All right, turn with me back
to Mark chapter 7. Mark 7. We're about to look at
an account that I've always thought was one of the sweetest accounts
in the Word of God. I have always, always loved this
account. It is so precious. I compare
it to accounts like when those four men climbed up on that roof and they literally ripped the
roof off of that house for their friend who was sick of the palsy.
And they climbed up on that roof and they pulled him up in a bed
and they sat there and worked. The Lord was preaching in the
house. Can you imagine here he is preaching and people are hearing?
All of a sudden, what in the world is going on? And he rips
the roof, all those four men rip the roof off that house and
they lower their friend down with ropes straight into the
presence of Jesus Christ. And it says, God Almighty, seeing
their faith, said to the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be
forgiven thee. Just precious, precious. We have a similar instance here. A woman has come to the Lord
Jesus Christ on behalf of her daughter. Verse 24 says, And
from thence He arose, our Lord arose and went into the borders
of Tyre and Sidon and entered into a house and would have no
man know it, but he could not be hid. He just could not be
hid. If Christ ever comes into this
house, right here, if Christ ever enters this house, and takes
up residency in this house, it cannot be hid. You can't hide
it. You just can't hide it. There's
a story of a little child who heard the pastor say, Christ
in you is the hope of glory. And later that child asked his
father, They were riding home and he was kind of confused by
all that. And he said, Dad, if Christ was
in me, here he's seeing himself as a little child and Christ
is a man. And he said, if Christ was in me, wouldn't he stick
out? And his dad said, yes, son, he
most certainly would. He cannot be hid. Verse 24, And
from thence he arose, and went into 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. Now here's something
we can all notice about the Word of God. It's certain. I mean it's certain. Everything about this Word right
here is certain. God wants to save you if you'll
let Him. That's not certain. I may or I may not. Might do
it today, might change my mind tomorrow. That's not in the Word
of God though, is it? Everything in this Word is certain. Everything in it is ordered and
sure. Everything that is promised shall
come to pass. This book is just a notification.
It's not asking anybody for anything. It's just telling us how it is.
Everything in it is on purpose and is particular. You know that? It's all particular. A certain
woman, Says in verse 25, a certain woman
whose young daughter had an unclean spirit heard of him. Somebody told her about him.
Thank God somebody told me about him. Faith comes by hearing, doesn't
it? Somebody told her about him. And she came and fell at his
feet. Now, if you have a ribbon in your Bible, put a marker right
there and turn with me to Matthew 15 and then once you get to Matthew
15 put a ribbon right there or a bulletin or something put a
marker right there this is Matthew's account of the story and we have
different details And we have more details given. And so what
we're going to do this morning is go back and forth. I don't
want this to be confusing, but I want us to see the whole story.
So we're going to go back and forth between these two accounts. Matthew 15 verse 21 says, Then
Jesus went thence, and departed into the coast of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a woman of Canaan,
came out of the same coast. Matthew tells us this woman was
from the same coast. You think about the beach. Here
he went to this beach. Well, she was from that beach.
The same coast. And it says she came to him,
doesn't it? But do you know what it also
says? He came to her first. He came to her where she was,
the very place that she was. And He did that so she could
come to Him. That's why He did it. That's how it is with salvation. That's how it is with everything
that pertains to Christ. He's first, then us. We love Him, don't we? We just
had a Bible study on love. We love him, don't we? You know
why? Because he first loved us. And we do come to him. But we
do that because he first came to us. Now go back over to Mark
7 with me. Mark 7 verse 24 says, And from thence he arose, and
went into the borders of Tyre and Sidon, and entered into an
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 woman had a need. This woman had a need. The only
time sinners will come to Christ is when they have a need. That's
the only time. It's when they have a need. There
are sinners all over this world. And when I say sinners, I'm talking
about the one standing behind this pulpit first. And then I'm
talking about every man and woman born into this world. We're all
born in sin. But there are sinners all over
this world that acknowledge this man, Jesus. They do. You believe in Jesus? Yes, I
sure do. And they will acknowledge that He has written His Word.
Ask them, do you believe this is the Word of God? Yes, I sure
do. But let me tell you what every
single one of us must acknowledge. And if we cannot acknowledge
this, we ought to be very afraid. If we search within and cannot
find this, that ought to strike fear in us. We must acknowledge our need. We must acknowledge our need. Without that need, if God does
not reveal to us our need, We will not come and fall at the
feet of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now what do we need? I need salvation. I need Him. You see, on my own,
here I am living through this life, you know, trying to do
right and be a good husband and a good father and be faithful
to what I'm called to do and be kind to people, be friendly,
help people in need. give to those that don't have,
conduct myself in a good moral way, and that will not get me
into the presence of God. I won't make it. I won't make
it. So what that causes me to realize
is I have a need. You know what I need to be? As
holy and good as God. That's what I need. I cannot
stand in His presence unless I am as good as the Holy God. One spot of sin. You remember
the stories back in the Old Testament of leprosy. They said if you
find one spot of sin on the flesh, lock him up. He has leprosy.
