Okay, it's really good to see everybody. We're back in our class on the life of Christ and the harmony of the gospels. For those of y'all who are new in our group, I kind of do a quick review just to remind everybody what we're learning. The life of Jesus Christ, Jesus is eternal. The Bible says in the beginning was the word The word was with God and the word was God. He was in the beginning with God and all things are made through him. And without him is not anything made that was made. And so Jesus is not only a man born of a virgin, but he is also the God man. He is fully 100% God and he is fully 100% man. And that is hard for me and you to grasp because we're not gods, we're just men. The reality is is that the Holy Spirit placed him inside of the womb of the Virgin Mary and he was born onto this earth. He clothed himself in human flesh and walked among us so that we could know who he is, so that we could relate to him. And without him doing that, without him clothing himself in humanity and walking among us, we would have never been able to truly grasp who He is and know Him. So He descended to our level so that we could understand and appreciate and love Him and follow Him. And so in His earthly life, His life is eternal. There's no beginning or end. He's the Alpha and the Omega. But in the earthly life of Jesus, from the time that He was placed in the womb of the Virgin until the day that He died on the cross, buried in the grave three days later he rose and then he walked the earth for about 40 days after his ascent his resurrection and then he ascended into heaven and right now he's sitting at the right hand of our Father in heaven waiting for his enemies to be made his footstool, right? He died on the cross and staked a claim on his kingdom at the cross, and now that kingdom is coming to fruition before our very eyes, more in reality, before our very hearts, because a lot of the things of the kingdom we can't see with our physical eyes. It says that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, but his work on the cross is playing out right now around us all over the world. He and his father sent their spirit, the spirit, the Holy Spirit to be among us so that we could continue to be convicted of our sins and convinced of his work on the cross and confirmed it as his children saved by the Holy Spirit. And so that work is still carrying out today, but there was a time for 33 and a half years. where Jesus was 100% man, 100% God, and walking the earth so that we could know him. And when you read the books of Matthew, and Mark, and Luke, and John, and the first two chapters of Acts, you get a thorough picture of, well, not a thorough, but you get the complete picture of who Jesus is and his earthly body. And so we've been studying this harmony of the gospels. What that means is Matthew had some perspective on Jesus's life, Mark, Luke, John. They all had their different views and pictures of who he was, and then the Holy Spirit inspired them to remember and write what they wrote so that one day later, you and I could know him. Turn really quick, keep your finger in Mark chapter seven, that's where we're gonna be today. But turn really quickly with me to the book of John, John chapter 20, John chapter 20, and let's look at verses 30 and 31. This is something that you can remind yourself of as you read your Bible, okay? And this is what it says in John chapter 20, verses 30 and 31. Everybody found that? Mark, it's just a couple of pages to the right of where you are now in the book of Mark, okay? So it's just... Mark as John chapter 20 Luke and right after Luke is John the next one And John and then John 20 there's 19 John 20 and look at verses 30 31 therefore many other signs are Jesus also performed in the presence of his disciples which are not written in this book now today We're going to be looking at some of Jesus's signs or some of Jesus's miracles That's going to be a part of our lesson day, but what John is saying is John 20 verse 30 and 31 Got it therefore many other signs are Jesus also performed in the presence of his disciples which are not written in this book. All right but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ and the son of God and that believe in you may have life in his name. All right. So why did the disciples write what they wrote? So that we could hear about Jesus, so that we could believe in Jesus and so that we could be saved. The Bible says salvation comes by faith and faith comes by hearing and hearing the word of God. So as we study the harmony of the gospels. I can't hear. Who? That's what I like hearing instead of reading. So as we read the harmony of the gospel, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, actually as we read the whole Bible, we are hearing God's message to us as people. He wrote, he had these things written by inspired writers, people inspired by the Holy Spirit to write what they wrote so that we could hear about him, so that we could, in hearing, receive him. and receiving him, believe him, and in believing him have eternal life. And so the only way to know eternal life is through his word. And that's why it's so important for you to be in his word. That's one of the main reasons that Lori makes sure that this crowd is here every Tuesday for Bible study so that we can continue to grow in his word. And so look at it one more time. Many other signs which Jesus performed in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book. So there was lots of things that Jesus did that never got written about. And one day when we're in heaven, We'll hear about those things, you see. But what we're reading today are those