Matthew 15:1-20 | Matters of the Heart | Matthew Dodd

and to be here tonight we get to be in God's Word what a privilege is that huh I mean we could be watching the TV like so many other people are right now but we're in the Word of God amen amen we get to study the eternal everlasting inerrant inspired Word of God and I am privileged to be with you all as we do so we're gonna be continuing our study through the Gospel of Matthew we're gonna be a Matthew chapter 15 looking at the first 20 verses you know we started the Sunday night service March of last year we haven't even hit a year yet it's taken me this long to get over halfway through the book of Matthew but we're making great pace okay and it's a real honor to to be able to teach God's Word tonight we're gonna be studying like I said Matthew chapter 15 titled my message is matters of the heart matters of the heart let's pray father thank you for this privilege to be in your word right now and we pray father God that as we study your word that you would strengthen us father that we would be transformed because we're in your presence we're changed in the presence of a holy God Lord you know the needs of everyone here tonight what brought them here tonight and father what we need most of all is more of you so my prayer is that our cups would be filled to overflowing Lord as we are ministered to by your Holy Spirit please reign over this time give us eyes to see ears to hear and hearts that are responsive to your word in Jesus name we pray and all of God's people said amen and amen you know when it comes to the heart the Bible gives us powerful insights into what makes us tick when it comes to the heart because the heart is a complicated thing but Jeremiah 17 verse 9 drills right into the heart of it no pun intended it says there the heart is more deceitful than all L and is desperately sick who can understand it now while we might deceive others or even fool ourselves when it comes to our passions and desires and motivations we're also told from the same passage that God's not deceive nor is he fooled for verse 10 of the same chapter says I the LORD search the heart I test the mind even to give to each man according to his ways according to the results of his deeds now this ties in perfectly with Matthew 15 for here we will discover that Jesus confronted his interrogators the religious elite the establishment you see true to form they the establishment focused on the external appearance of things the outward conformity to man-made rituals and practices and traditions but Jesus revealed that the real issue it's the heart and by the way it's not just their hearts it's our hearts to God you see in his infinite love he wants to speak to all of our hearts tonight so that he may fix our hearts and as we'll discover he alone is able to address the matters of the heart let's begin in verse 1 of Matthew 15 then some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders for they do not wash their hands when they eat bread and he answered and said to them why do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition for God said honor your father and your mother and he who speaks evil of father or mother is to be put to death but you say whoever says to his father a mother whatever I have that would help you has been given to God he is not to honor his father or his mother and by this you invalidated the Word of God for the sake of your tradition you hypocrites rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you this people honors me with their lips but their heart is far away from me but in vain do they worship Me teaching as doctrines the precepts of men after Jesus called the crowd to him he said to them hear and understand it is not what enters into the mouth that defiles the man but what proceeds out of the mouth this defileth Amann then the disciples came and said to him do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this statement but he answered and said 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 Peter said to him explain the parable to us jesus said are you still lacking in understanding also do you not understand that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is eliminated but the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart and those defile the man for out of the heart come every evil thought murder adultery fornication --zz thefts false witnesses slanders these are the things which defile the man but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man now after feeding the 5000 well actually we're talking more like ten to fifteen thousand when you count the men and the children that we're there we're the women and children that were there we're told that Jesus Fame began to spread throughout the whole area Israel and even into the surrounding areas and in Matthew 15 verse 1 we're told that a delegation of scribes and Pharisees come from Jerusalem to check Jesus out now I want to be clear I want to be upfront they did not come to celebrate his popularity rather they were concerned about his growing fame because the people spoke of him as a great prophet and some were even discussing the opportunity to make him King their goal was to find a flaw in his life or ministry so that they might knock him down a few notches or better yet accuse him of being a heretic so that the crowds would withdraw from him and you could just imagine how they were watching every single move of Jesus and the disciples they're just ready to pounce and pronounce they're condemning judgment of him and then they got their chance now armed with their accusation they sprung their question on Jesus they had discovered that his disciples were not washing their hands according to the traditions of the elders before they ate bread and I chuckled when I read this because you could imagine what had been going on if they had been there when Jesus fed the 20,000 right I mean they're in a remote area where can they wash their hands according to the traditions of the elders can you imagine that seeing Jesus feeding the great multitude with only five barley loaves and two fish while the scribes and Pharisees are taking down names right for those who fail to wash their hands according to the traditions of the elders and when you step back and really think about it all it really is amazing how hard the human heart can be by the hands of Jesus the blind were gaining sight the Deaf could hear the lane could walk lepers work plans those who were possessed by demons were set free by a single word and then you have a crowd of over 15,000 fed with five loaves and two fish and you have the hair the Pharisees here and what are they