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[0:00] This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alfred, Georgia. It is our prayer that you will be blessed by the preaching of God's Word. Alright, take your Bibles and go with me if you would to Matthew chapter 15 again.

[0:10] Matthew chapter 15 and we're going to look at a woman's great faith. Have you ever been where things didn't work out, weren't working out, and you had major issues?

[0:23] You were like nowhere to turn. They'd say, let's get rid of her. They may have been saying, help her, just give her what she wants so she can leave and we can get back to watching TV and eating popcorn, whatever it was they were doing.

[0:36] And so she finally gets in there and she bows down and she says, I need help. She gets down in front of the Lord, bows down and says, I need help. She worships Him. And then He says, look lady, I am here to take care of Jewish people, not Gentile people.

[0:53] You don't need anything I got. I'm not helping you. I didn't come to give the children's bread to the dogs. And she says, but Savior, even the puppies get to eat what falls off the table.

[1:06] And He says, lady, you are showing a faith that is amazing and I am going to grant your petition. So today, you're here and you're dealing with junk and you need help and you've turned to the Lord.

[1:22] You're right now discouraged because He doesn't even seem to hear you. He doesn't answer you. Well, here's a story about you. So I hope you'll listen to it and learn from it and see what can happen.

[1:33] Father, I pray you deal with your people. God, I want you to give them hope today. I want you to help them to trust you. I want you to help us to learn how good you are, what a wonderful God you are, and how you hear and answer prayer.

[1:45] And we know that you're the hero of this story that comes through and does great things. And I just pray you'd show your power today in our lives. We'll give you praise in Jesus' name. Amen. In all the four Gospels, there's only two people that are known of as people of great faith.

[2:01] The first one's found in Matthew 8.10. And you probably remember the story. It's a centurion. And the centurion needs a servant to be healed. And he comes to the Lord and the Lord says, you know, I'll go with you.

[2:12] And he said, oh, you just speak the word. I'm a man under authority. And when I say something, it gets done. And I know you. You're God. And you have power. And you have authority. You speak the word. And it'll be done.

[2:23] And in 8.10, the Bible said, when Jesus heard it, he marveled and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. It's a Gentile man.

[2:34] It's a man that shouldn't be getting any mercy, shouldn't be getting any help from the Lord. But he comes and God answers his prayer. And in this story, verse 28, underline it in Matthew chapter 15 and verse 28.

[2:47] The Bible said, then Jesus answered, Senator, oh, woman, great is thy faith, be it unto thee, even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour. Woman, great is your faith.

[3:00] That's two times in the Bible. One's a Gentile man. One's a Gentile woman. Now, there's a bigger message that's really maybe not where you're personally needing. But let me just say, so you learn some Bible while we're at it.

[3:12] You see, God's in the process of moving from his using of the nation of Israel and of using the Jewish nation, Israel, to using the church. And everything's been about Jewish people.

[3:24] Everything's been about Jewish people. And even the story shows that. But he's in the process of saying, I've taken the gospel to the world. And I want the world to hear it. That's what the Jews should have been doing.

[3:36] But they kind of became naval gazers. They kind of looked at themselves all the time. They thought about themselves all the time. And they'd take the gospel to the world. So two great examples of great faith.

[3:46] A Gentile man and a Gentile woman. And the church of Jesus Christ is about to make a move. Let me just tell you. So you might mark this down somewhere. What's the church?

[3:57] The church is a body of baptized believers, both Jewish and Gentile. Both Greek and Jewish. Anybody that's in the world that gets saved becomes a part of the church.

[4:08] We're the church of Jesus Christ. And that's what's happening in the story. So look at the first thing you might write down. Verse 21. Write down gospel for the entire world. Verse 21. The gospel is for the entire world.

[4:21] Then 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.

[4:33] My daughter is grievously vexed with the devil. This story takes place outside of Jewish territory. Jesus has gone to a Gentile area. Surely he can be free to rest and relax.