things that were written that disciples saw that they felt were important for us to know and how to know Jesus. So back to Mark chapter seven, Mark chapter seven. And if you remember last time we were together, we talked about how Jesus said that the reason that we act and the reason that we talk and the reason that we feel and the reason that we think the things that we do, The reason we act the way we act, the reason we walk the way we walk, the way we talk the way we talk, the reason we feel the way we feel is because our hearts, our inner man, our inner being, is what drives us and makes us who we are. Remember? And last time we were together, what did Jesus say? He said, Mark chapter 7, verse 21, for within, out of the heart of men proceeds evil thoughts and fornications, and theft, and murders, and adulteries, and deeds of coveting, and wickedness, as well as deceit, and sensuality, and envy, and slander, and pride, and foolishness. All of these evil things proceed from within and defile the man." They make us dirty. To be defiled means to be contaminated. Unpure. Unpure, exactly. And so what is the source of our problems? Our heart. I was just reading an article this morning on the social media that our mayor, Mayor Johnson put out and he's addressing the issue. of gun violence in the city of Savannah. We've had a lot of shootings over the last three weeks. I mean, like, a lot of people have been killed. As a matter of fact, we had, in one neighborhood over down the street a couple weeks, last week, had people come in and shoot up the neighborhood and they hit nine people, including some kids. Two people of those seven that were hit by bullets died. And it doesn't take much of a man to fire into a house on innocent unarmed people, does it? But the mayor was addressing, and when I say this, listen, I like the guy. I think he's a nice guy, and I think he's actually sincere about what he wants to do about helping the city of Savannah. But he was addressing our need to address the gun control issue, that we need to control guns. But the reality is this, it's not guns that shoot people. It's people that shoot people. Right, and those are illegal guns and they're wanting to control legal guns. It's ridiculous. Politics aside, which I would love to get into that, I agree wholeheartedly with you, but politics aside, it is the human heart, it is an evil, wicked, human heart that causes someone to pick up a firearm and shoot into an innocent home. Okay, so you can blame it on the music that they're listening to, you can blame it on their poverty, you can blame it on their culture, you can blame it on whatever you want to blame it on. The reality is the issue is the heart. I just never could understand how you could look at somebody at Fulcher and know when you're taking their life from them. Well, so I want to expound on what Lori just said. The reality is, how many of us in this room were caught up in drug addiction? I was. We were firing violence into our own bodies, weren't we? Yeah. We were destroying ourselves. Yeah. Which is just as bad as destroying others. And so the truth of the matter is, so the mayor said, we need to do gun control. And I said, well, here's the problem. We got a city that is overrun and sexual promiscuity, homosexuality, drunkenness, divorce, broken and fragmented homes, rebellion and What this city needs is not gun control. What they need is they need Jesus. They need to repent because God has turned this city and this country over to our own lust and our own desires. And the Bible actually teaches us that one of the ways that God punishes us, we think of Sodom and Gomorrah and Amplorah and fire and brimstone down on the world. That's what we think of when we think of punishment. And he is very capable of doing that. But the truth of the matter is one of the better ways that he actually punishes us is by removing his hands of restraint off of us and turning us over to our own desires. And every one of you in this room can agree with me that when I am turned over to myself, I am a train wreck. And so what do you see going on around you in this world? You see a world who has been turned over to their own lust and their own desires. They've been, God has removed his hands of restraint off of evil, and that evil is ramping up and getting worse. And that's their free will. And worse, and worse. That's why he sent the flood, right? The first generation was reparated. Yes, yes. To show the world his stance on evil and wickedness. It said the world was desperately wicked. He said, I'm about to wipe it out. But he swore through rainbows he would never do it again. No, he swore that he would never destroy it with water again. But in Peter, he says there's going to be another flood coming one day, and that flood is going to be fire that's going to melt the very elements. In other words, the very atoms and protons and molecules that make up this created order that we have is going to be melted into a fervent heat. And so in the same way that Noah and his family had to be inside of that ark to be safe from the flood of water, the Bible teaches me and you that we have to turn from sin and self and run to Christ and be wrapped in Christ. Because when that destruction is poured back out on this world again, it is only those who are embraced in his work on the cross that are going to be saved from that wrath to come. And so we're to flee from it, we're to run from it. And so we learned last week, and it's hard for us to realize that because it's very, in our fallen nature, in our own wickedness, it's very easy for me to go around and tell you what's wrong with you. It's very