Okay. Let us commence our service this
evening by singing together hymn number 157. The tune is St Mabin,
650. Mourning souls by sin distressed,
lost and ruined, void of good, you can never be released, but
by faith in Jesus' blood. Hymn 157. O my soul, my sweetest
passion, how do you know I love you? ? You have never been released
yet ? ? But by faith in Jesus Christ ? ? Richly colored ? ? Brimstone
river ? ? Bound in and out of reach I ? ? And I will follow
you evermore ? Then shall heaven and earth admire
? Christ is ready to receive you
? ? See to his wound he crossed and healed you ? ? Our message
he will relay to you ? ? But a kiss from your every lip
? ? I'll be overlowed and stymied by your love ? See the sun, crimson
of glow, And like a wing of death flying, With the pill in streams
of blood. Let us read together from the
Holy Word of God in the Gospel according to Matthew and chapter
15. Matthew's Gospel, chapter 15. Then came to Jesus scribes and
Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying, Why do thy disciples
transgress the tradition of the elders? For they wash not their
hands when they eat bread. But he answered and said unto
them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your
tradition? For God commanded, saying, Honor
thy father and mother. And he that curses father or
mother, let him die the death. But ye say, Whosoever shall say
to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou
mightest be profited by me, and honour not his father or his
mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment
of God of none effect by your tradition, ye hypocrites. Well did Isaiah prophesy of you,
saying, This people draw nigh unto me with their mouth, and
honoreth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.
But in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments
of men. And he called the multitude,
and said unto them, Hear and understand, not that which goeth
into the mouth defileth a man. But that which cometh out of
the mouth, this defileth a man. Then came his disciples and said
unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended after
they heard this saying? But he answered and said, Every
plant which my heavenly Father hath not planted shall be rooted
up. Let them alone. They are blind
leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind,
both shall fall into the ditch. Then answered Peter and said
unto him, Declare unto us this parable. And Jesus said, Are
ye also yet without understanding? Do not ye yet understand that
whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and
is cast out into the draught? But those things which proceed
out of the mouth come forth from the heart, and they defile the
man. For out of the heart proceed
evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornication, thefts, false witness,
blasphemies. These are the things which defile
a man. But to eat with unwashed hands
defileth not a man. Then Jesus went thence, and departed
into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a woman of Canaan
came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have
mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David. My daughter is grievously
vexed with the devil. But he answered her not a word.
And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away. for she crieth after us.' But
he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep
of the house of Israel. Then came she and worshipped
him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answering said, It is
not meet to take the children's bread and to cast it to dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord, Yet
the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from the master's table. Then Jesus answered and said
unto her, O woman, great is thy faith, be unto thee even as thou
wilt. And her daughter was made whole
from that very hour. And Jesus departed from thence,
and came nigh unto the Sea of Galilee, and went up into a mountain,
and sat down there, And great multitudes came unto him, having
with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many
others, and cast them down at Jesus' feet. And he healed them,
insomuch that the multitude wondered when they saw the dumb to speak,
the maimed to behold, the lame to walk, and the blind to see. And they glorified the God of
Israel, Then Jesus called his disciples unto him and said,
I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me
now three days and have nothing to eat, and I will not send them
away fasting, lest they faint in the way. And his disciples
say unto him, when should we have so much bread in the wilderness?
