Heather Packett

you hi Crossway welcome to cross way at home on a very special day Mother's Day 2020 a Mother's Day with you I think we're going to remember a Mother's Day still in isolation in Victoria certainly ask definitely one that we're gonna remember good to have you with us thank you so much it's good to be here no I was just thinking that lots of stuff out there on social media at Mother's Day today but there's bigger news really out there in the social world there's a wedding coming up there is and Mother's Day happens once a year and my wedding is gonna happen once this year and hopefully never again actually that's the thing but I'm getting married and we've we've shared that news before but we didn't share is that Nicholas and I have decided to bring it forward thank you so much I hear that you might be attending to I think I'll be there with maybe five six seven eight nine ten who knows we're speaking it into faith that at least my immediate family is going to be able to be there but Nick and I are very excited that we'll be married yes seriously congratulations great news and we love having you and Nick on our team last year it just happened to be that you and I hosted in the auditorium together when we were together for public worship services and my memory is I threw you on the platform and said and what have you bought for your mom for Mother's Day and suddenly there was a pause yeah I feel like there's a bit of a conspiracy going on like an Ashton Kutcher got you a kind of style they always put in if you're up on like Mother's Day and Father's Day because they want a good show no I don't celebrate it that much so no we don't we don't get our mom a Mother's Day gift but I this year you had talked to me before this so I had prepared myself and I was gonna go out to the shops mmm but yeah I will admit I think there was a famous line that I was going to come out to the shops so mothers across the world if you're watching today and your your daughter son husband says I was going to that's okay I can't wait I decided that I you know when I came in I needed to have something to give to mom so my if you're if you're watching this I'm gonna give you your scarf back I've had happy mother's day my mother's day there's a beautiful flowers there and on behalf of the Cross Way team Mar we're sending them your way today that's exactly right and you know what man you wouldn't have gotten anything quite as nice as if I hadn't have forgotten to give you a gift so bless you and happy Mother's Day mother and happy Mother's Day Wendy who will be my mother very very soon it's very nice now quite seriously you've got a great mum you've got a great kind of faith legacy what would you celebrate about your mum today yeah and I said this last year but I stand by it mom is the best prayer I had there's recent examples of this that I'm very grateful for the other night I felt like I was five years old going to my mum telling her that I wasn't feeling well and here coming to me and she was praying and she she got out the anointing oil I had don't actually like the smell of the anointing oil so I asked her just to use plain olive oil but she was anointing me and she was praying for me and sure enough by the grace of God I was feeling a lot better so that is something that I will always be grateful for the example that she is set for me and my sister um in the way that she is so faith filled and is so works with such integrity when it comes to prayer she doesn't ever go down a different line she will always come to God first so it is something that I am very very grateful for that's got you've also got a mum what are you what are you very grateful for your mum of thankful for my mum's in Newcastle today and in fact a special Mother's Day gift for her because the restrictions are a little bit easier in New South Wales and so Megan and two of the girls are visiting her today so that's a nice Mother's Day present I've shipped some of the family up to to visit my mum today my mum the words that come straight to my mind generous generous and her life generous in her hospitality generous interests in so many aspects of her life and loyal she's stuck with me and my brother she sticks with people through all seasons of life so you said faith-filled prayer for I said generous loyal some great words there as we celebrate mums today we also do want to recognize that today is a challenging day for some people and so you might be a mum where your children aren't around today you might be a child where mum isn't with you today you might be a single woman and today might be a challenging day we're going to stand with you and we want to pray with you particularly our service today because we recognize that while it's a great day day of celebration it can also be a challenging day as well we're gonna have some fun you ready I am ready now normally if you know the Crossway staff nithya is our kind of our quiz queen cheer is always running quizzes usually because I asked her to at the last minute but I've got some questions for you today and we would like you to play along at home so you're gonna get five questions on the screen okay five questions on the screen you ready for them I am gonna paint I've got a pen I've got my nothing matters more notepad you should you should know Scott the reason I accept to be facilitating because I'm not a huge fan of actually answer question one the team can throw that up question one what type of mother's day gifted twenty nine percent of mums say they want this year it's a type of you think isolation okay and you've got like ten seconds on the clock today I'm not answering online am I am play at home phone of friends ask in the lounge room play along with the kids what type of mother's day gifted twenty nine percent of moms say they want this year okay question two who is this woman it's a pretty broad question that one who is this woman okay question three question three there are more than 6 million mums across the nation what is the average age of mums giving birth in Australia today oh yeah there are more than 6 million moms across the nation what's the average age of mums giving birth in Australia alrighty got it confidently I I kind of am I was thinking just the other day about how much time I have I reckon given the answer oh just a little bit okay question for good eyesight test for me here to the verse as a mother comforts her child so I will comfort you with scanning what book in the Bible [Music] okay