309 - Seeking Jesus with Authenticity#
309 - Seeking Jesus with Authenticity
(JP Text Group - Organized by the Little Prince of Heaven)
Matthew 15:22-28
22 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.” 23 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.” 24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me!” 26 And he answered, “It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.” 27 She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table.” 28 Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.
Let us pray together:
Heavenly Father, thank You and praise You! It is You who has prepared such a wonderful time for us to worship and praise You, to receive Your words. Today, I come to seek You with my authentic self, knowing that no matter what I am like, You are willing to accept me. I come to seek You with my questions and worries; please help me to resolve the doubts in my heart through Your words, and grant me strength and faith through Your words. I am willing to look solely to You. Bless every brother and sister who seeks You. I pray in the name of Lord Jesus. Amen!
The topic of the sharing is: Seeking Jesus with Authenticity
In this world, many people wear a mask. For example, when interacting with others, I do not want you to know my shortcomings, nor do I want you to know my past failures and problems. In reality, everyone has issues; they just disguise them very well when communicating with others. Some people have many masks; this is how the world is.
But today, when you come to seek Jesus, you do not need to do that. Put down all your masks and seek Jesus with your authentic self. Why? He does not despise you. People may know your problems and may laugh at you or even speak of your issues in front of others. But rest assured! Jesus will never mock you.
He knows your problems, and when you tell Him about them, He will give you His comfort, so come to seek Him with your true self. You say you have a bad temper; that’s okay! Jesus has gentleness; you say you have illnesses; that’s okay, come to seek Jesus with your authentic self, He has healing; you say you are very anxious right now; He has rest. Come to seek Jesus with your true self.
The first point of sharing is to take off the disguise and face your true self.
The text mentions a Canaanite woman, and from this statement, we know she is not a Jew. Do you know what kind of people the Canaanites are? The Canaanites worship many idols, and the Israelites look down on these Gentiles. Yet this Canaanite woman came out from that place, crying, “Lord! Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” Is she seeking Jesus? Logically, Jesus should answer her, saying, “What do you want me to do for you?” It has been shared before that many people seek Jesus, and He asks them, “What do you want me to do for you?” Don’t we also hope for this answer?
But the problem is, why did Jesus not respond when this Canaanite woman came to seek Him? Perhaps this woman cried out many times, and the disciples could not stand it anymore, so they came to Him and said, “This woman is crying out after us. Send her away!” This proves she did not just cry out once; she kept shouting, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Let me ask you a question: Did this Canaanite woman sincerely seek Jesus? Yes. Did she have other thoughts? No. So why did Jesus ignore such a woman? Where is the problem? Is it because she is a Gentile that Jesus ignored her? If Jesus had ignored her from the beginning and sent her away, we would have no hope today because we are Gentiles.
Why did Jesus not respond when the woman cried out at first, but later said, “Your faith is great, be it done for you as you desire”? The answer lies in her words when she sought Jesus. We need to see the change in this woman. At first, she said, “Son of David, have mercy on me.” This is a title exclusive to the Jews; what kind of person has the right to call out like this? The Son of David.
Do you know that the Israelites have genealogies? When you read genealogies, especially in the Old Testament, who begot whom... don’t you find it tedious? A long list of genealogies, and even in the New Testament, many genealogies are there, tracing back to Adam, where you can find your roots.
Isn’t it particularly unappealing to read these? Why does the Bible write these? It proves that Jesus is a descendant of Adam, Jesus is a descendant of Abraham, Jesus is a descendant of David. Can we see this from the genealogy?
We also have genealogies in China. You should know that genealogies are not for you to memorize; as long as your name is in it, you should know you are legitimate, you are part of that family. Do you know what this means? You can inherit your ancestors' inheritance; you are qualified to receive your ancestors' legacy.
What if your name is not in it? Sorry, you have no qualification. What I mean is that when some people shout “Son of David,” it proves they must be Jews to have the right to shout like this; it is useless for Gentiles to shout because you are not in His genealogy; you are a Gentile. Why would you disguise yourself as a Jew? You are not a Jew; do you want to deceive Jesus? Are you Gentiles?
If you disguise yourself as a Jew and seek God like the Old Testament Jews, you are also a hypocrite. There is no need for that, brothers and sisters; seek Jesus with your authentic self, you must know what your true self is and face your true self openly.
