NOTE: Isabella and I are leaving early tomorrow morning on a trip to celebrate our anniversary. I will not send out Today’s Word tomorrow or Friday. I will post a REPLAY video to go out LIVE each day at 7am EST, but no email will go out. You can watch the video on YouTube (https://youtube.com/rickpina) or Facebook (https://facebook.com/ripministries).
This morning, we continue our series, “The Miracles of Jesus.”
Before we get into the miracle, let’s look at the foundational scripture I will share with you all year.
(Psalm 126:4 TPT)
Now, Lord, do it again! Restore us to our former glory! May streams of your refreshing flow over us until our dry hearts are drenched again.
This is a season of refreshing and restoring for us. I pray you get refreshed and restored as we study each miracle.
Read Matthew 15:21-28
For the past couple of days, we have been looking at the story of the Syro–Phoenician woman and her daughter. This woman is amazing to me. In essence, her faith interrupted Jesus’ plans, leading Him to do something He would not have done otherwise. Allow me to explain.
When you read the Bible, you should attempt to understand who is writing, to whom, and for what purpose to understand the context. In addition to context, culture plays a significant role in understanding scripture. Jesus was a Jew. He was born a Jew, and He spent most of his life ministering to Jews. This is not to say that Jesus did not come for all people, but we must understand the cultural setting of the time. When Jesus ministered to the Roman Centurion’s servant, it was not the norm. When this Syro–Phoenician woman came begging for a breakthrough, the disciples did not think twice before asking Jesus to send her away. When Jesus was compelled to go through Samaria to minister to the woman at the well, even the woman was surprised. She questioned why Jesus (a Jew) would ask her (a Samaritan) for some water because Jews had no dealing with Samaritans. So the cultural and social climate of the time was obviously divided, much like it still is today.
Here’s my point: Jesus was not called to be a social activist. He did not come to address a racial or cultural divide. He came to get us out of the mess Adam got us into. Adam left us a legacy of sin and death. Jesus came to establish a legacy of righteousness and life. Jesus paid the penalty for Adam’s transgression, and through Christ Jesus all men can be saved and receive eternal life. Did Jesus love all people? Absolutely! Did Jesus want all people to be saved? No question. But the primary focus of His ministry was not centered on racial or cultural divisions. The ministry to the Gentiles did not truly ramp up until halfway through the book of Acts when Paul started his ministry.
Understanding the context of Jesus’ assignment and the culture of the day, makes what the Syro–Phoenician woman did even more impressive. Everything God does for us is done by His grace, but we must access the grace of God with our faith. The Syro–Phoenician woman by no means earned her daughter’s deliverance; it was clearly done by the grace of God. But without question, this woman released her faith to access God’s grace. Without her exceptional level of faith, which Jesus called “great faith,” the grace would not have been extended to her and her daughter in this situation. So in a time when Jesus was going around ministering primarily to Jews, by the grace of God, this woman tapped into that grace with her exceptional faith. And when Jesus said something that could have easily been taken as insulting, this woman had the internal strength to resist the urge to get offended, so she could remain in faith and receive her breakthrough. We can learn a great deal from this woman.
So what does this mean to you today? A few things:
1. Do you have the faith that can believe God for an uncommon blessing?
Since Jesus was assigned to minister to the Jews, as He was led by the Holy Spirit to go from town to town, it’
clear that He focused on Jews. As He encountered Jews on a daily basis, Jesus was open to the Holy Spirit to see which people He was supposed to minister to. Just because someone was sick did not mean that Jesus was supposed to do something about it. Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit in all things.
Whenever someone approached Jesus about any given problem, He checked his heart first to make sure it was something the Father wanted Him involved in. In the case of the Syro–Phoenician woman, since she was not a Jew, Jesus’ initial reaction was slightly different from His norm. Jesus initially ignored the woman, even though she called Him the “Son of David.” And even after she made her request known, Jesus basically told the woman that He was not assigned to her or her people. That’s how disciplined Jesus was with His assignment. But like the Roman centurion, when this woman exhibited a level of exceptional faith, Jesus searched His heart to see what the Father wanted to do. And just like the case with the Roman centurion, the Father gave him the “green light.”
When Jesus healed the Roman centurion’s servant from his sickness, He did so without having to go to his house because the Roman officer was willing to take Jesus at his word. Jesus said the man had “great faith!” This was an uncommon blessing. This was a break from the norm. This was not the normal way Jesus was ministering to people. This man had exceptional faith, so he got an uncommon blessing.
In the case of the Syro–Phoenician woman, she also had exceptional faith. She did not have a sick servant; she had a demon-possessed daughter. But she believed that Jesus did not have to go to her house (like Jairus did). She did not require Jesus to lay hands on her daughter. She didn’t need Jesus to go anywhere. She just wanted to hear Jesus say that her daughter was delivered. Jesus did. Because of her exceptional faith, Jesus had to check his heart to see if the father was okay with releasing the blessing over his daughter. The Father said, “YES!” So Jesus spoke deliverance. And once again, this woman got an uncommon blessing.
In both cases, these people were not supposed to get the blessing. These were people who were not raised in the church. These were people who were not part of the community that Jesus was expected to minister to. These were people who no one expected to even be around Jesus. But they got their blessing and their breakthrough because they had faith.
My question for you is, do you have the faith to receive even when it’s a type of blessing that you’re not supposed to get?
— Do you have the faith to believe God, even when it’s a type of blessing that no one expects you to walk in?
— What will you do when God calls you to run a business, but no one in your family has ever had a business?
— What will you do when God calls you into a career field that no one in your family has ever been in?
— What will you do when God calls you to do something that is so UNCOMMON with your people (family, community, etc.) that you have no point of reference?
— The Roman officer was not supposed to go ask Jesus for anything. But He did! The Syro–Phoenician woman was not even supposed to be around Jesus, but she went! Do you have the faith to believe God for the UNCOMMON?
— UNCOMMON blessings only come to people with UNCOMMON faith!
2. To walk with God, you must understand the relationship between His grace and our faith.
— Everything God does for you is done by His amazing grace. You can never earn, nor should you ever work to attempt to deserve, anything God does for you. Grace is a gift. You can’t work for a gift. All you can do is receive it!
— God’s grace is based solely on His goodness, not your works. Paul said, “It it’s by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.” (Romans 11:6).
— God does not bless you because you are so good. He blesses you because He is so good.
— Your faith is the conduit through which you access God’s grace. Without your faith, you will miss out on God’s grace. This is why it is so very important for you not to get “in your feelings.” You can’t afford to get offended because once you are offended, you will focus more on your feelings than your faith, and God will require you to address your feelings before He honors your faith.
— Great faith can shift things around in the spirit realm for you. When you operate in great faith, God will bypass social norms and human limits to get you your breakthrough.
— Enter every day knowing that one Word from God can turn any seemingly hopeless situation around in an instant!
Declaration of Faith:
Father, this is a season of refreshing and restoring for me!
I learn from the Syro–Phoenician woman. I seek to operate with similar determination and faith.
When faced with a challenge I cannot overcome, I know You can. There is nothing You cannot do.
I have the faith to believe You for the UNCOMMON. My heart is OPEN to whatever You want to do in my life, even if no one in my bloodline or community has ever done it. I am willing to attempt the UNCOMMON and to do so with UNWAVERING FAITH!
I remove every artificial limit I have ever placed on You, my LIMITLESS God, and I am open to ALL You have destined me to BE and DO!
I keep my faith switch in the “ON” position daily, and I never allow anything or anyone to cause me to get outside of LOVE because faith works by LOVE.
Living this way, I know GREATER IS COMING FOR ME! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
