Endeavor to Persevere

Mat 15:21-28 NASB

(21)  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 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 to bow down before Him, saying, "Lord, help me!"

(26)  And He answered and said, "It is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs."

(27)  But she said, "Yes, Lord; but even the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their masters' table."

(28)  Then Jesus said to her, "O woman, your faith is great; it shall be done for you as you wish.”  And her daughter was healed at once.

What do we know about this woman?  First we know that she is a Gentile.  Jesus had traveled out of Galilee into the district of Tyre and Sidon.  This was over 30 miles away.  The woman was in great need.  Her daughter was possessed by demons.  She was undoubtedly at her last rope.  She was willing to do anything to get her daughter help.  She had obviously heard of Jesus and believed He could help.  Many times urgent needs drive us to seek Jesus. 

Let’s face it though, many times we see people who just want a quick fix.  They are only looking for a temporary solution.  This was not the case with this woman.  I am reminded of a scene from one of my favorite movies – Outlaw Josie Wales.  Chief Dan George played Lone Watie.  In this scene Lone Watie is talking to Josie about going to see Abraham Lincoln.  He says that Lincoln commented on how civilized the group looked and told them to “Endeavor to Persevere”.  This is exactly what this woman chose to do.  Instead of leaving because the disciples and the rest of the Jews hated her.  She worshiped Jesus (verse 25).  She realized worship comes before needs.  This woman gives us one of the greatest lessons of real faith.

Real faith is unyielding.  It demands results even when all odds say otherwise. Jesus was telling her it was not time, that He was sent to the Jews and it wasn’t  good to take from the children and feed the dogs.  Her faith drove her reply, “Even the dogs eat from the crumbs of the Master’s table”.  Her real faith was unyielding this woman had made up her mind and she had chosen to endeavor to persevere.

 How persistent are we?

When it comes to telling others about Christ?

When comes to working in our church to help it grow?

When it comes to praying for our loved ones?

When it comes to???????????????

Real Faith requires us to Endeavor to Persevere. 

Time For Harvest

Mat 9:36-38 NASB

(36)  Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd.

(37)  Then He *said to His disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.

(38)  "Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest."

Jesus was going through the cities proclaiming the gospel and healing the sick.  Verse 36 says he felt compassion for them.  He compares them to sheep without a shepherd.  The shepherd’s job was to protect the sheep.  Sheep without a shepherd will be distressed and dispirited.  They will not know which way to go and will find themselves walking into danger.

Let’s take a closer look, picture a sheep tangled in thicket.  Now look in another direction you may see one starting to head down a steep slope into a canyon.  Turn around you will see a young sheep who has lost its mother to wolves.  The shepherd keeps all this from happening. 

Now let’s look at this in human terms.  You see one person who has gone through a divorce and is worried about facing life alone.  Turn around you see another person who has started hanging out with the wrong crowd and is hooked on drugs.  Look over to the left or the right you will see people just struggling every day to keep their families together. 

These are the people Jesus felt compassion for; He met their physical need so He could address their spiritual need.  Jesus tells us the fields are ripe and ready for harvest.  The problem we see in verse 37 is that workers are few.  In verse 38 He tells us to ask God to send workers into His harvest.  How many times do we come in contact with people each day to which we could give our witness?  People need to hear about Jesus.  If we don’t tell them who will?

Tell someone about JESUS this week.   

What? Getting to Know Sinners

Mat 9:10-13 NASB

(10)  Then it happened that as Jesus was reclining at the table in the house,  behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were dining with Jesus and His disciples.

(11)  When the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, "Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners?"
(12)  But when Jesus heard this, He said, "It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick.
(13)  "But go and learn what this means: 'I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT SACRIFICE,' for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

I do not think it was a coincidence that Jesus was at Matthew’s house.  Jesus is all about going to where people live.  This notion is still what Jesus expects from those who follow Him.  We must go where people live.  How else will they know we are interested in them?  Remember, when Jesus asked Matthew to follow Him he was actually saying, “I want to get to know you” what better way to get to know someone than to spend time where they live.

What type of people where gathered at Matthew’s house; Other tax collectors, sinners, and Pharisees.  The Pharisees criticized Jesus for meeting with these people.  It is still the same way today.  Many times people criticize Christians when they make an effort to go into places or hang out with others who do not fit into the mold that has been the tradition.  We cannot let the criticism of others hinder our charge given to us by Jesus Christ.  That charge is to GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And TELL.

We must always weigh the objective of our ministry.  The Pharisees were self-sufficient they did not need a savior.  They were all about dotting the I’s and crossing the T’s.  The publicans and sinners knew they needed a savior.  Who else would Jesus be talking to, those who needed Him or those who did not want Him at all.  The objective of our ministry should always be about getting to know people so we can tell them about Jesus Christ.

Get to know someone this week so you can tell them about Jesus.    

Have I Got A Place For You

Mat 9:9 NASB

(9)  As Jesus went on from there, He saw a man called Matthew, sitting in the tax collector's booth; and He *said to him, "Follow Me!" And he got up and followed Him.

Matthew was a tax collector.  He was sitting in the tax collector’s booth taking money.  Tax collectors would collect taxes for the Roman Empire and anything they collected above the Roman requirement they kept. 

This week let’s look at the type of person Jesus calls.  What do we know about Matthew?  First, he is hated.  He is collecting and taking money for the Roman Empire, the very government who is oppressing Israel at this time.  Second, he undoubtedly is doing a very good job.  He is diligent or persistent in his work.  One could say he is a go getter.  He must have had a remarkable work ethic.  Whether or not you agree with his work he was doing a great job doing his work.  So much so, that Jesus noticed him and said, “follow me”.

Follow me.  Jesus is basically saying come with me; I would like to get to know you.  Jesus wants an intimate relationship with everyone He calls.  Jesus saw the persistence that Matthew exhibited in his work and immediately saw a place for him in His ministry.  Matthew’s skills at record keeping and his persistence to do a job well made him the obvious choice to write the entire account of Jesus’ life.

Matthew dropped everything and followed Jesus.  He finally had someone show an interest in him.  He had no friends and what was he losing, better yet, what was he gaining.

Jesus calls us to get to know us.  He has a place for us to serve.  Isn’t it amazing that Jesus saw us and thought, “ I want to get to that person, I have a place for them.”

If you don’t know Jesus, He wants to get to know you.  He has a place where you can serve.

If you know Jesus as your personal savior seek out that special purpose which Jesus has only for you.  When you find it do like Matthew – Diligently work for Him.

Find someone to witness to this week.