Let’s look at Matthew 20:30-34
30 And behold, there were two blind men sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!” 31 The crowd rebuked them, telling them to be silent, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!” 32 And stopping, Jesus called them and said, “What do you want me to do for you?” 33 They said to him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” 34 And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him.
Now, do you notice that the content of what this Canaanite woman cried out is the same as that of the two blind men? But the process is completely different; one was ignored by Jesus, while the other was called over by Jesus after the disciples said, “Do not shout.” After they came over, Jesus gave them a promise, which is a promise for the Jews, “What do you want me to do for you?” Perhaps the Canaanite woman heard about this and disguised herself as a Jew, thinking, “Son of David” would work since even the blind men were healed.
Brothers and sisters, this is called imitation. If you do not know what God’s promises are and do not know what Jesus has done, you treat Jesus as another deity, which is useless because you do not know what you are shouting about. When the Jews shout “Son of David,” they know they are indeed Jews, and their ancestor is Abraham.
But when this Canaanite woman shouted, she was just mimicking what she heard from others; therefore, Jesus did not buy it. You need to seek Jesus according to your authentic self. In this regard, the Pharisees also confirmed to us that Jesus is the Son of David.
Matthew 22:41-42
41 Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, 42 saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said, “The son of David.”
Do you see? Regarding the Christ, these are special things among the Jews; Gentiles do not care about the Christ; they only need healing and God. In this sense, Jesus is indeed the Son of David and the Christ; His main purpose is to face the Jews.
Matthew 15:24, Jesus said, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
This is a very important part of Jesus’ ministry on earth; His main audience was the Jews. He does not not love Gentiles; the time has not yet come; He must start with the Jews. Here, I want to tell everyone: since we are not Jews by blood, do not use Jewish methods to seek God’s acceptance. Today, do you need to wear priestly robes and go to Jerusalem three times a year to worship God? There is no need to use that method to gain God’s acceptance; you are here, and God can accept you because you are a Gentile, so worship the Lord according to the Gentile way. Hallelujah!
Perhaps in the land of the Jews, they sing psalms, singing a verse with each step up the stairs, but we can sit here and sing; there is no need to go to Jerusalem three times a year to worship God to prove your piety; that is a special way for the Jews. If you learn from the Jews today, in the end, you will still gain nothing.
Previously, when people did not understand speaking in tongues, there was a joke:
Some people gave us an example, saying, “That is because the spiritual energy of our Chinese land is not enough; the Holy Spirit is not working strongly here; to receive tongues, you have to go to the source.”
I asked, “Where is the source?”
“Mark’s house.”
I said, “Do I need to spend thirty thousand yuan to run to Israel to Mark’s house to receive tongues?”
“Yes…”
Brothers and sisters, was that a place where Jews received tongues? Do we want to learn that method today? At that time, they went to the temple to worship God, but now the temple is gone; where do we go to worship God? The priests carried the Ark of the Covenant, and we have never seen the Ark.
That was the way Jews worshiped God; we do not need to learn their way to worship God. You need to come to Jesus with your authentic self. Come as you are, whether you are fat, thin, tall, short, beautiful, or ugly; none of these matter; Jesus loves them all. Amen! But if you imitate, problems will arise.
Let’s clarify a passage of scripture, Luke 8:15-18
15 As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience. 16 “No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. 17 For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light. 18 Take care then how you hear, for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away.”
Do you know how many people interpret this passage? “Do not love the world; if you love the world, God will take away the material things you currently have.” Is that how it is interpreted? According to the context, this passage is telling us: You should seek God, and God will lift you up; no one can hide; now you need to know what you have inside. Simply put, if you are a Gentile, do not pretend to be a Jew and use Jewish methods to please God; if you think you can have everything a Jew has, in reality, Jesus will ignore you.
“From the one who has not, even what he thinks he has will be taken away” means that you should not imitate others; just seek Him with your authentic self. What you have will be added to you; what does that mean? Do you believe in God’s promises? How much do you believe that God’s promises can be fulfilled in you? All of them, that’s right.
When you experience one of God’s promises, for example, if you have an illness and you lay hands on yourself and pray, declaring it, and the illness disappears, have you not already received a promise? God says, “I will add more to you, so that you can not only have for yourself but also pray for others and serve others.” Isn’t it true that you have more and more? But the one who has nothing, who imitates others and pretends to be pious, thinking they have a lot inside, actually has nothing; that is the problem. So do not come to seek Jesus with a mask; come to seek Him authentically. Amen!
