All right, this morning we are continuing on in our series Stories of the Kingdom.
! Man, we had all those kids and everybody sitting right down here and now we've just got this big empty space. That's all right.
If anybody wants to get a better seat, it's open right here. Now you are in the spit zone.
So, all right, we are going to look at Matthew chapter 7.
We have been in the Gospel of Matthew every week.
As we're looking at the parables of Jesus, the lessons that we can learn from them,
Matthew chapter 7, good job Preston, verses 1 through 5.
You know, it wasn't just you. It's not working for me either, Christopher.
Let me see if this got slid down on the wrong thing here.
There we go.
We got it going.
All right.
Matthew chapter 7, verses 1 through 5.
As you're turning there, I want to remind you guys that there are hypocrites in church.
Is that surprising to anybody?
Were you all unaware?
How many of you would just had no idea that there were hypocrites in church?
That's a really nice young man over there.
He said, are you kidding me?
Yeah, unfortunately there are.
How many of you are also aware there are hypocrites outside of church?
You know there are hypocrites at Walmart?
Hypocrites at Spring Market?
It's not just grocery stores.
There are hypocrites on city council.
Hypocrites at Milano's.
Hypocrites at...
I don't know.
I'm thinking about the pecan shed.
I mean, probably not any hypocrites.
No, there are.
There are.
Hypocrites at the open table?
Hypocrites in your home?
Sorry about that.
Look, there are hypocrites everywhere.
Do you know why that's true?
Because we're all hypocrites.
The Bible tells us we are.
It says, let God be true and every man a liar.
And not just males.
That represents mankind.
All of us.
All of us, all right?
We're all liars.
It's part of it.
We can't help ourselves.
The closer we get to the truth,
the closer we become like Jesus.
Because he is only truth.
But why is it that people say,
I don't want to go to that church by a bunch of hypocrites?
But they'll go every other place.
There are a bunch of hypocrites.
Why do you think that is?
Well, maybe it's because as followers of Jesus,
we're supposed to be more like him.
So we're kind of setting ourselves up as,
hey, we follow Jesus.
He wasn't a hypocrite.
Why would we be one?
Well, because we struggle with the same things
that everyone else struggles with.
Sometimes, even though we try to follow Jesus,
sometimes we find ourselves being hypocritical.
Well, in the lead up in Matthew 6,
to what Jesus is talking about here in Matthew 7,
he talks about hypocrites.
Look at verse 1, Matthew 6.
You got to turn back a page.
Sorry about that.
Verse 1 and chapter 2.
What did I say?
Chapter 6, verse 1 and verse 2.
Here we go.
Do not, sorry, there we go.
Watch out.
Don't do your deeds, your good deeds publicly
to be admired by others,
for you'll lose your reward from your Father in heaven.
When you give to someone in need,
don't do as the what?
Hypocrites do.
Don't do as the hypocrites do.
Look down at verse 5.
When you pray,
don't be like the what?
Hypocrites,
who love to pray publicly on the street corners
and the synagogues,
where everyone can see them.
I tell you the truth,
that's all the reward they will ever get.
Look down at verse 16.
When you fast,
don't make it obvious like the hypocrites do.
They try to look miserable and disheveled
so people will admire them for their fasting.
Look at how long I've gone without food.
I've been on my knees praying that whole time.
Sure you have.
I tell you the truth,
that is the only reward they will ever get.
Listen.
The consistent command there
is don't be like the what?
Hypocrites.
We can do better.
Let's say it together.
Don't be like the hypocrites.
Hypocrites.
So we get this lesson from Jesus in chapter 6.
Then we move on to chapter 7.
And remember,
you always got to take the Bible in context.
If you pull an isolated verse
or little passage out of the Bible,
you can make it try to say
whatever you want it to say.
But if you read the Bible
in the larger context
of what it's teaching us,
then you can really understand
what Jesus was trying to communicate to us.
So we read it in this context,
and then we see in verse 1 of chapter 7.
Do not judge others
and you will not be judged.
Anybody ever heard that verse quoted to you?
Doesn't the Bible say something like,
don't judge lest ye be judged?
And they always use the King James Version
because they probably heard that as a kid
and they've never heard another verse since.
It's the favorite verse of unbelievers often,
non-Christians.
They love to throw that at us.
You can't tell me what to do
because the Bible says don't judge.
They probably couldn't quote
one other verse of the Bible,
but they got that one down.
Why is that?
