Look in the Word of God, February 25, 2024

It's time for the Champions in Christ broadcast with Rhonda Harrison on 1017

Bay FM.

Good morning and welcome to Champions in Christ. We are going to look in the word

of God today and explore some more about our awesome, loving, kind Savior, Jesus

Christ. And if you want to turn in your book, in your Bible, in Matthew chapter

Matthew 15 · chapter mention

15, and I'll be reading from the New Living Translation today, but I wanted to

just talk a little bit about the persistence. How important persistence is

when you're a Christian and being persistently faithful, being persistently

in faith and standing. You know, the Bible says when you've done all that you

know to do in the Word and in your action, stand, just stand. God is faithful.

God is faithful. He is not going to fail because God is love and the Word says

love never fails. And so praise to God. We're going to turn to Matthew 15 and

we're going to start in verse 21. The faith is about a faith of a Gentile

woman. Then Jesus left Galilee and went north region of Tyre and Sidon and a

Gentile woman who lived there came to him pleading. And she was saying, have mercy

on me, O Lord, son of David, for my daughter is possessed with a demon and

torments her severely. So this woman, she was a Gentile, so she was not a Jew, but

she knew enough about the Lord. She called him Lord, so she believed in him, but

she knew enough to go and find him that he may be able to help her daughter. But

Jesus gave her no reply, not even a word. He kind of ignored her actually. Then his

disciples urged him to send her away, tell her to go away, they said. She's

bothering us with all her begging. You know, the disciples, you know, they were

growing in their faith. And at this point, they didn't have a lot of compassion for

people who were not like them. You know, they were Jewish and she's a Gentile.

And so, you know, we have similar things here in America too. Most of it is with

race. You know, some people treat their own race better than another race. But

this has, we have to have God's heart. You know, when you cut our

arm, we all bleed red. We all have blood in us, right? We were all created by the

same Heavenly Father. It doesn't matter the color on the outside. And this wasn't

pertaining to her color per se as to where she was from. And so, Jesus gave her

no reply, not even a word, then his disciples urged him to send her away,

tell her to go away, they said. She's bothering us with all her begging. Then

Jesus said to the woman, I was sent only to help God's lost sheep, the people of

Israel. But then she came and worshiped him and pleaded again and saying, Lord,

please help me. You know, she bowed down and she began to worship him. The Lord

loves worship. He loves worship. We were created in part to worship him. So, Jesus

then did respond to her and he said, it's not right to take food from the

children and throw it to the dogs. That was a common term back then for the

Gentiles. And she replied, that's true, Lord, but even the dogs are allowed to eat

the scraps that fall beneath their master's table. She was so humbled before

the Lord. She knew he was what her daughter needed. She knew. And then what

did Jesus do? He couldn't help. He had compassion, which is what we're to do.

We're to do with others. Dear woman, he said to her, your faith is great. Your

request is granted. And her daughter was instantly healed. You know, there's only

two times he told someone their faith was great. And this was one of them. And it

was when it was against all odds. I mean, you know, she took a big risk coming to

him, knowing she may be rejected, knowing he came for the Jew first and then the

Gentile. But through her persistence, through her persistent pleading and

humbling of herself, knowing, knowing what God could do, she kept on and his

heart couldn't help but be moved with compassion. That's who he is. He is such

a compassionate God. He is such a compassionate God. We'll read on Jesus

returned to the Sea of Galilee and climbed on a hill and sat down and a large

crowd brought to him people who were lame and blind and crippled. Those who

couldn't speak and many others. And he laid them before and they laid them

before Jesus and he healed them all. You know, his mercy and compassion extends

to you today extends to me today. Why? Because the word says his mercies are

new every morning. His mercies are new every morning and they his mercy

endures forever. That's a long time. We can't even fathom how long forever is.

But he healed everyone. That's that's amazing. That's our God. It says the

crowd was amazed and those who hadn't been able to speak were talking. The

crippled were made well. The lame were walking. The blind could see and they

praised the God of Israel. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. What has God done for you

today? What has he done in the past? Have you given him praise for it recently?

