Mark 7:24-30

A COMPARISON

 

     "In a seminary missions class, Herbert Jackson told how, as a new missionary, he was assigned a car that would not start without a push.

 

     "After pondering his problem, he devised a plan. He went to the school near his home, got permission to take some children out of class, and had them push his car off. As he made his rounds, he would either park on a hill or leave his car running. He used this ingenious procedure for two years.

 

     "Ill health forced the Jackson family to leave, and a new missionary came to that station. When Jackson proudly began to explain his arrangement for getting the car started, the new man began looking under the hood. Before the explanation was complete, the new missionary interrupted, 'WHY DR. JACKSON, I BELIEVE THE ONLY TROUBLE IS THIS LOOSE CABLE." He gave the cable a twist, stepped into the car, pushed the switch, and to Jackson's astonishment, the engine roared to life.

 

     "For two years needless trouble had become routine. the power was there all the time. Only a loose connection kept Jackson from putting the power to work." Ernest B. Beevers, http://www.bible.org/illus.php?topic_id=82

 

     I wonder how many of us have faced needless trouble simply because there was a "loose connection" between us and God.  God was there to hear and answer our prayers.  We simply failed to pray and believe!

 

     Many years ago, "George Mueller, that prince of intercessors with God, began to pay for a group of five personal friends. After five years one of them came to Christ. In ten years, two more them found peace in the same Savior. He prayed on for twenty-five years, and the fourth man was saved. For the fifth he prayed until the time of his death, and this friend, too came to Christ, a few months afterward.

 

     "For this latter friend, Mr. Mueller had prayed almost 52 years! When we behold such perseverance in prayer we feel that we have scarcely touched the frigne of real importunity in our intercessions for others.

 

     On an evening when many others are out celebrating the holiday, you are in church. I compliment you.  This may say something about your spiritual interest. I like to think that it does.  This week I was challenged by the text which I have chosen for the continuation of our series on the Gospel of Mark.  It is a passage which has really confronted me about my prayer life!

 

Let us read Mark 7:24-30.

 

I believe that this gentile woman is an example of persistent, believing prayer.  I would like each of us to compare ourselves with this woman,

as we look into God's Word tonight. Let's allow her to teach us about the way we should be praying.

 

Here was a woman who persisted through all sorts of obstacles, in order to receive the blessing of God in her life.

 

Warren Wiersbe - "To begin with, her nationality was against her; she was a Gentile and Jesus was a Jew. Besides that, she was a woman, and society in that day was dominated by the men. Satan was against her, for one of his demons had taken control in her daughter's life. The disciples were against her; they wanted Jesus to send her away and let Him (and them) have some rest. For a time, it looked as though even Jesus was against her! I was not an easy situation, and yet she triumphed because of her great faith." Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary NT, Volume 1, (Wheaton, Illinois, Victor Books, 1989), p. 136

 

Vs. 24 - It was rest time. It was a withdrawal for a short time, from the hostility of the Jewish leaders.  Jesus went into Gentile territory.  This is the region around two large cities on the Mediterranean Sea.  This was an area you might have heard referred to as Phoenicia. This was the first time in Jesus ministry in which he actually entered pagan territory.

 

Because it was rest time, the Lord Jesus did not want anyone to know that He was there. But notice that Jesus could not be hid. There were so many needs, so many people seeking Jesus, that humanly speaking, there was no hiding Him.

 

Now we meet the Gentile woman who is our heroine this evening in Vs. 25. We see that

 

SHE CARED, DO I CARE?

 

Read Vs. 25

 

Her daughter was ill. She was demon-possessed.

The daughter needed help.

The mother needed help.

Perhaps the mother had heard stories about the healing power of the Lord Jesus, and was just hoping and praying that He would come closer.

 

This is a woman who had a sincere burden.

 

J.D. Jones made a very interesting observation about those who came to Jesus during his life here on earth.

 

"Think of the people who came to Jesus in the days of His flesh.

What brought the lepers crowding to Jesus? Sorrow brought them. What brought the blind and the lame and the dumb wherever men said He was? Sorrow brought them. What brought the woman with the issue of blood to touch the garment, and the woman who was a sinner to wash His feet? Sorrow brought them. What brought the father of the demoniac lad to seek His help? What brought the proud Jairus as a suppliant to His feet? Sorrow brought them. I question very much whether any of these would have sought Christ, out, had all been well with them, but the Angel of Sorrow gathered them all in. And it is so still." J.D. Jones, Commentary on Mark, (Grand Rapid Michigan, Kregal Publications, 1992), p.228

 

This woman came in sorrow.

Do you come to Jesus with your sorrows?

Are you willing to lay things at His feet?

