The Messiah's Mission

This morning to text is from the gospel of Matthew chapter, 15 verses 21 through 38, which reads as follows. And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and sidon and behold a Canaanite woman from that region. Came out and was crying. Have mercy on me? Oh Lord. Son of David. My daughter is severely oppressed by a demon but he did not answer her word and his disciples came and begged insane. Send her away for she is crying out after us. He answered. I was sent only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel but she came and out before him saying Lord, help me. And he answered, it is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs. She said, yes. Lord yet even the dogs. Eat the crumbs that fall from their master's table, then Jesus answered her own woman. Great, as your trades. Be done for you, is you desire and her daughter was healed, instantly. Jesus went on from there and walk beside the Sea of Galilee and he went up on the mountain and sat down there and great crowds came to him, bringing with them. The lame, the blind, the crippled commute and many others, and they put them at his feet and healed them. So that the crowd wondered, when they saw the music speaking, the food healthy, the lame walking and the blind scene and they glorified the god of Israel, then Jesus called his disciples to. And then said, I have compassion on the crowd because they have, With me now, 3 days and have nothing to eat. And I am unwilling to send them away hungry. Let's they faint on the way. And the disciples said, where are we to get enough bread in such a desolate, place to feed. So great, a crowd. And Jesus said, to them, how many loads do you have? They said, seven and a few small fish and directing the crowd to sit down on the ground. He took the 70s and the first and having given thinks he broke them and gave them to the disciples and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And they all ate and were satisfied and they took up seven, baskets, full of the broken pieces left over those, who wait for 4000, men, besides women and show. May God add his Blessing to the reading of his word.

Thank you so much, Lynn. And I will apologize to both Nathan who creates our slides and Tool in actually meant to go through first 39, which just says, and after sending way, the crowds he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan leading us into the next story, but I put the wrong number.

Jesus had a mission when he was here. And this passage shows us some amazing things about Jesus mission and it also therefore shows us some things about what our mission should be. Because if we really mean what we say, when we say we want to be made more like Jesus, then our hearts should look more like his that's we're going to get into this morning. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word and we think you said when Christ came and there was a mission to fulfill and he fulfilled it. And pray that you would help us to embrace his mission for us. And that we would be an extension of his hands and his feet to those around us. Pray these things in Jesus name, amen.

Let me set the scene a little bit here. So you understand why what Jesus is doing. In this passage is even more incredible than it looks when you just read it. He has gone away from where he was to the region. It says of Tyre and sidon. If you know the Middle East at all North of Israel is Lebanon and Syria. And that area, that's where tyre and sidon are. So he is going way too far away from Jerusalem about as far north. As he ever went in his ministry. And as you can imagine that region did not have nearly as many Jewish people there. They was a region largely populated by Gentiles, and so he has moved away from Israel, geographically. He's in a place where he knew he would encounter non-jewish, people gentiles. And so he is setting himself up for the situation and you need to understand that because his response that he gives if you don't understand the intentionality of Christ in Ministry, you might think boy, he seems kind of mean to this lady but he's not being mean, he's up there to teach a lesson to his disciples and threw his disciples to all of us. But he plays out the story fully for it. So we really get a complete understanding of what it is. He's accomplishing. So she comes up to him. She's specified a Phoenician woman, so she's from that area. She is Jewish.

Yet, she does not. Come and say Jesus. I need your help. Know what she says? Have mercy on me. She needs Mercy. ER, doctors are pressed, but she needs the mercy. Oh, Lord. She acknowledges him as the Lord, even though she's not even from the people that he's been sent to and is from Bengals a step further, son of David acknowledging. The fact that Jesus is the messiah. She's the one who is in, David's mind who God is calling. So she is completely on board with who Jesus is. And she hasn't even been a raised in the faith that would have exposed her to all of the prophecies about Jesus but she's heard enough. She's heard enough to know that he's the one she has been looking for.

She has a daughter who's severely oppressed by a demon? You don't see that very much today but it is a horrifying thing. And for a mom to see their child. So in hurt and pain and knowing that she cannot do anything. She does the only thing she can do. Go find the one who came to save.

And Jesus doesn't odd thing. She doesn't answer her. Why why would Jesus not answer this person who comes to him, acknowledges who he is? And thanks for his Mercy.

