WEBVTT 00:00:00.939 --> 00:00:04.280 May God bless us this morning Not because of 00:00:04.280 --> 00:00:07.339 the actions that we do but because of his spirit 00:00:07.339 --> 00:00:10.480 that flows through his word May we be convicted 00:00:10.480 --> 00:00:18.320 and blessed amen Howdy Y 'all doing all right 00:00:18.320 --> 00:00:22.219 today So far, okay. Good. All right. I didn't 00:00:22.219 --> 00:00:24.420 hear any nose. So so so far we're doing okay. 00:00:24.420 --> 00:00:27.620 All right, good I wanted to talk with you all 00:00:27.620 --> 00:00:31.440 a little bit today about the experience of Jesus 00:00:31.440 --> 00:00:36.200 with the Canaanite woman and In so doing I kind 00:00:36.200 --> 00:00:39.320 of wanted to start by explaining that I have 00:00:39.320 --> 00:00:45.600 this fascination with New Year's Eve Now this 00:00:45.600 --> 00:00:48.719 is a little bit strange is that I never really 00:00:48.719 --> 00:00:52.659 was a huge Christmas fan I Know this is strange. 00:00:52.679 --> 00:00:55.960 I never was a huge Easter fan. I know this is 00:00:55.960 --> 00:00:58.679 strange. I was never a huge Thanksgiving fan 00:00:59.359 --> 00:01:02.859 Even with all the food, but for some reason New 00:01:02.859 --> 00:01:07.159 Year's Eve was always this thing in my mind That 00:01:07.159 --> 00:01:11.040 I needed to do something fun and to celebrate 00:01:11.040 --> 00:01:15.060 it Now it don't don't worry. I still have a good 00:01:15.060 --> 00:01:16.799 time with Christmas and Thanksgiving and Easter 00:01:16.799 --> 00:01:19.819 But I wasn't fascinated with them the way I was 00:01:19.819 --> 00:01:23.040 with New Year's And the thing is is that I would 00:01:23.040 --> 00:01:26.359 always be looking for some sort of a fun event 00:01:26.359 --> 00:01:30.060 or party that I could go to for New Year's. It's 00:01:30.060 --> 00:01:31.900 because it's like, you know, Christmas, you're 00:01:31.900 --> 00:01:34.140 going to make sure that you go to church and 00:01:34.140 --> 00:01:36.760 you spend your time there, you know, worshiping 00:01:36.760 --> 00:01:39.079 with Christmas Eve. Thanksgiving, you're going 00:01:39.079 --> 00:01:40.819 to make sure that you're with your family, that 00:01:40.819 --> 00:01:43.420 you overeat and argue about something. It's not 00:01:43.420 --> 00:01:45.400 Thanksgiving otherwise. And then, of course, 00:01:45.500 --> 00:01:47.280 Easter, you have to make sure that you go out 00:01:47.280 --> 00:01:50.280 and hunt for eggs. But New Year's, it's like 00:01:50.280 --> 00:01:53.000 you have to make sure, in my mind, that you've 00:01:53.000 --> 00:01:56.200 got to go do something really, really fun. And 00:01:56.200 --> 00:01:59.060 so as I was sitting with a group of young people 00:01:59.060 --> 00:02:01.280 that I was hanging out with, and I heard them 00:02:01.280 --> 00:02:03.840 talking about the New Year's party that was coming 00:02:03.840 --> 00:02:06.579 up. And I'm thinking to myself, great, I have 00:02:06.579 --> 00:02:09.199 no idea what I'm gonna do for New Year's. This 00:02:09.199 --> 00:02:11.360 sounds like an awesome thing. You know those 00:02:11.360 --> 00:02:13.860 moments when you realize that you were talking 00:02:13.860 --> 00:02:16.860 about something fun in front of somebody that 00:02:16.860 --> 00:02:21.250 you had no interest in inviting? It was one of 00:02:21.250 --> 00:02:25.409 those moments and it was the weirdest I hate 00:02:25.409 --> 00:02:27.629 that sort of a thing and it's like, you know 00:02:27.629 --> 00:02:29.289 It's like one of those childhood things like 00:02:29.289 --> 00:02:30.689 middle school where you're just kind of like 00:02:30.689 --> 00:02:32.469 I'm stuck at the punch bowl Not sure what to 00:02:32.469 --> 00:02:35.349 do. It was kind of one of those moments and it 00:02:35.349 --> 00:02:37.729 was like, oh really? When is the New Year's party 00:02:37.729 --> 00:02:42.310 gonna happen? And this moment that well, well, 00:02:42.449 --> 00:02:44.289 we're still trying to find out what's going on. 00:02:44.310 --> 00:02:46.310 Oh, okay. Great Well, when do you think you'll 00:02:46.310 --> 00:02:49.389 find out? Well, maybe we'll be able to get some 00:02:49.389 --> 00:02:51.590 information later today. Okay, that sounds great. 