Matthew chapter 15. An old preacher got up one time and grasped the pulpit and stood in silence for a lengthy period of time. And before he ever took his text, and started his sermon, he challenged or questioned the congregation with this statement. Would you be willing to do what God would have you to do? That's a pretty heavy duty statement. Because after salvation, It becomes about servanthood. He says in Romans 12, I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, you present your body, a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may know that which is good, acceptable, and perfect will of God. It begins to be about surrender, it begins to be about submission, it begins to be about subjection. Man has always had a problem with authority. Man has always had a problem with God telling him what to do, and often times that gets transferred into the realm of man. You have a hard time doing what God says to do, you have a hard time doing what man says to do. Here we find an unusual story in the Bible in Matthew chapter 15. It's also mentioned over in the book of Mark. It's interesting at the placement of the story because it comes right after the feeding of 5,000 and just before the feeding of 4,000. And yet this little story is inserted by the Holy Spirit here in a place where there was plenty for everybody else, chosen individuals. They had plenty of bread to eat. They had plenty of loaves of bread. They had five barley loaves and two fishes turned in enough to feed 5,000. He's fixing to feed the 4,000. And here you have a woman asking for one thing, and it wasn't a loaf of bread. It was, Lord, I'd be satisfied if I could just get a crumb. Isn't it interesting how the Holy Spirit puts that literally in the Garden of Plenty that often times we misunderstand that while we might be in the first batch or the second batch, the in-betweeners are the ones that miss out while there's so much going on around. We often overlook those who need it because we have so much. Might I say this about that and then I'll read the text to you. Might I say that often times we take God's goodness and mercy and grace for granted. And where it really gets put to the test is not how many times He's fed us, but how many times the Lord has said, why are you turning your nose up at the manna that I gave you in the wilderness? And you want something other than what I've provided for you. Isn't it strange how often we forget how good God's been to us? when it comes to dealing with others. As a matter of fact, I'd remind you in this story that when this lady goes to the Lord to try to get some help, the disciples that served 5,000 people and saw 12 baskets left over, you know what they told this lady? Get out of here. It's funny how we forget how good God's been to us when it comes oftentimes to dealing with people who are not of the same cultural background. Notice what he says, the Bible says in verse number 21, I know you're getting tired of standing, so let's look, if you will, please, in verse number 21 before we go into extra innings. Jesus went thence, and departed into the coast of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coast and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David, recognizing him as the Messiah. I'm here on the behalf of someone else. My daughter is grievously vexed with the devil. Can I say this? Oftentimes, family sickness or individuals that are sick affect the caregivers as much as the one that's sick. She's saying, I need some help. but not just on my behalf. I'm taking care of somebody that's got some problems. But he answered her not a word. What a drag, those sealings, blasts, the heavens are brass, you don't get an answer. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Lord, send her away, for she crieth after us. She's a pest, she's bothering us. Grant her a request, do something, get her out of here. But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread and cast it to dogs. And she said, How dare you? She said, I don't know who you think you're talking to. I have rights. Why are you calling me names? I'm here to get help and I didn't get from you what I thought. Now remember, he's asking on behalf of somebody else and he's demeaning her. She's not even there other than to get help for somebody else. Now notice what he says, Truth, Lord, yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall under their master's table. And Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith. Be it unto thee given even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour. As a matter of fact, you read the parallel passage and you find out when she comes back, she finds her daughter resting. Complete restitution. Everything's been taken care of. But I'm going to ask you this question and then I'm going to have Brother Larry pray. Would you be willing to be demeaned so that somebody else could get help? Jesus was mocked, belittled, demeaned, made fun of. You know what He was saying? I got somebody I'm trying to help. They're a bunch of demon-possessed, lost sinners on their way to hell. Can you help me? Bruised, beaten, battered, laughed at, mocked, made fun of. You know what He does? He helps him, but not until he was made fun of. Brother Larry, you pray and ask the Lord to help us, would you please? I wanted to title the message to begin with, Who Gets Your Leftovers? You know what the Lord said when she came to Him and asked for help? He said, I've come only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. and she comes and approaches him again, and even at that point the disciples have come and said, Lord, she crieth after us. She is driving us crazy. You cannot shut her up. Would you send her away? Some say, they were saying, give her a request so that we can get rid of her. Some say, they're like, look, she's not of us, she's not like us, there's nothing about her, that she even has any right, any kind of a promise for an answer to prayer. Would you just get rid of her? They're trying to kind of hook the Lord up to doing it instead of letting the Lord deal with it. I don't know if you've ever been guilty of that before, but I want you to notice that she said, yeah, Lord, you're right. And he says to her, before he says, you're right, he says to her, he said, listen, it's not a fit for me to give the food, the bread, to dogs. Yeah, Lord, you're right, but your kids are wasting the bread. They're not eating everything they could eat. And I'm not asking for a loaf. I'm not asking to be