as to fill so great a multitude. And Jesus saith unto them, How
many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven, and a few
little fishes. And he commanded the multitude
to sit down on the ground. And he took the seven loaves
and the fishes and gave thanks, and break them, and gave to his
disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. And they did
all eat and were filled. And they took up of the broken
meat that was left seven baskets full. And they that did eat were
four thousand men beside women and children. And he sent away
the multitude and took ship and came into the coasts of Magdala. May the Lord bless that portion
of his most precious word Grant unto us a spirit of real prayer. Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty,
which is an art, an art to come, be gracious unto us now. Grant
us a spirit of real prayer, the grace of supplication with thanksgiving. Grant us that due reverence as
we approach unto thy Great Majesty, and grant that the grace of our
Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God our Father and the sacred
fellowship of the Holy Spirit may rest and abide upon us as
we gather together around thy Word. May we be favoured with
that sweet spirit of adoption whereby we may cry, Abba, Father,
my God, my Father, blissful name, O may I call thee mine. Oh, we do pray that we may be
drawn. None come except the Father draw. Oh, to be drawn unto Jesus Christ. We pray that we may know the
sweet and sacred influence and power of the Holy Spirit in our
hearts, in our souls. May he be in us, a well of water
springing up into everlasting life. Blessed Spirit of truth,
convince us of our sin and lead to Jesus' blood, and to our wandering
eyes reveal the secret love of God. So bless us. Lord Jesus, Son of God, most
high, come and stand in our midst tonight. May there be one another
like that dear woman who pressed through the crowd, saying, if
I might but touch the hem of his garment, I shall be made
whole. Grant that spirit of faith, that
believe in that laying hold, that vital contact and union
with Jesus Christ. Hear us, Lord, we humbly pray
Thee, for the love of God is shed abroad into our hearts by
the Holy Ghost. May it be so, Lord, that eternal
love in Jesus Christ. We pray, most gracious Lord,
that thou wilt bless us as a church and as a congregation and work
mightily and powerfully and effectually in our midst. Grant signs to
follow the preaching of the word. May the power that brings salvation
be exerted in the word. We do humbly beseech of thee
and grant that the word of the Lord may have free course and
thy name be honoured and glorified. We come, O Lord, to confess our
sins and our wanderings and our backslidings. We pray to be washed
in the precious blood of the Lamb, to cleanse away all our
sin and guilt, to reconcile us unto Thee. O, do hear us. We thank Thee for those beautiful
words. When I see the blood, I will
pass over You, O, that they may be a sweet reality unto us. as
we gather around thy word. We thank thee for those lovely
words of grace. The blood of Jesus Christ, God's
son, cleanseth us from all sin. Lord, we come and we pray that
we may truly worship thee. We think of what we've read together.
And she worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. Grant us that
same spirit. that same grace, that same faith,
we do humbly beseech of thee. And, O Lord God, we do pray that
thou wouldst bless our brethren, the deacons, give needed grace,
wisdom, and help in all their responsibilities, among us here,
but among the churches of God. And we pray that thou wouldst
gird them with all sufficient grace, We pray for thy servant
expected among us here on the coming Lord's Day, that he may
know that fresh and divine anointing of the Spirit, and a door of
utterance and a spirit of power, that he might know strength in
his body and in his soul. We do humbly beseech thee. We
pray, most gracious Lord, for signs to follow the preaching
of the word. And, O Lord God, we do pray that
thou wouldst graciously bless all thy servants as they
labour in word and doctrine upon the walls of Zion, set them free,
set them at liberty, return to Jerusalem with mercies, O Lord,
we do beseech thee that thy servants may take pleasure in her stones
and favour the dust thereof. Gracious God, we pray that thou
would yet raise up true labourers to stand upon the walls of Zion,
set them free, set them at liberty, give them a thus saith the Lord.
Raise up, O Lord, one and another. We look back in the history of
the church in this nation and we think of that great awakening.
Thou didst raise up George Whitefield and Charles Wesley and Howell
Harris. and others, Lord, in this nation,
John Berridge, and they'll disabundantly bless the provision of thy house
and change the whole course of the history of this nation by
that mighty act of thy grace. O Lord, do arise again and remember
thy Zion, and see as the powers of Antichrist and iniquity and
unrighteousness prevail on every hand. that we pray that thou
would bring to naught their counsels and overturn their desires and
make thy gospel to spread and thy power to be known and thy
grace to be manifested in this dark day. Gracious God, we pray
that thou in thy precious mercy would remember those that labour
in word and doctrine among the nations of the earth. We especially
think of those that go forth from among us We think of Ian
Sadler and that great work in the ministry that was committed
unto him in Pakistan and India and Burma and Africa. Gracious God, supply all his
needs. We do humbly beseech them. We
pray most gracious Lord for the Mombasa mission that thy rich
blessing may be there. Continue to grant signs to follow
the preaching of the word. Remember the Savannah Education
Trust and that great work that they are doing in Ghana. Oh,
that thou was abundantly blessed that work, to the great glory
of thy name, to the increase of thy kingdom, that there may
be light and life shine. Hear us, Lord, we humbly beseech
thee and have mercy upon us, we pray thee. That we pray, dear
Lord, that there that was remember us as a little body of people.
