Are You A Crumby Christian?
Matthew 15:21-28 Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon.
22 And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, 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.
24 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
25 Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.
26 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 is going on here? Something important is wrapped up in this story.
-The woman wants her daughter to be healed.
-No matter how persistent, Jesus ignores her until she worships Him.
-After she worships Him, Jesus tells her it would be WRONG for Him to
give the daughter bread (healing/deliverance) because the
daughter was a dog (unbeliever).
-The woman agrees, but points out that even dogs (who have no right
to the table) get to eat the crumbs cast off by sloppy or generous
children.
SUDDENLY, Jesus is delighted with the woman and saying; “Whatever you want to do…”
-What the woman WANTED was to see her daughter healed.
-The woman took the grace that Jesus gave to her and passed it on
to her daughter (who was made WHOLE)!
This is GREAT news!
This is a GREAT promise!
This is a GREAT FAITH!!
Acts 3:1-9 Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.
2 And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple;
3 Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms.
4 And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us.
5 And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them.
6 Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.
7 And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.
8 And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.
9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God:
What was it that Peter had?
-Some say Peter had special Apostle-only powers that we don’t have, but
we KNOW personally that God still heals miraculously.
-Some say he had the WORD of GOD, but he didn’t quote any
scriptures…
What Peter had was FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST of Nazareth! He says so!! Peter knew that Jesus loves to heal the crippled and suffering people that He encountered. Peter said “In the name of Jesus Christ”, meaning that Peter knew he was there in Christ’s place!
If you do not believe that Jesus wants you to carry out His ministry of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:18), you will not trust Him to do His will in your life and ministry…
Colossians 1:24-29 Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church:
25 Whereof I am made a minister (are YOU a minister?), according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;
26 Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:
27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:
28 Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:
29 Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.
Paul says the mystery of Christ in you is our hope of Glory. He is certainly referring to the Glory of God! Jesus wants to work IN us and THROUGH us!
Why doesn’t He usually do it?
There is a cost to seeing the Glory of God…
-In Acts 3, Peter said “silver and gold have I none”. They gave
everything they had and were still giving!
-In Colossians 1, Paul said that he experienced sufferings and
afflictions.
When we need Christ, He works to meet our needs.
When we need a miracle, Christ works a miracle to save us.
When we need the POWER of God, Christ works mightily!!
Romans 5:1-5 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;
4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope:
5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
Glory comes in tribulations, too!
-Tribulations bring people to us and us to people. Unbelievers are
impatient with God when they suffer tribulations. If we actually have
faith, we are excited because we know that God will soon show His
Glory! We can patiently wait on God!
-Patience results in the manifestation of God’s glory! How rich we are
when we experience Jesus’ power, His compassion and His mercy!!
-Experience brings hope! When God is present to heal, deliver and
forgive, we expect to see hearts surrendered to God.
We will never be ashamed, even in tribulations, because God’s love is vast and powerful. His love flows in us and out to those around us. Isn’t it awesome to see tears in the eyes of those that have seen God’s love through Jesus Christ? Strong, ferocious men bow their heads and sigh…
Psalm 23 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness (righteousness is God doing something) for his name's sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
A life without fear and your cup running over!!
-Does that mean your drink is dribbling over your hand and into the dirt?
No, it means that the activities of God (His righteousness) are more than meeting your need! It means that you have so much grace from God that you can share it with others and still be full!
A few words about FAITH:
Faith in the Bible means more than thinking something is true (mental faith)… It means to depend on, rely upon, to surrender to, to be satisfied with and to have confidence.
To believe means to have faith in something or someone.
James 2:19-26 Thou believest (mentally) that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?
23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.
24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.
25 Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?
26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
There has been a lot of arguing over these verses! The problem has been with the works mentioned; what are they?
-Works of the LAW? No. We know that no one is justified by the
works of the LAW.
-Works of man? No. No man shall be justified by his own works.
-Works of the flesh? No. No one in the flesh can please God!
What’s left?
The works of FAITH!!
What are they?
They are the works that GOD DOES in response to our FAITH!
The scriptures refer to them as the RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD!
-Abraham was justified (found correct) when God responded with the
miracle of the ram stuck in the bushes!
-Rahab was justified (found correct) even when she lied about the
spies because God saved her and her household!
James 2:14-18 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,
16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?
17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
Many times people have come to me asking for food or money for the light bill and I haven’t had anything to give. But such as I have, I give gladly!
We pray together and ask God to fill our hands with those things we are needing. With time to spare, God meets these needs and more!
What good would it be to pray and NOT RECEIVE anything from God?
-That would be a useless, dead faith!
When sinners come to you for help and they see God fill your hands with THEIR provision, suddenly what you say about Jesus has authority!
Those crumbs may seem small to you, but to the hungry you are showing how much God loves them. You are showing them a living, dynamic faith in a living Jesus Christ!!
So let’s get a little sloppy… share those crumbs!!