easy, one of the things that I notice a lot, it doesn't tickle me, it's an amazing thing to see, but I work in drug and alcohol rehab every day, six days a week I'm working with people who are struggling with drugs and alcohol. And one of the things that I've noticed in a drug and alcohol rehab setting is that number one, there's a lot of camaraderie. people have empathy and compassion for one another when they're caught up in that setting, right? And number two, they also have plenty of advice for everybody else. Now what does Jesus say about that? When the blind lead the blind, they will both fall in the ditch. And so why is it that we want to offer advice to everybody else so that we don't have to deal with our own issues? It's kind of a way of me taking the splinters out of your eyes instead of worrying about the log in my own. You see how that works? And so Jesus last week was very clear to let us know that it's not the things that are done externally that cleanse us. It's the work of God and the Holy Spirit that cleanses our insides. And if the insides become clean, what is going to happen to the outside? The outside will become clean as well. It's a battle. It is a battle. But the battle belongs to the Lord. And as long as we're dependent on him, right? I try to handle everything on my own. I need to be asking God for help every morning. So with that said, we're going to look at a couple of the signs that Jesus worked in front of his disciples. So look in Mark chapter 7, and we're going to look at verses 24 through 37 today. All right? Mark chapter 7, verses 24 to 37. It says, Jesus got up and went away from there to the region of Tyre. And when he had entered a house, He wanted no one to know of it, yet he could not escape their notice. All right, we gotta take time out. The Vacation Bible School crowd is coming by. It's okay, they're kids being kids. Let's let Vacation Bible School pass. And now they're silent, so we can begin again. OK. They're not silent. They're just behind the door. Oh, that one is? All right, yeah. The kids are not silent. That's exactly right. And so Jesus got up and went away from there to the region of Tyre. And when he entered into a house, he wanted no one to know of it, yet he could not escape notice. All right, think about that. Why, I wonder, did he not want to? We're going to discuss that right now. That's a really good question. So, help me out. Why? Well, we've learned something in our study of the life of Christ. We learned that there was three types of people or we pointed out three types of people that were following Jesus around in the crowds. There was three groups of people that were following him. Does anybody remember any of the, what separated the different kind of people that were following Jesus? Good, good, that's exactly right. So he said, that's what he said. He said, you do not seek me, because of what I'm teaching you, you seeking me because I fed you. I put bread in your belly. Remember we talked about that last week, how a lot of people go to church just because they haven't covered dish dinner, right? Oh, free dinner? All right. I'll put up with 45 minutes of some man talking up there on the stage if they're gonna give me a good meal, right? And so a lot of people were following him because the material blessings that came from following him right well yeah it could be it could be but remember some of those people that saw his miracles actually continued to follow him and by hearing his words became believers. We've been very adamant about reminding you that just because you see miracles does not make you a believer. That's right. Because there was another group of people that were just following him not for the food but just for the excitement. To my point about the food, sometimes they come for the food, they hear the word of God and something changes inside of them. Yes. Because it's the word so it's the Word of God that changes them. Yeah, but What you bait them with is what you will win them with All right, so if I were to go I got a little box trap at my house sometimes and if I put tuna fish on in that box trap and put it out in the yard, I'm probably going to catch what? A kitty cat. A kitty cat or a raccoon. Why? Because they like fish. Yeah. Are you with me? Yeah. So what you bait the trap with is probably going to determine what you catch. And if the only reason that people are coming to the church For the food, what happens when the food cuts off? They disappear. I hear people say this all the time. Well, I really like that church because they got really good music. They actually have a band with a bass and a lead guitar and a drum. And so they come for the music, all right? Well, what happens when the music stops? I got one that don't want to come because of the music. He wants the bass guitar and all this and that. Jesus is the real reason. So, who is Jesus looking for? In John 4, he said this, the hour is coming and now is when God is looking for those who will worship him in spirit and in truth. So, who are the ones that he's truly looking for? The ones that he has drawn to himself through his spirit, through the word of God. Right? So, it's to say... He does draw us though. I remember a hunger to want to learn, a need to be at Bible study while I was in drug court. And I knew I was supposed to be there and I would do anything I could to make it to the church, to get into Bible study. There was an insatiable need. But it wasn't like that before, it became that. But it was the insatiable need was the evidence of him drawing you to him. Yes, exactly. And that insatiable need did not involve the cookies. It didn't involve