Remember the little ones and the children that gather with
us. Remember them for good. Put thy holy fear in their hearts,
in their young and in their tender years. Remember the young friends
on the threshold of life journey. Graciously guide them, O thou
great Jehovah. Again, O Lord, bring them to
living faith in Jesus Christ. supply all their providential
needs, open, O Lord, gates which are shut, shut gates which should
not be opened. We do beseech thee, and graciously
grant a generation that shall be raised up, that shall follow
on to know the Lord, a generation that shall call thee the Redeemer
blessed, or that we might see Zion's offspring come. Lord,
Remember them in all the paths of providence, whether it's to
do with their education, or employment, or a partner in life's journey.
Lord, we lovingly commend them to thee. Oh, that thou wouldst
bless them indeed. Thou said in thy word, instead
of thy fathers shall be thy children, whom thou mayest make princes
in all the earth. Thou hast also promised, O Lord,
concern in thy Zion, I will abundantly bless her provision, that I will
satisfy her poor with bread. Lord, remember that all in the
midst of the journey of life have noticed all their concerns,
and we think of those away from us at this time seeking rest
and change, that they may be refreshed and strengthened and
be given journey and mercies back home. And gracious God,
we do pray that thou wouldst make us more spiritually minded,
set our affections on things above, draw us unto thyself,
and grant that thy word may be a lamp unto our feet and a light
unto our path, and grant that the doctrine of truth may be
sealed into our souls. We do humbly beseech thee, even
the doctrine of Christ, and the wonderful and sacred glories
of Emmanuel. We wouldn't forget the prodigals,
Lord, that have wandered from the sanctuary. Oh, that thou
wast work. Put thy hand a second time to
the work, O Lord, we do beseech thee. Grant that they may be
drawn, led, and taught, and guided, and directed by thee. And, O
Lord God, we do pray, that thou wouldst graciously remember those
in the evening time of life's journey. And we feel our mud
wall cottage shake, and we pray that as the outward man perisheth,
the inward man may be renewed day by day. And while our days
on earth are lengthened, may we give them lord to thee. cheered
by hope and daily strength, and help us to present our bodies
a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto Thee, which is
our reasonable service, and that we be not conformed to this world,
but may we be transformed by the renewing of our mind that
we might know what the good and perfect and acceptable will of
the Lord is. O Lord God, we do pray, for truly
thankful hearts, thankful for the beautiful rain that we had
yesterday. Thou hast heard and answered
prayer. O thou art indeed a gracious God. We thank thee for daily
mercies that are new every morning and thy great faithfulness to
us. We thank thee for our little
house of prayer. We thank thee for the open Bible,
for the word of the Lord. May this word spread into this
village and the surrounding villages and hamlets. May many, many,
many precious souls be yet gathered in and prodigals return, that
this little house of prayer may be filled with hungry, longing
souls pressing into the kingdom of heaven. Let thy work appear
unto thy servants and thy glory unto their children. O Lord,
we do beseech Thee. We thank Thee for the sacred
and wonderful glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Word
that was made flesh and dwelt among us. May we behold His glory,
the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace
and truth. We thank Thee for His holy life,
His perfect obedience to the law, His bringing in of everlasting
righteousness. Oh, we thank Thee for Calvary
where the Lamb was slain, where sin has been put away, where
divine justice is satisfied, where God and sinners are reconciled. Great God, we do thank Thee for
the wonderful glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. We thank Thee that
through Him we know the love of our Eternal Father, that he
died for our sins and rose again for our justification. He's now
ascended into heaven and sitteth at thy right hand. We have a
great high priest who is passed into the heavens, Jesus, the
Son of God. Oh, we do thank thee for the
wonderful, glorious love and grace and power of our Lord Jesus
Christ. We pray that thou wouldst come
and touch one's lips with a live coal from off the heavenly altar. Come and speak to our hearts,
come and open thy word, and grant a door of utterance. We ask for
Jesus Christ's sake. Amen. Let us now sing together hymn
number 136 to the tune Dalehurst 124. Dear refuge of my weary
soul, On thee when sorrows rise, On thee, when waves of trouble
roll, my fainting hope relies. Hymn 136. Alleluia. Alleluia.
Alleluia. ? Holy Mary, full of grace ? ?
Holy Mary, full of grace ? ? Holy Mary, full of grace ? ? Holy Mary, full of grace ? ?
The power of God's Spirit ? ? Thy hand on earth has seen many ?
? All faith repaid by thee ? ? But the will of the Irish people
? ? I will do only for you ? ? The streets of London sing of thee
? ? In gracious compassion ? ? Kindly
help the helpless ? ? And rejoice ? ? That still life to live ?
