1 John 3:8, it tells us, "For this purpose the Son of God was manifested". Now when you read John's gospel in the first chapter it tells us very clearly, "In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. And nothing was created without him". But then in verse 14, it says, "And the word became flesh and he dwelt among us". So here in this epistle to the New Testament church, John is telling them, whenever Jesus Christ came in the flesh, he came for one purpose, and that purpose was to destroy the works of the devil. What was it that the angels were announcing outside of Bethlehem's manger to shepherds, who were in the field, when they sang, "Glory to God in the highest, peace on earth, and good will towards men"?
With that declaration what they were telling sin and Satan that had been turned loose since the Garden of Eden, "Your works are being destroyed, because the one who was promised as the seed of the woman, has now arrived in Bethlehem's manger. And you may bruise his heel, but he is going to crush your head". What is it about Jesus Christ that the enemy tries to come against each and every time? He wants you to use doubt to get you to disbelieve whatever it is that Jesus is doing in your life. Why? Because doubt kills faith. But faith overcomes the world. When you put your faith in Jesus Christ who came to crush the head of the serpent, then you have the power of Jesus Christ to crush the enemy in your life. He'll crush addiction. He'll crush poverty. He'll crush suffering. He'll crush sickness. He'll crush sorrow. He'll crush depression. He'll crush every chain that the enemy has used to bind you.
But the question is, where are you connected? Where have you connected your faith? Here, Jesus Christ has come for one purpose, to crush the works of Satan. But we live in a world where there's too many disconnections. Why is his presence inhabiting the praises of his people, as we worship him in the sanctuary? He didn't come to entertain you. He didn't come to scratch your itching ears. He came to crush the head of the serpent. He came to destroy the works of the devil. Why did he go to Calvary? To crush the head of the serpent, to graft you into the covenant, to bring you on the inside of what you were disconnected from, to give strength to those who were powerless, to give hope to those who were hopeless, to give freedom to those who were enslaved, to give victory to those who were defeated.
You see, when you recognize the purpose for why Christ came to the earth, then you realize that there are no ordinary days for those who are in Christ Jesus. Why? Because our God can do exceedingly, abundantly, above all that you could ever ask, you could ever think, or you could ever imagine, according to "The power" that works in us. Now we're really good at saying, "Ask, think, or could ever imagine". But we forget that it's connected to "the power" that works in us. So, the question that I want you to ask today is, "Where are you connected"? Are you connected to the power, or are you connected to the opinion?
So, when you ask this question about, where are you connected, you have to recognize that many of us in this room, we understand what Christ came here to do: we just haven't connected ourselves to the source of power. He came, that we might be more than conquerors. He came, that he might provide according to his riches in glory. He came to rebuke the devourer for our sake. El Shaddai, the all-sufficient God, came, that he might turn your sorrow into dancing: that he might lift the burden off your shoulders: that he might break the yoke of bondage that holds you back. When you realize the power of God that is available to everyone who will call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, you recognize that this is no ordinary day. This is the day that the Lord has made. And if you have breath inside your lungs, you should rejoice and be exceedingly glad, because God has given you the authority of his name. He's given you the power of his word. He's given you the conquering stream of his crimson blood. And if God is for you, who can be against you?
Mark 7:24 through 30, it tells a powerful story about a woman who needed a desperate intervention in her life. But it begins by telling us these words, "Then he arose, and he went to the region of Tyre and Sidon". "He" being Jesus Christ. He arose and he left. Where did he leave? He left Jerusalem. Now understand that's a significant thing, because Jerusalem is the city of God. Jerusalem is not only where Jesus is going to offer his life as a sacrifice, but Jerusalem is the place where he's going to come back and set up his throne and his kingdom shall have no end. Now when you're willing to leave such a precious place for such an abandoned place, what on earth would make you want to do that? And you have to go back in the beginning of the chapter to understand the situation. But the reason that Jesus got up and left Jerusalem in Mark 7:24 is because in Mark 7:1, it says these words: it says, "The pharisees and some of the scribes came together having come from Jerusalem".