[4:45] No Jewish person is going to want to follow him. They're big on their separation. Remember how they wash their hands with the water from last week? They don't want to be around Gentile people. They don't want to touch what a Gentile person has touched.

[4:58] He's already shown us in the past story that he's not interested in this unclean food idea. He's made all foods clean. And food's not the problem. Now he shows us people aren't the problem.

[5:10] Now it's not people that aren't the problem. He's gone to an area of the world where the Jews detested the people. And they would never come to them. Can I just say the Jews really messed up?

[5:20] They were given the gospel to be a blessing. They were blessed to be a blessing. In Genesis chapter 12 about verse 3. Mark that down there. They were blessed. They were given all that they had.

[5:31] The Bible. They were given the blessing on Abraham. They were given the gospel. They were given the prophets. They start the church. They were supposed to bless the world. But somewhere along the way they got hung up on themselves.

[5:43] Somewhere along the way they forgot to carry the message. Somewhere along the way they didn't do their job. They got consumed. And it's easy for you to be consumed with your own life and ministry.

[5:54] It's hard to see past where you live. Your people. Your needs. It's hard to think of others. So look at this story. Jesus is going to a place where a Canaanite woman can be saved.

[6:09] Verse 22. I hope you got your Bible open. Hope you'll mark it. Can I remind you she's a Canaanite. A bitter enemy. A despised people. People who worshipped other gods.

[6:19] Verse 22. Underline. A woman of Canaan. Her people had worshipped Baal. If you studied your Bible at all. Baal. Her people had worshipped Baal. They had fought against God's people in every possible way.

[6:33] It must have taken a major step for her to leave all she knew. All of her people. And seek help elsewhere. You know it's a humbling thing to admit you need God.

[6:45] Especially for Americans. You know American ends and I can. You ever notice that? We're the people that can. We can do anything. And so in the story this woman is giving up her gods.

[6:56] Giving up her people. Giving up her culture. Giving up her customs. And she's going to a Jewish man. And asking for help. That may be what some of your problem is this morning. Your pride won't let you humble yourself before a holy God.

[7:10] And admit you need help and go to seek him. How many of you remember the story of Naaman? Naaman is a... You can find the story in 2 Kings chapter 5. He's a great general. And he has leprosy.

[7:21] And he wants help. And he has a maid. And this maid that works in his house. Says to him. Look Naaman. If you really wanted help. I can tell you where to get it. There's a great man of God. Back in Israel.

[7:32] His name is Elisha. And you can go see him. And he could help you. He could tell you what to do. And you could be healed. And his pride said he wouldn't do things like Israel did. He goes and he finds Elisha.

[7:43] And Elisha says I want you to go dip yourself in the Jordan River. And he said our rivers are just as good as your rivers. And I'll do it my way. I don't need you. I'll go do it my way. And Naaman goes back.

[7:54] And when he gets there the little girl says to him. Man. You're awful proud. Don't you realize she didn't sit that way. You know she's the maid. But basically. You know you could have just obeyed. You could have just said it's not that big a deal.

[8:05] Why not? He goes back to the river. And he gets help. Don't let your pride stand in the way of God doing something in your life. Don't let your pride stand in the way of you getting right with God.

[8:19] Are you embarrassed to say you've sinned? I think it's one of the hardest things for us to admit. It's hard for us to admit I can't. It's hard for us to admit I failed.

[8:29] It's hard for us to say I need God. It's hard to humble ourselves. We're kind of like Naaman. Are you thinking that you're good enough to be okay without needing God?

[8:40] Or someone who died on the cross? Is there some kind of pride in you? Because that's kind of like the story here. This lady gives up her pride. Crosses over to see Jesus. Goes into a person who is her mortal enemy and seeks help.

[8:55] Second thing I want you to look at. Go with me to verse 22. Verse 22. Let's look at some things about the lady. Some things that are mentioned about the lady in the story. Verse 22. 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.

