Now turn in your Bible to two
places. I want you to find Mark chapter
7. You turn to Mark chapter 7. And then put your marker in there,
your bulletin or your marker, whatever you have. And then find
also Matthew chapter 15. I'm going to try to use both
texts to kind of put this story together. Mark chapter 7 and
Matthew chapter 15. Now you find Mark 7 first. The title of today's message
is, Grace Given to a Dog, Grace Given to a Dog Under the Master's
Table. Taken from verse 27 of Mark 7. Let's read these two verses.
In verse 28, Jesus said to her, Children first be filled, for
it is not right, meet, fit, to take the children's bread and
cast it unto the dogs. And she answered and said unto
him, You are right, yes, yes, Lord. Yet the dogs unto the table
eat the children's crumbs. Grace given to a dog under the
Master's table. I know this. I want to be His
dog. I want to be His dog under the
Lord's table of grace, under the Lord's table of mercy, and
camp right there under the Lord's table. Don't you? Don't you want
to be that dog chosen by the Lord. Oh, to receive mercy from
the Lord, from Him. Now remember from last week's
message, the Pharisees were very, very upset and offended when
the Lord exposed their traditions of religion as mere hypocrisy,
outward show. Then He declared unto them the
real problem. It's not eating with dirty hands.
That's not our problem. but rather our dirty, polluted,
and guilty heart. Our Lord said to them and to
these apostles, it's not that which goes into the mouth that
defiles us. It's that old rotten nature that
we have, that which comes out of the heart, reveals the wickedness
of the heart, that Jeremiah calls deceitful above all things, and
desperately wicked. What every sinner needs is not
the washing of religion. Is that what we need? Just clean
up the outside? Just clean up the old man? Clean
up the act? Get moral, get right, get straight?
Is that what we need? It's not outward washing that
we need. What we need is inward regeneration. What we need to be washed inside. How does that take place? Hold
your place here and find Titus chapter 3. Titus chapter 3. Now here's the washing we need
right here. Titus 3, 3. Titus chapter 3,
verse 3. For we ourselves also were sometimes
foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts, pleasures,
living in malice, envy, hateful, hating one another. That sums
us up pretty well. But after that the kindness and
love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of
righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy He
saved us by, look at this, washing, not hands, by washing of regeneration. That's Holy Spirit conviction.
That's Holy Spirit revelation. That's Holy Spirit regeneration
and renewing of the Holy Spirit which He shed on us abundantly
through Jesus Christ our Savior that being justified by His grace
We should be heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
Now that's what we need. It's not just outward morality. We don't need that. We've got
plenty of that. What we need is that inward work of grace
in our heart, in our mind, in our will, in our affections. That inward work. God who has
begun a good work in you will complete it, will perform it,
will perfect it. Well, you remember, now turn
to Matthew. Chapter 15. The disciples told the Lord that
the Pharisees were very offended when they heard that their washings
and that their traditions of religion were set on the shelf,
were set aside, and that salvation is not by what we do, but salvation
is by His grace. The Pharisees were very offended.
And it says in Matthew 15, verse 12, Then came His disciples and
said unto Him, Now that the Pharisees were offended after they heard
this saying, and he answered and said, Every plant which my
heavenly Father hath not planted shall be rooted up. Gather up
the tares, bundle up the tares, and they shall be burned. Let them alone, the Lord said.
