8/13/2020 - Theological Thursday - Great Faith

well well well i know we're a little late here i was having issues and uh i know uh my schedule opened up so we're back here i know i promised yesterday that uh uh we wouldn't have one today but uh whenever you're listening um i think um i was thinking about our bible study last night and about faith about what faith is and and um you know how important it is to well to understand what that is and that's what we're going to study with our devotion today on the upcoming gospel text in matthew 15 21-28 the faith of a canaanite woman um yes pastor zhang here good morning to you all um i hope that you are all doing good wherever you may be whenever you are listening uh it's always a great blessing to uh to be here with you uh with wherever you are whether it's with your coffee or on the couch or uh while you're um sitting at the table i'm glad you're here to listen and uh what a great what a great text we have uh for this upcoming sunday i think a very you know these last not not saying any uh any of the gospel texts are never but so relevant in a sense of what we're truly facing i think uh last week we talked about fear uh and this week we talk about what great faith is and uh what an important topic as we continue to walk in these times now why don't we begin with a word of prayer let us pray almighty and everlasting father you give your children many blessings even though we are undeserving in every trial and temptation grant us steadfast confidence in your loving kindness and mercy through jesus christ your son our lord who lives and reigns with you in the holy spirit one god now and forever amen amen that's a that's our prayer from for this sunday as we dwell upon the mercy of god we see in that prayer that we are undeserving yet by god's grace he answers our prayers at the end of the day he he gives us our lord and savior jesus christ all right let us read matthew 15 and jesus went away from there verses 21 to 28 and withdrew to the district of tyre and sidon and behold a canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying have mercy on me o lord son of david my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon but he did not answer her a word and his disciples came and begged him saying send her away for she is crying out after us he answered i was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of israel but she came and knelt before him saying lord help me and he answered it is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs she said yes lord yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall fall from their master's table then jesus answered her a woman great is your faith be it done for you as you desire and her daughter was healed instantly a woman great is your faith be it done for you as you desire uh this this week as we look at the faith of the canaanite woman we dwell upon her great faith um you know as we look at this text this woman had a lot going against her a lot of reasons why she would just say you know what maybe jesus is right right he is not giving me a word right he is saying send her away [Music] that he is not or she is not part of the lost sheep of the house of israel but she was persistent he speaks of not even throwing it to the dogs i think time and time again we see jesus really testing and trying this woman and seeing where her faith is i think that's the key point here where her faith is now faith as we always talk about at church is uh it's always trusting in the object of that faith our faith is in the object of faith and of course everyone has faith faith in something right uh sometimes people have faith in the object of money or in earthly security or in the faith in the good circumstances that when those circumstances let's say go bad well then um i think uh when they look at god they lose their faith quickly in in god in his word now again i think in trying times as this woman was dealing with it says right there have mercy on me mercy undeserved gift help me right her daughter is severely oppressed by a demon uh i know good morning mary good morning uh and we see her great faith many reasons to just say okay i'll walk away i think for us too uh when we live this life of faith sometimes we think honestly in our in our broken flesh we wonder if well is god there why isn't he helping me i mean so many times we it's easy to kind of turn away from god thinking that well if you're not going to help me i'm going to go find my own help and you know when we talk about faith here we see jesus trying this woman from again uh from not saying a word to her from the disciples saying send away and jesus saying my my sheep are of israel for this woman was well a gentile woman an outsider of sorts jesus was really bringing the heat but yet this woman she knew who the lord was oh good morning matt and when we know who our lord is there we find the great faith see there's a difference right when we want the lord to be who we want as lord rather than who he says he is according to scripture our faith isn't something totally different our faith is ultimately in ourselves as we want to shape god as we want to be the potter and he is the clay rather than we are the clay and he is the potter right and our faith at the end of the day when we truly see what our faith is especially during these times quickly we find ourselves finding faith in ourselves now faith isn't in ourselves faith is outside of ourselves and uh you know this woman she never gave up why because she knew who the lord was even when he said go away or the disciples said go away you know the house of israel knots in a word