? Be to thee ever more safe ? ? In Him rest ? ? As shadow in Him sleep I rest
? ? Then shall I sleep in rest ? Solemn place, meekness, divine
comfort ? Blessed be the sovereign grace
? ? That takes away the sins of the world ? ? I am just to be found ? ? It is the love of Jed ? ? Yet
my soul retrains ? ? Yet my soul retrains ? ? Yet my soul retrains
? ? Yet my soul retrains ? ? Yet my soul retrains ? ? Yet my soul
retrains ? greatly feeling to need the Lord's
gracious help, I would direct your attention to the gospel
according to Matthew chapter 15 and we'll read verse 25 for
our text. Matthew's gospel chapter 15 verse
25. Then came she and worshipped him saying, Lord, help me. We have a wonderful instance
of the grace of God, the love of Christ, the power of his love,
the power of his grace manifested in this Canaanite woman. The
Jews regarded the Canaanites as being unclean. and they wouldn't have to do
with them. It is said in the word of God
concerning the prophet Elijah that when he was sent down to
the brook Cherith to be hidden from Ahab king of Israel that
he stayed by the brook until the waters dried up and then
the word of the Lord came unto him saying go to Zarephath, which
is in Sidon, Tyre and Sidon, which is where this woman came
from. I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee. How wonderful are the works of
God. How true what Calper says. God
moves in a mysterious way, his wonders to perform. He plants
his footsteps in the sea and rides upon the storm. Mysterious ways. He sent the
Prophet of the Lord in this time of great drought to, no doubt,
a woman of faith, a godly woman with her son, absolutely destitute. you would have thought that he
would have sent her to someone with plenty, wouldn't you? But
we see the wonder work in hand of God. And that when the woman,
she said, I'm going to make, I have a little meal in a barrel
and a little oil in a cruise and I'm about to make the last
cake, then I and my son must die. They were destitute. They'd come absolutely to the
last. But you see the wonder work in
hand of God. And you see how her faith was
challenged. The prophet of the Lord said,
go and make me a cake first. Here she was, it's all she had
was that little bit of meal, it's all she had was that little
bit of oil. And yet this was the means that
the Lord was going to use to maintain her and her son until
the drought was done and finished. And the Prophet said unto her,
the barrel of meal shall not waste, the cruise of oil shall
not fail, until the Lord send rain upon the earth. And what a strange pathway that
must have been to that woman. How challenging to her faith.
Go and make me a cake first. Just enough. You know, we do
not read, I do not believe either that the barrel of meal was filled
right up and the cruise of oil was filled right up. Every time
that she went to that barrel of meal and that cruise of oil,
they were there. It never wasted, it never diminished,
it was there. You see, and Christ himself in
the Gospels here He said, were there not thousands of widows
in the land of Israel in the days of Elias? But he said the
Lord sent him to Sarepta, or Zarephath as it's called, in
Sidon, a Gentile place. And when he said that, the Jews
were so angry, we're the right people, we're the Lord's people,
we're his covenant people, but why? when he said that they were
outraged but of course he was only stating what is true and
look at today we're no better today you've only got to state
what is true and what is absolutely can be seen to be true and you'll
be absolutely jumped on because people want to believe
something else and they want to do something else you see
my beloved friends so We see the wonder-working hand of God
in the days of Elijah and how he maintained them for
those many days. And here again we see the wonder-working
hand of God. And then Jesus went thence and
departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. It's in Lebanon. and behold a woman of Canaan
came out of the same coast and cried unto him and cried unto
him though she was not an Israelite she had obviously heard of Jesus
Christ she had a daughter that was vexed
with the devil and she was in a great strain
concerning her daughter. It makes you think of that word
that we have in Romans chapter 10, how the apostle, by the Spirit's
inward teaching, he shows us the way that the Lord works. And he speaks here in chapter
10, But the righteousness, verse
6, but the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this
wise, say not in thine heart, who shall ascend into heaven,
that is to bring Christ down from above, or who shall descend
into the deep, that is to bring up Christ again from the dead.
But what saith it, the word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth
and in thy heart, that is the word of faith which we preach.