The second point of sharing is to come to Jesus as your true self.
Let’s look at the change in the Canaanite woman. Let’s look at the scripture, Matthew 15:25, the woman came and knelt before Him, saying, “Lord, help me!”
What is missing? “Son of David, have mercy on me” is gone; only one phrase remains, “Lord, help me!” How should you pray? Do you need to shout, “Son of David, Creator of heaven and earth, Holy and glorious, the Most High God…”? Do you need to pray like that?
There is no need to complicate it; keep it simple, “Lord, help me!” Come with your authentic self, “Lord! This is who I am; I have an illness in my body; I am weak and troubled; Lord! Please help me.” This seeking heart, God will surely have compassion on you. Hallelujah!
Let’s see what kind of way we should worship God today. John 4:23-24
23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.
What matters is not how many masks you wear or how well you package yourself on the outside, “Lord! Look at how many things I have done for You today; see how beautiful my clothes are; Lord! I have also put on makeup…” These outward appearances are not the most important; what matters is what is inside; you must worship Him in spirit and truth. Amen!
The woman earlier omitted some things and sought Jesus with her authentic self, “Lord! Help me!” This is the heart of spirit and truth that Jesus values. Amen! So brothers and sisters, we do not need to imitate others to gain God’s acceptance.
If you hear of someone whom God loves, and they pray for ten hours a day, and you hear that, you say, “From today on, I am determined to pray for ten hours.” What is the purpose? To gain God’s acceptance; doesn’t that return to works?
Is praying for ten hours good? Yes, but if you are imitating someone else who prays for ten hours because you see their life is good, one day when you cannot reach ten hours, you will say, “I failed! I didn’t make it today, so God doesn’t like me.” You will immediately feel condemned. Seek Jesus with your authentic self; you only need to come to Jesus with your true self.
In the eyes of the Jews, are we not Gentiles? Compared to the Jews, whose behavior is better? Do not compete with the Jews in behavior; their behavior is truly impeccable. We often mention the Pharisees, saying they are hypocrites, but at least they have a hypocritical behavior; we do not even have that. In terms of behavior, we are not as good as they are; they pray three times a day, fast twice a week, and go to church every week. Regardless of what they think in their hearts when they go, they are there in action, while many of us do not measure up to them in this regard.
So you need to know that the focus is to seek Jesus, not to have people praise your behavior, but your heart. Your heart should sincerely seek Jesus, and your outward behavior will naturally change. Many people come before Jesus and bow down to worship Him; some feel they must do so, yet they do not know why they should worship Jesus. But if you truly take Jesus as your Lord, acknowledging Him as the King of kings and Lord of lords, who loves you so much, you will do it willingly.
In Revelation, it is recorded that there are twenty-four elders who see the Lamb on the throne and take off their crowns to bow down before the Lamb. Why is that? Because they truly know that everything they have is given by Jesus, including the glorious crown. When a person does not feel that this is given by God, perhaps they think they earned it themselves or are pretending, they will put on some things, and that is not natural; in fact, our Jesus knows everything.
I hope everyone comes to seek Jesus with pressure and burdens. I have been to some places where many churches set it up like this: before entering the main hall, there is a small hall with many mats to cleanse everyone’s hearts before they are qualified to worship God. Are these practices correct?
Let me give you an example. If you have worked all day and are very dirty, do you need to scrub all the dirt off before going in to take a shower? You go in to take a shower because you are dirty! If you clean yourself up, what is the point of taking a shower? This is a very simple principle; if we clean ourselves up there, what do we need to worship God for? Can we clean ourselves? No, if a sheep falls into a mud pit, can you tell it to “clean itself up”? It cannot; it can only look to its master. It cannot clean itself, but its master can; its cleanliness depends on the master, not on itself.
So no matter what problems you have, what condemnation is in your mind, you need to come before Jesus, and you can be cleansed. Just like after you take a shower, you do not need anyone to tell you, “You are clean”; you know you are clean after washing, so no matter what problems you have in your thoughts or life, come to seek Jesus with your problems; He can cleanse you; He has even cleansed your life!
Romans 5:6-10
6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.