One spot. But do you know what it says?
If he's covered head to toe with leprosy. With spots. If you can't
find one good spot on him, Set him free, he's clean. You know
what that means? It means if that man cannot look
anywhere on Him without seeing a need, I've got to get rid of
this leprosy. Well, why don't you will it away? Why don't you decide to get rid
of your leprosy? I wish I could, but I can't. I have a need. I have a need. And without that need, I won't
come falling at the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ. You know that
a person has only found religion. That's all they found. You know
a person has only found religion when he says, Buddy, I used to be a sinner.
I had a guy who used to tell me
that all the time. He wanted me to know that all the time.
I'm going to tell you, you don't even know. You can't even imagine
what I used to be. Buddy, I used to be a sinner. When God reveals
himself, when God comes to a sinner, a sinner who has no idea what
he is, who he is, how he is, when God reveals himself, and
when a man or woman sees the holiness of God Almighty, he
cries, I am a sinner. I am a sinner. If there's something
I wanted you to know this morning, I would tell you this. I'm a
sinner. I'm a sinner. But you're a preacher. I know.
The Apostle Paul said, I'm the chief. Man, I'm the chief. Right
now, I have a need. Well, this woman had a need.
This woman had a need. Verse 26 says, The woman was
a Greek. That means a Gentile, a foreigner,
a heathen. She was a Syro-Phoenician by
nation. She lived on the border of Syria
and Phoenicia. And she besought him that he
would cast forth the devil out of her daughter. Now this woman
was not of the house of Israel. You see that? It said she was
Greek. She was a Gentile. She was not of the house of Israel
and what that means is the Lord God did not owe her anything.
Do you know how many people believe God owes it to me? He has to
save me. He didn't owe her anything. He
does not owe us anything. Turn with me to Ephesians 2. Ephesians 2 verse 11 says, Wherefore
remember that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh. Any person who is not a Jew is
a Gentile. We're all Gentiles. Wherefore,
remember that you being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who
are called uncircumcision by that which is called the circumcision
in the flesh made by hands, that at that time you were without
Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers
from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God
in the world. That was this woman. And that's
all of us by nature. That's every single one of us
by nature. The way that we are born into
this world, in this flesh, we have no hope. We have no hope. And the reason is because we're
without God in the world. We are separated from God by
this fleshly nature. God is holy. We are sinners and
the two can't mix. They just cannot mix. The holy
God must punish sin. That's what the scripture says.
He must punish sin. It cannot be in his presence.
Not at all. The only hope we have is for
that sin to be removed. Cast forth. cast out. And there's only one way that
can happen. It's by the power. It's by the will. And it's by
the work of Jesus Christ. That's it. There is no hope in
anything but one thing. But one thing. It's by the power. It's by the will. That means
the decision. And it's by the work, everything
that Christ accomplished for His people. It's only by Christ
alone, by His blood alone. And this woman right here, she
knows she's a Gentile. She knows that she doesn't deserve
it. But she comes anyway. She comes anyway. And I want
us all to see how she comes because we're all Gentiles. And we have
a need. Whether we realize it or not,
we have a need. We have got to get to the feet
of Jesus Christ. And there's only one way to get
there. There's only one way to get there. Now turn with me back
to Matthew 15. I pray the Lord would reveal
this to us right here. I pray the Lord would prepare
us for his word. Matthew 15 verse 22 says, And
behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coast and cried
unto him, saying, Have mercy on me. Have mercy on me. That's the first thing a sinner
must cry when he comes to the Lord Jesus Christ. I told you
about that time I was invited to that all-song worship service. No preaching. I was invited and
I was enticed. They told me, it's all new and
fresh. It's not old. It's exciting.
And we sing songs like, here we come to worship. Not songs
like, how great thou art. How great thou art. Here we come,
are you ready for us? Here we come. I'm telling you,
God will not receive a sinner that way. I'm just telling you. I'm being honest with you. God
will not receive a sinner that way. This woman came and said,
have mercy on me. Have mercy on me. That's what
David cried, isn't it? You think about David, the king
of Israel. You know what he cried in Psalm
51? Have mercy on me, O God. That's what the publican in the
temple cried, the one that God Almighty said, that Pharisee
right there is going to be cast out, and that publican right
there is justified in my eyes. He walked into that temple, spiting
his breast, crying, God, be merciful to me, a sinner. That's what
blind Bartimaeus cried. Jesus, thou son of David, have
mercy on me. Have mercy on me. I know what
I am. And I'm going to tell you this,
none of us are willing to admit it, but we know what we are.