You know, my beloved friends, this woman had the word of faith. 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. For with the heart man believeth
unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession
is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever
believeth on him, this woman believed on him, She knew who
he was, it had been revealed to her who he was. When she addresses
him she calls him now son of David. She knew that he was the
Messiah, the promised Messiah of the Jews. He says, for there
is no difference between the Jew and the Greek and this is
manifested in this narrative that we have before us. For the
same Lord over all is rich unto all them that call upon him for
whosoever As a quotation from the Prophet Joel, for whosoever
shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then
shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how
shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And
how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach except
they be sent? As it is written, how beautiful
are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace. and bring
glad tidings of good things. And then if you look here, verse
17, so then faith cometh by hearing. She'd heard of Jesus Christ,
faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of the Lord,
the word of God. See, my beloved friends, these
things are very simply set before us in Holy Scripture. We know
Here in verse 22, and behold, a woman of Canaan came out of
the same coast and cried unto him. It reminds us of blind Bartimaeus
as he sat by the wayside. It's the exact language that
he used. Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou
son of David. You see, he needed to receive
his sight. He was blind. Have mercy upon
me. Thou son, O Lord, thou son of
David. That's the promised Messiah. He was promised of the seed of
David. And they were watching for the
seed of David. And this Gentile woman had been
revealed to her. And she approaches him as Lord.
Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David. My daughter is
grievously vexed with the devil. But he answered her, not a word. He answered her, not a word.
And she obviously continued praying. And his disciples came and besought
him, saying, Send her away, for she crieth after us. And then it's almost as if he
shuts off the door. But he answered and said, I am
not sent. but unto the lost sheep of the
house of Israel." My dear beloved friends, we continually explain
to you that the Christian believer is the spiritual seed of Abraham,
and this woman, by grace, was of the spiritual seed of Abraham. She was chosen by the Father,
she was redeemed by the Son, and she was sanctified by the
Holy Ghost. though she was a Canaanite woman,
and the Jews would have nothing to do with her, send her away,
for she crieth after us. I am not sent, but unto the lost
sheep of the house of Israel.' Then came she, and worshipped
him, saying, Lord, help me. Simple prayer, isn't it? Brief,
to the point. You know, friends, if you're
in deep soul trouble, you won't have great long prayers. They'll
be short and to the point. You look at Hezekiah when that
dear man of God, when the prophet of the Lord, he came unto him
and he said, thou shalt die and not live. And what did Hezekiah pray? Lord,
I am oppressed. Undertake for me. That was his
prayer. In those great straits. With
that great burden. And this woman with this great
burden of her daughter. Then came she. Another point
here. And worshipped him. Sometimes people think you've
got to have some great ecstasy of joy and etc when you worship
the Lord. This woman worshipped the Lord
in her need as a poor sinner. A poor needy sinner. Poor wretched
sinner. A poor Gentile sinner. She couldn't be, as it were,
stopped. She had to press her case. She
comes to Him and worshipped Him, saying, Lord, help me. So, you see, my beloved friends,
we worship the Lord when we are, by grace, enabled to prostrate
ourselves before Him. In all our need, in all our emptiness,
in all our poverty, we prostrate ourselves before Him. and she
worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. We just read in the
Romans about, with the heart, man believeth under righteousness.
And this dear woman, her case was a heart case. It was from
her heart. It was from the very depths of
her soul. It was from the very depths of her need that she came
unto the Lord and worshipped him. She did obeisance unto him. She bowed down to him. She knew who he was. And she speaks very reverently
to him. Oh Lord, thou son of David. And she worshipped him. So, divine worship is quite a broad
thing. There is times of great joy and
blessing. when we truly worship the Lord,
when our soul is set at liberty, when we feel the peace of God,
when we're enabled to close in with Christ and to sweetly experience
his love and his mercy. It's a wonderful time. Speaks
of it in the Old Testament, about being his naphtali, full of the
blessing of the Lord. They're wonderful times, but
they're also many times of great need, that brings great distress,
that brings a great burden. My daughter is grievously vexed
with the devil. The disciples said, send her
away. Jesus was full of compassion. We've often pointed out to you
how loving and kind and gracious he was to those that came to
him. He was literally surrounded with
people that were poor and blind and lame and vexed with devils. And we read that he heard their
prayers, he heard their cries, he had compassion upon them.