[9:14] My daughter is grievously vexed with the devil. She loved her child. Write that down there. She loved her child. Here's a mom. And her baby's got major problems.

[9:26] Her daughter's got major problems. She is not heartless. She's hurting. She cares. She's not willing to sit by and let disease or let a devil or let whatever destroy the life of her child without a fight.

[9:39] She's willing to humble herself. She is willing to humble herself and to take care of her child. Her love makes her willing to endure whatever embarrassment and humiliation she might receive at the hands of Jesus and the disciples.

[9:54] Her love would not let her give up. Just remember, I don't know how you see it, but you know, if I'm going where I'm not wanted, I'm going where I don't fit, I'm going where I don't belong, maybe I can screw up enough courage to step into there, but if you don't answer me, and if everybody's telling me to get away, I'm probably going to hang my head, I'm probably going to walk away, I'm probably going to give up.

[10:19] And that's what might have would have happened, but her love drove her. She could not stop. She was a woman of great faith. Look at verse 22. She's a woman of great faith.

[10:30] The Bible says that again, a woman of Canaan has mercy on me, O Lord. She had faith to seek out Jesus. She had faith to seek out Jesus.

[10:42] Somewhere here, she's over here in her house. Nobody can help her. The doctors can't help her. The witch doctors can't help her. The priest of a false god can't help her. She hears about Jesus being there, and she says, I think maybe he could help me.

[10:56] And she makes a trip over to see him. She comes, and it seems like her faith is pretty weak when she gets started. She refers to Jesus, if you look in the verse, by his political title, Son of David.

[11:10] See that in verse 22, the Son of David. And she's challenged to trust God to help her. And in verse 25, her response is, then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.

[11:24] Lord, help me. Her faith drives her to worship him. She couldn't be discouraged. She was persistent. She came. She worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.

[11:36] Verse 25. She came for help, and she will not leave without getting it. There are stories in your Bible about when you pray, you're to pray persistently.

[11:47] There are stories in your Bible. You see, can I just say this? Prayer is not supposed to be a flippant thing. It's not supposed to be like, Lord, help me. You know, whatever. If you can't help me, whatever. It's not that at all.

[11:58] She came knowing God could help her. She gets before him, and she begs, and she believes, and she prays, and she keeps waiting. She meant it.

[12:09] She was seriously in need of God working in her life. Her prayers were genuine. She was not going through the motions. I guess roughly 39 years ago, in the month of June, my buddy Steve's boy was born, and hospitals were not like they are today.

[12:28] A lot more backwards, like 39 years ago, and you couldn't go in the room when the baby was born, and so Melanie had a little boy. His name was Andrew. And they brought Andrew out and put him behind the glass.

[12:41] Of course, Dad can't see him. You're not allowed to touch him. You're not allowed to be in the room with him. And we're standing there at the glass looking at the baby, and we notice that the baby's breathing. It's like the weirdest thing you've ever seen.

[12:52] It's like when he took a breath, his little belly button almost touched his backbone. And he was heaving, and it would look bad. And I said, buddy, I don't think that kid looks too good.

[13:03] And we're standing there talking, and about that time the doctor comes out, and the doctor says, your baby's got real problems. The lungs aren't fully developed. Well, you don't know what two 20-year-old, 21-year-old boys do.

[13:17] But we were running down to the chapel, and we got on our faces, literally on the ground. And we said, oh, God, you've got to do something. And we prayed until he was prayed out, and I was prayed out.

[13:27] We ran back up and looked, and the baby's still doing the same thing. And we'd stand there a few minutes, and Steve would say, can we go pray again? There was no way the baby might die. We didn't know what was going to happen.

[13:39] We weren't trusting doctors. We needed something. And we went back and back again, and Andrew's a 39-year-old man today, and God brought him through, and God did a work. But you know what? That's where you are.

