E-pistle for October 2, 2009
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E-pistle
Dr. Dan Hite, President FreeWay Foundation October 2, 2009
The Blind Leading The Blind
(Matthew 15:1-39)
Dr. Curt Scarborough
I. Concentration: on the contents of this chapter
1. Jesus taught that spiritual defilement comes from within, vv. 1-6, 15-20.
2. Jesus denounced the hypocritical Pharisees, vv. 7-14.
3. Jesus commended a Canaanite woman's faith, and healed her daughter;
He healed a multitude of people in Galilee, vv. 21-31.
4. Jesus fed the four thousand, vv. 32-39.
II. Meditation: on Jesus' teachings about the Pharisees
1. Jesus called Pharisees "hypocrites" . . . play actors; fakes; they gave "lip
service" but their hearts were far from God, vv. 7-8.
2. Jesus said that their worship of God was meaningless (vain) and unacceptable;
He denounced them because they taught human rules in place of God's plain
commandments, v. 9.
3. Jesus taught that the true essence of spiritual religion is a matter of the heart,
not what one eats or drinks physically; the Pharisees were offended at His
words, vv. 11-12.
4. "Let them alone," Jesus said; they'll wither and die because the heavenly
Father has not planted them . . . they're not His; Jesus called them blind
leaders of blind people, and said that both would fall into the ditch, vv. 13-14.
III. Revelation: on the spiritual truths seen here
1. Man cannot fool God or disguise his true motivations; God sees man's heart,
I Samuel 16:7.
2. The Holy Spirit uses God's word as a sharp sword to stab our consciences and
to surgically remove our spiritual cancers, Hebrews 4:12.
3. We are not to uproot evil within God's spiritual garden; bad plants will wither
and die at harvest time, Matthew 13:29-30.
4. Blind leaders are double-guilty . . . for their own sins, and for the sins of others
whom they have influenced toward evil, Matthew 18:6.
IV. Applications: as a Christian, I need to . . .
1. Serve God with the pure motivation of love for Him and for other persons,
I Corinthians 13:1-3.
2. Allow the Holy Spirit to convict me of my sins and, through the Word, to operate
upon my soul and spirit.
3. Let God "weed" His own garden, in His good time. (HANDS OFF!)
4. Guard my influence; make my life count only for good.
Beware of the Leaven of the Pharisees!
(Matthew 16:1-28)
Dr. Curt Scarborough
I. Concentration: on the contents of this chapter
1. The Pharisees and Sadducees asked Jesus to show them a sign, vv. 1-4.
2. Jesus told His disciples to beware of the leaven of those Jewish religious
religious leaders, vv. 5-12.
3. Peter confessed that Jesus was "Christ, the Son of the Living God," and
Jesus taught about building His church, vv. 13-20.
4. Jesus predicted His death and resurrection; He challenged His disciples to
deny themselves, take up their crosses, and follow Him, vv. 21-28.
II. Meditation: on Jesus' teachings about bread and leaven
1. This teaching immediately followed the feeding of the 4,000, Matthew 15:38;
the Pharisees and Sadducees demanded a sign, but Jesus only gave them
the sign of Jonah (signifying His resurrection), v. 4.
2. Although there were seven large baskets full of the fragments from feeding
the 4,000, the disciples had forgotten to bring any bread with them,
Matthew 15:37; 16:5, the disciples erroneously equated Jesus' words about
the leaven (doctrine) of the Jewish religious leaders with literal bread,
vv. 6-7, 12.
3. At His temptation (Matthew 4:4), Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 8:3, "Man shall
not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of
God"; here He again contrasts physical and spiritual bread.
4. Jesus rebuked the disciples for their spiritual blindness, which was connected
to their "little faith," v. 8; Jesus had fed 5,000 and 4,000, yet the disciples did
not yet understand His omnipotence, vv. 9, 11; the disciples failed to remember
past miracles and to connect Jesus' power with their present need, vv. 9-10.
III. Revelation: on the spiritual implications seen here
1. Spiritual food is much more important than physical food.
2. The degree of spiritual perception depends upon the degree of faith.
3. God is "able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think,"
Ephesians 3:20.
4. Remembering past blessings with thanksgiving brings hope for the future.
IV. Applications: as a Christian, I need to . . .
1. Feed daily upon the Bread of Life; God's Word.
2. Develop my eyes of faith to see God at work in the world today.
3. Worship God, who is able to meet all my needs and who accomplishes His
"good" purposes even out of the "bad" things that happen to me.
4. Thank God for past blessings; trust Him for future blessings.
"Don't be afraid to go after what you want to do, and what you want to be.
But don't be afraid to pay the price!"
- Lane Frost
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