Because none of us
want to be called out for anything.
None of us ever want to be put
under the magnifying glass
or the microscope
and have our lives put on trial.
Don't mess with me.
Let me do my thing.
Okay?
You do you, boo.
I've never had that said to me.
I probably have.
For you will be treated
as you treat others.
So again,
we got to read this verse in context.
What's he actually saying here?
Don't be a hypocrite.
Don't judge hypocritically.
Y'all, when I do research for sermons,
a lot of it comes directly from the Holy Spirit.
I'm reading the scripture.
He's putting thoughts into my head.
I'm putting them down.
Some of it, believe it or not,
comes from other books
that people have written,
theologians,
they'll go through and read the Bible.
They'll make these things
called commentaries
and they'll put down
all these thoughts
and a lot of those
are guided by the Holy Spirit
and so you can glean a lot from that.
It can be a real advantage to you
as you're putting together sermons.
I can also watch videos
of other pastors
preaching through a certain passage
that I'm going to preach through
and it's like,
hey, if they got something valuable from that,
maybe it could apply to us.
If their bullet fits my gun,
so to speak,
maybe I'll shoot it.
Anyway, I do that regularly
and throughout this passage,
there's a church in Georgia,
this passage, this series,
there's a church in Georgia
that also went through
a series on the parables of Jesus
and I've been getting a lot from that.
For this one,
I got one from a pastor in Oklahoma,
Craig Groeschel.
I've used him before.
Not putting a blanket stamp
on everything that he says
is exactly what I would say.
I can't say that.
I haven't watched everything
he'd ever says
but this was valuable
so I want to share a few of the thoughts
that I got from him
as well as some
that I got from you all
and he says this,
your harshest judgment
often reveals
your greatest weakness.
I thought that was really good.
Have you ever noticed
that when somebody
is calling out somebody else
for something,
you often find out later
that they were struggling
in the same area.
Anybody ever notice that?
Is it just me?
Yeah, me too.
So when Craig Groeschel
said that quote,
I wrote it down like,
man, that's good.
Now listen to the other things
he had to say on this passage
because there was a lot of gold in there
and I want to share some of that with you
but that's the first one.
Your harshest criticism
often reveals
your greatest or deepest weakness.
He actually shared this story
of a young man
that he had been counseling
and a guy came to him
and it was two roommates,
young men,
they were rooming together,
saved money
and the guy came to him
and said,
Pastor Craig,
I'm so mad at my roommate right now
and he was so just filled up with anger,
righteous indignation kind of thing,
you know,
and he's just angry.
He said,
I caught my roommate
looking at porn
on my computer.
How dare he?
And he was just,
I mean,
as hateful as he could be.
Not like,
hey,
let's try to get this guy some help.
He's struggling.
It was,
I cannot believe
that he would do
such a horrible thing.
I don't know all the story,
the circumstances
of how this happened
but he said
the very next day
it came out
that this guy
who was so mad
at his roommate
for doing this
had been having
a multi-year affair
with a married woman.
The very area
of sin
that he was so mad
at this guy
for,
he was having
an even way more
damaging issue
in his own life
and had been for years.
That's an extreme example
but there's a truth there.
Often,
the very thing
that you and I
get so mad
at others for
is something
that we struggle
with ourselves.
So what does he say
in verse 3?
Lead up to it.
Don't judge others.
You won't be judged
for you will be treated
as you treat others.
The standard you use
in judging
is the standard
by which you will be judged.
Verse 3.
And why worry
about a speck
in your friend's eye
when you have
a log
in your own?
How can you think
of saying to your friend,
let me help you
get rid of that speck
in your eye
when you can't see
past the log
in your own eye?
What does he say
in verse 5?
Hypocrite.
First,
get rid of the log
in your own eye
and then you will see
well enough
to deal with the speck
in your friend's eye.
Hypocrite.
Don't be a hypocrite.
Now y'all,
we know what hypocrites
look like in Texas.
Right?
All hat and no cattle.
Now look,
I was born in Fort Worth,
lived in Mahea
and Corsicana
and various parts
of the metroplex.
It's just a big conglomerate
of little towns anyway.
So I'm a Texan,
but I've lived
a lot of other places
in my life too.
Lived in Central America
as missionaries.
We've lived in,
I lived in California.
Look,
I was a missionary
to California
for a while,
okay?
Might have just been
living there at the time,
but I felt like
I was a missionary
because I was coming
from Texas,
you know?
