I am thankful to the Lord for the opportunity to post the sermon today, and I am thankful that you have decided to take the time to read the sermon. I hope that everyone is having a good week.
I think that Spring may have finally arrived in my part of the world. We are having nice weather. I even went and worked out in the yard a little bit this morning. I've had a lot of writing work this week, and I am thankful to the Lord for that.
In your prayer time this week, please remember to pray for those in Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi who were in the path of the storm. Many are dead, and many others are injured. Many have lost all that they have. Please pray that aid and help will reach the people.
Please be in prayer for those in Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri who are dealing with the terrible flooding. Pray that those affected will be able to recover.
Remember the people of New Zealand in your prayers. Pray that the injured will recover quickly.
Continue to pray for those in Congo affected by the Ebola outbreak. Pray that those who are sick will recover.
We need to remember to pray for peace in the troubled areas of the world. Let us focus our prayers this week on Yemen, Syria and Afghanistan.
For our evangelistic prayer focus countries this week, let us pray for those who live in Guinea-Bissau and Iraq. Pray that many will hear about the love and mercy of Jesus.
In today's message, I would like us to focus our attention on the words of Jesus found in the Matthew 15. This passage begins with the Pharisees and the religious leaders criticizing Jesus because his disciples did not practice ritual hand washing before eating. Jesus responds to their criticism by asking them why they dishonored the law. Jesus said that it was a clear command to honor one's father and mother. However, the religious leaders would tell their parents that they could not help them out because the money that they would have given to them was dedicated to God.
Jesus said that the religious leaders were hypocrites. Jesus said that they honored God with their lips, but their hearts were far from Him.
Jesus would go on to tell the people that eating without ritual washing would not condemn or defile a person. Jesus said that what comes out of a person's mouth is what defiles a person.
Later, when Jesus was with His disciples, He elaborated. He said that what is eaten by a person goes into the stomach and is then eliminated. However, whatever comes out of person's mouth comes from the heart. The heart of a person is where defilement and sinfulness dwells.
Jesus will go on to list some sinful behaviors that come forth from a person's heart. These are sins that Jesus names, and we must be on the guard against them.
First of all, Jesus said that evil thoughts come from the heart and defile a person. Evil thoughts are those thoughts that think about harming another person or violating the commandments of the Lord. The Bible says that some people's thoughts are continuously on evil.
We must guard our thoughts. One way to do this is to not let those things into our heart that are not in keeping with the values of Jesus. The entertainment that we watch and listen to can have a role in causing us to think about those things that aren't honoring to the Lord.
Jesus said that murder comes from the heart. It starts as anger in the heart, and it leads to lashing out and harming another person.
Jesus goes on to say that adultery and sexual immorality arise from the heart and defile a person. Adultery refers to having sexual relations with someone that is not one's husband or wife. Sexual immorality in the Bible refers to those sexual relationships that are engaged in outside of marriage.
We live in a society that has virtually abandoned the sexual ethics of the Bible. We as followers of Jesus must follow the way that He has shown us to go.
Theft comes from the heart and defiles a person. We are never to take what belongs to someone else.
Jesus concludes by saying that false testimony and slander arise from the heart and defile a person. We must be people who speak the truth. We must be people who honor our word. Jesus said that our yes should be yes and our no should be no. We need to speak encouraging and uplifting words of love to others. We should not be tearing others down with our words.
Jesus loves everyone, and He will forgive anyone who comes to Him. He will make us a new creation in Him if we put our faith and trust in Him. He will renew our heart so that it is filled with His goodness and love.
Jesus isn't being unloving by stating those things that are sinful and will lead us into harm. He wants all to live lives of abundance and goodness.
Let us all pray and ask the Lord to empower us with the power of the Holy Spirit so that we can live lives of holiness that are pleasing to the Lord.
Next week, I will continue our series on the teachings of Jesus. I will probably post the sermon on Friday next week. On Monday, I will post the verses for the week, and on Wednesday I hope to post a review. May God bless you all. Amen.
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