

CHANGE YOUR LIFE

WITH

GOD

A COMPILATION OF SERMONS AND ILLUSTRATIONS

BY: FAITH DEUS

TABLE OF CONTENT

  1. The Hope That Changes Life

  2. The Outer Limits

  3. When Jesus Calls My Name

  4. Follow The Leader

  5. Encountering God's Purpose

  6. Jesus in the Midst

  7. Sharing Jesus in Practical Ways

  8. The Cost Of Discipleship

  9. The Empty Tomb   
10. Great Faith

The Hope That Changes Life   
John 20:1-20:18

An Illinois man left Chicago for a vacation in Florida. His wife was on a business trip and was planning to meet him the next day. When he reached his hotel he decided to send his wife a quick   
e-mail. Unable to find the scrap of paper on which he had written her e-mail address, he did his best to type it from memory.   
Unfortunately, he missed one letter and his note was directed instead to an elderly preacher's wife, whose husband had passed away only the day before. When the grieving widow checked her e-mail, she took one look at the monitor, let out a piercing scream, and fell to the floor dead.   
At the sound, her family rushed into the room and saw this note on the screen:

Dearest Wife,   
Just got checked in. Everything prepared for your arrival tomorrow.   
Your Loving Husband.

P.S: Sure is hot down here.

> What could be more powerful than news from the other side of death ? Easter is that and more.  
· Not an email message, but a living message.   
· Not from man, but from God.  
· Not from hell, but from heaven.  
It's GOOD NEWS !

Easter Sunday... the day we gather to celebrate that the stone which sealed the life and love of God has been rolled away...that our hopes are alive in the resurrection of Jesus.

God's Word speaks of this hope as "an anchor for the soul." It is often the unspoken strength that allows us to rise each day and face the uncertainties of life.   
In the midst of our losses and let downs, we can anchor our souls with divine strength. The hope of Easter isn't the hope of a naïve fool or nagging optimist, it's hope that meets us in the real world.

For as was read earlier from the Gospel of John (John 20:1, 11-18 NLT) ... OUR STORY DOESN'T BEGIN IN THE LIGHT OF DAY.  
IT BEGINS AT DAWN WHEN IT'S STILL DARK... A PLACE FAR LESS CLEAR... FAR MORE PERSONAL.  
It begins with an individual...Mary....Perhaps as fascinating and encouraging as anything God chooses to do... He focuses the greatest events...events of cosmic proportions...on ordinary individuals.   
· Not what you'd call your traditionally religious person. She was from the city of Magdala along the sea of Galilee... and may have had a wealthy background.... but nothing could protect her from the harsh realities of the world.  
· She was a women in a world that found woman a good scapegoat on which to place it's shame...somehow more easily separated from God... there was little acceptability to hope on her own.   
· And as many come to find...the most oppressive powers aren't just cultural and political, they are personal and spiritual. Tradition has always had it that Mary was a scarlet sinner. She had become oppressed by spiritual powers that bound her within.   
This was before the day that a new presence came to town...a presence that proved more powerful   
than all the powers around her and within her. Jesus had come to town and saw into her soul... and cast those powers out... seven demonic powers. He had done something for her that no one else could ever do, and she could never forget. No one ever loved Jesus so much as Mary Magdalene.   
The part that love plays in this story is extraordinary. It was Mary, who loved Jesus so much, who was first at the tomb.

She comes in love... but ALSO IN DARKNESS; not just the darkness of the sky, but the darkness of her soul. Her love may have been strong but her hope couldn't see anything left to hold onto. He was gone and the world without him was dark... dark around her ... dark within her.   
> Easter begins where life on this planet finds us...  
· a world not always safe and sane and satisfying;  
· a world where the love of family and friends can fall short... prove frail and fragile;  
· a world where people we love leave us far too soon.  
> Easter enters just such a world. The love of God is a deep love that seeks us in the darkness. Not the love of fairy tales or forced devotion... but a love that reaches into the real world.

If you've ever found it hard to see that love... you can appreciate Mary.  
Easter begins with one whose hopes appear sealed in the harsh reality of a tomb... and whose expectations are once again left in a natural world. Even when she arrives and finds the huge stone somehow removed from the cave like tomb... what does she think? Two things may have entered her mind. She may have thought that the Jews had taken away Jesus's body; that, not satisfied with killing him on a cross, they were inflicting further indignities on him. Or there were ghoulish creatures who made it their business to rob tombs; and Mary may have thought that this had happened here. She couldn't perceive of anything more.

And then a presence beside her . But what can she hope for... a gardener.   
The presence of one she loves... longs for... she can't see clearly through her sadness. Her head and her heart are turned downward in her tears. The hope of Easter begins in that place where it's hard for us to expect much...to see clearly... to recognize God's presence through our tears and trials... our fears and frustrations.

> But the voice of Easter morning would penetrate the darkness.

What Mary saw that Easter morning would change her life forever... and can change ours.  
Jesus came to Mary because she needed him. We all need him. He knew better than she did that we all need a risen savior. She was only the first. She wasn't to cling to his bodily appearance, for the hope that was alive was not in the limited presence of his body, but his unlimited presence... which would now transcend time and space.... As a living hope for all the world.

What is the living hope that changed Mary's life? .... That changes our life?

In the risen Christ Mary discovered the living hope that...

1. God can overcome any powers over my past.

Mary knew about the powers that can control and define our past...she had been oppressed by them...powers that controlled her. Perhaps for they Mary they began by simply entertaining anger... or self-hatred...but soon they become oppressive.... controlling... defining who we are. They were powers bigger than her. They were the powers over her past. We all know something of the power over our past... the shame that tethers us down from the hope of who we long to be.

A group of six-year-old kids were asked to write a prayer. Little Arthur stared, fidgeted, and finally wrote: "Dear God, please help me to be the person my dog thinks I am."+

Another teacher asked her class what each wanted to become when they grew up "President," "a fireman," "a teacher." One by one they answered until it became Billy's time. The teacher asked, "Billy, what do you want to be when you grow up?" "Possible," Billy responded. "Possible?" asked the teacher. "Yes," Billy said, "my mom is always telling me I'm impossible. When I grow up I want to become POSSIBLE."

Mary wanted to be "possible."

Then Jesus... the Christ... spoke into her life ... with power. He looked her in the eyes, confronted the powers and set her free.  
But there was more than just the authority of heaven... there was the LOVE of heaven.

Sociologists have a theory of the looking-glass self: you become what the most important person in your life (wife, father, boss, etc.) thinks you are. How would my life change if I truly believed the Bible's astounding words about God's love for me, if I looked in the mirror and saw what God sees?

The living hope of Jesus is that we never have to be defined by our past... tethered to our failures.   
"God made you alive with Christ. He forgave all our sins." Col. 2:13 [NLT]

> God can overcome any powers over my past.

2. God will be present with me...each and every day.

"The deepest comfort in life is not in material comforts but in meaningful companionship." What comforts us most is to know that we're not alone.

The great news of Easter is that God can be present with me...each and every day.   
Augustine, "You ascended before our eyes. We turned to grieve only to find you in our hearts."

Jesus, (...John 14:18-23 [NLT])  
"I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you. In just a little while the world will not see me again, but you will. For I will live again, and you will, too. When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. ...All those who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and live with them.

This is why Mary couldn't hold onto the Jesus she saw.  
Jesus' presence wasn't leaving. It was being loosed. He wasn't merely the hope of a woman, but the hope of the world.

You and I never have to feel alone again. Christ rose so that all who receive him could have the very presence of God within us... among us.  
He's here right now... when you go home... lay down... rise up... go to work.

But what of death that awaits us?  
3. God has a future for me... to be forever with Him.

Jesus knew that death is born of spiritual separation ... the final enemy he came to defeat...   
John 14:1-3 [CEV]  
Jesus said to his disciples, "Don't be worried! ...There are many rooms in my Father's house. I wouldn't tell you this, unless it was true. I am going there to prepare a place for each of you. After I have done this, I will come back and take you with me. Then we will be together.

The hope that changed Mary's life was that she would be with Jesus forever.

In Valladolid, Spain, where Christopher Columbus died in 1506, stands a monument commemorating the great discoverer. Perhaps the most interesting feature of the memorial is a statue of a lion destroying one of the Latin words that had been part of Spain's motto for centuries. Before Columbus made his voyages, the Spaniards thought they had reached the outer limits of earth. Thus their motto was "Ne Plus Ultra," which means "No More Beyond." The word being torn away by the lion is "Ne" or "no," make it read "Plus Ultra." Columbus had proven that there was indeed "more beyond." The world could never be understood the same.  
>> In the same way, Christ proved the was "more beyond" and life can never be understood the same.

Romans 6:4-5 [NLT]   
"For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.   
Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised as he was."

New bodies...Recently I threw out my back... "When it's time for a new body..I'll be ready."

Recently was told the story of...  
a woman who had been diagnosed with cancer and had been given three month to live. Her doctor told her to start making preparations to die -- something we all should be doing all of the time.   
So she contacted her pastor and had him come to her house to discuss certain aspects of her final wishes. She told him which songs she wanted sung at the service, what scriptures she would like read, and what she wanted to be wearing.   
The woman also told her pastor that she wanted to be buried with her favorite Bible. Everything was in order and the pastor was preparing to leave when the woman suddenly remembered something very important to her. "There's one more thing," she said excitedly.   
"What's that?" came the pastor's reply.   
"This is very important." The woman continued, "I want to be buried with a fork in my right hand."  
The pastor stood looking at the woman not knowing quite what to say.  
"That shocks you, doesn't it?" the woman asked.  
Well, to be honest, I'm puzzled by the request," said the pastor.  
The woman explained. "In all my years of attending church socials and functions where food was involved, and let's be honest, food is an important part of any church event, spiritual or otherwise, my favorite part was when whoever was clearing away the dishes of the main course would lean over and say 'you can keep your fork.' It was my favorite part because I knew that something better was coming. When they told me to keep my fork, I knew that something great was about to be given to me. It wasn't Jell-O or pudding. It was cake or pie - something with substance. So I just want people to see me there in that casket with a fork in my hand and I want them to wonder, 'What's with the fork?' Then I want you to tell them, 'Something better is coming, so keep your fork too."

1 Peter 1:3-4 [NIV]  
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade..."

God's living son is our living hope !

"We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf." Hebrews 6:19-20 [NIV]

In the resurrection of Jesus, God embedded in the earth an anchor of hope sturdy enough to withstand any hurricane. This hope is the anchor that declares...   
· God can overcome my past  
· God can be with in the present... each and every day.  
· God has a future for me... to be with Him forever.

The tomb that it sealed was the tomb of a transient. He only went in to prove he could come out. And on the way out he took the stone with him and turned it into an anchor point. He dropped it deep into the uncharted waters of death.

This anchor of hope is like receiving news ahead of it's time...   
Murdo Ewen MacDonald, a prisoner of war in Germany and chaplain to American soldiers, told how he learned of the Normandy invasion. Early on D-Day, he was awakened and told that a Scotsman in the British prisoner-of-war camp wanted to see him. MacDonald ran to the barbed wire that separated the two camps. The Scot, who was in touch with the BBC by underground radio, spoke two words in Gaelic, meaning "They have come." MacDonald ran back to the American camp and spread the news: "They have come . . . They have come." And everyone knew the allied troops had landed at Normandy. The reaction was incredible. Men jumped and shouted, hugged each other, even rolled on the ground. Outwardly they were still captives, but inwardly they were free. > That's the hope that changes life !!

The risen Jesus would simply ask this question: Are we living to die or dying to live ??

Mark 8:34-36   
"...He said: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?"

If we want to follow Jesus into life with God... he invites us to come enter his death.   
Eternal life with God does not come as an earnings program... or an enhancement program... it's an exchange program. If we offer our life to Christ we will receive his life within us.

A Life Changing Prayer

"Dear God, Thank you for sending your son Jesus Christ to earth. I believe Jesus was who he said he was and proved it by rising from the dead. Thank you Jesus for dying for me and forgiving all my sins. I accept you as my Savior and the Leader of my life, and receive your free gift of eternal life. I want to discover and begin following your plan and purpose for my life... and to know you more and more personally. Amen"

The Outer Limits by Timothy Peck   
Mark 7:24-7:37

All of us have limits and boundaries that make us uncomfortable if we go beyond them. I was reminded of this back in November when my oldest son and I went to the Promise Keepers "Passage" event at the Anaheim Pond. At one point during the two day event they had a concert by a band named Delirious. My son really wanted to go out on the arena floor with the crowd during the concert. Now it had been pretty calm out on the floor during the previous bands, so I told him that I really didn't want to go, but he could go ahead. So I stayed behind in our seat, while he got in line to go out on the floor. Big mistake. As soon as the band was announced, a flood of several thousand people rushed onto the floor of the arena. And of course my 13 year old son was in the front of the pack. As the concert started, I tried to tell myself that he was fine, that I'd made a good decision letting him have a little independence. But then I noticed that the crowd near the stage seemed much more out of control than the crowd had been during the previous bands. I noticed bodies being carried over people's heads and realized that complete pandemonium had broken out. People were crashing into each other, falling down, in danger of being crushed and trampled. In fact, after a few songs, the singer stopped the show to ask security to get some control out on the floor because it was getting dangerous.