[13:49] You're here this morning, and you've got something hurting you. Maybe it's your child that's in trouble. Maybe it's your finances. But you know what? God's calling you to come to him. You need to get a hold of God.

[14:01] You need to realize God's there for you to believe in. It ought to be that God would say about us, boy, they really believe me. Boy, they really trust me. Great faith, that's what they got.

[14:12] They're trusting me. So that's the story. Watch the exchange. I think it shows her faith. Watch the exchange between Jesus and the woman. Verse 23. He answered her, not a word.

[14:24] I don't know how you read that, but I can only imagine. I am terrified. I need help. My daughter's vexed grievously, horribly vexed, horribly tormented by a demon, and I need help.

[14:37] Jesus, I need help. And they come, and she, please, help my baby. He doesn't say a word. He just sits there. And the apostles, in verse 23, they said, send her away.

[14:52] She cries after us. And then he said, and she could hear it. He said, I'm not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

[15:04] I'm only sent to the sheep of the house of Israel. I'm not sent to her. I'm not here for her. Hey, I'm a heart doctor. I'm not a lung doctor. I'm not here to help them. Please, you're the only person I can turn to.

[15:17] We learn from Mark, in Mark 7, 24, that Jesus was trying to hide. He didn't want anybody to know he was there. Look at Mark 7, 24. And from thence he arose and went into the borders of Tyre and sat and entered into a house and would have no man know it.

[15:34] But he couldn't be hid. So he goes in. He's on, I guess, a vacation, the crush of the ministry, all the people, everybody's needs, everybody always calling on him. Early in the morning, late at night.

[15:45] They've crossed the border where most Jews probably wouldn't want to go. He doesn't want anybody to know he's there. But she finds out. Verse 22. There's that woman of Canaan.

[15:56] And she comes out of the same coast and she cries, please help me. And she approaches Jesus for mercy. And she calls him Lord using his Jewish title. She knows her needs.

[16:07] She knows she needs him. Apparently, she even believes he's the Messiah of the Jews because she calls him with the title the Jews would. And Jesus is silent.

[16:20] Verse 23. He answered her, not a word. He doesn't respond. The disciples want to get rid of her. They're bothered by her crying.

[16:32] They may have just wanted to rest and play. But the ministry caught up to them again. Maybe they were saying to him, give her what she wants so she could go and leave us alone. But whatever. Almost no compassion, it seems.

[16:47] They're thinking of their own comfort in their vacation, maybe. And Jesus says, I'm not sent to the, I'm only sent to the lost sheep of Israel.

[17:00] I'm not here for Gentiles. That's a Canaanite woman. I'm not here. You see, the gospel came first to Jews and then to Gentiles. This is a pivotal moment in the Bible.

[17:12] God's moving the gospel from the Jews to the church. Jesus wants the world to be saved. But he's been working through Israel and the focus is shifting to work through the church. Church is made up of both Jews and Gentiles.

[17:25] The woman knows what Jesus is saying, but she won't give up. I love the story because I think you give up too easy. I think you've been praying and asking God and he hadn't heard you and he hadn't answered you.

[17:39] And it seems like he's been silent. And so you quit praying. Be honest. How many of you quit praying? Be like, give up. I don't think God's ever going to do anything. So I'll just give up. Jesus says, I just came for the, I just came here for the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

[17:56] And she came in verse 25 and worshiped him saying, Lord, help me. Wait a minute. I thought he only came for the lost sheep of Israel. I thought he was silent. And you know what she does?

[18:09] Unashamedly. Doesn't care what anybody thinks. She walks in, falls on her face and says, you might've only come for the lost sheep of Israel, but I got to have help and I ain't leaving. I need some help.

[18:20] I need some help. And he answered and said, lady, it is not right. It's not fit. It's not good for me to take my children's bread and give it to the dogs. He's sharing the gospel, the good news with the Jews.