 

I was struck with a disturbing and startling truth in preparing this message.  There all too many times in our lives that we don't pray because we don't care.

 

Oh, we think we care.

 

Oh, we want people to think we care.

But we don't care as much as we should, and thus, we make prayer a low priority.

 

The more we care, the more we will come to Jesus in prayer.

 

Luke 10:2 -  Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.

 

Revelation 20:15 - And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

 

1 Peter 1:15-16 - But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

 

John 13:34-35 -  A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

 

This woman cared about her daughter?

 

Do you care about the unsaved people you know in your family, on the job, or in your neighborhood?

Do you care about the amount of love that Christians show for other Christians?

Do you care about your own level of holiness and the holiness of the Christians you know?

Do you care about how families get along?

Do you care about the lost around the world.

 

If you do, you are like this woman.

If you really do, you will show it by doing what this woman did.

 

SHE CARED - DO I CARE?

SHE CAME, DO I COME?

 

This woman came to Jesus, and laid her petition at His feet.

She came beseeching the Lord Jesus to do something about the problem.

 

Here was a Gentile woman, who wasn't part of the chosen people, the Jews, who came and prayed that Jesus would heal her little girl.

 

And what about you and I?

Do we come to Jesus with our prayers?

We are God's children.

We have every right, and every responsibility to be the ones who are talking to God on behalf of everything and everybody.

 

TURN TO THESE TEXTS - READ AND COMMENT

 

Matthew 7:1-11

 

John 15:16

 

John 16:24

 

Ephesians 6:18

 

Philippians 4:6-7

 

1 Peter 4:7

 

1 Peter 5:7

 

1 John 5:14-15

 

"Bill Gates, who is chief executive at Microsoft, is hooked up to the international computer network called internet. Subscribers to the Internet can sent through their computers electronic mail (called e-mail) to other uses of the Internet.

 

Bill Gates had an internet address just like everyone. But then The New Yorker magazine published his Internet address.

 

"Anyone could send the computer genius a letter. In no time Bill Gates was swamped with five thousand messages. It was more than any human could handle. So Gates armed his computer with software that filters through his e-mail, allowing important messages through and sending other letters to electronic oblivion.

 

"People are limited. They can handle only so much communication and offer only so much help.

 

"God, on the other hand, never tires of s-mail (spirit mail). His ear is always open to our prayers. And he had unlimited capacity to help.

 

God's lines are never busy!

There is enough Scriptural evidence that we should be praying all the time. How often do you come to the Lord in prayer?

 

SHE CARED, DO I CARE?

SHE CAME, DO I COME?

SHE WAS CONSISTENT, AM I CONSISTENT?

 

There is more to this story.

Matthew shares some more detail.

Let's turn to Matthew 15:22-25 - Read and Comment

 

Vs. 27 - The children who were to first be filled were the children of

            Israel.  They were the ones to first receive the Gospel.

 

Jesus said, that it was not right to take the children's food and cast it to the dogs.  Here the word dog means "doggies".  Jesus was talking about pet dogs, who would be under foot in the house, not vicious, Gentile-dogs which the Jews often referred to.

 

It was not right to give food intended for the children, to the pets!

 

Vs. 28 - This woman has been rebuffed a few times, but her faith is

            strong.  She continues to ask.

 

She answers that even the little doggies get crumbs that the children drop on the floor.  Hercules watches Matthew Adams, who drops food.

 

She was humbly asking for crumbs!

She was so consistent and persistent.

She was not going to let go, until Jesus said yes!

 

We as Christians usually stop praying too soon.

We are not consitent in prayer.

If we don't get our answer right away, we tend to forget or give up!

Granted, sometimes Jesus will say "no", and we should accept that.

 

But most times, all we need to do is to be persistently consistent in our prayers.

 

Luke 18;1-8 - READ AND COMMENT

 

SHE CARED, DO I CARE?

SHE CAME, DO I COME?

SHE WAS CONSISTENT, AM I CONSISTENT?

SHE WAS CONFIDENT, AM I CONFIDENT?

 

Let's go back to Matthew 15:28 - Read and Comment

 

Vs. 29 - Jesus sent her home with the promise of answered prayer.

           She hadn't seen the answer yet, but she believed it was on the

           way.  She went home at peace, because Jesus told her that the

           daughter was healed.

 

Mark 11:24 - Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

 

James 5:16-18 - READ AND COMMENT

 

SHE CARED, DO I CARE?

SHE CAME, DO I COME?

SHE WAS CONSISTENT, AM I CONSISTENT?

SHE WAS CONFIDENT, AM I CONFIDENT?

SHE WAS CONSOLED, AM I CONSOLED?

 

Vs. 30 - READ AND COMMENT