Now I had two thoughts at that moment. The first thought was concern over my son, hoping he was okay, because just letting him go out on the floor stretched me out of my comfort zone. The second thought was my wife, as I pictured myself trying to explain how I let our oldest son get trampled at a concert while I watched from the safety of my seat. Well fortunately he was fine and soon reappeared at my seat with all kinds of stories to tell of being crushed and trampled.

That event reminded me that all of us have limits on what we're comfortable doing and what we're not. These limits not only apply to situations, but they also apply to people. There are certain kinds of people we feel less comfortable with than others. When we're separated from people by language, culture, or race we can sometimes feel uncomfortable, out of our comfort zone. Whether we like this fact or not, it's true that we're more comfortable being situations with people who are like us and less comfortable being in situations with people less like us.

Where are the limits of your comfort zone?

During the time of Jesus walked the earth, the biggest boundary separating people was the boundary between Jew and non-Jew. This boundary was an impassable boundary for many people. You see, the Jewish people had faced extinction many times in their long history as a people. As far back as the Jewish exile to Persia, a man named Haman had tried to exterminate of all the Jewish people. And of course we saw the same thing in the twentieth century in Germany under Hitler. Hatred has for generations fueled a desire on the part of some people to completely destroy the Jewish people. And if they couldn't be destroyed by killing them, some people who hated Jewish people tried to erase Jewish people's identity. If Jewish people could be persuaded to intermarry with non-Jews and let go all their distinctiveness as Jewish people, they could be destroyed.

So the Jewish people at the time of Jesus held on to their uniqueness for dear life. In their minds, their very existence as a nation relied on their uniqueness. In Jesus' day, this uniqueness revolved around three areas of their life (E. P. Sanders, Paul and Palestinian Judaism). First they were unique because their men were circumcised. This uniquely set them apart from other men. Second, they were unique in their celebration of the various Jewish Sabbaths: The weekly Sabbath, the monthly Sabbaths, and the seasonal Sabbath celebrations like Passover. Third they were unique in their purity laws, their laws that separated different objects into categories of clean and unclean. They would only eat certain kinds of food, abstaining from food that they considered "unclean," food like pork and catfish. They could only touch certain kinds of objects, while objects like dead bodies, dead animals, and people with leprosy were considered unclean. We know from history that the Jewish people of Jesus' day felt that these distinctives--circumcision, Sabbath keeping, and purity laws--were the essential ingredients to maintaining their uniqueness as Jewish people.

In fact, a few hundred years prior to Jesus a Syrian ruler named Antiochus had tried to conquer the Jewish people by eliminating these very distinctives. Antiochus made it illegal for women to circumcise their infant sons. He made it illegal for Jewish people to celebrate the Sabbath. He tried to force Jewish people to eat pork under the threat of torture and death. We know from history that many Jewish people faced martyrdom rather than eat pork during the Jewish resistance to Antiochus. You see, it wasn't just the pork, but it was what the pork symbolized; it symbolized their uniqueness as God's people.  
The Jewish people of Jesus' day saw a huge boundary between Jewish people and non-Jewish people. That was a boundary that could only be crossed by non-Jewish people if they adopted a Jewish identity. It was a boundary maintained by these disinctives of circumcision, Sabbath keeping and purity laws. Non-Jews would be welcomed into Israel only if they were circumcised, made a commitment to observe the Sabbath, and keep the purity laws. Then and only then could a person go across the boundary between Jew and non-Jew.

Jewish people viewed non-Jewish people as unclean, contaminated by paganism and impurity. "Gentiles" were as unclean as an animal carcass or a dead body to many pious Jews of Jesus' day. In fact, many of the Jewish people hated the non-Jews as much as the non-Jewish people hated the Jews. It was a mutual hostility, a mutual hatred that often bubbled up in violence.

Now Jesus was Jewish. He was born into a Jewish family, a descendant of the ancient King David, from the tribe of Judah, a descendant of Abraham, the father of the Jewish people. He was circumcised as a baby, and he grew up observing these boundary markers that maintained the uniqueness of the Jewish people.  
But when he began his ministry, he questioned and challenged many of the traditional ways of understanding what it meant to be part of the people of God. For Jesus, being the people of God wasn't about maintaining these badges of uniqueness.

We've been in a series through the New Testament book of Mark called Following Jesus in the Real World. Two weeks ago we saw Jesus in a debate with a religious group called the Pharisees over traditions and purity (Mark 7:1-23). In that debate we saw Jesus question the traditions of the Pharisees, the rules and rituals that they added to the Old Testament law. But Jesus went ever further than questioning their traditions, because he also overturned all the Jewish dietary laws. We saw two weeks ago that it's not the food that goes into a person that causes that person to become unclean, but that it's what comes out of a person's heart.

It only makes sense that if Jesus questioned the Jewish food laws, that he'd also question the traditional categorization of people into categories of clean and unclean. Today we're going to see Jesus cross some radical boundaries in his ministry. We're going to see Jesus venture into non-Jewish territory, and while there we're going to see Jesus encounter two non-Jewish people. In these two encounters we're going to find some principles that apply to us as well as we follow Jesus to the outer limits of our comfort zone.  
So turn to Mark 7:24 and take out your outline.

1. Encounter With a Non-Jewish Woman (Mark 7:24-30)

If the first half of this chapter is about unclean foods, the last half is about unclean people. This episode is among the most difficult to understand in all of Mark's biography, because Jesus seems so mean to this woman.

First let's set the scene a little. Jesus travels from the region around the sea of Galilee to a city named Tyre. Tyre was an ancient non-Jewish city that had a long history of hostility with the people of Israel. Tyre is located in modern day Lebanon, and it was from Tyre that Queen Jezabel had come, Israel's most notorious enemy during the years of the divided kingdom. The Jewish historian Josephus called the people of Tyre Israel's most bitter enemies (Against Appion 1.13). Tyre represented the most extreme kind of paganism that a Jewish person of Jesus' day could expect to encounter in his or her lifetime (Edwards 217).

Now why does Jesus go there? Well his conflict with the religious leaders in the region of Galilee has probably put the spotlight on him, getting the attention of the Roman authorities in the region of Galilee. By fleeing to Tyre, Jesus goes outside the jurisdiction of the Roman authorities in Galilee. Perhaps that's part of the reason. But we also get a sense from Mark that Jesus is trying to get a break from the crowd. He goes for some privacy, for a break from the exhausting pace of ministry he's been on in Galilee.

But once there a woman comes to him with a request. This isn't the first time someone has come to Jesus with a special request. But out of all the people who do this, this woman has the most against her. First she's a woman, and many of the Jewish men of Jesus' day wouldn't even speak to a woman unless it was their wife or their mother. But this isn't just any woman; she's a non-Jewish woman, a Greek woman born in Syrian Phonecia. Yet despite her strikes against her, she begs Jesus to deliver her daughter from a demonic spirit. Now most of the Jewish people of Jesus' day believed that all non-Jewish people were demonized, so the fact that this woman's daughter was demonized wouldn't come as a surprise to a first century Jew. What would surprise them was that she wanted her daughter to be free from this stronghold of evil.

But what surprises us even more is Jesus' response to the woman. He uses a parable, a metaphor, to explain his reluctance to heal her daughter. He says, "First let the children eat all they want because it's not right to take the children's bread and toss it to the dogs." Clearly the "children" in this parable refer to the people of Israel, and the "bread" refers to Jesus' ministry. The "dogs" then refer to non-Jewish people. Jesus is saying that he should finish his ministry in Israel before he branches out to non-Jewish peoples. Jesus is affirming the priority of the people of Israel in his mission, that his main focus has been the people of Israel, and it's only after he leaves the earth and his church starts expanding that the doors will open to non-Jewish people like this woman. Jesus is affirming what the apostle Paul would later affirm as well, when Paul says, "I am not ashamed of the good news because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believers: first for the Jew and then for the Gentile" (Romans 1:16).

What disturbs us here is that Jesus likens this non-Jewish woman to a dog. And in the ancient world, dogs weren't usually the cute, cuddly pets we think of, but they were wild scavengers. In Jewish thought, dogs were associated with ritual impurity because they scavenged off dead bodies. For a Jew to call a non-Jewish person a "dog" was common enough. It was a term of derision, of contempt, which is why we find it difficult to imagine the word coming from the lips of Jesus.

But what surprises me even more is the woman's response to Jesus, because she accepts her role in the parable. Her response is clever, as she seizes on the imagery of the parable to make her case. She says that even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the children's table.

Several things are remarkable about this exchange. One remarkable thing is that this is the first time in Mark anyone understands a parable of Jesus without Jesus having to explain it to them. This woman shows insight into the teachings of Jesus that so far in Mark's story no one else has shown. It's also remarkable that she accepts the priority of the Jewish people in the unfolding of God's plan. She doesn't debate the priority of Israel, but accepts her designation as a non-Jewish person. She recognizes that God's plan will come through Israel, and that Israel has an important role to play in the plan. Yet she throws herself on the mercy of God, not ashamed to assert herself in the presence of God's son. Her response is both humble and bold at the same time.  
So Jesus grants her request, and her daughter is delivered.

Now some have thought that this woman's quick wit changed Jesus' mind. But I think there's a better explanation for Jesus' response to her. I think Jesus says the bit about the children and dogs with a twinkle in his eye, because he knows this woman is coming with more faith than anyone who's come to him so far in Mark's gospel (France 296-97). He says what his disciples expect him to say. But he says it like a teacher playing the role of critic, asking a student rhetorical questions, leading a student to the conclusion, a conclusion in the end the teacher himself agrees with.

Here we find an important principle from this episode. WHEN WE FOLLOW JESUS HE WILL LEAD US BEYOND THE LIMITS OF OUR COMFORT.

Here was Jesus deep in non-Jewish territory, in the city of their most ancient enemies, among a people deeply committed to the paganism that was abhorred by Jewish people. Yet Jesus went there willingly, purposefully. That's where he wanted to be.

If you think following Jesus is the best way to play it safe in life, you're mistaken. If you think being a Christian and raising your children in a Christian home is the best way to keep your family together and happy, you're mistaken. Following Jesus means going where Jesus leads you, and sometimes he leads us to places that are frighteningly out of our comfort zone.

I think of a pastor friend of mine, who's daughter left her Ph.D. program to live a life of voluntary poverty among the poor in India. This father agonized over his desire to keep his daughter safe, and his desire to see his daughter faithful to her Lord Jesus. He knew that there was no guarantee that his wouldn't end up a victim of terrorism or some terrible disease.  
I remember years ago when we commissioned a young couple from our congregation to go on the mission field. During the commissioning service, the father of the girl we were commissioning walked out of the service. I caught him outside, and he was filled with anger, anger that his daughter would leave for such a dangerous place, anger that she would put his grandchildren at such great risk. He said, "Why can't they stay here, minister here, there's so much need here." Yet his daughter had to follow the leading of her Lord.

I'm reminded of a scene from the C. S. Lewis books The Chronicles of Narnia. The Christ figure in these stories is a lion named Aslan, and when the children in the story first hear about Aslan, they're afraid. They ask, "Is he safe?"The person telling them about the lion laughs, and says, "Safe? Of course he's not safe. He's a lion. But he's good. He's the Lord."  
Jesus is not safe, and following him is not safe.

2. Encounter with a Non-Jewish Man (Mask 7:31-37)

This brings us to our second episode. Jesus' travel route here is odd, because it's more of a circle. Sidon was another non-Jewish city, which was often lumped together with the city of Tyre. Again, it was a non-Jewish city, a place deeply steeped in paganism and all that most traditional Jews found to be reprehensible. Then Jesus swings East and then South back to the Decapolis. Decapolis is Greek for "ten cities," and these ten towns formed a league of cities. Again, the vast majority of the people in these ten cities were non-Jewish. So this strange trip takes Jesus purposefully to the most non-Jewish places he can find to go.

Since Jesus is deep in Gentile territory, presumably the crowd who brings Jesus this deaf man is a crowd of non-Jewish people, and the man himself is non-Jewish as well. Jewish people simply didn't go to the Decapolis unless they had to. This man is deaf and he has some sort of speech impediment that makes him "barely able to talk." The crowd begs Jesus to place his hands on the man, to bring him healing. Coming in contact with such a man would make most of the Jewish people recoil, because touching a non-Jewish person would cause a Jewish person to be impure for a period of time.

But Jesus doesn't recoil. Instead he takes the man away from the crowd. Jesus puts his fingers in the man's ears, perhaps letting him know that he's going to restore his hearing. He uses his spittle to let the man know he's going to restore the man's speech. Then he looks up to heaven and speaks, "Be opened" in Aramaic. And the man can hear and speak clearly. It's a miracle.

Now this miracle has more significance than first meets the eye. You see in the Old Testament book of Isaiah, the prophet Isaiah had uttered several prophecies of judgment against the cities of Tyre and Sidon. For example, the entire 23rd chapter of Isaiah is a message of judgment on Tyre and Sidon for their arrogance and wealth. However, that first section of the book of Isaiah ends in chapter 35 of Isaiah, where we read these words,

"Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; say to those with fearful hearts, 'Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance, with divine retribution, he will come to save you.' Then will eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert" (Isaiah 35:4-6 NIV).

