be our prayer and may it continue to be our prayer for the rest of our lives. Keep us from self-sufficiency but keep us dependent upon the Lord Jesus Christ for our help because he is the one who is able to help us in all the circumstances of life. Nothing shall be called impossible before the Lord. And she came and worshipped him saying, Lord help me. Amen.

The singer closing hymn this morning from Gadsby's hymn number 627.

627. Poor sinner dejected with fear,
unbosom thy minds to the lamb.
No wrath on his brow he does wear,
nor will he poor mourners condemn.
His arm of omnipotent grace
is able and willing to save.
A sweet and a permanent peace
he'll freely and faithfully give.

Hymn 627, tune 767.

O sinner, dejected with fear,
and blossomed by might to the Lamb,
your wrath on this prophet as well.
Now weary, poor boy, must condemn.
His arm of omnipotent grace
is able and willing to
The sweet and the permanent peace
will freely and faithfully give.

Come just at the heart of Bethlehem.
Go down at the feet of the Lamb.
He will not, he cannot say how,
But surely will take advice there.
The farmstead is open for sale,
And thousands it's purchase of food.
We'll take thee and plunge thee,
♪ And wash thee from filth in his blood ♪
♪ Let's hope that our Jesus Christ will never die ♪
♪ And sleep, be free and free ♪
♪ Early in the night ♪
♪ The birds in the wind ♪
♪ Can not sleep ♪
♪ Wake up to the day ♪
♪ Dream of me ♪
♪ Who will be forsaken at last ♪
♪ He has taken his man by his sheep ♪
♪ Let him tend the earth, walk them fast ♪

Almighty God, we do give Thee thanks for the prayer spoken by the Gentile woman and we ask that we may truly see our need of the Lord Jesus Christ and we ask that Thou give us a true heart to pray, Lord, help me to really feel and know our need of Christ Jesus for time and for eternity, that it's Him and Him alone who is able to cleanse our hearts from sin.

And we pray, Lord, that our transformed hearts may manifest itself upon the external of our body, that our lives may be as fruit for Thy glory. I do dismiss us Lord we pray with thy blessing and now may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God the Father, the fellowship and communion of the Holy Spirit to be with you all now and forevermore. Amen.