I know what I am. I know what I deserve. Please
have mercy on me. spare me, save me, don't put
me in hell's fire. Don't give me what I deserve.
That's what mercy is, not getting what you deserve. Have mercy
on me. And then in verse 22, she cried,
O Lord. Lord means Jehovah, and Jehovah
means God. She walked up to Jesus Christ. Now think about this. Jesus Christ. There's a sign here in Kingsport
that says Jesus Christ can get you to God or something like
that. I've seen it. It's a little bit out of town. He can get you
to God. Let me tell you something. Jesus Christ is God. I mean,
He is God. To believe He can get you to
God is to say, I don't believe He's God. She walked up to Jesus Christ
and said, Jehovah, oh Jehovah, Lord, God, I'm a sinner and you're
the holy God. But then she said in verse 22,
have mercy on me, oh Lord thou son of David. Same thing Blind
Bartimaeus cried. I believe you are God manifest
in the flesh. The one who was sent to redeem
sinners. I believe you're the one who
can pay off all my debts. I believe you're the only one.
I believe you're the lamb slain. All that Old Testament kept telling
us about a lamb slain and a lamb slain and a lamb slain and I
believe you're it. The only mediator between God
and man. I'm coming to you because you're
my only hope. That's the only way to approach
Jesus Christ, the God of heaven. That's the only way. We come
humbly, we come lowly, begging for mercy, acknowledging him
to be God, believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. All right, now
verse 23 says, But he answered her not a word. That's not the response she was
expecting. But that's the first response
she got. He answered her, not a word. He doesn't have to. You know that? He doesn't have
to. God is not at our beck and call. We're at his. We're at his. As soon as he calls,
we come. Listen to this. Don't turn. This
is Daniel 4, verse 35. If you want to read this later,
write this down. This is a wonderful verse. Daniel 4, verse 35 says,
All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing. And he doeth according to his
will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the
earth, and none can stay his hand or say unto him, What doest
thou? That's our God. That's the God
of the Bible. No man can question Him. No man
can command Him to do anything. Do you think this woman in our
text came to Him saying, I'm going to let you help me." Fell
down on his feet and said, I tell you what, I'm going to let you
help me. Is that how she came? The Lord said in Isaiah 43, I
will work and who shall let it? How many times have we called
on the Lord and not been given the answer immediately like we
wanted? How many times? It's often, isn't
it? Lord, I want patience and I want
it now. It's often, isn't it? What do we do in that case? What
did she do? In Matthew 15 verse 23, But he answered her not a word,
and his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away, for
she is crying after us. She just kept crying. And she
just kept crying. And she wouldn't stop crying.
I need mercy. She would not go away. Our Lord
said, you shall seek me and find me when you shall search for
me with all your heart. All your heart. I would love
to search God with all my heart this morning. I pray from this
moment on He will let me. I can't let Him do anything,
but He could let me search Him with all my heart. God wrestled
with Jacob all night long, didn't He? He came up and wrestled. Jacob's name means sinner, supplanter,
trickster. He was a worthless man. And God
wrestled with him all night long, and when the morning came, God
told him, let me go. You'd think He couldn't go like
this to Jacob. But He said to him, let me go. And Jacob said,
I won't do it. So God broke his thigh. And then
he said, let me go. And Jacob said, I will not do
it. I will not let go until you bless me. Did God bless Jacob? He made a covenant concerning
him. Concerning him. Happy is he that
hath the God of Jacob for his help. For his help. Our Lord answered this woman,
not a word. So she kept crying and she would
not stop crying. And the Lord answered her. But
this is what he said in verse 24. He answered and said, I am
not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Here's
what he said to her. I did not come for every soul
on this earth. That's what he said. I did not
come to save every soul on this earth. I came for a particular
people. That's what he told her. Those
that my father chose and gave to me. And he just got finished
telling her, you're not worthy of this. You're not worthy. What makes you think this is
for you? She's coming asking for mercy
and asking for help, and he just ignored her. And so she wouldn't
stop, and she wouldn't stop. And he told her, I'm not sent
but to... You're a Gentile. She knew it,
he knew it. I'm not sent but to the lost sheep of the house
of Israel. What makes you think you're worthy of this? Verse
25. Then came she and worshipped
him, saying, Lord, help me. Lord, help me. If she was begging
for mercy, she's really begging now. Lord, help me. God, help me. Please, Lord, help
me. Verse 26, But he answered and
said, It is not meat to take the children's bread and to cast
it to dogs. Not only are you not worthy of
this, you're a dog. You're a dog. You know what she
said? Verse 27, And she said, Truth,
Lord, Truth. You are not worthy. Truth, Lord. I did not come to save everybody. Truth, Lord. You're a dog. You're just a dog. Truth, Lord. Truth. Verse 27, Yet the dogs
eat of the crumbs which fall from their master's table. You know what she was saying?