and last one more flowers sold for Mother's Day Valentine's Day or Christmas Oh yep yep okay got it yep okay now what we want to do before we come to the answers everyone's probably got a phone at home you might be on a tablet right now you could be on on your computer you've got permission right now on Facebook live we need you to respond to us now we need plenty people to respond because it's in the fine print you and I can't win the prizes yes that's true and I'm pretty sure I won't be winning any prizes of my own so what we want you to do beyond the quiz is we want you to message in right now or during the service we want you to message in something that celebrates your mum my mum is why your mum's a legend why she's a beautiful person what your mum does for you kids you can be a part of these adults everyone can be a grandma is we want you to celebrate mums grandma's special women your life message them in there and as they come through when we get to the end of our service in the post show we've got some prizes including some it's vouchers seem to use there so mums cooking quickly got time for the answers nice oh really quickly so don't forget grab your phone grab your tablet send in those responses and celebrate your mum and we'll talk to you at the end of the service yeah here we go question 1 29% of mums said in the midst of social isolation they would like a gift that is locally sourced locally sourced that was the answer that was the insult Oh true bless what did you say I I just thought it was anything like my mother it would be like prayer with the family locally-sourced great to celebrate local business at this time I'm watching the clock we're gonna go quickly that lady was Anna Jarvis oh okay all right she started mother's day Christian Methodist Church in America and went to the President of the United States and said we should celebrate mums in fact she didn't want it to be overly commercialized she wanted to celebrate the faith and legacy of mumps yes no I I wrote the leader of the suffragettes 31.3 31 years and three-point 31.3 that is lower than what I guessed I guessed 33 okay yes so that was my my guess for that okay yeah 66 okay I guess truth because I thought you were doing a female theme and the last one what was the last question what was the flower I chose Christmas because I felt like we're 25% 25% of all flowers sold by the average florist sold on Mother's Day just like those beautiful flowers we bought from a local florist here this week well nithya we got a few things to come back to messaging yes let's please message in and we will be back with you shortly I mean after the service to let you know who will be going home with those ubereats vouchers we want to celebrate mums today we also look forward to pastor Heather bringing God's Word and I can tell you now settle back there is going to be some amazing worship something special happening this morning cross way in terms of worship just get ready for it it's gonna bless you and happy Mother's Day happy Women's Day happy Mother's Day bless your [Music] [Music] good morning everyone happy mother's day and so as I was saying before we put some awesome worship today we've got a whole choir joining with us today so encourage you to come just up t afraid we're gonna worship our God let's praise His name come on here we go come on let's see waking up knowing there's a reason all my dreams come alive life is for living with you my decision [Music] his waist come a church the same [Music] [Applause] [Music] there's nothing [Music] ah [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] Joffre [Music] we're gonna let it need some today [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] all of this foolery [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] but brace your neck we're fighting to get in Revelation it says that holy holy holy is the Lord God Almighty who was and is and is to come and today God we want to honor you we want to give you glory because you are so worthy of all praise so we thank you God we praise your name thank you God Jesus [Music] so firm is found No [Music] she shall reign forever [Music] time [Music] while Kingsman slash [Music] jeez [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] come on in your homes and see it together and he shall reign [Music] [Music] [Music] you [Music] [Music] [Music] and keep you make his face shine be gracious here the Lord sir funny story [Music] make his face shine for me and be gracious to you the Lord CERN [Music] [Music] [Music] what you drink that you drink and that's you be upon you and a thousand generations your family and your children and the children this year [Music] Uschi [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] oh man our men are men our men are made of it I mean in Jesus God says yes to humanity in Jesus God says I am for you I am for you and our declaration today to praise our great God together in lounge rooms in backyards in dining rooms across our city across our nation across our world that cross way we join with the church around the globe and we see our men our men are men and we say yes God we lean in to worship you today because you first said yes to us let's pray together that's free father God when all is said and done what matters most is you love us you are for us you are for us and that's not sheep love that love cost us cost you your son it cost you your son that we might know Grace and freedom and forgiveness and peace and goodness and joy and purpose and meaning in our lives we realize ayah 66 that as the the mother comforts and nurtures and holds her child how you comfort and nurture and care for us because you for us and on this day as we celebrate Mother's Day as we say thank you to mums as we say thank you to Women of Influence Oh remind us of fresh today that no matter where we find ourselves in life in all seasons of life you are for us whether today we feel like we own the mountains up or whether today we walk through a valley you are for us whether today we're surrounded even on zoom or FaceTime by by family in the midst of isolation or whether in reality we feel lonely today remind us that you are a God who is for us whatever our situation today maybe we take our eyes off our circumstances maybe we take our eyes off ourself and maybe lift our eyes again to the God who is good to the God who is for us we join with the church around the globe and we say I'm in my men I mean me in Jesus name great to have you