I have highlighted a very important part of this passage. Let me ask a question: When did Jesus die for you, the sinner? When you were weak. Yet some teachings say: You are so weak; how can you worship God? You should be strong first before worshiping God. If you are strong, why worship God? Many people say, “I am strong; I can work with God’s strength now; I do not need to draw from Him anymore.”
When you are weak, don’t you need to look to God even more, to draw His strength? Exactly! It is precisely because you are sick that you go to find a doctor; when you are healthy, why would you look for a doctor? Isn’t that what the Bible says? Healthy people do not need a doctor.
So who should the weak seek? The weaker you are, the more you should come before Jesus; the more anxious you are, the more you should seek Jesus; the less you want to pray, the more you need to pray, so come to seek Jesus first. Amen! This is the answer to all your problems.
Christ died for sinners at the appointed time; does that include you? Jesus knows your weakness, and when you are weak, He died for you, so today, come to seek Jesus with your weakness; do not hide it; He knows everything.
Dying for a righteous person is rare. The righteous person here refers to someone who is very righteous and has done many good deeds, what we call a hero. Dying for a good person, what kind of person is that? A good person, generally speaking, refers to behavior. These two types of people have someone willing to die for them.
For example, if a good person has done many good deeds, but now his lungs have problems, and he announces to the world: Who is willing to match and donate a lung to him? Is there anyone willing? Yes, but the latter part, only Christ died for us while we were still sinners; is there anyone in this world? Who is willing to die for a person who is extremely sinful? Generally, we would say, “Let him die quickly.” We would rather such a person die quickly so the world can be clean.
But look at what Jesus does. You think he is unworthy, but Jesus says, “I have died for him.” So do not look down on your brothers and sisters; they may be weak and have many problems, but Jesus has died for their sins; Jesus has accepted them. They can come before God in this way, and Jesus still accepts them; God can change them and lift them up.
When Jesus does these things, we know this is God’s love manifested to us. So in the Bible, God’s love is never a noun; it is a verb. It is always followed by action. If Jesus only said, “I love you,” and then when it came time to go to the cross, He said, “You go,” that would not be true love. Jesus said it, and He did it. Amen!
Do you believe Jesus did this? Then come to seek Jesus with your authentic self. You say you have sinned now; come to seek Jesus with this problem; He can help you.
We are justified by His blood, brothers and sisters, how are you justified? By the blood of Jesus, does this mention your behavior? Is it that you must behave well to be called righteous? No, you are justified by the blood of Jesus.
So when did Jesus’ blood flow? When you were still a sinner, still weak, He had already shed blood for you. What I mean is that at your worst, Jesus can accept you; how much more now that you are a child of God? Isn’t it even better?
In that case, there is even less need to disguise yourself; take off all your disguises and come to seek Jesus with your authentic self; He is willing to accept you. This is like the prodigal son in Luke 15; when he returned, what was his state? Did he not have a pile of weak problems? If you were to smell him, would you smell a fragrant aroma? No, it would be the smell of pig slop; he returned covered in the smell of pig slop. Is there anything to boast about? No, his clothes were not noble; his shoes were probably long gone; he returned in rags, smelling bad; was that not his true self? Yes, but his father did not despise him.
You can imagine the scene at that time; when the son saw his father, he did not run over; instead, the father saw the son and ran to him, hugging him and kissing him repeatedly. What does that mean? He loves him very much and does not care that he smells like pig slop because the father loves him dearly. Amen!
He kissed him repeatedly; each of you should have this feeling when you enter the church, no matter what you experienced last week, no matter how many problems you have, when you come in here, you should see Jesus on the cross with His arms wide open, ready to embrace you. Moreover, now it is not Jesus on the cross; He has risen from the dead, and the resurrected Jesus comes to embrace you. Every time you seek Jesus, you should have this image; He is running to embrace you. Although you are unworthy and have many problems, He does not care; what He cares about is you; He has the confidence and ability to change everything about you.
Did changes happen afterward? The father commanded the servants to bring the best robe, shoes, and ring, and he was completely transformed. Amen! Thank the Lord! The focus is not on those things afterward; it is on the love of the Heavenly Father for you. So do not feel that every gathering is a burden; you should think that every time you seek Jesus, it is Jesus who is eager to embrace me, to give me strength, to restore my strength; come to seek Him with your authentic self. Amen!
