Sermons

INTRODUCTION I would like you to consider and ponder the following situations: A parent had asked a child repeatedly to clean up their room and the child has repeatedly promised that they will do it, but it never gets done. Contrast that with parent who never has to ask their child to do anything. They come home to find that the child does what is expected and even more and the child is rewarded with more privileges and responsibility. It is pretty easy to see the contrast between the two. Now consider another situation. There is a person who says there are a believer who has repeatedly promised to family and friends that they will join them in church for worship on Sunday. Week after week, their family and friends wait and never see the person. Contrast that with a humble Christian who emulates the words of the Psalmist “I rejoiced with those who said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the LORD’” (Psalm 122:1). They also see their blessings as gifts from God and look to use them for him and not for their own pleasure or glory. They are blessed – not necessarily with physical blessings, but a stronger faith and relationship with God. Again, it is rather easy to see the contrast That is exactly the contrast which Jesus puts before us this morning in our Gospel lesson which will serve as our sermon text. He asks each of us to consider the question Lipservice or heartservice?. In other words, are the words we speak and the actions we do only an outward show, or do they come from a heart of faith? In order to answer that question, Jesus reminds us there are two things we need to evaluate – 1) What is it that guides your heart? and 2) Are your words and actions a true reflection of your heart? We read again vv. 6-8 of our Gospel lesson from Mark 7. I. What is it that guides your heart? Make a good impression. How often isn’t that the way people in our world today think? Whether it is a young couple on a date, a business relationship with a new client, in a social setting with friends or just in the everyday part of life, we want to come off looking good. If there was ever a group of people who held to the idea of looking good, it was the Pharisees. Remember that parable Jesus told of the Pharisee and the Publican? The Publican realizing he had no right to stand in God’s presence humbly stood in a far corner of the temple and begged “God, have mercy on me, a sinner”. Then Jesus spoke of the Pharisee who stood in the center court of the temple and prayed out loud and wanted to look so pious in the eyes of everyone. We have that same attitude in our text for today. The Pharisees were trying to attack Jesus’ disciples for not following all of their man-made laws and Jesus looks into the hearts of the Pharisees and says to them “you hypocrites!”. He exposes that what they are doing doesn’t come out of love for God, but out of self-righteous arrogance. Jesus asks us to look into our own hearts and ask ourselves, “what is it that guides your heart?” Have we been dragged into the materialism of the world around us thinking “I have to have a nice, new car so others will think well of me.” or “We need to live in a nice house and dress our family well so that everyone thinks well of us”. An example: Back in the 1830s Hamburg, Germany was seized by a cholera epidemic, many of the healthy flocked to the churches, as soon as the epidemic was done, the zeal for worship died down. Similarly in our own country – Sept 11, 2001. Do you remember how people flocked to church and begged for God’s mercy and power – but now things seem to have returned to normal. Jesus with these words is not wagging his finger at us and saying “How could you?”. He invites us to repent. As we acknowledged earlier, “Heavenly Father, in the last 24 hours, in the last week, my heart has not always been guided by you. I have sinned in misguided thoughts, words and actions”. He then offers us forgiveness and the strength to say no to sin. Did you notice the refrain of our Psalm (119c)? “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path”. We prayed “Lord, please let your Word be the one and only thing which guides my heart. II. Are your words and actions a true reflection of your heart? Having looked at the heart, now Jesus asks us – are the actions and words which we put forth a true reflection of that heart – in other words, if the heart is right, God-pleasing words and actions will naturally follow. Jesus pointed out how the Pharisees put on a show doing what was right, but it was only an outward show – they didn’t really mean what they were doing. If words and actions are a true reflection of the heart, then we won’t look at our possessions as “things” that are mine to use the way I want. We will ask and seek “How can I use everything I have in a God-pleasing way?”. The heart will help us avoid the “I want to have fun and do what I want” syndrome. The heart that says “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path will say “Lord, guide me through the darkness of sin and not into the pit of temptation”. CONCLUSION In a recent survey, 1/3 of Americans claimed to be Christians or “born again”, but the pollster observed how less than 25% of that 1/3 could give an answer to the question “How do you live your faith as a Christian?”. Jesus words remind us that it is not just enough to say we are a Christian, or even be present in a church – are we living our faith from a heart which loves the Savior and realizes all he has done for us? May God help each of us to have a heart guided by the Word which results in God-pleasing words and actions. That will enable us to not just offer lipservice, but Godly heartservice as well. Amen