Show Some Faith

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday morning the 16th of August, 2020, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  This was an abbreviated service, also streamed live, due to constraints put in place from the COVID-19 pandemic.  Our YouTube streaming channel is:
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDIz4WuP8igQstkEOq1AMTg.  Look for the video of our recorded services on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

Last week I read the first 20 verses from the 15th chapter of the Apostle Matthew’s Gospel account, where Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for putting their traditions and man-made commandments ahead of God.  In that passage, He also left us with some things to think about, especially as regards how we should live as Christians.

This morning I’m going to pick up from where I left off, as Jesus gives us a little lesson on faith.  Please listen and follow along as I continue in chapter 15 of Matthew’s Gospel account, with verses 21 through 28, and I’ll be reading from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible this morning…

21 Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.”

23 But He answered her not a word.

And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, “Send her away, for she cries out after us.”

24 But He answered and said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

25 Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, help me!”

26 But He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.”

27 And she said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.”

28 Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

--Matthew 15:21-28 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Father God, You have given us this wonderful gift of faith, but it is up to us to choose how to use it.  We can exercise it and keep it strong, or we can let the trials of our times fill us with doubts and questions, eroding our faith.  Father, please help us to stay strong and vigilant in our faith.  Help us to place all our trust in You, rather than in our own knowledge or abilities.  Help us to show and share our faith with others.  And Father, please protect this family from all the effects of the coronavirus and all the troubles of the world around us.  Please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind in our love and worship, and healthy and safe through these trying times.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit and better understand the message You have for us for this day.  Show us how important our faith is to us, how a strong faith can lift our spirits even during the most trying times and the darkest of days.  Help us keep our faith ever strong through the storms of this life.  And please help us take guidance, strength, and encouragement from Your Holy Spirit within us.  This we pray under the blood and in the name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.


Let me quote a few people much more famous than I on matters of faith:

From St. Augustine:  "God does not expect us to submit our faith to Him without reason, but the very limits of our reason make faith a necessity."

New Testament scholar J. G. Machen said, "The more we know of God, the more unreservedly we will trust Him; the greater our progress in theology, the simpler and more childlike will be our faith."

One of the "founders" of the Reformed Church, John Calvin, shared this comforting thought:  "Faith is not a distant view but a warm embrace of Christ."

Thomas Carlyle wrote, "A man lives by believing something, not by debating and arguing about many things."

And finally, evangelist George Muller adds, "Faith does not operate in the realm of the possible.  There is no glory for God in that which is humanly possible.  Faith begins where man's power ends."


“Faith begins where man's power ends."  Mankind has come a long way in the last 2000 years in what we can do.  We’ve extended life with medical wonders.  Our scientific investigation of God’s creation has provided much benefit to all of humanity, and much grief as well.  We’ve walked on the moon, and destroyed whole cities.

Yet with all we can do now, we do not even come close to the power God can wield.  In fact, with all our advancements, there is still so little man can do.  And that is why we need God, that is why we constantly seek His help, that is why we must keep our faith vital and strong.


At the end of chapter 14 and into the first half of chapter 15 of Matthew’s Gospel account, Jesus is in Gennesaret, a town not far from Capernaum on the coast of the Sea of Galilee.  But then in verse 21, the start of our scripture reading this morning, we see that Jesus has gone from there to the region around the cities of Tyre and Sidon.

Two things are notable here.  The first is that this was not a short trip.  This region is along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, about 50 miles east of Galilee.  And remember that Jesus and His followers traveled mostly on foot.

But the point more pertinent to today’s message is that the area is in Syria, a Roman province in that day.  Both Tyre and Sidon were prosperous port cities and both were filled with pagan temples and shrines.  This was Gentile country, and the woman Matthew referred to as being “of Canaan” would have been a Gentile.  Which is why Jesus responded to her somewhat coldly, saying that He was sent only to save the lost sheep of Israel.