Because Jesus needs to teach a lesson. He knows she's going to get her healing. He just needs to let others understand the why? And the, how How big is his mission? Is it really just a mission to one? Small people group in the world? Or is it a mission to the whole world? How far will Jesus? Go in bringing healing to the world. So he sits quietly and waits, and the disciples come, and they're begging and send her away. She's really annoying, Jesus. Tell her to go all in, and they're debating with him. Like, she's baking with him. That he would just stop the annoying. This

And Jesus answered here, she answers in the way that they would expect him to answer. First 24, I was sent only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel and in the disciples would have understood. That's because when he sent them out, he said don't go into Samaria and all the stuff just, just go to where I am sending you, I'm sending you out to the house of Israel. So, so up to this point, the disciples understood that their mission is to reach the house of Israel call wondering why they're even this far north.

And they probably heard his answer and thought. Yep. That's right, Jesus, I'll send her away.

But she's not deterred. She does not care. That they want her gone. She comes and Neil's, kneeling is a position of worship and she comes in she kneels before Jesus.

And just said, Lord help me.

And he answers her. In a way that would have commonly been understood those that were Gentiles. Would have been derogatorily referred to as dogs. And he says, it's not right. Take children's bread and throw it to the dogs. So is he saying that's her?

Well, she's not deterred by that either. Yes. Lord even dogs get to eat crumbs that fall off the table or if your dog as big as mine to help me just gets up on the table and takes the stuff. But

He knows that. There's still something for her. It might not be the full meal. But she doesn't need the full meal from Jesus. If there are some crumbs that fall to the floor, that's enough.

Oh, to have the faith that she has.

This is not the person. That I'm supposed to be going to but I go. This is not the people group that I am from, but I'm asking for his help. I don't even need all of him. I just need a little tiny bit and I'm okay.

And Jesus acknowledges the greatness of that space.

Be it done for you as you desire. So in front of the disciples who up to this point. We're like yeah Jesus. Tell it like it is all the sudden. Glenn o we missed the point.

Jesus doesn't care where you're from. He doesn't care about your background. If you trust him, if you believe him you call upon him for Mercy. If you respond in faith, the answer is yes, always yes, from Christ to those who ask in faith.

He doesn't have to accompany her home. He doesn't have to wait a few days for the demon to get bored and go away instantly healed. Jesus did for her. What? Mainly up to that point, he had only been doing for people of the House of Israel. He has expanded the mission and said it's bigger than any of you thought. You thought small like this, you thought this is our savior, our Messiah, he's come for us. And Jesus says, no, I came for everyone who needs me.

Thank you, Lord.

The reason I think we we want to acknowledge the greatness of her faith, is that there is not wavering. There is an utter confidence here. I'm not saying that doubt is a horrible thing. You know, we go through Seasons, where we question. Once in awhile K. God, can you do this? And God's big enough to handle that. But in her case, there is no wavering, there is just the solid understanding. This is where I need to put my trust. So the challenge for us, what's the thing that you need? The Mercy For? What is the thing? Like she came because her daughter was impressed by a demon and that's that's pain in her. An utter confidence that price could meet that need. What is the thing in your life that you go? I can't deal with. This is the heartbreaking thing for me. And then ask yourself what are you trying to do about it? Are you trying to fix the problem on your own? Or if you said, I need to go to Jesus, I need to go to the Messiah, the one who got sent and anointed. I need to go there and not leave because he is the only one who can fix this.

Most of us that are here today are not of Jewish descent. Praise God. The mission of Jesus when it's not confined to a small people group. It is the reason you and I have received great Mercy from God.

You kind of get an idea from this, what Jesus mission is, but I think the next couple vs 29, through 31, really spell it out for us. What, what really is the mission, that Jesus is on his back down from the North Way North to Slightly North, he's still a good distance out of Jerusalem. He is still by the Sea of Galilee called the Gentiles. For a reason. It is still an area largely populated with gentile people. There are some Jews in the area. That's part of where he called some of his fishermen disciples from, they were on the shore of the Sea of Galilee when he called them. But he's still in an area that is not just a a Jewish Enclave.

Jesus just needs to show up for Ministry to happen. He just gets there. Walks By the Sea goes up on the mountain and sits down.

I don't know about you, but I know if I just walked out to some field somewhere and sat down, I would be sitting by myself for a very, very long time. People might walk by and go who's the weird looking scarecrow, but what they're not going to gather around me. Jesus sits down and great crowds, come to him. All that needs to happen. If people hear Jesus is here and they come Frozen's and thousands of people come to him.