Matthew 15:21-28 Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon.
22 And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, 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.
24 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
25 Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.
26 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 is going on here? Something important is wrapped up in this story.
-The woman wants her daughter to be healed.
-No matter how persistent, Jesus ignores her until she worships Him.
-After she worships Him, Jesus tells her it would be WRONG for Him to
give the daughter bread (healing/deliverance) because the
daughter was a dog (unbeliever).
-The woman agrees, but points out that even dogs (who have no right
to the table) get to eat the crumbs cast off by sloppy or generous
children.
SUDDENLY, Jesus is delighted with the woman and saying; “Whatever you want to do…”
-What the woman WANTED was to see her daughter healed.
-The woman took the grace that Jesus gave to her and passed it on
to her daughter (who was made WHOLE)!
This is GREAT news!
This is a GREAT promise!
This is a GREAT FAITH!!
Acts 3:1-9 Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.
2 And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple;
3 Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms.
4 And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us.
5 And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them.
6 Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.
7 And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.
8 And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.
9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God:
What was it that Peter had?
-Some say Peter had special Apostle-only powers that we don’t have, but
we KNOW personally that God still heals miraculously.
-Some say he had the WORD of GOD, but he didn’t quote any
scriptures…
What Peter had was FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST of Nazareth! He says so!! Peter knew that Jesus loves to heal the crippled and suffering people that He encountered. Peter said “In the name of Jesus Christ”, meaning that Peter knew he was there in Christ’s place!
If you do not believe that Jesus wants you to carry out His ministry of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:18), you will not trust Him to do His will in your life and ministry…
Colossians 1:24-29 Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church:
25 Whereof I am made a minister (are YOU a minister?), according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;
26 Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:
27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:
28 Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:
29 Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.
Paul says the mystery of Christ in you is our hope of Glory. He is certainly referring to the Glory of God! Jesus wants to work IN us and THROUGH us!
Why doesn’t He usually do it?
There is a cost to seeing the Glory of God…
-In Acts 3, Peter said “silver and gold have I none”. They gave
everything they had and were still giving!
-In Colossians 1, Paul said that he experienced sufferings and
afflictions.
When we need Christ, He works to meet our needs.
When we need a miracle, Christ works a miracle to save us.
When we need the POWER of God, Christ works mightily!!
Romans 5:1-5 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;
4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope:
5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
Glory comes in tribulations, too!
-Tribulations bring people to us and us to people. Unbelievers are
impatient with God when they suffer tribulations. If we actually have
faith, we are excited because we know that God will soon show His
Glory! We can patiently wait on God!
-Patience results in the manifestation of God’s glory! How rich we are
when we experience Jesus’ power, His compassion and His mercy!!
-Experience brings hope! When God is present to heal, deliver and
forgive, we expect to see hearts surrendered to God.
We will never be ashamed, even in tribulations, because God’s love is vast and powerful. His love flows in us and out to those around us. Isn’t it awesome to see tears in the eyes of those that have seen God’s love through Jesus Christ? Strong, ferocious men bow their heads and sigh…
Psalm 23 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness (righteousness is God doing something) for his name's sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
A life without fear and your cup running over!!
-Does that mean your drink is dribbling over your hand and into the dirt?
No, it means that the activities of God (His righteousness) are more than meeting your need! It means that you have so much grace from God that you can share it with others and still be full!
A few words about FAITH:
Faith in the Bible means more than thinking something is true (mental faith)… It means to depend on, rely upon, to surrender to, to be satisfied with and to have confidence.
To believe means to have faith in something or someone.
James 2:19-26 Thou believest (mentally) that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?
23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.
24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.
25 Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?
26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
There has been a lot of arguing over these verses! The problem has been with the works mentioned; what are they?
-Works of the LAW? No. We know that no one is justified by the
works of the LAW.
-Works of man? No. No man shall be justified by his own works.
-Works of the flesh? No. No one in the flesh can please God!
What’s left?
The works of FAITH!!
What are they?
They are the works that GOD DOES in response to our FAITH!
The scriptures refer to them as the RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD!
-Abraham was justified (found correct) when God responded with the
miracle of the ram stuck in the bushes!
-Rahab was justified (found correct) even when she lied about the
spies because God saved her and her household!
James 2:14-18 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,
16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?
17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
Many times people have come to me asking for food or money for the light bill and I haven’t had anything to give. But such as I have, I give gladly!
We pray together and ask God to fill our hands with those things we are needing. With time to spare, God meets these needs and more!
What good would it be to pray and NOT RECEIVE anything from God?
-That would be a useless, dead faith!
When sinners come to you for help and they see God fill your hands with THEIR provision, suddenly what you say about Jesus has authority!
Those crumbs may seem small to you, but to the hungry you are showing how much God loves them. You are showing them a living, dynamic faith in a living Jesus Christ!!
So let’s get a little sloppy… share those crumbs!!