00:02:51.650 --> 00:02:54.830 That sounds great New Year's came and went absolutely 00:02:54.830 --> 00:03:00.710 nothing saw the pictures on Facebook Everybody 00:03:00.710 --> 00:03:07.889 except for me. Oh Man how I mean how awkward 00:03:07.889 --> 00:03:10.210 is that feeling right? Wait, but don't worry. 00:03:10.210 --> 00:03:12.449 Don't worry I I found some other friends to hang 00:03:12.449 --> 00:03:14.889 out with for the next year. So don't worry. Don't 00:03:14.889 --> 00:03:17.900 worry much cooler people that I get to hang out 00:03:17.900 --> 00:03:21.639 with now, right? Absolutely, absolutely. But 00:03:21.639 --> 00:03:23.979 the reason why that stood out to me is that that's 00:03:23.979 --> 00:03:26.919 what it reminds me of with the Canaanite woman. 00:03:28.080 --> 00:03:31.379 You see, Jesus and his disciples had been in 00:03:31.379 --> 00:03:34.139 the middle of preaching and proclaiming the gospel, 00:03:34.479 --> 00:03:38.080 but they were doing so in areas that were lived 00:03:38.080 --> 00:03:40.479 in by the Jewish community. And then they had 00:03:40.479 --> 00:03:45.110 gone to Tyre and Sidon to step away. because 00:03:45.110 --> 00:03:47.389 they were having some trouble with the Pharisees 00:03:47.389 --> 00:03:50.909 at that time. But you see, Tyre and Sidon, this 00:03:50.909 --> 00:03:54.150 was Gentile territory. This was an area that 00:03:54.150 --> 00:03:58.310 wasn't really Jewish in its culture. And so stepping 00:03:58.310 --> 00:04:01.330 away, they weren't really expecting to be doing 00:04:01.330 --> 00:04:04.870 anything like they had during their time among 00:04:04.870 --> 00:04:09.430 the Jewish community. Why? Because Jesus coming 00:04:09.430 --> 00:04:11.969 to fulfill the prophecies that had been given 00:04:11.969 --> 00:04:15.159 to the Jewish people. This was something where 00:04:15.159 --> 00:04:19.279 he was focused on this part of his ministry before 00:04:19.279 --> 00:04:22.100 sending out his disciples to reach to the ends 00:04:22.100 --> 00:04:25.500 of the earth. But what ends up happening at this 00:04:25.500 --> 00:04:28.879 moment in time? This Canaanite woman, and when 00:04:28.879 --> 00:04:31.279 we say Canaanite, what we have to remember is 00:04:31.279 --> 00:04:34.639 that it's emphasizing somebody who came from 00:04:34.639 --> 00:04:37.399 a background that worshipped these Canaanite 00:04:37.399 --> 00:04:41.519 gods, these other entities that were not a part 00:04:41.519 --> 00:04:46.620 of Yahweh in the Israelite form of worship. Because 00:04:46.620 --> 00:04:49.699 she was actually a Syrophoenician woman as we 00:04:49.699 --> 00:04:52.519 know from one of the other gospels. Is that she 00:04:52.519 --> 00:04:55.319 was actually from this area of Syria and she 00:04:55.319 --> 00:04:59.740 came from a Phoenician or a Greek background 00:04:59.740 --> 00:05:06.180 for her culture. But here she is expressing that 00:05:06.180 --> 00:05:09.699 her child has now been possessed by a demon. 