Got to teach y'all
how to live out here.
And then we lived
in Nevada,
we lived in Oklahoma,
went to college
in Tennessee
for a little while.
We've lived a lot of places,
traveled a lot of places.
So I've never really
been a cowboy,
right?
I've never been a rancher.
My dad was that.
He grew up on ranches.
He was a cowboy.
His brother did rodeo.
My dad did a little
here and there.
But, you know,
they lived that life.
That wasn't me though.
I never had that
even opportunity
to live that life.
But I always had boots
and I always had a hat.
Always.
Always had a cowboy hat
and always had boots.
Why?
Because I'm from Texas
and that's what you do,
right?
You just have that.
Even if you don't even
wear it that often,
you still have it.
But there's a difference
in those of us
who have a pair of boots
and a hat
and those of us
who are actual ranchers,
actual cowboys,
who actually need
the shade
that the hat provides
and they need
the functionality
that cowboy boots
give you
when you're riding horses,
right?
There's a difference there.
We know what it means
when somebody's all hat
and no cattle.
If they don't admit that,
they try to pass themselves off
as something as they're not,
then they're a cowboy.
Call them dudes, right?
But listen,
they're not a real cowboy.
They're hypocrites.
What's that?
Drugstore cowboy.
That's right.
There you go.
Drugstore cowboys.
Pastor Craig Owens
said this,
a Christian
who carries the name
of Jesus Christ
but not the nature
of Jesus Christ
is a hypocrite.
Did you catch that?
A Christian
who carries his name
but not his nature
is a hypocrite.
I dare say
that if we took a poll
of all you in this room,
every one of you
would raise your hand
and say I'm a Christian.
I'm not going to speak
for all of you.
There might be a couple of you
who are feeling
especially honest
and you're like,
no, I'm not.
And that's all right.
Just glad you're here today.
Maybe you'll learn
something about Jesus
you didn't know
and be drawn to him.
But I think most of us
in this room
would say,
yeah, I'm a Christian.
So you carry his name,
Christ.
Christian Christ.
Follower of Jesus.
But you don't carry
his nature.
You might think
you carry a Christian nature.
You might think
you carry a church nature.
But you don't carry
the nature of the person
we read about
in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
That's the real Jesus.
So do you know
what you are
if you carry his name
but not his nature?
You're a drugstore cowboy.
You're all hat and no cattle.
You're a hypocrite.
In a very serious way.
And that's what Jesus
is warning against.
That's what he's warning against
in Matthew 6
and then into Matthew 7.
So he says,
don't be that.
Don't be a hypocrite.
Why?
Because number one,
you're carrying his name
without his nature.
That is the serious crime here.
We just read about
his warning against hypocrites
in Matthew 6.
Do you understand?
The examples he gave,
there were three.
Giving,
praying,
and fasting.
Those were the three
big religious expressions
you could do back then.
Not a whole lot has changed.
Now we don't fast
a whole lot
in America,
especially Baptist churches.
Right?
Look at me.
I don't fast a whole lot.
You could probably use
to fast maybe a little more.
But hey,
I'm working on a diet plan.
We're getting there.
Steadily working down.
Alright,
here we go.
Hypocrites
are somebody
who will do
all the religious things,
the religious stuff,
the religious exercises,
but there's no real heart
to support it.
They're missing
the nature of Jesus
while they put on
this religious show.
So,
Mark chapter 7
and verse 6.
Mark chapter 7
and verse 6.
While you're looking there,
it's one book over.
These people
honor me with their lips,
but their hearts
are far from me.
Here's the perspective.
A religious show
earns no favor
from God.
A religious show
earns no favor
from God.
You can do
all those good things,
but that's not
going to earn you
any brownie points
with God.
You can be in church
every Sunday.
You can sing the songs.
You can give your tithes.
But if your heart
is far from him,
what good is it?
It's no good.
That is the lesson
that Jesus is teaching us.
It doesn't accomplish anything
that you think
it's accomplishing
because there's no magic actions
that will win you
favor from God.
There's only a response
of the heart.
There's only a posture
of the heart
that will win you
favor from God.
So where's your heart sitting?
Where's your heart sitting today?
And that's what he's
trying to teach us
in Mark 7.
Look, we can honor him
with our lips all day,
but if our hearts
are not close to him,
let's talk about that
for a second.
Where is Jesus?
If our hearts aren't there,
then our hearts
aren't close to him.