We read here together in this chapter when he called his disciples
together, there was a multitude and he said, I have compassion
on the multitude because they continue with me now three days
and have nothing to eat. You see the kindness and compassion
of our Lord Jesus. And I will not send them away
fasting, lest they faint in the way. This is the love and compassion
of our Lord Jesus Christ. Thou shalt love thy neighbor
as thyself. This is Christ. This is how he
lived. This is how he walked. It was
his love, his kindness, his compassion. There was no walking by on the
other side with him, my beloved friends, nor should there be
with you and I. If thy neighbor come unto thee
having great need and thou hast it by thee, then you should relieve
his need. It's very clear in the Gospels.
We shouldn't turn anyone away that needs help. The Lord Jesus
never did that. And we are the disciples of Jesus
Christ. And I have compassion on the
multitude because they continue with me now three days and have
nothing to eat. I will not send them away fast
unless they faint in the way. The disciples full of incredulity
said, when should we have so much bread in the wilderness?
or to fill so great a multitude. How many loaves have you?" And
they said, seven and a few little fishes. He commanded the multitude
to sit down on the ground. He took the seven loaves and
the fishes and gave thanks and break them and gave to his disciples. And the disciples of the multitude
and they did all eat and were filled and they took up of the
broken meat that was left seven baskets full. Look at the company. There was 4,000 men beside women
and children. Probably, just roughly, in the
region of 7,000 people that he fed there in the wilderness.
You see, my beloved friends, with God, nothing shall be impossible. Nothing shall be impossible.
Nothing shall be impossible. Doesn't matter what it is. Doesn't
matter what it is that burdens you. that concerns you with God,
nothing shall be impossible. The cause that is too hard for
thee, bring it unto me. Bring it to the Lord in prayer.
If you're like this dear woman, and you have something that is
so great, and may you be enabled to come like she did. Then came
she, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. How have you come
to chapel tonight? Is this the cry of your heart?
Lord, help me. I remember, I think it was at
one of the Tunbridge Wells services that LSB Hyde was preaching.
And I remember him saying, there are three steps into every pulpit. Lord, help me. So true, friends. Lord, help
me. And so we have to continue. probably the Lord's servants
they know this more than anybody because it's a constant burden
that's how they go to preach Lord help me and they have to
plead with him in that way but it's an act of divine worship
this is the point and she worshipped him saying Lord help me but then he still tries her faith
And it was faith, faith that revealed him unto her. But he
answered and said, it is not meet to take the children's bread
and to cast it to dogs. He calls her a dog. Why did he
call her a dog? Because she was a Canaanite,
she was a Gentile. But you see, my beloved friend,
she had faith. And she said, truth, Lord, yet
the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from the master's table."
Truth Lord. But the dogs eat. See how in
a moment the Holy Spirit taught her, showed her. When he said
to dogs and he said, well the dogs eat of the crumbs from the
master's table. That's all she needed, a crumb
of mercy, Lord I crave, I'm worthy to be fed. Then Jesus answered and said
unto her, O woman, great is thy faith. You see, you cannot worship
God without faith. True worship comes from the heart.
True worship is a spirit of faith, believing, I believe therefore
have I spoken. We read in Hebrews, without faith
it is impossible to please God For he that cometh unto God must
believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently
seek him." That's what this dear woman did. She came. She came in faith. In all her
utter unworthiness and wretchedness. She wasn't put off, she wasn't
rebuffed, she didn't rise up in enmity against Christ because
he called her a dog. No! She turns it into a plea. Truth,
Lord. It's true, I'm a dog, I'm a wretched
Canaanite. She knew it, she felt it. Truth,
Lord. Yet the dogs eat of the crumbs
which fall from the master's table. What a wonderful thing. You know, the other evidence
this is, the graces of the Spirit, principle graces of faith, And love, it's called a faith
that worketh by love. Repentance, godly sorrow flowing
from repentance. Humility. And we see these things
in this dear woman. Patience, that they were given
to her by the Holy Ghost. She patiently waited upon him
though he rebuffed her, though he tried her faith. and maybe
the Lord is trying your faith. Have you come here tonight feeling
perhaps like this dear woman an outcast, a nothing? You know
my late dear wife when we used to sometimes speak on spiritual
things and I would ask her questions
and quite often she would answer me, I'm just a nothing. The amount of times she said
that to me, I'm just a nothing. That's how she felt. See, like
this dear woman, though she was like a dog, and yet she pressed
her case. She pressed her case, she turned
it when he said the It's not meat to take the children's bread
and to cast it to dogs." She said, Truth Lord. She was humbled. Yet the dogs eat. Here's the
spirit of faith. Yet the dogs eat of the crumbs
which fall from the master's table. Then Jesus answered and
said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith. Be unto thee even
as thou wilt, and her daughter was made whole from that very
hour. From that very hour. We do not
read of the Lord Jesus turning people away, do we? I love what Hart says, full of
love to man's lost race. He was. He was full of love to
man's lost race. It was love that brought him
to this sin-cursed world. Love to his church, love to his
people, love to his father. His father had chosen this fallen,
sinful, wretched people from the ruins of the Adam Fall. They
were chosen in Christ, they were given to Christ. He was slain
in those eternal decrees before the foundation of the world.
