Matthew 5:29-30 (NIV) 29 If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.
Today, we will talk about protecting ourselves from stumbling.
The word stumble is an action verb which means to strike the foot against something while walking or running.
This can happen accidentally or unexpectedly to everyone resulting to a person's stumbling, staggering, falling or tripping his feet.
And so, picture yourself walking alone unsteadily down a dark passage without any light to guide you.
And as you walk, you suddenly saw a dark shadow coming towards you.
Suddenly, you are overcome by fear, alarm and apprehension.
Instantly, you lost your balance, you stumbled down the alley and you fell hurting yourself badly.
You woke up the next day in the hospital without any recollection of what happened the previous night.
It was a horrifying experience.
And you begin to blame yourself.
"If only I did not walk that pathway alone at night.
If only I walked with groups.
If only was in church.
If only...
But it was too late.
You already stumbled.
You made a mistake.
And so, before that happens, you must learn to protect yourself from stumbling.
You must learn what to do and you must acquire the needed information to safeguard your life.
The same word "stumble" can also be used in terms of a person who made a mistake.
It is used to describe a person who made a blunder in life as a consequence of his past action or words uttered.
And so, picture yourself again taking that first smoke of cigarette many years ago when you were young.
Many people already told you to stop smoking because it will destroy you over time.
But you ignored the warnings and continued your puff.
As years passed by, you became addicted to smoking and you cannot get out.
Then, in and old age, you had lung cancer.
You have difficulty breathing.
You only have a few months to live.
And that was the time you remembered the warnings and many advices given to you.
"If only I listened.
If only I did not take that first smoke.
I only I ignored my so-called friends when they gave me that first cigarette.
If only I stopped smoking earlier.
But it was too late, you have already stumbled and fell and you cannot stand up anymore.
And so, before that happens, you need to guard yourself from the traps that can cause you to stumble.
You need to defend yourself from the invasion of the enemy.
You must learn to keep yourself away from those slippery ambush.
You and I need this message.
We must learn to protect ourselves.
Actually, "Stumble" is not a good word.
As much as possible, we don't want to experience this.
We don't want to stumble.
We don't want to make blunders in our lives.
We don't want to trip over and fall.
Because if we stumble, it will totally affect our future.
But sad to say, this can happen to any person, anytime, anywhere.
Anybody can stumble unexpectedly.
And so, today, we will talk about overcoming stumbling.
How do I protect myself from making that mistake.
How do I take care of myself so that my walk will always be consistent for the rest of my life.
How do I guard myself from harming myself and others who sees me?
Our Text says in Matthew 5:29-30 "29 If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell."
Our outline for today consist of the following:
HOW TO OVERCOME STUMBLING:
1. Be Careful with what you watch. The things that enter your life. You must learn to protect your eyes. You must have a clear outlook of life.
2. Be careful with what you do. The things that you show to people. The way you use your hands. You must be a blessing to others.
3. Be aware of the destruction that sin can do. You must learn to deal with sin when it is small. Do not allow it to grow and eat you up. For sin not dealt with can have a destructing consequences to your soul.
I. BE CAREFUL WITH WHAT YOU WATCH.
Matthew 5:29 ""29 If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell."
This verse talks about our right eye.
It says that this right eye can cause you to stumble.
The word "eye" is from the Gr word "Opthalmos" which means the eyes of the mind or the faculty of knowing.
The word is used in Ephesians 1:18 (KJV) "The eyes of your understanding being enlightened ; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints."
It means that the eyes should be the instrument of your spiritual understanding and enlightenment.
Your eyes should be the entry point of your spiritual knowledge and wisdom.
It should be the entry point of godly character and spiritual holiness.
As you read God's Word, you increase your knowledge of your calling and the riches of His grace.
However, in Matthew 5:29, instead of spiritual understanding, the opposite thing happened.
You have used your eyes to commit sin.
It becomes the entry point of sin and not of spiritual holiness.
Hence, you have stumbled spiritually.
In the previous verses, it says, if you look at a woman with lust in your eyes.
You have already committed adultery with her in your eyes. (Matthew 5:28)
That is what happens when you use your eyes for the wrong purposes.
You focused on the wrong thing.
The longer you focused, the more you entertained sin.
The longer you entertained sin, the faster it spreads out in your minds.
The more it spreads out, the more the contamination of evil.
The more you are contaminated, the more you are condemned.
Instead of being enlightened of the sin's perils, you have been enticed to commit more sin.
Instead of being properly informed of its dangers, you have been persuaded to carry out sin.
Instead of being knowledgeable of its pitfalls, you have been seduced to execute sin.
Instead of being wise of sin's instability, you have been attracted to accomplish its sinful acts.
Instead of running away from sin, you have been running towards sin.
The result?
You have committed sin and you have stumbled spiritually.
You have allowed spiritual cancer to enter your body through your eyes.
Your eyes have severely affected the proper functioning of the entire body.
This is the wrong use of the eyes that God has given to us.
What is the solution?
