PM Luke 6:12-42

[0:00] Let's join together again in prayer. Lord our God, we thank you that you give us the privilege of interceding for our world.

[0:15] ! We thank you for the privilege of prayer that we have this access to you at any time in any situation. And that you are not slow or preoccupied or otherwise engaged.

[0:32] That you always are ready to hear our prayers. And we thank you for that immense privilege that we have of access to the throne of the universe.

[0:42] We thank you also for your great mission and plan to bless all nations of the earth through Jesus Christ.

[0:56] We thank you that he is the saviour of the world. That he is the Lord of all. And we thank you for the beauty and the glory, the grace and truth that we find in Jesus Christ.

[1:12] And we do pray this evening for the spreading of his fame and his glory across the world. We pray for, the friends I've mentioned for Amid and Sunnah as they are in Arabia at the moment on pilgrimage.

[1:33] And we know that they are not alone, that there are thousands, millions of people even, on pilgrimage from all across the Muslim world. And we do pray that many of them would encounter you, Lord, even there in that pilgrimage place.

[1:52] That they would recognize that the dwelling place of God on earth is in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now ascended into heaven but present with his people by the Spirit.

[2:07] And we do pray that you would open the eyes of many Muslims from across the world at this time. Pray for Amid and Sunnah that you would open their eyes too.

[2:19] And bring them to see the supremacy and the glory and the uniqueness of Jesus Christ. And to give their allegiance to him.

[2:30] Also pray for this other friend, Sanon, who seems so open. And we pray that he would continue to read the scriptures and to engage with your people.

[2:44] And to visit church services. And that you would also open his heart to receive the Lord Jesus Christ. And also we pray for his family too.

[2:58] And we do pray that in every ethnic group, every community in our own land, that your spirit would be at work drawing people to yourself.

[3:14] We do pray for this town and this area, Dumfries and Galloway. And we do pray for every fellowship of your people.

[3:25] For all who call on the name of the Lord Jesus. For your blessing on them this day. And we do pray that you would work in this community, this town and the surrounding area.

[3:41] Moving in people, causing people to seek after you. And to read your word. To want to come to a place of worship. To ask your people about the hope that they have.

[3:55] The hope that we have in Christ. And we pray that we would be ready for them. That we would, as Peter says in his first letter, that we would be always ready to give a reason for the hope that we have.

[4:10] We thank you for evidence of an increase in church attendance. And in people buying the scriptures.

[4:21] And Lord, that is encouraging. And we pray that that would continue. And that many people would turn to you in our own land, in our own time.

[4:33] And again, we pray that we would be welcoming to them. That we would be helpful to them. That we would be wise and bold and sensitive and loving.

[4:48] In pointing people to Jesus Christ. We also pray for ourselves here this evening. You know us. You know our needs, our burdens, our concerns.

[5:00] And we bring these to you. We pray for those who can't be here. Because of ill health. We pray that you would draw near to them this evening.

[5:11] We think of Jack. And we think of Aubrey and Kirsty. And we pray for your blessing on them. And others too. Who might like to be here. But cannot. For ill health or whatever other reason.

[5:24] We commit them to your care. We would also pray for those who. Maybe are. Would once have come here. Or are in our families. Or. In our orbit to.

[5:36] Have no desire to be in a place of worship. And we pray that you would reach into their lives. And turn them around. We also. Pray for the.

[5:47] The Iranian guys who come. On a Sunday morning. And we thank you for them. And thank you for their. Attendance here. And being part of the fellowship. And we pray that you would bless them.

[5:58] In just the situations they're in. We pray that. Each of them would look to you. And. Find. Help. And blessing.

[6:09] And refuge. In you. In their situations. In their situations. So. And as we. Turn now to read your word. We ask that you would. Bless that to us.

[6:19] We pray that. We would. Be able to understand your word. And. To hear your voice. Speaking to us. Through. The scriptures.

[6:32] So bless us in this time. We ask. In Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Let's read together. From the. Holy Bible. From the.