saying your fingers are dirty go wash your hands the scribes and Pharisees were told they demanded an answer from Jesus and it answers what they got only it wasn't the answer they expected because here we see a pivot and Jesus is on offense and the first thing that we capture here is this God means what he says God means what he says you know when you look the first twenty verses of Matthew 15 it's really about answering the question how shall we live our lives what will guide us and the way we live many people are guided by their own set of rules and principles that they come up with all on their own they're guided by whatever they think is right which may change according to the situation and is usually bent in their own favor yer favor and I saw a little bit about this on Friday it was cute it was funny but it captures the point perfectly my daughter Melina she's six years old she's getting ready to go to school and so I wanted to give her a hug and pray over her before she goes but I noticed that before she even reached me there was a plume of perfume that preceded her and so I'm hugging her and I I said to her after I pray over I said Melina how many squirts of perfume did you put on yourself and she said one one here one here and one here I thought what kind of new math are they teaching you there you know but isn't that the way the heart is I'm gonna bend it right according to what works best for me at the time the Jewish leaders were guided by what was referred to as the tradition of the elders in verse two now the history goes back to when Moses received the law of God at Mount Sinai the tradition stated that Moses also passed down oral traditions that weren't written down these oral traditions of the elders were later written into what is now called the Mishnah and Midrash then a commentary on the Mishnah was later written which is called Gemara and was later put into what is called the talmud now the talmud was made up of 22 volumes of 563 books and get this when it comes to the issue of washing your hands there were actually 65 pages that dealt with the proper washing of your hands in my house is not that complicated okay we have one rule for Melina when she washes her hands recite your ABCs with a lot of soap and a lot of water right real simple 65 pages but here's the real problem they believe the authority of the oral traditions was greater than the Word of God actually Rabbi Eliezer who lived during the time of Jesus said and listen to this if anyone expounds the scripture in opposition to the tradition they would have no place in the world to come what was he saying that basically if you contradict the oral traditions and use the scripture to do so you were forfeiting heaven significant then the Mishnah reads it is a greater a fence and I quote to teach anything contrary to the voice of the rabbi's than to contradict Scripture itself the oral traditions are now superior to the Word of God and when I look at that I think Houston we've got a problem right because God's Word is the highest authority Jesus put his finger exactly on the problem when he said to them why do you you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition in verse three you see there's nothing even close to that which is declared in the Word of God and that's why we believe in Sola scriptura which means in Scripture alone here's the deal if your tradition contradicts the Word of God then the tradition is faulty not the Word of God amen you see the problem is the Jewish leaders were heaping these great burdens all these rules and regulation all these traditions that they had to memorize in order to conform which was contrary to what God wants and God makes it very clear in proverbs 30 verses five and six you better not add or take away from his word because what he says he means every word of God has tested do not add to his words or he will reprove you and you will be proved a liar you see when Jesus Christ came he didn't come to heap more burdens on us he came to set us free from those burdens and that's why he said in Matthew chapter 11 verses 28 through 30 come to me all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls for my yoke is easy and my burden is light Christianity my friends is not something that should weigh you down Christ has come to set us free and if you allow people to bring their rules into your life it will bring you to a place of great discouragement and depression and bondage because that's not God's heart we're not supposed to live by man-made rules we're supposed to live in the freedom that has been purchased for us through Jesus Christ amen you see God we see here gave His Word to us and he sent it with purpose and we need to see here that God's purpose is higher than any purpose that man can ever come up with Isaiah 55 verses 8 through 11 make the point clear for my thoughts God says are not your thoughts nor are your ways my ways declares the Lord for as the heavens are higher than the earth so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts for as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there without watering the earth and making it bare and sprout and furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater so will my word be which goes forth from my mouth it will not return to me empty without accomplishing what I desire and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it what's the point here don't invalidate God's Word with traditions that's what Jesus is driving home here Jesus then brought them a perfect example to show them that what they were doing wrong in verses 4 through 6 he says honor your father and your mother which is the fifth of the Ten Commandments in fact it's the first commandment that comes with the promise if even 6 2 through 3 says honor your father and mother Paul says which is the first commandment with a promise so that it may be with you and that you may live long on the earth of course any good parent wants to lay up an inheritance for their children amen that's in the Bible but children should also take care of their parents when they're older this is part of honoring them and my little girl milena the other day she says dad I want to buy your house someday and then you can live next door to me and then we can see each other I'm thinking this is great Heidi and I are taken care of and then my son Adam he says you know what I want to become a neurosurgeon dad and then I'm gonna move to New Zealand and then you can come and visit me down there and I'll take care of you there I'm thinking I got it all dialed in okay when it's cold here I'll go there and when it's hot there or what's cold there I'll come back