Say, where is Jesus?
Well, where was he
when he was walking
around this earth?
Jesus was with
the least of these.
Jesus was with
the sinners.
Jesus was with
those who were
at the bottom
of society's
caste system,
society's order.
He didn't call
the greatest
and the best
and the coolest
and the most popular.
He didn't call those.
He called those
who didn't make the cut.
that's where Jesus was.
He went and hung out
with what they called
publicans and sinners,
the outcasts of society.
Jesus hung out
with the blind,
the poor,
the crippled,
and he helped them.
He healed them.
He showed them love.
He gave them something
that nobody else
in society
was giving them.
That's where he was.
So if your heart
is not going to be
far from Jesus,
then your heart's
got to be where
his was
and still is today.
And I'm living proof
of what the mercy
of God can do.
I'm living proof
that God
uses those
who aren't
at the top
of the class.
If you'd seen
my grades
in college,
I don't want you
to see my grades
in college.
You're going to say
that guy's not fit
to be our pastor,
okay?
Look,
I tried a lot harder
in seminary.
I was really engaged
and I had better grades
in seminary.
But listen,
you don't have to be
the best of the best.
Jesus is working
with those.
He's seeking those
who usually are not
the richest,
not the smartest,
not the best
in the world's eyes.
But he reaches out
to them.
So if your heart's
going to be with him,
that's where your heart's
got to be.
Carrying his name
without his nature.
A religious show
earns no favor
from God.
Secondly,
and there's only
two points,
by the way,
so I'm on the last
point already.
accusing others,
but excusing
ourselves.
Let's get back
into Matthew 7.
Why worry
about a speck
in your friend's eye
when you have
a log
in your own?
How can you think
of saying to your friend,
you got to get rid
of that speck
in your eye
when you can't see
past the log
in your own?
You understand
the difference here?
A log is
small or big?
Making sure
y'all are with me here.
Okay, good.
We got a big log.
How do you fit
a log in your eye?
That seems like
it would be something
you would notice.
Right?
Can you imagine
me walking up
to Harlan over here
and I've got a big log
that's in my eye
and I look at Harlan
and say,
hey Harlan,
you got something
in your eye, man?
He's like,
really?
Are you sure?
Because I'm not sure
how you could see it.
You might have
something in your own.
Do you see
how nonsensical
and silly
and ridiculous
that is?
But do you see
that that is
what we do
when we can't
get over
a problem
we see
in someone else?
And look,
don't make any mistake.
This is not
you going to
someone in love
and saying,
brother,
I know you're
struggling this area.
I want to help you.
You can't just
go on in this.
It's going to hurt
everyone around you.
It's going to hurt you.
It's going to tear us down.
Please let me
walk through this
with you.
How can I pray for you?
Who can we go to
to get some help?
There is a way
to do this, right?
And we'll get more
into that in a minute.
But that's not
what we're talking about.
We're talking about
what you and I do
which is seeing
somebody do something
we don't like
and often
we'll go to them
or sometimes
we'll go to
somebody else.
You see that
speck in his eye?
Can you believe
she did that?
I'm not saying
y'all ladies
ever do that
when you get around
each other.
I'm not saying.
Look, guys,
truth is,
we do it too.
How many of you
love hearing dirt
on somebody else?
Don't raise your hand.
They might be
sitting in this room,
okay?
Look, how many
of y'all love,
of course you do.
Your flesh loves it.
Your nature
eats that up.
Tell me
all the dirty details.
Spare nothing.
I've got to hear
what happened.
And the truth is,
we love that so much
because it helps us
ignore
our biggest weaknesses.
It helps us ignore
what's going on
in our life
that we hope
nobody ever
finds out about
because then we'll
be the subject
of the gossip.
We'll be the ones
that they're talking
about
in the community.
So how do we
avoid
accusing others
but excusing
ourselves?
Well,
problem number one,
we judge from a distance.
We've got to avoid
judging from a distance.
Y'all,
we could spend the rest
of our time here.
We all do this
and it's always damaging.
Even if we were right,
it's still wrong.
Do you understand that?
Judging from a distance,
what do we mean by that?
Making a judgment
on something,
making a snap judgment
without having
all the details,
without actually
knowing the situation.
Y'all,
like I said,
we could camp here
the rest of the day.
We could preach
an entire series
about this
and I pray
that God would
help us to change
but listen,
it is always
going to be something
we struggle with.