Do not pretend to be the leader of a beggar gang when you clearly have nothing; there is no need for that. Your father does not care about your appearance as a leader because you are my son. Amen! Come here and put down the titles you carry; what you are is not important; remember one thing: you are a beloved child of God. Hallelujah! Just remember this; no matter how successful or how much you have failed, come to seek Him as the beloved child of God with your authentic self.
It also says that while we were enemies, there are many terms describing our identity and state; when we were still weak, when we were sinners, when we were enemies of God, He died for us. This love, you must remember forever in your heart. Since in the past you were so terrible, He did not abandon you; He was willing to embrace you; how much more now that you are already a beloved child of God? So you need to come to seek Jesus with your authentic self even more; the more authentic you are, the easier it is for Jesus to lift you up. The problem lies with the hypocrites; Jesus really finds it hard to change those hypocritical Pharisees.
It is not that Jesus does not love them; it is that they are unwilling to take off their masks. Therefore, for their salvation, Jesus mentioned in the Bible, “Woe to you, hypocritical Pharisees and scribes.” Jesus does this out of love, hoping to tear off their masks and let them face themselves authentically. Only when you face Jesus with your true self can He help us.
Otherwise, people always say, “I can do this,” and when interacting with others, once someone points out their weaknesses, they will say, “Who told you I am like this? I am not that kind of person.” Then there is no way to help. When we ask, “Is there anything you need me to pray for?” “Nothing; I am fine.” How can you help such a person? They do not need you, nor do they need Jesus, so they cannot receive help unless they are like the woman today, “Lord! Help me.”
At that moment, your heart is open to God; this is why so many people seek Jesus, and there is not one who does not receive. Conversely, Jesus goes to find those who need healing, and it is quite difficult.
I have shared before about the man who had been paralyzed by the Pool of Bethesda for many years. Jesus came to him and said, “Do you want to be healed?” What a great opportunity! Jesus comes to find you and asks, “Do you want to be healed?” How did that man respond? “Sir, you do not know; whenever I try to get into the pool, someone always gets in before me because I am paralyzed… I have been waiting for thirty-eight years; why is my life so hard?”
Does Jesus need to ask him all these things? He knows, so there is no need to tell Jesus all your problems one by one; just seek Jesus with your authentic self and say, “Lord! Help me.” It is that simple; we make faith too complicated. We study all kinds of theology, telling you to divide sermons into parts; the first cannot be too long, and the third cannot be too verbose; otherwise, it will be a problem at the end. Is it that complicated? It seems that this woman completely disregarded this; in the end, did she not become simpler? “Lord! Help me.”
The third point of sharing is to make Him your only salvation.
When this woman said, “Lord! Help me,” Jesus finally spoke. Matthew 15:26-28
26 He answered, “It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.” 27 But she said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table.” 28 Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.
Many people feel particularly uncomfortable reading this; if we omit the previous sentence, what a perfect dialogue this would be! Some say these two sentences should not appear in the Bible; Jesus should not say, “It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs,” and the woman should not say, “I am just a dog.” Does that mean we Gentiles become dogs?
Many people read this passage and wonder what it means. Jesus is biased toward the Jews, and we all become little dogs, looking up to Him, waiting for Him to give us something; if He does not give, then He does not give. Is that how it is? This is why many people say we must go to the land of the Jews to worship God because that place has more spiritual energy, as it is a land of idol defilement. Is that so? It seems not.
Let me clarify this passage for you. Jews refer to Gentiles who do not worship God as dogs. This is a passage in Matthew, and Matthew himself is a Jew, but he is also looked down upon by Jews because he is a tax collector. Does Jesus’ words here carry a contemptuous meaning toward Gentiles? If Jesus divided people into ranks, we would indeed have to bow down and humbly wag our tails to gain God’s acceptance. Remember! It will not be like that.
People may do that, but Jesus absolutely will not. If you understand Greek, you can check the original meaning of the word “dog” here; it does not refer to wild dogs, stray dogs, or fierce dogs; it is another word for “pet dog.” Speaking of which, in this era, we know that sometimes pet dogs are treated better than people; you see many animals that are treated better than humans! They receive careful care! Some say, “After all, it is still a dog.”