They be blind leaders of the blind, and if the blind lead
the blind, They will both be destroyed. So it's not outward
traditions we need, ceremony and washing. What we need is
regeneration. What we need is life from God. What we need is salvation by
His grace. Now I want you to notice Matthew
15 verse 21. And the Lord went thence, and
departed from them. He did turn His back on their
willful rebellion against His Word, His truth, His gospel. He turned and He left them to
perish justly in their own sin. He went thence and departed into
the borders, the coast of these other cities, Tyre and Sidon. Now, we see the Lord Jesus Christ
on the trail of one of His sheep. And while He's in this town,
the coast, the borders of these two towns, verse 22 of Matthew
15, behold, a woman came out of the same coast and cried unto
him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David, you're
the Messiah, you're the Christ, my daughter, my young daughter
is grievously backed with the devil. She had a tremendous need
for her daughter, and she sought remedy in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, the Lord left those religious,
high-minded, self-righteous Pharisees to perish in their own self-righteousness,
and here He seeks this Gentile woman who had a sick daughter,
and their paths crossed by the sovereign purpose of God Almighty. It reminds me of another occasion
when something very similar happened. It's recorded in Acts chapter
13 when Paul preached the Gospel of Christ to the Jews, and they
rejected the message of salvation in Christ, and he said this,
it was necessary that the word of God should first have been
spoken to you. But seeing that you put it from
yourselves, and you judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life,
lo, we turn to the Gentiles. They willfully
rejected the gospel of Christ, and the Apostle Paul found somebody
who was in need, by God's purpose and preach the gospel. And it
says in the same chapter, Acts 13 verse 48, And when the Gentiles
heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord,
and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed the
gospel. Now in today's story, let's look
at the details of this Gentile woman seeking mercy from the
Lord. for her daughter who was miserably
tormented with demons, miserably tormented with the devil. Notice again in Matthew 15 verse
22, that little word, behold. And behold. You stop just for
a moment and you sit up and you look what's happening here. Behold,
here's something worth beholding. Something worth looking into.
Something good for the eyes and heart. Something good for us
today that we might feed upon and learn of Him. Behold! Behold! Now, we don't know much about
this woman. Her name is not even given. Notice in Matthew 15 verse
28, the Lord simply addressed her as, Old Woman. Her name is
not given. But we can be assured of this
The Lord knows her name. In John chapter 10 it says, He
calls His own sheep by name and leads them out. You remember
one time He walked up to a publicans table, an old tax collector named,
what was his name? Matthew. The Lord knew him by
name. He said, Matthew, follow me. One day the Lord was walking
down the street in this crowded street. And another publican
named Zacchaeus skedaddled up a tree, because he was a short
man, he couldn't see over the top of the people. And the Lord
came walking by underneath that tree. How did the Lord know his
name? And he looked up and said, Zacchaeus,
make haste, come down, I must abide at your house, for salvation
has come to your house this day. You see, the Lord knows His sheep
by name. Here's what we do know about
this woman. She was a Gentile woman. She was of the country
of Syria, Syrophoenician it says. She was a Gentile. She was not
a Jew. She had no right, no claim to
any covenant mercy that were given to that Jewish nation.
She was a woman of Canaan. Something else we know, this
woman had a great need. She had a great need. It says
in Mark that her young daughter, maybe her only daughter, was
very sick. Vex was a demon spirit. Her need
abolished all barrier. She didn't see Jew or Gentile
anymore. She had a need and she knew that
that need could be met in Him. She heard of Him and came to
Him. Her need taught her to pray,
didn't it? Lord, help me. Lord, have mercy
upon me." Her need taught her to pray. Her need brought her
to the Lord Jesus Christ. You know it's difficult to give
someone something they don't need? But when God creates that
need in the heart, oh, I tell you, you can't quench that need. That sinner must come to Christ
and find mercy and salvation in Him. This woman also demonstrated
great faith. It says in Matthew 15, 28, the
Lord recognized her. He said, O woman, great is thy
faith. Something else we know about
this woman. This woman obtained great mercy from the son of David,
the greater David, the Lord Jesus Christ. It's recorded in Mark
7, 29. He said to the woman, go thy
way, the devil's gone out of thy daughter. You reckon she
was thankful? You reckon she was rejoicing
in her heart? You know it's so. In Matthew
15, 28, it says her daughter was made whole from that very
hour. Never again. to be tormented
by a demon spirit. Something else we know about
this woman. It says in Mark 7, 25, this woman heard of Him. She heard of His power. She heard
of His compassion. You remember our study from Mark
6, 34. The Lord had compassion on that
multitude and He healed them of their sicknesses. It says
in Luke 9, 11, He healed all them that had need of healing. He healed every one of them.