Now you have to understand these are the most religious and pompous people of the day. The pharisees believed that they do a better job of keeping all of the laws and the commandments than any other group of people. And the scribes think they are the only ones who are worthy of handling the Word of God and writing it down for the next generation. So here, the pharisees, and the scribes, and their religious orders, they come and they're observing Jesus. And they come and they're observing the disciples. And finally, they wait, and they see about lunchtime, something happens, and they go, "We got him. It's a scandal. We're breaking in to tell you, right now, we're voting to impeach Jesus Christ". Why? Because the disciples didn't wash their hands before they ate.
And so, they start this argument. They say, "How can you say you're so righteous and you're so holy, and you've got this kingdom power, when your disciples do not wash their hands before they eat"? And rather than get up and argue with them, he explains that everything that goes into the body is purified by a natural process. But he said, "I didn't come here to argue with you people. I'm leaving". He went to Tyre and Sidon, which was a place that wasn't filled with Jewish population. They were Syrophoenicians. They were the remnants of different nations that had conquered the land of Israel at one point in time. Many of them were pagan-idol-worshipping people. And the Bible says that he entered a house, but he could not be hidden. For a woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, she heard about him.
Here's what's important for you to know. As long as people in need are hearing about Jesus, they can't hide him. And you have to understand what I mean when I say, "They can't hide him". Whether you realize this or not, there are very influential and powerful forces on the face of the earth right now that want the church to be silent. They want the church closed. They don't want sermons like this preached. They certainly don't want them broadcast. They don't want them aired on social media. If those types of forces came to power, they would close the doors of the church in the United States, because they want to rewrite who we are and take away the simple freedoms that we have enjoyed.
But here's what I want you to understand: "In this world, you will have trouble. But be of good cheer: I have overcome the world". Why? Because as long as people in need are hearing about Jesus, they can't hide him. They can't take him out of print. They can't take him off of the internet. They can't cancel him in society. Because as long as I have the blood of the lamb and the word of my testimony, I can overcome every adversary and defeat every enemy. As long as I can tell somebody who's sick that he's a healer, then they can't hide him from sickness. And as long as I can tell somebody in need that he's a provider, they can't hide him from insufficiency. And as long as I can tell somebody who's lost in sin about a Savior, they can't hide him from setting captives free. Child of God, they can't hide the son of the living God: for he sits on the throne, and he rules with grace and truth! This woman's got a problem. And it's a problem only Jesus can solve.
Mark 7 says it with dignity. It says, "She came and fell at his feet". When you read the same account in Matthew 15, she's quoted as saying, "Have mercy on me, o son of David: for my daughter is grievously vexed with a demon". And what's she saying to him is, we've tried everything and it's not working. I took her to counseling, and she hadn't gotten any better. They said we needed to go to the weekend seminar, and she came back the same. I bought the book. I read it to her. I played the tapes. I prayed over her. Nothing's fixing this problem! But I heard about you. Now the Bible tells us this: "Faith cometh by" what? You see, religion makes rules. But faith rewrites the rules. Religion says this woman is not of the house of Israel. She's a Syrophoenician. She worships idols. If her daughter has a demon, she asked for it. It doesn't really matter how this demon got there. What matters in this moment is it's still there.
And this woman in desperate need, she hears about him. And somewhere in the hearing process, I assure you she started to believe in him, because faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. And so she takes action on her faith. And it's desperate action. She walks into the place where he is hiding. He wants to be left alone. And she kicks in the door, and she throws herself at his feet, and she says, "Have mercy on me, son of David".
I promise you, some of you reading this now, if you're not there, you will be sooner or later in such a place of desperation that no man can help you. No resource is available to you. Your knowledge cannot solve the problem. Your influence isn't strong enough. But in that desperate moment, you'll fall at the feet of a Savior, and you'll say, "Have mercy on me". You're not going to care what it looks like. You're not going to care what they say about you when they see the tears streaming down your face. You're not going to care what they think about you when they see your hands raised in the air. You're not going to care how they talk about you when the service is over, because you had a shout in your voice that day. Because what you need is a touch from heaven, and you don't care what the men on earth think!