00:05:10.629 --> 00:05:13.509 And the thing with this is that we don't know 00:05:13.509 --> 00:05:17.170 what led up to this moment. We don't know what 00:05:17.170 --> 00:05:19.629 it was that had been a part of her background 00:05:19.629 --> 00:05:22.209 that had led to this point where her child was 00:05:22.209 --> 00:05:25.250 possessed by a demon. We can only guess, we can 00:05:25.250 --> 00:05:29.389 only assume. But with this is that at this moment 00:05:29.389 --> 00:05:33.509 in time, this was not a part of the main focus 00:05:33.509 --> 00:05:37.889 that Jesus and His disciples had. You see, in 00:05:37.889 --> 00:05:41.410 our Gospel, it ends up having the disciples saying, 00:05:43.209 --> 00:05:48.009 send her away, for she is crying out after us. 00:05:49.050 --> 00:05:51.810 Now, what I want to make sure that I point out, 00:05:52.050 --> 00:05:54.730 though, is that this isn't just make her go away, 00:05:54.750 --> 00:05:58.189 we don't want to see her, but afterwards, Jesus 00:05:58.189 --> 00:06:02.269 ends up saying, I was sent only to the lost sheep 00:06:02.269 --> 00:06:06.189 of the house of Israel. Now, it sounds strange 00:06:06.189 --> 00:06:10.790 unless you realize that what the disciples were 00:06:10.790 --> 00:06:13.850 trying to get at was, Jesus, can you just take 00:06:13.850 --> 00:06:16.870 care of what she's asking for so that she'll 00:06:16.870 --> 00:06:21.550 go away? Which is a sad reason to help somebody 00:06:21.550 --> 00:06:24.509 in the first place. But what's even stranger 00:06:24.509 --> 00:06:30.389 is what comes after this. See this is one of 00:06:30.389 --> 00:06:32.629 those moments whenever we kind of wonder if maybe 00:06:32.629 --> 00:06:36.069 somebody misunderstood Jesus and what he was 00:06:36.069 --> 00:06:39.529 saying Maybe if we go in and we're like, uh, 00:06:39.529 --> 00:06:41.629 well, let's see here. I was sent only to a lost 00:06:41.629 --> 00:06:44.170 sheep of it house of Israel Okay, what else does 00:06:44.170 --> 00:06:47.750 he have to say? It's not right to take the children's 00:06:47.750 --> 00:06:52.709 bread and throw it to the dogs This is a very 00:06:52.709 --> 00:06:57.120 strange passage and it's also something that 00:06:57.120 --> 00:07:00.959 bears a lot of weight on our own lives and where 00:07:00.959 --> 00:07:04.740 we are. You see, the thing is that in looking 00:07:04.740 --> 00:07:09.459 at so much of what Jesus was doing, is that in 00:07:09.459 --> 00:07:12.240 the midst of what he was working with, what it 00:07:12.240 --> 00:07:15.120 was that he was doing with the miracles and with 00:07:15.120 --> 00:07:17.759 so much of his work was that it was also based 00:07:17.759 --> 00:07:20.879 on teaching them, on teaching the people how 00:07:20.879 --> 00:07:24.420 he was there to fulfill Everything that had led 00:07:24.420 --> 00:07:27.040 up to that point. This was a big reason for why 00:07:27.040 --> 00:07:31.199 his ministry was among the Jewish community Because 00:07:31.199 --> 00:07:33.720 those that were outside of it in many ways were 00:07:33.720 --> 00:07:36.120 just looking for something miraculous looking 00:07:36.120 --> 00:07:40.339 for just some sort of a wonder and Jesus didn't 00:07:40.339 --> 00:07:43.399 want his ministry to become just signs and wonders 00:07:43.399 --> 00:07:46.160 He wanted to be teaching them of the coming of 00:07:46.160 --> 00:07:49.959 the kingdom So for a person to come from a background 00:07:49.959 --> 00:07:52.860 where they did not know what had led up to him 00:07:52.860 --> 00:07:57.079 being there. His work there wouldn't have the 00:07:57.079 --> 00:08:01.120 same bearing. But what I find interesting is 00:08:01.120 --> 00:08:04.319 that in some ways, that's much of what we do 00:08:04.319 --> 00:08:09.699 with the church today. You see, oftentimes we 00:08:09.699 --> 00:08:13.240 are looking for things that create a sense of 00:08:13.240 --> 00:08:17.600 spectacle. We want things that seem beautiful 00:08:17.600 --> 00:08:22.759 or amazing or ostentatious. to use a four syllable 00:08:22.759 --> 00:08:24.639 word that I had to teach during high school. 