What God has said, he will do. There's nothing can stop it.
When it says he was slain from before the foundation of the
world, it means that in those decrees of eternity, his son
was appointed to be slain. And it would be done. And he
would, as for God, his way is perfect, it's complete. And what
God has decreed and purposed, and what he's pleased to do,
he will do. Who can hinder it? I will work
and who can hinder it? Who can stop it? But when Christ
came out of Gethsemane and they came with swords and staves to
take him, and Peter takes a sword and cuts off the ear of the high
priest's servant, put thy sword up in its sheath, the cup that
my father hath given me, Shall I not drink it? Shall I not drink
it? You see, my beloved friends,
how willing, how kind, how compassionate. When he was taken by the hands
of these wicked men, both Jews and Gentiles, scourged, in the
judgment hall mocked, spat upon, ill-used, here's the Almighty
Son of the Father, The almighty son of the father, a man of sorrows
and acquainted with grief. You know, eventually they take
him to be crucified. And they nail him to that cross
of wood, all the pain and the agony, wracking his human body
as he hangs there upon the cross of Calvary. But what did he say? Father,
forgive them, for they know not what they do. That's the spirit
and that's the mind of Christ. Do you and I have the spirit
and mind of Christ? Though he was so ill-used, set
at naught, though he is Lord of all, King of kings, the mighty
God, He humbled himself. He humbled
himself. It was this way, and this way
only, that could redeem his chosen people. When he fulfilled and
honoured and magnified that holy righteous law, when he lived
a man here on earth, thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all
thy heart, with all thy mind, and thy neighbour as thyself.
Christ has done that. And having done that, He then
offers that perfect, holy, sinless, sacred humanity as a sin-atoning
sacrifice on the cross of Calvary to redeem His people. To deliver
His people from sin. He was made sin for us. He that
did no sin was made sin for us. He laid upon Him that is the
Eternal Father laid upon His only begotten Son manifest in
the flesh He laid upon Him the iniquity of us all. That is what was done in the
Garden of Gethsemane. That is why the Lord Jesus, sweat
as it were, great drops of blood falling down to the ground. We
cannot even begin to compute in our minds the vastness of
these plans of eternal love. All those Thousands and thousands and thousands
of precious souls, from the time of Adam, to the end of time. A number,
a multitude that no man can number. When the Lord spoke to Abraham,
He said, that thy seed shall be as the sand that is by the
seashore, innumerable. A multitude that no man could
number. from every nation, kindred, tongue,
and tribe, and people, and this dear woman was one of them. Despised
by the Jews, but loved by Jesus Christ, loved with an everlasting
love, she was. And she, then came she and worshipped
Him, saying, Lord, help me. Her great knee What is your great
need tonight? What is the thing that troubles
you? You think through the history
of the Old Testament and the various things. There's the case
of Hannah, the wife of Elkanah, the mother of Samuel. She was
barren. She could not bear children.
And his other wife, She constantly, constantly got at her, caused
her great distress. She came up to the house of the
Lord as was wont to be done on those great feast days and she
bowed before the Lord in the temple and Eli saw her praying. He misconstrued her. He thought she was drunk because
she moved her lips, but she was silent. He called her a daughter
of Belial for being drunken. And then she said, I am not drunken,
my Lord. Out of the bitterness of my heart
do I speak. And Eli, as the Lord revealed
it to him, he said unto her, go in peace. thy prayer is heard."
The time had come, her prayer was heard and the Lord indeed
blessed her with a son and she had made a vow that if she had
a son that she would consecrate him unto the Lord. Her first
born son was Samuel and as soon as she'd weaned him, we don't
know but it was probably about two or three years of age, he
was taken up to the place where the worship of God was in Shiloh
and taken under the care of Eli. She consecrated him unto the
Lord. Samuel means the gift of God. The Lord heard her prayer
and the Lord sent deliverance. You see, he's a prayer hearing
and he's a prayer answering God We read other instances, don't
we? Look at Sarah. She was barren. And it came to
the point where it said of her that it looked as if it was utterly
impossible. She was past the age of childbearing. And Abraham was as good as dead.
