Matthew 15:21-28. Eight verses... less than a good paragraph.... and we're starting on Part 10. “How could there possibly be so much to say about 8 little verses?”
“Why would you spend so much time on 8 verses?”
“Doesn't that get old? It sure seems like it's getting old. Stale...”
Well, I will tell you how. I will tell you why. Gladly.
Yesterday, I had a meeting. A very important meeting. A meeting that has the potential to be very profitable. A really good opportunity...
Well, I always arrive early. Always. If I'm running late... you should probably check the hospital or the morgue. I'm not one to run late. Not very often. I have a motto: “If I'm 5 minutes early: I'm 10 minutes late.” I like to be early. I like to arrive BEFORE I'm supposed to be there. Before I'm needed to be there... I like to get the lay of the land... to scope things out... to take in the view... to see what's going on... To get a 'feel' for my surroundings.... To determine what sort of environment I'm in... To get a good 'feel' for the people... To note all the entrances... And all the exits...
I like to know my surroundings.
I believe—very strongly!--in being: situationally aware. And something that I preach to Jess and my kids—constantly. Know where you are! Know what's around you! Who is around you!--At all times!
Yesterday? Traffic was just amazing! All green lights... no congestion... no road work... and I got to the Starbucks in record time... I was running really early. Super early. Even by my standards. So, I ordered me a latte... and I went and sat down. And, as I've previously said: it was one of those days where things were just going my way... it was almost empty! Very few people were there. I had my choice of seats.
It was wide open...
So, I took a seat by the window. The warm sun felt nice on my face... and I sat there sipping my Latte. Slowly. Really enjoying it. And I sat there thinking about God and His amazing grace. Thinking about everything that has happened in the last few years... Everything that has transpired... Everything that has taken place... How—just like I covered yesterday—He never left me. Not even for a second...
And though I wasn't having Bread and The Cup...
Just a latte in a cup...
I was having a communion-like moment. Right then. Right there. I was taking a few minutes to just think... to meditate... to concentrate on the Lord. Enjoying my thoughts on my Lord. Enjoying the warmth of the sun... enjoying my latte... enjoying the peace and quiet....
Well, the peace and quiet didn't last long (Of course!)!!!!
It was interrupted by two older men striking up a conversation—right behind me. A very LOUD conversation. I don't make it habit of trying to eavesdrop in people's business... in fact: the less I know about people and their business... the happier I am! I don't want to know people's business. I go out of my way to avoid people's business. BUT. There's not much you can do when: they are right behind you and there letting the entire city know their business...
I mean they were loud! They put on quite a show. Understandably... they were preachers! Yep! Both of them were preachers! And apparently one had moved away—from the area—years and years ago. And he was up visiting with some family for the coming holiday weekend. He was on vacation.
Preacher 1: “So, you still preaching?”
Preacher 2: “Just about every Sunday. You?”
Preacher 1: “Yep. Got me several associate pastors now. They do all the heavy lifting. I just do the second service on Sunday—now. You know: when all the visitors come in.”
Preacher 2: “Same here. So, how big is your church? How many people do you have?”
Preacher 1: “We are growing by leaps and bound! Just built a new building. I don't know the exact count but were in the THOUSANDS now. Thousands of people attend. We've got the numbers. We've got the offering. We're doing incredible things for the Lord. Just incredible things.”
Preacher 2: “Amen! We're turning things around for the Lord too...”
Like I said: I don't go around trying to eavesdrop.... I don't go around TRYING to listen to other people's conversations... I really don't. I don't really want to know... I really don't.
But. It's kinda hard when its happening—very loudly!--right behind you. Very hard.
And I sit there and I ask the Lord: “Father, why do you always put me in these spots? Always. Whether I'm at the track... Whether I'm checking out at the Wal-Mart... Whether I'm waiting at the Doctor's office.... Whether I'm sitting here—minding my own business—trying to drink a latte.... It's like you ENJOY dumping these people into my lap???? It's like you want to always remind me... It's like you always want to teach me... to train me... to drive the point home.... to NEVER forget: What matters most: oikodomē ”
Oikodomē is a Greek noun. It means: a building. But really it means: more of the thing that is being built. The building that is being built. It means to build up. It means to put in place. To get it right and tight... It also means: One who promotes another person's growth. Spiritual growth. It means edification... to edify... to encourage the RIGHT KIND of growth...