And they're not just coming because they want to hear from Jesus. They are bringing everybody who needs Jesus with them. They're carrying their friends, who cannot walk.

They're leading their friends, who cannot see. They're there to speak up for their friends. Who are mute?

And they're bringing them all to Jesus and setting them at his feet.

The end of verse 30 is an amazing statement, it's short and Powerful. And he healed them. There was no one who they brought to Jesus, who could not be healed.

So is Jesus mission healing. kind of, But it's, it's more than just physical healing and it's healing with a purpose. It's not just healing for the sake of you feeling better. We see this because in verse 31, when they're all ambitious to seeing everybody healed which in itself is pretty cool because they brought everybody to Jesus's and they're still amaze me. These are folks who are like, we tried everything else. Let's bring them here. Let's see what this guy can do. And oh my goodness. He didn't just steal him, be healed her and him and her and the whole crowd this guy's amazing. We need to respond. How should we respond? They glorified the god of Israel. God is healing people to bring himself Glory. Note here it doesn't just say they glorify God, the glory Slide, the god of Israel. Why does Matthew point that out? Because these are gentiles They don't understand that the god of Israel is the god of the whole universe. They just know that it's Israel's God, and that's the one that they're glorifying. So you've got a bunch of of pagans and Gentiles that have come along and acknowledged that the god of Israel is God.

So Jesus has gone out of his way in the first part of this, both in Tyre and sidon in the Sea of Galilee to incorporate. Non Israelites into the family. They now are part of the mission. They are those who he is sent to.

But Jesus isn't done just by healing first 32. Has compassion. On the crowd.

If you ever wonder when you go through something, does anybody see? Does anybody care?

Even if no one that's currently walking on planet Earth sees or cares. There is one who cares. Jesus compassion is Non-Stop. he just cares, there's never environment, he's gotten to where he's like,

There's nothing you bring to him that he says. I've had enough go away. Instead, he is always looking out for the well-being of his people.

I want you to notice something in the text here. That's that's kind of amazing. He says. I have compassion on the crowd because they've been with me how long 3 days. Jesus has been killing people in the crowd for three days. This was not a Minute Clinic where they just came in and left and he was done at 5:00. Is there for 3 Days? Healing people, the number of people who Jesus touched over that time is remarkable. It helps you realize that when it talks about this being a crowd of 4,000, men, plus women and children. There were a whole bunch of those people who when they showed up, Could not have fully participated in going to get their own food. The heater couldn't have walked there. They couldn't seem to get there when they got there. They could have spoken to ask for what they needed. These are people who were in need. And Jesus has met their needs, but he's not done yet.

It also says something remarkable about the effect that Jesus has on a person's life.

Jesus healed them and they didn't go. I can walk. Now I'm going to walk home for the first time ever. I'm going to walk home. No. They said I'm Healed. I'm not leaving. I want to be here with this guy. Brothers and sisters, do you? Do you have that sort of understanding, of Christ? It's not just about getting what you need and then walking away and doing whatever else you were doing beforehand. It's acknowledging. The fact that I always need Jesus, I always need to be with him. And the amazing part is it this point in Jesus life? He is one human being in one spot. So they have to stay there physically. Now that Jesus has risen, he is present by his Spirit everywhere. You don't go places where Jesus isn't. It's not that you can't. It's what you really can't. You can try but you can't get away from him.

But we forgot about him. We act sometimes like he saved me so that I can go off on my own and we forget about the fact that no, he's saved me so that he and I can be together forever. It's not just in heaven. That you're with Jesus it's now it's in your everyday life that you walk with him. When you come to church, it feels special sometimes because we're gathered together as a family. We we sing amazing songs together. We're really focused in on Christ.

But the reality of it is, Jesus is no more present with you here, then he will be Tuesday at 3:30 in the afternoon. She's not limited to this building. She wants to be with you everywhere. And so in the same way that that your heart may have stirred a little bit during our worship time and you and yes, this is good to praise the Lord. It's okay to do that during the week. You don't just have to wait for Sunday. Anytime you want to be there and worthy of Praise. He'll be worthy. Then he's worthy now.

Stay with Jesus. Until it gets to the point where you go. You should eat. Imagine your devotions, you get up in the morning and end year and you're reading your spending time and prayer, you talking to the Lord and all the sudden you're like, I forgot about breakfast. I got to hurry up and go eat something. That's the way these people were except it wasn't just breakfast. They miss breakfast, lunch and dinner. Three different times before it was time for them to go. Wait a minute. I'm really hungry at this point.