with us cross way I remote you but I could have just continued to stand there and let the team lead us in that beautiful worship this morning and more than 25 people there leading us in worship from across our campuses and as I watch that as you watch that as we participate in worship together well as I struck by men and women younger older all from different cultural backgrounds all who finds cross way as their home but all United together and worshiping the one Jesus front-and-center declaring together amen amen amen thanks for leading a team great to share with you today as I prayed we do want to celebrate all our mums today we're looking forward to - a great mum pastor Heather bring us the word this morning can look forward to that coming very soon as we celebrate today we recognize that we want to continue to be a church that loves others that cares for others in our local community and beyond thanks again for all your generosity it's been great to be blessing people in our local neighborhood we set another record this week in the amount of food parcels that we delivered in Jesus name great to partner with local police and council and other authorities as we share together what it means to to reflect the love of Jesus at a time like this yeah we're looking forward to a time in the future when we might be back together as a as a family but it's really good to remind ourselves that we are relationally connected at this time and we can bless each other we can bless our neighborhoods just a reminder everything you need to know is really there on the front page of our website got a crossways orb dot a you and you'll find everything you need to know about how you can sign up the things seek help seek prayer praise God a whole lot of things we got a praise section there and Suika loan it was great to have people sending in points of praise what were they doing in reality they were taking their eyes off their circumstances and they're looking up words of God people celebrating so many good things happening in their lives even the midst of isolation so go to the website find out everything that you need to know of course our giving is online at this time and can I encourage you to continue to lean into that sewer to be disciplined in that to support each other as we pursue our exciting vision here at Crossway those resources continue to allow us to minister at a time like this where to pray and then after I've prayed but we're going to hear about a great new series that we're kicking off this month in The Book of Elijah around the theme of Elijah Blitzer for the gods thank you for your generosity thank you for your generous love thank you for all that you continue to do for us and that we can constantly reach out to you whatever season of life we find ourselves in further as we have given online this week or as we even do it right now on our phone or tablet our computer and maybe C as an act of worship maybe C as an act of discipleship as we step in together as we lean in as we choose to be generous as we choose gratitude in our own lives thank you for this privilege of even being together online today thank you for the blessing of community we pray that in Jesus name Amen and share this video together [Music] [Music] [Music] great series look forward to our series The Anointed looking at the life and the ministry of Elijah what we can learn together through through that key Old Testament character look forward to sharing in that series with you as we've shared today is a day of both joy and celebration can also be a challenging a difficult day for some and as a church community we stand together in the midst of that as we celebrate mums as we celebrate women of influence in our lives as we're drawn back into what the scriptures say about women who make a difference in our lives [Music] proverbs 31 a good woman is hard to find and worth far more than diamonds her husband treats trusts her without reserved and never has reason to regret it never spiteful she treats him generously all her life long she shops around for the best yarns and Cotton's and enjoys knitting and sewing she's like a trading ship that sails to faraway places and brings back exotic surprises she's up before dawn preparing breakfast for her family and organizing her day she looks over a field and buys it then with money she's put aside plants a garden first thing in the morning she dresses for work rolls up her sleeves eager to get started she senses the worth of her work and is in no hurry to call it quits for the day she's skilled in the crafts of home and hath diligent in home making she's quick to assist anyone in need reaches out to help the poor she doesn't worry about her family when it snows their winter clothes are all mended and ready to wear she makes her own clothing and dresses in colorful linens and silks her husband is greatly respected when he deliberates with the city fathers she designs gowns and sells them brings the sweaters she knits to the dress shops her clothes are well-made and elegant and she always faces tomorrow with a smile when she speaks she has something worthwhile to say and she always says it kindly she keeps an eye on everyone in her household she keeps them all busy and productive her children respect and bless her her husband joins in with words of praise many women have done wonderful things but you've Hourglass them all charm can mislead and beauty soon fades the woman to be admired and praised is the woman who lives in fear of God give her everything she deserves there soon her life with praises good morning to you and happy Mother's Day it's great to be with you today this is the thing that I get to do today for my mother's days to come and preach to you and I'm quite excited about that because I haven't had the opportunity yet to preach as part of this this kind of different zone that we live in at the moment today is a fascinating day in our family because 12 years ago today on Mother's Day I was giving birth to our gorgeous now turning 11 today year old and she is wonderful her name is Otto hi if you want to put in the comments to say happy birthday to out of her it's her birthday today so actually this Mother's Day in our family is entirely about Otto his birthday not very much about Mother's Day for me but I did get a beautiful gift from them this morning every 6 years or so who birthday lands on Mother's Day and and so today it happened again and I remember that time was actually Mother's Day the day that