Worship Has Gone To The Dogs

WORSHIP HAS GONE TO THE DOGS.

Mt. 15:21-28

I have often wondered how Jesus felt with all the multitudes following Him everywhere. Constantly pressing in on Him. Always pushing to get closer to the Master. If only to…

“…touch the hem of His garment…”

At times, He even tried to take His disciples away to a private place. To get away and have more intament times with them.

Ill.- Church retreats.

Christ had just came from Gennesaret. He preached with such an anointing there that the Bible says that the…

“…whole region…carry about in beds…sick folk…”

His miracle working power was so prevalent that the religious crowd came from Jerusalem questioning His authority.

Q- Isn’t it just like the religious crowd to show up after the service and say “That’s not of God! Headquarters didn’t send Him. He’s not ordained in our denomination.”?

And now Jesus retreated to Tyre and Sidon, border regions of Israel.

Tyre; a rock

Sidon; hunted, hard work

Q- Have you ever been between a rock and a hard place?

Vs. 24 “…he entered into a house…”

Tell somebody “He’s come’n to your house!”

“…He would that no man know it…”

Here He was, the Lord of glory, try to hide away.

Sometimes it seems like God is hiding from us. That He can’t be found anywhere. No matter how hard we try, it seems as though God Himself is lost.

Ill.- A single mother had two sons that caused her nothing but grief. They were so bad that one day she took them to her Pastor, “Beat’m Preacher!”, He knew he couldn’t do that, called one in his office, the other waited in receptionist area, sat the boy down, leered over his glasses and said to the boy “Where is God?”, the boy said nothing. He asked again in a stronger tone “Where is God?!”. Still the boy sat there silent. Finally the Pastor stood up behind his desk, took his glasses off, lend over the desk, and with the sternest voice he dare used he demanded, “WHERE IS GOD!?!”. This time the boy ran out the office, grabbed his brother’s hand, and ran out the church. As they were running down the street, his brother asked him “What happened?”. To which the other brother answered “I don’t know. But somebody stole God, and they think we did it!”

Maybe you’ve never felt like this. I wont ask for a show of hands that have.

Ill.- Job asked God where here was.

Sometimes God seems to be everywhere but where we need Him to be.

He seems to be bless’n Sis Flapjack and Bro Mishmash, and passing you by.

You call on Him and still you have

· Sickness

· Bills

· Trouble

But God sent me here to tell you today that He’s coming to your house.

Tell somebody “He’s come’n to my house today!”

What you need to do is get in the house!

What you nee is in the house!

What you’ve waiting for is in the house!

What you’ve been pray’n for is in the house!

High five three people and tell’m “Gods in the house!”

“I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house of the Lord.”

His house is where His presents is.

And where He is there is

· Healing

· Salvation

· Deliverance

· Prosperity

· Victory

God isn’t hiding, He is just waiting for us to get to Him.

Ill.- The old Pentecostal mothers you to call it “stealing away”.

God is looking for us to come to Him, He longs for us to be with Him.

God is not moved by our needs, but He is moved by our faith.

Ill.-

· Many lepers during Christ’s ministry, only few healed

· Many blind, only a few received their sight

· At the pool of Bethesda, only one was healed of the crowd

God has given us an avenue by faith into His presence and in His presence is all we need.

Rom. 5:1 “…we have access by faith into this grace…”

Three Strikes Against This Woman.

1. She was a gentile, outside of the covenant with God, not of the seed of Abraham, bared from the promises.

Yet I have often seen the most unlikely people get a blessing, while others I thought were more deserving of one did not receive.

It’s not about your family tree, but it is about the One who on a tree for us.

It’s not fair, it’s favor!

Jesus is looking for those who will “…leaving those things which are behind…and pressing toward the mark…”

2. She was a Syrophoenician, an out-of-towner. She was not only out of the covenant, she didn’t even live in that town.

She wasn’t apart of the clique or the club, she wasn’t one of the girls.