even the dogs right why would i throw it to the dogs and this was said this woman said even the dogs need the crowns that fall from the masters table because our faith as we see it here is a woman great is your faith be it done for you as you desire the faith is great because that faith is rooted in what is eternally true i think during trial the true colors come out right the weak faith the distracted faith the faith that trusts i think when we say our faith is in god but when trials come a lot of times what happens we flee and we find our and we realize that our faith is in totally in something else solely in something else right when we hear the news of the economy when we when we get the news of the pandemic we we see the true colors rise out and and we we realize that wait is my faith in the temporal things is my faith in this mortal life alone is my faith in only the temporary i think it has really caused us to really step back and gain perspective right and that's because of the word of god that shows us this very thing now we see our identity held against her we see uh the mercy uh jesus not saying a word but this woman kept on coming because she very well knew who this lord is and that's the key point you know god is not a god again as we live in a culture today we don't mold god the way we want and i think a lot of times that is the pitfall of of when we speak of in terms of faith we know our faith is not in what we want for as god but our faith is rooted in the scripture which shows us who god is and ultimately at the end of the day our god is a merciful god as this persistent woman called out to him saying help me have mercy on me this is who god is a woman great is your faith be it done for you as you desire so at the end of the day friends as we continue on in this life so we talked about bible at bible study yesterday we always ask how is your faith and your faithful answer is it's great because your faith my faith is not in ourselves it's not in our works it's not in the circumstances of the time whether they're good or bad whether they're comforting or in suffering but our faith is always great because our faith is in the one outside of ourselves the canaanite woman knew that this world could not save her this world could not save her daughter there was nothing that this world could do but only it is through the hands of the merciful lord that she uh that her daughter could be well instantly healed that this faith of the woman while she was there crying out to the lord help me help me help me because she very well knew that could only be found in the name of the lord and this is great faith that as we look at our sin and that we are as we look at every spot and blemish that we have ever since the fall in adam and eve we very well know that it is only by the merciful lord in his hand that we are saved and healed that our remedy is the one who came to us christ jesus that our faith is great because our faith is in the perfect work of the christ our faith is in the perfect promise of the christ in his death and resurrection the body and blood shed for the forgiveness of your sins that our faith is rooted in all circumstances even in the suffering and the persevering and the enduring of the saints as the faithful ones our faith is not i do this i do that but our faith is rooted in the work outside of ourselves jesus and though there at times trust me when things are going horribly when the circumstances seem to kind of great against our own idea of how it should be done even questioning and even doubting god are you there why aren't you helping why if you are so good why is this happening but here in the faith valley of the dry bones lord you know we continue to endure by that very word of faith as we talked about in galatians 3 yesterday the word of faith that was proclaimed to you that because of that word of faith that was proclaimed to you you can believe in your heart and confess with your mouth that jesus is lord the lord the one who covers and and rescues you who dies in your place who washes away all of your sins and gives you eternal life this is where your faith abides in the vine as you are the branches because jesus is not just for israel but he is for all the world jew gentile all of humanity as he endured the cross he died his last breath he rose on the third day to give life to the world reconciling all of you all of us to god this is redeemed and blessed children you know that's why we hear the word all the time because the word what does it do time and time again it points us to the true faith it points us to our faith in christ it points us to our faith in his work it points us to our faith in his death it points us to our faith in his resurrection it points us to our faith in the baptism that he has promised by his very word that he would rescue us in that water and word because of the resurrection because of the empty tomb there our faith very well knows and trusts that indeed we are clothed in christ's righteousness because his word says so because of his resurrection and there jesus promises by his very word that he meets us in his true body and blood of the supper given in shed for the forgiveness of our sins this is where our faith is and because our faith is in his word our faith is great right and i think that's that's the key of hearing god's word because there we are pointed back to who we are as children of god all by the work that he has done for us by his gracious and merciful work the merits of the cross jesus and it's also a time of repentance all of us all of us how shallow we can be how quick to run away and flee to our own idols how quick