Have you reminded him of his goodness? He loves you so much. He wants to do so

much more for you than you could imagine. He has greater plans for you than you

could ever think of yourself. Whatever great thing you want to do, whatever dream

it is you want, God wants you to have that dream. He wants to bless you. He has

great plans for you. But we're going to go ahead and keep looking at this

persistency. Let's go to Luke chapter 18. We're going to start in verse one. It says

Luke 18 · chapter mention

one day Jesus told his disciples a story to show them that they should always

pray and never give up. Never give up. Giving up is for people with no hope.

And we are not a people with no hope. And we'll go on and read and it says there

was a judge in a certain city. He said, who neither feared God nor cared about

people. A widow of that city came to him repeatedly. Did you hear that? Repeatedly

came to this judge and said, give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.

And the judge ignored her for a while. But finally the judge said to himself, I

don't fear God and I don't care about people, but this woman is driving me

crazy. I'm going to see that she gets her justice because she's wearing me out

with her constant request. She was on him like fly on fly, baby. She really was

wearing him out with her request. And that's the way God wants us to be. He

wants us to be persistent in faith, strong in faith, standing when you've done

all stand. Keep thanking him for that answered prayer because the Bible says

if we believe and we speak, therefore we'll see. So you have to believe it. You

have to believe that you've received it and you will have it. And you do that by

thanking him in advance for it. You do that by acting as if it's already done.

Hallelujah. That's what faith is. Faith without works is dead, the Bible says in

James. We have to have a working action with our faith. So if you are believing

God for something, you can't think of an action to do for it. Ask him. He'll tell

you, he'll put it on your heart. He'll put it on your heart, but it's the

persistence, the persistence of it that God is pleased with. He loves when we

trust him so much. We know he's going to do it that we keep coming. Keep coming,

keep coming, keep coming. You know, it says in Hebrews and 1035 and 36, it says,

so don't throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward

it brings you. Patience, endurance is what you need now. Patient endurance so

that you will continue to do God's will. Then you will receive all that he has

promised, all that he has promised. You know, he has promised for over 2000

years ago. He promised even before that. I mean, Isaiah prophesied 700 years

before Christ came about Christ and we are still waiting for the return of

Christ. Hallelujah. Now he came once and he died and he was resurrected for us

that we could have that right relationship with him, that we could be

washed away of our sin. Our sin is no more covered, but it's washed away by

the blood of the lamb. Hallelujah. The mercy seat of God cries out for us.

Glory to God. And when your sin is washed away, the Bible says he throws it into

the sea of forgetfulness. That means we may remember it, but he never does. He

wants us to continue on, to continue on. Now back, we're going to go in the Old

Testament for a moment and we're going to look in the book of Lamentations.

Lamentations was written by the prophet Jeremiah. Jeremiah was known as the

weeping prophet because he wept for the people of Israel. He had compassion,

even though they sinned. He loved his nation. He loved his people and he would

weep and cry out to God and he would say all kinds of, he would tell God just how

it was and how he was feeling. And I want to read some of that because then he

brings it around. So let's start off in Lamentations 3 and we're going to

read that. He said, I am one who has seen the afflictions that come from the rod

of the Lord's anger. He's led me into darkness, shutting out all the light.

He's turned his hand against me again and again all day long. He's made my skin

and flesh grow old. He's broken my bones. He's besieged and surrounded me with

anguish and distress. He buried me in a dark place. He has walled me in and I

cannot escape. He bound me in heavy change and though I cry out and shout,

he has shut out my prayers. He has blocked my way with a high stone wall and

has made my road crooked. He is hidden like a bear in a lion wanting to attack

me. I mean he's getting very descriptive with how his heart is feeling, right? And

if you drop down, he says he shot his arrows deep in my heart. My own people

laugh at me all day long. They've seen their mocking songs. He's feeling me with

bitterness and given me over to a bitter cup of sorrow. He's made me chew on

gravel and rolled me up in dust. Peace has been stripped away and I have

forgotten what prosperity is. And he said, I cry out. My splendor is gone.

