How about turning to Matthew
chapter 15? And I shall try to speak this
evening on four glorious truths concerning grace. And that grace that we will address
this evening has to do with faith. And let me just walk you through
chapter 15 until we get to the section that I want to read a little more deliberately. The chapter begins in Matthew
15 with our saviors rebuking the scribes and the Pharisees. And then in verse 21, we reach
the passage that I invite your attention to for our reading. Matthew 15. Then Jesus went from there, and departed
into the coast of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a woman of Canaan,
called in one of the other Gospels a Syrophoenician woman, came
out of the same coast, or borders, and cried unto him, saying, Have
mercy on me, O Lord, you son of David. My daughter is grievously
vexed with a devil.' But he answered her, Not a word. Not a one. And his disciples came and besought
him, saying, Send her away, for she cries 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 answered and said, It
is not meet or right to take the children's bread and cast
it to dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord, yet
the dogs eat of the crowns which fall from their master's table. Then Jesus answered and said
unto her, O woman, great is your faith, Be it unto you even as
you will. And her daughter was made whole
from that very hour." Now there is a beautiful, wonderful description
of faith. But before we begin to work on
these verses and these four glorious truths concerning faith, I want
you to look at the overall passage, 21 through 28, Matthew 15, and
answer this question in your own mind. How did she come to
know and see the Lord Jesus Christ? Now this is important for this
reason, so that we might learn from the Word of God how it is
that we come to know and see the Lord Jesus Christ. We're often ill-advised on such
matters, and it is important for us on a regular basis to
check with the Scriptures themselves. What do they tell us? as to how
a sinner is somehow enabled to come to Christ and find mercy. So just a few scriptures here
by way of introduction. First of all, a fundamental elementary
basic principle, 1 John chapter 4 and verse 19. Now I know most
of you are familiar with this verse, but in case there's somebody
here who isn't, I want you to, if you mark your Bible, you ought
to mark this one, because this is a principle that has virtually
endless applications. 1 John 4, verse 19. We love Him because He first
loved us. Now that's a simple statement. It's short. It's brief. The words
are not hard at all. Now you can take that principle
in that verse and apply it to a vast number of things in regard
to God and our souls. So when it comes to this woman
in Matthew 15 having to do with this intense interest that she
had in the Lord Jesus Christ, she just fended off every rebuttal
that came her way. She was not leaving. Now how
does this come to pass? Here's the principle. We seek
Him because He first seeks us. You remember, I think it's Romans
10 and verse 20? The Lord says, I was found of
them that sought me not. You can't know the Lord without
seeking Him. But our seeking Him is the result
of Him seeking me. I was found of them that sought
me not. I was made manifest unto them
which ask not after me. Turn to John chapter 6. Hang
on now. Matthew 15. Turn if you will
to John chapter 6. Just some simple statements to
remind you of some precious, precious issues
that were taking place in that woman's case in Matthew chapter
15. Look at verse 37. How is it now that she came and
sought Christ and wouldn't take no for an answer? All that the Father gives me
shall come to me, and him or her that comes to
me I will in no wise cast out. There's a song entitled, I sought
the Lord. And one of its stanzas reads,
I sought the Lord and afterward I knew He moved my soul to seek
Him seeking me. That's what brought this woman
to Christ. And if you and I have ever come
to Him, that is exactly how we came. We live in an age of lying preachers
and lying religion. And most of us had our fair share
of it. Not only experienced it, but
Use it. You take the first step, God
will take the second. That's not how this book reads.
Oh, you can come to Matthew 15 and preach that right out of
this text. The only problem is it won't be true. Won't be true. That maniac of Gadara this morning,
the Lord Jesus found him, and then he found the Lord Jesus.
So let's work on these four things having to do with this woman's
faith. Four things. Here's the first.
And if this little brief passage doesn't declare this in a tremendous
Volume of truth. I don't know where in our Bibles
it could be found. Faith's mouth can never be closed. Will not take no for an answer. To begin with, the Lord Jesus wouldn't even so much as answer
her. Then she came to his disciples, and he said to them, he said,
I'm not sent, but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel,
and this woman was a Gentile. She still doesn't believe. Finally, he says, it's not right
to take the children's bread and cast it to dogs. And she
had an answer for that, too. She said, truth, Lord, yet the
dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their master's table. You just, you couldn't, you couldn't
run her away. She wasn't leaving. Look over
in Mark. I believe Brother Cunningham
has already made reference to this character, but here's a
wonderful picture of this same glorious truth. Our Lord Jesus
has come to Jericho, and in verses 46 through 52, He's on his way out of Jericho.
