Matthew 15:21- 28
21 And Jesus went away from there and withdrew
to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 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.
Impossible—“Send her away! Impossible for a gentile
dog to be included!” the disciples spit out. “She’s a Canaanite, our age-old
enemy!”
But God… But God sent his Son into the gentile
regions of Tyre and Sidon. His very presence there spelled hope for all
nations. “I was sent to the lost sheep of Israel,” he says, reaffirming God’s
plan of redemption to choose one nation, Israel, and then to bless all nations
through them. Yet, here in his answer he shows himself to be the true Israel,
the true channel of blessing—he heals. How great is his mercy and riches! That
even the crumbs from the table are so great and powerful that they bring life
in a death-impossible-situation! Impossible for the Gentiles to be included—but
yes! The dividing wall of hostility was broken down by Christ and blessings
flowed to all (Eph. 2:14; Gal. 3:14).
But God…. But God sent his Son to change the
hearts of these disciples. To them, she was a mere dog, an annoyance. Only
Christ saw a woman, truly saw her heart and desire. Perhaps this event was to
test her faith; perhaps this event was to prepare the disciples’ hearts. For
shortly after, Jesus would feed the 4,000, yet another miracle showing the
inclusion of the Gentiles (Mat.15:32-39). And later, these same disciples would be
sent out with the gospel to Judea, Samaria, the ends of the earth, and to the
Gentiles (Acts 1:8; Acts 10). Impossible for these hard-hearted to reach
out to those they considered enemies—but yes!
In Christ, all nations can be blessed.
Missionaries and his church today serve as his channel in which to make known
this great mystery (Eph. 3:6). To those who represent enemies and
Canaanites, the outsiders and Gentiles, the looked-down upon and dogs, missionaries
go with the impossible love of Christ saying that even they can have the love
of the Father and the blessings in Christ! Like Christ, they go to the “gentile”
regions. Like Christ, they show compassion for those the world casts out. It is
not easy; in the world’s eyes it is foolish and impossible. There are just some
who can’t be saved, who aren’t fit, who don’t measure up. Yet, it is exactly
those who are included, the poor in spirit, for Christ has died for the sins of
the whole world—grace! (1 Jn. 2:2).
Your Mission
·
Pray that
our missionaries have open doors to bring the gospel to the least and the
downtrodden. Pray that they have the love and courage to do so.
·
Pray that
these least will have the eyes of their hearts opened, that they realize what
is impossible in their own eyes—to be included and welcomed and loved
unconditionally—is possible in their Savior Christ!
·
Are there
people or groups that you see as excluded? Do we give up hope that some will be
saved? AIDS victims? Drunkards? ISIS? Boko Haram? A politician? A celebrity?
Mission Impossible
Made Possible—Field Notes
Mike & Sarah Harwood, GVSU and Ferris
Athletes InterVarsity (AIV) began at the end of 2014/2015
school year with only 3 months left before the summer. Ten students, who had
been involved last year, began with us. We prayed as we began that God would
place in each of our paths other students we could invite to join in our
vision. Over the course of the past 6 weeks God answered out prayers in ways we
could not even imagine. We were able to connect with 2 local pastors who had
started ministries directed toward athletes who were ecstatic to have us
provide training for students to lead Bible studies on their teams. During a
campus wide student organization fair we were able to walk around to every
sports team on campus and personally invite them to join in our vision. God has
allowed students on the Lacrosse, Basketball, and Soccer teams to start Bible
studies. A regional advisor from AIV was able to come out to visit Grand Valley
and share the vision of AIV, and from that we are meeting with athletes from
the track, dance, and cross country teams to begin the process of planting a
Bible study on those teams as well. With the explosion of interest in AIV at
Grand Valley the need for students to step up and take on leadership rolls is
essential, and God has continued to be faithful in providing students that are
willing to step up in those rolls for the sake of the Gospel!
Currently we have connected with 38 student athletes at
Grand Valley since the beginning of the semester. God is moving in the athletic
department and we are so excited to be a part of it. We currently have started
a Bible study on the 3 teams with the addition of a weekly meeting for student
athletes who are interested in starting one on their teams in the near future.
The vision AIV is twofold. One piece of the ministry is to provide a place of
training and encouragement for students to gain vision for reaching their team
with God’s love, the other part are the actual studies we desire to see on each
sports teams. With so much demand on the time of each student athlete between
practice, games, workouts, school and a social life, the need to be strategic
in what we invite athletes to is great. Time is the main factor in this
ministry, and we desire to help student athletes see that their time with God
is the greatest investment in their future they can make in college and the
rest of their life.
Prayer:
Wisdom in continuing to figure out the structure of the
ministry and how to be most strategic with the time we have with student
athletes.
Vision to see how to best pour into students’ lives and help
them figure out how to love their team with the goal of introducing them to
Jesus.
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