she was born and I remember remembering absolutely nothing at all about Mother's Day that day I was so focused on this new little person who was coming into our family and she is precocious as she is opinionated I have no idea where she gets that from but she she is wonderful and gorgeous and she's having a great time at home with my gorgeous husband Lucas and our son kaha this morning as I'm here with you so happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there happy birthday beautiful Aloha I want to give a shout out to my mum who's watching in New Zealand today and and just a blessing upon you because you have been so profoundly important in my life you know Mother's Day is one of those fascinating days where we start to think about what it is that makes up her mother and one of the things that kind of stands out to me as something that I never really knew existed within myself until until the moment that I became a mother was this kind of boiling up of motherly passion that happened within me that never had it I'd never experienced before it was this kind of feeling of being a mother bear that's the only way I can describe it it happens sometimes and it happens whenever I feel like one of our kids might be in harm's way and so this motherly instinct kind of comes up and then this kind of passion anger righteous indignation I don't know what you want to call it seems to bubble up within me for no apparent reason and generally I'm quite a polite person so it's sort of unusual but there was a moment probably similar time to this last year where this mother bear instinct came up within me I was I had actually preached that morning which is kind of amusing to me because of the way that I responded to these two fellas at their footy that afternoon I had taken our son Cowher to the footy and we support Kelton yes whatever we support Carlton we went off to a game it was between Carlton Essendon and at the end of the game what kaha likes to do was a tradition we don't tend to buy him the 40 records he likes to go along and scour and see who's left one behind and then take it home and he collects them and so we were at the MCG this day and the game had finished we'd lost badly we'd been beaten by snn were sad and anyway he was going along and he was having a look for a footy record so he pulls out this 40 record and as he's doing it these two guys come up to him these essen and supporters who would have been I don't know in their 50s and they say something to him and I was watching from afar I wasn't there at the situation but he he kind of he totals over to me and his bottom lip starts to quiver a little bit and I said what did they say to you and he said they told me that I was hopeless for supporting a team such as Carlton well all of sudden the mother bear starts to come up within me and I went straight up to these guys and started just yelling at them okay what are you doing why are you talking to a ten-year-old kid and insulting him and making him feel bad about the team that he's just supported you just want and I'm yelling at these guys and then thinking to myself I actually preached it Crossway that morning it's not such a good look but anyway I'm yelling at these guys because there's mother bear instinct had come up and he's actually pulling tugging on me going mummy you know let's go you don't get into a fight real fight here but it was fascinating this this mother bear instinct and there's a few times that I can think about in my life where that instinct has come up anytime where it feels like child has been unjustly treated or with a need special care or whether they are in a situation where there's potential harm this this vigorous energy this passion comes up within me and I know a lot of you mums out there and know exactly what I'm talking about and so what I wanted to do today on this Mother's Day is not so much speak to mums I want to speak to humans all of us need to hear and learn from the Word of God but I would love to look at a passage in Scripture that speaks from the perspective of a mother bear a woman who was so impatient --it and so vigorous and so much indignation within her that her child was ill that she was prepared to do the worst kind of behavior in order to get healing for this girl and so we're going to be looking at Matthew chapter 15 and what we're learning at looking at is what a mama bear can teach us about Jesus what a mama bear can teach us about Jesus so Matthew chapter 15 and starting from verse 21 it says leaving that place Jesus withdrew to the region of tyre and sidon a Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him crying out Lord son of David have mercy on me my daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly and so here she was this woman and it's a strange situation a very strange situation that Jesus found himself in because Jesus was actually hiding at the time he was a long way from home he wasn't in any Jewish province he wasn't within the borders of Israel at the time he was at a Canaanite Gentile region and he'd gone there it seems the Bible tells us to hide to get away from the crowds to spend a little bit of time alone maybe with his disciples and to not be constantly pressed on and yet here he was and he'd gone into a house the Gospels tell us and he is in this house and this woman this Canaanite woman just appears and she starts to hassle him and she starts to ask him about healing and everything about this scenario was wrong you couldn't just be a Canaanite woman and come and approach a Jewish rabbi that was it was wrong it was culturally incorrect it was the wrong place for her to be at the wrong time Jesus was not in the mood for visitors and he certainly didn't want the impropriety of a woman of her background coming to him I know that you may be thinking of different other different examples within the Gospels where women had approached Jesus and they've seen healing straight away but these were Jewish women who were sometimes out of their element and culturally doing something a little bit strange but not to the point that this woman was she was really off the way she was in the wrong place she should not have been approaching him at this time and she knew it she knew it and here's the first thing that she did she had no right but she approached him boldly and I love this is something that I think that we can learn all of us can learn from the mother bear heart from the mother heart to be in that situation where we need something