Desperation
Mark – God’s Message for Today - #32 of
Jerry Watts
Mark 7:24-30
* Hebrews 4:12 tells us that the word of God is “living, powerful, & sharper than any two edged sword.” This passage reminds me that His word is living because it teaches so many truths. At first glance, the average reader notices a story about a ‘demon-possessed’ little girl, and rightfully so. However, as I studied this text there are other messages which confront us. As we read this text, we’ll also discover a woman who comes to Jesus. We’ll see that she gets exactly what she’s come for because she comes in the right attitude & gains His favor.
* These days we don’t seem to think much about the ‘favor of God’, but I suggest we should. What was & is this woman’s secret? It is ‘desperation.’ She was desperate. Let’s read.
* Our text reveals a couple of things to note. The first is found in that last phrase, “the demon was gone.” Personally, I like the sound of that. To think that it was only ONE demon brings a smile because most of us have many demons which chase us every day.
* Next, when I read between the lines in verses 25-28 it becomes obvious to me that we are seeing a desperate lady, woman, and mother. Desperation. Candidly, that is not a word we hear much in our culture. In fact, when I sensed where God was leading me in this text, I began looking for modern day illustrations which would hook our hearts to engage in this subject which we rarely visit & today seem to know little about. Some were poor in their younger years and experienced desperation, but today, seemingly we live in the land of plenty, have plenty, and this emotion has passed us by. As I looked for illustrations, I made a discovery, there were few. Yes some, but not many.
* Then I was reminded of our movie-making friends in Albany, GA, and was reminded of their last movie. The movie “Courageous opened with a display of desperation.” WATCH (CLIP)
* We know him as Ken Bevil, but he portrayed Nathan in the movie. I submit Nathan was not worried about the truck, his tools, or his gun rack; his desperation was that he would not give up his baby to a criminal. He would rather lose his life than lose his child. That’s desperation!
* How long has it been since you have been that desperate for anything? I’ve told this story before but it’s very practical: A man in a fancy restaurant started to choke on a bone. A doctor rushed over, identified himself as a doctor, and reassured the man that he was going to be all right. He performed the Heimlich maneuver and the bone popped out. As the man's breath and voice returned he said, "I'm ever so grateful, doctor, how can I ever repay you?" The doctor smiled and said, "I'll settle for one-tenth of what you were willing to pay while you were choking." It's true, isn't it, that when you're facing a crisis (especially a life-threatening crisis), you would give everything you have to get through it. Money is no object!
* Desperate is how we find this unnamed woman today. She is a hero because when she came to the end of her rope, she tied that rope to Jesus. Watch how this unfolds.
1. Her Reason – Why in the world is this woman desperate? That’s easy, something was wrong with her little girl. Very few things grab our hearts like a child who is sick. We have some friends whose granddaughter is fighting cancer. We watch, we pray, we hurt, & we cry, for this little one who, by the way, seems to be making her way through the process like a champ. But our hearts go out to them & this precious little one. When a child gets sick, especially with a life-threatening illness or with an illness we can explain, desperation sets in. Although I am speculating, I believe that this mother had left no stone unturned to find help for her girl. When it comes to children, we stop at NOTHING to get help & relief for them!
* She had tried everything & nothing had helped. She was desperate because her little girl had a malady (a sickness, illness, or something wrong – the Bible says, ‘demon’) that mom couldn’t fix. That is what desperation is. It is realizing that ‘a need surpasses your ability to help.’ This was above her pay-grade. Yes, she was a mom, but there are times that moms can only offer comfort & love. She wanted more for her girl.
* Verse 25 says, “After hearing about Him.” It seems to me that almost every week we are reading that phrase (in one form or another), but here’s the take-away, “PEOPLE WERE HEARING ABOUT JESUS.” And the only way people will ever hear about Jesus is because other people are talking about Jesus! By the way, this was not the “Hueytown Hot Line” telling the bad, this was people telling other people what Jesus had done for them! She heard how He’d healed the sick, raised the dead, cast out demons, and changed lives; and that was exactly what her girl needed.
* She knew that Jesus had what she needed for her and her girl so she came in desperation! And her desperation was transformed into determination. See:
2. Her Resolve – Yes, she had now come to the conclusion that Jesus was the answer for her daughter & was resolved or determined to get Jesus’ help. She now understood that it was Jesus or no one. Now, you’re talking about desperation – He was her last option! She had no more pride, she had no more arrogance, & without His help, she had no more reason to live. How do I know this? Look at what she did. Verse 25 & 26 says, “She came to Jesus, fell at His feet, and was begging Him to help her daughter.” Can you get this picture in your mind? She came to where Jesus was, she fell at His feet in absolute desperation, and she not only begged Him, but her begging was a continual action (She kept asking – wouldn’t take no!)
