Eat Crumbs

This episode is about a woman who refused to give up.  She refused to give up in the face of massive opposition.  She didn't give up after facing insults and offenses.  She didn't give up when people were trying to hold her back and told her "no" many times.  In fact, she refused to give up until she got exactly what she wanted.  In this episode, we're going to talk about persistence because persistence is the key to our Christian walk, and it is the key to our success.

Transcript

This is a story about a woman who refused to give up, refused to give up in the face of massive opposition in the face of insults and offenses and the crowd, and people holding her back and telling her, no, no, no one, no after another. She refused to give up until she got exactly what she wanted. And in this podcast, this episode, we're going to talk about persistence because persistence is the key to our Christian walk, and it is key to our success. Hey friends, I'm Latoya McBean Pompy, a wife, entrepreneur, nonprofit founder, attorney, and a disciple of Jesus Christ. Join me for another episode of I Am Wonderful to explore biblical truths from God's word, to strengthen us in our Christian faith and help us uncover the wonders that God has poured into us. For others, we're going to go over to Matthew, and in Matthew, Jesus is in the field with his disciples and he's in the ministry and things are in full swing.

He is out there performing all these miracles. He has massive crowds following him. He's really popular by this point. Everyone wants to get close to him. Folks are seeking their miracles. And Jesus was laser focused on what his mission was, and his mission was to declare his lordship and go to the cross to finish his assignment at the cross, on the cross. And he was laser focused on that. And in the midst of being laser focused on his mission, he goes into a town and a Canaanite woman, okay? A Gentile woman, not even a woman from the tribe of the nation of Israel, but an outsider she is following. She knows, she hears about the miraculous things that he has been doing. And she said, you know what? I have a need. I have a great need, and I have got to get close to this man named Jesus or called Jesus so that I can get my breakthrough.

And so the story says in Matthew that she cried out to him. When she saw him, she cried out to him, have mercy on me. Oh Lord, son of David, my daughter is severely demon possessed. My daughter needs deliverance today. And the Bible says that Jesus ignored her. Okay? The Bible says he answered her not a word. He didn't say anything. It's as if she didn't even speak to him. Jesus was laser focused on his assignment. And as he carried on his business, his disciples came to him and urged him, saying, send her away for she cries out after us. She is annoying us. She is bothering us. She didn't get through to you directly. Now she's coming to us and we're irritated by this, and you've got to do something about this woman because we're sick and tired of her. Send her away. And then he answered and said, I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

Now, this is Jesus talking to this woman because his disciples urged him to do something about this annoyance. And he turns to her and tells her, listen, woman, I wasn't sent to you. Okay? Yeah, you will be grafted in one day. You're going to be in, you'll make it in, right? But now is not the time. I'm not focused on you. I was sent to the house of Israel. I was sent to deliver this message of the salvation to the Jews. Your time will come. There will be a servant of mine named Paul who will hear directly from me about his assignment to the Gentiles, and he will bring that gospel message or this gospel message to you one day. This is not the time for this. It is not your turn. Yet, how many of us have heard that during our journeys, right, over the course of our life, one closed door after another, someone telling us It is not your time yet.

No, this is not for you yet. No, I am not here for you. I cannot help you. You're not the target. You're not the one. You're not supposed to be part of this. How many of you have heard words like that? And this woman that day, she heard Jesus tell her, now I know it's hard for us to think about our Lord turning someone away, right? Because that just doesn't seem like him. But guys, you have to understand the historical context that we're in here in this scripture and the timing of what Jesus's mission was at the time. And he was laser focused on ensuring that the gospel was first heard to the house of Israel. Okay? Then the woman said, while she came back to him, she came to him and worship him, saying, Lord, help me. Help me. Help me forget. I don't really care that you came with a specific mission to a specific group of people.