[18:34] You might circle the word dog here because there's like two ways of looking at dogs. Jews call Gentiles dogs, but they kind of use the word like scoundrel, like a cur, like a mongrel, like somebody, like a dog off the street.

[18:48] Jesus changed that word dog and use the word that meant my pet, the dog that runs around in the house. It's your little chihuahua or your big old Rottweiler. It's the one that comes to the table and eats at your hand.

[19:00] You're handing it a piece of meat. That's the word he used. He said, what do you want me to do? Take the food I give my kids and give it to the pet? Jesus is obviously teaching her.

[19:11] He's causing her to, you see, faith is stepping past all your resistance and saying, I've got nowhere else to go. I'm not asking a man to help me.

[19:23] I'm not asking a doctor to help me. I know you and you alone can help me. He has refused to help her, but it caused her to be persistent, to insist and to wait on God.

[19:39] See, true faith won't let God go. True faith won't let God go. No, I'm not leaving God. I believe you're the God who hears prayer.

[19:52] I believe you're the God who answers prayer. And God, I need help. I need you to work in my life. The woman won't let go. Verse 27. He just told her, I can't take the bread that goes to my children and give it to the dogs, to my puppy dog over here.

[20:09] And she responds, yep, that's right, Lord. But even the puppies get to eat the crumbs that fall off the table. She humbly acknowledges who she is and what she is.

[20:23] I may be a Gentile dog. I may be a Canaanite woman. I may just be a woman. I may be bothering you. I realize that. I may not be worthy of your help. But I'm still asking.

[20:36] I don't deserve anything you're going to do. But I ain't going to stop asking. And Jesus is kind and merciful. And he cannot and will not turn away one that comes seeking him.

[20:48] It's amazing, isn't it? Of any reason, she's not one of the chosen people. She is a Gentile. She's a woman. She's a Canaanite. But he won't turn her away.

[21:01] She simply responds using Jesus' own comparison. All she wants is a crumb. Can't I have a crumb? She's not angry.

[21:11] She's not bitter. She's not complaining. She just needs help. And Jesus grants her request. Look at verse 28. Then Jesus answered and said to her, Woman, great is your faith.

[21:26] Be it unto you, even as thou wilt. Whatever you want, you can have it. What you're asking for, you can have it. And her daughter was healed right then. He gives her what she wants. He mentions her great faith.

[21:38] He has granted a petition to a Gentile woman. He has shown His great mercy and His grace. You see, He has a heart for everybody. I want you to listen real quick. I'm going to give you some lessons to sum up the story.

[21:50] But I want you to listen. You're here this morning. You're hurting. And I know about some of your pain and some of your hurt and some of your giving up. Learn a lesson from the woman here.

[22:02] She wouldn't quit asking God. She said, I'm staying here until you come through for me. Jesus told another story of a woman who bothered the judge until she got what she wanted.

[22:16] He said, just keep asking and keep asking and be persistent and don't quit. Luke chapter 18, verse 1. She said, don't quit. He says, don't quit. Keep going.

[22:27] So let me give you some lessons and applications that you can take home with you tonight if you would. Number one, God loves people. Period. That's a big lesson. God loves people.

[22:40] All of them. Everywhere. He's in Gentile territory. He's in Tyre and Sodom. He's crossed over the border. He's with the dogs. He's with the Gentiles. He's with the despised race of people.

[22:53] His own apostles probably don't want Him there. Peter really has a problem. Peter, it takes Peter years to figure out God loves people that aren't Jewish. And they're over there in that land.

[23:03] But Jesus is saying, watch this. I brought you all over here to see a story. I love people. A Gentile woman, a Canaanite woman, I love her. Faith excites Him.

[23:15] I wish you'd write that down. I wish you'd put a star beside the verse. How would you like to hear that said about you? Chapter 15, verse 28. Then Jesus answered and said to her, O woman, great is your faith.

[23:29] You would think Jesus is going to say, Go away, woman. I'm not helping you. I've already ignored you. I've given you every hint I could. Disciples throw her out. But He says, Man, you really believe.

