Out of the Heart

Prelude

Are we so blinded by our church buildings and our rituals that we don’t see God? Are we blinded by the world’s sinfulness? Are we noble like the Bereans, studying our Bibles daily to see what God says? What defiles us? Let’s look at Matthew 15:10-20 and see what Jesus has to say about blindness and what’s in our hearts.

This Defiles the Man

Reading Matthew 15:10-11 Jesus taught, “Hear and understand. It is not what enters into the mouth that defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man.” The Pharisees stressed the letter of the law, but Jesus was more concerned with the spirit of our words than kosher meats and handwashing. Why? How do our words defile us? Our words reveal what’s in our hearts.

The Pharisees were Offended

Reading Matthew 15:12 “Then the disciples came and said to Him, ‘Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this statement?’” Jesus offended religious leaders without apology. Did He set Himself above kosher law from the Old Testament? The Pharisees kept it in the letter not understanding the spiritual intent of the law. Are we afraid of sharing the Gospel because it may offend some people?

4 Times Blind

Reading Matthew 15:13-14 “Every plant which My heavenly Father did not plant shall be uprooted. Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit.” Don’t be anxious about heresies. Every man-made doctrine, every man-made tradition, and every church ministry which God did not plant will eventually disappear, so dismiss them from your thoughts.

From the Heart

Reading Matthew 15:15-18 “... the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man.” Our words tell what’s in our hearts. Our hearts defile us, and outward washing rituals and kosher dietary regulations cannot make us clean inside. The heart is the corrupt source of this defilement. Sinful words come from there, and by polluting others only serve to defile others as well.

Out of the Heart

Reading Matthew 15:19 “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders.” All these evil things begin with thoughts. This follows the order of the Ten Commandments, but instead of covetousness ends with blasphemies or slander, the Greek word can mean either. Jesus said that breaking the Ten Commandments is done in the heart, not just in the flesh (Matthew 5:22, 28).

Application 1

Blind leaders place human traditions ahead of matters of the heart. Blind leaders find excuses to sidestep the instructions of God. Blind leaders preach “inclusion,” meaning accomodation to the sins of the world, so that they can keep the money coming in. Blind leaders preach “unconditional love,” often preached as “come as you are,” meaning no need to change, when real love is preaching repentance, and rescuing sinners from hell.

Application 2

How can we avoid being misled by blind leaders. Listen carefully to their words. The Bereans listened carefully to Paul (Acts 17:10-11). Being a good listener means we don’t naively swallow everything we hear, but analyze it. For Christians that also means we compare it to the Scriptures. Don’t just believe any preacher. Follow along in our Bibles. If we don’t study our Bibles daily, we become quickly blind.

Postlude

Blind leaders and their followers will be “uprooted… [and] fall into a pit.” Jesus concludes by saying, “These are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man.”

We often focus on the physical side of religion, our buildings, our rituals, but not our changed hearts, yet that’s the very definition of repentance. “But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.” (Matthew 13:16-17)

Matthew 15:10-20; Matthew 5:22, 28; Acts 17:10-11; Matthew 13:16-17

New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation

http://www.ccel.org/contrib/exec_outlines/matt/mt15_12.htm

Leaven

Prelude

The Bible uses leaven to symbolize how both good and bad things grow in our lives. It’s important for us to know the difference, so that we make sure that the good things in our lives grow and not the bad. Purpose: Let’s learn about the meaning of leaven in the Bible. Plan: We’ll look at the parable of the leaven in Matthew 13:33 and the leaven of the Pharisees and Herod in Mark 8:13-21.

Leaven

The leavening agent in Bible times was yeast. A mixture of flour and water left to rest, naturally ferments before baking. Yeast is everywhere, on our skin and in the air. This is known today as sourdough bread, which we are most familiar with while camping or in rye bread. The foam or barm from beer-making was also an ancient source of yeast. Israel probably learned that from ancient Egypt.

Good Leaven Matthew 13:33

In Matthew 13:33 Jesus spoke a parable of those under God’s rule, “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three pecks of flour until it was all leavened.” Leaven pictures growth from within. A woman’s work is very important to the Church. Even behind the scenes, it produces growth. Let’s not be discouraged, God’s kingdom will grow despite problems within the Church.

Bad Leaven Mark 8:13-21

In Mark 8:15 Jesus said, “Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” And in Matthew 16:5–12, “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees… the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” Political leaders, and both liberal and conservative religious leaders. So leaven pictures both political and religious teachings and In Luke 12:1 Jesus includes “hypocrisy.”

Political Leaven

Herod produced bad leaven (Mark 8:15) because he was a liar, abused his office, an adulterer, and used religion as a tool for personal influence, rather than genuine repentance. Herod enforced human law, not God’s law, as politicians do. Jesus tells us to beware of putting man’s law above God’s law. Knowledge of man’s law is like leaven (1 Corinthians 8:1). It puffs up with a counterfeit morality.

