Odd Methods of God (Part A)

The daughter's spiritual condition was severe. That is, parallel account events tell us that it was a severe condition that will help any unclean spirit is severe. While there are degrees in this one seems to be a higher degree of satanic activity Satan and sin respect. Nothing. And that is what makes them enemies of God, enemies of God's people. This is cross reference radio with our pastor and teacher Rick Gaston. Rick is the pastor of Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville. Pastor Rick is currently teaching through the book of Mark, please stay with us after today's message to hear more information about cross reference radio, specifically how you can get a free copy of this teaching, and now here's Pastor Rick with a brand-new study called aphids of God in Mark chapter 7 we are in the gospel according to Mark chapter 7 Bibles turned their may the Holy Spirit fill this place may we all just receive what he has for us. May he give us a robust blessing. All that would be one verses 24 to 37.

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 or a woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit heard about him, and she came and fell at his feet. The woman was a Greek spiral Phoenician by birth and she kept asking him to cast the demon out of her daughter Jesus said to her little let the little children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs she answered and said to him. Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children's crumbs. Then he said to her for this saying go your way. The demon has gone out from your daughter when she had come to her house, she found the demon gone out and her daughter lying on the bed again departing from the region of Tyre and Sidon. He came through the midst of the region of the copper list to the Sea of Galilee. Then they brought to him one who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech, and they begged him to put his hand on him and he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers in his ears and he spat and touched his tongue, then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, if Roscoe that is be open immediately.

His ears were opened, and the impediment of his tongue was loosed, and he spoke plainly. Then he commanded them that they should tell no one but the more he commanded them the more widely they proclaimed and they were astonished beyond measure, saying he has done all things well. He makes both the deaf to hear and the mute to speak. It's not uncommon for God to work in a perplexing way. Even a very, very disappointing way cording to our personal standards had a friend years ago all of his theology was probably built into this one statement. He didn't have much else, but he did have this he told me that his mom told him he was an older man. At this point in life. He said his mom told him that God works slowly and mysteriously. Well, you don't take long. That is true. God does take his time too often for us, but he is right all the time and he make sure he gets this into the Scripture so that we begin to learn this lesson and begin to learn what it is to learn through God's odd methods. As I mentioned perplexing on the smaller side disappointing on the larger side but in these methods there are unseen benefits. There are unseen initially but in time.

If we remain faithful, we may find a harvest of information from just waiting for the Lord being a bystander to the Lord's work is quite important, very significant. In fact, as we go to this section, we have to remember the apostles are bystanders through all that is going on is ministering to the to them. Peter never forgot it.

So he tells it to Mark and Mark communicates in such a way that opposes right into the moment.

It makes us not only interested in what's going on. Then what allows us to related to our own lives to better serve the Lord.

So let's take a runner versus of God telling his people that his methods are often awed and perplexing and disappointing, but they are his methods and and we are to submit to these things going and he is not only sovereign but he is love. Well, the first is one that most of us are very familiar with Deuteronomy 2929.

Secret things belong to Yahweh our God with those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law. Psalm 25 verse two it is the glory of God to conceal a matter the glory of kings is to search out the matter.

Ecclesiastes 3 is made everything beautiful in its time.

Also, he has put eternity in their hearts except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end. So what was what were getting as God is saying yeah I want going to do things you don't get hang in there telling you in advance.

I know what you're going through Romans 828 another familiar verse.

We know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose who knows that those who belong to the Lord because those who do not belong to the Lord.

Do not receive that they scoffed at such revelations from the throne of God and then one more very popular one that we don't want to lose sight of. As we go through life and we get slammed by things we just scratch our heads were just breaks our heart.

Isaiah 58 verse eight a pause before read it, remember this prophet Isaiah administered for a long time and he saw a lot of things in his life, good and bad miraculous and not so miraculous and yet he still standing and still being God's prophet and he says to us, God speaking through him. My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor or your ways my ways, says Yahweh. We accept that by faith that's going to count. Maybe we don't see it now, but it will count and this morning we have to odd methods before us with Christ ministering to the needs of people that a client came in contact with him and submitted to him. Verse 24 now. From there he arose and went to the region of Tyre and Saigon and he entered a house and wanted no one to know it but he could not be hidden well.

These two cities Tyre and Sidon are cities with an illustrious though pagan past, these were two of the ancient riches even oldest amongst the oldest cities in the ancient world famed for their arts. There work in a pottery and glass and of course Tyre was one of the leading cities and the commerce of of the world in her day. Ezekiel had much to say. In fact, many of the prophets had much to say about Tyre but Ezekiel's is probably one of the most outstanding prophecies fulfilled in detail in phases and if you are a student of the Bible, you have to come to learn that many of the prophecies given to us in the old and New Testament alike are fulfilled in phases do not always build instantly and this is one of them.