[23:42] I really like your believing. I'm going to answer your prayer. Real faith excites our God. You would not go wrong to get on your face and ask God for help.

[23:53] Your marriage is in trouble. How much are you begging God to help? Your finances are in trouble. How much are you begging God to help? You've got big things in front of you. How much are you begging God to help? I remember arriving in Mexico, in Queretaro, and I had been told in high school I had no language ability.

[24:11] I'd been told in college I had no language ability. I arrived in Mexico, and within two weeks the lady said, You have no language ability. And I remember thinking to myself, I have no language ability. Because everybody's told me that all my life.

[24:24] And so one evening, Alberto drives me out to a town in his car. He's a Mexican. And I'm all alone with him. I'm actually scared. I was like, If he wants to hurt me, I don't even know how to defend myself.

[24:35] I better beat him up and hope no Mexicans jump in to help me. They took me out into this town. I couldn't talk, and he couldn't talk. And so we're riding along in the car. And finally through broken English and broken Spanish, he asked me, He said, What are you trying to do?

[24:48] I said, I've got to learn how to preach. And he said, So that's what you want? And I started crying. I was scared. I didn't know the language. If you know me at all, you've been here a few years, and I don't cry, but I was crying.

[25:00] Crocodile tears. I said, If I can't preach in Spanish, I'll quit. And he looked at me and said, I'll help. People laughed at me.

[25:11] He laughed at me. Everybody laughed at me. But you know what? You get along with God, and you beg enough. It's amazing how God comes through. Say amen. And by the end of it, I saw God do some really great things.

[25:22] Our God has a plan for the whole world. We should all be doing our part to fulfill His will, getting the gospel to the world. It's amazing. In the story here, you're in Matthew 15.

[25:32] By the time we get to Matthew 28, He's going to say, Go into the whole world of the gospel. But it wasn't an afterthought for Jesus. He knew it here, and He'd already taken them, and He's saying to them, I'm going to Tyre and Sodom.

[25:44] I'm going to do something. As a church, I challenge us to lift up our eyes beyond our borders, to see past our house, our family, our future, our comfort, to what Jesus would have us looking at.

[25:55] He wants the world to know what we know. If you want our church to be passionate, and excited, and motivated, that's why it's every verse, every nation. We're going to study His Bible, but how are you going to study His Bible without a hunger to let everybody study His Bible?

[26:11] He has a plan for the whole world. He has a plan for the whole world. How about this one? Here's a lesson. Love even your enemies. We're a missionary church.

[26:25] Don't let the news make you hate Muslims. Don't let the news make you hate Muslims. They are pawns in the hands of the devil.

[26:38] They are not your enemy. They need Jesus. The Bible says we wrestle not against flesh and blood. That means Muslims or anybody else. So it's not those Muslims.

[26:49] They need Jesus. And maybe when that woman came, maybe Peter and James and John were talking and said, She's a woman. It's a woman. Women don't talk to Jesus.

[27:01] No woman's going to get in here and talk to the Master. She's a Gentile woman. She's a Canaanite. But Jesus is going to help her before the story is over. Say amen. You're a church.

[27:13] Nobody's beyond His help. And we ought not ever let our hearts turn away from loving people, even our enemies. Don't let your pride hinder God from doing a work in you and blessing your life.

[27:29] There was a preacher named Reverend Ike when I was a kid. He's still on TV. I'm pretty sure on one of these weird, crazy channels. But he said, Don't get on your knees, because when you get on your knees, the devil will just kick you in the rear.

[27:42] But let me explain something to you. God's people humble themselves. People that don't know God lift themselves up and think they did it, and they're powerful, and it's them.

[27:54] But God's people say, I know I need God. It was said in our Sunday school class, John said it here just a second ago as he talked about your money, and God is God who's given you the ability to get that money.