We are always prone
in our sinful flesh
to make snap judgments
without having
all the information
we're judging
from a distance.
We're not really
part of what's going on.
We may or may not
be even directly affected
by what's going on
but we still love
to sit back
on our high horse
and pass judgment.
And now that the advent
of social media
is here,
we have a beautiful
outlet to do that.
And we get on Facebook,
maybe it's a private group
or maybe it's just
your broad Facebook page
sending it out
to all your friends.
Whatever your preferred
social media outlet is
or maybe it's a little
text thread
that you get on
and text to your buddies.
Did you hear
what happened to,
I can't believe
they would,
what is wrong with them,
what are they thinking,
who do they think
they are,
fill in the blank.
We are judging
from a distance
and it's wrong.
It's hypocritical.
And it's accusing others
while wanting
to be excused
ourselves.
Secondly,
we judge unfairly.
What do we mean by this?
Well,
we mean
holding others,
let's put it this way,
holding those
outside God's family
to His family standards.
This is another one
of the points
that Craig Groeschel
was making.
How can you expect
those who do not
belong to the family
of God
to live according
to God's family standards?
His Holy Spirit
is not guiding them.
His Holy Spirit
is not leading them.
He's not prompting them.
They don't have
the same moral compass
that the Holy Spirit
gives to His children.
So why would we expect
them to live
like they do?
But we do that.
And we get online
and we blast
those who are
clearly without Christ,
holding them,
expecting them
to live up to the standard
that Christ gives
to His children.
Paul actually had
something to say
about this in Romans.
In Romans chapter 1,
he gives this horrible list
of all these bad people
out there.
Go look at it.
I mean, it's bad.
He didn't leave anything out.
He even included
disobedient to parents.
Just in case you thought
that wasn't that bad, kids.
He got you on that one.
He gives this big list
of all these horrible sins
and he throws disobedient
to parents in there.
And then he gets into
chapter 2 and verse 1
and he says,
you people probably think
you want to condemn
all those folks, right?
You may think
you can condemn those people,
but you,
speaking to the church in Rome,
you are just as bad
and you have no excuse.
The difference is
they have an excuse.
They are not children of light.
They are children of darkness
and they're walking
in the way of darkness
and they're producing
the fruits of darkness.
You don't have that excuse.
You're supposed to be
children of light,
walking in the light,
producing fruits of the light.
When you say
those people are wicked
and they should be punished,
you ever caught yourself
saying something like that?
Maybe about the political arena?
I can't believe
those people would do
those things.
They ought to be held accountable.
They ought to be punished.
I'm not saying
that the whole justice system
is wrong
and we shouldn't hold people
accountable for their crimes.
I'm saying
you can't expect
people who are not Christians
to act like Christians.
Okay?
It's not going to happen.
If it does happen,
it's usually accidental.
When you say
they're wicked
and they should be punished,
you're condemning yourself
because you who judge others
do these very same things.
Maybe you don't kill babies,
but maybe you don't have
the respect for human life
that you should.
Maybe you don't care
about those
who are less fortunate
and vulnerable
than you.
You'll have a standard.
Well, I hate abortion.
I want to get rid of it
and everybody
who does it
or supports it
in any way,
they ought to be
thrown in prison
and killed
and all that.
But you have
the same level
of disrespect
or lack of compassion
for others
who are less,
who are more vulnerable,
less able to care
for themselves.
There's a principle there.
Yes, it's wrong to murder.
Yes, it's horrible
to kill babies
who cannot defend themselves.
It's unthinkable.
But the principle is
we value human life.
We care about those
who can't care for themselves
and that goes
across the board.
So be careful
in your harsh judgment
of others.
Instead, say,
how can we
as children of God
help these people
who are clearly struggling?
We're going to oppose
the legislation
when it's there.
We're going to do
whatever we can
to help these people.
We're going to help
these women
who are in this situation.
We're going to try
to give them alternatives.
We're going to reach out
to people
with the life-changing message
of Jesus
because that is what
can actually help them.
Hatred will not.
So,
you may think
you can condemn
these people,
but you're just as bad.
And I think that brings us
all the way back
to that Craig Groeschel quote
I shared with you earlier.
Your harshest criticism
often reveals
your greatest weakness.
And you may not even
realize it at the time.
You ever
pointed out something,
man,
that's so annoying
when he does that
and somebody's looking
at you like,
you realize you do that?