we revert back to our flesh thinking that our flesh has the answer in these times of uncertainty we all repent right fluttering and fading and wandering and struggling as if we're all alone but even in our weakness the lord's grace is sufficient my power is made perfect in weakness second corinthians 12. is it i think maybe not as saint paul would say in corinthians and this is how our great faith is it's not what we do it's not because you're polished it's not because you say all the right pious things and you're perfect on the outside no your faith is great because it's christ all blemishes all all sin that we have you know we come blessed are the poor blessed are the meek right come you who are broken and heavy laden and i will give you rest and this is where our faith is it's christ and we need to hear that time and time again because trust me at the end of the day if our faith is about our good works if our faith is about only when times are good that is no that is no faith at all well that's no faith in christ at least that is faith in self and that's the tension that we face in this text right that is the tension that we face in this text does this woman run away no because she knows right there in her presence there is the christ the lord who heals and ultimately who dies for the sins of the world there is no other it's only christ and that is faith there is nowhere to flee nowhere to depart nowhere to go but only christ and she stood there in faith because her faith is christ great is your faith be it done for you as you desire but pastor you know i i'm i'm a sinner and my answer would be me too but your faith has made you well because your faith is christ and you are forgiven of all your sins but pastor you know i i don't know if god is you know all these things are happening in my life is god really there my answer would be yes because his word says so that we persevere in this faith knowing that jesus says i will be with you until the end of the age and though our eyes see one thing our faith sees another and that faith our eyes of faith see christ residing in his word knowing that he is with us do not fear jesus says when peter looks away that's when he falls in the water when we look away that's when we fall to our sin and to the flesh into the wiles of the devil so remember that this day the tension is there my friends and that is why the word is so important to hear and receive because these are the times where it's easy to flutter and fade and to be distracted and go on our own way but here in the word we are pointed back to the faith that is only christ we hear it time and time again because we need to hear it because we know what we're up against in our flesh but there as we reside in the the wonderful and gracious word we reside in his peace knowing that our faith is great because the greatness is rooted not in ourselves but in the work of christ for you so remember that this day yes good point matt we can only beg for christ's mercy because isn't that what this life's about in the one true faith isn't it matt it all flows from the merciful lord not what we've done now what we've done by our merits or earned for salvation because we cannot do that everything is contingent upon the lord's battleful grace who lends us his son his hands upon that cross to die for us because there is no other who could do such things so remember that this day the mercy of our lord that our help comes in the name of the lord psalm 121 that he continues to lead us by the very word so continue on you know how is your faith it is great because your faith is in the word of god your faith is in the word made flesh your faith is in christ jesus alone hear god's word receive receive receive receive faith comes by hearing hearing through the word of christ come to church hear god's word because there i promise you time and time again you will hear what your faith is and that's jesus oof thanks be to god for his great faithfulness his promise is true and he leads us always in christ healed you are remedied you are body and blood covering you baptism lord supper word promise deliverance outside of yourself great is your faith jesus let us pray dearly father although we thank you for this day oh lord we we thank you for this time lord bless us in the one true faith and grant us your wisdom lord we know that we do not deserve anything of what you give the lord by your mercy continue to sustain us and sanctify us in your truth bless us in your name and and comfort us in the righteousness that you give in christ jesus lord we know that the devil is there always looking trying to tear us away from your word lord grant us your protection lead us oh lord by your light in your word and may your word comfort us this day look for all these things we are thankful we pray this in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit amen all right well have a good day everyone thank you for joining me i know i came on late this this uh this day and i had trouble with uh finding the live tab on facebook uh but also uh i promised i said yesterday that i wouldn't be here but again um sometimes i change my mind so um anyways uh have a good day and uh we'll see you tomorrow family friday what's that about we will see and god's blessings to you this day and until next time pastor john faith lutheran church moore park california have a good day adios and we will see you soon all right god bless

Channel: Faith Lutheran Church

Views: 41

Rating: 5 out of 5

Keywords: lutheran, christian, sermon, faith, theology, trust, resurrection

Id: WoSks3Mj4l8

Length: 24min 13sec (1453 seconds)

Published: Thu Aug 13 2020