treated like everyone else of your chosen people. I'm just asking for a small favor and it's really on the behalf of somebody else. So interesting is the story that the Lord, through the power of the Holy Spirit, He has it penned in that passage through Matthew and through Mark to say, this is an important story for us to learn some things for it. I'd like to say, first of all, that when the Lord is coming by there, He is in an area of town. This is important, you want to take a note. It is important for you to understand that they're in a predominantly Gentile area. The Jews were prominent and preeminent in certain parts of town. Now where Rome was, that's a little bit of a different setting because Rome was in charge. But otherwise, the Jews were rather persnickety. They had ownership of where they were. They were in control of where they were. So the apostles, being Jewish, were always comfortable in their own culture. Are you with me? You can look it up and do all the homiletics and all the research on it later on. But let me just give you a little bit of background. The Lord says, I'm going, and not only am I going to go over there, but I'm going to be approached by a Canaanite woman. Not only is she not a Jew, she doesn't live or come from, herald from, a Jewish place. She comes from a mixed-breed place. She comes from a place that gives her no entitlement. This is what you've got to grab a hold of. She's asking for something that there is no promise to her. There is no, literally, an opportunity for her to even be able to approach a man, let alone the Messiah, and be given anything at all, because He didn't come to take care of these people. He came to go to the nation of Israel. She's outside the proverbial dispensation at this time, and she's asking for something. And so the Lord says, I'm going by here. The apostles have to be uncomfortable in that area, because they weren't culturally as comfortable there as anywhere else. Yet the Lord, just like He did for the woman at the well, you know what He says? He said, I need to go by Samaria. Why? There's a woman at the well. I need to go by and take care of those leaping lepers over there. Why? Lord, they're no good and all that other stuff. The Lord said, yeah, but there's one guy over there that'll come back to say thank you. And you know what? He's a Samaritan. He's not even a Jew. He shouldn't know the things that these other ones know, but he does. I've got to go by and take care of them to minister to the one. I want to say this, that you may not get much help out of this morning here because even if your parents are praying for you, sometimes the pride of your own culture prevents you from crossing a cultural boundary in order to get the help that you need. I know that doesn't sound apropos for the day in which we live, but some of you are so proud as to think that you were born of a certain ethnicity, or a certain gender, and that you had something to do with that, and that as a result of being a man, or being a particular ethnicity, that it automatically makes you better. But I would agree with that if you had something to do with your birth. I would be agreeing with you that you should be proud to quote be an American if in fact it was your responsibility to come here. Now some people have come here because they chose to be here. The majority of you were born here and you didn't have anything to say about it. God just saw fit to have you born here. I would say also you might want to be careful being a Christian in the church today that we need to be careful and realize we are the only group of individuals that are saved by grace through faith plus nothing. Why did we get chosen for this dispensation, this time period? Why were we allowed the privilege of being saved by grace through faith, plus nothing, not of works, and so on and so forth? You didn't have anything to do with that. God saw fit to have you put there. And it was because the Jews that we're fixing to talk about rejected. And then the Lord, even just so that you know, He kind of put you down a little bit. You know why? Because He picked you, not because you were good and great and merciful. As a matter of fact, He refers to you as dogs and pigs. You know what He did? He said, I'm going to use them, but all I'm going to do is to make my girlfriend angry, make her jealous. He's using you. He's using you right now. He's putting you down. He's demeaning you. You know what He's saying? Hey, don't be thinking of yourself more highly than you ought to. You're just to stand in until I get back to where I want to get to. This woman was first rejected by not the Lord, but the disciples. Because they're, in the Bible-believing crowd, King James only, independent, fundamental Bible-believing Baptists. They're the chosen sheep. And somebody comes in that, first of all, crosses a gender barrier. He ain't having no woman come in and make requests of men and be bugging Jesus who's a man. Get in line, lady. You don't get to approach Him that way. Second of all, she has to overcome a cultural barrier. She's fixing to go talk to a man who is nothing like her at all. Not only is he the Messiah, as you know from reading the passage, he says son of David, so not only is he the Messiah, but she recognizes he's a Jew, he was raised different, he was brought up different, he has a different culture, he has a different way of doing things, he knows what the law is, he knows how everything is supposed to be done. This woman doesn't know anything about that whatsoever. Do you understand? For her to get off of her blessed assurance and come to Jesus where He was, she was saying, I don't care that you're, don't choke on this word, different than me. I need help. My daughter is sorely vexed with the devil. She must have been living in 2020 and looking at some of our kids. My daughter is sorely vexed with the devil. But for her to do that, she had to overcome the fact that, you know what? I'm going and asking somebody that's different than I am, and I'm going into a culture that is something I'm not comfortable with. And at no point did the Lord change the culture to make her comfortable, as a matter of fact. Oh, can you even believe this? She comes and begs, and the Lord does what we often do when the Lord talks to us. We don't give Him an answer back a word. Right? Several years ago there was an old lady by the name of Miss Lovelady I told you about before. Sat way back in that back corner of that big church up in Tennessee, up in