INTRODUCTION:

Early in my ministry I served what's known as a two point charge. I was the pastor for two different congregations and preached at two different churches every Sunday. Most two point charges have one large church and one smaller church. Putting them on the same appointment together allows them to have a full time pastor, rather than a part time pastor or a student pastor.

The long time members here probably remember what that was like because at one time, Joshua was part of a two point charge.

The first few weeks of an appointment are always like a honeymoon. Everyone is on their best behavior as both the congregation and the pastor try to get to know each other.

At the smaller of the two churches on this particular two point charge, we only had about 25 or 30 in worship. On the first Sunday I met Frank and Buster. They both were in their 70's. Both had been (or thought they had been) leaders in the community and in the church. Both of them considered the Church their Church. Both of them tried to impress me about their involvement in the Church

And over the course of the next few weeks, both men tried to impress upon me just how important it was that I listen to their view points and let them help me make whatever decisions needed to be made about the life and ministry of the Church.

For the next three or four months these two men reminded me of five or six year old children showing out for company. You know what I'm talking about? You know how normally well behaved children can turn into a stage hog, wanting to be the absolute center of attention when a guest comes? That's the way these two guys behaved every time they saw me.

I officed out of the larger of the two churches and both of these men made it a point to stop by for coffee at least twice. I tried subtlely telling these two guys that the church was God's Church and was about more than who was in charge. But neither one of them seemed to get the message. All they wanted was to be in charge. All they wanted was to be the preachers best buddy.

I really got the impression that if I chose one over the other, whichever one I chose, would stick out his tongue at the other guy just like a spoiled little kid.

This competition got to be ridiculous. I would be standing there talking to Frank and Buster would butt in front and start talking to me. Or vice versa, I'd be talking to Buster and Frank would step in front of Buster and just butt right in.

I'll never forget the Sunday it all came to a head. There I was standing on the front porch as usual, shaking hands with everyone as they left the church. As I greeted Miss Mae, out of the corner of my eye I saw both Frank and Buster headed toward the door. They pushed past a couple of people who looked at them like they were nuts. (What they reminded me of was a couple of spoiled little boys trying to be the first one to the cookie tray at a party.)

Both of them came busting through the door like gangbusters. They nearly knocked Miss Mae over and hardly even noticed. Though Frank did say, "Excuse me," when he saw me helping Miss Mae keep her balance.

The next thing I knew, both of these guys were in my face, trying to get my attention. I have no recollection or idea of what they wanted or what they were talking about. Partly because it really didn't matter. And partly because the next thing I knew these two guys started pushing and shoving each other. Voices were raised and before I could say anything, it broke into a full fledged fist fight, right there on the front porch of the Church.

Can you imagine? Two Seventy something old men fighting on the front porch of the church over who was going to be the preacher's best friend or have the most influence in the Church?

I got the fight stopped. Both Frank and Buster stayed in the Church. But I never did get them to apologize to each other. And the truth was, neither one of them had ANY power in that Church to begin with. Everybody else knew what they were really like. They all wanted to slap them up alongside the head as much as I did.

Let's look at the Scripture for the message this morning and maybe you'll see why I told that story.

Turn to Matthew 15:10-28 (NT p. 15 or 1198)

[10] Then [Jesus] called the crowd to him and said to them, "Listen and understand:

[11] it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles."

[12] Then the disciples approached and said to him, "Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?"

[13] He answered, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted.

[14] Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if one blind person guides another, both will fall into a pit."

[15] But Peter said to him, "Explain this parable to us."

[16] Then he said, "Are you also still without understanding?

[17] Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach, and goes out into the sewer?

[18] But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles.

[19] For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander.

[20] These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile."

[21] Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon.

[22] Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, "Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon."

[23] But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, "Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us."

[24] He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."

[25] But she came and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, help me."

[26] He answered, "It is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs."

[27] She said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table."