What I want to convey through this passage is that Matthew wants to tell us that the children should eat first, and then feed the pets in the household; both are loved by their master. Before the Canaanite woman was accepted, Jesus needed her to understand that there is a distinction between God’s people and Gentiles. In that special era, as a Gentile woman, she must know that she is different from the Jews, so there is no need to seek the Lord in the Jewish way. Amen!
Just be authentic; since Jesus said you are a pet dog, what can you do? Acknowledge it; isn’t that fine? Jesus does not mean to despise you; He likes you very much. Brothers and sisters, this is God’s will. The Lord Jesus is not despising the Canaanite woman; rather, He is showing us the order of importance in His ministry; He originally wanted the Jews to receive salvation first and then pass it on to the Gentiles through the Jews.
Let’s look at the order of the gospel, Acts 1:8, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Isn’t this statement directed at the Jews? How should they spread the gospel? If you read Acts, the disciples were all in Jerusalem at first. Why did they not come directly to China? God’s work is centered there; just follow the order of God’s work. Amen!
After Jerusalem, it is all of Judea, which is still the land of the Jews. Jerusalem is the capital of the Jews; it is their most important place. After spreading the gospel in the most important place, they began to spread the gospel throughout all of Judea. After finishing with the Jews, what about Samaria? In fact, it is half Jewish and half Gentile blood; has it now reached Samaria?
If you read Acts, you will find that it follows this route completely. After the gospel was spread throughout all of Judea, it mentions Philip going to Samaria to preach the gospel, and the whole city believed in the Lord. Did Jesus go to Samaria at first? Yes, He went there with His disciples, but the Samaritans did not accept Him, and then His disciples said, “Lord, should we command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?”
At that time, when Jesus went to Samaria to preach the gospel, the time had not yet come; the center of His work was not among the Gentiles or in Samaria. Later, when Philip went to preach the gospel, the Bible says that the whole city of Samaria believed, which proves that the harvest was ripe. Amen!
I have shared many times that you should not just go to one place to harvest; you must follow God’s will. Shearing sheep should be done evenly, and preaching the gospel is the same. Today, if you preach to this person and they believe, then preach to that person who does not believe; the time has not yet come. You cannot say they are children of hell; they are just maturing a bit later. One day, when you preach to them again, or someone else preaches to them, and they believe, it proves that the harvest is ripe. Before they are ripe, do not forcefully cook them. Amen!
So Jesus tells you to preach the gospel; it does not mean you will spend your whole life trying to save your father. “He does not believe; I will never preach to anyone else; I will make him believe in Jesus.” Do not do that; you will be hurt.
After Samaria, it goes to the Gentile lands. Now God’s work is here; God wants to pass the final baton back to Jerusalem through us, starting from Jerusalem, then to all Judea, Samaria, then to the Gentiles, making a circle, and back to Jerusalem, the gospel will have reached the ends of the earth; this is the route of God’s gospel.
Was Jesus’ work correct at the beginning? He told this Canaanite woman that now is not the time to serve Gentiles; He can only refer to you as second in importance, that is, little dogs. Does this prove that this woman has a chance to receive healing? Yes, but you must acknowledge: Yes! I know that the main place of Your work is not among Gentiles like me, but do not seal me off and deny me any opportunity; I know I have a chance.
This woman immediately understood Jesus’ meaning and said, “Yes, Lord, but the little dogs do not compete with the children for food; the children drop a little crumb from the table, and that is our blessing.” This woman knew that sooner or later, the gospel would reach the Gentiles, but now is not the time; however, her daughter cannot wait; what should she do? Do not take the bread from Your children; here, the bread refers to healing, right? In fact, in God’s eyes, a little healing is enough for you; what we fear is being immersed in healing but not believing; that is useless.
John 6:50-51
50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
Now do you know who you need to seek? Seek Jesus, and your healing, your problems, your finances, your family, and your work will undergo a comprehensive transformation. Because He is the true bread, we know that under the New Covenant, we do not need to compare ourselves to that little dog anymore; do not look down on yourself; Jesus does not look down on anyone. What we fear is that when we interpret the scriptures, we see ourselves as dogs. Although at that time, the Jews indeed looked down on Gentiles, at this moment, you should hold your head high and look at the Jews.
Acts 13:44-48
44 The next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. 45 But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul, reviling him. 46 And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. 47 For so the Lord has commanded us, saying,
‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’” 48 And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed.