anything. Now, I'm not knocking you for the cookies y'all had today for lunch. They're very good. And the people that are making these sack lunches for you guys are very loving people and they care about you and they want you to have some food. And there's nothing in the world wrong with giving somebody food, especially somebody that's hungry. But we have to understand that there is a motive behind everybody's actions. And so these different crowds that are following Jesus, one of the groups just wants some food. One of the groups just wants to see something new and exciting. Hey, did you see he went, he just casted some demons out of people, or he just raised a dead man from the grave, right? Or, and then, but then there was another group that was truly drawn to him, that was following him, that were believers and had received him and believed him and were following him. But- But weren't there naysayers? I mean, wasn't part of one of those groups trying to catch him and doing something wrong. Yeah, that was another good that on unbelievers that yeah the scribes and the Pharisees all right so all of those groups are following him everywhere and you can think about that today and in our modern world think about some of the famous people in the world that can't go anywhere They can't just go out and have a meal sitting around at a table with their family in a restaurant setting because everybody's coming around snapping pictures of them with their phones and wanting their autographs. So what do they do? They put hats on and sunglasses on and walk around all quietly, go to places that nobody knows. They try and disguise themselves in the world. Yeah, that's exactly right. Remember, Jesus is 100% God, but he's also 100% a man. And we do know that he had a constant prayer life with his father. He was constantly praying. And there were times in the scriptures where it tells us that he was drawn away, that he went away to pray with his father. And he wanted to get by himself where it was quiet. And there were other times where he would tell his disciples, he'd say, come on, guys, we're getting out of here for a little while. Because he knew that his disciples needed rest. They needed time away from their work. And so he was a man and there was times where he wanted to be away from the crowd, where he wanted to get some rest, where he wanted to spend some time with his closest disciples. He wanted time to take time to spend alone with his father. And he constantly told people, he would heal folks and this is what he'd say, don't tell anybody about this. You know, don't, don't say anything. Why? Because he knew that there was that group of people that were going to just come and chase after him just to see something. All right. Right. And so he was, he had a celebrity status, like everywhere he went, Hey, there's that guy that stood up to the Pharisees and the scribes. Hey, there, there's that guy that raised Lazarus from the dead. Hey, everybody look, there's that guy that was throwing demons out of people the other day. Like he's a miracle worker. And you can see that today with all of the fake charlatans that we have in the world today. Like the Benny Hens of the world and all these television evangelists that are always doing all these miracles and making people fall over. You see that. So what do you see when you see one of those preachers? Big crowds. There's always big crowds around. Why? Because they're there for the spectacle of it. And so it says he entered the house, he wanted no one to know of it. I see big fakes. Who? Big fake people. Yeah, they are fake. That's exactly right. And our problem is we don't really have the ability to discern the difference between them. What is the guideline that God has given us so that we can know if someone is real or not? If someone is a true disciple? There's really not a whole lot other than if they don't speak the words of God, they're not of God. And so what these false, fake preachers do is they use the word of God, but they use it for their own benefit, right? They twist it around. And that's very dangerous. It's very dangerous. Hey, listen, we're very good at that, too. Yeah. How many people you see walking around with a t-shirt on that says... Addicts are the best manipulators. Huh? Addicts are the best manipulators. And how many times have you seen somebody walking around, an athlete, walking around with a t-shirt on that says, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, right? And they're using that to say they can run fast or catch a ball good or shoot a hoop or lift a lot of weight or, you know, do these... And that's not what Paul was talking about when he said, I can do all things through Christ who strengthened me. Paul was saying, I've been beat up, locked up in jail, nearly killed, shipwrecked, had my body beaten. And then I've had times in my life where I've had plenty of material things, too. So Paul said, whether I be poor and broken, busted, or on top of the world, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. And what he recognized was it wasn't his circumstances in life that caused him to be who he was. It was his God who was in his heart. And he didn't allow the circumstances to affect his hope that he had in Christ. So that I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me is not talking about being able to bench 400 pounds. What it's talking about is are you able to trust God and walk with God when the bank account's empty? Are you able to walk with God and trust God when you get that bad medical report? Are you able to walk and trust God when the world spits in your face and all of your friends and your