here you know we got to just perfectly figure it out but what are they saying I want to honor you dad by taking care of you and that blesses my heart but the tradition of the elders is different here it's stated that a person could withhold from helping their parents by declaring their estate was Corbyn according to mark 7 verse 11 which means given to God given to God and Jesus said this was just plain wrong the Pharisees were saying you could follow these man-made rules and as long as you adhere to them you are righteous but Jesus is declaring righteousness begins in the heart righteousness begins in the heart you see the whole issue of Corbin was merely a loophole the person actually never intended to help their parents and use the tradition of the elders as an escape clause and actually in the name of God they justified depriving their parents of much-needed help they had mastered the arts of the loophole and we see that even today for instance if you play golf did you know there's a loophole in golf if you hit the first shot right you're teeing off and driving and you have a bad shot someone will say hey take a mulligan right you get a you get a do-over right now personally I've never needed to do that I've just heard about that but it's a loophole Jesus said the whole problem was found in their hearts they were hypocrites they were actors people who wore a mask in a vain attempt to cover their real identities and motives we need to see that this is a great lesson for us as well for we become what we love we become what we love Jesus then declared that hypocrisy was predicted seven hundred years earlier by the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 29 verse 13 because this people drawn draw near with their words and honor me with their lips but they remove their hearts far from me and their reverence for me consists of traditions learned by rote one thing I've learned God doesn't want and God doesn't need our traditions he wants our hearts and so why is God so concerned we keep talking about this over and over again as we're studying the gospel Matthew why is God so concerned about our hearts because he knows that's the only way to change our lives it's the only way love is powerful it's transforming but there's another aspect to it it's also prophetic of our future because we are becoming what we love one of my favorite authors is aw Tozer and he wrote a masterful statement about the transforming power of love I quote we are all in the process of becoming we have already moved from what we were to what we are and we are now moving toward what we will be not only are we in the process of becoming we are becoming what we love we are to a large degree the some of our loves and we will have moral necessity grow into the image of what we love most for love is among other things a creative affinity it changes it molds and shapes and transforms what we love is therefore not a small matter it is of critical and everlasting importance it is prophetic of our future it tells us what we shall be and so predicts our eternal destiny loving wrong things is fatal to spiritual growth it twists and deforms the life and makes impossible the appearing of the image of Christ in the soul love is within our power of choice true spiritual love begins in the will we should set our hearts to love God supremely and joy is sure to follow Jesus was once asked which is the greatest of all the commandments and his response makes the point mark 12 verse 30 you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength how is that possible I want to strongly encourage all of us may you watch over your heart with all diligence watch over your heart with all diligence one of my favorite proverbs is from proverbs 4:23 it says watch over your heart with all diligence for from it flow the Springs of life be careful to guard your heart what are you letting into it don't let it rob you of the most important opportunity that you have to love God with all your heart soul mind and strength that's why Jesus called the multitude to himself and said it's not what enters into the mouth that defiles the man but what proceeds out of the mouth this is what defiles the man in verse 11 in other words were not defiled by what we eat or how we eat it for food never directly touches the heart rather it's what comes out of our mouth that's what matters in other words it's how you live your life for that's what comes out of your heart Luke 6:45 Jesus said the good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart then how do I do this I want to make this real practical how do i guard my heart with all diligence first we need to pour the Word of God into our hearts which means opening the Bible opening the Bible app whatever it is let the word of Christ richly dwell within you treasure it above all else psalm 119 verse 11 says your word I have treasured in my heart that I may not sin against you what do you treasure most may it be the Word of God when you do so your guarding your heart with all diligence you're taking captive number two every thought that rises up against the knowledge of Christ here's what I've discovered the more I know the Word of God then when the lies of the enemy come I can see the lie for what it is because I know the truth so many people were bombarded by the lives of the enemy and we don't even know their lies why don't we know their lives because we don't know what the word is but I know if I'm letting the Word of God richly dwell within me when those lies come I can say get behind me Satan because I recognize the lie for what it is and then the truth can reign in my heart I'm guarding my heart with all diligence that's what Paul's talking about in the 2nd Corinthians 10 verse 5 he says we are destroying every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God and we're taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ brothers and sisters don't play pattycake with lies don't entertain the lies don't let them anywhere near your heart because your heart is precious it's precious for you and it's precious to God and that's why he gave us his word so we can counter the lies of the enemy with the truth of his word it's an aggressive posture when those lies come take them captive recognize them for what they are submit yourself to God and say get behind me Satan and he will flee from us according to James this is so powerful and then when a person's been doing this you're letting the Word of God richly dwell within you you're you're taking captive those thoughts and you're only holding on to the truth what happens your life is transformed your mind is renewed your heart is different you