And where is that growth at????
That growth is in: THE SOUL!
A church isn't growing by how many people attend... A church isn't growing because of how much offering it takes up... A church isn't growing because of how many services it has on Sunday Morning... A church isn't growing because of how many pastors it has on the payroll.... A church isn't growing because of how many new buildings it's erecting...
Erecting...
Perfect word. Absolutely perfect.
That's exactly what that is. Erecting. Boys grow up (at least physically!)... some become pastors.... and how large their church is... well, it becomes the new spiritual peeing contest... the new thing to measure...
Wrong focus.
Wrong priority.
The question should have been: “Are you still teaching Bible Doctrine? Are you still faithful to your calling? Are you studying to show yourself approved to the Lord? Are you still rightfully dividing the Word of Truth? Are you a workman who doesn't have to worry about being ashamed at The Bema Seat? Are you doing it in season—and out of season? Are you faithful to The Word???? Are you communicating the GRACE of God? Does your congregation have positive volition???? Are they hungry for the Word of God??”
oikodomē
The only building that matters is: THE SOUL of believers. That's growth.
And spiritual growth only comes from one place: Bible Doctrine. Positive Volition to Bible Doctrine.
THAT. That is how... that is why... THAT is the reason why I spend so much time on just a few simple verses. There is nothing simple about them. YOU may be simple—in the head. You may not understand. You may not be able to grasp what all is going on. But there's nothing 'simple' about God's Word. It's the most powerful thing in the universe.
Cliff's Notes may have gotten you by in high school and college....
But. When the crisis comes—and it's coming!--to these shores... When the “you know what” hits the fan... You're little watered down milk isn't going to get you anywhere. You'll have a shack in your soul... and the wind and rain and the storms of life will level it... level it to the ground!
When the pressure comes... that's when you'll be glad that Bible Doctrine has constructed a fortress in your soul.
Oikodomē
It’s a work in progress... A building in progress... it's not “All the great things we do for God with our numbers.” NO! It's what God does for us—in Grace—with Numbers and the other 65 books found in the Bible....
And one of those books is Matthew. Matthew 15:21-28
Jesus went away from there, and withdrew into the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And a Canaanite woman from that region came out and began to cry out, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is cruelly demon-possessed.” 23 But He did not answer her a word.
And His disciples came and implored Him, saying, “Send her away, because she keeps shouting [a]at us.” 24 But He answered and said, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 But she came and began [b]to bow down before Him, saying, “Lord, help me!”
What a contrast...
What a complete and total contrast...
The: Gentile Woman the Religious leaders. This: Gentile woman and the majority of the Jewish people. This: Gentile Woman and the very disciples who walked—and talked!--with the Lord... who walked and talked with Him—daily!
What a complete contrast.
It's as different as day and night.
The religious leaders wanted The Lord to perform miracles too. But. They had the wrong motivation! They wanted to use His miracles as a way to trap Him! To catch Him. To say that He was violating one of their oral traditions. He was in breach of what they viewed as being acceptable. He was violating the law as THEY interpreted it. As they twisted it...
What arrogance! The law belonged to the Lord! He was the very person who gave it to Moses! It was His Law! His! He fulfilled it—perfectly. And these vain men... these blind men... these conniving and spiteful men... they want the Lord to do miracles to trap Him.
The people wanted miracles for everything! They wanted our Lord to go around—all up and down the region!--healing everyone—physically!--wherever He went! Just heal them. Blind? Now you can see! Deaf? Now you can hear! Crippled? Now you can walk? Dead? You've been resuscitated! Stubbed your little toe? The swelling is down now! Got a toothache? Let Jesus play dentist... Got some sort of bump or bruise... Jesus will fix you right up. Back is out of line? Don't worry! Come see Christ the Chiropractor!
The people wanted an end to their PHYSICAL suffering. They wanted someone who would heal them of all their physical pains and maladies. All their ailments...
The people wanted someone who would liberate them from Rome! They wanted a political liberator! They wanted a Warrior King who would free them from the oppression they were under...
And when they didn't get their way... they started turning on Him. They got their feelings hurt. They got angry. They got bitter. They got resentful. They got spiteful. They became vicious too!
As I said in another post (nothing to do with these lessons). We don't live in the age of prophecy. The only future event that the church age has to look forward to is: THE RAPTURE! That's it. There is NO OTHER PROPHECY that has to be fulfilled. Just the Rapture. We live in the age of: Historical Trends.