[6:43] Gospel. According to Luke. Chapter 6. So on page. 1039. Of the.

[6:55] Church Bible. So Luke chapter 6. And we'll read from verse. 12. Down to verse 42.

[7:05] In these days. Jesus went out. To the mountain. To pray. And all night. He continued.

[7:16] In prayer. To God. And when day came. He called his disciples. And chose. From them. Twelve. Whom he named. Apostles. Simon. Whom he named.

[7:26] Peter. And Andrew. His brother. And James. And John. And Philip. And Bartholomew. And Matthew. And Thomas. And James. The son of Alphaeus. And Simon. Who was called.

[7:37] The zealot. And Judas. The son of James. And Judas Iscariot. Who became. A traitor. And he came down. With them.

[7:47] And stood on a level place. With a great crowd. Of his disciples. And a great multitude. Of people. From all Judea. And Jerusalem. And the sea. The sea coast.

[7:57] Of Tyre. And Sidon. Who came to hear him. And to be healed. Of their diseases. And those who were troubled. With unclean spirits. Were cured. And all the crowd.

[8:08] Sought to touch him. For power came out from him. And healed them all. And he lifted up his eyes. On his disciples. And said.

[8:19] Blessed are you. Who are poor. For yours. Is the kingdom. Of God. Blessed are you. Who are hungry now. For you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you.

[8:31] Who weep now. For you shall laugh. Blessed are you. When people hate you. And when they exclude you. And revile you. And spurn your name as evil. On account of the son of man.

[8:44] Rejoice in that day. And leap for joy. For behold. Your reward is great in heaven. For so their fathers did. To the prophets. But woe to you who are rich.

[8:57] For you have received your consolation. Woe to you who are full now. For you shall be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now. For you shall mourn. And weep. Woe to you when people speak well of you.

[9:11] For so their fathers did. To the false prophets. But I say to you who hear. Love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you.

[9:23] Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who abuse you. To the one who strikes you on the cheek. Offer the other also. And from one who takes away your cloak.

[9:36] Do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who begs from you. And from one who takes away your goods. Do not demand them back.

[9:49] And as you wish that others would do to you. Do so to them. If you love those who love you. What benefit is that to you?

[10:00] For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you. What benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.

[10:12] And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive. What credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners. To get back the same amount.

[10:22] But love your enemies. And do good. And lend expecting nothing in return. And your reward will be great.

[10:33] And you will be sons of the Most High. For he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful even as your Father is merciful.

[10:45] Judge not. And you will not be judged. Condemn not. And you will not be condemned. Forgive.

[10:56] And you will be forgiven. Give and it will be given to you. Good measure. Pressed down. Shaken together. Running over. Will be put into your lap.

[11:07] For with the measure you use. It will be measured back to you. He also told them a parable. Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit?

[11:20] A disciple is not above his teacher. But everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye?

[11:31] But do not notice the log that is in your own eye? How can you say to your brother? Brother let me take out the speck that is in your eye. When you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye.

[11:46] You hypocrite. First take the log out of your own eye. And then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother's eye. May God bless to us that reading from his word.

[12:02] Let's join again in singing. I'd like us to turn back to Luke chapter 6 on page 1039 of the church bible.

[12:16] And to look particularly at verses 36 to 42 of that chapter.

[12:27] So this is part of what's called the Sermon on the Mount or Sermon on the Plain. You're more likely to have heard of the Sermon on the Mount.

[12:39] Which is the version we have in Matthew's gospel. Now scholars debate as to whether this in Luke chapter 6 is a different occasion.

[12:49] Or the same occasion that is recorded in Matthew. Preachers tend to use the same material in different places.

[13:02] So it may be similar material on a different occasion. But we will leave that debate aside. But the theme of this sermon, this famous sermon of the Lord Jesus, is the community of his own disciples.

[13:18] And how they should live together as a community, as the people of God. And there are many parallels in this passage with the establishment of Israel.