Eastlake. Darrell Sylvia and all the other ones, they sat down throughout the congregation like our men do here. That old woman sat up there and I told you that time about my daddy was up there preaching and all of a sudden she gets up and she starts singing, I am satisfied, I am satisfied. Man, you talk about a cultural barrier. That old church at that time was kind of sophisticated, kind of uppity, had gone past the shout and all that kind of stuff, and it was hard to even get a holy grunt out of them. I mean, they wouldn't hardly even say amen. I guess my daddy was so glad to have somebody respond to the sermon, he was kind of like, leave her alone and let her go. And the deacons went up to her and tried to calm her down. And I remember he broke that glass little thing on the pulpit there when he hit the pulpit and said, let her alone. And down she came singing, I'm satisfied, I'm satisfied, I'm satisfied with Jesus. And she kept walking, had her hands up here, and then they'd get a little tired and she'd walk a little bit and stumble. And then she'd, I'm satisfied, I'm satisfied, and all that. And walk out the other side of that thing. Boy, you talk about a cultural barrier for a woman to do that in a church. In the 1960s? That's unheard of. And there was a guy one time that was preaching and he made the mistake of mentioning Jesus in a sermon, imagine that. And there was an elderly woman up in the balcony and she said, Amen! And people looked at her. And he preached a little while longer and he said something about Jesus again. And all of a sudden she said, Amen! And she's getting kind of beside herself, and it goes on a little while. And the third time she said, Amen. The deacons went up and said, Sister, we don't do that around here. She said, I got really good religion. The deacons said, you didn't get it around here. Do you understand how difficult for a woman in these times to even approach a man of any sort for any reason? The fact that she's there mostly surrounded by Jewish people that are in the inner circle around the Lord, insulating Him, protecting Him, deciding as a sieve, as a filter, who can get in and who can't come in and who's going to come to the crowd and who's not going to come to the crowd. And this lady, By her outward appearance, they already know from her gender, as well as her culture, she has no business talking to Jesus. But if you really want help, you have to recognize that it doesn't matter about your gender or culture. You have to go, I've got to get to Jesus, get out of my way. And you have to be careful not to be the person that keeps people from seeing Jesus because it doesn't match your prejudice. or your preference. I've been watching this thing for a while now. I'm watching churches divide over a mask. They're not dividing over the Bible anymore, they're dividing over a mask. Or they're dividing over the position that you take, whether you're a Republican or a Democrat. Hey, I'm just trying to get to Jesus. I ain't worried about an election right now. I'm trying to have a little meeting with Jesus right now. I might get out of fellowship with everybody else, but I want to be in fellowship with Him. Why? I might get raptured out of here before long. I want to have fellowship with Jesus. Well, what party are you with? I'm with Jesus' party. I'm looking for the King of the universe. Would you get out of my cotton-picking way? I want to get to Jesus. Well, look at me. Sign this petition. You know, brother, so-and-so preaches such-and-such in his congregation, and I can't believe that he's gone apostate because he doesn't believe like we believe. I'm just trying to get to Jesus! I didn't come for news media today! I didn't come for a political rally today! I came because my soul is thirsty today and I need some help. Sir, will you let us see Jesus? No, but we'll let you see Fauci. We'll let you see the president. We'll let you see Burks. We'll let you see Gates. It's a conspiracy. You're trading in your mask for the vaccine. And if you take the vaccine, you're taking the mark of the beast. We're doomed! Preacher, what do you think about that? Just trying to see Jesus. Well, you need to be a man about town and a man of the times and all just trying to get to Jesus. The people I'm trying to minister to, they want to see Jesus. They could care less about my personal opinion, about my preferences, about my prejudices, about my voting record. Hey, listen, you are going to have to learn that you are going to minister to people that don't look like you, they don't act like you, they don't vote like you, they don't agree with you, and if you're going to help them, you've got to get over yourself. You were there one day, an idiot on two feet. And the Lord said, it ain't fit that I give the children's bread to dogs like you. And most people say, okay, and flip Jesus off and say, well, I'll see you later. But instead, you know what happens? Like, you're right, Lord, I'm a dog. See, I can find the gospel in this thing if I want. You say, why? Because until you come and rest yourself under the opinion of an Almighty God who said, all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, you can't get saved until you get lost. This gospel of foolishness nowadays that takes or considers your own culture or your gender before we consider your soul is right out of hell itself. You can't go to a church anymore and find out what the true gospel is. It's kind of like, well, what side of the aisle are you on? Well, if I'm on this side, I'm on the left. If I'm on that side, I'm on the right. I don't mean that aisle. You know, if you ain't a Republican, you probably lost. Can I ask you something if you'll allow me the liberty, you idiot? Where was the political party of Democrats, Tea Parties, and Republicans when Jesus was here? And by the way, she wasn't a Jew, and he still helped her. Don't worry, I ain't gonna cut a rug, but I'm thinking about it. You and me were not part of the chosen race, dare I say that. We were outcast. We were good for nothing. And the Lord said, okay, I'll do something for you, but it's a little outside my dispensation. I'll take it. I'll take that crumb. If the loaf can help, and it has helping and healing in the loaf, then the same help and healing is in the crumb. Because the crumb comes from the loaf. Can I say this? She's pleading on the behalf of somebody else. She's not just there for herself. The way I see it is, is if the Lord helps her daughter, then it helps her, and so we cannot... See, that's