He doesn't want to send them away. Cuz he doesn't want them to suffer on the way. Cuz I want them to faint, he doesn't want them to grow weary. I've just strengthened legs, I've just opened blind eyes. Why would I do that? And then let something else befall them on the way home.

The thing that I have to smile about when I read this text is the disciples response. Do you remember if you're new here you might you might have missed this one but for those of you that we're here recently, do you remember the feeding of the 5000?

The crowd was gathered. The disciples say, these people need to eat. Tell him to go away and get food in. Jesus says no you feed him. We got two loaves and a couple of fish and what are we going to do with this, given to me? Pray, thank God. Divide them up. Give him the disciples hand about five thousand men and women and children all get fed twelve baskets get gather they had experienced that already

They knew exactly what Jesus could do. and yet, they still

Are we going to pull this one off?

And Jesus has come again. How many ribs do you have? This time they packed a little heavier. We got seven of them. And some small fish.

They understand that Jesus compassion is a Non-Stop compassion. It wasn't like he fed people one time and was like, well, check that Miracle off the list. I can never do that one again. I can only do new things. I haven't done before know, if Jesus can do it, you can do it again.

If Jesus can do it, he can do it again. This is true for you as well. The Miracles that Jesus has worked in your life, have not exhausted his ability to do it again.

You've been praying for a long time. For someone you love who is lost and you take God. Can you save them? If he saved you, he can do it again.

He is not limited. And yet they still ask. But Jesus has the same thing. He takes the Losi, takes the fish, she gives things, he breaks them gives in the disciples. Same exact thing, hand them out to the crowd this time. Much like last time they all leave and they're all satisfied, but instead of twelve baskets, one for each of the disciples, he, he teaches them a little different lesson. He lets them gather seven, baskets by 7 cuz there were seven loads that went out originally. So for every loaf you gave me, I gave you a basket.

I'm not saying some sort of weird, magical thing here, like you give Jesus, you know $7 he'll give you $70,000 now. It's not like that he's not some vending machine of magic that you just put stuff in and get stuff out of. Don't miss hear the lesson and try to apply it in a wrong way.

But instead, apply the general principle to all aspects of your life. If God. Can take what you have that you offer him. He can and will multiply it far beyond the original offer. Your ability to be effective in Ministry is not limited by your limits. If God wants to use you, As a loaf to fill a basket full in Ministry, he can do it. You never need to worry Lord. I'm so small. I have. So few gifts. Nobody knows me. Why would they listen to me? Those questions are all questions. You don't need to ask why? because those are questions that are merely expressing the limits that exist because of you But who are you talkin to your talking to Jesus who is not confined by those limitations? And told if he wants to take someone who is unknown and unworthy and uneducated and and and and name any weakness, you could possibly come up with

He can use that for his glory. Abundantly use it for his glory.

Now. We need to we need to tie something together here. That's that's great to see. Back in the beginning of this section, he's dealing with a Canaanite woman, a gentile. And he says to her, it's not right to give the children's bread to the dogs.

And then he leave there and goes to a place where there's a bunch of non Israelites and give them all bread. They are not the dogs, they are the children, the children get the bread and they all got it. The same Miracle, he performed amongst his people. He is more than willing to perform amongst those who are not his people. And I just love the visual picture there. He doesn't just give them the crumbs. He gets in the bread and collect seven, baskets the crumbs.

She's amazing.

He's truly amazing.

So where does this leave you? And I It's easy to look and say yep, it's another example. She's as being Jesus go Jesus.

But there's so much more to it than that. If you're sitting here this morning and you're not someone who currently is trusting in Christ, if you are not like the Canaanite woman who is willing to acknowledge Lord, son of David have mercy on me.

You need to hear the story and understand Christ's salvation extends to you. You say how could it extend to me? I've I've never done anything to earn Jesus saving me. That's the whole point.

It extends to you because he wants to extend salvation to you not because you deserve it not because you've earned it but because he's good.

encourage you to come to, Jesus, bring all the stuff with you, that you Which wasn't part of her life. All the, the sin, all the heartache, all the hard things, bring it to Jesus and in faith, say have mercy on me.

Sit with him.

Brothers and sisters, those of you who currently are trusting in Christ. When you hear a story like this, you go. That's my morning.

