Open My Eyes, LORD (Remix)
Scripture Reading: Matthew 15:1-12
1 Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus,
saying, 2 “Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they
do not wash their hands when they eat bread.”
3 He answered and said to them, “Why do you also transgress the commandment
of God because of your tradition? 4 For God commanded, saying, ‘Honor your
father and your mother’; and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to
death.’ 5 But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever profit
you might have received from me is a gift to God”— 6 then he need not honor
his father or mother.’ Thus you have made the commandment of God of no
effect by your tradition. 7 Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying:
8 ‘ These people draw near to Me with their mouth,
And honor Me with their lips,
But their heart is far from Me.
9 And in vain they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”
10 When He had called the multitude to Himself, He said to them, “Hear and
understand: 11 Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out
of the mouth, this defiles a man.”
12 Then His disciples came and said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees
were offended when they heard this saying?”
Before I really get into the sermon today, I’d like to just go back to touch base on one
scripture that we went over last week. Hebrews 5:13-14, 13 For everyone who
partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe.
14 But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by
reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. You
remember that we’ve been talking about maturing in Christ. This scripture mentions
that those who are ‘spiritually grown-up’, so to speak, are so because ‘by reason of
use’ have their senses exercised to discern good and evil. The writer of Hebrews is
telling us that, first, those who have their senses exercised do so because the use
them. He’s not talking about our natural senses; he’s talking about our spiritual
senses. There could be someone who is totally blind in the natural, but can see
clearly the things of the spirit. Likewise someone can be completely deaf yet they can
hear clearly the things of God. Those spiritual senses are going to get stronger if you
use them. I remember when my husband Jeff broke his leg. It was in a full leg cast for
3 months. When that cast came off he could barely stand up. It took some time
before he could walk. Why? Because of lack of use, his muscles had gotten weak.
You’ve heard the saying, use it or lose it. We have to practice on the small things to
graduate to the big things.
Second, He tells us that their senses are strong so they can discern good from evil.
This is such an important thing, to be able to discern that which is good and that
which is not. Both Matthew and Mark record Simon Peter being led by the Spirit of
God and then, almost immediately, being led by the spirit of satan. If a disciple that
was so close to Yeshua, so close he could touch Him, who’d been taught directly from
His lips; if he could miss discerning the spirit of the enemy…..then so could we if we’re
not prepared
Now, let’s get into today’s scripture. The very beginning of this reading starts with the
scribes and Pharisees trying once again to find fault with Jesus. They ask Him why
His disciples don’t follow the traditions of the elders by washing their hands. Let me
just point out that they were talking about a ritual cleaning. It wasn’t that the disciples
were eating with filthy hands or something; their hands could have been completely
clean. There was a tradition where they would dip their hand in a bowl and wipe them
with a towel. Jesus, as usual, answers their question with an even better question.
He asked why they didn’t follow the commandments of God. Did you catch that? The
scribes had asked about a tradition of man while Yeshua asked about the
commandments of God. He’s like, ‘So what if they don’t do what man says, you don’t
do what God says.’ Ouch! He called them hypocrites, which means actors. They
were acting as if they cared about the things of God when they really only cared
about the things of man.
Later in the passage His disciples came to Him and asked if He knew they were
offended. Dah! Of course He knew! Didn’t they remember that He was Jesus? But
seriously, I’m sure the disciples were probably shocked that He’d spoken so obviously
harshly to the religious leaders. They still did not understand that the kingdom of
heaven is not like the world. They were still expecting Yeshua, as Messiah, to lead
the rebels into Jerusalem to take it by force. They were still anticipating their salvation
to be Jesus saving the nation from the Roman occupation. Jesus basically tells His
disciples not to worry about them because they are the blind leading the blind. But
they still don’t understand. Peter asks Him to explain the parable.
Let me just point out what Jesus says in verse 10 before He talks about what defiles a
man. He says hear and understand. He’s not just talking about hearing with our
natural ears and understanding with our natural minds. Still today there are so many
people who try to understand scripture with their brain and not their spirit. They try
their best to make things make sense to their human mind so they can be comfortable
with it. He explains that it’s not what enters a man’s mouth that defiles him it’s what
comes out of his mouth that defiles him. Do you remember when we learned about
what it means to be unclean from foods we eat? Nowhere does it say that something
you eat will make you less holy. It only said that you would be unclean until evening.
They had turned it into something much more pious than God had ever intended it to
be. What goes into the mouth goes into the stomach and out the body (naturally),
while what comes out of the mouth comes from the heart (spiritually). He’s showing
us here that the traditions of man mean nothing in God’s economy, while the
commandments of God mean everything. Scripture tells us time and again to guard
our hearts above all else. He’s showing them a picture of how important it is to be
more concerned about our spiritual senses (the things of God) than our natural ones
(the things of man).
We are quick to go to God for our physical needs in the natural. When we need
money, we go to God in prayer. When we need physical healing, we go to God in
prayer. When we need a particular thing; a car, a house, a healing, a friend, we go to
God in prayer. Jesus made it perfectly clear that the kingdom of heaven was unlike
the natural world we live in. Listen to what He said to the Samaritan woman at the well.