But the Lord heard prayer about this time in the coming year
thou shalt bear a son. Isaac was born The Lord had promised
it. He's a promised hearing and a
promised performing God. Isaac and Rebecca, they went
20 years with no child. But the Lord heard prayer. The
Lord answered prayer. And then came she and worshipped
him saying, Lord help me. There are many other ways apart
from what we've spoken of, but whereby the Lord hears and answers
prayer. But the Lord, he does and he
will, in his own time, in his own way, he will answer prayer. Abraham and Sarah went 25 years
from that first promise before it was fulfilled. Isaac and Rebekah
went 20 years before it was fulfilled, but the Lord fulfilled it. He's
good at his word. When it looks utterly impossible
that it can be done, he will do it. He will fulfil it. He will hear prayer. Oh, that
the Lord would grant that you may be encouraged. Maybe there's
one and another that have been seeking the Lord a long time.
We have the record here in the Gospels of that man that was
by the pool of Bethesda. And he was by the pool of Bethesda
for 38 years. And he was unable to move as
the angel of the Lord once again moved the waters and the first
person in the water after the moving was healed. And he couldn't get there. There
was no man to help him. He wasn't able to do it himself.
It's like the Good Samaritan and the And the man taken among
thieves, he came right where he was. He came right where he
was. And this woman, she came to the
right place. She did. She made her petition
known unto the Lord, unto the right person. Unto Him that was
able to do abundantly more than we can even ask or think. And
that dear man, when the Lord Jesus came, and after thirty
and eight years, He said, rise, take up thy bed and walk. All the compassion and the love. But just think of that wait.
He must have thought that day would never come. 38 years he
waited and watched. Wait then my soul, submissive
wait. What because the Lord would hear
prayer. But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength,
they shall mount up on wings as eagles, they shall run and
not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. Keep waiting,
keep watching, keep seeking. Them that seek me early shall
find me. They shall find me. Ask and you shall receive, seek
and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you.
You see my beloved friends, these things are are written for our
encouragement to continually come unto the Lord. Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou
Son of David. My daughter is grievously vexed
with the devil, but he answered her not a word. Don't be put
off. Have you been waiting for the Lord? You wait for a promise,
you wait for the word of the Lord? His disciples came, We
sought Him, saying, Send her away, for she crieth after us.
But He answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep
of the house of Israel. Then came she, she still pressed
her case. She wasn't discouraged. Then
came she and worshipped Him, saying, Lord, help me. And then again, it is not meat
to take the children's bread and to cast it to dogs. And she
said, truth, Lord, yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall
from the master's table. Then Jesus answered and said
unto her, O woman, great is thy faith. Be unto thee even as thou
wilt. And her daughter was made whole
from that very hour. May the Lord add his blessing. Let us now sing together hymn
number 149. The tune is Hull 714. There is
a friend who sticketh fast and keeps his love from first
to last, and Jesus is his name. An earthly brother drops his
hold, is sometimes hot and sometimes cold, but Jesus is the same. Hymn 149. ? And it's time to share the cross
? ? And repent and turn from the curse to the cross ? ? And
Jesus is risen today ? ? The Lamb of God ? Closes all discontentment and
sorrow. When he turns his eyes, ? And wash me now in gracious water
? ? O gracious water ? ? That my tribulation may be ? ? That
my tribulation may be ? Every child and prophet of God shall
share their promised land. It's come before all time began,
Evermore time will, will remain, And evermore return. Where gods and gods are so joyful,
And where pain changes, changes not, Is the heaven and earth
sure, Let us raise this confession
of faith in the divinely throne, to repose in time. ? God must be taken care of his
own ? ? And from his sins to be atoned ? ? To live thus shall
all die ? The body of Him that no man had
ever known, He rests His right arm on, to play the mortal man. He calls her by hand, hands her
hand, and writes with his lips, siren breath, tis finished and
complete. ? And truth is the width of the cross ? ? And hallelujah
sings ? ? That all that I give shall be yours ? Now may the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ the love of God the Father, the sacred fellowship
of the Holy Spirit, rest and abide with us each, both now
and forevermore. Amen.