When this portion of Isaiah was translated from Hebrew into Greek by Jewish scholars, the word they used for "mute" is the same word translated "hardly able to speak" here in Mark 7:33 (Greek mogilalos). In fact, those are the only two times this word appears in the entire Greek Bible, in the Greek translation of Isaiah 35 and here in Mark 7:32. It's a rare word because it means "hardly able to talk" rather than "completely unable to talk." So clearly Mark intends us to see this miracle as the fulfillment of the promise of Isaiah 35. Yet the wrinkle on the story is that it happens to a non-Jewish person in the Decapolis instead of a Jewish person in the Jewish region of Israel. That may not seem too significant to us, but to the early Church it was extremely significant. The promises of Isaiah are fulfilled by Jesus in an unexpected way, as the Messiah comes not just to save the Jewish nation, but to offer God's salvation to all people.

We started this chapter with Jesus challenging the idea that some food is clean and other food is unclean, but we end it with Jesus breaking down the distinction between clean and unclean people. Israel isn't erased from God's plan, but under Christ non-Jewish people are no longer automatically excluded from God's plan Now what counts is following Jesus, not where you were born or of what family you were born into.

Here we find another principle. WHEN WE FOLLOW JESUS, HE WILL LEAD US TO RESPOND WITH COMPASSION TO NEEDS AROUND US.

Jesus went out of his way to meet the need of this unnamed deaf person. Often we go out of our way to avoid seeing the needs of others. We choose a different route to drive home, so we don't have to see the homeless on the streets. We change the channel when we see pictures of horrible poverty or suffering in other nations. We explain away suffering and poverty, trying to figure out ways to conclude that people who suffering really got themselves into their situation. When we see poverty, we try to explain it in terms of people's laziness or lifestyle, because it's far easier to fall asleep at night if we think they brought it upon themselves.

But God doesn't call us to explanations, he calls us to compassion. Compassion means allowing our hearts to be open, taking the risk of being hurt, of being disappointed. Compassion means allowing ourselves to feel the plight of others, placing ourselves in their shoes. Compassion is dangerous, because if you open your heart, you will get hurt. You'll be wounded. You'll be disappointed. You'll be taken advantage of. If being a Christian is being a follower of Jesus, then you can expect that Jesus will lead you to the kinds of places where he went.

You may never find yourself in Sidon or the Decapolis, but you'll find yourself facing needs that call for compassion. And you may not have the power to heal like Jesus heals, but you do have the ability to open your heart, to partner with the rest of the Christian community to meet needs.

Let me share with you a few of the ministries that our church partners with that try to bring God's compassion. Pacific Lifeline is a transitional shelter for homeless women and children we support out of our missions budget. Homeless women and children stay at Pacific Lifeline here in Upland as they prepare to get a job and move into an apartment.

We also support a ministry called Somebody Cares Southland. Somebody Cares Southland works with the poor and homeless here in the Inland Empire. Each month they serve approximately 40,000 people, with food, job skills training, and shelter. This year they gave out five million pounds of food. In the process, they share the good news of Jesus Christ with the people they serve.

We also support a crisis pregnancy ministry called Alternate Avenues. For several years Alternate Avenues has been providing hope for girls facing a crisis pregnancy. They provide everything from adoption referrals to counseling, from medical care to maternity clothing, from abstinence education to post abortion support groups. And again, all the while sharing the good news of Jesus Christ through their words and their actions.

These are just three ways we as a church support the compassion of others. If you give to our church, you already financially support these three compassion ministries. But I want to encourage you to find ways to get involved with more than just your financial support. All three of these ministries-Pacific Lifeline, Somebody Cares Southland, and Alternate Avenues rely on volunteers who take the risk to open their hearts to others. They rely on followers of Jesus Christ like you who are willing to follow Jesus into situations that require compassion. It's risky but following Jesus means taking the risk.

Conclusion

Jesus will lead you beyond your limits. In fact, following him will stretch you beyond your comfort and place you in situations that require the compassion of Christ. If you're not being stretched out of your comfort and opening your heart with compassion, it's a legitimate question to ask about how much you're following Jesus.

You see, one of the great lies of our generation is the lie that a person can be a Christian without following Jesus. When we define being a Christian purely in terms of believing the right things, we empty the term of its original meaning. Being a Christian means believing in Jesus, of course. It means believing what the Bible says about Jesus, that he's the Son of God, the Savior who died on the cross in our place and rose from the grave, conquering death. But it also means following Jesus, that trusting the truth about Jesus means living our lives in the steps of Jesus. This isn't just for "super-Christians," but it's the normal Christian life.

When Jesus Calls My Name  
John 20:1-20:18

As we go through life, many different people call our name. And it's amazing to me just how many different messages that can be conveyed to us, depending on just how people call our name:  
• When we're growing up, our parents call our name. Sometimes that is done in a very calm, gentle, loving manner. But other times, especially when they use our full name, it conveys a completely different message. I only know that because my parents often had to do that with my brothers and sister: David James Damiani!...William Scott Damiani!...Sally Elizabeth Damiani! OK, I admit I did hear Richard Patrick Damiani once or twice.  
• Then when we go to school, our teachers call our name. And the way they call our name can convey all kinds of emotions – from delight to disgust, from reward to reproof.  
• My wife calls my name, too. And the way she calls my name can either let me know she's in an amorous mood or that I'm in big trouble.

This morning as we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, I want us to look at the very first person Jesus spoke to on that very first Easter morning and how He called her name. I want us to discover what that meant for her, but even more importantly, what it means for us today when Jesus calls our name.

We're going to read this morning from John's account of the events of that first Easter morning.

Read John 20:1-18

Isn't amazing that the very first person that Jesus speaks to on Easter morning is a common woman that we don't know a whole lot about? We know that Jesus had earlier driven seven demons out of her and that in gratitude for His healing in her life, Mary had chosen to follow Jesus and provide financial support for His ministry. We also know that just hours earlier, Mary was there at the foot of the cross when Jesus spoke to his own mother and the apostle John and that she was there when Jesus' body was taken from the cross and wrapped and laid in the tomb.

In spite of what the author of The DaVinci Code would like you to believe, there is absolutely no reliable evidence that Mary Magdalene was married to Jesus and that she and Jesus had children together. Those claims originated from several Gnostic documents that were written hundreds of years after the resurrection in order to discredit Christianity.  
But in spite of the fact that she was just a common woman who had been devoted to Him, Jesus chose to reveal Himself for the first time after His resurrection to Mary.

Early Sunday morning Mary went to the tomb. The other gospel writers tell us that she had gone there with some other women to properly treat Jesus body with the spices they had brought with them. But when they got there, the stone had been rolled away from the tomb. Mary went back to tell Peter and John and when they returned to the tomb, they saw that Jesus' body was no longer in the tomb.

The disciples went back to their homes, but Mary was so distraught, she remained at the tomb, sobbing uncontrollably. After two angels spoke to her, she turned to look at Jesus, but in her grief, she didn't recognize who He was. Maybe she couldn't see Him clearly through her tears. Maybe His resurrected body had a different appearance. Even when Jesus first spoke to her, she didn't recognize His voice.

We shouldn't be all that surprised that Mary didn't recognize Jesus. After all, it's quite clear from Scripture that even the disciples still didn't understand the resurrection. So certainly Mary wasn't even thinking about the possibility that Jesus had risen from the dead.

But then Jesus called her name. With just one word – "Mary" – everything changed. Mary immediately recognized Jesus and grasped Him. And then she went back to the rest of the disciples to share the good news. When Jesus called her name, it completely changed Mary's life forever. The good news is that Jesus is still in the business of calling our names. And when he calls my name, it also changes my life forever.

So for just a few moments this morning, I'd like us to think about how Jesus can call my name and what that means for my life.

WHEN JESUS CALLS MY NAME...

1. IT CONFIRMS THE RESURRECTION

When Jesus called Mary's name, it confirmed the resurrection.

Remember that three days before, Mary was at the foot of the cross. She had watched as Jesus breathed His last, as the soldier pierced His side with the spear, as His body was taken down from the cross and wrapped in the linen cloth and spices. There was no doubt in Mary's mind that Jesus had actually died a physical death and been placed in the tomb with a large stone rolled across the entrance to the tomb.

So when Jesus called her name, there was only one possibility for Mary – Jesus was alive! And this passage makes it really clear that this was not just the voice of some ghost. Mary grasped on to Jesus so hard and so long that Jesus literally had to tell her to quit clinging to Him.

There is absolutely no doubt from the Scriptures and from historical records that those who knew Jesus best, His disciples, believed in a physical resurrection of Jesus. In fact, every one of the disciples, with the exception of John, died a violent death as a result of holding to their belief that Jesus had in fact been resurrected from the grave. I know a lot of people who are willing to lie, but I sure don't many, if any that are willing to die for a lie.

The resurrection of Jesus is the most important and pivotal event in human history and what we believe about the resurrection is the most crucial decision we will ever make. In his letter to the church at Corinth, here's what the apostle Paul had to say about the importance of the resurrection:

For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.   
1 Corinthians 15:16, 17 (NIV)

I the resurrection isn't true, then Jesus is a liar, because He often spoke about His resurrection as a fact. And if Jesus lied about that, then how can we believe anything else he said? A lot of people want to just accept Jesus as a good man, or a wise teacher, but the Bible teaches that He is the Son of God who died for our sins and rose from the grave to prove his power over death. He is the One who said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

When Jesus calls my name, one of the things he does is to confirm the reality of the resurrection. So exactly how does Jesus do that in my life? Obviously, Jesus doesn't audibly speak our name like he did with Mary. But I'm convinced that He still speaks our name today. I'm convinced that right now, Jesus is speaking some of your names. He's doing that through His Word and through this message that explains His Word.

The latest Harris poll found that about 34% of the people in the United States do not believe in the resurrection of Jesus. Maybe you came here this morning as one of those people. But God, through His Holy Spirit, has been working in you to bring you to the place where God in confirming in your mind the reality of the resurrection. That's Jesus calling your name.

When Jesus calls my name, it confirms the resurrection. And when He calls my name it also...

2. IT CREATES A NEW RELATIONSHIP

When Jesus called Mary's name He created a whole new relationship.

It's interesting to me that when Jesus rose from the dead; the very first person to whom He chose to appear was one common woman. I don't think that's how I would have done it. If it was me, I would have found the biggest crowd I could have. I'd have gone to the people who yelled "Crucify him" just a few days earlier or maybe to the Jewish religious leaders. Then I could have rubbed it in their faces and said, "See you couldn't keep me in the grave. I'm alive."

And if I'd chosen to appear to just one person, certainly it wouldn't have been Mary. Maybe I would have gone to Caiaphas or Pilate or Herod. Or if I was going to appear to one of my followers, maybe I would have chosen John or Peter. After all, they had just been to the tomb with Mary. But when Jesus chose to appear to Mary, I think He was trying to make a point. When He called Mary's name, He was saying that every person has worth in His sight, no matter how well known the person is, no matter what his or her background is, no matter whether he or she is male or female. In the eyes of the world, there was nothing significant about Mary. But in the eyes of Jesus, she was significant because she was created to have fellowship with Him.

Many times when I talk to someone about Jesus, they'll say something like, "I'm not a very religious person." And I'll tell them that's great, because neither was Jesus. Jesus was constantly condemning the religious leaders of His day because they had let their religious rituals and traditions get in the way of their relationships – with God and with others. Jesus often ignored those religious traditions so that He could minister to the needs of others and build relationships. So it's not surprising that just a few hours before He went to the cross, as Jesus was in the Garden with His disciples, He said these words:

I no longer call you servants, because a master doesn't confide in his servants. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me.   
John 15:15 (NIV)

We know that Mary had a relationship with Jesus prior to His death and resurrection, but His resurrection changed the character of that relationship. I think that's why Jesus told Mary to let go of Him. He wanted her to understand that the nature of their relationship had changed. No longer would Mary be able to experience the physical presence of Jesus, but she was going to get something far better – a permanent relationship with Jesus and His Father.

When Jesus calls my name, it means that He is calling me to a personal, intimate relationship with Him. Perhaps there are some of you here this morning who have never experienced the abundant life and joy that comes from a personal relationship with the risen Christ. But the resurrection means that Jesus has made it possible for you, like Mary, to have that kind of lasting relationship.

When Jesus calls your name, He confirms the reality of the resurrection and He creates the possibility for a brand new relationship. But that relationship doesn't just happen automatically. Because when Jesus calls my name...

3. IT CALLS FOR MY RESPONSE

When Jesus called Mary's name, she had to choose how to respond to Him.

Mary could have chosen to:

• Ignore Jesus

After all, until He called her name, she just figured it was the gardener. So Mary, even when she recognized His voice, could have just ignored Jesus.

• Doubt Jesus

She could have said to herself, "Jesus is dead. There is no way that this can be Jesus. I don't believe that He could have arisen from the dead."

• Reject Jesus

She could have chosen to reject Him. Even if she believed that this really was Jesus and that He was alive, she could have just rejected what that meant for her life and just kept living her life without His influence.