Conservative Pharisees & Liberal Sadducees

Liberal leaven can be disguised as inclusiveness and love. But we forget that holiness requires exclusiveness in some areas of life and that true love warns those on the road to hell to repent of sins, not pretend that God allows “malice and wickedness” instead of “sincerity and truth” (1 Corinthians 5:1-8). Conservative leaven can be man-made rules and promoting the letter of Old Testament law (Galatians 5:1-9).

Bad Religion & Bad Politicians

In Matthew 16:5-12 we learn that “the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees” is “the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” This would include Herod because he was in collusion with Sadducees. Thus, three parties are included in this bad leaven, the conservative Pharisees, the liberal Sadducees and the corrupt king Herod. Herod had an over inflated opinion of himself, and set a bad example as leader.

Good Religion & Good Politicians

True Christianity sets the spiritual framework for a society that God can bless. The Sadducees convinced Rome to put their man, Herod into office. The Pharisees despised the man that the Sadducees has gotten into office. How much does this sound like any election cycle in a western democracy? The answer is not on either side of corrupt politics, but in genuine Christianity, in truly loving God and loving neighbor.

Good Thoughts

Philippians 4:8 says, “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.” We need to get our minds of negative influences, politics, news, and negative people. A cure for negativity is to continually thank God for a long list of blessings. 

Postlude

So we have a choice. We can focus on conservative leaven of man-made rules and Old Testament legalism, centrist leaven of wishy-washy compromise with the devil, liberal leaven of inclusion of evil and a false love which sends people to hell, political leaven which is filled with worldly lies and false promises, OR we can hide the leaven of the kingdom of heaven in our hearts until it permeates every part of our lives with joy and blessings forever more.

New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation

Matthew 13:33; Mark 8:13-21; Mark 8:15; Matthew 16:5–12; Luke 12:1; 1 Corinthians 8:1; 1 Corinthians 5:1-8; Galatians 5:1-9; Philippians 4:8

Jonah

Prelude

What business does a foreigner have telling any nation to repent? If his name is Jonah, it’s God’s business. But, Jonah ran away because he despised Assyria. Are we running away from God? Are we bigoted against other nations? Purpose: Let’s learn that God cares even for our enemies. Plan: Let’s look at Jonah 1 and see what we can learn from a bad attitude prophet.

Arise, Go

Jonah 1:1-2 “The word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai saying, ‘Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me.’” Nineveh (now Mosul, Iraq) was the capital of Assyria, a nation of warriors that terrorized Israel. Israel was to bless the whole world, but they had degenerated into hating foreigners. Jonah’s bigotry was no exception.

Jonah Fled

Jonah 1:3 “But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. So he went down to Joppa, found a ship which was going to Tarshish, paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.” Tarshish was far west across the Mediterranean. Nineveh was northeast. Joppa is the seaport Jaffa. Jonah rebelled against God.

A Great Storm

Jonah 1:4 “The Lord hurled a great wind on the sea and there was a great storm on the sea so that the ship was about to break up.” Mediterranean tropical storms can become Category 1 hurricanes. But, this was a specially prepared sudden storm “hurled” by God. The ship was near to breaking up. Such are the storms we invite into our lives when we rebel against God.

Jonah Slept

Jonah 1:5 “Then the sailors became afraid and every man cried to his god, and they threw the cargo which was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone below into the hold of the ship, lain down and fallen sound asleep.” This is a story of opposites. A bad prophet and good sailors. Jonah is asleep in depression due to disobedience.

Why Are You Sleeping

Jonah 1:6 “So the captain approached him and said, ‘How is it that you are sleeping? Get up, call on your god. Perhaps your god will be concerned about us so that we will not perish.’” Are we asleep, or doing God’s work? Do we pray for people of other faiths? Is God concerned for them? Is our nation beginning to break apart? Is God concerned for our nation?

Who Caused This

Jonah 1:7 “Each man said to his mate, ‘Come, let us cast lots so we may learn on whose account this calamity has struck us.” So they cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah.” God can use heathen superstitions to reveal Himself and His will. The false idea that calamity is always God’s punishment is common. It can be, but time and chance also happen (Ecclesiastes 9:11).

Tell Us

Jonah 1:8 “Then they said to him, ‘Tell us, now! On whose account has this calamity struck us? What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?’” A lot of natural questions were asked about why, his occupation, origin, country, and people. They wanted to know why God was punishing Jonah. And yes, there was a man responsible, Jonah.

The God of Heaven

Jonah 1:9 “He said to them, ‘I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord God of heaven who made the sea and the dry land.’” Jonah’s confession may be familiar to those who have ever been asked a reason for the hope that is within them. Like Jonah, we are also imperfect, but when the chips are down, we tell where our true faith lies, in God alone.

Postlude

Many people have served their nation and a grateful nation thanks them for it. Now God has called us to serve in a greater way than ever before, to pray for our nation that we be like Nineveh and repent, that we be a blessing to other nations, not a curse, and to speak when asked about the hope that lies within us. Let’s not sleep during the storm. It is time to wake up, call upon our God and proclaim God’s message of repentance to all.

