And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” (Matthew 15:22)

The woman came to Jesus with a desperate plea for her daughter. She was tormented by a demon, and no one could help her. She was outside the covenant God made with Israel, but she approached the Lord of heaven and earth. He told her the bread was for the children, meaning the blessings of the covenant belonged to Israel. She accepted the statement without offense, but refused to leave without her miracle. Even the dogs, she said, eat the crumbs that fall from the table. Her faith did not demand the whole loaf. A crumb was enough. She believed that even what fell incidentally from the Lord’s power would drive the demon from her daughter, and she received her request.

This bread was not meant for her, but she received from it all the same. She was refused to her face by the Son of God, but she would not turn back. She was treated as an intrusion by the disciples, but she overcame their dismissal. She had no written covenant as Israel did, no prophet sent to her people, and no priest representing her nation before God. But she recognized the truth about him and trusted that his power and mercy were available to her. She saw in Jesus what others around him failed to see, and she acted on it.

Now look at the church today. We are in the covenant. The gospel is declared to us without restriction. Every promise of God is ours in Christ. We have the word of God in writing, the Spirit within believers, and preachers who claim to speak for God. But multitudes insist that miracles no longer belong to us, that the power of God is a thing of history. They say the works of Christ were only for the apostles or the prophets before them. This is a disgrace. We have been told “yes” in every way, but many speak as if God has withdrawn his hand. That woman had no covenant, but she received what covenant children now refuse. She was an outsider, but her faith brought her inside. Those who have been made insiders by the blood of Christ often live as though they were excluded.

This attitude is unbiblical, anti-gospel, and anti-Christ. The gospel remains alive, not a relic of the past. God’s power is present among his people, not confined to an earlier century. The word of God portrays Jesus as Lord who saves and heals. It does not depict him as one who worked only in history and then withdrew. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The Spirit poured out in the Book of Acts remains with the church and continues to work among us. The kingdom stands and advances upon the earth.

Consider this for the sake of argument. Even if the claim were true that this is not the era of miracles, it would still be possible to obtain them by faith. That woman did not belong to the covenant people. She was excluded from the table, but she still ate. She showed that faith works in every period of history because it takes hold of God himself, who does not change. Faith can reach God in any period in history. Faith can disregard covenants and dispensations to take what it wants. Jesus acknowledged it right here.

With all our advantages and all our knowledge, we should be able to say, “Lord, even a faint trace of your power, even a whiff of your history, can work a miracle. The mere remembrance of your glory is more than enough to shake the heavens and the earth. A corner torn from a page of the Bible with several words about your deeds would be enough to slay demons and raise the dead. It would be enough to destroy cancer and wipe out heart disease.”

Why is this not happening? Because Christians have followed the lead of faithless religion. They have chosen dead human heritage and abandoned the living Christ. They have condemned and cursed the gospel, and turned Jesus into a lecturer whose works are admired but absent. If Jesus can save the world, why is the world not saved? Because he has not been preached as he is, with the same message, the same boldness, and the same power that he gave to his disciples.

The mere memory of Jesus is enough to heal the sick. The mere mention of his name is sufficient to cast out demons. A single story about him can save the most wretched sinners. Even a recollection of what he did two thousand years ago can ignite miracles now. The woman’s daughter was healed because she believed in crumbs. We have been given innumerable warehouses bursting with bread.

Today is the day of miracles. Not fewer than in the days of the prophets, Jesus, and the apostles, but more. Greater works are meant to follow the foundation. The kingdom is meant to advance. The age of the Spirit is the age of increase. This is the era of God, the era of faith, the era of miracles.

Unbelief has always marked those who perish. It condemned the wilderness generation when they refused to enter the land. It limited the works of Christ in Nazareth. It will condemn the religious people that reject his power today. Faith has always marked those who receive from God, in every era, in every nation, under every circumstance.

The woman outside the covenant saw in Jesus what the covenant children of her time could not see. She saw bread in him and would not leave without it. We have more than she had. We have his death and resurrection accomplished. We have the Spirit poured out without measure. We have his commission to preach the gospel to every creature with signs following. If she could believe for crumbs, we should believe for a feast.

Our knowledge of Jesus is not mere history or memory. It is not meant to sit in a display case. It is the living heritage of the saints, to be carried into every place, confronting every sickness, overturning every work of the devil. Faith does not admire the works of God from a distance. It takes them into the present and refuses to be denied. If the woman could take what was not meant for her and receive it, how much more should we take what has been freely given to us?

For those who hear and believe, even a whiff of history will be enough. The glory that once filled Galilee will fill their own homes. The power that once set a little girl free will set free their sons and daughters. The Christ who once walked the earth will walk into their lives, bringing with him everything that belongs to the kingdom of God.