Three children had become very prosperous and had accumulated vast amounts of money. They discussed what gifts they were going to give their elderly mother for Mother‘s Day. The first built a big house for his mother. The second had sent her a Mercedes with a driver. The third felt he out did the other two with his gift.
His mother always did enjoy reading the Bible? And in her older age she couldn’t see that well anymore. So he sent her a remarkable parrot that could recite the entire Bible. It took trained professionals 12 years to teach him. He was one of a kind. His mother just had to name the book, chapter and verse, and the parrot would be able to recite it.
The children soon started receiving letters from their mom thanking them for their gifts. "Milton," she wrote one child, "The house you built is so huge. I live in only one room, but I have to clean the whole house."
"Margret," she wrote to another, "I am too old to travel. I stay at home most of the time, so I rarely use the Mercedes. And the driver is so rude!"
"Dearest Donald," she wrote to her third child, "You have the good sense to know what your mother likes. The chicken was delicious."
Happy Mothers Day ladies. Isn’t great that we all have children with good sense? Now you know that’s just not true. Motherhood is probably the toughest profession in the world. There is a bond between a child and their mother that is like no other bond. And there is a pain that a child can place on a mother like no other pain.
I am well acquainted with a woman who, in her teenage years, was in rebellion. Her mother would discipline her only to be met with the harshest of words. “I hate you!” “I wish you were dead.”
The mother’s response would be “I love you”
Recently her mother died and she stood by her death bed crying because her mother was gone. And she stood isolated because she has a daughter that will not speak to her and another who mistreats her.
Because of Eve’s sin God placed a curse on women. Part of the curse included this; “And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring.” (Gen 3:15) While this is a prophetic word about Jesus we know that the demonic powers of this world (satan’s offspring) is hostile toward the children of all mothers. We see it in two year olds when they began to push the limits on how far they can go. We don’t teach children to be selfish or to lie. We call it their natural tendency without recognizing the influence of these tendencies. satan wants your children.
This is the story of a woman whose daughter was under attack by satan. I believe we can learn a lot about being a mom from her experience. Let’s begin. Matthew 15:21-22 “Then Jesus left Galilee and went north to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Gentile woman who lived there came to him, pleading, ‘Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! For my daughter is possessed by a demon that torments her severely.’”
Let’s first look at where Jesus is. He’s in the region of Tyre and Sidon. This was the Gentile nation of Phoenicia. The Canaanites lived there and were bitter enemies of the Jews. They were considered cursed. (Gen 9:22-25) The city of Tyre lived under a prophetic word of destruction. (Isaiah 23:8-9)
Now let’s look at the woman. She came to Jesus with a broken heart. (Not prideful, making demands based on her beliefs and her achievements.) She asked for mercy. ( Not arrogant as if Jesus owed her something) She recognized his position. She made her request known clearly and specifically.
You ever feel like your child can be a little demon at times? I hear parents make that statement quite often. We don’t know the level of possession or influence that is taking place here. However we do know that she feels only Jesus has the answer. That’s a lesson for you moms. Take your worries and cares about your children to Jesus. Approach him with a broken heart. Recognize that foremost you need mercy. Bow before him as One worthy of worship. And pray for your child, by name, individually, recognizing the enemy that would desire to rob you of that child’s love.
Let’s see what happens next. Matthew 15:23 “But Jesus gave her no reply, not even a word. Then his disciples urged him to send her away. “Tell her to go away,” they said. “She is bothering us with all her begging.”
Jesus ignored her. She must have continued pleading with him because the disciples said “Send her away. She’s getting on our nerves.” (I don’t know but I bet it was the Thunder Brothers who were complaining.) But before we beat these guys up let’s ask ourselves this question. Have we been guilty of complaining that someone seems to have a lot of problems to pray about? You know the one every day that is on face book with another sickness or family member who’s sick or their family is in some crisis. We get bothered by their constant request for prayer.
Plus something must wrong in their life. It seems that Jesus is ignoring her. What do you do when it seems Jesus is ignoring you? Do you give up? Here is what He taught on this matter. Matthew 7:7 “ ‘Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.’”
Sometimes your kids can drive you crazy. They ask you for something time and time again so you go hide. But they come looking for you. So you lock yourself in your room and they bang on the door. When you feel that your prayers aren’t being answered, keep on asking, keep on seeking, and keep on knocking.
The story continues; Matthew 15:24 “Then Jesus said to the woman, ‘I was sent only to help God’s lost sheep—the people of Israel.’”