She says, "I don't care what it looks like. I don't care what it sounds like. I don't care what they say about me. I just need you to have mercy on me". And in this moment, we see the difference between rules and a relationship. Because based on the rules, this woman should have been escorted out of the room. First, this is an ancient Mideastern society. She's not welcome unless she's invited. Secondly, these are two different cultures. Thirdly, according to the rules, the law of Moses says that the promises and the covenants go to the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, not the Syrophoenician. As a matter of fact, the religious crowd, the pharisees and the scribes, they called and considered everyone who wasn't Jewish, "A dog". And so, Jesus answers her question. "Have mercy on me".
You would think that the Jesus we show in the Christmas pageant, would say, "Yea, verily, be free". And she would get up and hug him, and her rosy cheek and his rosy cheek would be right here next to each other. But that's not what he says. Verse 27, he says, "Let the little children be filled first: for it is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs". What? I didn't say my dog had a demon. I said my daughter had a demon. She's desperate. She's coming with a pure heart. She's coming in faith believing. And Jesus called her a dog? Why? Because that's how the rules defined her. According to the rules, you're outside of the covenant. You're not grafted into this family. You're a dog.
This is what Paul said to the New Testament church, to the gentiles who had been grafted in: he said, "We were without God, without hope, and outside of the covenants". Now in this entitled world that we live in, you might say that's not fair. But it really doesn't matter what you think is fair. Until you create the heavens and the earth, you don't write the rules: you just have to live under them. You see, there's rules. But then faith makes an exception to the rule. And I am so glad that one day, the only one who could rewrite the rules, made an exception on my behalf. I'm so glad that in one day, Jesus Christ, he came from heaven to earth, and he went to Calvary, and he rewrote the book. He said, "Whosoever believes in me shall not perish but have everlasting life".
If the broken believe in me, I'll mend their broken heart. If the captives believe in me, I'll set them free. If the wretched believe in me, I'll make them a new creature in Christ Jesus. Those who are outside of the promises, if they believe in me, I'll graft them into the covenant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I'll make them one with the father in heaven. You see, church, according to the rules, I deserve to die. But he rewrote the book on death, hell, and the grave. According to the rules, I should have suffered poverty. But he wrote the book on poverty when he said, "All sufficiency is being poured out to me". According to the rules, I should have sickness and disease. But according to faith, by his stripes, I am healed!
You see, according to the rules, God should not have done anything for her. But here's what we find out about the way you answer the father. He said, "It's not good to give the children's bread to the dogs". And she answered and said to him, "Yes, Lord". How many things in your life would change if you could just learn to say, "Yes, Lord"? You know, so many times we start the argument in ourselves, because we don't like what God is saying to us. "God, I want to grow". He said, "Then I'm going to prune you". "No, Lord". Believe me: if he's cutting things out of your life, he's cutting them out so that your request can be answered. "Yes, Lord. Prune me". "God, I want your blessings". "Then I'm going to send you into battle". "Yes, Lord. Use me". "God, I'm asking for your promises to be performed". "Then I am going to test you greatly". "Yes, Lord. Test me".
You see, Jesus gave her an answer according to the rules. He said, "According to the rules, you're a dog". She said, "Yes, Lord. That's what the rules say". She said, "But even the dogs, the little dogs, they get the crumbs that fall from the children's table". If you're going to serve the loaf up here, just let me be a dog down here. Because if it's in the bread, it's in the crumb. If it's in the bread, it's in the crumb. And God, I didn't come here that I could get the whole loaf. I didn't even come here that I could get a slice. I didn't come here telling you what I need. I just came here telling you if I can get just a crumb, if I can just get a little bit of you, then I'll have everything that I need. Because when you cook a cake, church, listen to me, if there's flour in the cake, there's flour in the crumb. If there's sugar in the cake, there's sugar in the crumb. If there's butter in the cake, there's butter in the crumb.