[28] Then Jesus answered her, "Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish." And her daughter was healed instantly. [NRSV]

We have two seemingly disconnected stories in this passage but I don't think they are so disconnected. First, if we read what Jesus had to say in context, we find that it comes after a particular confrontation by a group of Pharisees over the fact that the disciples had not washed their hands before eating. Jesus' response is less than supportive of the Pharisees. He suggests that they are strictly going through the motions of their faith, that they honor God with their lips but not their hearts.

Then he calls the crowds and the disciples together, points to the Pharisees and says: "Listen and understand: it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles. . . For what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles."

The disciples tell Jesus how upset the Pharisees were over what had been said. He shakes His head in dismay. Jesus and the disciples leave that place, head directly into Gentile country and step right into the middle of the perfect illustration for the sermon Jesus had just preached on what emanates from the heart.

A Canaanite woman comes to Jesus. She's heard about Jesus and she believes He can heal her daughter. So, she asks.

If we put it into today's terms, it might have been Jesus and his Israeli disciples crossing into Palestinian controlled Bethlehem. There they are confronted by a Palestinian mother who wants Jesus to heal her daughter because none of the Palestinian doctors have helped at all.

Get the idea? Get the tension?

The disciples reacted. And despite the fact that they had spent so much time with Jesus, so much time listening to his sermons and teachings, they still reacted like the Pharisees. "She's not one of us," They said. "She's not one of the chosen."

Jesus' answer to this woman seems so out of character. Maybe Jesus winked before answering the woman. Maybe she was given some special insight to see what Jesus was doing. In the end, the pure persistence of her desire to have her daughter healed, won out. Jesus healed her daughter.

Maybe you've seen the story, I don't remember who sent it.

It seems a man was headed up to bed one night, when his wife told him that he'd left the light on in their shed. She told him she could see it from the bedroom window. He told her he hadn't been in the shed that day. When he looked out the window, he saw that there were people in the shed, stealing things.

So, he phoned the police. The police told him that there was no one was in his area and consequently, there was no one available to catch the thieves.

He said "OK," hung up, counted to 30 and called the police again.

And he said, "Hello. I just called a few seconds ago, because there were people in my shed. Well, you don't have to worry about them now. I've just shot them all."

Within five minutes there were half a dozen police cars in the area, an armed response unit. They caught the burglars red-handed.

One of the policemen said to the man, "I thought you said you'd shot them!"

And he replied, "I thought you said there was no one available." (1)

Sometimes you just feel like you need to get somebody's attention any way you can. There are times when you feel like you want to grab somebody by the collar and shake them until they wake up and notice what's really happening. That's what I wanted to do to Frank and Buster.

That had to be what Jesus wanted to do to the Pharisees. He all but said, "Can't you see what you're doing to the faith. Can't you see what effect it's having on everybody else? Cut it out. Take it seriously and live it the way God wants you to live it."

The life Jesus describes in this passage, the life that He lives out in His interaction with the Canaanite woman is a life that is lived "From The Heart."

How do WE do that? How do WE be faithful to what Jesus is describing? How do WE live "From The Heart." This passage teaches us four things.

I. BE OBEDIENT: WITHOUT BEING A DETRIMENT:

FIRST: BE OBEDIENT: - - - - WITHOUT BEING A DETRIMENT. (Repeat)

Write this passage down and look it up later. Matthew 15:7-9. (Repeat)

I'm reading from The Message. Your translation will be a little bit different but I really like how The Message puts this. This is what Jesus told the Pharisees just prior to the passage we're looking at today.

He said, "Frauds! Isaiah's prophecy of you hit the bull's-eye: 'These people make a big show of saying the right thing, but their heart isn't in it. They act like they're worshiping me, but they don't mean it. They just use me as a cover for teaching whatever suits their fancy.'" [Msg]

In another place Jesus talks about how the Pharisees bind the people with all kinds of laws and customs that not even they can keep. And all it was doing was keeping people away from the faith.

You see, I'm convinced that most people don't want to just go through the motions. They want a real authentic relationship with God through Christ. But there are some, like the Pharisees, who are more concerned with the appearance of a relationship than they are the real thing. And those folks are a detriment to the faith. And a detriment to faithfulness.

If you find yourself being more concerned with the color of someone's skin than the size of their heart or their relationship with God you might just find yourself self slipping over into that detriment category.

If you find yourself being more concerned with how someone is dressed or how they wear their hair or what kind of music they listen to rather than if they know Christ or not then you might just find yourself self slipping over into that detriment category.

If you find yourself being more concerned over what kind of job a person has or where they live than you are with how they are doing physically and spiritually, then you might just find yourself self slipping over into that detriment category.

BE OBEDIENT: BUT WITHOUT BEING A DETRIMENT.

II. SPEAK BOLDLY: ACTIONS REALLY DO SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS:

A. SECOND: SPEAK BOLDLY: ACTIONS ALWAYS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS.

Write down this passage: Proverbs 6:21-22. (Repeat) Again I'm reading from The Message.

The author is talking about the Law, God's Law. Not the niggling, being pecked to death by ducks laws, rules and regulations of the Pharisees. But the Law of God: to Love God with everything you have and Love Your Neighbor as yourself. The author of Proverbs writes:

[21-22] "Wrap yourself in them from head to foot; wear them like a scarf around your neck. Wherever you walk, they'll guide you; whenever you rest, they'll guard you; when you wake up, they'll tell you what's next." [Msg]

When we wrap ourselves in the Law of God, the Law of Love as expressed in Jesus, then we can't go wrong. I believe that if we were to attempt to live those two Commandments as faithfully as we can, then we would be living more faithfully than if we tried to keep every law in both the Old and New Testaments.

And it's more important to live the faith than it is to simply talk about it.

B. Growing up, we had two sets of neighbors. On set lived right next door. They were a large Catholic family. If they weren't home, you could bet they were at Church. It always seemed that they were going to some special Mass for this or for that.

One of the things I remember the about this family is that whenever we were over there, one or both of the parents was always telling us about God and Jesus. They were always telling us what the Church said we had to do. We didn't like playing over there very much.

But some of the things I remember the most about this family is the night they invited everybody in the neighborhood over for homemade peach ice cream. We all took turns cranking until it was finished. And then we were told it would be ten cents a bowl.

I remember how stupid and unchristian I thought that was. And I remember how mad my Dad got. I also remembered that if the ice cream truck came by, my Dad bought ice cream for everybody who was there.

Then there was the night the father took after one of the little boys in the neighborhood with a switch from a weeping willow tree. Why? Because that little boy walked under the tree and broke off one of the small branches.

That little boy's parents were some kind of upset. The police came out that night. I remember thinking, "What happened to the 'do the unto others' that you're always talking about?"

You see, ACTIONS ALWAYS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS.

But then there was the family that lived two houses down on the other side of the house. They worked with the youth at their Church. And they were always inviting us to Vacation Bible School, Sunday School, parties that they were having at Church and parties that they were having at their house. If someone was sick, one of them always asked if they could help.

The summer my Dad and I both broke our wrists, we came home from someplace and this guy was out mowing our lawn. When the neighbor in between us had her little boy, she organized the neighbors and fixed meals for about two weeks.

That couple never lectured us about what the Bible said or what their church taught. But we knew what they believed. And we knew what Jesus looked like because of them. You see, ACTIONS ALWAYS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS.

Wrap yourself in the Law of Love. And then SPEAK BOLDLY: ACTIONS ALWAYS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS.

III. FEED THE HEART: YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT:

A. THIRD WE NEED TO: FEED THE HEART: YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT:

Whoever coined the phrase, "You are what you eat" was correct. I ate all those fatty hamburgers, cheeseburgers, fried chicken, biscuits and gravy and French Fries and I became a heart attack waiting to happen. The same thing applies in our spiritual life. We are what we eat. We are what we consume.

If our diet consists of nothing but Jerry Springer, Reality TV, soap operas and nearly any kind of popular music, we'll have a pretty skewed view of the world. Our lives won't have much hope and very little moral center.

