THE FAITH THAT GOD FAVORS
Text: Matt.9: 29; Matt.15: 28
Intro: What kind of faith does God favor? The obvious answer to that question is, “Real faith.” However, faith is as much a matter of cultivation as it is choice. Though faith begins with one’s choice to trust God, it is developed and matured through a series of trials and testing. That’s not what we want to hear, but it is nonetheless true. Far too many of God’s children profess faith, but in actuality, don’t practice faith.
Faith that cannot withstand testing, cannot be trusted. An old black preacher put it this way: “If your faith fizzles before the finish, it was faulty from the first” (Author Unknown). The man is right. Any professed faith that won’t take you through the tough times is worthless.
This message deals with a woman whose faith was put to the test by none other than Jesus Himself. To her credit, she passed the test, receiving not only her petition from the Lord, but His praise as well. Even when it looked as though the Lord would refuse her request, she persisted in faith. That’s the kind of faith that many saints of our day know little about. It is however, the kind of faith that God wants to cultivate in us.
As we study this passage of scripture, we will notice how God developed this woman’s faith. May we be willing for God to develop our faith as well.
Theme: What are the characteristics of a faith that God favors?
I. THE PLEA OF FAITH IS FOR THE IMPOSSIBLE
A. The Woman’s Request.
Matt.15: 21 “Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon.
22 And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.”
NOTE: [1] The area mentioned here was strictly Gentile territory. This woman was a Canaanite, and would have been viewed by the Jews as nothing more than a dog.
[2] Apparently this woman had heard much of Jesus, for she refers to Him as “son of David,” which was a “Messianic designation” (Charles F. Pfeiffer and Everett F. Harrison, editors, The Wycliffe Bible Commentary: published by Moody Press, Chicago, Illinois; pg. 957).
[3] No doubt this woman had heard of all the wonderful miracles that Jesus had performed:
3a. He had cast out devils (Matt.12: 22-24).
3b. He had fed the five thousand prior to this incident (Matt.14: 15-21).
3c. He had healed many who were diseased in the land of Genesaret (Matt.14: 34-36).
[4] Faith is not needed for the feasible. This woman, however, was requesting something totally outside her scope of ability. There was no way she could deliver her demon-possessed daughter on her own. But God specializes in such situations, for the Bible tells us, “Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who doeth wondrous things” (Ps.72: 18). “Faith does not operate in the realm of the possible. There is no glory for God in that which is humanly possible. Faith begins where man’s power ends” (George Muller).
B. The Lord’s Response.
Matt.15: 23 “But he (Jesus) answered her not a word…”
NOTE: [1] J. B. Stoney once said, “Real faith is always increased by opposition, while false confidence is damaged and discouraged by it” (Miles J. Stanford, The Complete Green Letters: Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan; pg. 4).
[2] George Mueller, speaking of the obstacles in the Christian’s life, said, “I say—and say it deliberately—trials, obstacles, difficulties, and sometimes defeats, are the very food of faith” (Ibid, pgs. 4-5).
[3] God’s silence can be very disconcerting. However, it is a part of learning to walk by faith. There are times when God may lead you to trust Him for some particular need, but then He will seem to withdraw and say absolutely nothing. God’s promise to Abraham of a son is a case in point. God wants us to learn to trust him even when we have no emotional, visible, or physical evidence that He will do what He has promised.
One night a house caught fire and a young boy was forced to flee to the roof. The father stood on the ground below with outstretched arms, calling to his son, "Jump! I’ll catch you." He knew the boy had to jump to save his life. All the boy could see, however, was flame, smoke, and blackness. As can be imagined, he was afraid to leave the roof. His father kept yelling: "Jump! I will catch you." But the boy protested, "Daddy, I can’t see you." The father replied, "But I can see you and that’s all that matters."
Donner Atwood
[4] Jesus was not attempting to taunt this poor woman by His silence, for He knew that if she were exercising real faith, His silence would only make her more determined to have her need met.
II. THE PERSISTENCE OF FAITH IS IMPERATIVE
Matt.15: 23b “…And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us.
24 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
NOTE: [1] It seems that the disciples had become impatient with this situation. Their request to Jesus seems to be, “’Lord, why don’t You go ahead and help this woman? She isn’t going to give up until You do’” (John F. Walvoord and Roy B Zuck, editors, The Bible Knowledge Commentary: Victor Books, Wheaton, Illinois; pg. 55).
[2] The words “crieth after” implies that this woman followed along behind Jesus and His disciples and repeatedly begged for help. In essence, this woman was making a repeated and insistent request.
[3] Jesus’ answer to the request of the disciples in verse 24 is basically a statement of His primary mission, which was to “the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But this statement also implies that anything Jesus did for this woman would be strictly on the basis of grace. That is the way God deals with every person, whether they are Jew or Gentile. The sinner’s faith toward God elicits the grace of God toward the sinner. Paul said, “For by grace are ye saved through faith…” (Eph.2: 8a).
A. The Woman’s Persistent Faith Resulted In Worship.
Matt.15: 25 “Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.”
NOTE: [1] This woman had been following at a distance, loudly pleading for help from Jesus. But now the weight of her need seems to boil over in utter humility before Jesus. The word “worshipped” means, “to make obeisance, do reverence to…” (W. E. Vine, M. A., An Expository Dictionary Of New Testament Words: published by Fleming H. Revell Company, Old Tappan, New Jersey; Vol. IV, pg. 235).
[2] Wuest indicates that this meant prostrating herself at the feet of Jesus. He translates verse 25 in the following way: “And having come, she fell upon her knees and touched her forehead to the ground in profound reverence before Him, saying, Sir, be helping me” (Kenneth S. Wuest, The New Testament, An Expanded Translation: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company; Vol. IV, pg. 40).
[3] One outgrowth of the faith walk is fervent worship.
B. The Woman’s Persistent Faith Refused To Waiver.
Matt.15: 26 “But he answered and said, It is not meet (“proper”) to take the children’s bread, and cast it to dogs.
27 And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their master’s table.”
NOTE: [1] The Jews often referred to themselves as the “children of God.” This is the reference Jesus is making in verse 26, concerning “the children’s bread.”
[2] It is interesting to note here that when the Jews usually referred to the Gentiles as “dogs,” they were speaking of the wild and vicious dogs that roamed the streets. The Jews viewed them as a worthless nuisance. However, the word “dogs” found in verses 26 and 27 referred to “…little dogs…that lived as pets in people’s houses” (Charles F. Pfeiffer and Everett F. Harrison, editors, The Wycliffe Bible Commentary: published by Moody Press, Chicago, Illinois; pg. 957).
[3] This woman’s faith toward Jesus is amazing. In essence, she answers the Lords statement by saying, “It’s true Lord that I am not worthy or deserving of Your help. But I plead for the crumbs of Your mercy nonetheless.” This woman’s faith refused to weaken or waiver.
III. THE PROVISION OF FAITH IS INEVITABLE
A. The Woman Received The Savior’s Praise.
Matt.15: 28a “Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith…”
B. The Woman Received The Fulfillment Of Her Petition.
Matt.15: 28b “…be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.”
Theme: What are the characteristics of a faith that God favors?
I. THE PLEA OF FAITH IS FOR THE IMPOSSIBLE
II. THE PERSISTENCE OF FAITH IS IMPERATIVE
III. THE PROVISION OF FAITH IS INEVITABLE
