· Charles
Blondin was famous tightrope walker
· During the last century
· He may possibly have been the best ever
· He was most famous for his walks
· Across Niagra Falls
· He used a 1,100 foot rope
· At times
· He has done a backward somersault
· He has sat down on a chair
· He has walked on stilts
· Once he even took along a small stove
· Started a fire
· And cooked & ate an omelet
· All while on a tightrope
· Above Niagra Falls
· One day after crossing Falls several times
· He asked the onlookers
· If they thought
· He could cross it again
· They all agreed he could
· Then he turned to one man & asked him,
· "If you believe I can cross again,
· "Perhaps you would go with me
· "In my wheelbarrow."
· Needless to say, the man refused
· You see, real faith
· Requires more than
· Mental or verbal agreement
· Real faith comes from the heart
· · Jesus and his disciples had gone
· To the area around Tyre & Sidon
· These were 2 cities
· On the Mediterranean Sea
· North of Israel
· In present-day Lebanon
· They were Gentile cities
· Jesus had gone there
· To get away from the scribes & Pharisees
· To get some peace
· From the constant attacks
· Of the religious authorities
· From those who talked about God
· But placed all their trust
· In the world
· There in the countryside
· Surrounding Tyre & Sidon
· Jesus met an unnamed Canaanite woman
· In this fascinating
· & Yet somewhat confusing
· Tale of children & dogs
· The
woman — a Gentile / a non-Jew
· Came to Jesus seeking healing
· For her daughter
· Her daughter was demon-possessed
· & This woman was apparently
· In much distress
· We do not know how the woman
· Had heard of Jesus
· Apparently
someone had told her
· Jesus had the power of healing
· That He might be able
· To heal her daughter
· As she approached Jesus, she said,
· "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David!"
· Now we need to understand
· The word "Lord" was then—like today—
· A term of respect
· It was not necessarily a recognition
· Of Jesus’ divinity
· In fact, this woman seems focused
· On Jesus’ humanity
· Since she calls Him "Son of David"
· Event his Gentile woman
· Recognized Him
· As a great Jewish figure
· One who was directly descended
· From the great King David
· It is obvious that this woman
· Understands in her head
· That Jesus is great
· That He can heal
· But it is not clear
· From her opening remarks
· That this woman believes in her heart
· That Jesus is the Lord / the Son of God
· And so Matthew tells us
· ". . . Jesus gave her no reply—not even a word."
· · How often have you experienced that
· In your prayer life?
· How often have you come to the Lord
· Asking for peace?
· Asking for help?
· Asking for healing?
· Asking for God to intervene
· In your life
· Or in the life of someone you love?
· And all you have heard is silence?
· How often have you
· Gotten down on your knees
· & Poured out
· All your concerns & troubles
· Only to hear
· The echo of your own words?
· Only to come away empty?
· Why is God so silent?
· Why does it seem like
· God does not answer our prayers?
· Sometimes, I am sure
· We are so wrought up in our troubles
· That we cannot quiet our hearts
· To hear the still, small voice of God
· Sometimes we are just too busy
· To stop & listen to the Lord
· You know, even when God tells us
· He must do something
· Other than what we have asked
· Or He must wait for a better time
· He still speaks & answers our prayers
· · But we must still stop
· & Give God time to speak
· & Give ourselves stillness to listen
· Sometimes we do not listen
· & So it seems like God does not speak
· But I fear there are many more times
· When God really does not speak
[SHORT PAUSE]
· Why?
· Why would God not answer our prayers?
· Did He not promise
· To be with His people?
· & Did He not promise
· To commune with the faithful?
· Of course He did!
· It seems that one thing
· This lesson should teach us
· Is that God does not respond
· To our "head knowledge"
· Just knowing in your head
· That Jesus is great
· That He can do great things—
· Even heal you—
· Does not mean
· You believe He is the Lord
· The Son of God
· Does not mean
· You have allowed Him
· To rule your life
· Does not mean
· You have faith
· · Or that You are
· One of the faithful
· One of His children
· One of the citizens of His holy kingdom
· There are many great people in the world
· & I might ask them for help
· I might ask a doctor for healing
· I might ask a banker for money
· I might ask a politician
· For better laws
· Or for a better society
· & I may know in my mind
· That these people can do
· The things I ask them to do
· But God only responds to my faith
· & Faith comes from my heart
· Not from my mind
· Now
when the woman sees
· Jesus is not going to answer her pleas
· She draws close to Him
· & Bows down before Him
· & Prays to Him
· "Lord, help me!"
[SHORT PAUSE]
· Now — are these actions
· From her head?
· Or from her heart?
· We cannot tell, can we?