[28:05] You worked hard, but it was God. It's always God. Humble yourself. Our pride is hindering God from doing big things in our lives. Believe God and don't quit no matter how you're treated or what happens.

[28:19] The beauty of the story is this. I would have quit, wouldn't you? I mean, you walk up to Jesus. He said, Hey, I need help. I'm here to get some help. And he just ignores you.

[28:30] And then the apostles, you can hear them talking, and they say, Hey, Lord, get rid of her. Let's get rid of her. Do something for her. Let her go. Whatever. Let's get rid of her. And then Jesus said, Well, I'm not here to work with them kind of people.

[28:44] And she says, Okay. And she just comes right in the room, gets on her knees, says, I've got to have help. Sorry. I know all this stuff y'all are saying, but I've got to have help. Well, I can't take the bread from the children and give it to the dogs.

[28:56] I know, but can I have a crumb? All I want is a crumb. Keep the bread for the kids. They're going to drop some crumbs. Can I have a crumb? That's a powerful lesson about praying. Where are you? How are you hurting?

[29:06] How much are you asking God? Believe God. Don't quit no matter how you're treated. Look for the answer by faith instead of finding excuses to accept the status quo.

[29:17] Some of us are beaten. Life has beat us up. We've just given up and we just accepted it the way it is. Not this woman.

[29:28] My kid's sick. And I ain't quit. You need to go to God and ask God and get His help. Quit making excuses. God is at work in your life.

[29:39] God is at work in your life. Fully expect God to show Himself in your life. Every story in the Bible about faith ends with this idea. I don't know how He's going to do it, but I know He's going to do it.

[29:52] I don't know when He's going to do it, but I know He's going to do it. I believe God. When David is going to fight Goliath, the whole nation of Israel is trembling.

[30:03] Saul is in his tent. His head and shoulders are taller than every other man. He's scared. Everybody's scared. David walks in and says, Hey, I don't think our God ought to have to put up with people talking about him like that. I think I ought to go out there and kill him.

[30:14] And the king's like, I don't know if you can do it. I don't believe you can handle it. And David said, Oh, I can handle it. God will help me. I think he probably had to be a little nervous. I don't know, but I bet he was a tad nervous.

[30:25] But the Bible says that when he got out there, he ran towards the battle line. The giants hollering at him and said, What are you going to do, boy? And David said, Well, you've got a lot of weapons, but I've got a big God.

[30:36] And he took off running towards the battle line. And a few minutes later, the head's cut off. Why don't you quit making excuses and start believing God and get a hold of him? He's going to meet your needs. Don't stop believing.

[30:46] Don't give up. Don't quit praying until God answers you. Real faith is lived out. And real faith won't be seen until you have nowhere else to go. Did you hear that?

[30:58] Real faith. Right now, you are where God could use you. You're right now where God could rescue you because you've gotten past what you can do, past what others can do for you.

[31:10] You are alone. And you're hurting. And your baby, your daughter, is vexed, horribly tormented, horribly tormented by devils, and no one can help but God.

[31:26] That's when God steps in. Where are you? What are you hurting about? What's going on in your life? I'm challenging you to say, I believe God. Believe him right now.

[31:37] Father in heaven, I love you. And I thank you for the chance to serve you. And I pray that your name would be honored and glorified and magnified. I pray you'd show yourself. God is a pastor.

[31:48] I love these people. And I think about them. And I pray for them. And I think about all that's going on in their lives all the time. And I know they're hurting. And they need you. And I'm asking you, dear God, to do a work this morning.

[32:02] I'm asking you to show your people how great you are. Lord, I don't want them to think I did a good job on the message. But I do want them to think you hear and answer prayer. And I want to ask you to help them pray.

[32:12] God, I want to ask you to show yourself powerful. And help your people to know how great you are. You are a prayer hearing, prayer answering God. And you do great things.

[32:24] And every one of us that are enjoying any amount of blessing is because of you. We give you praise. Thank you.

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