00:08:26.399 --> 00:08:30.199 One of the things with it is that we spend so 00:08:30.199 --> 00:08:33.899 much time wanting things to look amazing that 00:08:33.899 --> 00:08:37.220 we don't spend the time asking what led up to 00:08:37.220 --> 00:08:41.120 it. You are here for worship today on Sunday 00:08:41.120 --> 00:08:45.299 morning. What has been happening in your life 00:08:45.299 --> 00:08:50.279 in Christ for the last six days? You have come 00:08:50.279 --> 00:08:55.740 to know Jesus as your Savior What is it that 00:08:55.740 --> 00:08:59.879 he has saved you from? And the thing is is that 00:08:59.879 --> 00:09:04.059 we oftentimes take that for granted we're just 00:09:04.059 --> 00:09:08.440 wanting to make sure that things seem nice and 00:09:08.440 --> 00:09:11.059 That they are pretty for those that we get to 00:09:11.059 --> 00:09:15.299 invite here But the truth is is that Jesus ministry 00:09:15.299 --> 00:09:19.730 was deeper than what was being shown on the outside. 00:09:20.549 --> 00:09:23.009 And that's the thing about what ends up coming 00:09:23.009 --> 00:09:27.750 next that's so fascinating. Would we ever consider 00:09:27.750 --> 00:09:31.149 saying to somebody that we had just met, let 00:09:31.149 --> 00:09:34.149 alone anybody that we knew even better than that, 00:09:35.669 --> 00:09:41.529 you're kind of a dog? Not so much. And that's 00:09:41.529 --> 00:09:44.190 not even considering the fact that in today's 00:09:44.190 --> 00:09:46.889 American society, we oftentimes think of our 00:09:46.909 --> 00:09:49.889 dogs as people and somebody's pushing the baby 00:09:49.889 --> 00:09:52.970 stroller down the sidewalk and you're like aww 00:09:52.970 --> 00:09:55.070 they look just like and then you realize it's 00:09:55.070 --> 00:09:56.850 their dog and you're not sure which parent to 00:09:56.850 --> 00:10:01.110 say that looks just like don't say the mother 00:10:01.110 --> 00:10:06.529 never say the mother ok alright but as much as 00:10:06.529 --> 00:10:09.629 we might think that oh well this could be a term 00:10:09.629 --> 00:10:16.460 of endearment this is still an insult And the 00:10:16.460 --> 00:10:18.440 reason for it is because the Jewish people would 00:10:18.440 --> 00:10:23.440 oftentimes call Gentiles dogs. Now the thing 00:10:23.440 --> 00:10:27.360 is, is that in a way though, what we oftentimes 00:10:27.360 --> 00:10:31.960 look at in trying to kind of modify what Jesus 00:10:31.960 --> 00:10:36.860 is saying misses the whole point, is that Jesus 00:10:36.860 --> 00:10:41.580 is wanting to see exactly where she's coming 00:10:41.580 --> 00:10:47.139 from. The thing is, is that oftentimes when someone 00:10:47.139 --> 00:10:52.419 faces the most obstacles and the most difficult 00:10:52.419 --> 00:10:56.299 hindrances, we oftentimes see what matters to 00:10:56.299 --> 00:10:59.539 them most. Now, I know that the younger generation 00:10:59.539 --> 00:11:02.600 doesn't get this, but there was a time when you 00:11:02.600 --> 00:11:07.220 could not do every single thing online. You had 00:11:07.220 --> 00:11:09.320 to actually go to places like the Department 00:11:09.320 --> 00:11:13.590 of Motor Vehicles to... get a license. You had 00:11:13.590 --> 00:11:17.470 to actually go into a store to pay a bill. You 00:11:17.470 --> 00:11:19.809 had to actually maybe write something out. It 00:11:19.809 --> 00:11:22.850 was called a check. It was this thing on paper 00:11:22.850 --> 00:11:25.009 and it was what they had before debit cards. 00:11:25.250 --> 00:11:29.269 I know, hard to imagine, but it was a thing. 