Every one of them. That's what we do know about
this woman. She was a Gentile. She had a great need. This woman
demonstrated great faith. This woman obtained mercy. This
woman heard of Him and she had her need met by the Lord of Glory,
the Lord Jesus Christ. True given God-given faith, the
faith of God's elect, will persevere, diligently seeking the Lord of
glory and salvation in Him. True faith will overcome trials,
obstacles put in the way. True faith is focused upon Christ,
and the obstacles are just things that We have to go around and
work through. I must have Him. Now that's the lesson for us
today. And I want to glean some thoughts here from Matthew 15
and from Mark chapter 7. True faith is not discouraged
or hindered by roadblocks, but rather perseveres. You see, faith
will be tried. And that's what's happening in
this story here. This woman's faith is tried by obstacles. Here's the first one. Her faith
was tried by silence. Look at Matthew 15, verse 22
and verse 23. She cried unto him, have mercy
on me. Oh Lord, you're the Messiah. You're the one God has sent. Thou son of David, my daughter
is grievously vexed with the devil. Now here's the trial. She declares her great need.
And here's the trial. Look at verse 23. He answered
her not a word. Now if her faith was not real
and genuine, she'd quit right there. She would have went home.
She would have quit. But she had a need. She had faith. And she pursues her need. She
pursues. He answered her not a word. Silence. Her faith was tried
by silence. At first the Lord put up this
roadblock of silence to this poor woman. He turned a deaf
ear. Maybe looking right at her. Hearing
that cry of this needy woman. does not speak a word. You know,
silence is a hard answer. Silence is a hard answer. Not a word from Him whose every
word is with power. When He speaks, it's done. When
He commands, it stands by. Where the word of the King is,
there's power. And she cries, and silence from
God Almighty. You know, sometimes we cry unto
the Lord. Many times we cry unto the Lord
and our prayers are not immediately answered. It's just silence. Do we keep on crying or do we
quit? Silence is a hard answer. It's
a miracle of grace that this woman didn't depart in a rage. You know, that's what most religious
people do today. If they don't get their way,
they get mad and quit. If they hear something that's contrary
to their tradition or their religion, they get mad and quit. I often,
on purpose, throw roadblocks in front of people to see how
they will react. I've had this happen to me on
several occasions. People will come here and attend
for a service or two or three or four, and they'll meet me
by the door or meet me before or after the meeting and say,
well, I want to be baptized. Silence. And I usually put up a roadblock.
Sometimes I don't, but usually my first answer is, wait. I've had on two occasions when
I've said, wait, the last time I ever saw them come through
that door. Did they really believe God?
No. And that's what the Lord is teaching
us here. True saving faith doesn't mind
a roadblock. These trials are sent from God.
True saving faith sees right through the roadblock because
true saving faith is fixed on Christ. Keep looking to the Lord
Jesus Christ. She was not silenced by the Lord's
silence, nor was she discouraged. She tried out the more. She tried
out the more. Verse 25, Oh Lord, help me, she
says. She cried out some more. The
disciples even became burdened with her persistence for mercy. And the disciples came and said
to the Lord, and no doubt she heard this, send her away. She's wearing us out. And they
said that she's crying after us. I don't think she's crying
after them. They just got in the way. She
was after Him. Much like they told blind Bartimaeus. You remember? Turn over here
to Mark chapter 10. They told old blind Bartimaeus
to hold his peace. He heard the Lord was coming
by. Mark chapter 10 verse 46. They came to Jericho and as he
went out of Jericho with his disciples, a great number of
people, blind Bartimaeus, The son of Timaeus sat by the wayside,
begging. Great crowd, a great number of
people. And when he heard that it was
Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, Thou son of
David! Boy, same cry, isn't it? Have
mercy on me! And many charged him that he
should just sit still, be quiet. But he cried out some more. You
see, they threw up a roadblock. Bartimaeus, he doesn't have time
for you. Just be still. He had a need. He cried to More
a great deal, Thou Son of David, have mercy upon me. And look
what it says right there, verse 49. And the Lord stood still
and commanded him to be called. And they called the blind man,
saying to him, Be of good cheer, comfort arise. He calleth for
you and casting away his garments. He arose and he came to the Lord. And Jesus said unto him, What
will that I do unto you? And the blind man said, O Lord,
that I might receive my sight. And the Lord said to him, Go
thy way, thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he
received his sight and followed the Lord in the way. You see, he wasn't deterred by
those around him saying, Just hush, just hush. Oh no! No, I have an Eve. He's able
to meet my need. And he cried out to Moher, thou
son of David, have mercy upon me. Well, her faith was tried
by silence, but she kept right on crying unto the Lord. Secondly, her faith was tried
by sovereignty, the Lord's sovereignty. In Matthew 15, verse 24, he finally
speaks He answered and said, well, I'm
not sent but to the lost sheep. My sheep. I lay down my life
for the sheep. I'm sent to the elect. The house
of Israel. Here's another roadblock. The
Lord plainly declared His sovereignty in the salvation of sinners.