* Teenagers are really good at this. If they think the answer is ‘no’, they’ll try to out talk you. This mom was resolved, determined, & focused enough on Jesus to not take no for an answer.
* Candidly, for years I thought Jesus was tired, unconcerned, & trying to play word games with this woman just to ‘blow off’ her request. He responded with something about Children’s bread & dogs….what’s that about? She had a child!
* In John 1 we read that Jesus ‘came to His own (those are His children – the Jews) and his own received Him not.’ We may not like this, but Jesus came to offer salvation to the Jewish people first and when they rejected Him He passed His offer to the gentiles because that scripture went on to say, “BUT to as many as received Him to then He gave the right to become the Sons of God.” He was saying to this lady, that He had a process, an agenda, or a sequence (if you will) for healing, touching, and making whole. His words were, in essence, “How can I take what is meant for someone else and give it away?” That sounds like a logical question, but remember Jesus is God. Here comes the faith and resolve of this lady when she says (in essence), “I understand, but you have enough power to take care of them and still throw us a crumb of your power.” In other words, we are desperate enough to what’s left over from you – and it will be enough.
* This woman had enough resolve to approach Jesus because she had enough faith in Jesus that He was enough! Do you have that kind of faith? Do you have that resolve? Look at:
* Her Result – In his haste, I think Mark (with Peter) does not do Jesus’ response justice. He simply records Jesus saying, “Because of this reply” (for this saying, for this statement, because of this answer), however, Matthew recorded this & reports that Jesus said something far more striking. Jesus says, “Woman, Your Faith Is GREAT! Let it be done for you!”
* And now we return to this truth: The turning point in life is faith in Jesus. She came to the end of herself and it became the beginning of herself. That is her result & is expressed in the truth, “THE DEMON WAS GONE & HE DAUGHTER WAS BACK! All this happened because of her desperation.
* What a great story! It’s kind of like one of the old Western movies where the good guy gets his woman and they ride off into the sunset. However, to review this story is to walk away with a message for us. Her REASON becomes OUR REASON. That is because like her, we need Jesus because Jesus HAS WHAT WE NEED. While our first response is to deny this tough truth, we really know the truth about ourselves. This is found in The Bible which says, “All have sinned” and that means me and you, it means everybody. We also know that the Bible says, “While we were sinners Christ died for us.” We must never forget that God sent Jesus to die a brutal, bloody death for our sin. To think that God will overlook, wink at, or ignore, your sin & unbelief is to kid ourselves. If He would do this, He owes Jesus an apology. Only in Jesus can we find forgiveness of sin, be restored in a relationship to God, spend eternity in heaven, and miss an eternity in hell. Jesus has what we need.
* Her Resolve must become our resolve. We are resolved to do many things (I.E. money, sports, hobbies, etc). God speaks in scripture and says, “You will seek & find me when you seek me with your half (whole) heart.” Friends, in the private places of your heart when you rarely go (let alone allow someone else to see) – do you seek to know God with the same passion which you follow your favorite ball team, race car driver, or celebrity? One of the reason why God can seem so far away is because – we choose to keep Him at arm’s distance because, really, we don’t ‘need’ Him. He’s good to have close at hand when we need someone but….
* Some might be offended at such straight forward words, but I will testify as to how difficult it is to carry on a conversation about God, Jesus, heaven, & hell with some UNTIL there is a tragedy and/or loss of life. It is at that point when pride gives way to reality. Lose a mother, a mate, a child, or even a friend – and all of a sudden we decide (resolve) that we need God. It is in those desperate moment of an ER, CICU, ICU, or a funeral home that we experience what is required to know God daily & intimately. It gives me no pleasure to speak this truth, but hear it: in large measure, we have bought into the modern day philosophy that we can do what we want & live like we want because a loving God will never send anyone to hell.
* However, if we desire the same result that our unnamed lady received, we must become like that her. Then Her Result can become our Result. Be clear about this: God sent Jesus to die for your sin & when you trust Jesus with your life, the blood of Jesus will cleanse & forgive your sin. When you sense Him speaking to you & calling you to Himself, you respond in faith. How? Respond in prayer, accept Him, believe Him, trust Him, & follow Him. The Results? Verse 30 is such a good parallel. (READ) In desperation you come to Him and in faith you walk with Him and life, while not perfect, will be directed by Him.