Somebody I was talking to
just recently said,
man,
they talk so much.
I swear,
they just will never shut up.
They won't stop talking.
And I'm looking at the person like,
do you realize
you don't,
do you?
You talk quite a bit yourself,
man.
And look,
we all roll with it,
okay?
And that's a silly example.
But the truth is,
we often see in others
and point out
what we hate in ourselves.
So,
what do we do then?
We excuse ourselves.
Excusing our sin problems
as just part of our identity.
That's just who we are.
So you don't understand.
You don't know me.
I was raised that way.
I'm Irish, man.
I'm Italian.
I'm Latino.
Whatever it is.
You know,
we throw it on our heritage.
Well,
you should have met my dad.
You should have met my mom.
You would understand
why I am the way I am.
And we excuse ourselves
and we actually,
in doing that,
and that's not the only way
we do it.
Man,
well,
I was just tired.
Yeah,
I know I said something hateful.
I know I did something terrible.
But listen,
that's not who I am,
okay?
That was just,
it was a one-off thing.
It was an isolated incident.
That's not me.
Have you ever said,
that's not me?
You don't understand.
We're giving ourselves excuse.
We're looking at our sin nature
that God wants to change
and we're saying,
no,
that's not really a problem.
That's just part of me.
You just have to accept that
about me.
When in reality,
God wants to change you.
And when you excuse it,
he can't change it.
You are not who you say you are.
You are who he says you are.
If you have accepted the payment
of Jesus Christ on the cross
for your sins,
and you believe he rose from the dead
and he offered you eternal life,
you put your faith in him
and said,
God,
I want to be your child.
I can't save myself.
You need to save me.
Then you became the child of God.
He now sets the rules for your life.
He has regenerated you.
He's made you new.
He's given you a new nature.
And he's saying,
this new nature
has to replace your old sin nature.
So, we judge unfairly
because we excuse our sin problems
as part of our identity.
I'm just stubborn.
I'm just impatient.
I just get mad sometimes.
I run hot.
You ever heard that one?
I just have a hard time
forgiving others.
I have a hard time trusting others.
I'm just shy
when in reality,
we're self-absorbed.
We're full of fear.
And God wants to change us.
To do powerful things through us.
So,
what's the point?
Let's look back at Matthew 7.
We'll be done.
Matthew 7.
What does it say
about seeing clearly?
First,
verse 5,
hypocrite,
first get rid of the log
in your own eye.
Then you will see clearly.
You'll see well enough
to deal with the speck
in your friend's eye.
Do you understand
that it's never wrong?
Let me rephrase that.
It's not always wrong
to judge.
It's always wrong
to judge hypocritically.
It's not always wrong
to judge.
We have to judge
one another sometimes.
Recently,
something came out
about a pastor
in our general area.
Something terrible.
God,
his church,
had to pass judgment
at that time.
They had to make a judgment.
There are moments
when we have to judge
one another.
But we do it
from a posture
of our heart
that is trying
to be like Jesus.
Not trying to place
ourselves
as better
than anyone else.
Or as exempt
from any criticism
ourselves
or judgment
ourselves.
The Bible
has something
to say about this.
Ephesians chapter 4
and verse 15.
We will speak
the truth
in love
growing in every way
more and more
like Christ.
That's how you become
more like Jesus
when you speak
the truth
in love.
You know
what's not loving?
Going on social media
and bashing one another.
That's not loving.
You don't speak
the truth
in love
in front of a crowd
when you haven't
gone to that person
privately
and spoken
the truth
in love.
Another verse
Romans chapter 2
and verse 16
the day is coming
when God will judge
everyone's secret life.
Is that enough
for you?
Is it enough
for you to know
that God is
coming to judge?
The wrong
that you see
that you have
such a hard time
accepting
that just gets
under your skin
and you can't
bear it
and you have
to just do
something about it?
Is it enough
for you to know
that God will judge it?
God will right
the wrongs
or is that not enough?
Do you have
to get involved?
Do you have
to stick your neck
into it?
There are times
when we will
have to judge.
Something is
directly involving us.
Something is
directly affecting us
and it's
we have to step in
and in the love
of Christ
with as small
a group
as possible
we have to say
we have to deal
with this.
Please let us
help you deal
with this.
But
we can see
clearly
when we judge
how Jesus
wants us to judge.
When we deal
with the issue
ourselves
and that's not
saying you have
to be sinless
or you can't
ever point out
anybody else's sin
but it's
my heart
has to be
pursuing God
for me
to be able
to go
and deal
with somebody
else.