But Mary chose to embrace Jesus

Although Mary certainly didn't understand everything at this point, based on what she knew she made a decision to embrace Jesus and to follow Him. She had to believe that He had indeed been raised from the dead and that His death and resurrection provided her with the ability to have a permanent, intimate relationship with Him.

This morning, Jesus is calling some of your names. He's confirmed in your heart the reality of the resurrection. He's calling you to enter into a new relationship with Him. And He's also calling you to respond to His invitation.

Like Mary, you have several choices this morning. You can choose to ignore Jesus. You can ignore Him as He calls your name and just go on living your life like you never heard His voice. You can choose to doubt Jesus this morning. You can choose not to believe the mountain of Biblical and historical evidence that Jesus rose from the grave that first Easter morning so that you can have a personal relationship with Him. You can even reject Jesus this morning. Even though you believe in the resurrection and you believe that it provides the means to your relationship with God, you just won't accept God's offer.

Or this morning, you can choose to embrace Jesus. You can say, "Jesus, I believe in the resurrection. I believe that you have provided the way for me to have a relationship with God. I want to embrace you and accept that gift today."

Here's what Jesus had to say about those who embrace Him when He calls their name:

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.   
John 10:27, 28 (NIV)

This morning I want to invite you to listen to the voice of Jesus as He calls your name. I want to invite you to believe in the reality of the resurrection. I want to invite you to enter into a new relationship with God. I want to invite you to respond to His voice and embrace Him this morning.

But before you respond, let me just give you one word of caution. Choosing to embrace Jesus this morning doesn't mean all your problems are going to go away. Because we live in a world that is full of sin, Jesus promised that we would have problems as long as we're in the world.

Choosing to embrace Jesus isn't always easy. It means that you have to be truly sorry for your sins and be willing to change your life so that you don't constantly repeat those sins. I know that some of you are thinking that means that I might have to give up some things that I like to do. That may very well be true. But let me assure you that is only because God wants you to experience a more joyful, abundant life that is full of hope.

Right now I'm going to ask everyone to close your eyes and bow your head. This morning, if you would like to embrace Jesus, I'm going to ask you to silently repeat a short prayer after me. The words of this prayer aren't some magic words, but if you really mane them from your heart, then Jesus has promised to give you eternal life – a joyful abundant life for now and for eternity.

Dear God,

Thank you for calling my name. I believe in the reality of the resurrection. I believe that Jesus came to die for my sins and that His resurrection proved His power over death. I confess to you that I am a sinner. I'm sorry for my sins and I ask You to forgive my sins based on what Jesus did on the cross. I am deciding today to embrace Jesus and to make Him my Forgiver and my Master.

In Jesus' name,  
Amen

Follow The Leader   
Matthew 3:1-3:17

There was a man who got lost in the desert. After wandering around for a long time his throat became very dry, about that time he saw a little shack in the distance. He made his way over to the shack and found a water pump with a small jug of water and a note. The note read: "pour all the water into the top of the pump to prime it, if you do this you will get all the water you need". Now the man had a choice to make, if he trusted the note and poured the water in and it worked he would have all the water he needed. If it didn't work he would still be thirsty and he might die. Or he could choose to drink the water in the jug and get immediate satisfaction, but it might not be enough and he still might die. After thinking about it the man decided to risk it. He poured the entire jug into the pump and began to work the handle, at first nothing happened and he got a little scared but he kept going and water started coming out. So much water came out he drank all he wanted, took a shower, and filled all the containers he could find. Because he was willing to give up momentary satisfaction, he got all the water he needed. Now the note also said: after you have finished, please refill the jug for the next traveler." The man refilled the jug and added to the note: " Please prime the pump, believe me it works"! We have the same choice to make, do we hold on to what we have because we don't believe there are better things in store for us, and settle for immediate satisfaction? Or do we trust God and give up all that we have to get what God has promised us? I think the choice is obvious. We need to pour in all the water, trust God with everything. Then once we have experienced what God has to offer, the living water, we need to tell other people, "Go ahead prime the pump, believe me it works"!

Often times we need to trust in God and let Him lead the way for us. If we are proclaiming ourselves as Christian, then why not follow the leader.

I hope at the end of our service today. You will come to know the meaning of Baptism, Foot Washing and the Lord's Supper. I also want you feel eager to follow the example that Jesus set, and respond by agreeing to take responsibility in the church family when asked.

Let me say this church this morning; "A disciple of Christ is someone who lives every day to love Jesus and to bring others to Him."

1. BAPTISM

a) Admit that you are a sinner (Matt 3:1-2)

In our reading we find that people were coming to John to be baptized and Jesus was there too. What did the people need to do before been baptized? Confess their sins. Confess means to admit you have a problem. We are all sinners and need a Savior.  
Did Jesus need to admit that He was a sinner? After all He was baptized by John. No, He was SINLESS. So why was Jesus baptized? Because He knew that we would need to admit that we are sinners and He was setting an example. (Matt 3:13-15)

b) Believe in Jesus (Mark 16:16)

The jailer ask the question to Paul "Sirs, what must I do to be saved? paul's reply was; BELIEVE IN THE LORD JESUS and you will be saved along with your family." (Acts 16:30,31)  
It takes courage to believe, but if you really want something desperately, you will find it in your inner being to believe.

c) Turn away from sin (Matt 3:11)

Turning away from the things that we love and cherish is hard. Dropping our smoke, drinking, night clubing, swearing, backstabbing, gossip, telling lies, fighting, adultery, watching porn, abusing others etc...will take a real man or a woman to do so if we all can.

I like the words of the song; 'Turn yours eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face, and the things of this world will grow strangelly dim, in the light of His glory and grace.' If we turn from our sins and focus totally on Jesus our Author and our Maker. The things that we cherish in our secret world will slowly vanish.

d) Be a disciple of Jesus. Know Jesus'teaching for yourself (Matt 28:19, 20)

We must make disciples of others. Let me say church that we will not convert anyone to Jesus if we are not converted ourselves. To make disciples, we must be disciples ourselves. First disciples then baptism

e) Be baptized like Christ (Matt 3:13-17)

How was Jesus baptized? Jesus went all the way under water, I call this being immersed. Baptism by immersion demonstrates dying to sin and being raised to a new life in Jesus.

f) Be baptized into the body of Christ-His church (Rom 6:4)  
1 Corinthians 12:13,

tells us that when we are baptised like Jesus, we are baptised into the family of Christ which is your local church. This is the body of Christ, so when you come out of the water you are a member of your church family with full rights to serve and tke part in the activities of your church.

2. Foot Washing

The night before He died Jesus had a meal with His disciples, there He left them two more examples to follow. Foot washing was one of them.

a) Humbly serve each other (John 13:3-15)

Why do you think Peter didn't want Jesus to wash his feet?  
Washing feet was a servant' job, this is their work that they have been appointed too by their master. but a servant wasn't there to wash everyone's feet. You see, Peter considered Jesus is too good to be doing a servant's work and, in fact, he consider himself above the task, as did everyone else except Jesus. Jesus set a great example not only to the disciples at the upper room but for us all, by taking the role of a servant, and wash everyone's feet. Therefore, we too should not only perform the task but to humbly treat and serve others.

b) Wash each others feet like Christ

Jesus told Peter, "unless I washed your feet, you have no part in the kingdom". WOW! that's strong isn't it? Folks, foot washing not only reminds us to serve each other, but it also reminds us that we will always need Jesus to wash away our sins.

3. The Lord'd Supper (1 Corinth 11:23-25)

When we celebrate the Lord's Supper we are following the example Jesus set for us. Jesus said; the bread represents His body and the wine represents His blood. Jesus told us to eat the bread and drink the grape juice in remembrance of Him. He wanted us to remember that He gave His life for us because He LOVES US ALL.

When we follow Jesus example we show our love for Him.

Will you choose to make your choice for Jesus public when the Holy Spirit tells you its time?

If the Holy Spirit is impressing you to plan for your baptism talk to me after our service.

ENCOUNTERING GOD'S PURPOSE by Dennis Davidson

John 20:30-20:31

JOHN 20: 30-31  
ENCOUNTERING GOD'S PURPOSE

For many scholars these last two verses of chapter 20 constitute the conclusion of John's Gospel with chapter 21 being John's personal appendix. These verses summarize the Book's strategy, subject, and purpose. The strategy was to use selected works or "signs" of His subject, Jesus, which illustrate Jesus' character, demonstrate His power, and relate Him as the answer to man's great needs.  
John's purpose was a doctrinal one, and he tells us that in carrying out God's purpose he omitted many things that he could have put in had he chosen. For John's teaching aim was subordinate to advance a still further purpose. His objective was not only to present the truth that Jesus was the Christ, the One and Only Son of God, but to present it in such a way as to induce his readers to believe in Jesus Christ (CIT). The reason He wanted them to believe in Jesus was so that they might have eternal life.  
This purpose of John may be applied much more widely than to his Gospel. We may use it to point our thoughts to the strange silences and subjects of the whole of Revelation of God because of this overarching purpose which God had in view. For Scripture was written according to the purpose of God, its ultimate Author, to bring about the salvation and sanctification of man.

I. THE INCOMPLETENESS OF SCRIPTURE, 30.  
II. THE SELECTIVE PURPOSE OF SCRIPTURE, 31a.  
III. THE ULTIMATE PURPOSE OF THE SCRIPTURES, 31b.

FIRST, THE INCOMPLETENESS OF SCRIPTURE, 30.

In verse 30 John makes it clear that he took selections of Jesus' life by intent or for a purpose. Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book;

John acknowledges that Jesus furnished "many other signs" (semeia) to His disciples. Only seven of these were narrated, not including the final sign, Jesus' resurrection from the dead. Each sign involved a person and showed how the power of Jesus can be applied to human life. The disciples witnessed Jesus performing them as did the others present, be they friend or foe. The magnitude, type of individuals, situations, and effect of these recorded signs varied widely.  
So the selection of signs offered here in John's Gospel is a small collection of those Jesus performed. This means that John was witness to a wealth of material about Jesus and that he, as a writer, had to make a careful selection to suit the burden God had placed upon him.  
There is nothing in John's Gospel about Christ's birth, nothing in it about His baptism, nor about His selection of His Apostles. There is scarcely anything about the facts of Jesus' outward life at all. There is scarcely a word about the whole of His ministry in Galilee. There is not one of His parables, there are only seven of His miracles before the Resurrection, and two of these also occur in the other Evangelists. There is scarcely any of Jesus' moral teaching and no word about the Lord's supper.  
I could go on delineating the many gaps in this Gospel. Nearly half of it is taken up with the occurrences of the last week of Jesus' life, and the incidents of and after His Resurrection. The largest portion of the remainder of the book consists of several conversations which are based upon miracles that He performed principally for the sake of the conversations.  
When we turn to the other three gospels, the same thing is true, though less strikingly so. Was that why, outside of the Scriptural canon, there sprang up a whole host of Apocryphal Gospels and stories, full of childish stories of events which people felt had been passed over in strange silence, by the teachings of the four Evangelists: stories of His childhood, for instance, and stories about what happened between His death and His resurrection? A great many miracles were added to those that have been told us in Scripture. The condensed hints of the canonical Gospels received a great expansion, which indicated how much their silence about certain points had been felt and left to conjecture.  
Is it not unusual that the events about the greatest life in the world's history should be told in such brief detail. Put the four Gospels down beside the thick volumes of today's biographies and you will see their brevity. They are but a bare outline or pencil drawing of God's Son. And yet, although they are so brief that you might sit down and read them all in an evening by the fire, is it not strange that they have stamped upon the mind of the world an image so deep and so sharp, of such a character that the world can never see elsewhere? "They are fragments, but they have left" an immeasurable "and an unique impression on the consciousness of the whole world." [Alexander Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture, Baker, 1978, 329]  
"Then, if you turn to the whole Book, the same thing is true, though in an even more modified sense. I have no time to dwell upon" the fact but the silence of Scripture is as astounding as what it does say. How many things the Bible simply takes "for granted which one would not expect to be taken for granted in a book of religious instruction. It takes for granted the being of a God. It takes for granted our relations to Him. It takes for granted our moral nature." It even takes for granted the future life as it says so little about what it is like. "Look at how the Bible, as a whole, passes by, without one word of explanation or alleviation," on a great many of the difficulties which are caused by some of its teaching. "For instance, we find little attempt to explain the divine nature of our Lord; or the existence of the three Persons in the Godhead. It has" little "to say in explanation of the mystery of prayer; or of the difficulty of reconciling the Omnipotent will of God on the one hand, with our own free will on the other. It" says little "to explain, though many a word to proclaim and enforce, the fact of Christ's death as the atonement for the sins of the whole world." How scant the information on points on which the heart craves for more light. How closely, for instance, the veil is kept drawn over our future life! "How many questions our sorrow and our love ask in vain!" [Maclaren, 329-330, adapted]  
The incompleteness of Scripture as a history book is also easily observed. Nations and men appear on its pages abruptly, walking out of oblivion, and striding to the front of the stage for a moment, and then they disappear, swallowed up again in obscurity. "It has no care to tell the stories of any of its heroes, except where they were the instruments of that divine breath, which, breathed through the weakest reed, makes glory happen. The self-revelation of God, not the acts and fortunes of even His noblest servants, is the theme of the Book. It is full of gaps about matters that a philosopher or theologian would have filled up. There it stands, a Book unique in the world's history, unique in what it says, and no less unique in what it does not say. [Ibid, 331].  
Yes, 'Many other things' did God do that His Divine Spirit did not write in His book; but their were many things written. Why was God's Spirit so selective?