00:11:29.970 --> 00:11:32.909 But imagine that you were trying to get there 00:11:32.909 --> 00:11:35.570 to the Department of Motor Vehicles in time to 00:11:35.570 --> 00:11:39.700 make sure that you could renew your license because 00:11:39.700 --> 00:11:42.700 you maybe had waited until the very last day 00:11:42.700 --> 00:11:45.480 to go and renew it. And you knew that if you 00:11:45.480 --> 00:11:47.799 waited until the next day, your mother would 00:11:47.799 --> 00:11:52.019 have to drive you down herself. Now, which may 00:11:52.019 --> 00:11:54.759 or may not have happened in my twenties. But 00:11:54.759 --> 00:11:58.279 with this though, is to realize sometimes as 00:11:58.279 --> 00:12:01.799 you're trying to get right to the door, and you 00:12:01.799 --> 00:12:03.799 realize that that person is about to come up 00:12:03.799 --> 00:12:09.419 and lock it. It's almost like you can see some 00:12:09.419 --> 00:12:12.740 of the people that it's like they stop and they 00:12:12.740 --> 00:12:16.639 kind of give up It's like well, it didn't work. 00:12:16.639 --> 00:12:21.519 I'm gonna go back but sometimes every so often 00:12:21.519 --> 00:12:25.399 in a blue moon someone gets to that door and 00:12:25.399 --> 00:12:28.159 Just looks at the person about to lock it and 00:12:28.159 --> 00:12:33.179 says please I need to get inside And maybe since 00:12:33.179 --> 00:12:36.460 they hadn't quite turned that key yet Maybe they 00:12:36.460 --> 00:12:39.740 open up that door. And the thing is, is that 00:12:39.740 --> 00:12:44.519 as much as this moment is difficult to hear, 00:12:45.399 --> 00:12:47.539 is that this is also the chance where this woman 00:12:47.539 --> 00:12:50.820 demonstrates that she wasn't there just for the 00:12:50.820 --> 00:12:53.039 signs and the miracles. It's because she knew 00:12:53.039 --> 00:12:59.639 that he was the only one from God, the Messiah. 00:13:00.379 --> 00:13:02.940 That's what it means to say, Lord, Son of David, 00:13:03.559 --> 00:13:07.240 is that's a term that is used for the Messiah. 00:13:07.919 --> 00:13:11.720 And if there's only one Messiah, where else are 00:13:11.720 --> 00:13:17.700 you going to go? The thing with this is that 00:13:17.700 --> 00:13:23.139 do we treat Christ and His Kingdom like the only 00:13:23.139 --> 00:13:28.740 true hope? Are we actually treating what this 00:13:28.740 --> 00:13:32.299 Gospel is as the only hope to bring out to the 00:13:32.299 --> 00:13:34.759 rest of the world? How many other things do we 00:13:34.759 --> 00:13:37.320 allow to take its place? How many other things 00:13:37.320 --> 00:13:41.019 do we say, well, you know, we had a really good 00:13:41.019 --> 00:13:44.159 time. We saw this movie. It was really pleasant. 00:13:44.759 --> 00:13:46.620 Maybe I'm not going to really talk about what 00:13:46.620 --> 00:13:50.539 we discussed in Bible study this week. Or, you 00:13:50.539 --> 00:13:53.379 know, we had this really great dinner, and I'm 00:13:53.379 --> 00:13:55.620 really glad for the opportunity, but I don't 00:13:55.620 --> 00:13:57.059 know if I really want to talk about anything 00:13:57.059 --> 00:13:59.440 spiritual. It might make things a little bit 00:13:59.440 --> 00:14:05.950 difficult. The times whenever we treat our faith 00:14:05.950 --> 00:14:10.370 like an extra Like here's all the things that 00:14:10.370 --> 00:14:14.330 we've got to get done And maybe this is the little 00:14:14.330 --> 00:14:18.049 extra thing that I don't have time for today 00:14:18.049 --> 00:14:23.950 But here's the thing with this Jesus ends up 00:14:23.950 --> 00:14:29.110 saying Is it it is not right to take the children's 00:14:29.110 --> 00:14:32.490 bread and throw it to the dogs Now there's a 00:14:32.490 --> 00:14:36.529 discussion that in the Greek The term that's 00:14:36.529 --> 00:14:40.909 used for dogs when referring to Gentiles is different 00:14:40.909 --> 00:14:45.269 from the term that's used here Because this is 00:14:45.269 --> 00:14:49.029 meant to be a household pet That's kind of sort 00:14:49.029 --> 00:14:51.929 of stretching it. It's sort of like saying a 00:14:51.929 --> 00:14:55.750 wild dog versus a little dog It's sort of like 00:14:55.750 --> 00:14:59.509 whenever we say to some somebody. Oh bless your 00:14:59.509 --> 00:15:03.000 heart Yeah, we know that that means, yeah, you're 00:15:03.000 --> 00:15:04.820 kind of stupid, but we're just trying to be nice. 00:15:05.120 --> 00:15:09.740 Yeah, it was sort of like that. But what does 00:15:09.740 --> 00:15:16.159 she say? Yes, Lord. And even so, the dogs eat 00:15:16.159 --> 00:15:18.700 the crumbs that fall from their master's table. 