My life, my dominion

1. What kind of attention does God dislike?
2. what kind of attention does God seek?
3. How can we give him that attention

Today we look at matthew chpt 15 where jesus outwardly rebukes the pharisees for their hypocricy (the first time we see such a direct outburst) and subsequently commends a Canaanite woman. (the significance being that she is a gentile)

Attention that God Disdains
- He disliked the attention of the pharisees
-The pharisees were the blind guides of their people, paying only lip service to God while their hearts were directed at the following of the rules. I.e. they were hypocrites. They were very focussed on the outward appearance of being faithful to God by obeying all the laws of man and making sure that everyone followed it that they directed the attention of the masses away from the worhsip of God to the worship of ways.
- The focus of our worhsip is not on what we do but wher our heart is.
-The heart is the soil for God's word. Many of us have hard felt feeling to God's word, we are like rocky soil where the word fails to take root in us. And when the seeds of God's word fails to take root in us then they will be snatched away from us by satan.
- The heart is what meaures out the tressures of our lives. The pharisees on the other hand measured out their treasures not with their hearts but with their standards of rules. This is not to say that we should not check ourselves to see where we stand with GOd, but it should be a matter of our heart treasuring God's word rather than how many times we pray a day etc.
- The heart must value God's kingdom and be willing to sacrifice all for it.
-Obedience was what was taught by the pharisees but Love which is preached by Jesus automatically leads to obedience of God.
Ultimately Stay in touch with God's love.

Attention that God Desires

-the Canaanite woman had no rights even in the presence of Jesus (a jew) and even He turned her down at first
-However he would soon commend her for her faith
 She was interceding not for herself but her daughter
 God loves the underdogs who plead for others
 This shows that they have a heart for others
In the whole of matthew, Jesus only commends two people for their faith, the centurion and this woman. What is most remarkable is that they are both gentile. Why?
-They both made./had time for others.
NO doubt that the Centurion was a busy man, but he still went on his own to intercede with Jesus for his servant. The woman although turned away once still persisted to ask Jesus for mercy, even asking for just a little as she makes a referral to dogs eating the scraps off their masters table.
-If one is too busy for others, likewise, God will be too busy for you.

God wants us to put him as a priority and not just as a sideline. Your time is ultimately His time.