· Worship
— true worship
· Always comes from the heart
· Always rests on our faith in God
· But our acts of worship
· Can easily come from
· Our mental understanding only
· We can all come to church each Sunday
· But it is worship only
· When deep down in our hearts
· We want to come
· & We want to join
· With God’s people
· To praise & glorify the Lord
· We can all bow our heads & pray
· But it is prayer only
· When we desire in our hearts
· To be open to the Lord
· To hear Him speak
· To share with Him our lives
· & To lift to Him our needs
· We can all put money in the plate
· But it is only an offering to the Lord
· When it comes from
· Our heartfelt desire
· To give back to the Lord
· What He has 1st given to us
· The outward acts may reflect
· A mental understanding
· Of Christ’s gospel
· Or these same outward acts may reflect
· A faith deep in our hearts
· · Only god and the person involved
· Can know the difference
· We have all heard the words of the gospel
· We have all heard
· The love of God
· The promises of God
· His promises of salvation in Christ
· But until these words we have heard
· Make the 12-inch journey
· From our minds to our hearts
· Our actions are hollow
· They are empty
· They will not / they cannot
· Produce in our lives
· All the fruits God has promised us
· This does not mean
· Our mental understandings are unimportant
· God’s Word 1st enters us
· Through our minds
· Before it descends into our hearts
· But God only responds to our faith
· & Faith comes from the heart
· Now
when the woman
· Bowed down before Jesus
· Jesus makes a strange statement
· About children’s bread
· He says,
· "It isn’t right to take food from the children
and throw it to the dogs."
· · To which the woman replies
· "Yes, Lord; but even dogs are permitted to eat crumbs
that fall beneath their master’s table."
· One
of the struggles we sometimes have
· In understanding scripture
· Is in hearing it — literally hearing it —
· The whole Bible was written to people
· Who were used to listening
· Very few people then could read or write
· So they would gather to listen
· As a church leader would read aloud
· God’s holy word
· Including this gospel of Matthew
· These early listeners
· Might not have overlooked
· A very subtle point
· That I have missed so often in the past
· Jesus has described a table
· Where the children are being fed
· I remember these tables
· From when I was a child
· Whenever there was a large gathering
· All us kids would sit
· At a separate table
· From the adults
· It was the children’s table
· It was the children’s table
· Jesus was talking about
· But
when the woman speaks of a table
· She does not call it the children’s table
· She calls it the master’s table
· The woman recognizes that
· The issue at hand
· Is not Jesus’ relationship
· With the children
· With the Jews
· The issue at hand —
· The issue that is always at hand —
· Is Jesus relationship with her
· Not His relationship
· With someone else
· The master will make sure
· His dogs get fed
· Why? — Because He cares for the dogs
· Likewise Jesus—the Lord & the Master—
· Will help this woman
· Why? — Because He cares for her
· Deep down in her heart of faith
· This woman truly believes
· That Jesus loves her
· Oh! We have touched the heart now,
· Haven’t we?
· A few
years ago
· During a Walk to Emmaus weekend
· I shared at length with a man
· Who was struggling with his faith
· He really did not love himself
· He
asked me,
· "How can I love my neighbor as myself,
· If I do not love myself?"
· I asked him how he pictured God
· He said he always saw God
· As holding a bundle of lightning bolts
· Ready to "zap" him
· Whenever he does something wrong
· Now it is true that judgment
· Is a valid part of who God is
· But I suggested to him that:
· Before he could love his neighbor
· Before he could love himself
· Before he could even love God
· He needed to believe in his heart
· That God loved him
· I then spent a great deal of time in prayer
· That the events of that weekend’s retreat
· Would convince him
· Of God’s great love for him
· & That he would allow
· His head knowledge of God’s love
· To make that 12-inch journey
· To his heart
· So that he might truly believe
· In God’s great love for him
· Folks,
it is one thing
· To say Blondin can make that trip
· Across Niagra Falls on a tightrope
· It
is quite another thing
· To believe it
· To get in his wheelbarrow
· & Go with him
· In
the same way, it is one thing
· To say, "Jesus is Lord."
· To come to church regularly
· To give to the church & other charities
· Even to pray & to read the Bible
· But
it quite another thing
· To believe deep in your heart
· That God loves you
· & That He will provide for you
· The very best there is
· Far
too many people are like that man
· On the Emmaus weekend
· They only have a head knowledge of Jesus
· Their learning about Jesus
· Has not made the 12-inch journey
· From head to heart
· & Until that journey is made
· God will seem terribly silent
· & His work will always seem to be
· Helping someone else
· But not you
· But when that trip is made
· When you believe in your heart
· God’s great love for you
· · There is no limit
· To the joy you will know
· & To the power Christ can & will
· Make present in your life
· "‘Woman,’
Jesus said to her,
· "‘Your faith is great.
· "‘Your request is granted.’
· "And her daughter was instantly healed."
· God
does respond to the faith of His people
· But real faith comes from the heart!
AMEN
