Preached at Riverview Baptist, 798 Santa Fe Pike, Sunday Evening 6 PM November 29 2015 …

Mark 7:27-29 But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it unto the dogs. [28] And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the children’s crumbs. [29] And he said unto her, For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter.

Matthew 15:26-28 But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs. [27] And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table. [28] Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.

What has been advertised on television and radio for months has come and gone. No, I’m not talking about Thanksgiving, a time when we (particularly as Americans) should be thankful unto God. No, I’m talking about “Black Friday”. It didn’t seem to be as bad this year as it has in past years, I guess because I didn’t go near it until later in the day. I was looking for fruit for a fruit basket for someone in the hospital – there were no deals there. But I did see – even late in the day – a lot of people looking to consume.

I used to think the term “Black Friday” was in reference to sales that helped retailers end their sales year “in the black”. But that’s not where the phrase comes from. In the early 60s the men and women of the Philadelphia Police Department named it “Black Friday” because of people rushing around trying to find good deals before Christmas. The Police hated the traffic congestion (along with the accidents) so much they named it “Black Friday” – and the name stuck! What represented misery to one group of people represents hope to another group of people. One retailer noted “Black Friday has morphed from just a one-day event into a month-long spending circus.” People think they will find happiness in things. There is no happiness in things – happiness is only found in a life that relies on the Lord Jesus.

This morning we saw Jesus teach us where sin and depravity comes from. Jesus taught:

Mark 7:23 All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.

If the bad stuff comes from within (and that’s what Jesus said), from our fallen natures, then it becomes more imperative that every person find the Lord! The life unsubmitted to Jesus can go off the rails and become a train wreck!

1 Jesus Cannot Be Hidden From The Darkness. After teaching that “out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness – all these evil things come from within, and defile the man”, Jesus left the Jews and sailed into Gentile country.

Mark 7:24 And from thence he arose, and went into the borders of Tyre and Sidon, and entered into an house, and would have no man know it: but he could not be hid.

Jesus had been healing and loving people. He had been chased by crowds, and attacked by Pharisees and Scribes. He had fed people, and done many wondrous things. And Jesus was tired. It may sound strange, for we often talk of Jesus being God – and He is God. The Bible tells us:

John 1:1, 14 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the WORD WAS GOD.… And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory…

John 5:18 … For this cause therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, MAKING HIMSELF EQUAL WITH GOD.

John 8:24 {Jesus said} I said therefore to you, that you shall die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am, you shall die in your sins.

John 10:30-33 {Jesus said} I and the Father are one. 31 The Jews took up stones again to stone Him. 32 Jesus answered them, “I showed you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you stoning Me?” 33 The Jews answered Him, “For a good work we do not stone You, BUT FOR BLASPHEMY; AND BECAUSE YOU, BEING A MAN, MAKE YOURSELF OUT TO BE GOD.

John 20:28 {on seeing the Risen Savior} Thomas answered and said to Him, My Lord and my God!

Hebrews 1:8 But of the Son {the Father} says, Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever, and the righteous scepter is the scepter of His kingdom.

Jesus Christ is God, the Manifest and Visible Member of the Godhead. But in order to come and save us from ourselves Jesus had to take upon Himself humanity. In human form Jesus is confronted by something He never had to deal with. He gets tired, just as we get tired. He hurts as we hurt. He doesn’t ever sin – no, He is without sin. He is the spotless Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world – the Lamb Who will die for us sinners, Who will in agony bleed on that lonely Tree called Calvary. When He came to this earth for us He came to share in our frailty.

Jesus needed a break. This is why He went to the “borders of Tyre and Sidon”. The two cities Tyre and Sidon were ancient Canaanite cities that God gave to the Jewish Tribe of Asher. Asher was to go into these twin cities and conquer them in the Name of God. They were to chase out the idolatry and child sacrifice that was there, and establish God’s Kingdom. But Asher did not obey the Lord. They did not carry God’s light into that area. Where light is not, darkness reigns.

I saw a horror movie the other day that was actually on point with this. It was called “Vanishing on 7^th Street”. A black darkness was creeping over the city – you could actually see the darkness like an ooze – but what repelled the darkness was (can you guess) the Light. As long as you stayed in the Light you were all right. But if your candle or torch went out, your flashlight ran out of juice, or the electric grid went down — then the darkness took you! You literally vanished, leaving your clothing behind. The darkness robbed you of life.

Everyone needs the Light that is Jesus! He is “the True Light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world” (John 1:9). Jesus said:

John 8:12 …. I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

John 12:44-46 … He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me. [45] And he that seeth me seeth him that sent me. [46] I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.