So Ezekiel I don't want to take the time to read all of Ezekiel 26 verses three through five, where of the prophet is saying you going to be judged. Tyre and is you going to be leveled to smooth as a rock. And then there going to be fishermen that after your ruins of been piled up, they'll stretch the nets out on those ruins and mend their nets and un-disentangle those nets well in the days of Ezekiel, Nebuchadnezzar the king siege to Tyre and he leveled mainland Tyre, but just 1/2 a mile offshore was the island Tyre and he could not get to it and it was fortress. It was a palace on the sea, and it continued to thrive for another 240 years of you live in Ezekiel's day, and you heard the prophet say Tyre is going to be leveled and fishermen are going to be mending their nets on the debris you say. The prophecy fell did not Alexander the great comes along and he takes much of the rubble and the ruin that Nebuchadnezzar left behind from mainland Tyre and he bills a causeway going out a half-mile to offshore tire in between that causeway and Alexander's Navy, and a bunch of other little things here and there, he conquers it, and he levels and into modern times fishermen mended their nets on the debris that were there. So there's an example of God giving a prophet clear vision of of of a fear of future events, but it being delayed and apparently being unfulfilled to at least several generations God even though his methods are odd.

They are true and the righteous know it.

And so what do we do when we are faced with odd methods of God, we suffer and we wait. We prove our faith. That way, hell has no defense against such opposition to his seeds of doubt we overcome by just resolving because we know there is another fact in the Bible to not depart from there is enough that's all I need.

I don't have to understand every jot and every total just enough and I can live off of that and thus mention not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. How do you do that if you don't understand it all. By faith, built on what you do understand so this he arose from the region of Tyre and Sidon. The cities with rich history which really we don't get much of why did he go up there. Will that comes now verse 25 for a woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit heard about him, and she came and fell at his feet. Well again he seems to have gone way out of his way to come up to Tyre and this is the only event that we miraculous event that we know that took place really try to get away from the crowd to get harassment word got around. He's here so she seeks seeks for him at some point this mother realized her daughter's spiritual condition was severe. Matthew in his parallel account of these events tell us that it was a severe condition if they will help any unclean spirit is severe.

While there are degrees in this one seems to be a higher degree of satanic activity Satan and sin respect. Nothing. And that is what makes them enemies of God, enemies of God's people are really you know when you think about it. Satan is not an enemy of God is our enemy and so he is, therefore, God's but in the in this sense, God has event. If God has any enemies, is because he's allowing them to be as enemy, they could just turn them off, snuff them out and ended right just like that so he uses Satan for his high purpose of populating eternity with those who believe in him, sight unseen, and that marks that's a great distinction between us and the Angels. The angel see God and they have free will.

Well at least they had. It is perfected now on that day was decided when the third of the angels rebelled and they were booted. Well, I digress.

Verse 26 is where we are tells us the woman was a Greek Sarah Phoenician by birth. Another which is really Gentile and the significance of the story and you know she's under the Syrian rule and she is from the cities of Tyre and Sidon Phoenician cities. She's Greek. She kept asking him and tells us here in verse 26 is persistent because her need is urgent. Matthew notes that she first addressed him as Lord, son of David. She's a Greek that's not for her. That's for the Jews. But then, as she continued to address them. She addressed him as Lord, and I think that what that brings out to us that she had. She she saw the clumsy. She knows he's going to help. She's heard about what he is done.

She knows this Messiah. This Jewish Messiah is her hope and that the great principle of life is not race. It is faith. She's got that much. She knows that he's healed all these people so to remind us of Rahab, Rahab, she figured it out with issues of conquering everybody they come in touch with and now they're here in Jericho I'm siding with them wide and everybody else figured out. Well, that's whether judgment is just, and upon them.

Why didn't the Pharisees figured out why couldn't they see is miracles and understand that he was everything he said he was. She did taking away their excuse so she starts off with Lord, son of David and then as she dialogued it's Lord it's Lord is this term that recognized his superior status in society is a return of respect. She's desperate. The tone is not casual. Mark makes a sound little casual. Matthew turns up the heat a little bit in his presentation of the story, but she is very desperate at this point and that's why she keeps asking him and it says here in verse 26 to cast the demon out of her daughter in the New Testament an unclean spirit of demon or demon possession to their use interchangeably that the same, we believe there are elements of the fallen angels. The third of the angels that Satan swayed to go with him. The Bible doesn't give us too much detail about them just enough on a need to know kind of basis of these evil spirits and they are spirits there disembodied until they enter someone they hate us all in the Bible teaches that, especially New Testament acts chapter 5, also a multitude gathered from the surrounding cities to Jerusalem, bringing sick people to those who were tormented by unclean spirits and they were healed. And that's what those unclean spirits to the torment us and these evil spiritual forces and influences are very real, and often they are difficult due, to discern, not all the time sometimes very easy because the flesh can do wicked things without any help from the devil, for example, in the flesh. A man can kill but in the flesh alone. A man will not cannibalize what he is killed that requires satanic activity and we've seen this at work in the world and we constantly point back to the second world war, the demonic activity and not only Nazi Germany but Imperial Japan. I mean the chopping off heads of of the Chinese and and then putting them in cages like trophies at demonic's not war is wickedness, unclean spirits. They take the flesh to more extreme low levels of irreverence directly aimed since Christ on his cross and his resurrection directly aimed at him now.