we are desperate for something and so we we commit to him and we say I'm gonna approach you boldly I want to be in your face about this I want to be right here with you lord I want you to hear my request and I don't care how it looks I want you to know what I am asking for and she wasn't going to be held back that mama bear was coming up rising up within her and it would not keep her from pursuing what she needed it from Jesus she came to a place where she should not have been but she didn't care how it looked and I love that I think so often we can spend times in life where we think you know I should behave in a certain way I should act in a certain way but sometimes you get to that point where the need is so great you need to be able to approach boldly it needs to not matter how it looks it needs to not matter how it comes across this was an awkward situation and yet she went in there boldly she knew what she wanted and she wasn't gonna leave until she got it in verse 23 and says Jesus did not answer a word he actually ignored her get that so as disciples came to him and urged him send her away for she keeps crying out after us Jesus is in this awkward position with this strange woman not from his background someone who he he himself says later on he wasn't sent to save he wasn't sent to help and he actually ignores her now I I think in this particular situation in this particular story in Scripture there's a part of me that asked the question well hang on a second Jesus doesn't seem to be behaving in a very christ-like way which is a strange thing to say given that he is Christ it's a very unusual thing for him to do to actually ignore somebody who's coming to him and asking she was so culturally out of place that it was culturally right for him just simply to turn away strange right and the disciples were embarrassed and they were angry and there's a number of times that we see the disciples and the gospel was telling people to to go away wanting to tell people to go away but in this situation it's almost like they were feeding off Jesus and his ignoring of her but what I love about her and what we can learn for her from her is this she approached she had no right but she approached him with tenacity she just went I am NOT coming I am NOT leaving here I don't care whether you going to ignore me I don't care whether you're gonna have you disciples turn me away I am NOT leaving you know why this mother Barings instinct within me says I need my child healed and the way that this woman had approached Jesus first up is that she had come to him and she had said son of David so she knew she knew that he was from that line she knew that he had the power and often the willingness to heal she had obviously heard rumors around the place or maybe she'd seen him heal somewhere in someplace before that but she wasn't gonna walk away she wasn't gonna to turn away from this opportunity and so she was tenacious she just stayed there and there's other places in the gospel will we hear again and again where Jesus talks about those who come to and they beg and they ask and they pursue and they're not willing to give up the woman who came before the judge and she just nagged him until he gave in you know God loves it when we come to him with tenacity I wonder how often and and I'm talking to myself here as well I wonder how often I give up on my prayers I give up in those times that I should be asking him you know I should be going back to him and asking again and again and again for breakthrough but somehow in some way I kind of go oh well he didn't answer so maybe he just doesn't want to and maybe I should just give up but this woman shows us that actually there's something very powerful about tenacity about sticking with it about pursuing and not giving up about staying the course and asking and waiting and seeking and giving a very clear indication as she would have that she was not going to walk away without her miracle it continues on in verse 24 he answered I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel and then the woman came and knelt before him lord help me she said she came and she knelt down at his feet now this is a really powerful moment I'm not sure whether you know that as you look through especially the New Testament also was also in the old that often when somebody comes and they kneel before someone's feet when the feet are involved in the kneeling is involved that is a sign of worship and this woman was placing herself in a vulnerable position she was coming she was right before him and she placed herself in a worship stance kneeling before a Jewish rabbi is a way of saying I am giving you what the honor that you deserve it's reverence it's elevating this person and saying I am not worthy and you are worthy it is an act actually of worship so here she was in this moment of confusion of frustration somewhere probably inside her saying why are you ignoring me why is it when I've come to you and I am desperate in need why are you ignoring me and that's the my she chose to worship Him extraordinary right I think often for us we might think to ourselves worship is important in a time when we want to celebrate and things are going well when we can stand before God and exalt him and say you are great and you are good and thank you I can see your power in my life I can see your blessing in my life but you know what worship is important in times when we're confused and we don't understand worship is important in times when we are facing difficulty in hardship worship is important in times when we are begging God to intervene I think about Paul and Silas as they were in the Philippian Jail and they'd been beaten within an inch of their lives and there they were in the inner room in stocks with a guard outside and what do they do they started singing hymns of praise to God not because they could see his favor in that moment I can promise you they didn't but they were worshiping they were allowing it to rise up within them to see God is God and I am NOT and he deserves my worship and my praise regardless of where I am and what I'm doing I think about all of this this movement at the at the moment around the world in the midst of this covered disaster that we're in and how we're we're sort of locked down a lot of us and life is not normal like we knew it we like we knew it to be previously and yet so many people worshipers right across the world are singing that song the blessing and their blessing their country