He plainly declared His elective grace that He will have mercy
on whom He will have mercy. This should have dashed her expectation
of hope and mercy. She knew she had no right nor
claim to any of His mercy, for she was not of the tribe, the
nation of Israel. But it didn't. She knew she had
no deserving But it says, look at verse 25, She came and worshipped
Him, saying, Lord, help me. There's a roadblock of God's
sovereignty. His electing grace didn't discourage
her in the least bit. Our great Savior will have mercy
on whom He will have mercy. Does that discourage you? True
faith is not discouraged by God's sovereign mercy, but rather the
opposite is true. The only reason for mercy and
Him showing mercy is because He delights to show mercy to
whom He will. Election is not the sinner's
enemy, it's his best friend. If God chose a race of ungodly
people, why can't I be one of those ungodly for whom He chose? Romans 9, 16 says, So then it
is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God
that shows mercy. A true sinner who is in need
of mercy will not be offended by God's electing grace, His
sovereign love, His sovereign mercy. We know that is our only
hope, that God will have mercy on sinners in Christ Jesus. The only reason for grace and
the only reason for the hope of grace is God's sovereign grace. of His fullness have we all received
grace, because He is gracious. Of His fullness, it pleased God
that in Him should all fullness dwell, and we are made complete
in Him. It's only because He delights
to show mercy to whom He will. Well, is she going to be discouraged
now? Because He declared that He's the Sovereign Lord? that
He will have mercy to whom He will have mercy? Covenant mercies
shown to His covenant people? Is she going to walk away now? She perseveres. Verse 25 again. She came to Him having heard
of Him and worshipped Him. She fell at His feet and owned
Him as Lord. Lord. Help me. You're the Lord. You help me." She came and worshipped
Him. Instead of retreating, instead
of quitting, instead of retiring, she came near to Him. She didn't
step back. She was not at all discouraged.
It rather encouraged her. Her need drove her to the Lord. She came near and worshipped
Him. I'm sure she could not solve the issue of his commission sent
to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, but she could pray
unto him, Lord have mercy upon me. Maybe she thought if he's
not, if as shepherd he may not gather me, yet as sovereign Lord
he may help me. If he doesn't save me as sovereign
Lord, yet he may have mercy on my daughter and heal my daughter. Lord help me. I like that prayer. Don't you? Lord help me. I want
to pray just that way. Just that simply. Lord help me. He is our strength and refuge
in time of need. He is our help. He is our strength. And we're not worthy of the least
of any of His mercy, are we? We are not worthy in the least
of His grace to any of us, but we take our place at the throne
of His sovereign mercy, and like the publican in the temple, we
beg, Lord, will You have mercy on me, the sinner, the sinner. Can you take your place there
by His grace? Like this woman, and not be discouraged,
but bow before His sovereign throne and worship Him as your
Lord, as your God, as your Savior. Well, here's the third trial.