Those in the abortion business.

You can't tell me they don't have an unclean spirit. I mean the things how how can I don't care how oblivious they may be. This is more than just the carnal activity.

This is something that goes to another level. Child abuse of serial killers, others more noticeably unclean, spiritually, and some not so obvious. Paul says this to let us know the there are spiritual forces hard at work against us. First Corinthians 10. These is rather the things which Gentile sacrifice is sacrificed to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons because it's possible it is possible to be in cahoots with demons and not even know that the Christian has nothing to worry about this. The body is a temple houses the Holy Spirit raters. He was in you than he is in the world. We are not susceptible to this as long as we are in Christ we are protected by Christ with the world which Scots and therefore missed handles the subject entirely. It defies explanation. The spiritual war from a human standpoint.

God has to reveal these things to us. It defies explanation from science and psychology and philosophy and medicine they cannot handle this. This is a spiritual condition. You cannot take an x-ray of someone who is who has an unclean spirit seen on the x-ray. That is, look at him that the horns and everything.

Not true. It is spirit. It is unseen is invisible in human power cannot defeated some in the book of acts we are told tried to take on a man who was demon possessed. Acts chapter 19 and so they try to throw them out they. They call him to come out in someone else's name. So the risk the demon responds through the man. The evil spirit answered and said Jesus I know Paul I know but who you and continues then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpower them, and prevailed against them so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. Well, I don't remember in ministry, I know, and in life.

I have seen people who were demon possessed, but in ministry have not confronted but I have said to myself if I do, and they get up in my face. I'm going to not call it teeth out.

I mean I'm not put up with will. Maybe you got a different approach, but I'm going in with guns anyway. The fallen angels that likely these characters come from. They followed Satan in their rebellion against God Almighty.

After having seen him on the throne lived in heaven will we call heaven and their condition is your revocable. They are unredeemable. Satan the antichrist, the beast, the unclean spirit of the fallen angels appalling all those characters are doing. They are not going to get say there's a lake of fire for them and their in Matthew 2541.

God even tells us it was prepared for them. But the loss will go there to and their number one deception is about a relationship, a right relationship with God through Jesus Christ. First Timothy four now the spirit that is the Holy Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons out of these demons teach their doctrine through people. So we come away from such a verse or section of this inscription, we say a car that is a reminder of God that we are in spiritual war and human beings as we read in chapter 5. One human being can house more demons than 2000 pigs.

God is saying this is serious and I am not giving you the spirit of fear of power and of love sound mind and a good right hook. If if if you know the girls less you maybe used pepper spray is something I don't know anyway they need humans to post Matthew chapter 12. This speaks of a demon that is cast out of someone. Then he says I returned to my house.

That is person that hosted him from which I came. And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept input in order so that you have a man that was demon possessed. Then he is dispossessed and he is sort of in his right mind is organizing his thinking, but he is empty. There is no Lord there to protect him, so he is refill seven times worse because that particular demon bring seven more with him and you say listen, this is all sci-fi know it's not your actual in the Bible doesn't hide it from us. It tells us right now and if you don't believe it, then you have a lot of explaining to do about human behavior because there are things that humans can do better outside human thought somebody is manipulating the machine. Paul said it this way, we wrestle not against flesh and blood principalities power spiritual wickedness in high places and on the Scripture goes and revealing to us one. I think reason why we don't get a lot about them is because we would be in all the devil made me to it. And I gotta say no. Your sin made you do this one's on you. And even if the devil did you open yourself up to him.

So the warnings in Scripture for bidding God's people from tampering with witchcraft and astrology. Necromancy ill contacting the debt. Having a séance that's messing with Satan, and we are not to do this all the spiritual power with interested in contacting except the Holy Spirit. God the father, God the son God the Spirit that don't talk to angels. We don't talk.

The loved ones that have died and gone. We don't pray to Mary, we don't do that stuff is forbidden and it comes with a high consequence if you can, because it opens the door demonic activity move. Thanks for tuning in to cross reference radio for this study in the book of Mark cross reference radio is the teaching ministry of Pastor Rick Gaston of Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville in Virginia to learn more information about this ministry. Visit our website cross reference radio.com once you're there you'll find additional teachings from Pastor Rick. We encourage you to subscribe to our podcast. When you subscribe will be notified of each new edition of cross reference radio you could search for cross reference radio on your favorite podcast app that's all we have time for today, but we hope you'll join us next time. As Pastor Rick continues to teach through the book of Mark Rocky on cross reference radio