Turn to Matthew 15:21. “Then Jesus went out from there (Capernaum) and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon.” Verse 22: “And behold a woman of Canaan came from that region.” Deuteronomy tells us that God had instructed Israel to wipe out all the Canaanites, but they didn’t do it.

“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!’” Here is a pagan Canaanite recognizing that Jesus was the Son of David. “My daughter is severely demon-possessed.”

Verse 23: “But He answered her not a word.” You would have left right then. People are offended and leave if no one shakes their hand. “But He answered her not a word, and His disciples came and urged Him saying, ‘Send her away, for she cries out after us.’”

Verse 24: “But He answered and said, ‘I was not sent except to the lost sheep (the Jews) of the house of Israel.’” Verse 25: “Then she came and worshipped Him saying, ‘Lord, help me!’” Verse 26: “But He answered and said, ‘It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.’” I guarantee you would be gone now!

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

Now look at Mark 7:24. We look at the same story, but we see a few more details. “From there He arose and went to the region of Tyre and Sidon, and He entered a house and wanted no one to know it, but He could not be hidden.” Verse 25: “For a woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit heard about Jesus, and she came and fell at His feet.”

Verse 26: “The woman was a Greek, a Syro-Phoenician by birth, and she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter.” Verse 27: “But Jesus said to her, ‘Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.’” What He was saying was, “As soon as the children (the Jews) are fed, I will get to you.” Is anyone glad He came to the Gentiles? I am!

Verse 28: “And she answered and said to Jesus, ‘Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children’s crumbs.’” Verse 29: “Then He said to her, ‘For this saying.’” How many know that your words are powerful? What you say can give life or death. “Then He said to her, ‘For this saying go your way, the demon has gone out of your daughter.’” Verse 30: “And when she had come to her house, she found the demon gone out and her daughter lying on the bed.”

This was a strange and unusual happening in our Master’s ministry. The Master was searching for privacy. I don’t know if you know this or not, but everybody needs a time of rest. When Jesus was in Capernaum, people were constantly coming to Him. Then He leaves for Tyre and Sidon 40 miles away to find some rest. He was hoping when He got there no one knew who He was, and He would be able to rest; but Mark 7:24 says, “but He could not be hidden.”

If all you have is religion and a certificate where you joined a particular church, then what you have doesn’t mean much. But if you have really met Jesus, if you have really been saved, if He really lives inside of you by the power of the Holy Ghost and the blood, it cannot be hidden. Someone is going to recognize that He is in you. AMEN? Someone is going to see Jesus in you.

If Jesus Christ is in this church, somebody is going to get saved. If Jesus is in the house, somebody is going to get healed, delivered, and set free. Where Jesus Christ is, He cannot be hidden!

Now we have a mother’s problem. Matthew 15:22 tells us that this mother’s daughter is severely demon-possessed, and I’m certain we have people here today that don’t believe in demons. It’s amazing that you have an enemy (Satan), and he has convinced you that he doesn’t even exist.

I believe the devil can only be in one place at one time, but demons are everywhere. Demons are fallen angels. I believe demons are disembodied spirits looking for somewhere to inhabit, and for this young lady to be demon-possessed, she had to have opened up her life to demonic powers. She lives in a pagan, an idol-worshipping community. She lives in a place where the true and living God is not worshipped. Today, you could even call it “America!”

Shame on our country, our government, and our elected officials who would not take a stand to encourage Americans to pray. I don’t know what it is going to take to get America back to her knees. I don’t know how many floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, or oil leaks it is going to take. We keep thinking our government is going to get us out of everything, but I’m here to tell you only JESUS can turn it around, and He is coming soon!

I don’t know if you are rapture-ready, but Jesus is coming soon! If you’re not rapture-ready, you had better get rapture-ready, because He is taking His church out of here!

This is my personal opinion. I believe the antichrist is on the planet right now. He may not know he is the antichrist, but I believe he is being positioned. I’m not into naming who I think it is, but this girl had to have opened her life up. I believe that anything you do that lowers your ability to choose is opening yourself up to demons.

Alcohol or drugs can cause you to get to a place where you don’t make the right decisions. Stay away from fortune-tellers, palm-readers, horoscopes. You would be shocked to know how many people in this room right now have been to palm-readers and fortune-tellers.

When the church is without a prophet, when there is no prophet among us, the church begins to go to the prophets of the world who know nothing. Demons can only tell you what is going on right now or can bring up your past. They have no idea about tomorrow, but God whispers His secrets to His prophets, and God knows the future. He knows my beginning, He knows my end, and He knows everything in between.

This mother comes to Jesus and openly shares her situation. People want to go on and on about their problems. If you have a problem, confess it to Jesus, plead the blood over it, then stop doing it! Jesus took the curse and paid the price on the cross. It’s just that simple.

If a demon is involved, locate the demon, bind the demon, and relocate the demon. Read the Bible! “These signs shall follow them that believe, in Jesus’ name they shall cast out demons.” This woman openly shared her situation. She pin-pointed her problem. Her dilemma was serious. There was an all-out demonic attack on her family.

I don’t know if you know this or not, but the devil hates, despises anything Jesus does. When you’re trying to go for God, the devil is going to fight you, but the devil cannot cross the bloodline. If you’re not going for God, you’re in deep trouble, because you have no protection. When you don’t know Christ, you are completely without any protection. If you’re going for God, the devil cannot cross the bloodline. I believe that with all my heart. Make fun of it all you want, but I’m here to tell you that there is power in the blood of Jesus!