their blessing their nation there's an Australian one that's happening soon they are blessing people in the name of Jesus and they are bringing that worship before the foot of Jesus they're kneeling down before him in worship and they're saying you are God we are not but would you intervene would you bring breakthrough and so this woman with her tenacity was coming before him and saying I am going to worship you even if you ignore me well there's something we can learn from the heart of a mother bear but this is where I think the story takes an unexpected turn because in verse 26 he says sorry it is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to the dogs well extraordinary right it is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to the dogs well it's at this point that I think that you would probably give up right see up until this point and I I missed this point before up until this point she had approached him she had come to him and she had come to him boldly she had come to him with tenacity she had come to him with humility bowing before him and yet all of a sudden he says well actually I was sent to the children of Israel I wasn't sent to you your dog I mean how much worse could the insult be now I know that there are commentators who believe that the word is that there's an extra word that should be in there meaning little dogs in other words family pets you know what either way it's an insult either way it's an insult I've got dogs at home they sit at the feet of our 12 year old son because they know that there will be crumbs 50% of the food goes into us mouths and 50% of the food goes onto the floor the dogs know that they can get that but there is no there is no commendation in that statement it is an insult it's offensive he's saying to her you are not as important to me and your request is not as important to me as those who I was sent to extraordinary right now I kind of feel like in that situation I probably would have given up I think being ignored is one thing I think being insulted is a bridge too far I might have at that point gone okay well if this is who you are I don't need it I don't want to borrow of it see ya and then got up and walked out of the house and yet the fascinating thing about this woman was that she was moments away moments away from seeing the power of God moments away from seeing her breakthrough moments away from seeing the answer to her prayers so often I have seen people in church situations or in Christian situations and they've been badly treated or they've been insulted or they've been offended or there's been something that's happened you know they've seen that as an accessor an excuse to leave I don't need this these people are not godly these people are not right and so up they they grab their stuff and off they go and that's it I've seen people who have asked God for and I've known people who have asked God for an answer to their prayers and when they didn't see it the way they wanted they left they left him they walked away and what amazes me about this situation is that this woman here was moments away moments away from seeing the power of God you see we need to not expect that we're going to somehow always have things the way that we want them that we're not always going to have answers to prayers the way that we expect them to be we need to be able to understand there are going to be difficulties there are going to be people that hurt us we're going to be disappointed sometimes we're going to ask God for something that we know that he wants to give us and it doesn't come the way that we think are in the timing that it needs to as far as we're concerned about the question is what are we going to do in that situation what is our response gonna be in that situation you see this was a fork in the road moment for this woman what would her response be yes it is Lord she said even the dogs ate the crumbs that fall from their master's table and then jesus said to her woman you have great faith your request is granted and her daughter was healed in that moment I mean how amazing to get to that place and what I love about her response in this situation is the she had no right and so she approached him with honesty she didn't say how dare you how dare you say that I'm a dog that I'm not a child how dare you say that I'm outside the family no instead what she did was she recognized something that it's very difficult for you and I to recognize we're not all that we're not all that she didn't see it as an insult because she knew it to be true she knew it to be true she knows and she knew within her heart that she was a sinner that she had failed that she had no right to be asking what she was asking that she was not worthy of his grace and yet she was asking for it anyway so she approached him with honesty she was basically at that point where she goes yeah you can insult me but you know what the insults gonna slide off me because I know what you're saying is right I'm not worthy to ask for your grace here's the thing God sees you is worth it but it doesn't mean to say that you are worthy he sees you as being worth pursuing but that's because of His grace not because of your goodness so he looks you at you and he sees you as the flawed individual that you are he sees you as someone who was a sinner someone who has disappointed him but he wants you anyway he wants to pursue you anyway he won't heed pursued me and in the the midst of those times when I disappoint him and I want to tell you I do a lot he perfused me and he sees me as worth it but it's not because I'm worthy it's because of the grace and the goodness of God if she recognized that she wasn't worthy of His grace but she was asking for it anyway there's mother bear there the tenacity building up within her the passion the indignation my child is sick my child is unwell and I know you can do something about it I know that I have disappointed you I know that I am not worthy but I need for you to do it anyway I need you to be lord right here and now and so she approaches him with honesty it reminds me a little actually of Ruth I've been reading Ruth for a while recently and Ruth as she comes to this brand-new place and she's a foreigner and she finds herself in a field just basically looking for a little bit of grain so that she can take it home for herself and her mother-in-law they're poor they don't have any inheritance they don't have husbands to provide for them and yet here she is she doesn't have an