Her faith was tried not only by His silence, not only by His
sovereignty, but her faith was tried by her own sinfulness,
her own unfitness, her own unworthiness now here's what he says now in
verse 26 Matthew 15 26 you see it he answered and he said you
know she was anticipating she just cried Lord help me and she's
thinking okay here comes the help you know she's anticipating
and he said another discouraging word It's not right to take the
children's bread and give it to the dogs." He called her a
dog. And that's what the Jews considered
those Gentiles, dogs, dogs, dogs. It's not proper to take the bread
away from the children, the covenant children, and give it to the
dogs. An unhumbled, proud heart sure
would have been discouraged by now. Certainly by now she's going
to turn and walk away. Certainly by now she's not received
what she's asking for. Certainly by now she's discouraged,
but no, she presses toward the Lord. She presses toward Him. You know, a lot of people would
say at this point, well, you know, I'm not a sinner. What
are you talking about? I'm not ungodly before God. I'm not guilty. Well, you know,
I'm a hard-working woman. I raise my children with great
sacrifice. I'm not a sinner. Would you be
offended if the Lord called you a dog, an ungodly, wretched sinner,
guilty before God? You see, the faith of God's elect
is not discouraged by the truth. That's what I am. Guilty. Guilty before God. Isn't that
what so enraged the Pharisees when the Lord exposed all their
self-righteousness as abomination in the sight of God? And they
were offended. And the Lord said, just leave
them alone. It will be all right. Notice her reply though. Far
from being discouraged, she pushes the issue. You see her daughters. dying. She has a great need. She said, true. She owned her unworthiness, her
unfitness. She said, you're right, I'm a
dog. I'm a dog. True. In Mark 7 it says, yes. Yes, that's true. I'm a dog. Yes, the dogs eat the crumbs
which fall from the master's table. Oh, I tell you. Yes, Lord,
you speak the truth. But dogs belong to the master,
too, and take their place at your table waiting for a crumb
of grace to fall. True, Lord, I cannot deny it. I'm a sinner. I have no right. I'm not worthy, as Jacob said,
of the least of your mercies. Now here's her confession. True
Lord! She confesses that all He declared
unto her is true. She confesses His absolute sovereignty,
that He will have mercy on whom He will have mercy. She said,
yes, that's true! I own it. She confesses His Lordship,
calls Him at least three times, Lord. You are the Lord. You're the Good Shepherd. And
she confesses her own sinfulness to be so. I am a dog, but I'm
your dog. I'm your dog. And this is what
every sinner saved by God's grace confesses. That Christ died for
sinners of whom I am. I'm the top dog. I'm the top
dog. I'm the chief offender before
God Almighty. You remember the story of Mephibosheth
in 2 Samuel chapter 9, one of my favorite stories. Mephibosheth,
when he was called before King David, when David ascended to
the throne, and Mephibosheth, not knowing of that covenant
of mercy made with his father Jonathan, and David that had
that covenant of love, And when King David is anointed as king
in all Israel, and he's seated on the throne, and all Israel
acknowledges him as the King of God, and he sent out the messenger
of Ziba to call and fetch old Mephibosheth, that young crippled
boy of Jonathan. And it says, when Mephibosheth
came before the throne of King David, you know he's thinking
in his heart, David's going to kill me. I'm
of the enemy's household. But yet David said, I'm going
to show you kindness. I'm going to show you mercy.
I'm going to give you covenant mercy because of that covenant
I have with your father, Jonathan. I love him and that love is going
to reach down right into your bosom. And here's what Mephibosheth
said. He bowed himself and said, What
is thy servant that thou shouldest look upon me such a dead dog
as I am. He owned his unworthiness before
the king. And that's where God brings us
when he saves us. Before God saves us, He strips
us. Before God clothes us, He strips
us. Before God heals us, He wounds
us. Before God lifts us up, He brings
us down in the dust before Him to cry for mercy. And this woman
is down now. She's in the dust. I'm a dog. You're right. Yes, Lord, it's
true. Let us, as believers, receive
every description of us in God's Word and take hope from it. Can you? I'll give you some examples. How about this? Can we find any
hope in this? Christ died for the ungodly. Well, I could find much comfort
in that. He died for the ungodly? Well, that's me. I'm ungodly
before God who is holy. How about this scripture? Matthew
9, verse 13. Our Lord said, I didn't come
to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Can you find comfort
in that? Oh, I can. I'm a sinner. I need
Him to call me by His effectual grace. I have no righteousness.