If Asher had done as Asher should have done, the Light of God would have doused the darkness of idolatry and evil. If the Church in America had done as the Church in America should have done, the Light of Christ would have doused the black flame of evil! But Asher didn’t do her job, and sadly the Church does not many times do it’s job. Rather than CONFRONT evil with CHRIST too often we either LOOK THE OTHER WAY or JUSTIFY EVIL. We cannot! We cannot! We must speak Christ to the darkness, and shout His Gospel into the very pits of hell!

Jesus came into Tyre and Sidon to rest. Here is an idolatrous, dark pair of cities that have never had anything to do with God. Here Asher should have gone, but did not. It is a dark place which most people would think would have nothing to do with Jesus. Jesus entered a house there, and would have no man know it. He was tired, weary to the very bones.

But even in those dark places Tyre and Sidon, even in a closed house, the Light that is Christ leaks out. “He could not be hid”.

2 Jesus Cannot Be Hidden. He Is The Light That Chases The Darkness.

a Trials Drive Us Into The Arms Of Christ. Everyone I know is either headed toward a trial, suffering in a trial, or has recently been through a trial. Trials have no preference of race, creed, or sex. Trials come to all. As Jesus rests in a home we read:

Mark 7:25-26 For a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell at his feet: [26] The woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation; and she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter.

This woman is not of Israel. She is a “Greek, a Syrophenician by nation”. She is not an Israelite. God promised to send Messiah to Israel first, then afterward to the world. God told His people in the Prophets of a day when Messiah would come, saying:

Zechariah 13:1-2 In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness. [2] And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no more be remembered: and also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land.

With the coming of Christ the Prophets ceased, for the Prophets all spoke of Christ. Apostles took their places, and proudly proclaimed Jesus. With the coming of Christ the idols ceased, and the “unclean spirit passes out of the land”. Christ came to save Israel first. But here is a Greek, a Canaanite, a woman from a fallen civilization. She shouldn’t know of Christ, but does, for trials drive her to Jesus.

b Her Young Daughter Has An Unclean Spirit. We are told in Matthew’s parallel account that “the daughter was grievously vexed with a devil”. How did that child get to that state? Returning again to this morning’s sermon we remember that Jesus said:

Mark 7:23 All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.

Sin is in the human heart, and a tendency to sin in every person from the moment of birth. But the wages of sin is always death.

A child is innocent in the sense that the child cannot distinguish right or wrong, nor can a child even understand the concept of God until the age of accountability. We are all born with “unclean spirits” in the sense that our souls are steeped and permeated in sin. If the darkness within is not addressed by the Light of Christ the child follows their nature – and falls down a dark pit of sin. The Bible says that the parent is to teach the things of God to the child.

Deuteronomy 6:4-7 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: [5] And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. [6] And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: [7] And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

The parent or parents are to bring the child into proximity to Christ. Jesus said:

Mark 10:14… allow the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.

The child is not to be kept from Christ for sports or other reasons. One Church I pastored the Chairman of Deacons kept his children out of Church during the “soccer season”. Children are entrusted to parents. Children are blessings from God. Parents – children desperately need the Lord!

The Bible says:

Psalm 127:3 Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.

No child is a mistake. They are precious – so precious that the parents are to care that their souls do not fall to darkness. The child is entrusted to the parent, and that child is not to run the household, but to heed the God Who rules that household. Parents are to draw lines of discipline for their children. The Scripture invokes:

Proverbs 13:24 ESV Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.

Proverbs 23:13-14 ESV Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you strike him with a rod, he will not die. If you strike him with the rod, you will save his soul from Sheol.

Proverbs 29:17 Discipline your son, and he will give you rest; he will give delight to your heart.

Proverbs 22:6 ESV Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.

Proverbs 22:15 ESV Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline drives it far from him.

Just as God our Father disciplines us, the child entrusted to us is to be loved and disciplined, led from the darkness. Many people bring misery on their children by not loving and settig standards. We do not know why this child has an “unclean spirit”, but no one just falls into an unclean spirit. This child is no longer under the possession of her mother. The father of the child is not here, standing before Jesus. The child is in a terrible state.

c The Mother Cries Out In Faith To Christ. Is she at fault for the “unclean spirit” in the child? Perhaps, perhaps not. But one thing the mother knows is that she has no hope but Christ. So she cries out. The Mark account doesn’t mention this, but Matthew notes how the woman’s cries are unanswered. She cried out:

Matthew 15:22-23 …. Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. [23] But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us.