attitude that says I demand or I am worth instead she follows along behind the harvesters and she picks up just the little bits it's like picking up the crumbs looks like the dogs picking up the crumbs I'll just take what I can get and I'll just survive and then the same thing for Ruth God provided so profoundly and changed her life so profoundly because of her attitude that says I'm just going to be honest about my station in life I'm not expecting more from your Lord but I'm asking for it because I know that you are gracious and you are good and you can provide it this woman as she she was bringing her mother bear attitude toward Jesus you know the fascinating thing for me it actually wasn't her persistence that won Jesus over it was her honesty it was her humility as she was prepared to take stock of who she was where she was that to say yeah I deserve nothing but I'm asking for it because I know you were good and I know you were gracious and I know you can give it so I'm 51 verse 17 this was actually a sign that David wrote when he was asking for God to give him a clean heart after he had sinned badly against him he says my sacrifice O God is a broken spirit a broken and contrite heart God you will not despise ceases saying i'm bringing to you my brokenness i'm not trying to pretend that i'm all that i'm not standing in front of you and going well this is me you know just accept it because that's what is in these days this is who i am i don't need to change no he was coming to god and he was saying i broken I am unworthy that because of your grace and your goodness would you accept me anyway you see so often I think that we can approach God with an attitude that says I have something to offer you I have something that you might need I have skills I have in mind I have all of these things that you might be able to use and while those things are true that's not the reason that God pursues us the reason he pursues this is because He loves us then he is gracious and he sees us as worth it even though we are very unworthy see in this situation Jesus did not behave as we would expect a godly individual to behave he didn't but what I love about it is that Jesus has this uncanny ability to be able to see beyond what was happening with this woman I don't believe that he ignored her or that he insulted her for no reason he did that because he knew her and he understood what it what was needing to be pulled out of her in that moment he reached into his soul and through that ignoring and through that that pain and that insult he pulled out of her a simple and a beautiful and a profound faith that she would not have been able to get had he just answered her prayer and immediately what he drew out of hair encounter was these things boldness tenacity humility and honesty he drew them out of her he drew them out so that she would have a faith that was simple and profound and glorious and I can guarantee from that moment that woman worshipped him she knew him she knew him to be God and she knew that she was not as she would give her life because he came to her and gave His grace you know sometimes Jesus does things that we don't expect sometimes Jesus doesn't answer us the way we expect or we hope that he would sometimes he does things that are radical and they're out of the ordinary and it's not easy for us to understand why he chooses to do what he does sometimes he chooses to say stay silent when we really need an answer from him there are so many times in ways when Jesus might choose not to engage with us the way that we expected him to but here's the question as he trying to draw something out of you in those moments and if he is what is he drawing out of you what is your response to him going to be you might be a person who has always looked at the church is the place that you don't belong you might look at and Christians as being this kind of clean-cut individuals you know you can see them from afar you might look at them and say I don't belong there I don't belong as part of that that's that's not who I am I'm too rough around the edges or I don't live my life that way you might look at Jesus and say I don't belong there I don't belong with him but I want to say to you today that Canaanite woman she didn't belong and he accepted her he drew her and he drew this amazing encounter out of her they changed her life forever and she saw amazingly not the crumbs not the crumbs from the table she saw the powerful full grace and goodness of God she saw the love of Jesus and you can too a 2000 years later you can too whether you feel like you belong or not whether you feel like you are far away or not I want to tell you there is nothing that you have done and no way that you have forged out your life that is too far away for him to accept you as well and to bring you in he wants to show you his grace he wants to show you his love not because you're worthy because he sees you as with it he died on a cross to forgive you of your sins to forgive you of all of that stuff that you have done that has disappointed him and the only difference between you and me is that I've said thank you and accepted that forgiveness and you haven't so I want to ask you today is that your day is that the day that you want to be able to pray a prayer and say thank you I accept that grace I think I accept that goodness and that love from you I know I'm not worthy but I'm coming to you I'm coming to you with humility I'm coming to you with honesty about Who I am and I'm asking for your forgiveness to rest on me for a brand new beginning today because he wants to give it to you he wants to give it to you and so in a moment I'm actually going to pray a prayer and I'm gonna pray a prayer really in your words that you can pray along with me but I don't want you to just leave it there if this is the day that you want to engage with Jesus and say yes you are God I am NOT I am going to follow you for the rest of my life I want to accept your forgiveness I want to accept that grace I want to follow you and become yours become in the group in and belonging to your family if today is the day that I'm gonna ask for you to pray this prayer with me but I'm also going to ask for you to do something else I'm gonna ask for you to connect with us whether on messenger or with the details that are below on the screen I want for you to connect with us so that somebody can talk to you and engage with you and chat with you about what it is to follow Jesus and what next steps