00:15:20.440 --> 00:15:23.539 See, the thing is that she didn't take that dog 00:15:23.539 --> 00:15:26.940 word and leave it be, but rather took it further. 00:15:27.970 --> 00:15:31.110 is that it doesn't matter what place I have in 00:15:31.110 --> 00:15:35.549 your household, Jesus, because just being in 00:15:35.549 --> 00:15:43.970 your household is more than enough. Doesn't that 00:15:43.970 --> 00:15:48.970 hit it? The times whenever we feel like what 00:15:48.970 --> 00:15:51.830 our faith is and what we've received from church 00:15:51.830 --> 00:15:54.009 and from Jesus and everything else and we find 00:15:54.009 --> 00:15:56.610 something lacking and we're disappointed somehow, 00:15:57.590 --> 00:16:00.769 And we forget the fact that we've been given 00:16:00.769 --> 00:16:06.870 eternal life in Christ Jesus. See, at that moment 00:16:06.870 --> 00:16:10.309 in time, is that Jesus knew exactly who this 00:16:10.309 --> 00:16:13.769 woman was. And that as much as she had not been 00:16:13.769 --> 00:16:19.129 born into a Jewish household by faith, she was 00:16:19.129 --> 00:16:24.549 truly part of the people of Israel. And that's 00:16:24.549 --> 00:16:26.840 the thing with this part. is to be able to say, 00:16:27.200 --> 00:16:31.820 your faith is great. Let it be done for you as 00:16:31.820 --> 00:16:36.740 you desire. And that's the thing is, are we so 00:16:36.740 --> 00:16:41.840 involved in knowing God and pursuing His kingdom 00:16:41.840 --> 00:16:46.059 that others just have to be a part of that? We 00:16:46.059 --> 00:16:49.720 spend a lot of time trying to make sure that 00:16:49.720 --> 00:16:53.159 who we are and what we do is easy and palatable 00:16:53.159 --> 00:16:57.549 for others. I understand that. I've done that. 00:16:58.230 --> 00:17:00.570 Hey, I switched from a King James Bible to a 00:17:00.570 --> 00:17:04.269 New International. Hey, I'm hip. I'm with it. 00:17:05.910 --> 00:17:11.490 But at the same time, is our life so transforming? 00:17:12.089 --> 00:17:15.329 Like what was happening among the people of Israel 00:17:15.329 --> 00:17:18.430 at that time, for those who followed Christ Jesus, 00:17:18.769 --> 00:17:22.390 that others are willing to... jump over whatever's 00:17:22.390 --> 00:17:27.630 needed to get to it. What is it that we are missing 00:17:27.630 --> 00:17:32.430 right now among us that others are not seeing 00:17:32.430 --> 00:17:38.430 us and wishing they could be a part of it? It 00:17:38.430 --> 00:17:41.089 kind of flips it around a little bit there. You 00:17:41.089 --> 00:17:44.170 see, one of the things that strikes me is that 00:17:44.170 --> 00:17:48.109 oftentimes as a minister, I feel like I have 00:17:48.109 --> 00:17:51.369 to convince people to be involved in ministry. 00:17:52.829 --> 00:17:56.470 I feel oftentimes like I'm trying to beg people 00:17:56.470 --> 00:17:59.250 to get to be a part of the life of the church. 00:18:00.670 --> 00:18:02.849 But then sometimes I'm humbled a little bit. 00:18:03.930 --> 00:18:07.430 I was checking back on one of the old services 00:18:07.430 --> 00:18:09.950 and I saw a bunch of the pictures from one of 00:18:09.950 --> 00:18:14.269 the Texas ramp projects. And there was like two 00:18:14.269 --> 00:18:18.130 dozen people there. working on a ramp for somebody 00:18:18.130 --> 00:18:22.690 that they've never met. And then realizing several 00:18:22.690 --> 00:18:25.109 of those people that I've never met, which meant 00:18:25.109 --> 00:18:28.049 that their outreach was going way beyond our 00:18:28.049 --> 00:18:33.109 own walls. Our small groups for discipleship. 