That will
allow me
to see
clearly.
And you
know what
happens
when you
see clearly?
You see
the nature
of Jesus.
So when you
go to deal
with somebody
else's problem
you do it
how Jesus
would.
You do it
according to
his nature.
You're not
just carrying
his name
into this
conversation
you're also
carrying
his nature
into this
conversation.
This is the
truth that I
firmly believe
and will stand
on is being
taught in this
passage.
You want to
talk about it
with me?
You want to
dive further?
Let's meet
up and we'll
talk about it.
But listen
here's our
takeaway today.
See a problem
take it to
Jesus.
See a problem
tell it to
Jesus.
How many of
y'all remember
the song?
Tell it to
Jesus
tell it to
Jesus
there's no
other
such a
friend or
brother
tell it
to
Jesus
alone.
Yeah thank
you.
There's a
couple of
you.
Old song
been around
a long
time
probably
hadn't
sung a
whole lot
anymore
but there
is a
truth there
that you
and I
have to
wrap our
heads
around.
Do you
see a
problem?
Tell it
to
Jesus.
He'll
tell you
what to
do
next.
Don't
tell it
to your
buddy.
Don't
tell it
to your
girlfriend.
Don't
tell it
to your
little
friend group.
Don't
tell it
to your
Facebook
group.
Don't
tell it
to all
the people
that you
think will
give you
a sympathetic
ear.
Tell it
to Jesus.
He'll
give you
his nature
to deal
with it.
Would you
bow your
heads with
me now?
God
please get
this truth
across to
us.
You warn
us more
in the
New Testament.
You warn
us more
about the
dangers of
disunity
sinning.
God
more
than
anything
else.
This is
the kind
of thing
that can
tear
churches
apart
from the
inside.
We think
our biggest
threats are
on the
outside,
but God,
our biggest
threats is
each other.
We are
flawed,
sinful
people.
By your
spirit,
through your
grace,
we can
stop sinning
more and
more,
but we're
never ultimately
going to
stop sinning
until we
get to
heaven someday.
We're
still dealing
with this
flesh.
So it's
inevitable
that we're
going to
see problems.
It's
harder for
us to
see them
in ourselves.
It's
easier for
us to
see them
in others.
But God,
how we
deal with
this,
it's
everything.
It's
so important.
Let us
see your
nature,
not just
carry your
name.
Let us
carry your
nature.
Let it
infect us,
get deep
inside of
us,
so when we
see a
problem,
when we
see something
bad happen,
our response
is not,
ha,
I knew it.
Told you
so.
Our response
is grief.
Our response
is godly
sorrow,
and we take
it to you.
God,
there's got to
be a
difference
in how
your people
handle these
problems,
than how
those without
you handle
this stuff.
Let our
church be
the beacon,
let our
church be
the ones
who are
different.
Say,
I know
those First
Baptist
people,
I know
they're not
going to
get online,
talk about
each other.
I know
they're going
to keep
family business
private.
I know
they're not
just going
to bash
what's going
on in the
community,
or what's
going on
with something
they don't
like.
I know
they are
going to
take it
to Jesus
and they're
going to
leave it
there.
And if
it's
something
that Jesus
says,
you've got
to come
together and
deal with
this,
then they're
going to
do it
according to
how he
teaches them
in Scripture.
They're
going to
do it
according to
his nature
and not
ours.
God,
convict
us.
We'll give
you the glory
in Jesus'
name.
Amen.
Church,
there might
be somebody
that you need
to go to
and you need
while our
heads are
bowed for
you to
get up
and go to
somebody else
and say,
please forgive
me.
That's what
church is
about.
That's what
family is
about.
Forgiveness,
relationships.
She talked
about how
relationships are
important in
Bulgaria.
They're important
here too.
It's how it
works.
It's how we
relate to one
another.
Would you
bow your
heads with
me?
And we're
going to have
a moment of
quiet prayer.
Jared's going
to play.
He's going to
sing something
over us.
We're going
to have a
moment of
quiet prayer.
If you need
to come
down front,
talk to me
about something.
I'm here.
If you just
want to stay
in your seat,
do business
with God,
if you want
to boldly
get up and
go approach
someone,
ask for
prayer,
ask for
forgiveness,
whatever the
Holy Spirit's
doing in your
heart right now,
say yes to it.