And as Christians—with Bible Doctrine resident in our soul as epignosis knowledge—we are to be able to recognize these trends. We are able to see them. To know what is coming... To make connections... To connect the dots... To see the picture start to form.... To have illumination....
The same thing is happening in our country. Right now. Right here in the United States of America. The people want PHYSICAL liberation. They want free food... free homes... free cars... free cell phones... free health care... free vacations... they want everything handed to them... They want to do some menial task and get paid $35,000 - $50,000 a year for doing it. $80,000 a year! $100,000 a year! Most of these people are barely qualified to operate a broom... and they want to paid like a CEO!
Do you see the trend? Do you see the pattern? The people in this country have fallen for a lie: if they get all their physical needs taken care... they will be happy! They will be complete. They will have everything they want.
NO THEY WON'T!!!!!
They will only want more... they will only expect more... they will only demand more! And when someone has the audacity to tell them, “NO!”.... they will start to rise up and take what they want. BY FORCE! And they won't care who they walk all over... who they step on... who they destroy to get what they want... Lie. Cheat. Steal. Kill. They will take what they want by force.
Our leaders... are taking by fiat... BUT. There is only so much that can be taken...
And when it starts running out...
The people will try and take by force...
So, I really hope you have some Bible Doctrine in your soul. Otherwise: you might try “turning the other cheek” when you need to be doing something else. Yeah. Let me know how that works out for you...
Let me know how being a “peace maker” works out for you...
Let me know how being “meek” is going to work out for you...
Let me give you a hint: WRONG DISPENSATION! Christ was giving a talk on the Millennium. His FUTURE 1,000 Year Kingdom. And if you don't know the difference... if you've got all these wonderful buildings being erected, but you don't have ANYTHING being built in your soul...
You aren't going to know what to do.
And instead of recognizing historical trends...
You walk around with a normalcy bias.
Anyway...
What a contrast...
As different as day and night.
The religious leaders were all in an uproar. Christ was rocking the boat with His message. No, he wasn't just rocking it! He flipped that baby over and sank it! Straight to the bottom.
The common people were getting ticked off. They weren't getting what they wanted. How they wanted it. When they wanted it. The Lord wasn't kissing all their boo boo's and tucking them in at night. He wasn't reading them a sweet bedtime story with a happy ending: “And The Lord came straight from heaven in a bolt of lightning! And He was armed with a sword and a spear... and He smited all the Romans with the heat from his eye sockets. And all the Children of Israel were free. And then The Lord healed them all—right on the spot—of every physical ailment they had. And they all lived happily every after...”
Nope. That wasn't what He was saying. And it wasn't what He was doing.
He wasn't there to free them from tyranny. He wasn't there to change their circumstances. To deliver them from captivity. No. He was there to deliver them from eternal condemnation.
He wasn't there to heal all their bodies. He was there to provide salvation. To heal their souls. To change their thinking. To teach them about His Word. He was THE WORD!
But the people rejected that. They wanted their conquering hero. Their great political liberator. Their medicine man. They wanted someone who would indulge them—physically.
And the Disciples? They were all mixed up—completely. They were all sad. They were all depressed. They were moping about. They weren't going to get their Kingdom. They weren't going to be big shots in the new operation.
They weren't getting what they wanted either. They weren't getting it how they wanted it. When they wanted it. Their grand ideas... their plans... their hopes... their dreams... nothing was going how THEY Planned for it to go. NOTHING.
The religious leaders wanted to keep their power...
The people wanted physical liberation.... as a nation... and in their bodies....
The disciples wanted their kingdom. They wanted to be VIP's in the set up...
Don't you see? Everybody wants what they want. How they want it. When they want it. Everybody is so wrapped up in self. Wrapped up in themselves. Only thinking about themselves. Only concerned about what it all means to them.... Personally.
No consideration for what the Lord wants. No curiosity about what the Lord is doing. No concentrating on the Lord. No focusing on the Lord. No occupation with The Lord.
Just their little problems...
Just their little annoyances...
Just the little and petty things they are threatened by...
And the Disciples wanted this Gentile Woman ran off. They wanted the Lord to get rid of her. To send her packing—far, far, far, FAR away from them.
But she came and began to bow down before Him, saying, “Lord, help me!”