your problem. You're listening through your own selfish ear of what are you going to get out of it. Because most of you wouldn't make intercession and ask God to help somebody else. You'd be asking Him to help you. Most of us know very little at all about intercessory prayer, praying God help them, God help him, God help her. It's God help me. God, help me in my marriage. I've got to live with him. A lady in church one time, and they said, okay, Sister Sue, we'll tell you what we'll do. We're going to let you pick the next him. And she said, I'll pick him, and him, and him, and him, and him. So often instead of coming as Jesus did for the benefit on the behalf of others, it gets lost in the translation. Not Greek and Hebrew. It gets lost in the transition of the legend we make for ourselves in our own mind where we turn everything around and instead of making it about Jesus, we make it about us! The woman has to overcome some major obstacles to get help. Can I say this when you get desperate enough? Are you listening? You don't care what other people think. Are you ready? Maybe you want to just real quick, just kind of like... I'm fixing to get on your toes. One of the greatest deceptions in the church today, we let what we think other people are thinking, which is really how we think they should think instead of how God thinks, because we're not willing to overcome that barrier to say, I need some help. I need some help. I've had enough of me. One of the surest signs that there is a problem is It's everybody else that has a problem. You see that played out in society now. It's the government's fault. It's the police's fault. It's the welfare fault. It's the governor. It's the president. It's everybody else's fault. It's like, well, have you ever just looked inside? Is it possible you're contributing to that? No, not me. If I was in charge of this country, I'd tell you what happened. You can't even run your own life, let alone a country. But when you get desperate, you know what this woman does? She is so bereaved. She is so heartbroken. She's so concerned that she doesn't care about the cultural and gender differences. Not only that, I'd say thirdly, there's only 12 of these points, so we're doing pretty good. You'll be a fourth of the way as soon as I finish this. Thirdly, no matter what Jesus said about her, it didn't keep her from still staying and saying, but I need some help. You ugly? Your mom addresses you funny. Who do you think you are coming to me? Lord, help me. Lord, help me. I'm not supposed to give you anything. This sermon's not for you. Lord, will you help me? Why, you dog, you! You Canaanite from out of the country, dog, you! You female, good for nothing, dog, you! Why would I give you bread to eat? You're a dog! You think I'm even going to give you scraps from the table? Lord, would you help me? You know what her response was to his name calling? What'd she say? Oh, excuse me. You know what she said? Truth, Lord! If we could have a come-to-Jesus meeting like that, You're not going to see revival in the nation or in Duval County, but man, could you have a revival here when the Holy Ghost puts His finger in your chest and says, Thou art the man. Truth, Lord! That's not what he gets. You know what we get? Now, Lord, now, that might be true, but him, her, them. I'll tell you how I feel about it. The Lord's like, You just don't really want to be around me, do you? So the truth is you're hiding behind someone else because you really don't want to come to me. You know why you're not coming to Jesus? You know why? Because you don't want to. You're still harboring stuff the Lord told you. Why don't you let that go? I know this is going to be hard to get. I understand the disciples in type, as a picture, they don't want this woman to get help. Get her out of here! And the Lord's like, you ain't gonna tell me who to help. If she's willing to overcome my demeaning actions or my words against her, I'm gonna help her whether you want me to help her or not. Can I just say this? I don't know who your enemy is today. God's gonna help them whether you want Him to or not. And somebody didn't want you to get help. and God overcame what they wouldn't have done and helped you anyway, but you kind of forgot, didn't you, James, John, and Peter, and Matthew, and Mark, and Luke? You kind of forgot, didn't you, how good God's been to you, hadn't you? He can't help your enemy. Why? I don't want my enemy in there! Wow. Did you not realize you were an enemy of the cross of Christ when I saved you? Did you not realize I was angry with the wicked every day? Did you not realize that you were without hope and without God and were going to burn in a devil's hell and in the lake of fire forever and forever and forever and now you're dictating to me who I show my grace and mercy to? It's rampant in the church today. The church is being turned into a stinking socialized political football while we pick and choose which ones we think God should help. Not only that, how we should help them. Your worst enemy, God can still save him. Over my dead body, maybe, Because He came to seek and to save that which is lost. He ain't letting you decide who's going to get there. Now Lord, if you're asking me, I wouldn't let that loud mouth in heaven. We won't know until I get no sleep up here. That boy who's up there in the mountains. And the preacher thought he'd throw him a bone. Back in them days, you know, we're going to call a preacher from the floor, and it gets supernatural, and they load it up, and they put all their preachers in there ten times over, and all of a sudden, well, they're going to throw him a bone. And so, oh brother man, brother man, God wants you to pray. So they called this country boy. And they said, go ahead. He kind of stammered and stuttered. He was scared at the beginning. And then he prayed one of them, Oh God, prayers. One of them Bobby Utley prayers. One of them Memory Utley prayers. One of them, Oh God! kind of things. One of them embarrassing prayers. And he's in the church house. And when he got to praying, he started getting louder, and he got louder, and he got louder. And when he finally said, Amen, the preacher said, Hey, God ain't deaf. And he said, no, sir, preacher, I know he ain't deaf, but I know he's a long way from here. That's Alabama cornfield theology. He may not be deaf, but he ain't nowhere around this place. A simple little story, just a few verses inserted between two of the greatest miracles ever performed