Our Lord did nothing in that city itself. It was a city under
curse, more so than everything else in this world. And blind
Bartimaeus is sitting by the roadside, and I suppose he learns
from the people that are crowded around that Jesus of Nazareth
is headed this way. Mark chapter 10. In verse 47, and when Bartimaeus
heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, calling
him by the same title that this woman does in Matthew 15, Jesus,
you son of David, have mercy on me. And many charged him,
persons who were standing near him, charged him that he should
hold his peace. And he cried out the more a great
deal, You son of David, have mercy on me. Faith's mouth just
simply cannot be closed. And our Lord Jesus stood still
and commanded him to be called. Now all of a sudden the people
around him, they called the blind man saying unto him, Be of good
comfort, rise, he calls you. Oh my, if that isn't a glorious
truth. And aren't these two beautiful
pictures of that truth that faith's mouth cannot be silenced, cannot
be shut, will not be closed until it has what it earnestly craves
for. And that's how God operates in
our souls. The truth is that when we come
to this place, that we call on Christ and we will not quit calling
until we are heard. The truth is, we're already saved
when that takes place. We just don't know it yet. I mean, this is not something
that comes out of our nature. It's not something that we do.
This old man this old man this old man was talking about just
doesn't do anything like that. Excuse me folks. Here's the second thing. Faith never disputes God's words. Whatever He says about me, I bow to it. because of His work in me, not
anything in myself. You know the changes that are
being made in the music that is sung in American religion
in this day. Alas, and did my Savior bleed,
and did my Sovereign die? Would he devote that sacred head,
the New Version says, for a sinner such as I? But the writer originally
said, for such a worm as I. We don't like what God says about
us in this book, but if we ever receive the gift of faith, We
no longer dispute God's words. Look, if you will, for a moment,
as a confirmation of this truth, to John Chapter 8, John's Gospel
Chapter 8. Now, if I get too complicated
for you, I want you to raise your hand. Because something's
happened that ain't supposed to happen. This is real simple. But that
doesn't mean that it isn't profound. It's not hard. It's just impossible. until God does it. And here in this 8th chapter
of John, the chapter has begun with, I
believe it's the feeding of the 5,000. No, this one begins with
the woman taking an adultery. And in verse 32, there are some sizable number, I don't
know how many, it's not important how many, who in verse 30 are
said to have believed on our Lord Jesus Christ. And so he
is speaking to these persons who have manifested in some fashion
that I don't have a clue as to what it is, that they wish to
be his followers, that they believed and trusted him. And so verse
31, then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If
you continue in my word, then are you my disciples indeed. Not the root, now the fruit.
Continuing is not the cause of our receiving grace. It is, of
course, the blessed benefit and result. But look at verse 32. Now here's what I mean about faith
not disputing God's words. He said, you shall know the truth
and the truth shall make you free. Now you weren't offended by that,
were you? No, but if God is speaking and we catch the truth of what's
in those words, we're all offended. They said we've never been in
bondage to anybody. And the truth is, they were in
bondage to the Romans at that very moment. And when God comes to us in grace,
and shows us the bondage of our souls, just like Brother, was
it Brother James this morning about the demon business? Was
it him? Yeah, that doesn't sit too well. to tell us that we're slaves
of the devil. And only through the great Deliverer,
the Lord Jesus Christ, can we be set free. Our Lord uses the
word, you shall know the truth. And He is the truth. You shall
know the truth. And the truth shall make you
free. And in verse 36 of John chapter
8, he rearranges the phrase. He said, if the Son shall make
you free, you shall be free indeed. And if He doesn't make us free,
we cannot make ourselves free. This is all of grace, because
it is all of Christ. Faith never disputes the Lord's
words. John chapter 3. Our Lord is engaged in dealing
with a man that we know as Nicodemus. And in verses 18 through 21 of
the third chapter of John, we have some interesting statements
that our Lord Jesus speaks to this man Nicodemus, who was a
Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin. Verse 18, John chapter
3, he that believes on him is not condemned, but he that believes
not is condemned already, because he has not believed on the name
of the only begotten Son of God. And here is the condemnation. This is the condemnation, that
light has come into the world. Me and you. We love darkness
rather than light. Why? Because our deeds are evil. For everyone that does evil hates
the light, neither comes to the light, lest his deeds should
be reproved. Now don't lose sight of this.