[13:33] The Israelites as God's people in the old covenant era. However, the Israelites were established as God's people at Mount Sinai. They'd been led by Moses, or by God through Moses, out of the land of their slavery in Egypt.

[13:51] And led through the wilderness to Mount Sinai. And there God met with them and made a covenant with them. And Moses goes up the mountain, Mount Sinai.

[14:02] And comes down with the covenant, with the law, to the twelve tribes of Israel. And there are many parallels here.

[14:13] The passage that we read began with Jesus up a mountain. To be in prayer to God with God. And then he comes down from the mountain.

[14:27] Similar to Moses from Mount Sinai. And he chooses twelve apostles. And the number twelve is significant. Because there were twelve tribes of Israel.

[14:38] Tom Wright uses the illustration of if you go into a field. And you see a load of children kicking a round ball around.

[14:51] And then a man in a tracksuit comes along and he picks eleven of them. Everybody knows what's going on, what he's doing. He's picking a football team. And Jesus by choosing twelve. He's indicating that he's kind of reconstituting Israel around himself.

[15:08] That this is the new Israel of God. Around himself who are made up of his disciples. Notice though that whereas Moses is from one of those tribes of Israel.

[15:23] And he is part of Israel. Jesus takes the authority upon himself to choose twelve. He takes the authority on himself to reconstitute Israel.

[15:36] And we see the great authority that Jesus claimed for himself and acted with. So his twelve disciples kind of represent.

[15:50] Of course there is a wider group of disciples here. But they represent this new community. This new Israel of God. Ultimately that will be made up not just of Jews.

[16:01] But of people from every nation and tribe. Of all those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Notice also that Jesus in this sermon gives lots of instruction.

[16:15] Lots of laws or rules. He gives them the word of God in verse 20. We read that he lifted up his eyes on his disciples and said.

[16:30] So he's addressing this to his disciples. And that tells us that Jesus is not telling them how to be saved. He is speaking to people who are already saved.

[16:41] Already his disciples. This is how they are to live as his disciples. I think last time I was here we looked at the ten commandments. In Exodus chapter 20.

[16:52] And similarly there. Those ten commandments were not given to the Israelites. To tell them how they could be made right with God. Or how they could be saved.

[17:03] They'd already been saved from Egypt. They'd been redeemed from Egypt. And brought there as God's people. And this was now rules. How they were to live. As God's people.

[17:14] As God's household. And in a very similar way. Jesus is giving these rules or laws. Principles. For how those already saved.

[17:24] Or those already disciples. Are to live as his people. So this is how they are to live. As God's new community.

[17:37] Now that's sort of more general. I want us to focus. Now on verses 36 to 42. You might have heard the proverb. That people who live in glass houses.

[17:50] Should not throw stones. And I think you probably know. How that is. What that means. That if you're living in a glass house.

[18:00] You're living in a fragile environment. And it's very foolish to throw stones. So people who are. Be careful about the criticism you give. Because in the criticism you deal out to others.

[18:12] You might be attacking yourself. Another similar proverb is that. He who points the finger. Points three back. At himself. And then there's this one from.

[18:23] This is an Arabic proverb. That the camel never sees its own hump. But that of another. And these kind of. Point to. I guess that they're sort of in.

[18:35] You know folk wisdom. But. In some ways they point to this. What Jesus is teaching here. When he says. Judge not. Do not judge. Now.

[18:46] We have to be clear. What Jesus doesn't mean here. He doesn't mean that. We should never make critical judgments. About. Other people. And about what they say. We are to use our discernment.

[18:57] And wisdom. And in fact. In the same sermon. In verses 43 to 45. He goes on to speak about. Being discerning. He says. No good tree bears bad fruit.

[19:09] Nor. Again. Does a bad tree. Bear good fruit. Each tree is known by its fruit. So he's telling people to discern. People by the fruit of their lives.

[19:20] By what their lives produce. Also Jesus isn't talking about. Law courts. When he's saying don't judge. He's not talking about.