in the Bible, where the Lord steps out of a dispensation to the nation of Israel and stops for a woman who was out of her gender and out of her culture and throws back on the Lord. You're right, Lord, that's exactly who I am. You can't get God to help you until you're willing to admit who you are. Too often, we're too quick to be offended because God ain't picking who we think ought to be on the team. These ladies were up here singing and their nephew or cousin God has been so good to me. God's been good in my life. How quick we are to sing the song, but how slow we are to share that with other people. Because you know what we think? Even if it hadn't been for God, we'd be right where we are if it hadn't been for where God is. I would have been here even if God hadn't have done this. I'd have never smoked dope. I'd have never done stuff wrong. Not me. You might be wanting to consider when a man thinks he is something, when he's nothing, he deceives himself and the truth is not in him. Because the Lord said, hey, you're still a saved sinner, but you're still a sinner boy. I'm going to say this and I know you're going to think I'm just saying it because I'm preaching. I'm not. I'm telling the truth. I promise you. I honestly believe if God had not intervened in my life, in every aspect of my life. The lowest, most depraved individual upon the face of this earth would pale in comparison to where I could be if God hadn't intervened. Now, I know you're like, not me. I've never been that way. Oh, I have the tendency to go whole hog at whatever I do. And I happen to know me better than you know me better than she knows me. I happen to know me, I would be messed up as a soup sandwich. And God stepped into my life and said, hey boy, I can do something for you. I can help you. You ain't going to come out right. And then on top of that, after you're done with all your pleasure and all your fun and everything, you're going to burn. So I said, okay, Lord, I'll take you up on it. He said, well, that means you got saved. Yeah, but I'm just telling you along the way, he's dusted my hind end more than once. And sometimes the greatest opposition I have to fellowship with the Lord is the guy in the mirror. Lord, you're picking people to put in your church that I wouldn't pick. And that's based upon my little bit of input during the few years I've been upon the face of this earth. And they're like, you think y'all are messed up? You should have seen what I dealt with back in the days of the Apostle Paul. You think your people around you are messed up? When you get up in heaven and you're celebrating with the same people that I saved, fishermen, and tax collectors, and murderers, and robbers, and embezzlers. Lord, are you taking me up there? It seems to resemble more of a jail than it does. Yeah, I do more work and better work in a jail than I do out in the religious world because at least they know they've got a problem. I've told you before, but it bears repeating for those of you that are new, that old preacher, we had the privilege of going to prisons for years and years and years, and I was with him, and he used the illustration, I think he even did it in Texas a couple of times, but he did it in Florida. We were preaching down a little south of here in a big prison there, hot, man, stinking, smoking hot. I'm sitting there trying to catch my breath on the front pew right over here, and he gets up and he gets to preaching and he's talking about Two thieves on either side. And he says, you know, you're either one or the other. And he goes through his illustrations, and he said, you know, I remember a preacher saying one time, boy, if I could just find a sinner, I'd have a good message for him. And a big old black guy stood up in the back. He goes, me! Me! He said, okay, good, I got a good message for you. And he goes back and draws it. And he said, you know, that preacher said, if I could just find a sinner, I'd have a good message for him. He said, I said me! Me, I'm a sinner. He said, good, I got a good message for you. He's just ignoring the guy. He gets back up and draws. And he said, hey, I said me. He said, Peacock, deal with that guy. That guy came down and sat right over there. You say, how did he get saved? He had to admit. Not what he did. I'm a sinner. I need a Savior. I'm not trying to get out of a jail sentence. I'm not trying to get out of execution. I'm trying to get out of paying for my sins eternally. I'm a sinner. You know, I like the Lord's response because He kind of challenges our faith. Sometimes you come to the Lord and ask Him stuff, He don't say nothing. You ever had that happen to you before? You guys probably pray and the Lord's like, yes. I mean, y'all probably praying like a little burning bush lights up in your backyard, you know? Flame on! You know, you're like, okay, Lord. And the Lord steps out of the bush and says, yes, take off your shoes, you're on holy ground. Oh, yes, Lord, I'm so sorry. I need to talk to you about it. I have a little talk with Jesus and, you know, all that kind of stuff. I saw the light, I saw the light. It ain't that way with me. Lord, help me out. It's as if he doesn't care. Lord, I'm in a mess! And then when I get his attention, he's like, why would I answer your prayer? Who in a cat hair do you think you are? I already saved you. You ask prayers and you do things because you want to consume it upon your own flesh. Or you ask a miss. You don't ever ask in my will concerning spiritual things. It's always things to be consumed upon yourself. And why would I even listen to you? You dog! Truth, Lord. And the Lord goes, what did you say? I said, you're right. I'm a dog. Why should I give you the blessings that I gave to other people? It's not fit for me to give you that blessing. Truth Lord. But even the dogs under the master's table, Get the crumbs. I'm just asking for a crumb. It may seem like a big thing to other people, but it's a little thing to you. I'm not asking for a loaf. I'm not asking for the portion that belongs to somebody else. I'm just saying I need a little bit for me. Can I say this about that without being too harsh? It's okay for you to be selfish when your fellowship is broken and say, Lord, I need a crumb. Stop trying to eat the whole loaf, you gluttonous pig you. Stop coming in. Lord, if you do this and you do this and you do this, I might come to church Sunday night. After all, the preacher preached on it this morning. So I got to come tonight because, you know, now Lord, I'm