This is talking about our religious deeds. are good works for which
we're so very proud. But he that does truth, does
truth, comes to the light, and that light is Christ, that his
deeds may be made manifest that they are wrought in God. My, what a statement. What a
statement. Do we dispute these words? And I suppose you're familiar
with the expression, the Lord said it, I believe it, and that settles
it. But the fact of the matter is,
the Lord said it, and that settles it, whether I believe it or not. We make ourselves God. Alright, the third thing about
faith. Faith's mouth cannot be closed. Faith never disputes
God's words. And the third thing is that faith
pleads its case using the Lord's own words. That's exactly what
she does. She said it's just simply not
right to give the children's bread to dogs. Oh, she said,
truth, Lord. Oh, yes, I am a dog, but I'm
your dog. Even the dogs eat the crumbs
that fall from the master's table. Taking God's own words to argue
our case, to plead with, I want you to look at a scripture
in Daniel chapter 9. in the ninth chapter of Daniel,
verses seventeen through nineteen. Now therefore, O our God, hear
the prayer of your servant and his supplications, and cause
your face to shine upon your sanctuary that is desolate For the Lord's sake. For the Lord's sake. Oh my God. Now try these words on me. Oh my God. Incline your ear. Hear me. Incline your ear and
hear. Open your eyes and behold. What? Our desolation. our desperate
condition, and the city which is called
by your name. For we do not present our supplications
before you on the basis of our righteousness, but for your great
mercies. O Lord, hear. O Lord, forgive. Oh Lord, hearken and do. And do it now, please. Defer
not. For your own sake, oh my God. For your city and your people
are called by your name. Faith takes God's own words. and argues her case. Now I want
to draw you a picture, and then I'll have just one other point
to make. If you're turning, you don't
have to turn if you don't want to, but the first text I need
you to look at is 2 Samuel chapter 9, and it just might take me about as long
as it does you to find it. 2 Samuel chapter 9. And while we're turning, let's
get the other one and we'll just have them just before we can
flip, just like that. 2 Kings chapter 8. All right. I want to give you two illustrations. of one of them is a willing use of God's own words concerning
ourselves, and the other is a man that despises what God says about
him. And in both cases, it corresponds
to Matthew chapter 15, Because the Lord Jesus in essence told
this lady it's not right to give the children's bread to dogs. He virtually calls her a dog. Now you think we don't like to
call ourselves worms. And we dress up other hymns and
change the wording so that it is more palatable to more people,
so that it will not offend us. My dear friends, if the gospel
we preach ceases to offend, it ceases to save. Here in 2 Samuel
9, We need a fellow by the name
of Mephibosheth who teaches us the glorious truth that God's
grace is fetching grace. But that's not what I'm here
for. I want to show you something about this matter of a dog. A dog. David sends and fetches him. And I'm sure that Mephibosheth
comes in fear and trembling as he's brought to David. And in
verse 7 of 2 Samuel 9, David said unto him, Fear not, for
I will surely show you kindness for Jonathan's sake, and God
shows us kindness for Christ's sake. and will restore you all the
land of Saul, your father, literally his grandfather, and you shall
eat bread at my table continually.' And Mephibosheth bowed himself
and said, What is your servant that you should look upon such
a dead dog as I am?" My dear friends, that is the language
that poor sinners approach God with in calling on Him for mercy. Now in 2 Kings, chapter 8, we run into another person. And this person has a problem. with the inference that he might
be considered a dog. Elisha is prophet in Israel Ben-Hadad
is the king of Syria and he sends a messenger to Israel Because he's been told that there's
a prophet in Israel, Ben-Hadad is sick. He wants to
know if this is a sickness unto death. So he sends what he thinks
to be a trusted servant by the name of Hazel to have an audience
with Elisha and to put before him the question, So in verse
9, Hazel went to meet Elisha, and he takes a present with him,
even of every good thing of Damascus, forty camel's burdens, and came
and stood before him and said, Your son, Ben-Hadad, king of
Syria, has sent me to you saying, Shall I recover from this disease? And Elisha said unto him, Go,
say unto him, You may certainly recover. Albeit, the Lord showed
me that he shall surely die, and Elisha settled his countenance
steadfastly." Just look right through him. Settled his face steadfastly. If I can find my place again. Yes, thank you, sir. Verse 11. He settled his countenance steadfastly
until he was ashamed. And the man of God wept. Elisha wept. And Hazel said,
Why weep, my lord? And Elisha answered, because
I know the evil that you will do, Hazel will do, unto the children
of Israel. Their strongholds will you set
on fire, and their young men will you slay with the sword,
and will dash their children and rip up their women with child.
And Hazel said, but what is your servant? A dog. But he should do this great thing.
And Elisha answered, the Lord has showed me that you shall
be king over Syria. So he goes back home, tells the
king he's going to recover from the disease, and promptly kills
him. Why are these things in this
book? To teach us how fallen sons and
daughters of Adam do business with the God of heaven and earth. We come bowing before Him, owning
everything He has to say about us, no matter how bad it is,
no matter how distasteful. We count ourselves to be virtually
dogs in His sight. Alright, back to Matthew 15.
Faith's mouth can never be closed. Faith never disputes the Lord's
words. Faith pleads its case by taking
God's own words and repeating them back to Him. And finally,
saving faith, God-given faith, always wins her suit. What happens here in Matthew
15? The Lord virtually throws the reins on her own neck. He
said, whatever you wish is done. That's how sinners like you and
me come to Christ. The Lord help us to do so.