[19:31] What a judge does. In a court of law. That's. Not what he's speaking about here. What he's speaking about is. Our tendency.

[19:42] To. Judge. Others. And condemn others. And. We so often. So easily do that. To. Make us feel better.

[19:53] About ourselves. We lift ourselves up. By. Putting others down. We may even take delight. In finding fault. In. Other people.

[20:05] But so often. We do the same things. That we accuse. Others of. Of course. We make excuses. For ourselves. When we do those things. Well. I was under lots of pressure.

[20:16] I was having a hard time. But we don't make those kind of. Allowances. For. Other people. And also. We don't know the. All the circumstances.

[20:28] Of. Another person's situation. Their upbringing. What experience. They may have had. What's going on. In their life. You. You may be aware. Of some of it. But you never know.

[20:38] All of it. You never know. The burdens. That another person. May be carrying. So just to give. Just to give. An example. I might go out. Into the streets.

[20:49] This evening. And see. A drunk man. Who's filthy. And who's abusive. And so it would be easy. For me. Just to. Despise him. And think.

[21:00] Oh he's really made a mess. Of his life. And no doubt. Made a mess. Of other people's lives. But I don't know. All the circumstances. Of his life. Perhaps as a child.

[21:10] He was constantly. Abused. Or neglected. Perhaps he suffered. Rejection. And exclusion. As a teenager. Perhaps his wife. Cheated on him. Perhaps he's lost his job.

[21:21] Lost a child. Suffered. Terrible ill health. Or a terrible accident. And I haven't suffered all that. Of course that doesn't excuse. Behaviour. But I haven't suffered that.

[21:34] How would I cope. If I had. Possibly no better than. He. Is coping. In another place. In Luke. Jesus said that.

[21:44] From everyone. Who has been given much. Much. Will be demanded. And from the one. Who has been entrusted with much. Much more. Will. Be asked.

[21:56] And instead of judging. That. Drunk man. I should remember that. I have been given much. In terms of. Upbringing. Health. Education. And much more.

[22:07] And the challenge for me. And the challenge for each of us. Is. What. Am I doing. With what I have been given. With what God has given me. What am I doing with that.

[22:18] No use. Concentrating on. What someone else has done. With their situation. I need to ask. What have I done. What am I doing. With what God. Has given me. To whom much is given.

[22:30] Much more. Will be required. Of course. We can extend. Judging to. People from other cultures. And ethnic groups.

[22:40] It's very easily. Easy to criticize. Behavior. Which. May be different from. Our. Culture. Or society.

[22:52] When often. We may not understand. The background. The culture. That they are from. I can think of an example. This is. Going back a few years. Our next door neighbor.

[23:04] Was banging. A hammer. At 3 a.m. In 3 a.m. And of course. We couldn't sleep. And he was doing. Renovations. To his house. At 3 a.m.

[23:16] So. Of course. In our culture. That's really. Unreasonable behavior. So. We were lying there. Awake. And I thought. We're not going to sleep. So I went. And round.

[23:26] And knocked on his door. And. I said to him. You know. We can't sleep. Because of all that hammering. That you're doing. And. He was very. Apologetic. And you know.

[23:37] He was very sorry. And stopped doing it. But he was from a culture. From a place. In a culture. Where. There's just no concept. Of noise pollution. People make a noise. All day. All night.

[23:48] And so. He never thought. That it would. Disturb the neighbors. What Jesus says. Do not. Judge. And you will not be judged. Do not condemn. And you will not.

[23:58] Be condemned. For with the measure. You use. It will be measured. Back to you. Saying that when God. Judges you. He will use. Your standard.

[24:09] Of how you've judged. Other people. To judge you. Now. We have to remember. That Jesus is speaking here. To disciples. So he's not talking about. The final judgment. Which will determine.

[24:19] Your eternal destiny. If we are his disciples. Then. We are assured. Of. Resurrection. To eternal. Life. But believers.