II. THE SELECTIVE PURPOSE OF SCRIPTURE, 31.

The reason for the selections and silences of Scripture is how explained. In 20:31 John discloses his purpose for writing the Gospel. "but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; [and that believing you may have life in His name. ]

The signs however, are not of primary importance. The chief subject of the Gospel is the Lord Jesus Christ, whom the author desires to present as "the Christ" (Messiah), "the Son of God." Christ (Gr. Christos; Heb. M siah) means "Anointed One" and refers primarily to the long expected Deliverer appointed by God, who would come to free the nation from bondage and restore the Davidic kingdom. "Messiah" means the Deliverer from sin promised in the Old Testament as the fulfillment of the covenants [with the patriarchs and David] and who would consummate God's purpose for His people and the world.   
The title "Son of God" (1:34, 49; 5:25; 9:35; 10:36; 11:4) would appeal to the Gentile world rather than to the Jew, for the Gentiles did not have the same reservations about monotheism as the Jews did. [The title does not, of course, imply biological descent like that of the Greco-Roman demigods but] the metaphor of sonship expresses the unity of nature, close relationship, and unique intimacy between Jesus and the Father. Human fatherhood and sonship though are only a faint copy of the relation between God the Father and God the Son. [Tenney, Expositor's Bible Com. Zondervan, 196] Together the terms indict the very highest view of Jesus possible, the very incarnation of God Himself [Morris, 857].

John wanted people to contemplate and perceive the theological significance of Jesus' miracles (smeia, "signs"). Many people today ignore, deny, or rationalize Jesus' miracles. Even in Jesus' day some people attributed them to God whereas others attributed them to Satan (3:2; 9:33; Mt. 12:24). To ignore, deny, or rationalize them in that day should have been impossible because the miracles were many and visually impacting. John said: "Jesus did many other miraculous signs." In fact, 35 different miracles are recorded in the four Gospels. John selected 7 for special consideration in order that people might come to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the promised Messiah, and the Son of God. (The NIV reading, "may continue to believe," is probably not the correct textual reading; the niv text correctly renders the by the words may believe.) [Burge, Gary. NIV Application Commentary, John: 568. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, © 2000.] This evangelistic, this making of true disciples of Jesus Christ is the purpose of John and, in fact, the whole book of God. This purpose shapes all the revelation of God as it shapes all the occurrences of this Gospel from the first words to it conclusion.  
If the purpose of Scripture, in the Gospels, and all its parts, is that we should believe 'that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,' that purpose is not accomplished when we simply undertake to understanding the truth and accept it as a great many people do. The intent of Scripture is far more that simply establishing the fact that Jesus is the Christ and the Son of God. Scripture is to convince us to individually rest our sinful soul upon Jesus Christ as one's personal God and Savior. Scripture doesn't simply want us to know about Christ, it wants us awaken us so that we transfer our trust for life and salvation to Him.   
Though Christianity can never give up the doctrine of the nature and office of Jesus Christ as taught by His Apostles, the purpose of this knowledge is to lead persons to place their personal faith for salvation and life in Him. If you do not, then Scripture has not performed the work on you for which it is designed, the salvation and sanctification of your life and soul.   
Is God's Word accomplishing it's intended purpose in your life? Have you entrusted your eternal soul and life to Jesus?

III. THE ULTIMATE PURPOSE OF THE SCRIPTURES, 31b.

Verse 31 and chapter 20 concludes with the most magnificent promise ever offered mankind. "and that believing you may have life in His name."

Scripture is not given to us merely to let us know something about God in Christ, nor only in order that we may have faith in the Christ thus revealed to us, but for a further end, blessed be His Name! It was written so that those who continuously believe may have life, a great, glorious life! 'Life' is deep, mystical, inexplicable by any other words than itself. It includes pardon, holiness, well-being, immortality, Heaven; but it is even more.  
This life is not only a distant life in the heavenly, but life and life abundant here and now. This Life is connected to the person of Jesus. This life is in His name, in His being and character. This life comes into our dead hearts and quickens them by union with the Living God. It is life that flows like an abundant river into the lives of Jesus' disciples who stay in vital active relationship (abide) with Him. For Jesus through His written Word not only gives life, He gives the growth which is part of life.  
That which is joined to God lives. That which is separated from God dies. You can separate your wills and your spiritual nature from Him, but separated from Him you are 'dead in trespasses and in sins.'

RESPONSE

Dear friend, the message now comes to you. There is life in this great Christ, 'in His name'; that is to say, in that revealed character of His by which He is made known to us as the Christ and the Son of God.  
Union with Him through belief in His death and resurrection will bring life into dead hearts. He is the true life who has come down from Heaven with the gift of divine Life, and He imparts it to us; if we will call upon Him, if we will yield allegiance to Him, if we will believe in His revelation of Himself, if we will believe in His revealed character and purpose.  
The condition on which that great Name will bring to us life is simply our faith. Do you believe in Him, and trust yourself to Him, as He who came to fulfil all that prophet, priest, and king, and the sacrifice, altar, and Temple of old times prophesied and looked for? Do you trust in Him as the Son of God who comes down to earth that we in Him might find the immortal life which He is ready to give? If you do, then, dear brethren, the end that God has in view in all His revelation, that Christ had in view in His bitter suffering, has been accomplished for you. If you do not believe, you have not life. You may admire Him, you may think loftily of Him, you may be ready to call Him by many great and appreciative names, but unless you have learned to call on Him as the divine Savior of your soul, you have not seen what God means you to see. When you do He lays Himself upon us, as the prophet Elisha (2 Kgs 4:34ff) laid himself on the little child in the upper chamber; and breezes breath into our lips, and a beating heart into our dead heart, life touches our death, and we are quickened, activated, animated, awakened, energized, vitalized into life, and that life is everlasting.

When you do believe, then all other questions about this Book, important as they are in their places, will settle themselves. When you find The Eternal Word who is the theme of all the written Word you have found the pearl of great price. Is Jesus to you the Son of the Living God? Has your believing on Him brought you new life? Do you share His life, and therefore have become a 'son of God' by being change by His Character? Can you say out of your thankful heart out loud with your lips that triumphant and rapturous confession of Thomas, 'My Lord and my God'? If you can, then you will receive the blessing which Christ promised to all of us standing beyond the limits of that little group, 'who have not seen and yet have believed' — even that eternal life which flows into our dead spirits from the Christ, the Son of God, who is the Light of the world, and the Life of men.

Jesus in the Midst by Jerry Shirley   
John 20:19-20:23

Jesus Had Conquered Death, And By The Mighty Power Of God He Had Been Resurrected From The Grave.   
1. The disciples were gathered in a house behind locked doors.   
2. Jesus walked through the doors and stood in their midst.   
3. This is the first church building where the resurrected Lord was in the midst of His people.

This is the essence of our Christian faith: "Jesus in the midst."

And This Is A Major Theme Of The Bible:

Jesus is God, and is eternal, and always has been. He is in the midst of all that God is.

At creation, when there was not much more than "mist", Jesus was in the midst of it all.

In Exodus 8:22   
...I am the Lord in the midst of the earth.

In Deuteronomy, He was in the midst of the camp to deliver Israel   
Deut. 23:14   
For the LORD thy God walketh in the midst of thy camp, to deliver thee...

Jeremiah exclaimed, in...  
Jeremiah 14:9   
...thou, O Lord, art in the midst of us.

Daniel reported Jesus was in the midst of the fiery furnace with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (3:25)

As a babe, Jesus was in the midst of the shepherds and the wise men

As a boy, He was in the midst of the doctors of theology in the temple

As God the Holy Spirit, Jesus is in the midst of His people  
Matt. 18:20   
For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

At Calvary, Jesus was in the midst of sinners   
John 19:18   
...they crucified him, and two other with him, on either side one, and Jesus in the midst.

As a Lamb in Revelation, Jesus is in the midst of the throne of God

As our resurrected Lord, Jesus is in the midst of the churches

And on the evening of the first Easter Sunday, Jesus "stood in the midst" of His disciples (John 20:26)

Why is this theme repeated?   
Because this is the key to the Christian life!

• This is the key to a great life  
• This is the key to the fellowship of the church  
• This is the key to our witnessing

Thus, As We Assemble In The House Of Worship, Our Deepest Desire Is That Jesus Will Be In Our Midst!

As a matter of fact, you can have Jesus in the midst of your life. There are some people who have no room for Christ. There are others who have some room for Christ. Jesus wants every room.

The word "midst" = comes from the word "middle". That's why I use the illustration of a wheel with spokes...  
Ill.—We all have different "compartments" that make up our lives—work, school, hobbies, family, etc. Many today make the mistake of making Jesus just another compartment...another spoke in the wheel. But He should be the very HUB of our lives, connecting with every spoke, every compartment. Jesus should be the foundation of every one of these spokes. He should be in the midst of our work life, in the midst of our hobbies, in the midst of our family, our ministry, etc.

No Christian can be spiritual, powerful, and growing unless Jesus is in the midst of all of their life.

I. JESUS IN THE MIDST WILL MAKE US PEACEFUL  
V. 19b  
Isaiah promised in 26:3,   
Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.  
Romans 5:1   
Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:   
Philip. 4:7   
And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

"Passeth" doesn't mean "giveth". Rather, it's short for "surpasseth". In other words, God's peace goes far beyond what we can handle. You want the truth about God's peace... "you can't handle the truth!"

Have you ever considered what a blessing it is when occasionally our problems pile up so high we can't possibly solve them? Now don't misunderstand me. I am not saying we are to be delighted about the many troubles that cross our pathways. I am saying we should be glad that they are more than we can handle. Why? Because when we finally realize we can't carry the weight of the world on our shoulders, we have taken the first step in overcoming worry and bringing peace into our hearts.

Most of us assume far more responsibility for the future than God ever intended. We are like the fellow who was talking with an acquaintance one day about the hectic nature of the business world. The conversation went something like this: "John, you look worried." "Man," said the friend, "I've got so many troubles that if anything else happens today that is bad, it will be at least two weeks before I can get around to worrying about it."

Jesus gave some sound advice when He said,   
Matthew 6:34   
Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.  
John 14:27   
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.   
Why not? Because Jesus is in the midst!

II. JESUS IN THE MIDST WILL MAKE US JOYFUL  
v. 20  
Jesus Used The Phrase, "Be Of Good Cheer," Several Times.   
A. He spoke of forgiveness for our past:   
Matthew 9:2   
...Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.

B. He spoke of companionship for our present:   
Matthew 14:27   
But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.

C. He spoke of victory for our future:   
John 16:33   
In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

The sin of the past is blotted out for the Christian.   
The continual fellowship of Christ is offered for the present.   
And the future will reveal Christ as the Conqueror of the world.

This is possible because Jesus is in the midst of the believer's life, bringing joy!

III. JESUS IN THE MIDST WILL MAKE US USEFUL  
v. 21  
We are to be:  
A. A mouth to speak for Jesus   
B. Feet to run errands for Jesus   
C. Hands to do the work of Jesus   
D. A heart to love Jesus

Let's be more specific:  
We need mouths to invite others to church, to witness about what God's doing here. We need mouths to open and sing out His praises in this room or in the choir! We need mouths that will speak the truth in love, that say 'I'm sorry', that encourage a fallen brother, that tell children about Jesus, that disciple and teach and train others in groups or one on one. Most of all, we need mouths that say 'yes' when asked to help out around here!!

Jesus said, 'so send I you'—I gave you a mouth...use it!

We need feet that will bring us out to church faithfully whenever the doors are open...to Sunday School and on Sunday nites--and also "in the midst" of the week on Wednesdays! We need feet that will answer the call to the ministry and go out of here to study and serve wherever God leads. We need feet that jump high in this room at the hearing of great truths and that hit the floor and walk straight as a result...wearing the shoes of the gospel...a sermon in shoes, taking the message to others in great need!

We need hands to work on this property, cooking, cleaning and fixing. We need hands playing instruments, operating puppets, shaking other's hands in greeting, interpreting for the deaf, and most of all, holding the hands of little ones God has entrusted us with, wiping noses, changing diapers, pointing the way for little eyes to look, helping them with their crafts, to learn verses, to get saved!

ill.--HAND AND GLOVE  
If I had a glove and I said to the glove, "Glove, pick up that Bible," could the glove do it? The glove has the shape of a hand, with a thumb and fingers. But could the glove pick up a Bible?  
Why? I haven't shown it how.  
I say again to the glove, "I apologize, Mr. Glove, I have not told you how to pick up the Bible. Put your thumb on top, the fingers underneath, squeeze tight, and lift. Very simple, isn't it? Now, pick it up."  
Will anything happen? No! Why? Because the glove is powerless.   
The glove is empty of life. I could say to the glove again and again, "Pick up the Bible," but the glove could never do it.   
The glove could never do it until I put my hand into the glove.   
The moment my hand is in it, the glove becomes as strong as my hand.   
Everything possible for my hand becomes possible for the glove.   
If the glove could speak, it would say, "I can do all things through the hand which strengtheneth me."