Jesus no longer ignores her. Instead He brushes her off. “I am not here to help your kind.” What would you do if you felt Jesus was just brushing you off? Most of us would say “Fine.” and just walk away. But not this mom.
Matthew 15:25 “But she came and worshiped him, pleading again, ‘Lord, help me!’”
He has ignored her and brushed her off but her reaction is worship. T. D. Jakes spoke of this concerning faith. He basically said it’s easy to have faith when all is well. The challenge is to have faith when the bills aren’t paid, when someone doesn’t get healed, when you lose your job. The same is true with worship. It’s not easy to worship God when you feel ignored or put aside. But this mom needed help.
As far as the disciples are concerned, I wonder if a teaching that Jesus had shared with them came to mind.
Luke 18:1-7 “One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up. ‘There was a judge in a certain city,’ he said, ‘who neither feared God nor cared about people. A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying, ‘Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.’ The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself, ‘I don’t fear God or care about people, but this woman is driving me crazy. I’m going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!’” Then the Lord said, ‘Learn a lesson from this unjust judge. Even he rendered a just decision in the end. So don’t you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off?’”
Jesus’ point is, if a wicked judge will eventually render a just decision how much assurance can we have that the Righteous Judge will even more so render a just decision. Moms, be persistent in your prayers for your children.
So Jesus ignored her and it didn’t work. So He brushed her aside and it didn’t work. So surely He would hear her plea now. Let’s see.
Matthew 15:26 “Jesus responded, ‘It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs.’”
He hurls an insult at her. What? Jesus just called this mom a dog. Well, it’s not like it’s the first time she has heard it. Jews considered themselves as the children of Abraham and the Gentiles as nothing more than dogs. But would an insult such as this finally turn you away? Listen to her response.
Matthew 15:27 “She replied, ‘That’s true, Lord, but even dogs are allowed to eat the scraps that fall beneath their masters’ table.’”
Notice her humility. She doesn’t put up an argument. She agrees with him. She acknowledges her position with Jesus. She admits that she has no “rights” to demand anything from him but, like a dog under the table, she simply wants to be allowed to “eat the scraps” that are being tossed away by the Jews. She knows what others consider scraps are answered prayers for her.
She can’t be ignored. She can’t be brushed off. She can’t be insulted. She is like the neighbor in another parable Jesus told.
Luke 11:5-8 “Then, teaching them more about prayer, he used this story: ‘Suppose you went to a friend’s house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You say to him, ‘A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.’ And suppose he calls out from his bedroom, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is locked for the night, and my family and I are all in bed. I can’t help you.’ But I tell you this—though he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence.’”
Her persistence is shameless. Jesus looks at her.
Matthew 15:28 “‘Dear woman,’ Jesus said to her, ‘your faith is great. Your request is granted.’ And her daughter was instantly healed.
Listen moms. Begin now praying for your child. Begin now bringing them before Jesus. There is a very real enemy in the world wanting to destroy your child. Too often we don’t begin praying for our children until the world has its hooks in them. Begin now, daily praying for each child by name. Pray for protection. Pray for guidance. Pray for wisdom.
Don’t ever feel there is no hope for your child. If it seems Jesus is not listening, pray harder. If it seems that Jesus is in no hurry to answer your prayers, pray harder. If it seems that Jesus may not feel you are not worthy of answered prayers, pray harder. Remember there is a bond between a mom and child that is super special. If you want proof put a camera in front of any professional athlete and what does he say? “Hi, Mom”. Not “Hi, Dad. I appreciate you teaching me about this sport and supporting my efforts to get here.” No, its “Hi, Mom.”
This message is not just for moms. We all have needs. And we become easily discouraged when those needs are not immediately met. We live in a world of fast foods, fast cars, and fast internet connections. We have lost the ability to be patient.
There are three teachings I want all of us to take with us today.
Firstly, if you want it, ask for it. If you don’t get it, seek it. And if it’s behind a closed door, bang on the door. Either God will open the door or give you a peace about that closed door. Until you get the answer, bang away.
Secondly, recognize that God is not an unjust judge. He wants to give us the desires of our heart, but will not do so if it goes against his will for our lives. In the end He will give to you what is best for you and those around you.
Thirdly, He has the Bread of Live available to you. But you must seek him. I sold bread for 34 years. I felt my brand was the best. I could tell you about it. I could show it to you. But I could not make you buy it. It was your decision. The same is true about following Jesus. Have shameless persistence in that pursuit.