But this woman was not your usual pagan worshiper.  She cried out earnestly to Jesus, acknowledging Him as being from the house of David, from which the Jews knew the Messiah would come.  Matthew points out that she worshiped Jesus and called Him “Lord”, each time she spoke to Him, pleading with Him for mercy.  It was not for herself that she sought help, but for her daughter, who was severely demon-possessed.

Jesus seems to be testing the woman, prodding her.  His second response to her persistent pleas seems equally cold: “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.”  In this, Jesus is saying that His mission is to offer salvation and help to the children of Israel.  To do this for a pagan, who did not believe in the one true God, would be like taking the bread out of the children’s mouths and throwing it to the dogs.

But the woman shows that she knows who she is asking help of, that she recognizes and understands that Jesus is sent from God.  She responds that the bread need not be taken from the children, for the dogs will lick up the merest crumbs that fall from their master’s table.

Still she persisted, even though she had just effectively been called a dog.  Someone filled with pride would not have stood for such an insult, yet this humble woman simply stated that Jesus need not take anything away from the Jews.  She knew that she was not deserving of the blessing promised to Israel in scripture.  She is only asking for any overflow of His mercy and blessings on them that she might receive for her daughter.

Jesus saw how great her faith truly was, and granted her request, healing her daughter.


Matthew recorded another incident I’d like to mention, of Jesus healing someone based on faith.  Jesus had just healed the woman who had been bleeding for 12 years and raised a ruler’s daughter back to life.  Then He is approached by two blind men.

Listen to how Matthew described this in chapter 9 of his Gospel account, verse 27 through the first part of verse 30…

27 When Jesus departed from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out and saying, “Son of David, have mercy on us!”

28 And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him. And Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?”

They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.”

29 Then He touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith let it be to you.” 30 And their eyes were opened.

--Matthew 9:27-30a (NKJV)

What is different here?  Rather than saying something like, “Your faith has made you whole” or “by your faith you are healed”, like He often did, Jesus told these men that they would be healed according to their faith.  The amount and effectiveness of their healing would be measured by the strength of their faith!  No faith – no healing; great faith – great healing.  Obviously both had great faith, for both were healed and their eyes opened.


All this points to our need to show some faith.  We don’t want to let all the troubles and worries of this time lessen our trust in our heavenly Father.  God has given us the faith to believe that Jesus is His Son and our Lord.  And He rewards our holding on to that faith with adoption into His family and life eternal in paradise.  In his 31st Psalm, verses 23 and 24, King David tells us…

23 Oh, love the Lord, all you His saints!
For the Lord preserves the faithful,
And fully repays the proud person.
24 Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart,
All you who hope in the Lord.

--Psalm 31:23-24 (NKJV)

God preserves the faithful – He keeps us as His own.  And He fully repays the proud, doling out justice to those who would bring harm to the faithful.

So we should be of good courage and not fret and worry so much, for God will strengthen our hearts.  Let us put all our hope and trust in the Lord.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Master, our Savior, the one true Son of God.  Amen.


Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for our gift of faith.  Through this we may believe in Your Son Jesus and obey His voice, and be granted eternal life in heaven.  Thank You for loving us this much.  Help us, please Father, to exercise our faith and keep it strong.  Help us to trust in Your word and Your promises.  Help us to take courage in these troubling times, and not let them overwhelm us and fill us with doubts.  And Father, help us be more loving, more trusting, more merciful, and more kindhearted toward others in our daily walk.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You straight from our hearts, promising to repent of our sinful ways, seeking Your forgiveness and Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, so many times during Your ministry on earth, You granted healing to people because of their great faith.  And that healing was based on their faith, the measure of their faith.  Forgive us, Jesus, for those times when our faith is weak.  We seem under constant assault these days from Satan and his forces.  Help us, please, to be remain strong in our faith.  Give us Your strength and help us through these times of uncertainty.  And Lord Jesus, please heal the divisions between us, that creep in and separate us, even within Your church family.  Give us Your heart for loving others.  Help us to love one another as You love us, to see one another as You see us.  Help us remain faithful and obedient through these troubling times, concerned more with the needs of others than with our own wants and desires.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.