going to do that next Sunday night because I already made plans for this Sunday night. And the Lord's like, yeah, why do you think he preached on that? Because you made the plans, now I had to have him preach on it. So it's your fault. Oops. Lord, my daughter is sorely vexed with the devil. Lord, help me and come to you. I'm not here for you. I'm here to deal with all of these people. It's not fit for me to give bread to anybody but my dogs. You're right, Lord. You're right. But could I just have a crumb? So moved is Jesus Christ that he has the Holy Spirit pen in there and says to that woman, you kind of caught me off guard because you never quit begging. He's intimating this, Brother TK. He's intimating that if I had used that tactic on most people, we would find out that their motive or the seriousness of what they're asking wasn't serious enough for them to overcome their own self in order to get the help. If he had responded that way to most people as he did to the Pharisees, they wouldn't accept him because they took his remarks personally and they were offended instead of going, he's right. That's the difference. The picture is he's surrounded by people that shouldn't get an opportunity and the Lord goes, ain't that something? I haven't seen that kind of faith. And from that moment forward, her daughter gets better. She's laying in the bed resting in Mark chapter 7 when Mama gets home. Mama, what are you doing here? I don't know, I had a little talk with Jesus. I went in the prayer room. Where'd you go? Well, the Lord was coming by out of Tyre and Sidon over there. Mama, what are you doing over there? That bunch of Jewish people are walking through there. Mama, you could have got stoned. Mama, they could have thrown you under the proverbial bus. They could have put you in jail for approaching one, let alone asking them something and talking. Mama, did you lose your mind? Well, honey, you don't realize how bad it's been dealing with you. And desperate things do require desperate measures. You know what, honey? I've been to everybody else. We've done the seance, and we've done the Ouija board, and we've called every kind of hex there is to call, and every witch we've called to call, and I was told that there was a man who, when it came to that stuff, he didn't let his prejudice get in the way of his healing. Mama, what did you say to him? I just said, I need help. She goes, well, Mama, all I know is A couple hours ago, that devil was twisting me and turning me and busting me and breaking me. I was emotionally a wreck. I was probably at the point of just killing myself. I was so miserable. And all of a sudden, something left and something came. And Mom, I got a peace that passes all understanding. I'm at rest, not sleep. I'm at rest. Preacher, who's the woman? Anonymous. You ever wonder why it's anonymous? I've taught you before, when it's anonymous, it's so that you can put your name in there. It's not because that woman's not important. But you have to be willing to do what the woman did if you're willing to get help. I'm not going to be hard on you what I'm fixing to say, but I want you to listen. If there was ever a time that you need help on a daily basis, it's right now. You need the Lord to be with you in every decision you make. You don't need the news media telling you, should I school or not school? Should I mask or not mask? Should I go to this restaurant or not? Should I wash my hands? Should I do this? Should I go here? Should I go there? What should I do with my money? What should I do with this? What should I do with that? I just don't really know. You need God more than ever right now. You need Jesus. You need a direct line. You need to be selfish in the Lord. Can you help me? Too often we hide behind the smoke screen. Well, I went to that church and somebody pulled in front of me in the parking lot and about ran me over, about ran me down. Some guys out there, bald-headed, little midget-looking fellow out there with a blower, blowed grass all over me, messed up my hairdo and everything. Some welcome that was. I went to church looking for Jesus. I had grass blowed all over me. Came to that church and they're looking at me because I'm not wearing a mask. Came to that church and right when I was ready to sit down, somebody sat down, thought was playing musical chair. Came to that church and had somebody get up and sing. They didn't even sing congregational songs. We don't sing kumbaya around here. It's funny and you need Jesus. how even other people can't get in your way. And can I say this about it? It's in the text. The people here are not abstract. They're known. They're the ones that are the closest to Jesus. And they're the ones trying to keep her from Jesus. You see them show up in Matthew chapter 5. You know what happens? The little kids are coming to the Lord. Matthew 5 is in Matthew. It's on the left-hand page, left-hand column there. I can't get the passage anyway. You know what the disciples do? They tell the kids, I ain't got time for you. And the Lord said, suffer, allow, let. Little children coming to me. Leave them alone. Mary comes in to break the box open and it's the disciples that are going, Are you kidding? Nobody can smell the biscuits now, Mary. You done busted perfume everywhere. Why don't you give that to the poor, they all said. And the Lord said, I'm not going to always be here. Why don't you leave her alone? Matter of fact, I think I'm going to make a memorial out of her. He's sticking the men. That's the men's meeting. The Lord's like, well, you men might want to pick up a little bit of what Mary's got. She didn't come here to please you, she came here to please me. You know, sometimes that irritates men when they find a woman that loves the Lord and believes the book and tries to do what's right, and it bothers them because they can't be as committed as a woman. Yet they're a real man. Ask them, they'll tell you. Or they'll show you. Sometimes women are pretty spiritual. I think if I remember right, the women were up earlier than the men going to the tomb. I think if I remember right, the Lord appeared to a prostitute before He appeared to anybody else. I think, if I'm right, I think it's almost like the Lord kind of sending you a message. It might be good for some of you boys to get a little of that rub off on you. I'm fixing to burst your bubble. The church, even this church, is not perfect. And we have people that should be close. that can sometimes get between you and getting what