look at life different there's a different paradigm that you have why because the word of Christ is richly dwelling within you and it even changes the way you talk Paul says in Ephesians 4:29 let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need at the moment so that it will give grace to though who here how did the overflow of the heart I'm letting the word of Christ richly dwell within me I'm taking captive those thoughts I'm recognizing the lives for what they are and all of a sudden God begins to change our tickers right and all of a sudden instead of vile things coming out all of a sudden there's grace which gives grace to the here a set of adulteries and fornications and strife and anger all of a sudden there's grace upon grace upon grace why because God's grace is changing you you see the only way to truly fulfill the Scriptures is by being gracious in your heart to think gracious thoughts and then you will become a gracious person now in closing here we come to an interesting section in verse 12 it's actually very classic because the disciples they they came to Jesus and said do you not know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this statement and you know when I read that I want to say no kidding they should be offended right sometimes being offended is a good thing I know that's not very politically correct but it's true it is true sometimes the only way we change is when we get when God gets our attention and shakes up our world and throws a bit of cold water in our face I remember when my dad that did that with me I had he had led me to the Lord and I was not walking with the Lord very closely about the age of 19 and 20 I'd moved back home with them and it was a Sunday morning I'll never forget it we were in Edmonds Washington and my bedroom is right next to my parents bedroom so I'm walking by into my bedroom and I could see my dad he's getting ready for church and he looks over to me he says hey Maddy you going to church today I said I don't think so my dad loved me still does not just past tense I think he still does fact they're watching right now hi mom and dad he says you know Matt it's actually would have been better if you never knew what you do know then to know what you know and not do anything about it it just hit me right in the heart said okay I'm gonna go to church and brothers and sisters that was a pivot point in my life my dad's loving correction was a pivot point in my life sometimes though only get offended we lacked each ability and we'll look for reasons to dismiss the offense but we need to see when there's the offense if it's done in love the goal the motivation is to see us grow stronger in Christ transformation you see this with the Apostle Paul in Galatians three verses one through three listen to what he says here you foolish Galatians wow talk about a slap in the face who has bewitched you before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified this is the only thing I want to find out from you did you receive the spirit by the works of the law or by hearing with faith are you so foolish having begun by the spirit are you now being perfected by the flesh what is he saying you can't go back to the law nor should you let man-made traditions rule over you you've been set free by the spirit now as mature Christians walk in the spirit according to the Word of God jesus replied to the apostles every plant which my heavenly father did not plant shall be uprooted in verse 13 now notice the word uprooted here's the deal when you're dealing with weeds and guess what we're gonna be doing that here pretty soon right as the weather begins to warm what do you do when you're pulling weeds do you just cut off the tops if you do that they're going to come right back right no you need to go and grab those roots and pull them out by the roots and Jesus wants to get to the root of that which needs to be changed in our lives that means he needs to change our hearts for we're transformed by the inside out now some will say I'll come to the Lord as soon as I get my act together but there's a reason why their act is not together now only God can change the heart by the power of His Holy Spirit and that's why he promised to give us new hearts when we come to faith in Him through jesus christ ezekiel 36:26 says moreover i will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you and I will remove the hardest stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh and closing a new heart changes everything when you have a new heart you begin to believe from the heart according to Romans chapter 10 verses 9 and 10 you begin to love from the heart according to Matthew 22 verse 37 you even sing from the heart as we're told from Colossians 3:16 you obey from the heart by faith according to Romans 627 you even give from the heart according to 2nd Corinthians 9:7 and that's why david prayed from the heart Psalm 19 verse 14 let the words of my heart my mouth rather and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight O Lord my rock and my Redeemer as we close tonight what's the condition of your heart have you received Jesus as your Savior then God wants to strengthen your heart even as Christians we can be beaten we can be battle weary God wants to bring healing to you if you've never received Jesus as your Savior God wants to give you a new heart asking Jesus to be your Savior the forgiveness of sin the gift of everlasting life both are available the key is letting Christ in let's pray father we thank you so much for this privilege to be in your word tonight and father you know the hearts that are here and our desire just to respond to you father I pray for those who are weary who are Christians that you administer to them and bring healing to them and strengthen them that they would not be robbed by man-made rules or traditions but be led by your spirit and in the freedom of the Spirit walk according to your word and for others who don't know you that they would come to faith in Jesus Christ have all their sin forgiven be given the gift of everlasting life in a new heart in exchange for that heart of stone father meet every need strengthen every heart we pray in Jesus name and all of God's people said amen

Channel: Calvary Chapel Worship Center - Hillsboro, Oregon

Views: 1,441

Rating: 4.7037039 out of 5

Keywords: The Bible, God, Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit, Holy, Pastor Rich Jones, Pastor Matthew Dodd, Calvary Chapel, Faith, Grace, Revival, Truth, Prayer, Salvation, Calvary Chapel Hillsboro, Exodus, Matthew, Matters of the Hea, Heart

Id: _xQ_7mNoQyc

Length: 36min 51sec (2211 seconds)

Published: Sun Feb 03 2019