might be so if this is your day and I'm gonna ask for you to pray this prayer along with me now asking for his forgiveness let's pray Jesus I thank you that you are radical are you indifferent that you know exactly what we need when we need it there is no one like you there is no one is good and this loving and as gracious as you and there are times Lord that we can be confused about the way things are and why you respond to us sometimes and then other times it feels like you're not answering our prayers Lord we know that you are good we know that you are good and so we honor you for who you are and today for my friends here who want to pray this prayer I pray your blessing upon them and we're gonna pray along together today Jesus I thank you I thank you for who you are and I thank you that you died on a cross to forgive me for my sins that as you died you took the punishment for all of my sin you took the punishment for all of those things that I have done wrong in my life that would have disappointed you and you paid the price so that I could be free I thank you Lord and I ask right now in the name of Jesus that you would take my sins away I turn away from them Lord and I turn to a brand new beginning that you have given me I ask for new life in your name I ask that you would show me who you are I ask that you would speak to me so I can start to hear your voice I ask that you would give me a passion for your word I ask that you would be profoundly working in my life that I would feel and be different because you've made me a different and new creation and so I give you all my sin I accept your forgiveness in Jesus name and I thank you come and be Lord of my life you are God I am not come and take charge and be my Savior and the matchless name of Jesus we pray amen god bless you remember please let us know if you have prayed that prayer along with me today because we want to celebrate with you and talk to you about next steps god bless you guys have a great Mother's Day [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] I mean I'm there my beautiful song and what a great way to finish a great morning you see a great word from Pastor Heather so good I personally took away that humility point that she was saying is so needed to hear that so thank you for your wisdom and thank you Lord that you're speaking so graciously through Heather packet yeah tenacity humility the fact that we can lean in we can be a part of God's redemptive vision a great word for all of us today on Mother's Day Heather is going to be back next weekend we kick off our series in Elijah pastor Heather is going to be preaching next weekend we're looking forward to that a special prize also to those who have been looking for the Book of Elijah as I was praying you know lots of things going on there we're doing a series in Elijah don't keep looking for the Book of Elijah we're looking forward to pastor Heather open that series next we're very much looking forward to prizes haven't we we've been scrolling through our social media outlets and we want to give a big shout out to Cena Varghese well done and happy Mother's Day to you and your mother and we've got a new breed's voucher coming your way god bless your mom who's still making takeaway meals for you and her other adult children I would love if that was the case of me and actually it is the case of me I so for your life so Cena let me celebrate soon as a mum yes a great mom thank you and also our other one goes too great to celebrate on Mother's Day this week new new birth babies coming into the world and so we've got a number of people were cheering out online for Jordan and particularly for every and baby Ezra really vital part of our Crossway community who give so much particular Easter and Christmas every year so Jordan there's one day this week where you won't have to cook and you can throw something on the table there for your beautiful family happy Mother's Day Eponine your first one and it's so close after the birth blessed year and thanks for all the feedback what the people being celebrated I loved one comment which was anything that reminds that as well as celebrating mums we we celebrate kind of spiritual parents spiritual mums so many of us can look back at people in our lives who have made a difference I had that experience this week I was talking to some some team members who work with global interaction and they were sharing about one person in Western Australia who'd been influential in getting them on su the mission field in Africa three different families and and the role that this person had played and it turns out he was my my youth pastor before that crazy incredible the impact that one person can have one person that could be you and can I just say to to Mary to mark with his mum as well as the lovely scarf that you're gonna get given back today nikki is going to be bringing you home these beautiful flowers it's a good story behind the flowers actually you know what I went to get these flowers yesterday just so it had them today to well gift an athiest mum and as I bought them there was I could serve I love Lea young woman from cross way I didn't didn't know her we chatted to each other and she said to me Megan's gonna love those flowers and then I was too quick to say they're not for Megan um then I had to stop and give the whole story because they're always for Mary yes definitely been a great morning been a beautiful morning what a great way to worship together and I don't know about you but that take home of all those people seeing that beautiful worshipped it's so special it was so lovely and we're really really looking forward to be worshipping with you next week we do want to let you know we're looking forward to um communion together next week so I'm like we did over Easter with love if you celebrate with us at home prepare that communion together and we will be doing that here from Crossway but also you'll be doing that at home with us so we'd love if you join with us in communion next week as pastor Heather shares so have a good day whatever that entails for you and can I just encourage you that let's take home today that promise that reality whatever our situation today whether we feel like we're on the mountain or the valley God is for you God is for you have a great day cross way god bless you [Music]

Channel: Crossway Church

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Id: 3xN8E7k6gFU

Length: 87min 32sec (5252 seconds)

Published: Sat May 09 2020