I'm guilty before God Almighty. How about this Scripture? Luke
19, verse 10, I believe it is. Christ came to seek and to save
that which is lost. Anybody lost? In Isaiah 53, it says that all
we like sheep have gone astray. We've every one turned to our
own way, yet the Lord laid on him. the iniquity of those sheep. Yes, I'm a lost ungodly sheep,
but I have a good shepherd who gave his life for those lost
sheep. And I take my place there before
Him. Well, in closing, let me give
you this. Here's the reward and blessing of faith. Look at verse
28 in Matthew 15. Here's the reward and blessing
of faith. You see, she kept pursuing, kept
persevering. Old woman, the Lord answered
and said unto her, Old woman, great is thy faith. Be it unto
thee even as you will. And her daughter was made whole
from that very hour. Now there are several other graces
that are displayed in her conduct. Wisdom, humility, meekness, patience,
perseverance in prayer. But all these were the product
of one thing, her faith. Where does she get that faith?
God-given. God-given. Therefore Christ fastens
upon that most commendable thing. Of all graces, faith honors Christ. Therefore the Lord Jesus Christ
honors that grace that honors Him most. Faith. Faith. Faith. Faith is a gift of God
given to sinners to magnify the Lord Jesus Christ. It says in
Hebrews 11, 6, But without faith it is impossible to please Him.
He that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is rewarder
of them that diligently seek Him. The person who is without
faith is without Christ. Without faith it is impossible
to please Him. Now I pray the Lord will grant
unto us this kind of faith, saving faith, persevering faith, the
faith of God's elect that loves and acknowledges the truth. No
wonder the Lord calls faith, do you know what He calls it?
precious faith. To you who have obtained like
precious faith through the righteousness of God our Savior, the Lord Jesus
Christ. Great faith or little faith is
saving faith, if it's true faith. You remember how many times he
told the disciples, O ye of little faith. Yet they knew him, they
believed him. It's not the amount of faith
that saves, it's the object of faith that saves, looking unto
the Lord Jesus Christ. Looking unto Him, He's the author
and finisher of our faith. Let me give you these several
things, and I'll wind this up. Saving faith is a sovereign gift
of God. Saving faith is based upon the
Word of God alone. She heard of Him. Faith comes
by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. Saving faith is
humble before Him. Yes, Lord, I'm Your dog, and
You're my Lord, You're my Shepherd. Saving faith never has reason
to be discouraged, but always to rejoice in the Lord. Saving
faith is full of hope and great expectation looking to Him. Therefore being justified by
faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ
by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein
we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Saving faith
always bows and submits to truth. You remember the Lord said, will
you also go away? When that multitude, when the
way got hard, persecution came. When the Lord said, no man can
come to me except the Father which sent me, draw him. And
a multitude turned and walked away. And the Lord said to those
disciples, his apostles, will you also go away? Remember what
Peter said? To whom shall we go? You have
the words of eternal life. We believe and we are sure that
you are that Christ. The Son of God. This true and glorious story
has a most happy ending. Be it unto you even as you will. He spake and it was done. It
says her daughter was made whole that very hour. It says in Mark
7 when she came to her house. Do you reckon what she was thinking
all the way home? Do you reckon she doubted? I think she believed
the Lord. She went home skipping, hopping,
rejoicing, waiting to embrace her daughter that was made whole. And she opened the door and found
her daughter resting on the bed. Oh, no longer tormented. May
the Lord be pleased to work the marvel of grace in our hearts.
You see, this little girl didn't need the washing of hands, did
she? Washing of hands would have helped her. She needed the washing
of regeneration. She needed that demon spirit
cast out and made new in Christ Jesus. And we need, not the washing
of hands, but we need the power of His grace to make us new creatures
in Christ. It says in Philippians 4.19,
He is able to meet all our need, shall supply all our need according
to His riches in glory through Christ Jesus. Do you have a need?
Look to Him. He's able. He's able to save
to the uttermost all that come to God by Him.