Jonah 1; Ecclesiastes 9:11

New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation

Greatly Mistaken

Preamble

After preaching the lectionary through in these churches, I find myself drawn more and more to a year of preaching the texts the lectionary leaves out. My suspicions were aroused when I learned that Jude was eliminated, a letter which condemns many practices engaged in by the modern church. This Gospel lesson is from another chapter left out entirely, but which contains many valuable words of Jesus.

Prelude

What if we are greatly mistaken in our understanding of Christianity? If our ideas do not square with the Bible, will we change? As the Holy Spirit leads us into all truth, will we follow? Purpose: Let’s understand that we are all Sadducees with an imperfect religious background. Plan: Let’s look at Jesus’ instructions in Mark 12:1-11, 24-27 and learn that the Church is God’s to direct not ours.

God’s Vineyard

Mark 12:1 “And He began to speak to them in parables: ‘A man planted a vineyard and put a wall around it, and dug a vat under the wine press and built a tower, and rented it out to vine-growers and went on a journey.’” Contradicting modern legalists, this parable of the dishonest tenants is about the Lord preparing a vineyard with instruments to make wine. The Lord is echoing Isaiah 5:1-7. Just as modern legalists miss the point of Scripture, the Pharisees missed the point that God’s instructions were not theirs to reinterpret with self-righteous, man-made rules. Like this vineyard, Israel was fitted with everything needed for production.

God’s Servants

Mark 12:2-3 “At the harvest time he sent a slave to the vine-growers, in order to receive some of the produce of the vineyard from the vine-growers. They took him, and beat him and sent him away empty-handed.” Kidnap slavery, as was American slavery, was against God’s law, but legal slaves could be indentured servants doing an apprenticeship, people paying off a debt or a crime, etcetera. This slave was sent to collect rent, part of the harvest. Similarly, we are tenants on earth and pay God His tithe. Instead of receiving God’s prophetic messenger, Israel abused him, just as some churches have abused righteous pastors and kicked them out.

Mark 12:4-5 “Again he sent them another slave, and they wounded him in the head, and treated him shamefully. And he sent another, and that one they killed; and so with many others, beating some and killing others.” Israel mistreated the prophets under Jezebel, Ahab, Jehoram, Joash and others. The fever pitch of partisan and nationalist politics still incites nations and bigoted groups to support atrocities against their fellow human beings. How many of us have enjoyed all the privileges of church, not brought forth spiritual fruit, beat up God’s messengers with our words and killed them with our hatred? Are we any better than those who persecuted the prophets?

God’s Son

Mark 12:6-7 “He had one more to send, a beloved son; he sent him last of all to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But those vine-growers said to one another, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours!’” The Word, which became flesh, was God and we killed Him. We today, may not have killed the Word in person, but have we killed the Word of Scripture by our own traditions, man-made rules, dilution or modern fads? Are we really that different to the Jewish religious leaders laden down with ego and tradition? Do all our Christian denominations need to repent?

Mark 12:8-9 “They took him, and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard. What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the vine-growers, and will give the vineyard to others.” As Jesus was cast out, so too Christians, originally a Jewish religion, were cast out of the synagogues. Now God’s vineyard is given to the church, a spiritual rather than earthly nation. However, it does not stop there. Could it be that we have cast Jesus out of the churches? Have we ignored the examples he set that were perhaps not culturally bound as we imagine, but were meant for us to copy?

Mark 12:10-11 “Have you not even read this Scripture: ‘The stone which the builders rejected, This became the chief corner stone; This came about from the Lord, And it is marvelous in our eyes’?” In masonry, quality building stones are important. Cornerstones bind two walls together and the chief cornerstone is that from which the building is laid out. The One who Jewish authorities rejected, is the chief cornerstone from which all others in the spiritual temple of God get their bearings for placement. Yet, so often we choose a human idea instead of building on Christ, the apostles [the New Testament], and prophets [the Old Testament] (Ephesians 2:20).

God’s Word

Mark 12:24 “Jesus said to them, ‘Is this not the reason you are mistaken, that you do not understand the Scriptures or the power of God?’” Could this also occur with a Christian who has studied the Scriptures as long as these Sadducees? Absolutely, yes. We could study the Bible for life and know it but still not understand it. Could we likewise know the Bible thoroughly and still not know the power of God? Absolutely, yes. Can a person have a doctorate in theology and still have wrong ideas? Absolutely, yes. In fact, today it is more probable than not, because there is so much heresy in higher echelons.

Mark 12:26-27 “have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the burning bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living; you are greatly mistaken.” Sadducee theories denied the resurrection. Jesus said that God is not the God of dead patriarchs but of the living. Hebrew Scriptures taught resurrection (Daniel 12:2; Isaiah 26:19; Psalm 49:10, 15; Psalm 73:20; Ezekiel 37:7-12). Sadducees were also ignorant of God’s power to bring the dead back to life.

Postlude

What if we are greatly mistaken in our understanding of Christianity? If our ideas do not square with the Bible, will we change? As the Holy Spirit leads us into all truth, will we follow?

Mark 12:1-11, 24-27; Isaiah 5:1-7; Ephesians 2:20; Daniel 12:2; Isaiah 26:19; Psalm 49:10, 15; Psalm 72:20; Ezekiel 37:7-12

New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation