SPIRITUAL BLIND SPOTS (LUKE 18:9-14)

SPIRITUAL BLIND SPOTS (LUKE 18:9-14)
July 25 & 26, 2009






Introduction.

Read Luke 18:9-14 - The essence of this parable is about the attitude of our hearts in which we live life and also approach God.

Jesus told this parable in the presence of His followers as well as religious people (i.e. the Pharisees).

1. Luke 18:10-12. The deception of our hearts. The tax collector was aware of his heart condition, but not the Pharisee. He had severe spiritual blind spots.

The heart of man is deceitfully wicked and only God truly knows our hearts

(Jeremiah
17:9-10).

Though the believer has a new heart (Ezekiel 36:26), mind (Rom. 8:26, 1 Cor. 2:16), and desires for the things of God (Rom. 7:18, Heb. 13:18) through union with Christ,

God's work in this renewed heart is unfinished (1 John 3:2) and the flesh still remains unsearchable and deceitful (Ga1.5:17).

The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it?

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.

Jeremiah 17:9-10

>Sin is any failure to conform to the moral law of God (i.e. 10 commandments) in act, attitude, or nature.

There is a kind who is pure in his own eyes, yet is not washed from his filthiness. Proverbs 30:12

God's View of Sin - According to Leviticus 16:21 (NIV), sin is rebellion.

According to

2 Samuel 12:9-10,

sin is despising God. According to 1 Kings 13:21, sin is to defy the Lord.

SIN = Rebellion, despising, defying God! Sin is an affront to God's character and rebellion against His will!


But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man.

For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders.

atthew 15:18-19


The heart of man consists of following: the mind (our thoughts, plans, judgments, discernment),

the will (our choices and actions), the affections (our longings, desires, feelings, imaginations),

and the conscience (our sense of right and wrong, which approves or condemns your mind, will, and affections).


II. Luke 18:13. The correction of our hearts. Our only defense against the deceptive sin of self-righteousness or refined sins in our lives is to prayerfully develop a humble and repentant heart before Almighty God.

This speaks of the practice and process of continual repentance.


Search me, 0 God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way. Psalm 139:23-24

Basic elements of a repentant heart (See Psalm 51:1-12).

Repentance involves:

1.) a plea for forgiveness (vs. 1-2);

2.) an acknowledgment of guilt and the punishment we deserve for our sins (vs. 3-6);

3.) a heart-cry for cleansing from sin and cancellation of guilt (vs. 7-9); and 4.) a requesting for renewal and restoration in God (vs. 10-12).


Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry.

for it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience, and in them you also once walked, when you were living in them. But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth.

Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him... Colossians 3:5-10


If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9


II. Luke 18:14. The protection of the heart. God resists the proud in heart but gives grace to the humble in heart (James 4:6).

The Pharisee's heart was proud therefore he was resisted by God. The tax collector humbled himself and received grace from God, thereby protecting his
heart.

Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted
(v. 14).
...and put onihe new self which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth. Ephesians 4:24


So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.

Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.


Colossians 3:12-15

Applications/Homework this week -

Using the handout on Sin Euphemisms or the scriptures for meditation listed below:

1.) Get with a friend who knows you well and ask him/her to help you identify traits where you have grown in the past year.


2.) Mark two traits you believe God would like you to focus on for growth (commit these to prayer, meditation, and practice).


Conclusion - Let God search your heart right now.

Turn away from your sin against the Lord as He reveals it. Trust in Christ alone to save you and keep you, but don't stop there.

Learn to live a life of continual repentance.

Daily "put off' the old lying and dening man through repentance and "put on" the new man through faith and prayer trusting the Holy Spirit to help you overcome every blind spot for God's glory.

Amen.
For Meditation and Suggested Reading:

Col. 3:1-17, Eph. Gai. 5:22-23, 1 Tim. 6:6-11, James 3:17
The Enemy Within — Kris Lundgard