We are recipients of an undeserved favor. We need to never forget that. We are children by grace. We don't come and say Jesus. Do work through me because I'm the sort of person that you should work through know, we come and we say, have mercy on me. And he.

And he saves and then he just abundantly piles on Grace upon Grace upon Grace in our lives.

if we are recipients of undeserved Grace, the question we have to ask is Are we Hoarders? Are we those who have merely taken in Grace as much as we can get? So that we can have a lot of things that we can say, God did for us? If we are We are self-centered Grace recipients and we have missed the point. We receive Grace so that we can extend Grace to others.

The disciples were able to distribute the Loaves and fish, because they were those who had already been fed by Christ. They may not have always understood exactly what I was going to do in any given day, but they stuck with him.

So how are you showing that compassion to others? What what are you doing to extend Grace to others? And as an example of the Canaanite, woman does your compassion extend itself to people. Quitter are not like you. maybe they have a

An elephant as their political person and you have a donkey as yours you go. Well they're not like me. Goodness gracious, everytime I turn around. There's another political ad, and so many of them are trying to convince me that I should not like my brothers and sisters in Christ to don't think like me.

Does our compassion, extend beyond those boundaries, if Jesus is willing to say to those who others would have called the breads for you to, who am I to say? I should withhold Grace from someone.

What if they're wrong?

A lot of things. That's okay, we still need to love one. Another Christ is, what is our Center? Not some other defining characteristics. So who does compassion go to all of those people?

As Christians. It is not Us and Them. It is us in Christ, that's it.

But also this week, you're going to see people who are struggling. If you walk around with your eyes open, you will not see someone who's in need.

Sometimes those people who are in need. Other people might ignore. Why? Cuz maybe sometimes the fact that they're needy might even because be because they are hard to love. They are extra Grace required people.

Notice. I don't say extra Grace. Optional people it's required. Does your grace extend to that? Cuz Christ grace extended to you and you needed a lot of it. How do I know that? Cuz you're human. I needed a lot of it. And every single human being has ever been saved by Christ. Need a lot of Grace. We could not get there on our own. Till someone comes along that when they are struggling and you say, I don't know if I want to get involved in that, that's a mess.

Really. You're coming into it with Christ, there's no mess. He can't work with. If you go and do it in your own strength or probably overwhelmed, you go into it with Christ drink he will sustain you and you don't even have to go do it on your own. You got the Brothers and Sisters in Christ around you who can go in together and be the body of Christ to someone who's in need.

You say, okay, if I see it. I'll deal with it. That's a step in the right direction. So if you see something this week and you can extend Grace to someone good, but when I challenge you to go beyond that, I want to challenge you. Not just to say, if I see something, I'll say something.

But stay, I will stick it out.

Jesus did not stay in Jerusalem and wait, for the people of Tyre and sidon to come to him. He went to where the need was and met the need. He went to the Sea of Galilee and knew that there were tons of people thousands of people in that area who needed him, and he placed himself there, his ability to extend healing his ability to extend compassion, his ability to show mercy and Grace.

Was because he put himself where people who need mercy and grace are located.

Hiding won't help.

Minutes, easy to say, if I don't see it, I know what to do anything, so I just won't see anything. Much different to say. I'm going to hunt it down. Look around for people. I'm going to find those who seem to need Grace and I'm going to put myself out there.

I'm warning you in advance. It's going to get messy. There is not an active Christianity. That is not messy.

So am I calling you to something that is too hard for you? Yes. But I'm not calling you for to do something that's too hard for Jesus to do through you.

But I long for us to grow in our own faith in Christ by extending ourselves to others in such a way that he doesn't move. The need won't be mad and want me to see a movie for your. Thank you needed there and what a privilege it is for me to be a part of seeing you work.

So, I wanted to spend a little time in prayer, because if we try to go out and live more like Jesus, it's going to get hard.

We're going to need him and others. Come alongside us and help us out. So, maybe you already know who the person is, if you do start praying for him now. If you don't. Pray for God to start. Fortifying you for what's coming. pray that God would prepare you so that as you go out, you see it, and instead of running from it, your drawn towards it and instead of running away, when you see how big the messes you run into it, cuz Christ is with you and extending grace through you. Pastor Don movie up here with me would be glad to pray with you guys, if you want any prayer. Now, if something comes up during the week, please just email us. Send Oregon website and click the link and send this prayer request will be glad to pray with. You can even stop by church and will pray with you then. So still before the Lord for 2 minutes,