Help me. I have a need today and I need you to help me. And he answered her guys, and he said, it is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs. Ouch. Ouch. Wow. Now, if that's not offensive, I don't know what is right. Many of us, if someone called us a dog or something similar to that, we would be throwing down, right? For some people, they would be throwing down, others would walk away, others would wash their hands of it and say, you know what? I don't need this. I don't need these insults. I didn't come here for this. I didn't come to this service for this. I didn't come to this job for this. I didn't come to you for this. I don't need this. Okay? That was really insulting. That's how many of us would take it, right?

But not this woman, because she was also laser focused on the fact that she had a need that needed to be met right now today. And so she let that bounced off her, and she said, yes, Lord. She still honored him. She honored him, guys, yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs, which fall from their master's table. She said, I will take whatever you're given today, even if it's crumbs, even if it's a little bit, I'm so desperate. I'm so in need. I need this breakthrough. I need this change. I will take whatever you're going to give me today because I know that you're all powerful. I know you can do anything. And even if it's a small thing, even if it's crumbs, I will take it. I need this so badly and you, I still see you as Lord. I don't like the response.

I don't like that you ignored me. I don't like that you even said that. I'm a dog, but I don't care. I need this and I need it now. And Jesus answered her and said to her, oh woman, great is your faith let it be to you as you desire. And her daughter was healed from that very hour. Jesus was stunned. Jesus was shocked. Jesus was amazed at her level of faith and persistence, and he granted her what she desired in that very hour. And friends, here's what I want us to think about as we look at our own self, our own journey, our own walk, and the desperation and hunger that we feel inside of us for that change or that breakthrough, whether it is healing, for some people, it's healing for others, it's a breakthrough with your finances. For some others, it's a breakthrough in a relationship.

Your marriage or your children, you need help with your children because they're going in a different direction and you're afraid of what they may become or what may happen to them, or whatever the case might be. Your business might be going down and you need a breakthrough in your business. You need an investor. You need sales, you need customers, you need clients. You're trying, but the bills are piling up, and what you're doing is just not working. And you need a breakthrough right now immediately because if you don't get it immediately, things will fall apart. It will all fall apart. And so now, if you're in this place of desperation, now is the time to dig deep into your faith like this woman did, this outsider, when she realized that she was with the one who has the answer and the one who has the power, she realized that this is the one.

This is how I could get my breakthrough. It is through Jesus. He is powerful. He can help me, he will hear me, and he will help me. And for her, Jesus turned her away at one point, and then he did what he really wanted to do. I think in his heart of hearts, he really wanted to help her, but he was on his assignment to the house of Israel, and she broke that assignment and she got what she wanted. Now, first key that I want you to take away from today's episode, is it really worth fighting for? What is that thing that is worth fighting for? Or you look at your problem and consider, is this really worth fighting for? And if so, don't give up. Why give up now? Why give up so soon? Look at it from a value standpoint. Place a value on it.

How valuable is this thing to you? How valuable is this breakthrough to you? How desperate are you really? Because if you really are at that point of desperation, you will not give up. So remember, it is worth fighting for. Number two, sometimes you have to push through the crowd. You have to push through great gatekeepers. You have to push through those gatekeepers to get exactly what you want. And then number three, ignore every offense along the way, and do not let it stop you from getting what you desire because you will be insulted. Things happen right as you're on your journey. You're trying to make it work. You're trying to grow your business. You're trying to grow that relationship. You're trying to discipline your children. You're trying to handle the ministry that you've been given and things happen, and you people will offend you. It's just human nature.

They will offend you. But the key is how are you responding to the offense? Are you allowing that offense to stop you and you refuse to go any further? Or are you taking that offense and allowing it? Well, not taking it, but are you allowing that offense to bounce off you, bounce off you as if it didn't even happen, because you're also laser focused on getting that breakthrough, getting that change so that you can be at peace in this situation. So guys, just keep in mind that whatever it is that you are really hungry and desperate for, you've got to consider whether it is really worth fighting for. You've then got to push through the crowd to get it, and you have to ignore every offense along the way, like this woman with Jesus so that she could get the help that she needed and the breakthrough she was seeking. In the name of Jesus, it is possible to get exactly what you desire.