Everything I hope for in the Lord is lost. Boy, he sounds like he's having a rough

day. But he's doing the right thing by running to the Lord and praying. He's

sharing from his heart. That's what God wants you and I to do. Come to him and

tell him how we feel. He understands. He understands the feeling of our

infirmities. You know, he goes on to say, I will never forget this awful time as I

grieve my loss. But then he comes back in verse 22 and he says, the faithful love

of the Lord never ends. His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness and his

mercies begin afresh every morning. He had watched Jerusalem be destroyed,

which was prophesied because of their sin and how much they rebelled against the

Lord. But then he just cried out for them and he cried out for himself and he

began to recite how great God is. Great is his faithfulness. His mercies begin

afresh every morning. That's right, people. His mercy endures forever and it's

new every morning. If you messed up yesterday and cried out for mercy, you

can cry out again today. You'll have fresh mercy. It says, I say to myself, the

Lord is my inheritance. Therefore I will hope in him. The Lord is good to those

who depend on him, who search for him. So it is good to wait quietly for the

salvation of the Lord. It's good for the people to submit at a young age. You know,

as we cry out to him, this is Old Testament and thank God for Jesus came

and died and rose again because now we have a new covenant made on better

promises is what the word says. But I wanted you to hear from someone in the

Old Testament. You know, they went through a lot of things too. We think we go

through things. You know, if you've never read the Fox's book of martyrs, it will

quickly humble anyone who reads it because of what people have gone through.

You know, there were people as we read last week in the in Hebrews 11, how

there were people who were cut in half and eaten by lions because they stood

for their faith. They believed God. They died in faith and that's okay. That's

where you if you have to die that way, die in faith, believing God, knowing that

death is just a doorway into eternity into eternity where we can spend forever

in the love of God, the peace of God, total health. I mean, heaven is a

wonderful place with streets of gold and the river of life and life everywhere

because that is who God is. He is supernatural and he will put his super

on your natural today. If you need a touch from heaven, he will touch you. He

will heal you. He will redeem you. He will set you free. He is a good, good,

good God and all he wants is you to cry out to him and to have faith. You know,

that woman, she had faith, both of them, you know, the woman that went to the

unjust judge and that unjust judge was unjust. She didn't have any reason to

have faith in, but she didn't care. She was going to be persistent. And then the

other woman who had wanted her daughter so desperately to be delivered, so

desperately to be delivered, he wanted his daughter to be delivered. So he knew

who to go to the only true and faithful God, the only true and faithful God. You

know, in Galatians six, nine, it says, let us not become weary and well-doing for

in due season, we will reap our reward if we faint not. That's right. Be

persistent in doing good. Be persistent in visiting people in prison. Be

persistent in helping widows and, and elderly with what they need. Be persistent

in giving to the poor. Be persistent in sowing into the kingdom of God that the

word of God can go forth, that people can receive what they need in their time of

need. You know, what is it you need today? God is ready, willing and able to give

unto you that which you cry out for. You know, first Thessalonians five, 16 says,

rejoice always. How can we rejoice always when we go through tough times? Because

God is always good and he has overcome the world. He says, be of good cheer. That

first Thessalonians five, 16 says, rejoice always. And again, I say rejoice, pray

without ceasing. It says, give thanks in all circumstance. You know, we don't

thank God for bad things that do happen, but we thank God in those

circumstances because he's faithful. And if he took you in it, he'll bring you out.

If you, if you find yourself in a bad situation right now, maybe you've had a

bankruptcy, maybe you've had someone close to you pass away. Maybe there was a

tragedy. Maybe someone you found out hadn't been sexually abused. Maybe you've

been sexually abused. Well, God can set you free. He can heal your broken heart.