She said the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master's
table. Here's what she said. I'm a dog,
but I'm your dog. I'm your dog. You're my master. I bow to you. I acknowledge you
to be my owner, my creator, my lord, my king, my master. How about us? You're the one that holds my
life. My life is in your hands. My life is literally in your
hands. Truth. I'm a dog, but even the dogs
eat the crumbs that fall from their master's table. You're
my master. You're my master. Job said, Though
he slay me, yet will I trust him. Can we say that? Though he slay me, Yet, well,
I trust him. This woman could not be run off. She could not be run off. How
about us? How about us? He's saying to us through this
word right here, you're not worthy. Is that running us off? No. Yes, I am. How dare you say that to me? He's saying to us through this
Word, I didn't come to save everybody, I only came to save my elect. Is that running us off? Through this Word, He is looking
us right in the eyes and saying, you're a dog. Is that running us off? We come in here, we open up this
Word, and do we not see Him say, in His own words, every single
time, You're a sinner. Do we not see that every single
time? You're a sinner. You're nothing but a dead dog
sinner. Is that running us off? No. You know what we say? Truth. Truth. I love how Mark's account worded
this. Go with me back to Mark 7. I'm
almost finished. Mark 7, look at verse 27. But
Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled, for
it is not meat to take the children's bread and to cast it to dogs. And she answered and said unto
him, Yes. That means Amen. So be it. I wholeheartedly agree. You're
unworthy. Amen. You're a dog. You're a sinful
dog. Amen. But I'm your dog. I'm your dog,
so I come to you. Verse 29 right here in Mark 7
says, And he said unto her, For this saying, Go thy way. The
devil is gone out of thy daughter. And when she was come to her
house, she found the devil gone out, and her daughter laid. upon
the bed. Don't turn back, but over in
Matthew's account, he said, Great is thy faith, be it unto thee,
even as thou wilt. Now, how did she get that faith? Boy, let's really pat this woman
on the back. You know, she didn't have much, but she came and she
mustered up some faith, and faith is not of ourselves, it is the
gift of God. So what he was telling her was,
Woman, God has been gracious to you. God has been gracious to you.
Dear sinner, if you have come and begged, if you have begged,
then it means God has been gracious to you. If you see your need,
just like this woman, And this is hard. Everywhere our Lord
went, everything he said, the Pharisees said, oh man, that's
a hard saying. That's hard. That's hard on the
ears now. If you can hear the offense of
the gospel and with all your heart say truth, Lord. God has
been gracious to you. Christ has shed his blood on
you. God has put his spirit in you. If he's given you that faith
to believe his word, I see it, I hear it, I believe it. Great
is thy faith. He said, be it unto you. God
has been gracious to you. David said in the Psalms, the
Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart. And God has
to break it. We can't break it ourselves.
It's too hard. It's just too hard. But if God has broken our
heart and if he's caused us to say, truth, Lord, yes, yes, I'm
a dog, but I'm your dog, then it means he is near to us and
it means we belong to him. One man made the statement years
ago, when God saves a sinner, even his dog will know it. That sinner will see himself
to be a dog, the Master's dog. And he'll see the kindness that
the Master has showed to him. All we want, is it not true that
all we want is to come into his presence and lay at his feet?
Do we not want the same thing Mary wants? She was always at
his feet. That's all I want. I just want Lord to come and
lay at your feet. And I want you to feed me from the palm
of your hand. In a sinner that the Lord has
saved and shown mercy and grace to and answered his prayer, he'll
see that not just crumbs have fallen from the master's table,
he broke that heavenly bread, the body of Christ himself, and
fed us with it. Freely given it to us. And in
turn, that sinner will treat his dog like the master has treated
him. It's true. When God saves a sinner, even
his dog, you cannot hide grace. You cannot hide the gift of God,
the grace and the mercy of Christ. A sinner hears the truth when
he finds out he's a dog. We don't know that by nature.
Shocking. What? A sinner hears the gospel when
he finds out he's the master's dog. He's the master's dog. He sought me. He bought me. He brought me to his home. You
go to the pound. Next time you go to the pound,
you're going to get you a dog. Well, you have to take all of
them. No, I don't. I choose that one. Well, you
can't choose that one. It's not fair to that one. I
don't care. I can do whatever I want to.
This is my money. How much is the price? It's $35. Well, here's $34. Well, you can't
take the dog. It must be paid in full. Every
penny. You come with me into my house. Now I'm going to feed you for
the rest of your life. I'm going to house you for the
rest of your life. I'm going to give you a new name.
I don't know what they called you before, but I'm going to
give you a brand new name. I'm going to love you. I'm going
to pet you. You're going to ride beside me. You're a dog, but
you're my dog. You're my dog. Lord, cause us
all to say we belong to you. Let us lie at your feet for mercy's
sake. All right, let's stand together.