[24:31] Will be judged. And their situation. In the kingdom of God. Will be affected. By that. Judgment. And we need to remember this. And it will deter us.

[24:42] From. Judging others. Harshly. From fault finding. From looking. For the evil. In someone else. Jesus goes on. Forgive.

[24:52] And you will be forgiven. Give. And it will be given to you. They will give you. A good measure. Pressed down. Shaken. And overflowing. Into the fold. Of your garment. So instead of judging.

[25:04] And condemning others. For their sins. Forgive. Give liberally. Whether that's in goods. Credit. Encouragement. Or service. For others. And all of this is.

[25:16] Is kind of outworking. Of what Jesus says. In verse 31. As you wish. That others would do to you. Do so. To them. Treat others. How you would like.

[25:27] To be. Treated. Judge others. How you would like. To be judged. Forgive. As you want. To be forgiven. In verse 39.

[25:40] He tells a parable. Can a blind man. Lead. A blind man. Will they not both. Fall. Into. A pit. Here he's telling.

[25:51] His disciples. Be careful. What. Leader. Or teacher. That. You choose. And. You can apply it to. Would be. Leaders. And teachers.

[26:01] Make sure you can see. Before you lead. Others. Possibly. This is aimed at. Some of the teachers. Of the law. The scribes. The Pharisees. Who were judgmental.

[26:13] And unforgiving. And who made. Bad teachers. In verse 40. He says. A disciple. Is not above his teacher. But everyone. When he is fully trained. Will be like.

[26:24] Their teacher. In those days. There were no libraries. There was no internet. So. Students. Couldn't do their own. Research. They were absolutely reliant.

[26:36] On their teacher. As their source. Of knowledge. And Jesus is warning them. That if you take a Pharisee. As your teacher. You will end up. No better than them.

[26:48] And then. In verse 41. He says. Why do you see the speck. That is in your brother's eye. But do not notice the log. That is in your own eye. How can you say to your brother.

[27:00] Brother. Let me take out the speck. That is in your eye. When you yourself. Do not see the log. That is in your own eye. You hypocrite. First take the log. Out of your own eye.

[27:11] And then you will see clearly. To take out the speck. That is in your brother's eye. So. Jesus has already said.

[27:21] That a blind guide. Is bad enough. A blind eye doctor. Is a total disaster. Now he is using kind of. It is almost like.

[27:31] A comic cartoon. Style language here. But he is making a very. Serious point. We can. So easily see. The small faults of others.

[27:43] While we miss our own. Massive. Log size. False. Hypocrisy. Is literally.

[27:53] Acting. Pretending to be something. You are not. Deceiving others. Maybe even deceiving yourself. And so Jesus is saying. That when you see.

[28:04] A fault. In someone else. First of all. Examine yourself. And get rid of your own faults. Get rid of. Your log. Deal with that. It may be that you are.

[28:15] The log that is in your own eye. Is a proud. Critical. Fault finding attitude. A lack of love. For others. Aggressiveness. Prejudice. Harshness.

[28:26] Which may. Be far worse. Than the fault. That you are seeing. In your brother or sister. So. Jesus says. First of all. Remove.

[28:37] The log. In your own eye. And then. You will be able to see clearly. The speck. In your brother's eye. And he says. Don't. When you remove the log. Don't just ignore.

[28:47] Your brother's speck. Seek in love. For him to remove that. To. The eye. Is. An extremely sensitive.

[28:57] Part of the body. And to remove something. From someone's eye. Requires great. Care. And gentleness. And sensitivity. And it's the same.

[29:08] With dealing with someone else's faults. We don't just sort of jump in. And. You know. Roughly try and do that. So if. Having removed the log.

[29:19] From your own eye. We then remove. The speck. From the brother's eye. We need to exercise. Great care. Sensitivity. Humility. And gentleness. And our motive must be.

[29:31] That we want to restore their sight. Not to tear them down. But to build them up. Well. We've looked at this teaching from.

[29:42] This sermon of Jesus. But I think. We can. See three foundations to this. Three. Sort of foundational truths.