family and the people that you care about reject you because you're walking a different walk now? Can you do alternatives to Christ who strengthens you? You see? And if my trust is in Christ, then Well, pardon the expression, but to hell with the world. Right. That's true. You know, if he's in me and walking with me, I need to walk with him. And what did he say? Flee the wrath to come. Remember Lot's wife. Don't turn back to that old life that you used to live. Turn away from it and walk away from it. And so, uh... Turn around and tell me a little story. So anyhow, we went on a rabbit trail. Lori would be very proud of us for that. We went way down a rabbit hole, but... Verse 25, but after hearing of him, a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately came and fell at his feet. All right, very important there. It said, what did she do? She, after hearing of him. All right, now remember what we say, salvation comes by hearing, hearing the word of God. So what did she do? Hey, I need to tell you about this guy, Jesus, who's casting demons out of people. This woman who has a daughter who has a possessed child, says there's somebody who can throw demons out of people, right? She hears about Jesus and immediately came and fell at his feet, all right? Now, we've talked about this in the past too. There's a lot of the religions out there in the world that do not believe that Jesus is God. There's the overwitnesses. The Mormons believe he is a God, they don't believe that he is the God. And the one that's Pentecostals do not believe that Jesus is God. They believe that he is God's son, but that there is only one God and not a triune God. So there are a lot of people out there. One is Pentecostal. And they baptize in the name of God, not the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. They believe that God is one and the Trinity is a false teaching. So anyhow, there's a lot of groups. The Muslims believe that Jesus is a prophet. but they do not believe that he is God. The Buddhists believe that he is a Buddha, an enlightened one, but they don't believe that he is God. So the only people in the world that claim that Jesus is God is the born-again blood, blood-bought child of God. They're the ones that believe that Jesus is God. And so one of the conclusive evidences that Jesus believes that he is God, is his receiving of worship when people fall down at his feet. Remember, what is Jesus's religion? Catholic. No, no Michael, he is not Catholic. Rome did not come around until about 400 years after Jesus walked the earth, but the church at Rome, not Not Rome being the church, but the church at Rome. So the Jewish faith? Huh? Jewish. He was Jewish. That's exactly right. And so what were the guidelines for the Jewish faith? Moses and the Ten Commandments. Yes, yes. So every little Jew boy grew up being able to quote the Ten Commandments. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego would not bow to the statue of Nebuchadnezzar. Why? Because he was an idol. Because he was an idol, Michael. Right? You don't bow down to statues and idols and images, Michael. I'm just picking on my cousin buddy over here. They would not bow to those statues. Why? Because they were Jewish and their God said do not make any statues images. I love anything in the creation of the only earth Anything that looks like anything in the creation and bow down and pray to it as if it's God worship it as God Remember and they literally got thrown in a fire furnace because they refused to bow and worship and Nebuchadnezzar's statue and God protected them in that. Well, it was the same thing with Daniel. Remember, Daniel would go up and pray every day and he got in trouble for praying because nobody was supposed to pray to anybody except the God with a little g, the God Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar, right? He, the only one that he was supposed to pray to was God alone and that's who he would pray to. So, Jesus grew up. He's actually, I got a little spoiler alert for you. He is actually the one that handed Moses the Ten Commandments on the Mount and Mount Sinai, right? So, he's literally the one that wrote them, right, himself. He wrote them with the finger of God. He wrote them. And he's the one that handed it to him. So if anybody knew the Ten Commandments, it was Jesus. All right? Well, we've seen over and over again where people come and fall down and worship him. Now, if he was not God and he's a good Jew, what would he tell somebody that fell down and worshiped him? Get up! You don't worship me. I'm just a man like you. That's what all of the angels would say. Yes, that's true. Remember? When they rolled his tongue. They were afraid of the angels. Fear not. Angels are very scary things. And there's times in the Bible where people would fall down in front of an angel. And you know what the angels say? Get up. Didn't they do that at the grave? No. When did they do that? I remember reading that. In the book of Revelation, it tells us that they fell down. John fell down. And the angels said, get up. He said, I'm a creature, I'm a servant just like you. We all worship the creator, and that's all we worship, okay? And so by Jesus simply receiving these people's worship, he's claiming that he believes he's God. He's receiving their worship. But the angels will bow before him, and we all will bow before him. So it's a sign of reverence to him, but he receives that worship. And so the other religions can say whatever they want. And there's a lot of people that believe that Jesus was a prophet, et cetera, et cetera, a holy man, but holy, but he was not God. And this is one of the major