The Scripture says that if these things happen, you have to "gouge it out and throw it away."
The KJV says, "You pluck it out and cast it from thee."
What does that mean?
The word "pluck" means to draw out or to root out something.
The idea here is that you select that thing or that part of the body that has caused you to sin and to draw it out.
The goal is that you would stop this part of your body from enticing you to sin again.
The goal is to prevent evil contamination.
The goal is to deliver or rescue the entire body from rotting.
Plainly speaking, you identify, you pinpoint, you diagnose, you single out that part of the body that causes you to sin.
You then transform, change completely, remodel, alter and convert that part of the body so that it will not be a cause for embarrassment.
You then use that part of the body for works of righteousness.
Romans 6:13 (NIV) "Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness."
That is the best solution.
Before, your eyes have been used as an instrument for wickedness.
Your eyes had been the regular entry point of sin to your body.
Now, you realized it was not doing you any good.
You now rejected that kind of function for your eyes.
But now, you have transformed the proper functioning of the eyes.
You begin to offer your eyes as instrument of righteousness.
"From now on, I will use my eyes to be an instrument for my spiritual enlightenment.
From now on, I will use my eyes to read good Christian books.''
From now on, I will NOT look at a woman with lust but to admire the beauty that God has created and to praise Him for that.
From now on, I will not look at worldly wealth or material things with greed and envy.
From now on, I will not look at those pornographic pictures from the magazines or the internet.
From now on, I will use my eyes to be the source of light for my entire body.
Your eyes had been transformed to be the regular entry point of righteousness to your body.
Matthew 6:22 (NIV) "The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light."
That means you can use your eyes to be the source of light for the entire body.
That light which enter your body can also become the source of health for the entire body.
And so, because of your eyes, your whole body is well-lighted.
And so, because of your eyes, your whole body is healthy.
Your whole body is in good condition.
It is active, lively, robust and strong.
The eyes did it.
You must therefore protect your eyes.
This is the best way to protect yourself from stumbling.
So, how do you protect your eyes?
Twelve ways:
1. Invest in a pair of good quality sunglasses.
2. Never stare into direct sunlight or at any object reflecting the sun's rays.
3. Even if you are wearing sunglasses, never look directly at the sun.
4. Do not stare into darkness. This can damage your eyes as well.
5. Go to your doctor and have a vision test every 6 months.
6. Use eye drops as directed for itchy, watery, dry or red eyes.
7. Protect your eyes from eye strain when at the computer or watching television.
8. When reading, keep some distance from the book, which might reduce strain or mitigate near sightedness.
9. When doing anything that may get particles or fumes in your eyes, be sure to wear protective glasses or goggles.
10. Wear goggles in the pool to prevent the chemicals they clean the pool with out of your eyes.
11. Be sure to get plenty of sleep so your eyes don't strain to stay open during the day.
12. Never ever rub your eyes.
Proverbs 20:12 "The hearing ear and the seeing eyes, the Lord made them both."
Mark 8:25 "Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.
2. BE CAREFUL WITH WHAT YOU DO.
Matthew 5:30 "30 And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell."
The next part of the body that can cause us to stumble is your right hand.
The words "right hand" is from the Gr "Dexios" which is actually a metaphor signifying a place of honor or authority.
For instance, the same word is used in Colossians 3:1 (NIV) "Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
It means that Christ is seated at the right hand side of God.
He has been given a great place of honor and authority.
And only Christ is worthy of great honor and authority because of what He had done for us at the cross.
And so, he is using such honor and authority for the good of Christians who trusts Him.
But sometime,s we have been given such honor and authority and we made a mess out of it.
Going back to Matthew 5:30, it says that your right hand can cause you to stumble.
What does that mean?
Well, it means that there is a possibility that you might be given some place of honor or authority in a certain group, society, company or school.
They have finally recognized your wisdom and talents.
And there are people under your care.
They look up to you.
They admire you.
It says that you have to be careful with what you do with that position that was given to you.
Because if you misuse it or abuse it, it can be the cause of stumbling blocks for you and for others.
How? When you allow pride to creep in because of too much honor and authority, you stumbled.
When you allow self-love, self-glorification, self-admiration, self-sufficiency and egotism to dominate your thinking because of that honor and authority you received, you stumbled.
When you allow your high-mindedness, your conceit, and your aloofness to overshadow your actions, you stumbled.
Your right hand can cause you to stumble.
You must protect yourself.
How do you do that?
Again, the advice is to cut it off and throw it away.
That word "cut off" is from the Gr "Ekkopto" which is also a metaphor meaning to cut off the occasion.
The idea here is to reject any form of honor and authority that people might be bestowing to you if you know that you will be placed in a very difficult situation because of it.
You know that your moral integrity will be at stake if you accept it.
You know that your personal conviction as a Christian will be at stake.
You know that your values will be compromised.
You know that your Christian witness and testimony will be questioned.
So, you cut it off and throw it away.
You dismiss it, you renounce it, you turn it down, you say NO to it and you decline it ultimately.
You must protect yourself from stumbling.