[29:55] And. In particular. To not judging. Other people. And the first is. Our view of human nature.

[30:07] And. Jesus' teaching is based on. Really quite a. Quite a negative view of. Human nature. He's not saying don't judge. Because. Everyone's really. Nice.

[30:17] Deep down. He's saying that. Don't judge. Because. You should have a. A realistic view. About yourself. And about how bad. You are.

[30:28] And how bad I am. So when you see. Others doing. Really bad things. Really awful things. Don't look down on them. But think.

[30:39] I'm capable. Of that too. Do. And if I don't do. What that person is doing. It's only by. The grace of God. In my life. That I don't. There but for the grace of God.

[30:51] Go I. Or maybe. I am doing the same things. I accuse. Others of. But I'm just blind. To that. We live.

[31:02] Today. In a very judgmental culture. People can be. Very harsh. Particularly. Maybe on social media. If someone. Says the wrong thing. Or backs the wrong cause.

[31:13] There can be a social media. Pylon. And they are judged. And judged. Very harshly often. And excluded. Now. This is not to say that.

[31:26] There are things. People do. Step out of line. People maybe do. Wrong things. And say wrong things. And that is. Can be serious. But we should never have the attitude. That. We.

[31:37] Totally. Exclude that person. Or. Write them off. We need to recognize that. I am capable of the same sins. If I don't do them. It's because of.

[31:47] God's restraining grace. In my life. But a realistic view. Of human sinfulness. Of. Of our depravity. Of original sin.

[31:57] Which. Impacts all of us. Every one of us. I think. If we. If we grasp that. It will tend to make us less. Judgmental of others. A second.

[32:10] Foundation. To this. Is that. God. Is the only. Rightful. Judge. Judge. He judges all. And he knows. All the facts.

[32:21] All the pressures. All the mitigating. Circumstances. Everything. In every. Case. In every. For every. Individual. And so.

[32:31] God judges. Absolutely. Fairly. He takes everything. Into account. He knows all the details. All the facts. All the motivations. Even. And so. His judgment.

[32:42] Is. True. And fair. And that is. So unlike. Our judgment. Of others. Because. We only have. Limited knowledge. And partial. Knowledge.

[32:52] And we are prejudiced. Also. So don't judge. Another person. Because. God. Is their judge. And he is your judge. So treat that. Other person.

[33:04] With the mercy. That you would want. To receive. And the third. Foundational truth. Is the mercy of God. In verse 36. Jesus says.

[33:17] Be merciful. Even as. Your father. Is. Merciful. I should show. Mercy. Towards others.

[33:28] Because. I need. Mercy. Myself. I should forgive. Others. Because. I need. Forgiveness. God's mercy.

[33:40] To me. Was. Enormous. And it was costly. To him. It cost. God. The death. Of his. Beloved son.

[33:51] The Lord Jesus Christ. Who. Bore. The judgment. For my sins. So being merciful. And forgiving. Towards others. Maybe.

[34:01] It may be hard. It will cost us. But in the light. Of the much greater. Caught. Cost. That our forgiveness. Cost God. How can I not. Forgive.

[34:12] The other. How can I not. Be merciful. Towards them. May God bless. His word. To us. Let's join together. In prayer. Lord our God.

[34:23] We thank you for. Your word to us. This evening. We thank you for this. Wonderful. Sermon. On the mount. Or a plane. That. Our Lord Jesus.

[34:34] Taught us. How we should live. As. His people. We thank you that we do not have to. Perform. In order to be saved. That we are saved by your grace.

[34:46] That that is a gift to us. A free gift. A gift that costs you. More than we can ever. Know or imagine. We pray that you would help us to live.

[34:58] As your people. To live as those who. Have. Received mercy. And that we may. Be merciful. Grant us your.

[35:08] Your grace in that we pray. Help us as your. As a fellowship of your people. To. Put these things into practice. And to honour you. In so doing. In Jesus name.

[35:19] Amen. Amen.