He can restore you and redeem you. You know, I don't know if you know a woman

named Joyce Myers. She's been a minister, a faithful minister for many, many years.

If you've never heard of her, look her up. She had been sexually abused for years

and God redeemed her, set her free, restored her. Many years later, she had

been sexually abused by her dad. And many years later, the Lord saved her dad. He

humbled himself and repented and he ended up going to heaven, doing a terrible

act like that. You think who would ever allow someone like that in heaven? Well,

the Bible says we are all, none of us are without sin. We are all doomed to hell

without Jesus. We have all sinned and come short of the glory of God. We all

have to reach out. We all have to remember without him. We are nothing.

Maybe you've been raised in a wonderful home and you went to church all your

life, but I have to ask you, do you have a real relationship with him? Do you know

him as your savior? Not did you go to church? Church won't get you to heaven.

Not did you just give to the poor? That won't get you to heaven. Those are all

things we need to do to help us in our Christian walk, but we have to know him

in a personal relationship. He loves you and I so very much, so very much. You

can trust him. You can trust him with everything in your life. He wants to hear

from you today. He wants you to know how much he loves you. He will come and wrap

himself around you right now and you'll be able to say, it is well. It is well

with my soul. That's what you'll be able to say because he's faithful. He's faithful.

We love him today. We love him today. We love him so much. What a blessing he is.

What a blessing he is. You know, the Bible says in Galatians 2 20, my I have been

crucified with Christ. It's no longer I live, but Christ that lives in me. And so

I live in this earthly body trusting in the Son of God who loved me and gave his

life for me. Christ gave his life for you so that you can come to the knowledge

of him and he can give you peace beyond understanding and you can say it is well

with my soul. Listen to this song and press in and worship him and I'll come

back at you on the other side.

And through it all, through it all my eyes are on you. And through it all, through it

all my eyes are on you. And it is well with me.

It's far beyond for me to not believe even when my eyes can't see. And this mountain

that's in front of me will be thrown into the midst of the sea. And through it all, through

it all my eyes are on you. And through it all, through it all it is well. And through

it all, through it all my eyes are on you. And it is well, it is well. So let go my

soul and trust in him. The waves and wind still know his name. So let go my soul and

trust in him. The waves and wind still know his name. So let go my soul and trust in

him. The waves and wind still know his name. The waves and wind still know his name. And

it is well with my soul. It is well with my soul. It is well with my soul. It is well

with my soul. It is well with my soul. So get out of it as well. Oh it is well with

my soul. It is well with my soul. It is well with my soul. It is well with my soul. It

is well with my soul. It is well with my soul. So get out of it as well. It is well with

my soul. It is well with my soul. It is well with my soul. It is well with my soul.

And through it all, through it all my eyes are on you. And through it all, through it

all my eyes are on you. And it is well with me. Yes and amen. It is well. It is well

with my soul. Is it well with your soul today? Is it well with your soul? Have you cried

out unto him? Have you reached out? Do you feel his presence right there in the car with

you? Right there in your home, wherever you're listening, the presence of God, he loves you

so much and he wants you to come and receive his free gift. His free gift. If you believe

in your heart that Jesus died and rose again and you confess with your mouth that Jesus

is Lord, you will be born again. That's right. You will be born again. So say this prayer

with me, Lord Jesus, I believe you died and rose again. Forgive me of my sin and I receive

you now as my savior. Hallelujah in Jesus name. Thank you, Lord. Thank you for my salvation.

Call me with your Holy spirit right now in Jesus name. I thank you. If you prayed that

prayer today and you received Jesus, we'd like to send you a new Bible. That's right.

A new Bible to start your new walk with him. You've just become a new creation. You can

connect with us at champions in Christ three at gmail.com. That's champions in Christ three

at gmail.com. I want you to go out and make it a great day in Jesus because God loves

you. We love you and you are a champion in Christ.

Thank you.