In the past, Jews looked down on us in the flesh, calling us dogs; today we can hold our heads high and say, “It is only right that the gospel was first given to you, but you judged yourselves unworthy of eternal life, so this grace is now upon us.” Hallelujah! Even if you go to the land of the Jews, tell them: The grace of God was originally given to you; you did not want it, but now the grace of God is upon us, and God wants to use us to preach the gospel to you. Should we preach to them the Law of Moses? Preach what Jesus Christ accomplished on the cross; tell them that the Jesus you crucified is the Messiah, and all the transformations in my life are because of Jesus on the cross. Hallelujah! He has risen, and when they hear this, they will be shocked.
If you listen to my teachings on Romans, you will know that God wants to use the Gentiles to provoke them to say, “Ah! Why is it like this?” This is similar to raising children; is it difficult to feed one child? If there are ten children, it is not difficult at all; one is hard to raise, but a group is easy to raise.
You put something there, and all the other children rush to grab it; that thing may not be delicious, but it will be eaten up quickly. That one who is the hardest to raise knows that this is mine; there is no need to compete for anything. In the past, we had many children; there was no picky eating because there were so many children; as soon as the meal was ready, it would be snatched away.
God wants to use this method; if you do not want grace, do not want Jesus, then fine, I will let the work and achievements of Jesus be manifested among the Gentiles. You do not want it; you will see how the Gentiles receive this grace and how they manifest the glory of Jesus. One day, they may say, “Wow! Why is it like this? It was originally for me.” God says, “Well! You can have that thought; through them, I will send the gospel to you; accept it!” This is the last way; the gospel will one day be sent back to Jerusalem. Amen! But God will not tell them how to repent; He will tell them about Jesus Christ and what He did on the cross. Amen!
Finally, let’s look at a passage of scripture, Romans 10:11-13
11 For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. 13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
You must make Jesus your only object of reliance. Even when I preach to you today, it is Jesus speaking through me to you. If you receive it, believe it, receive it, and live it out, the power of the word will be manifested in you; there are no coincidences; the people and things you encounter must have God’s good intentions behind them, meant to elevate you, reward you, and let you witness and glorify His name.
Similarly, no matter what problems you encounter, come to Jesus with your authentic self, without covering up; do not hide, saying, “Lord! I praise You; I glorify You because You are…” There is no need to complicate it; “Lord! I have an illness in my body; please help me; I have many problems in my family; please help me.” Come to seek Jesus with your authentic self, make Him your only reliance, and you will not be disappointed because the Scripture says, everyone who believes in Him will not be put to shame.
There is nothing Jesus cannot solve; your family problems, work problems, interpersonal relationship problems, Jesus can solve them. You need to focus your gaze on Jesus and draw strength and faith from Him; then turn back, and your problems will be solved. Isn’t it simple? God will give you wisdom and strength and will also grant you His grace, just like the woman in today’s text. When she said, “Lord! But even the little dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table,” Jesus said, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” Her daughter was healed immediately. You have this faith, and that is enough. Amen!
In the simplest way today, it is to rely on Jesus. Do not place your focus on people; just rely on Jesus, “Jesus, I know You are my only reliance; I can only rely on You; I have no other methods.” Many people still cannot fully rely on Jesus because they still have a fallback and can think of some methods. One day, when there are no methods left, and Jesus is their only hope, miracles will happen effortlessly because this word will be fulfilled: everyone who believes in Him will not be put to shame.
Verse 12 says that there is no distinction between Jew and Greek;
The Greek here refers to Gentiles. Today I want to tell you that there is no distinction between Jews and us. Why? Because we believe in the same Lord, who also bestows His riches on all who call on Him, including you. Amen!
Let us pray together:
Heavenly Father, we thank and praise You! Thank You for helping us through such words. We are willing to seek You with our authentic selves. You love us; when we were sinners, when we were weak, You accepted us and died for our sins. I believe that no matter what I am like, coming before You will change because of You. When I believe correctly, I will live correctly. Thank You, Jesus, for loving me so much. As I continually draw near to You, I will become more glorious because Your glory will cover me and help me rise from problems, weaknesses, and failures. As this new week begins, I am willing to rely on the strength You give me and live according to Your words.
Please help me, and I believe that when I rely on You in all things, You will surely grant me wisdom and power because You are such a loving Lord. Thank and praise You! All glory be to You. In the name of Lord Jesus, I pray. Amen!