The Pharisees and the religious leaders wanted a miracle to trap the Lord in some violation. They wanted to use His miracles for their evil purposes... their evil plans...
The people wanted miracles for their liberation. For their enjoyment. For their pleasure. For their ease. To make things easier for them.
The Disciples wanted their kingdom. They wanted the good life too...
This woman? This Gentile Woman? She wanted the Lord to heal her daughter. Yes, it was her daughter, but her motivation was not selfish. It was not self-centered. It was not just to make her life easier. Her need was legitimate. Valid. She had a reason. And it wasn't for herself. It was for someone she loved. It was for someone else.
And you know what? When you're motivated by love... when love is your genuine motivation.... there isn't anything that you won't endure! When you love someone... when you care about them... you will put them first. Every. Single. Time.
Every time.
You will endure A LOT for them.
You will get up—every day—and do what needs to be done.
You will do your: J-O-B.
You will suffer for them.
You will experience pain for them.
You will experience hardship for them.
You will experience humiliation for them.
You will experience rejection for them.
You will get down on your knees and beg for them....
When you are motivated by love... there isn't anything that you won't do for them.
And that's exactly what this woman was doing.... This Gentile woman.
She RECOGNIZED who the Lord was. She recognized His deity, remember? That's verse 22. She recognized His Humanity. That's verse 22 also. She knew that He was THE GOD-MAN SAVIOR! She knew it!
And when it seemed like the Lord ignored her cries...
And when it seemed like the disciples were trying to shew her off...
What did she do? She just kept coming...
She knew what she was: A GENTILE. She knew they were: Jews. This woman knew who The Lord Jesus Christ was—exactly who He was. So, you can rest assured: she knew exactly what the Jewish people thought of her. She knew exactly what these disciples thought of her...
She was a Gentile!
She was nothing!
Scrum!
She was a dog!
And that wasn't a compliment. It was an insult. A slur. A racial slur. A racial and religious slur for the polytheistic culture that she came from...
BUT. She kept coming. Because she was motivated by love.
And Peter...
And the rest of the disciples...
They all sat watching this. They all sat watching this woman... This Gentile Woman.... keep coming... even though she wasn't wanted (at least not by them!).... Even though she was despised by them... Even though they wanting nothing to do with her...
Even though they wanted her gone—permanently.
They had no way of realizing it—at least not at that moment in time—but I wonder if when our Lord was carrying the cross... When our Lord was being crucified... When our Lord was suffering on the cross... When our Lord was being our substitute.... When He was enduring a substitutionary spiritual death...
I wonder if they realized: Despite the rejection... Despite the people who didn't want Him... Despite the people who refused to accept Him... Despite the people who refused to believe in Him... Despite their hostility... Despite their cruelty... Despite the people wanting to kill Him and have him vanquished—forever!
Despite all that...
I wonder if they thought back to this woman... This Woman...
And I wonder if they thought back to this Gentile Woman...
And how she was motivated by love.... Not by herself...
And I wonder if they remembered her. What all she endured... for someone else.
Because: That's exactly what our Lord was doing. He was enduring terrible suffering... and He was doing it because He was motivated by: Love. Personal love for God The Father. And: Impersonal love for all mankind.
He endured it all...
He endured the worst: Separation from God the Father when He was on the cross.
I wonder if they thought about her. I'm sure they did. I'm sure she crossed their minds.
I know—as I sit here writing—she crosses my mind.
And so does The Lord.
Everything that He endured. Everything that He faced. All the opposition.... and it was incredible! Incredible opposition from the religious leaders... from the spoiled, self-centered, and recalcitrant populace...
He did His job.
He did His duty.
He kept on coming...
Enduring it all.
For you.
For me.
For us all.
So, by HIS GRACE and HIS GRACE ALONE... I keep right on coming... pushing right along... right on writing.... right on speaking... right on pounding away—like a dog with a bone—on a few verses.
oikodomē
Real Growth...
True Growth...
It's in the soul.
And I don't care how big of a religious compound/complex you build on this earth.... how big your earthy kingdom is... how many buildings.... how many seats... how many people... how much money...
If you don't have Bible Doctrine in the soul... you don't have anything.
Nothing.
It will fade away...
It will vanish.
But the Word of God lives and abides forever.
And that is how we live our lives: In The Light of Eternity.
oikodomē
By HIS GRACE... We keep pressing on...