proofs that he believes he's God, because he received their worship. All right? he she came and fell down on his feet and the woman was a gentile of the seraphinician race and she kept asking him to cast the demon out of her daughter and he was saying to her let the children be satisfied first for it is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs. But she answered and said to him, yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table feed on the children's crumbs. And he said to her, because of this answer, go, the demon has gone out of your daughter. And going back to her home, she found the child lying on the bed and the demon having left. All right, now, this is really important. This woman is not Jewish. She's a Gentile. And what you'll find is, in Jesus's earthly ministry, he came first to who? The Jewish people. He came to his own people. That's what it says in John 1. He came to his own, and his own did not receive him. They believed him not. He came to his own, and his own believed him not. But to all of those who did receive him, to all of those who believed on his name, he gave them the right to become children of God. And so Jesus came and offered the kingdom to his people, the Jews, But the kingdom he offered didn't look like the kingdom they wanted, so what did they do? They spit on him and they rejected him and they crucified him, all right? Now, after he died, for the next 40 days after he resurrected, he spent more time with his disciples. But his commission to his disciples was to go out into all of the earth and share the gospel, right? And so Acts, in the book of Acts at Pentecost, that's 10 to 50 days after Jesus' resurrection, the Holy Spirit was poured out on the people at the temple in Jerusalem, remember? And then what happened, all of these people from all of these different places, now they were all Jewish, but they all had different languages because they were scattered out. They were Jewish people that was living all over the known world at that time. They had different languages. They came to the temple to worship. And what happens, they get saved. And so now what's going to happen? Now they're going to go back out to all of the world. And who's going to start hearing the message? Not only the Jews, but the Gentiles. Now, there was Gentiles being saved all through the Bible, right? Well, first of all, from Adam to Abraham, there was no such thing as a Jew before Abraham, right? So all of those people were Gentiles. And there was plenty of people that got saved then. Alright, then, what about during Abraham's time? Y'all remember, um, that, uh, Rahab the harlot? Remember? In Jericho? She hid the disciples. She was a non-Jew. What about Naaman? Remember the guy with leprosy that came and got healed from his leprosy? And so all through the Bible you'll see Gentiles, people that are not Jewish, following Yahweh, Jehovah, the covenant-keeping, promise-keeping, covenant-keeping God of Israel. So it's not like there weren't people being saved, it just wasn't the masses. But from the time of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came and started living in people and that message got spread to all of the world what started happening? Well, we meet a guy named Paul or Saul the Apostle to the Gentiles. And what happened was he was the most Jewish person you would ever want to meet. He had a triple PhD in Judaism. Like he was one of the most scholarly Jewish people that you would ever want to meet. And what did God do? Knocked him blind, saved him, and then sent him out to preach to the Gentiles. So you have Peter and James and John and the Jews in Jerusalem preaching to the Jews, and then you had Paul going out to preach to the Gentiles. And so one of the things the Bible teaches us is that God's plan all along was for his own people to reject him. They would reject him. He would turn to the Gentiles. And what would the Gentiles do? Receive him. And then the next part of the plan is the Jewish people look and go, wait a minute, that's our Messiah. You can't have him. And they get jealous. And they turned back to him and received him. And that's what you see happening right now in the world all around you. You see Messianic Jews. You see Jewish people who are actually turning back to God. So what is the plan in the end? For all of Israel to be saved. But who is Israel? All of God's people. All of the chosen ones. You see? And if you read Romans chapter 9, 10, and 11, you'll see that Paul is describing that mystery, that beautiful plan that God has in place. And so this young woman is not a Jew, but she hears about Jesus and she comes to Jesus. And what will help make this story make a little more sense is the Jewish people as a race had an attitude towards the rest of the world. It was a wrong attitude, but it was an attitude nonetheless. And what was that attitude? We're chosen, we're better than you. We have God and you don't. You're a bunch of filthy goy. The word goyim, the Hebrew word for dog. Goyim, when you put an i-m on the end of a Hebrew word, it makes it plural. So if they were to call us goyim, if a Jew was to come in this room right now and call us goyim, what would he be saying? We're dogs, okay. It was always a bulldog. Unfortunately, we have Florida gators in here too, but we'll forgive them. Yes. All right. So he answered and said, he said to her, let the children be satisfied first, for it is not good to take the children's bread. What is bread? What did Jesus just tell us about last time we were together or a couple weeks ago when he fed? The bread of life. The bread of life. His body, his words, his promises, his truth. And so