John 4:23-24, But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will
worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship
Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and
truth.
Yet, most people spend their time praying in the natural about the things of the world.
I remember when my daughter Kristen started really praying for ‘things’. Within just
like a year or two she prayed for some pretty sizeable things for a teenager; two
different cell phones and a video iPod, and she got them in an almost supernatural
way. She even prayed that she would get her first real car that she paid for at the
auction even though, in the natural she never should have been able to afford it, she
ended up getting it for less than her maximum. I was really shocked because all the
other cars had been going up so high that I was just about ready to leave. Then the
Saturn came up and I made what I thought would be my first bid on it, and no one bid
against me. We’ve joked that if you need something just have Kristen pray for it.
That’s a nice gift but it’s absolutely nothing when compared to praying in the spirit for
the things of the Spirit.
Hopefully, we can learn to understand that the things mean nothing. Things come
and things go. Have you ever really, really wanted something so bad and you do
everything you can to get that thing and finally do? Does that fix everything? Does it
make everything right? Or do you just end up wanting something else? Ironically,
many times, that thing we thought we wants so badly, just ends up sitting in a corner
or off on a shelf somewhere, forgotten. What we think we want so badly, we find that
we don’t really want so much at all. Since we have no trouble going to God for our
natural needs let us be just as quick to go to Him for our spiritual needs. Those are
the things of real value in our lives; not the money or the houses or the cars or the
cell phones or iPods or anything else physical. Those things will one day be turned to
rumble, but the things of God are eternal.
Matthew 6:19-21
19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust
destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves
treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves
do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be
also.
Why is it so important for us to make sure the things we treasure are the heavenly
things? Because that will be where out heart is. If your heart (your desire) is for the
heavenly, half the battle is won. But if your desire is for the things of the world, you’re
in trouble.
Luke 6:45 - A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good;
and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of
the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
This is what Yeshua was speaking of defiling a man; the things that come out of his
mouth. So, if what’s in your heart comes out of your mouth, and if what you treasure
is going to determine your heart…. Can you see that what you treasure is going to
end up directly affecting whether you are defiled or whether you are holy? What do
you treasure? Is it the physical things, the stuff? Or is it the spiritual things of God?
LORD, open my eyes so I can see the spiritual things you want to show me. Open my
ears so I can hear Your voice as You lead me. Open my mind so I can receive and
understand the revelations You have for me. Make me aware of all my spiritual
senses so I can spiritually discern the things of God from the things of the world.
Sermon by: Denise Baxley
Date: September 10, 2006 original sermon
Revised: June 22, 2008
Scripture Reading: Matthew 15:1-12
1 Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus,
saying, 2 “Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they
do not wash their hands when they eat bread.”
3 He answered and said to them, “Why do you also transgress the commandment
of God because of your tradition? 4 For God commanded, saying, ‘Honor your
father and your mother’; and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to
death.’ 5 But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever profit
you might have received from me is a gift to God”— 6 then he need not honor
his father or mother.’ Thus you have made the commandment of God of no
effect by your tradition. 7 Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying:
8 ‘ These people draw near to Me with their mouth,
And honor Me with their lips,
But their heart is far from Me.
9 And in vain they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”
10 When He had called the multitude to Himself, He said to them, “Hear and
understand: 11 Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out
of the mouth, this defiles a man.”
12 Then His disciples came and said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees
were offended when they heard this saying?”
Before I really get into the sermon today, I’d like to just go back to touch base on one
scripture that we went over last week. Hebrews 5:13-14, 13 For everyone who
partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe.
14 But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by
reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. You
remember that we’ve been talking about maturing in Christ. This scripture mentions
that those who are ‘spiritually grown-up’, so to speak, are so because ‘by reason of
use’ have their senses exercised to discern good and evil. The writer of Hebrews is
telling us that, first, those who have their senses exercised do so because the use
them. He’s not talking about our natural senses; he’s talking about our spiritual
senses. There could be someone who is totally blind in the natural, but can see
clearly the things of the spirit. Likewise someone can be completely deaf yet they can
hear clearly the things of God. Those spiritual senses are going to get stronger if you
use them. I remember when my husband Jeff broke his leg. It was in a full leg cast for
3 months. When that cast came off he could barely stand up. It took some time
before he could walk. Why? Because of lack of use, his muscles had gotten weak.
You’ve heard the saying, use it or lose it. We have to practice on the small things to
graduate to the big things.
Second, He tells us that their senses are strong so they can discern good from evil.
This is such an important thing, to be able to discern that which is good and that
which is not. Both Matthew and Mark record Simon Peter being led by the Spirit of
God and then, almost immediately, being led by the spirit of satan. If a disciple that
was so close to Yeshua, so close he could touch Him, who’d been taught directly from
His lips; if he could miss discerning the spirit of the enemy…..then so could we if we’re
not prepared
Now, let’s get into today’s scripture. The very beginning of this reading starts with the
scribes and Pharisees trying once again to find fault with Jesus. They ask Him why
His disciples don’t follow the traditions of the elders by washing their hands. Let me
just point out that they were talking about a ritual cleaning. It wasn’t that the disciples
were eating with filthy hands or something; their hands could have been completely
clean. There was a tradition where they would dip their hand in a bowl and wipe them
with a towel. Jesus, as usual, answers their question with an even better question.