You are the glove; Christ is the hand. But there is one difference. When Jesus Christ found you, you were a dirty glove inside and out, so He died to cleanse you.

"I was sent, and now I'm sending you."   
Jesus was recruiting.

The prophet said it this way:  
Isaiah 6:8   
I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.   
Isaiah was volunteering. And that's the ideal. But many won't volunteer, so Jesus is recruiting. So why do so many Christians say, "I go to church, and give my tithe...Here am I; send someone else!"

Ezekiel 22:30   
And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.

Why won't we allow ourselves to be sent? Because Jesus isn't 'in the midst' of our hearts, our thinking. He isn't the hub of the wheel of our life, but just a spoke that comes around every now and then!

Jesus In The Midst will make us useful.

IV. JESUS IN THE MIDST WILL MAKE US POWERFUL  
v. 22 There is no doubt that when John wrote this, his mind must've gone back to the story of creation.   
Genesis 2:7   
And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

God breathed this world into existence:  
Psalm 33:6   
By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.   
2 Samuel 22:16   
And the channels of the sea appeared, the foundations of the world were discovered, at the rebuking of the Lord, at the blast of the breath of his nostrils.

The Bible has much to say about breath:  
Job 19:17   
My breath is strange to my wife, though I intreated for the children's sake of mine own body.   
OK, that one I threw in for fun. Our breath may sometimes be powerful, but not in the way God's breath is powerful!

Job 41:21   
His breath kindleth coals, and a flame goeth out of his mouth.

In Ezekiel 37 we saw the dry bones of an old battlefield come together as skeletons, and then organs and tissues and skin, but they laid there like corpses until v. 9:  
Ezekiel 37:9-10   
Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. [10] So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.

The Bible was written by inspiration of God. And the word 'inspiration' means "God breathed!" He used human writers as instruments, and each one sounded differently as God's breath blew thru them, but they had no power of themselves...the power was in the breath of God.

It was the breath-like wind of the Holy Spirit that blew the disciples around at Pentecost, and that same powerful breath of God that will sail our ships on this sea of life.

I like this fact: we don't have to be gifted or capable or have great abilities...only availability! How wonderful that God doesn't send us to do something that can't be done, for there's nothing that He can't do thru us!

There's nothing I cannot do, if Jesus is in the midst. There's nowhere I won't go, if Jesus is in the midst. There's no limit to what God can do in this church, if Jesus is in the midst. There's no peace I cannot find...because Jesus in the midst makes me peaceful! No joy eludes me, because Jesus in the midst makes me joyful! No job in the church should ever go undone, for Jesus in the midst will make us useful!  
But absolutely nothing will be accomplished without the powerful Jesus in our midst!

Sharing Jesus in Practical Ways   
Matthew 10:40-42

Jared and his dad were playing a game of catch one afternoon, when Jared asked, "Dad, is there a God?"

Joe had the same helpless feeling he experienced on the high school baseball team when he lost sight of a fly ball in the blazing sun. He didn't know whether to move forward, backward, or just stay put. A string of answers raced through his mind. In the end Joe opted for honesty, "I don't know, Jared," he replied.

Yet Joe's agnosticism failed to stifle his son's curiosity. Jared dug a little deeper, "If there is a God, how would you know him?"

"I really have no idea, Jared. I only went to church a couple of times when I was a kid, so I don't know a lot about those kinds of things.

Jared seemed deep in thought for a few minutes as the game continued. Suddenly, he headed for the house. "I'll be right, back," he yelled over his shoulder. "I have to get something." Jared soon returned with a mylar balloon fresh from the circus along with a pen and an index card.

"Jared, what in the world are you doing?" Joe asked.

"I'm going to send a message to God – airmail," the boy earnest replied. Before Joe could protest, Jared started writing on the index card, "Dear God, if you are real and if you are there, send people who know you to Dad and me."

Joe kept his mouth shut, not wanting to dampen his son's enthusiasm. This is silly, he thought as he helped Jared fasten the card to the balloon's string. But God, I hope you're watching, he added to his silent petition. After Jared let go of the balloon, father and son stood with their faces to the sky and watched it sail away.

Two days later, Joe and Jared pulled into a free car wash that a church was holding as part of their outreach into the community on a Saturday morning. "How much?" Joe asked as neared the line of buckets, sponges and hoses.

"It's free," the guy told him. "No strings attached."

"Really!" Joe exclaimed. He was intrigued by getting something for nothing. "But why are you doing this?"

"We just want to show you God's love in a practical way."

It was as if that simple statement opened a hidden door to Joe's heart. The look on his face was incredible, "Wait a minute," he practically shouted. "Are you guys Christians?"

"Yeah, we're Christians," the man replied.

"Are you the kind of Christians who believe in God?"

The man couldn't help but smile, "Yes, we're that kind of Christians."

After directing a big grin at Jared, Joe proceeded to tell the story of releasing the helium balloon with its message only days earlier. "I guess you're the answer to one of the strangest prayers God's ever received," Joe said.

Folks, that is the story of a church in Ohio that is committed to what they call servant evangelism which is defined as, "Servant evangelism is demonstrating the kindness of God by offering to do some act of humble service with no strings attached." – Steve Sjogren (story from Steve Sjogren)

Jesus in Matthew 10:42 when he speaks of sharing a cup of cold water is speaking of the practicality of living the Christian life. Christianity and our relationship with God is personal, but not meant to be private. Our life with God is a life that is designed to touch others in practical ways. Today let's look at 3 principles to

Share Jesus in Practical Ways

PRINCIPLE 1. DO the small thing to show the main thing of God's love at work.

Liz Norton sent this e-mail with this "What would you do challenge?" You are driving along in your car on a wild, stormy night. You pass by a bus stop, and you see three people waiting for the bus:

1. An older woman who looks as if she is about to die.

2. An old friend who once saved your life.

3. The perfect man (or) woman you have been dreaming about.

Which one would you choose to offer a ride to, knowing that here could only be one passenger in your car. This is one of those moral/ethical dilemmas once used as part of a job application.

You could pick up the older woman, because she is going to die, and thus you should save her first; or you could take the old friend because he once saved your life, and this would be the perfect chance to pay him back. However, you may never be able to find your perfect dream lover again.

The candidate who was hired (out of 200 applicants) had no trouble coming up with his answer. I love what he came up with. What did he say? He simply answered: "I would give the car keys to my old friend, and let him take the lady to the hospital. I would stay behind and wait for the bus with the woman of my dreams."

Never forget to "Think Outside of the Box." Jesus challenges his disciples and us here in Matthew 10 and in other places to do the small thing to show the main thing of God's love at work. In Matthew 10, it is giving a cup of cold water. In John 13, the night before he dies, he washes his disciples feet and then challenges them to love others. He then makes this observation in John 13:35, Everyone will know that you are my disciples because of your love for each other. -- (GOD'S WORD)  
Do the small thing to show the main thing of God's love at work. We never fully know what small act of kindness will touch and transform a life.

John Bowes, chairman of the parent company of Wham-O—the maker of Frisbees—once participated in a charity effort. He sent thousands of the plastic flying discs to an orphanage in Angola, Africa. He thought the children there would enjoy playing with them.

Several months later, a representative of Bowes' company visited the orphanage. One of the nuns thanked him for the wonderful "plates" that his company had sent them. She told him the children were eating off the Frisbees, carrying water with them, and even catching fish with them. When the representative explained how the Frisbees were intended to be used, the nun was even more delighted that the children would also be able to enjoy them as toys.

You never fully know how a life will be touched by a small act of kindness, but God does. Jesus gives us a hint of the impact that doing the small thing to show the main thing of God's love at work can have in Matthew 25:34-40, 34Then the king will say to those on his right, "My father has blessed you! Come and receive the kingdom that was prepared for you before the world was created. 35When I was hungry, you gave me something to eat, and when I was thirsty, you gave me something to drink. When I was a stranger, you welcomed me, 36and when I was naked, you gave me clothes to wear. When I was sick, you took care of me, and when I was in jail, you visited me." 37Then the ones who pleased the Lord will ask, "When did we give you something to eat or drink? 38When did we welcome you as a stranger or give you clothes to wear 39or visit you while you were sick or in jail?" 40The king will answer, "Whenever you did it for any of my people, no matter how unimportant they seemed, you did it for me." – (Contemporary English Version)

PRINCIPLE 2. Understand simple acts DONE with great love will change the world.

Baron De Rothschild was one of the richest men who ever lived. Legend has it the Baron once posed before an artist as a beggar. While the artist, Ary Scheffer, was painting him, the financier sat before him in rags and tatters holding a tin cup. A friend of the artist entered, and the baron was so well disguised that he was not recognized. Thinking he was really a beggar, the visitor dropped a coin into the cup. 10 years later, the man who gave the coin to Rothschild received a letter containing a bank order for 10,000 dollars and the following message: "You one day gave a coin to Baron de Rothschild in the studio of Ary Scheffer. He has invested it and today sends you the capital which you entrusted to him, together with the compounded interest. A good action always brings good fortune. Signed, Baron de Rothschild."

Jesus puts it this way in Matthew 10:42, I can guarantee this truth: Whoever gives any of my humble followers a cup of cold water because that person is my disciple will certainly never lose his reward. -- (GOD'S WORD)

Simple acts done with great love will change the world. Just think how God came into this world. How did he come? Not with bells and whistles, not riding white horses with trumpets blazing, he came as a baby. He touched people at their point of need, not just to heal them physically or to lift their spirits, but to change their lives. He came and gave his life on a cross, on an instrument of death, to pay for our sins and to change the world with His love. God was aware we would never get this on our own, so He sent His Son to die for us, His Holy Spirit to lead us to faith and to change our hearts, and people who touched our hearts with His love.

God's desire is to use you and me with simple acts done with great love to change our world. In the Mid-East the peace process is way off-track. Palestinians carry out suicide bombings, and the Israeli military seeks to put the squeeze on Arafat, and the temperature seems to continue to rise.

Jesus was once asked what it meant to love one's neighbor. The guy asking the question figured he was already doing this, so he was hoping to look good in front of others. Instead Jesus tells the story of the Good Samaritan. If he were speaking to Jewish audience in Israel today, it would be the parable of the Good Palestinian. A man traveling along the road is mugged, robbed, and left for dead. Two fellow Jews eventually pass by, but cross to the other side. One who goes by is a priest, the other who comes by is a Levite, neither helps though as what we could pastor and elder, you would expect them to stop. Instead it is a Samaritan, the Jews enemy #1, who stops and cares for this man, bandages him up, gets him a hotel room to recover, and picks up his bill since his HMO wouldn't cover it, then Jesus asks his questioner this question in Luke 10:36-37, 36"Of these three men, who do you think was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by robbers?" 37The expert said, "The one who was kind enough to help him." Jesus told him, "Go and imitate his example!" -- (GOD'S WORD)

Israel and Palestine's hope for peace will require that kind of love. Simple acts done with great love will change the world. God's simple act of Christ's death offers to change our world, and invites us to reach out and to change the world of others by sharing His love in practical ways.

PRINCIPLE 3. Realize my "service power" is not based on who I am, but who JESUS is THROUGH me.

At this point we can get caught up in the guilt of not doing enough to show that love, or feeling horrible how inadequate our love might seem. The challenge is often we try to love under our own power, and the power to share Jesus in practical ways comes from Christ. Paul knew this, even when imprisoned, he knew and experienced the power of Christ at work, that's why he tells the Philippians and us in Philippians 4:13, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. -- (NKJV)

Salvation and life with God is not by my power, but by what Christ has done. Eric Selander told me this story the other evening about a Sunday School teacher who asked her class, "If I sold my house and my car, had a big garage sale and gave all my money to the church, would I get into Heaven?" "NO"! the children all answered.

"If I cleaned the church every day, mowed the yard, and kept everything neat and tidy, would I get into Heaven"? Again, the answer was "NO"!

"Well," the teacher continued, "then how can I get to Heaven?" In the back of the room, a 5 yr. old boy shouted out, "You gotta be dead"!

We get into heaven not by what we do, but by what Christ has done for us. The power of the life we live in love toward God and others flows out of God working in our hearts. Jesus the night before he dies prays for this to happen in our lives when he prays in John 17:21, The goal is for all of them to become one heart and mind—Just as you, Father, are in me and I in you, So they might be one heart and mind with us. Then the world might believe that you, in fact, sent me. – (The Message)

CONCLUSION: Why "Just Do It!"

Nike commercials challenge us to "Just do it!" Sharing Jesus in practical ways with a cup of cold water, with a meal, with words of prayer, a listening ear, a ride to the doctor and in so many other ways is a call to just do it. Yet we need to always remember why we just do it. Our actions flow out of the realization that Jesus did it. He died for us. He gives us life eternal. He empowers us with His presence. He challenges us to live out our purpose not in only a big moment of life, but all of its little ones as well, even a cup of cold water given in his name. For we do the small thing to show the main thing of God's love at work. We understand simple acts done with great love will change the world. We realize my service power is not based on who I am, but who Jesus is through me. Folks, those simple acts done in love seem so small, yet when you realize God is at work through them. You discover the great life of sharing Jesus in practical ways. Amen.