what is he saying? It's not good to throw the bread to the dogs. To the goyim. To the goyim, that's exactly right. Now think about this, what's so funny about it, how many of y'all remember as kids you had to doll around the table and somebody, your mom or somebody would get on to you cause you'd constantly lift the food down to fluffy, you know? We always did that. My granddad used to always fuss at us about feeding Ginger his cocker spaniel. Don't give her no food, but told Tom, what's he doing? She was as big around as an elephant. He didn't want us feeding her, but he was constantly slipping her food. So what do the dogs do? They lay around the table. And my dog is very good. If I spill something on the floor, she will pick it up. I still go get it. What was your dog's name? Kayla. And so you spill something on the floor, and what would she do? Especially if it's sweet. She knows you ain't supposed to have chocolate or anything, but bang. Oh, yeah. I don't know. That could be poison for her. Don't you give her no chocolate? I don't. It'd fall on the floor. So the point is, I really don't even need to get a rag and Windex and clean the spot, but I still do, don't I? Because she licks it all up. So dogs are very good at whatever we drop, they get it. And so what does Jesus say? This message It's not good for me to give my bread to the dogs. But listen to her. Let's not feed the children first. So he's talking about I give my gifts to the Jews first and not throw them to the dogs. Right? Isn't that what it says? What he's doing is he's saying it's not good for me to throw my bread to the dogs. So in essence, what is he calling her? The dogs. Now watch. Let the children be fed first for it is not right for the children's bread. To be given to dogs. Alright? But look how she answers him. And she says, yes Lord, but even the dogs under the table feed off the children's crumbs. Alright? So, in essence, what do you call a female dog? Alright? If you were to, if you call a girl that, what is going to be her reaction to you? She's going to slap the crap out of me. You're going to get in a fight, you see? Alright? But what is this, what is, what is this? Watch. What is this woman's reaction to being called a dog? She's upset. I am a dog. Yeah. I'm not worthy. Right. But even the dog gets some crumbs. Right. You see? So what does it show you? When we are desperate, when we are broken, her own daughter is being destroyed by this filthy, wicked demon. And she's heard that this man can help her daughter out. So you read about a lot of demons back then, and how do you, well, in the Bible. And so, but we don't, we don't, we don't read about that nowadays, the demons and foes, yet we can, I can say this. I can promise you they're around. Paul says we don't wrestle against flesh and blood, we're against spirits and powers and principalities and prince of the dark. There's a spiritual battle going on all around us all the time. And there is, there definitely is. Sometimes I wonder now to tie all of that together One of the things that we need to understand is is that from the time of the Holy Spirit being poured out until today The kingdom of God is being proclaimed to the world and in the book of the Revelation that tells us in Revelation 20 it says that for a time that Satan would be bound so that he could no longer deceive the nations. So what is the purpose of the binding of Satan? So that he can no longer deceive the goy, the nations. So remember, before Pentecost, who was Jesus reaching out to? The Jewish people. And so who was in darkness? All of the rest of the world. But Jesus' death on the cross and his claiming of the kingdom has now bound the devil. Now that doesn't mean the devil's not still running around and is still wicked and still doing bad things, but God has bound him so that he can no longer keep the nations in the darkness. You see? He's put a restraint on him so that the light can go out to all of the world. Now the Bible actually teaches us that near the end, right before Jesus comes back, that he's gonna be let loose for a little season. So what's gonna obviously happen right before Jesus comes back? The evil is gonna ramp up because he's coming back out. With a vengeance. With a vengeance. And so a lot of the spiritual stuff that you see going on there and that and Jesus's time, Jesus had come to establish his kingdom and the devil was raising up trying to do whatever he could to stop it from happening. So not only that, but I get it, but Jesus actually, I mean, you know, there's a lot of people walking around us today that are possessed and oppressed by the devil that we would never even know. Right. Or the sound that we do not know you do know. And, and so the demons in the Bible were debilitating. They, they, I think that a lot, I think a lot of the, I think there's, I think that a lot of people that are struggling with drugs and alcohol are dealing with this. I think that a lot of, a lot of people pretty much see, like a lot of people pretty much can see because if you have the spirit in you, like they can see, they can, they can pretty much feel, um, your presence, the presence of God because they kind of like, they'll sit there and tell you that they can, they can, they can feel the presence of God inside of you, and it makes them nervous, and it makes them back off. Well, God does put a seal on his people, and they're protected. It's not that we can't be oppressed by the devil, but we certainly can't be possessed. And he will, God does protect his people, and the enemy knows that. There's no doubt about it. But there's no doubt in my mind that a lot of, especially a lot of