you need to get from Jesus. You don't have to say amen, you just did by not saying nothing. Some of you have been with me for the whole sermon until right there. And right there, you know if you had to give up that thing that's between you and Him, that's your Isaac and you wouldn't give it up for love nor money because you can't have a meeting with Jesus because every time you do, one of them disciples steps in and says, He don't want to see you. He don't want to deal with the likes of you. You say, why? Because even sometimes disciples act like humans. Preachers act out of character. I don't want to belabor the point, but I have a whole message on preachers that weren't perfect. And you know what's a strange thing? I find one that was, and the rest of them I can find fault with every great preacher in that Bible. And you know what can happen sometimes, even the preacher? can get between you and Jesus. Because somebody said or told you, now, I don't know if it's true or not, but I heard that the preacher did so and so, and you know, okay, that's fine, I'm just trying to get to Jesus. Well, you ain't going to get to Jesus there not long as He's in the pulpit. You know, I heard about that deacon. You know where he comes from. You know where he lives, don't you? You say, oh, it never happened. Oh, don't tell me. It's happened, hasn't it? Some of you have left this church or other churches because of what somebody else did. You're trying to get to Jesus, and all of a sudden, that John or that Martha will stand up in your life, and you're trying to get in fellowship, and the Lord's like, why don't you move them out of the way? Why He let that stop you? Talk about change your mind. Why does that always snag you right there? If you just get them out of the way, the Lord's like, ain't my problem. if you'd get them out of the way. But the fact is, is you don't want to get to me bad enough to let that go. Good preaching, Brother Tito. Don't you be so arrogant. No, no, that's good preaching. Because I don't know what it is, but I know this. Everything is trying to keep us from getting to where God wants us to be. He made a way through the blood. They get to singing the song up here, the first group, they're singing the song. about it's under the blood? Well, wait a minute. That's your sins are under the blood, but other people's sins aren't under the blood because they were against you, right? And the same blood that the Lord used to forgive you, he can't use to forgive them because you're the one controlling the spigot by which they come out, right? Right, ain't that true? That's where grudges come from. You know what you're saying? You can't forgive them. No, you can't wash their sin away. Why? I'm going to remind them of it from now until you come. I'm just talking about the people that got in the way. And all she says is, she never one time, Matthew, She never one time says, Lord, do you know what the apostles did to me? I've been trying to get to you. I'd have been here a lot sooner. Them cotton-picking jack-legs have been standing between me and you, and every time I try to come to you, they're pushing me away. They're making fun of me. They're laughing at me. They're doing all these things. I want them gone. She never said a word. You know what's odd? The Lord doesn't even say anything to the apostles. Otherwise, it would look like He was saying, I'm sorry the apostles got in your way. You know how that is. Church folk can get in the way. You understand how that is. You get that, right? I'm sorry that it went like that. He doesn't say that. He goes, you're a dog. What? Did you see what your disciples did? You're a dog. You are culturally unfit to partake of what I'm offering. You are a dog. Lord, them apostles, them people following you, they don't have the love of Jesus in their heart, and their feet stink too. Walking around like there's something special. I'm just trying to get to you. I've got a problem for my daughter, and they're putting me down. I said you're a dog. I don't care about them. I'm dealing with you. Unless you're willing to admit you're a dog, you can't get the help you need. And if your natural default is, is that, Lord, they're my apostles. Lord, my cultural barrier. Lord, my gender. You know, I don't like women at that church, Oviar. I don't like women. Really. The Lord said, well, you're a dog. Don't be calling me no dog. You're a dog. What about Ben? What about him? What about her? You're a dog. Man, what an indictment! Can't you see the gravity of that? Not just for salvation. Can't you see that if you want help, if you want healing, if you want to stop hurting, you have to admit you're right! But what hinders it? That's my final H. What hinders it is being unwilling to admit. Truth, Lord. Truth Lord, you're right, I do have those problems. Have you ever seen Josh Manning? Beard's a little long, you know. Driving a fancy truck with his name on the back. Got a little pipsqueak of a dog. Calls him Harley. brings them to church so we don't have to go home. Lord, you're right, I've got a problem. Why does a preacher put that big black man on the front row? To scare all of you off. Oh, he's just his friend. He gets special treatment. I just wonder, I'm just asking a question here, just a quick one. Is it possible because of his commitment? Is it possible that the Lord doesn't really care what you think about where he sits? I'm just saying, is it possible? Here's the bigger question. Why would you even say that? Don't turn it into a black-white thing. It's a racial thing. I'm so… I got Puerto Ricans in here, man. We have Mexicans. We are Heinz 57. Ain't none of y'all in here purebred. Stop acting like that. That's why the Lord said, you know what we better do? I better get one blood. I better get them all saved and then put them all on that because they are a stinking… I mean, listen, there ain't none of you like, I'm a German shepherd. No, you're not. You're a Heinz 57 little Harley dog. You ain't even a chihuahua. You can't even tell if you're Mexican or American. You don't know what you are. Stop your foolishness. You ain't no pure-bred Pharisee Christian just because you've got a King James Bible under your arm. You are full of fleas. You've got ticks all over you. You need to be dipped and held under a 50-gallon drug of malathion. And you need to recognize, Lord, you're telling the truth about me. I don't care if anybody else gets help. I need some help! Help me, Lord! Peter's sinking. Walking on the water. Three