The cost of discipleship   
Luke 9:57-9:62

Three men came to Jesus. This conversation will teach us about the cost of discipleship.

A.Intro

When going to the SADF – South African Defense force, I noticed one thing.  
These people were serious about the war.  
They were counting the cost..... we had to do test after test.... From medical to IQ tests.. we had to count the cost also, for it could have cost us our lives.

This is in a way the same with our Christian walk. It's costing us one life and that is the earthly life. Paul calls it the flesh life.  
But there are so much to gain.... A heavenly life!.  
But this life will cost you..... that's why I'm talking about the cost of discipleship.

Let's examine the Word:

B. Body

First Man

1. Verse 57 Now it happened as they journeyed on the road..  
This is the road a disciple should be on. .... The Lords road.  
Proverb 14:12 There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.  
Tells me there are two roads, The Lords road and mans road.  
On which road are you?.  
When Jesus called Matthew He said "Follow Me", which meant he had to walk the same road that Jesus walked

Notice!: Here you find a lot of people who followed Jesus but were not called. There were lots of people who just followed Jesus, never committed themselves to Him  
One man made a bold statement:

2. Verse 57 Lord, I will follow you wherever you go.  
That is bold!  
Wherever you go......  
Listen to Jesus answer ......  
And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air [have] nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay [his] head  
What an answer.......  
He's saying .... Count your words, I'm not heading for the Jerusalem Hilton Hotel. There is no luxury in following me.  
Listen buddy you need to count the cost before committing meaningless words.. Listen to Luke 14:28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it--  
I'm heading for the Cross..... do you still want to follow?...  
That's going to be a lonely place .... Do you still want to follow me?  
The world will hate Me, and you ..... do you still want to follow?

Same today......  
You just tell people that you are born again and notice their reactions!

3. Sadly you never hear the persons answer, but you hear other answers like in verse 59.

Second Man

59. And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.

This doesn't mean his father was already dead.  
He was buying time... His excuse was to wait for his father to die before he could follow  
He could have heard Jesus answer to the first man and decided that he's not ready, he need more time.

Jesus answer: Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.  
Jesus says, now is the time... you can't wait, let your father look after himself.  
So many people today have this excuse. They say: I want to but need to do a few things first.  
One person told me once... I want to follow the Lord but I first need to get my life in order...that's sad. They're rejecting the very one who made lives.

Third man

4. Now for the third man:

Verse 61 And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house  
This seems fair but what this man is saying is that he first wants to go and seek a second opinion.  
Notice the words ... at my house. showing earthly possessions.  
Reminds me of the monkeys in Africa.. they catch them by putting warm rice in hollow coconuts, once the monkey's grab the rice it's over they won't let go.  
People are also today like this man attached to family and possessions.

Jesus answers:  
62. And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

This is hard word but true.  
You can't have it both ways. Remember Proverb 14. A disciple needs to stay on the Lords road.

Have you counted the cost? It seems hard...  
Jesus said this road might be lonely, sometimes hard, you might lose some friends, maybe family, or even status and possessions.

but Jesus has send Help.

John 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever--

Have you counted the cost?  
Lets pray!

THE EMPTY TOMB   
John 20:1-20:10

We have before us tonight the open sepulcher, the bewildered alarm it caused, and the faith it both elicited and excited. John's Gospel comes to a conclusion in chapter 20 with a proclamation of Jesus' victory over death and then is followed in chapter 21 by an epilogue or postscript. Each Gospel writer stresses certain aspects of the discover of the empty tomb. John began his resurrection story with a testimony of how he came to personal faith in the Resurrection by considering the evidence found in the open tomb (CIT). The empty tomb bore witness to a physical or bodily resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.   
The first disciples where all too aware of the reality of Jesus' death on the cross. Some had witnessed it with their own eyes. The Jesus who had filled them with joy, hope, and purpose was now dead at the hands of angry religious authorities. They were devastated. Uncertain what to do they had retreated behind close doors [incase the authorities were after them.]  
Then John saw the empty tomb. The reality of the empty tomb changed everything. He went from faltering to faith. The promises of Jesus then came alive to him and he believed that even over death itself, Jesus is Lord.

I. BEFORE THE DAWN, 1-2.  
II. THE DAWNING OF FAITH, 3-8.  
III. THE SOURCE OF FAITH, 9-10.

A group of ladies came in faith to the grave site because they desired to anoint the body with spices. Verse 1 notes that Mary's faithful follower-ship has now become leadership -- which will lead her to a most astounding discovery. "Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came early to the tomb, while it was still dark, and saw the stone already taken away from the tomb.

"The first day of the week," Sunday, Mary of Magdala and other women (we in v. 2) came to the tomb. "Mary of Magdala" is a translation of the same Greek words which elsewhere are rendered "Mary Magdalene" (Mt. 28:1; Mark 16:1, 9; Luke 24:10). [Magdala is located north of Tiberias on the west coast of the Sea of Galilee.] She is mentioned in Luke 8:1–3 among a list of women in Galilee who followed Jesus devoutly and supported His ministry (Mk. 15:41). Her devotion to Jesus was based on her gratitude for His delivering her from bondage to Satan. Along with other women, she had followed Jesus to Jerusalem to supply His and His disciples' needs (Mt. 27:55). She was even so bold as to stand with Him on Golgotha (John 19:25). She had observed His death on the cross and now was the first person at the grave, arriving "while it was still dark."   
The achievement of the resurrection took place before sunrise. It was fitting that He who was to scatter the darkness of the grave should rise while darkness covered the earth. No human eye would behold 'how' the dead was 'raised.' [The earthquake and the descent of angels and the rolling away of the stone were after the tomb was empty.] The greatest miracles are often done in the darkest times, when no one knows and no one is watching.   
This tomb had been closed with a large rock door (Mark 16:3-4) and had been sealed by the authority of the Roman governor Pontius Pilate (Mt. 27:65-66). The women were surprised to see an open and apparently empty tomb.  
The three days after the crucifixion of Jesus passed like an eternity. I imagine that the birds didn't sing, the sun didn't shine and joy was drained out of life. For 3 days, all the demons of hell rejoiced, and Satan and the forces of darkness thought they had won the great victory. For three days, the Jewish leaders and the demons of hell congratulated themselves on their brilliant scheme. But on the 3rd day, something wonderful and miraculous happened, as God the Father said to an angel in heaven, "Go get Him!" And when the angel's feet hit the ground, the stone rolled away, and up from the grave He arose.....never to die again! [Jerry Shirley, The Napkin is Still Folded]

Verse 2 reports Mary's immediate reaction of fear and dismay. "So she ran and came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and said to them, "They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him."

She ran and told Peter and the beloved disciple (John 19:26) that a terrible thing had occurred. Her own words, 'We know not,' show that she had spoken with others who had seen the empty grave. "We" must therefore indicate that she had she had come with others to the tomb, saw that the sacred corpse was gone and their spices useless, exchanged hurried words of alarm and bewilderment, and then had hastened away before the appearance of the angels. [Mt. 28:1; Mk. 16:1; Lk. 24:10].  
Mary had seen the tomb empty, and springs to the conclusion that 'they' — some unknown persons, perhaps the Jewish hierarchy, have taken away the dead body, which, with a devoted love that ignores death, she still calls Him 'the Lord.' Mary thought the body had been removed by Jesus' enemies.  
Mary's desperate tone so removed from anticipation of the resurrection provides a precious proof of the historical truth of the resurrection. For her shocked search for truth was not the soil from which a lie would spring, and such stricken people would not have believed Him risen unless they had seen Him living., which she shortly would.   
So the corpse was gone, but that fact suggested no hope to her. How often do we, in like manner, misinterpret as dark what is really pregnant with light, and blindly attribute to 'them' what Jesus does!

II. THE DAWNING OF FAITH, 3-8.

Responding to Mary's excitement, verse 3 reports Peter and John's reaction to the news of the empty tomb. "So Peter and the other disciple went forth, and they were going to the tomb.

Upon hearing her scoop Peter and John started a foot-race to the tomb. They wasted no time talking about it. Their quick physical response to verify the report shows they had no knowledge of who was responsible for removing the body. Had they known what had happened or who did it they would not have been so motivated by their concern.

Verse 4 states that the result of Mary's report is a foot-race to the tomb. "The two were running together; and the other disciple ran ahead faster than Peter and came to the tomb first;

The other younger disciple runs faster than his companion and beats Peter to the garden.

Verse 5 gives us the initial reaction of the disciple whom Jesus loved at the tomb. "and stooping and looking in, he saw the linen wrappings lying there; but he did not go in.

So that He could get a clear view inside John "bends over and looks" (blepei) in but did not enter the tomb. His look into the tomb, reveals that it was not quite empty. The embalming cloths or "linen wrappings" (othonion) were lying there. Reverent awe holds him back in his wonder and envelops him in thoughts, also keeps him from venturing inside hallowed ground.

Verse 6 gives us Peter's characteristic reaction. "And so Simon Peter also came, following him, and entered the tomb; and he saw the linen wrappings lying there,

When Peter . . . arrived he rushed in and saw (therei, "beheld attentively") the grave clothes and the separate facial cloth [mentioned in the story of Lazarus in Jn. 11:44]. He stays inside also puzzled over what he saw (from theré , "to behold attentively").  
Peter did not look or even hesitate before entering. He loved with all his heart, but his love was impetuous and practical, so he went straight in, feeling no reason why he should pause. His boldness encouraged his friend, as the example of strong nature often does.  
The grave cloths were in the same form they had been in when the body laid rolled up in them. Jesus apparently rose out of them or through them without disturbing them.

Verse 7 further describes the orderly scene found in the tomb. "and the face-cloth which had been on His head, not lying with the linen wrappings, but rolled up in a place by itself.

Observe, too, the further witness of the separate and folded facial. John from outside had not seen the cloth used to reverently to cover the face, lying carefully rolled up apart from the other cloths. It was probably laid in a part of the tomb invisible from without. But when he saw the careful disposal of this cloth a great flash of illumination came to him. There had been no hurried removal. Here had been no hostile hands, or there would not have been this deliberation. Nor had friendly hands done this for there would not have been such dishonor to the sacred dead as to carry away the body nude. What did it mean? Could He Himself have done for Himself what He had asked them do for Lazarus? [Jn. 11:44] Could He have laid aside the garments of the grave because He needed them no more? 'They have taken away' — what if it were not 'they' but He? No trace of hurry or struggle was there. He did 'not go out with haste, nor go by flight,' but calmly, deliberately, in the majesty of His lordship over death, He rose from His slumber and left order in this land of confusion. [Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture. Vol 11. p 303]

Embolden by Peter verse 8 states that John now entered the tomb also. So the other disciple who had first come to the tomb then also entered, and he saw and believed.

After a short period of time John went in and saw [eiden, "perceived" (from horá ) is the third word used for "see" in these verses]. John truly "saw", meaning "understood the significance of the grave clothes" "and believed." Peter must have been thinking, "Why would a grave robber have left the clothes in this order? Why take the body of Jesus?" John saw what Peter had seen but saw so much more. John perceived that the missing body and the position of the empty grave clothes looking as if the body was still in them was not due to a robbery. He realized that Jesus had risen from the dead and had gone through the grave clothes.  
The Apostle John connects the birth of his faith with the sight of the grave garments. What does 'believed' mean? The next verse seems to imply that it means belief in the resurrection. For the tomb was open not to let Jesus' body out but to let the disciples and the world see that He rose. [Walvoord, John; Zuck, Roy; The Bible Knowledge Commentary. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1983, S. 341]

III. THE SOURCE OF FAITH, 9-10.

The source and substantiation of our faith comes from understanding the Scripture as verse 9 indicates. For as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead.

John commented that even after a long period of teaching by Jesus the disciples "still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead." Belief in the resurrection was due to experiencing the event before they realized the resurrection was inspired prophecy (Jn. 2:22; 11:25; 16:16, 22).  
The Scripture, both the Old Testament (Pss. 16:10-11; 110:1, 4; Isa. 53:11-12; Hosea 6:2; Jonah 1:17) and the Words of Jesus which they 'knew' as Scripture, was for John suddenly interpreted, and he was lifted out of the ignorance of its meaning, which till that moment he had shared with his fellow-disciples. Their failure to understand Christ's frequent distinct prophecies that He would rise again the third day has been thought incredible, but is understandable enough when we remember how many times we have never accepted the clear teachings of God's Word to us. We hear and yet not hear the clear truth of God to us. In the course of our lives We all have been lost in astonishment when things occur which we have been plainly told will happen. The fulfilment of divine promises is a surprise us also, and prior warnings do not teaches us so clearly as experience does.  
Do you too sometimes find yourself "slow of heart to believe?" Do you wonder if God will do what He says He will do? Because God said it, it must take place.

John concludes this portion of the even with verse10. So the disciples went away again to their own homes.