That's why Paul writes what he does to the church at Philippi. Write this passage down. Post it on your refrigerator. Make a bookmark and use it in your reading, so every time you open your book you'll be reminded. Philippians 4:7-8. (Repeat)

"The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." [NRSV]

B. You would be surprised what a positive mind set can do. You'd be surprised at your attitude change when you just spend a little time reading the Bible and praying every day. Don't let the world define who you are and how you act or react. Let God's Word and God's love define who you are and what you do.

FEED YOUR HEART: YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT. FEED YOUR HEART AND THEN YOU'LL BE ABLE SPEAK BOLDLY.

IV. LIVE FROM THE HEART: NOT THE LAW:

FINALLY: LIVE FROM THE HEART: NOT THE LAW:

Don't get me wrong, we need the law. But the law has one purpose now that Christ has come, the Law is used to convict us of Sin. It is there to convict us and show us how we have broken God's heart and alienated ourselves from God and one another through our disobedience.

The Law can't Save us from that alienation. Only Christ can save us from that alienation. Only Christ can bring us into a reconciled relationship. Only Christ can change us from the inside out. And only Christ like love can make a difference in the world. And how do we live a life of Christ like love?

Write this down: Colossians 3:17 (Repeat)

The Apostle Paul writes: "And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." [NRSV]

That's what Living From The Heart is all about. It is joyously living to give Glory to God.

CONCLUSION:

Somebody sent me a story about a man who was packing a shipment of food for the poor people in Appalachia. He was separating the bags of beans and powdered milk, the canned and vegetables canned meats. As he reached into a box filled with these cans, he pulled out a little brown paper sack.

Apparently one of the students had brought something different from the items on the suggested list that they had sent home. As he opened the brown paper bag, out fell a peanut butter sandwich, an apple, and a cookie. There, stuck in the bag, was a torn piece of notebook paper, the little scraps of the rings still hanging on. And on the paper, written with a crayon in large letters was a little girl's name, "Christy -- Room 104."

Apparently Christy forgot to bring something or couldn't afford to bring anything but she still wanted to be a part of helping others. So she gave the only thing she had, she had given up her own lunch to help some hungry person she didn't even know. (2)

Living From The Heart makes us feel good. Living The Law makes us feel guilty. Which feels better to you. Feeling Good about yourself or Feeling Guilty?

You and I have been given a wonderful message. It's Good News. It's the Good News of a God who loves us so much that He sent His only Son to be our Savior and show us that love. It's the Good News of A God who wants us to Wrap ourselves in the law, the Law of His love for us so that we can live life FROM THE HEART, not the law.

It's the Good News of A God who wants us to BE OBEDIENT: WITHOUT BEING A DETRIMENT. To SPEAK BOLDLY: BECAUSE OUR ACTIONS ALWAYS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS. To FEED OUR HEARTS: BECAUSE YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT. And to LIVE FROM THE HEART: NOT THE LAW.

1. Sent by a friend through e-mail, Source Unknown

2. Sent by a friend through e-mail, Source Unknown

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www.rockies.net/~spirit/sermon.html (Richard Fairchild Lectionary Resources)

Homiletics, (Communications Resources, Inc., Canton, OH)

Lectionary Homiletics, (Lectionary Homiletics, Inc. Midlothian, VA)

Dynamic Preaching, (Seven Worlds Publishing, Knoxville, TN)

The Clergy Journal, (Logos Productions, Inc., Inver Grove Heights, MN)

Preaching Magazine (Preaching Resources, Jackson, TN)

Circuit Rider, (The United Methodist Publishing House, Nashville, TN)

The Interpreter's Bible, (Abingdon Press, Nashville, 1953)

The New Interpreter's Bible, (Abingdon Press, Nashville, 1995)

Lectionary Preaching Workbook, Cycle A, (CSS Publishing, Lima, OH, 2002) SermonPrep Version.

Preaching the Miracles, (CSS Publishing, Lima, OH, 1998) SermonPrep Version.

Preaching the Parables, Cycle A, (CSS Publishing, Lima, OH, 1997) SermonPrep Version.