This mother knew her daughter was under demonic attack. She knew where the problem was, and this mother developed a priority. She was going to get to Jesus! Mark 7:25 says this woman “heard about Jesus,” and she responded to what she heard. When you really hear about Jesus, you have to respond to what you hear. She heard about Jesus, and she had to come into this house where He was located.

You can go to a lot of churches today and never hear His name, but I’m here to tell you that it’s all about Jesus! If I go to a church and don’t hear about Jesus, I’m not staying there. I want to hear somebody talk about Jesus, because He is the way, the truth, and the life!

He is also the ONLY way to the Father, and His name is the name above every name in Heaven, on the earth, and under the earth, and at that name every knee will bow and every tongue will confess. When you hear about Jesus, you have to respond to what you hear. So, this mother’s desperation drove her to the feet of Jesus. Mark 7:25 says, “and she came and fell at His feet (and worshipped Him).”

Worship comes from the heart. Blessed is the person who knows where to go with their problems. Why would you ever want to go to somebody and pour your guts out? They can’t help you! It’s amazing the people who share their problems with people who can’t help them. You’re wasting your breath!

I believe there is coming a day when the power of God is going to be manifested so greatly through His church. In Psalm 1:5, the Bible says, “The unrighteous cannot stand in the congregation of the righteous.” Desperation drives you to Jesus!

Let’s look at this mother’s prayer in Matthew 15:22. She cried out. She shouted out, “Have mercy on me!” What she was saying was, Lord, if you help my daughter, you’re helping me. She called Him “Lord, Son of David.” Here is a Canaanite who recognized whom Jesus was, but look at what happens in Verse 23.

When she prayed this prayer, when she cried out, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David,” she was passed over and ignored. Verse 23 says, “But He answered her not a word.” She is crying out, shouting out, but Jesus ignores her. The key here is delay is not denial.

Not only is blessed is the man or the woman who knows where to go when they have a problem, but blessed is the man or the woman who hangs in there when God is silent. How many of you have prayed and God was silent? Jesus does not answer her, but delay was not denial. Jesus literally passed over and ignored this woman.

The silent time is a tough time. The time when God is silent is a difficult time. Not only has Jesus ignored her, but His disciples began to protest her presence. The New Living Translation of Matthew 15:23 says, “Then His disciples urged Him to send her away. ‘Tell her go to away,’ they said. ‘She is bothering us with all her begging.’”

Sometimes the people who persecute us the most are not out in the world. They’re in the church. They will stay on your case, and they never have a good word to say. Jesus’ disciples wanted to get rid of this woman because “she is bothering us.” This woman hears what the disciples are saying, because she is at Jesus’ feet. Jesus isn’t saying a word, but these disciples want her out of there. She is put down, and she is turned down.

In Verse 24, Jesus tells her that He was only there for the house of Israel, the Jews. She is a Canaanite, a worshipper of pagan gods. Her religion is pagan, her race is non-Jew, and she came from a cursed people. Jesus tells her He is only there for the lost sheep of the house of Israel, but in Verse 25 she cries out again, “Lord, help me!” It’s as though she is oblivious to what is going on.

I found out something in life. You have to stay focused. If you lose your focus, if the devil can sabotage your destiny, you will lose your purpose. You will lose sight of God’s will, but this mother is a desperate woman and she does not lose her focus.

She was an outsider, and Jesus replies to her with these words. “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.” Jesus calls her a dog, a left-out, looked-over dog, and she agreed with Him. She knew her state. She agreed with what Jesus said, but she says something. “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.”

Here is her revelation. She realized that all the ingredients that make up the bread that is on the table are also in one crumb under the table. Everything in the bread is in the crumbs. That means if salvation is in the bread, salvation is in the crumbs. If healing is in the bread, healing is in the crumbs.

If deliverance is in the bread, deliverance is in the crumbs, and Jesus is the bread of life! Everything that is on the table is also under the table, and she said, “Just a scrap will do me, because everything that is in the bread will be in the scrap.” It may not be the same amount, but how much do you need? Just one drop of Jesus’ blood is all you need.

After all that happened to her, this mother was persistent. She was relentless. She wouldn’t give up, and she wouldn’t quit. She swallowed her pride and pressed on. If you keep seeking, you will find. If you keep knocking, that door will be opened. If you keep asking, you are going to receive. Jeremiah 29:13 says, “And you will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.”

Then this mother made a proclamation. She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” Jesus was overwhelmed with her response, and the Master made this pronouncement to her in Matthew 15:28. “O woman, great is your faith!” Without faith, you cannot please God.

Her faith is now rewarded. In Mark 7:29 Jesus tells her, “The demon has gone out of your daughter.” Her daughter was delivered. Her daughter was not there, so this mother had to believe this by faith. She goes to her house walking by faith, and when she gets to her house, the demon was gone.

She got what she came for. What did YOU come for? Nothing? You got it! If you came for nothing, when you go home you won’t be disappointed, because you will leave with nothing. In Matthew 15:28, Jesus said to her, “Let it be [done] to you as you desire.”

What do you want? What do you desire? What are you after? Be it unto you today as you desire.