They did not hang around with Mary and therefore would miss an encounter with the risen Lord of Life. Each went away to their own homes, wrapped up in their own thoughts.  
John had believed, but Peter still was in the dark. Again the younger had outrun his outspoken friend. John's more sensitive, intuitive nature, had gifted him with a more astute and swifter-working perception. Perhaps if Peter's heart had not been burdened by his sin of public denial of Jesus, he would have been more ready to feel the sunshine of the wonderful hope of a new dawn. For we condemn ourselves to the shadows when we deny our Lord by deed or word. [Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture. Vol 11. p 304]

CONCLUSION

This section of John's Gospel is a powerful eyewitness testimony which strikes the perceptive reader as being historically and innately true.   
Had John's narrative of events ended with the crucifixion in chapter 19, we would not be here tonight. For death ends all human biographies. Had death ended Jesus' life, He would have been nothing more than a man of exceptional character and ability who made extraordinary claims of divinity. The major difference between the life and teachings of Jesus and those of any other great religious leader lies in the fact that Jesus rose from the dead, and the others did not, [no matter how persistent their influence may be.]  
The empty tomb evoked faith in the resurrection which a fuller understanding of Scripture would confirm, substantiate and grow. The way the fact of the empty tomb and Jesus' resurrection from the dead influenced a certain group of disciples made its reality to them indisputable.   
Does the way you live your life after you believed in Jesus, His death for your sins, and His resurrection from the dead relay clear evidence to others that you have accepted its reality by faith also? Or are you walking away like once Peter did, still in the dark despite the new dawn?

"Great Faith" by John Hamby   
Mark 7:24-7:30

Have you ever wondered what grips the attention of the Lord? What is it that He is excited about? Our text today reveals the answer to that question: God is excited about faith. Faith always gets our Lord's attention. If you want to get through to God- faith is the way to do it.  
The Bible has much to say about faith. Faith is described in numerous ways; as weak faith, strong faith, bold faith, abiding faith, unfeigned faith and many other kinds. But only two individuals are des-cribed by Jesus in the Gospels as having "great faith" and perhaps surprisingly both of these individuals are Gentiles. One is the Canaanite woman described in our text today and the other is the Roman Centurion found in the eighth chapter of Matthew.   
The question for us to consider today is what does Jesus mean when he says that this woman's faith is "great"? Is it great because it is stronger, more mature or more sincere than others? NO! It is great because of the obstacles that she overcame to display it. As we will see "great" faith is often tested and hammered out on the anvil of difficulty.  
"From there He arose and went to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And He entered a house and wanted no one to know it, but He could not be hidden. (25) For a woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit heard about Him, and she came and fell at His feet. (26) The woman was a Greek, a Syro-Phoenician by birth, and she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter. (27) But Jesus said to her, "Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs." (28) And she answered and said to Him, "Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children's crumbs."   
(29) Then He said to her, "For this saying go your way; the demon has gone out of your daughter."(30) And when she had come to her house, she found the demon gone out, and her daughter lying on the bed." (Mark 7:24-30)  
Notice with me this morning four distinctive of "great" faith that we find in today's text.

First, The Foundation of Great Faith (7:25-26)  
The text tells that Jesus not went outside of the region of Galilee but that he went to distinctly Gentile area. After a time of intense ministry with the multi-tudes and the conflict with the religious leadership, Jesus and his disciples seek a place where they might rest for a while away from the demands of the ministry. But even there Jesus could not escape notice.   
•The Woman Acted Out of Desperation vv.25-26  
"For a woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit heard about Him, and she came and fell at His feet. (26) The woman was a Greek, a Syro-Phoenician by birth, and she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter."   
The source of her desperation is her "young daughter" - this is a tender term meaning "my darling little girl." She says that her daughter had an "unclean spirit" - "unclean" here means unclean in a moral sense. This mother knew that her daughter was demon possessed. Somehow she knew what the problem was.   
It is possible this is a result of dabbling with the occult (perhaps because of the mother's involvement in pagan religion) and she became a victim of demonic possession. The Apostle reminds the Corinthian believers (1 Cor. 10:19-20) that idol worship is not harmless, that idol worship is demon inspired. Regard-less of how it occurred the child was demon-possessed and was probably acting out in violence and anger. Think about it, how would you feel if she were your daughter? What would you have been willing to do to see her healed?  
Parenting is always an interesting proposition. If you notice young couples, they all have lots of theories about child rearing before they have children. After they have children most of them no longer have any theories. Someone has said that parenting is one of those jobs that by the time you learn how to do it half way well; you are out of a job!   
This woman as a resident of Tyre and Sidon like most of the people was probably was a worshipper of Asharte. That may seem fine as long as everything was going well. But when the time came that trouble came to her home, when she appealed to the goddess for help, nothing happened. She was looking for something her dead religion had been powerless to give her. You see the gods of this world, whether it is materialism, or New Age philosophy, or whatever it may be, may seem fine as long until you need a REAL God. Let me assure you when that time comes they will not be enough.   
Just this last Sunday Brit Hume on Fox News (Fox News , January 3) offered advice to golfer Tiger Woods who is going through a personal moral dilemma. He advised that the Buddhism that Tiger professes will not offer him what he needs. He offered this advice to Tiger Woods, "I don' t think that faith offers the kind of forgiveness and redemption that is offered by the Christian Faith... turn to the Christian faith and you can make a total recovery and be a great example to the world." As Brit Hume so astutely pointed out, and as the woman in our text concluded, there is only one source of help that is adequate in times of deep trouble.   
Almost everyone in this place today are facing problems. You may be facing devastating family problems. You may be looking at financial difficulty. You may have a serious health issue to contend with. Some of you are looking at your aging parents and realizing they will not be around forever. And in the midst of these problems you need someone to help you. The same person that was the answer this woman's problem is available today and in the same way, by faith.  
•The Woman Acted On Her Faith   
This woman somewhere had heard what Jesus had done for others and came to believe that what he had done for others he could do for her. Listen carefully to me now! We need to understand - "Faith in itself is worthless, to make sense and have power it must be placed in a trustworthy person!" You probably remember the song which says, "I believe for every drop of rain that falls, A flower grows; I believe that somewhere in the darkest night, A candle glows  
.... I believe above a storm the smallest prayer  
Can still be heard, I believe that someone in the great somewhere hears every word." In spite of the fact that the song has been recorded by such luminaries as Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley and LeAnn Rimes, it is still just sentimental nonsense. It is not based on anything. The fact that "someone in the great somewhere hears" your prayers is hardly reassuring.  
But the woman in our story believed that Jesus was her only hope - and that he could and would heal her daughter. She came in faith and Jesus knew it. Her coming was a sign of her turn from her previous life, a sign of a repentant heart. She fell at his feet (literally she prostrated herself) and she begged Jesus to heal her daughter. The tense here means she did not beg just once, but that she kept on begging. She refused to be denied.   
Having the Foundation of Great Faith we see...

Secondly, The Cultivation of Great Faith (7:27)  
"But Jesus said to her, "Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs."   
The response of Jesus may at first seem strange and insensitive to us as we read this passage. Typically we find Jesus responding promptly to desperate cries. But here her faith is being tested, not that Jesus might know but in order that this woman might know the power of her faith. She in fact has a series of discour-aging events that will test her resolve.  
•First, she is discouraged by the Lord's silence.   
Matthew in his parallel account (15:21-28) indicates that initially her pleas are met only with silence. The hardest response to accept is no response at all. Why was Jesus silent? The reason has to do with his mission. In verse twenty-six we are told that she was "a Greek, a Syro-Phoenician by birth." The term "Greek" is some-times used as a synonym for "non-Jew" or Gentile. But it may also indicate that she was Hellenized by the Greek culture and spoke the Greek language. But Mark also identify that racially she was a Syro-Phoenician and Matthew in his account says that she is a "Canaanite," a descendent of the original inhabitants of the Promised Land. Perhaps interesting in our day, she would be called a Palestinian.   
But at any rate she was a pagan, despised by the religious establishment and considered unclean, a dog and a female at that. Yet she approached Jesus, the Jew-ish Messiah, and in Matthew's account she said, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! (Matt.15:22). She laid claims to a purely Jewish promise. Because she was a Gentile, and she had no claim on Jesus as the Jewish Messiah, He refused to respond. Matthew tells us that, "But He answered her not a word." (Matt. 15:23). He wouldn't even answer her; that does not sound like the Jesus we know.  
But the silence of Jesus tested this woman's faith. In our day of instant gratification it is hard for us to handle when we don't get what we want, when we want it, even from God. When we cry out to God and all we hear is silence - it test the genuineness of our faith.   
•Secondly, she is discouraged by the annoyance of   
the Disciples (Matt. 15:23b). Matthew reveals that the disciple's were annoyed by this woman's insistence as she continued crying after them. They came to Jesus and said, "Send her away, for she cries out after us." (Matt. 15:23b). She continued to plead and she was not only persistent but she was noisy. As she continued to plead, the disciples became more and more upset with the woman and more and more puzzled about the Lord's lack of response. They said to the Lord, "You need to send her away!" Implied here is, "Lord if you do not give her what she asks we will never get rid of her!" But it was not pity or compassion that lead the disciples to make this request of Jesus it was annoyance. Perhaps Peter's face wore an angry frown, quick tempered John probably got angry and the rest of the disciples thought that she was brash and embarrassing, but all of them wanted her to go away.

•Third, she is discouraged by the Lord's Words. In   
verse twenty-seven, Jesus says, "Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs." His former silence now seemed compounded by his words. The word "dogs," (kuon) usually used to describe Gentiles, referred to the ownerless scavengers that roamed the streets and fought over the garbage. The word that Jesus used here is a diminutive form, (kunaria) meaning "little dogs" or "puppies" and speaking of household pets. He pictured a familiar household scene. Although the parents never took the food prepared for the children and gave it to the dogs. The image here is of a much loved pet sitting under the Dining Room table while the family eats a meal. It sits there hoping and expecting that someone is going to slip it a morsel of food. They were not children, and do not sit down for dinner at the Dining Room Table , but neither do they go hungry. Yet anyone in their right mind, would prefer crumbs from the King's table over a feast from the Devil's table.  
If this woman's faith had been weak then she might have interpreted the Lord's silence as His inability to help her. If her faith had been weak she might have let the disciple's annoyance turn her away. If she had been filled with pride rather than faith she might have been resentful of the words of Jesus and been offended and turn away. But instead we find her great faith revealed.   
The Cultivation of Great Faith demands...

Third, The Demonstration of Great Faith (7:28)  
"And she answered and said to Him, "Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children's crumbs."   
We do not know that this woman's understood all that it meant that Jesus Christ was Lord of all. But she did understand enough to see how desperate her situ-ation was, and to see that Jesus was the one and only one person who could give her the kind of divine mercy she needed.   
Her response displayed a great humility. She admits she is not worthy nor did she deserve his help. Matthew in his account tells us that her cry was for "mercy" (15:22). It is unfortunate that we cannot hear the tone of his voice or see the sparkle in his eye or the hint of a smile on his lips, because I believe they were there. The Lord' s words gave her a glimmer of hope. With the word "first," He was suggesting there is be a "second." God always intended that the Gospel message have a universal impact. The woman focused on that glimmer of hope and saw her chance. She responded, "Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children's crumbs."  
She does not argue against the fact that God may have a certain purpose for a certain group (as he did with the Jews). She readily admitted that she and her people were outsiders - "dogs" and therefore had no claim to a child's portion. She did not ask that the children be deprived of any part of their rightful portion, but indicated that she confidence that that God's heart was big enough to include even the most humble of his creatures.   
While she had no "right" to a miracle healing – these were intended as a signs and witness to God's chosen people – her faith enabled her to be in a place that a crumb fell into her life. Her reward was two-fold, she was commended for her faith and she received a cure for her child.  
The Demonstration of Great Faith brought...

Fourth, The Reward of Great Faith (7:29-30)  
"Then He said to her, "For this saying go your way; the demon has gone out of your daughter."(30) And when she had come to her house, she found the demon gone out, and her daughter lying on the bed."   
•Jesus Responded To Her "Great" Faith.   
Matthew tells us how much this woman's respon-se pleased the Lord! He said "O woman, great is your faith!" (Matt. 15:28). As I stated at the beginning the Gospel's only recorded two individuals who are referred to by Jesus as having "great" faith, and one them is this woman.   
The faith that Jesus saw in her was revealed not only in what she said, but also that she went home as He had commanded without further discussion or questions. She demanded no proof, but rather took Jesus at His word.  
•Jesus Responded To Her "Great" Faith. - Her Daughter was Healed  
Upon arrival at home, she discovered that her daughter had been healed. She had been healed because there had been recognition of need. She had been healed because there had been persistence in asking. This persistence did not change God's heart, it proved her sincerity. She had been healed because there was an acceptance of Jesus as the answer to her prob-lems. She had been healed because there was an attitude of humility and surrender.

Conclusion  
This woman had "great faith" because she endured the test sent to her from Heaven. She did not collapse, quit, give up or faint because of the hardships. She pressed on until the Lord granted her request. Are you passing through a humbling trial? Maybe you have lost a job, failed in a business venture, or are going through a trial. Like this woman, humble yourself before the Lord. If Heaven seems silent, or if your prayers appear to be unanswered, maybe it is a test. There is always a possibility of a "yes" where He has not answered "No".  
Whatever your need this morning, I want to encourage you to come to Jesus. Do you need to be saved? Come to Him! Do have special needs in your family? Come to Him! Do you need direction? Come to Him! Whatever your need! Come to Him!