He asked why they didn’t follow the commandments of God. Did you catch that? The
scribes had asked about a tradition of man while Yeshua asked about the
commandments of God. He’s like, ‘So what if they don’t do what man says, you don’t
do what God says.’ Ouch! He called them hypocrites, which means actors. They
were acting as if they cared about the things of God when they really only cared
about the things of man.
Later in the passage His disciples came to Him and asked if He knew they were
offended. Dah! Of course He knew! Didn’t they remember that He was Jesus? But
seriously, I’m sure the disciples were probably shocked that He’d spoken so obviously
harshly to the religious leaders. They still did not understand that the kingdom of
heaven is not like the world. They were still expecting Yeshua, as Messiah, to lead
the rebels into Jerusalem to take it by force. They were still anticipating their salvation
to be Jesus saving the nation from the Roman occupation. Jesus basically tells His
disciples not to worry about them because they are the blind leading the blind. But
they still don’t understand. Peter asks Him to explain the parable.
Let me just point out what Jesus says in verse 10 before He talks about what defiles a
man. He says hear and understand. He’s not just talking about hearing with our
natural ears and understanding with our natural minds. Still today there are so many
people who try to understand scripture with their brain and not their spirit. They try
their best to make things make sense to their human mind so they can be comfortable
with it. He explains that it’s not what enters a man’s mouth that defiles him it’s what
comes out of his mouth that defiles him. Do you remember when we learned about
what it means to be unclean from foods we eat? Nowhere does it say that something
you eat will make you less holy. It only said that you would be unclean until evening.
They had turned it into something much more pious than God had ever intended it to
be. What goes into the mouth goes into the stomach and out the body (naturally),
while what comes out of the mouth comes from the heart (spiritually). He’s showing
us here that the traditions of man mean nothing in God’s economy, while the
commandments of God mean everything. Scripture tells us time and again to guard
our hearts above all else. He’s showing them a picture of how important it is to be
more concerned about our spiritual senses (the things of God) than our natural ones
(the things of man).
We are quick to go to God for our physical needs in the natural. When we need
money, we go to God in prayer. When we need physical healing, we go to God in
prayer. When we need a particular thing; a car, a house, a healing, a friend, we go to
God in prayer. Jesus made it perfectly clear that the kingdom of heaven was unlike
the natural world we live in. Listen to what He said to the Samaritan woman at the well.
John 4:23-24, But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will
worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship
Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and
truth.
Yet, most people spend their time praying in the natural about the things of the world.
I remember when my daughter Kristen started really praying for ‘things’. Within just
like a year or two she prayed for some pretty sizeable things for a teenager; two
different cell phones and a video iPod, and she got them in an almost supernatural
way. She even prayed that she would get her first real car that she paid for at the
auction even though, in the natural she never should have been able to afford it, she
ended up getting it for less than her maximum. I was really shocked because all the
other cars had been going up so high that I was just about ready to leave. Then the
Saturn came up and I made what I thought would be my first bid on it, and no one bid
against me. We’ve joked that if you need something just have Kristen pray for it.
That’s a nice gift but it’s absolutely nothing when compared to praying in the spirit for
the things of the Spirit.
Hopefully, we can learn to understand that the things mean nothing. Things come
and things go. Have you ever really, really wanted something so bad and you do
everything you can to get that thing and finally do? Does that fix everything? Does it
make everything right? Or do you just end up wanting something else? Ironically,
many times, that thing we thought we wants so badly, just ends up sitting in a corner
or off on a shelf somewhere, forgotten. What we think we want so badly, we find that
we don’t really want so much at all. Since we have no trouble going to God for our
natural needs let us be just as quick to go to Him for our spiritual needs. Those are
the things of real value in our lives; not the money or the houses or the cars or the
cell phones or iPods or anything else physical. Those things will one day be turned to
rumble, but the things of God are eternal.
Matthew 6:19-21
19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust
destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves
treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves
do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be
also.
Why is it so important for us to make sure the things we treasure are the heavenly
things? Because that will be where out heart is. If your heart (your desire) is for the
heavenly, half the battle is won. But if your desire is for the things of the world, you’re
in trouble.
Luke 6:45 - A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good;
and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of
the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
This is what Yeshua was speaking of defiling a man; the things that come out of his
mouth. So, if what’s in your heart comes out of your mouth, and if what you treasure
is going to determine your heart…. Can you see that what you treasure is going to
end up directly affecting whether you are defiled or whether you are holy? What do
you treasure? Is it the physical things, the stuff? Or is it the spiritual things of God?
LORD, open my eyes so I can see the spiritual things you want to show me. Open my
ears so I can hear Your voice as You lead me. Open my mind so I can receive and
understand the revelations You have for me. Make me aware of all my spiritual
senses so I can spiritually discern the things of God from the things of the world.
Sermon by: Denise Baxley
Date: September 10, 2006 original sermon
Revised: June 22, 2008