the psychological and mental cases that I deal with, there's no doubt in my mind that a lot of it's spiritual. Yeah. Yes. Yeah, you see it. Yeah, there's a lot of it. And it is debilitating. Let's go ahead and wind up the lesson. So he said to her, because of this answer, go, the demon has gone out of your daughter. So what does he do? He heals her. But why is he saying because of your answer? Because her reaction to being called a dog is what? One of humility and submission. What would a real dog do? Bite you. Are you with me? Right. Right. See how that works. So by calling her a dog, it's basically a test to see her reaction. And what is her reaction? She yields and submits and say, yeah, I may be a dog god, but I need some crumbs. There's an old proverbial statement, hey, throw a guy a crumb. You know what I mean? Like, hey, give me a little help here. Throw me a bone. So he said to her, because of your answer, go, the demon has gone out of your daughter, and going back, to her home, she found the child lying on the bed and the demon left her. And that's, that's one of the, at least the second time that I know of where Jesus has healed somebody from far away. Y'all remember the centurion's son that was sick, and he came and found Jesus? And he said, my son is sick. And he went back home, and when he got home, his son was better, and said, when did he get better? And said, yesterday at this certain time. And then the centurion knew that that was the exact time he had been talking to Jesus. So it shows us that God has omniscience. He's omnipotent, all-powerful, and he's omniscient. He knows all things, and he's omnipresent. He is everywhere. And so Jesus commanded a demon that was not even in his presence to get out of someone. And what happened? He got out of her. So I guess, especially when it comes to spiritual warfare, when it comes to fighting the devil, that's not our job. The battle is the Lord's. I got friends that run around with holy water rebuking the devil and doing all that. Listen guys, the devil would love for you to fight him. One angel in the Bible killed 185,000 soldiers in one night in a desert out in a Syrian army out in Jerusalem. 185,000 men, one angel came in and wiped them out. And the devil is the most powerful of all of the angels. Do you think he really cares about your holy water and your crosses and you rebuking him? He doesn't. The one thing that he cannot stand against is the truth of God's word. And that is what we should be pouring out on people. Right? That holy water and, you know, I don't know, most of y'all are, most of y'all are close to my age. And when in the 70s, late 70s, there was a movie that came out called The Exorcist. Y'all remember that movie? And remember how the priest went in there and it was like, the devil wouldn't love for you to fight with him like that. He would love for me to go into that little clinic down there that I'm in, down there at Coastal Harbor, and start running around doing exorcism with all those kids. Why does everybody run to the priest when they need an exorcist? The priest is the only ones that'll do it. Yeah, they're the only ones that'll do it. But he would love that. And not only that, it would probably get me kicked out of my ministry because the devil would play along and he would have no kids vomiting and peeing all over themselves and like it'd be a mess like right you know I mean yeah and and so what I have learned over the past seven years of working in this type of ministry and again there is a lot of it is spiritual warfare there's no doubt You need to be covered in prayer. I am so thankful for all of the people in our ministry that pray for us as we go out and share the gospel. So we need to be covered in prayer. And every day when I go into the clinic, I pray on the armor of God as I walk in there. And it's real. It's a real spiritual battle. But we use the sword. That's the weapon that he's given us to fight the devil with, right? That's the weapon we have. All the rest of it is defensive. The shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness, the belt of truth, feet shod with the gospel, all of that is defensive. It's the sword, it's the word of God, the power of God that we have that we use to fight. And that's what we need to fight with. So, just one last thing. Going back to her home, she found the child lying on the bed and the demon left her. And we need to remember that. That last thing I want you to think about today as we leave here is that when Jesus does a work in your life, when God is at work in your life, it will be evident. You will know it. You will know when he's working in your life. And not only will you know it, everyone around you will know it too. So a little bit of a hodgepodge here. We kind of got a little bit scattered today. Um, but, um, I don't think that, do I see y'all next week, Lauren? Um, as, Is that the fifth Tuesday of June? I don't know if it's the fifth or not. Let me look. Anyhow, let's go ahead and close with a word of prayer and we'll figure that out. Father, thank you for this day. Thank you for this time together. Thank you for the folks in this room and their willingness to come and listen and learn. I pray that you will give us hearts that are seeking you and hearts that are desirous to know you. I pray that you will help us in our struggles and help us to see your work in our lives and help others to see your work in our lives. Give us the wisdom and the strength and desire to go out and be salt and light in a world that desperately needs you. And I pray that you will help everybody here to continue their walk with you. In Christ's name we pray, amen.