00:18:33.970 --> 00:18:37.029 We paused in May and I've had this thought and 00:18:37.029 --> 00:18:40.450 this fear of, oh no, how are we going to get 00:18:40.450 --> 00:18:42.309 them to start back up again? Well, there are 00:18:42.309 --> 00:18:44.529 just some that I've never even had to... keep 00:18:44.529 --> 00:18:46.410 going in the first place. I don't even have to 00:18:46.410 --> 00:18:49.150 convince the lifelike people or the Saturday 00:18:49.150 --> 00:18:52.210 morning breakfast people or anybody else to keep 00:18:52.210 --> 00:18:55.390 on going. Or the people who go and study after 00:18:55.390 --> 00:18:58.509 worship like here. And they still keep going 00:18:58.509 --> 00:19:00.910 time and time again. But even the ones that I 00:19:00.910 --> 00:19:03.950 did get a chance to be a startup to start with. 00:19:04.910 --> 00:19:06.589 No, they're ready to go. They've already figured 00:19:06.589 --> 00:19:08.430 out their curriculum, what they want to focus 00:19:08.430 --> 00:19:10.309 on, how often they're going to meet, who all 00:19:10.309 --> 00:19:12.009 is a part of it, who they're going to start inviting. 00:19:14.250 --> 00:19:17.150 and realizing that I was spending so much time 00:19:17.150 --> 00:19:21.190 trying to be convincing myself that I was forgetting 00:19:21.190 --> 00:19:25.549 that the very thing that draws people in is doing 00:19:25.549 --> 00:19:30.529 its work already of hope and mercy and grace. 00:19:32.849 --> 00:19:36.410 And that's the big piece today is that God is 00:19:36.410 --> 00:19:39.789 still doing his work among his people not because 00:19:39.789 --> 00:19:45.670 we have it figured out. but because God has it 00:19:45.670 --> 00:19:48.730 figured out. See, that's the thing, is that the 00:19:48.730 --> 00:19:53.809 very God who has walked among us, the one who 00:19:53.809 --> 00:19:56.970 has come to give us everything, even the one 00:19:56.970 --> 00:20:01.309 who tested this woman by calling her a pet dog, 00:20:04.309 --> 00:20:07.009 who then went to a cross and gave up everything 00:20:07.009 --> 00:20:13.339 for us, is still the way. of bringing people 00:20:13.339 --> 00:20:18.900 into the kingdom. I know that there are times 00:20:18.900 --> 00:20:21.480 when it becomes a struggle, and I know that there 00:20:21.480 --> 00:20:24.779 are times whenever we get offended, we get hurt, 00:20:25.299 --> 00:20:27.559 and there are times whenever the people who are 00:20:27.559 --> 00:20:31.039 around us are the very people that we feel like 00:20:31.039 --> 00:20:33.160 are Canaanites that we wish we could just get 00:20:33.160 --> 00:20:38.039 rid of because they're kind of a nuisance. But 00:20:38.039 --> 00:20:41.240 those are the very people that end up showing 00:20:41.240 --> 00:20:45.920 us God's love even more strongly than we show 00:20:45.920 --> 00:20:50.759 it to them. So this morning, maybe to ask the 00:20:50.759 --> 00:20:52.839 question of what are the things that have kept 00:20:52.839 --> 00:20:56.940 you from pursuing the kingdom of God? Who are 00:20:56.940 --> 00:20:59.940 the people that you have wanted to keep at arm's 00:20:59.940 --> 00:21:02.380 length because you just didn't want to have to 00:21:02.380 --> 00:21:06.440 deal with that? And maybe to ask, how is it that 00:21:06.440 --> 00:21:11.549 God this morning is sending you to them, not 00:21:11.549 --> 00:21:16.390 with some great miracle or some beautiful sign, 00:21:17.509 --> 00:21:20.009 but rather with the only thing that can truly 00:21:20.009 --> 00:21:27.269 change, mercy, forgiveness, and hope. Because 00:21:27.269 --> 00:21:30.789 whatever may be hurting you, maybe they need 00:21:30.789 --> 00:21:33.549 to see that hope in you as well.