The same root word: "Ekkopto", "cut off " or "cut down" is used in Matthew 3:10 (NIV) " The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
It means that every tree is being closely monitored for fruit bearing.
If that tree has not been bearing fruit after a certain amount of time, the ax is ready to do its job.
That tree must be cut down and thrown into fire.
It has no use anymore.
Trees are supposed to bear fruits.
But there is no fruit in it.
Therefore, it must be cut off, cut down, prevented from growing, isolated, renounced, separated from others and bring to an end.
It is better that way rather than to contaminate the whole fruit land.
The goal is to be fruit-bearing always where seeds can be produced and germinated.
The goal is for Christians to produce more fruits.
The goal is for e fruit of the spirit to be seen in our lives.
The goal is for us to reach more souls for Christ.
Life begets life.
Fruit-bearing trees will produce more fruit bearing trees.
Have you been fruitful lately?
You must protect yourself from being cut-off.
Be careful with what you do.
Ecclesiastes 9:10 (NIV) "Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.
This verse tells us about what our hands need to do.
It said that when you decide to do something, do it with all your might.
It means, give yourself fully to that work you are doing.
Because someday, all our labors will cease.
When we die, there will no more doing.
And so, our hands must be fruitful while we have the time and the opportunity.
Our hands must give blessings to people.
Our hands must be used to reach out to people.
Our hands must help people.
Our hands must give support to others.
Our hands must be raised to praise God.
We must lay hands on people so that they too will receive the Holy Spirit.
We must be careful with what we do with our hands.
These and many more are ways we can protect ourselves from being cut-off.
Proverbs 3:27 "Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in the power of your hand to do so."
Here are some interesting quotes about our hands:
In the absence of any other proof, the thumb alone would convince me of God's existence.
Sir Isaac Newton "The hand is the cutting edge of the mind."
Jacob Bronowski "You can't shake hands with a clenched fist."
Indira Gandhi "Hold a true friend with both hands."
Nigerian Proverb
"Ignorant men don't know what good they hold in their hands until they've flung it away."
Sophocles
"May the road rise to meet you. May the wind always be at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face, the rains fall soft upon your fields and, until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of his hand."
Irish Blessing
The art of life is to show your hand.
E. V. LucasThe best helping hand that you will ever receive is the one at the end of your own arm.
Fred DehnerChildren are the hands by which we take hold of heaven.
Henry Ward Beecher
3. BE AWARE OF THE DESTRUCTION THAT SIN CAN DO.
Matthew 5:29-30 "29 If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell."
These verses tell us that hell is real.
It is a real place of torment where the fire is never quenched and the soul never rest in distress.
Hell is a real place where there is the presence of fire but it is in total darkness.
It is a place of misery, of gloom, hardship and never ending torture.
It is a place of anguish, agony and discomfort.
People are being thrown to hell because of their choice.
Instead of obeying God, they obeyed their own passion and overcome by sin.
Twice, the verses tell us the possibility that your whole body can be thrown into hell.
It says that when your right eye causes you to stumble, you can be thrown into hell.
When your right hand causes you to stumble, you can be thrown into hell.
It means that sin can enter your body.
Then, you stumbled and you were not able to get up.
Your whole body was dominated by sin.
It originally was just a little sin.
But you ignored the spread of sin in your body.
You ignored the warning signs in your relationships.
You ignored the symptoms in your hearts.
You ignored the medications that were made available.
You ignored the cure from the Scriptures.
You ignored the Presence of the Great Physician.
By the time you knew it, it has already spread into your whole body like a cancer.
It has already eaten your whole body.
Ultimately it has brought destruction to your soul.
You must protect yourself from the spread of sin.
The Bible says in Romans 5:8 (NIV)"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
Don't let sin destroy your soul in hell.
The Bible says that sin was already destroyed by Christ when he died for us at the cross.
He loved us even though we were sinners.
He nailed your sin and my sins at the cross.
When you put your faith in Christ and trust in His finished work, it is as if you stopped the spread of sin in your system.
When you put your faith in Christ, it is as if you have just taken an anti-venom potion that reversed the effect of the poison.
When you put your faith in Christ, it is as if you have taken a miracle drug that can cure and transform your eyes.
Before you came to Christ, you have been blinded to the things of God and sin enters freely through your eyes.
Now that you have received Christ, you can see spiritual truths and the power of the Holy Spirit enters through your eyes.
When you put your faith in Christ, it is as if your hands have been miraculously transformed.
Before, you always had a clenched fist that is firm and warlike.
But now that you have received Christ, your hands have reached out to the lost with love and care.
All these have been done because of Christ's power of healing.
This is the best way to protect yourself from the spread of sin.
You give your life to Christ.
You repent from your sin.
You welcome the Presence of the Holy Spirit.
You are adopted into God's family.
You have inner spiritual strength.
You appropriate the blood of Christ.
When you do this, sin will have no power over you.
Ezekiel 18:30-32 New International Version (NIV)
30 “Repent!Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. 31 Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, people of Israel? 32 For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live!