word prayer. Lord, help me. She said the same thing. Just in a different order. Help me. Lord, help me. Don't you want to pray about the world? If my people that are called by my name will humble themselves and seek me, I ain't Israel. And you ain't going to humble yourself anyway. That's a national prayer of repentance. He can't even get individuals to do it today. The Lord's like, I gave up on trying to get nations to do that. If I could just get a person in an independent Bible-believing Baptist church to do that, I'd feel like we have rejoicing in heaven over the one sinner that repented. You say, why? Well, because a sinner got right. Who was that? Independent Baptist. You want to make heaven shout this morning? Build a bridge and get over yourself. Won't you just say truth, Lord? I'll tell you why. You don't like the donkey talking right now. That's why. You don't like the donkey talking. You think the Lord should be speaking to you from some white unicorn up here with fairy dust in his hand. Stop. I'm done. You know what hinders it? You know what hinders the work of the Holy Spirit in our life? It's not the day and time we live in. It is the same thing that existed when this woman was walking and saying, I need help. It's us. It's us. He said, look, I'll be with you. I'm the master of the sea. I'll be with you on the stormy sea. If you're in a storm on the sea, you're thinking, I'm going to drown. You're not even worried about getting back to the beach. You just want to save your life right then. Why can't you recognize that the problem is not the environment? And I hate to say this, it's not other people. It's us. Am I not calling to your attention what you wish the people in the movements right now would do instead of looking at everybody else? But you know what you're seeing broadcast in front of your face every day? You're seeing people blame everybody else for their problem. And the Lord's like, I can't get you to go to church. I can't get you to read your Bible. I won't listen to the preacher. So I'm going to run it on your newscasts all the time. And you know what you're going to see? You're going to see the self-preservation of a human race across the entire world, not just the United States. Because you know what? It's somebody else's fault. It's somebody else's fault. And he goes, you know what? Those people are lost, and they'll never come to me because they're blaming somebody else. They'll never accept responsibility for themselves. And he says, you know what? You know what your problem is? Your problem is, is you will never accept that you're the problem. And you're actually as close to Me as you want to be. You can hide behind other people all you want. You can hide behind the economy all you want. You can hide behind your reasoning if you want to, but the fact of the matter is, it's you. And then lastly, He can't help you if you don't want help. If every time He puts His finger in your chest you play Saul, it won't be long before you'll be consorting with witches. Just saying. You'll be listening to preachers who pose as preachers of righteousness, who spend all their time in the pulpit on political matters and things that have to do with earthly matters. And the Lord's like, you want to have a meeting with me? Yeah, Lord. I've got to say this. I know you're not going to believe what I'm fixing to tell you, but I just kind of feel led to do this. How many of you have heard the verse, where two or three are gathered together in my name there while I'm in the midst? You ever heard that verse? You ever look at the context? You have if you've been around here long. That has nothing to do with a home church. It has to do with the fact that two people have come to a disagreement and there's a huge conflict. And the Lord said, if you go to them and make it right, I appreciate that so much that I'll come down and I'll join your camp meeting. You ever wonder why that's in the Bible? You ever look at where it is? You've got a doctorate, you know where it is. I won't put you on the spot. What's three times six? Three times six. Six plus six plus six. Eighteen. It's y'all's fault the sermon's going long, you should have known the answer. Matthew 18, because there is no stronger foothold in the last church than the conflict between people that are trying to keep you from getting to Jesus. And the Lord said, you know why I come down in the midst of that? Because you fix it. You put aside your stinking differences. You become gracious with people and you give them room to fail. Sir or ma'am, if you're married, your spouse could use a little graciousness. They're not perfect. And it would be great if you were recognized too that the Lord's spouse is not perfect either. So can you just be a little gracious with them? We're a whacked out bunch of hemorrhoids. Really. We are. We swell up and burn and itch at all the wrong times at all the wrong places. You can't get a tube of preparation that's big enough to keep us under control. Preaching, you're going off the deep end. I'm just trying to make a point. Give you something to talk about around the water cooler tomorrow. Keeping your distance before you go up there to get the water, you know, mash it with a long stick and get your cup off your stealthy stick. What's your preacher preaching on? Hemorrhoids and the Bible. It's sad, though, because in 30 years of being here, that's where the devil has gotten his strongest foothold. It's people keeping us from getting to where we need to be. Father, I pray You'll bless Your Word. God spoke, You can come. Father, I pray You'll bless Your Word. I pray, Lord, you'll help us. Help us to consider the problem that this woman overcame. This woman was able, she was capable, she had the ability to recognize that there was something that was bigger in her, her need much bigger than all the things that stood in the way. What bravery she must have had. And we realize, Lord, that she left her name out so that we too can insert ourselves there because there's no question in the day and hour that we live in Many of us need help now or we will definitely need it in the future. We pray that you might help us to consider this story couched almost parenthetically between two of the greatest miracles in the Bible of the woman who came and got a crumb in spite of all the plenty that was going around on both sides of her that she finally got her needs met. Please help us, Lord, we pray in these matters in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.