And sometimes we think we know what we need. And all we really need is just a crumb, because he said, "If you would have faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to that mountain, 'be thou removed' and it would be cast into the midst of the sea". She said, "Yes, Lord". I'm not here to argue with you. I just need a crumb from you. Because I believe that if there's healing in the bread, there's healing in the crumb. You're the bread of life. And if there's provision in the bread, there's provision in the crumb. You're the all-sufficient one.
So, if there's joy in the bread, there's joy in the crumb. If there's peace in the bread, there's peace in the crumb. If there's prosperity in the bread, there's prosperity in the crumb. If there's abundance in the bread, there's abundance in the crumb. If there's victory in the bread, there's victory in the crumb. If there's deliverance in the bread, there's deliverance in these crumbs. Lord, I may be a dog. But today, let me be your dog and give me a crumb: that when I leave here, I've got everything I need, in Jesus' name, in Jesus' name! And the text ends, Jesus looks at her. And in one statement, he rewrites the rules. He said, "According to your faith, your daughter is free". She didn't come to argue. She came to receive. She wasn't even there to dictate what she would receive. She didn't say, "I'm entitled to half a loaf". She said, "If all you want to do is roll a crumb off the end of the table, I'll take it gladly".
And because she didn't come to argue but to receive, because she heard about him in faith, all of a sudden, Christ came to do something in her life that no one else could do. He destroyed the works of the devil. He walked into her world. And all of the unseen things in the wiring of her past, and all of the things that were disconnected, in faith, believing, she walked over and hit the switch. And everything that needed to turn on, came on. Because the Bible says that when she came home, she found the demon gone and her daughter sleeping. How did she know that the demon was gone? Because her daughter was sleeping. The Bible says that God gives no rest to the wicked. And when she saw her baby girl curled up in that bed, she said, thank you. Thank you.
Would you stand to your feet as we draw this service to a close? You say, "Pastor, there's places in my life where I need a move of God today. There are places where I need his power. There are places where I need his sufficiency. There are places where I need healing. There are places where I need joy. And today I haven't come to argue, but I've come to receive. I haven't come to argue about what they did, or what they said, or what they told me. I haven't come to argue about why it's not my fault. I've just come to say, 'Lord, if I can take home a little bit of you, I'll have all that I need'". If that describes you, I want you to raise your hands in the air and repeat this prayer with me:
Lord Jesus Christ, thank you for being the living word. Thank you for giving me victory through the power of your blood. Today, in Jesus' name, in faith believing, I am asking you to destroy the works of the devil in my life. Every place that he is trying to steal my joy, every place that he is filling my heart with fear, every place where I am looking for answers in sufficiency, I'm asking you, Lord Jesus Christ, to send your provision, to send your power, to send your word. To send your victory and conquer and defeat him in my life.
Now, church, I want you to tell the Lord what you're looking for today. If it's in your physical body, if it's in the life of a loved one, if it's in the need of a family member, if it's in your business, if it's in your heart, if it's in your home, if it's in your marriage, wherever it happens to be, I assure you: God not only knows about it, but he has already laid hold of the answer. What I want you to do right now is connect the power to the source. Let your faith connect with his truth, and let his promise come alive in you:
Heavenly Father, there's businessmen in this place today who are looking for answers. There are fathers in this place today who are looking for a breakthrough. There are mothers in this place today who are pleading for their children. There are houses in this place today that are looking for a spirit of peace to surpass all understanding. Lord, for each and every life, for each and every heart, for each and every soul, I'm asking you to touch it, in Jesus' name: that the power of the living God would be their portion: and that everything that the enemy would try to do in their life, would be defeated, in Jesus' mighty name, in Jesus' mighty name. You are the bread of life. And what we receive from you is all that we need, in Jesus' name. Amen.