What does she cry out? “Have mercy on me”. Not “have mercy on my child” but “have mercy on ME”. The state of the child is causing her suffering. Perhaps the earlier actions she took as a parent are in part blame for what the child is going through. Perhaps not – the text doesn’t tell us. But SHE is suffering because her child is suffering. She is bound to that child by love, and focuses on Christ.

But He answered her not a word.

There are times when we cry out to God that He does not answer.

• Lazarus is at death’s door – let us hurry Master so he can be saved. But Jesus answers not a world, and tarries for four days. “Let’s now go to Lazarus!” But Master, Lazarus is dead. Even YOU cannot fix this! Lazarus hasn’t died – he just sleeps. I go to waken him.”
• Master, my daughter is at death’s door. Let’s go right now! But Jesus tarries in the crowd long enough for a woman – afflicted with an issue of blood for twelve years – to touch Him. Who touched Me? Our Lord tarried until it was too late. Leave the Master alone – she is dead. But Jesus says “She is not dead, but sleeps. Come Peter, James, and John – I will show you”.

As Jesus tarries with this Canaanite woman the hearts of all those around Him are revealed. Jesus often tarries so the heart can be revealed. The disciples say “Send her away, Jesus. She crieth after US.” Why are these crowds following them? “It’s because of US”. No its not. The famous preacher is not famous because of his power, but because of the glorious message of the Gospel. The Church that is filled with people, building and growing, is not doing so because of “US”. It is building and growing because that glorious banner of the Cross is being lifted up. Christ said:

John 12:32-36 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. [33] This he said, signifying what death he should die. [34] The people answered him, We have heard out of the law that Christ abideth for ever: and how sayest thou, The Son of man must be lifted up? who is this Son of man? [35] Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. [36] While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide himself from them.

The disciples are beginning to try and take the glory of Christ. The moon cannot take the light of the sun – it can only reflect it. That poor soul was not kneeling at Christ’s feet because of Peter, James or John. She was not kneeling because of Andrew, or Iscariot. She was there calling Jesus LORD. She was looking to the Savior for salvation.

“Lord, I have not only messed up my life, but my daughter’s life. She has an unclean spirit. A devil has come to abide in her, and I ache. My sins have hurt not just me, but her. Heal, Lord. Heal my daughter, and knit together my Broken Heart!”

3 Saving Faith Displays Itself In Both Deed And Word. Jesus did not answer not because He didn’t care. He did not answer so that His disciples could see what genuine faith was. Genuine faith forgets self. It kneels at the feet of the Master, all pride put to the side. Jesus tests her faith:

Mark 7:27 But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it unto the dogs.

I heard a great saying the other day. It was:

Would you believe the way you believe if you were the only person to believe it?

That’s a great saying! Saving faith focused on the Lord Jesus no matter what. The disciples were discouraging her, trying to send her away. It seemed as if even Jesus was sending her away. “I came for the Jews first – not the Gentiles. The Canaanites belong on the back of the Gospel bus. They can drink from the fountain that never runs dry, but only after the Jews are satisfied.”

Many people would have went away mad. But not this woman. She was broken. Her child was broken. She had HEARD of Jesus and knew – because of what someone told her – that He could save her. Can I say YOU MUST SPEAK THE GOSPEL TO THE BROKEN. You must tell them that Jesus came to all regardless of race. You must tell everyone that Christ not only died for me, but He died for YOU. You must tell everyone that the Star of Bethlehem stood above the cradle where the Sun of Righteousness lay, that Jesus humbled Himself in the Cradle on the Cross and to the Grave for whosoever will – even the Canaanite. This woman said:

Mark 7:28-29 And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the children’s crumbs. [29] And he said unto her, For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter.

She said “Yes, Lord”. She said yes to Jesus. And Jesus told her “for THIS SAYING the devil is gone out of your daughter”. Because you stood up before so much resistance. Because you trusted Me even in the midst of a jeering crowd. The Bible promises:

Romans 10:9-13 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. [10] For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. [11] For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. [12] For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. [13] For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

She called upon the name of the Lord and was saved.

A member of the Church had ceased coming to services, so the Pastor called on him. “We’ve been missing you at Church”, the Pastor said. “Well the thief that died next to Jesus didn’t go to Church, so I don’t either” the wayward man said. The Pastor told him “The difference between you and the dying thief is that he was “a dying thief” but you are a “living thief”. You have stolen Christ’s name but do not live in His light.”

If you belong to Jesus then live as if He is Lord. Kneel at His nail scarred feet. Do what He says. May God bless your hearts with His Word.