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In 2023, there was a man in 
Louisville, KY by the name of 

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Brent and he was carrying his 
six year old daughter Emma 

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across the street. 
As they were crossing the 

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street, a stranger, a total 
stranger some 30 feet away, 

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yelled at him, actually did some
cursing and he said, why are you

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carrying that girl? 
That's what's wrong with kids 

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today. 
Wednesday morning, when Gabby 

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and I were on our morning walk, 
as we were coming toward 

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building that has a daycare and 
maybe also a preschool, we could

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hear a young child complaining, 
protesting loudly. 

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She was between two cars. 
At first we couldn't see her, 

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but when we walked by she looked
like she might be 4-5 years old,

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could even be having sex. 
Anyhow, she was protesting 

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loudly and her mother was 
standing a few feet away, almost

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looked like she wasn't sure what
to do. 

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She tried to calmly reason with 
the child and by that time we 

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were out of earshot again. 
But I have to admit, I had a 

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thought go through my head. 
I wonder what parenting style is

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going on in that family, in that
house. 

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I was making a judgement. 
I knew nothing about this girl, 

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about her mother, about the 
family or anything like that. 

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And this morning, our text is 
from Matthew Chapter 7. 

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And maybe the best thing would 
be, if we first read through it,

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do not judge, lest you be judged
yourselves. 

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For in the way you judge, you 
will be judged, and by your 

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standard of measure it shall be 
measured to you. 

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And why do you look at the speck
in your brother's eye, but do 

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not notice the log that is in 
your own eye? 

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Or how can you say to your 
brother, Let me take the speck 

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out of your eye, and behold, the
log is in your own eye, you 

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hypocrite, first take the log 
out of your own eye, and then 

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you will see clearly enough to 
take the speck out of your 

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brother's eye. 
Do not give what is holy to the 

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dogs, and do not throw your 
pearls before swine, lest they 

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trample them under their feet 
and turn and tear you to pieces.

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Ask, and it shall be given to 
you. 

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Seek, and you shall find. 
Knock, and it shall be open to 

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you, for everyone who asks 
receives, and he who seeks 

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finds, and to him who knocks it 
shall be opened. 

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Or what man is there among you? 
When his son shall ask him for a

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loaf, will he give him a stone? 
Or if he shall ask for a fish, 

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will he not give? 
He will not give him a snake, 

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will he? 
If you then, being evil, know 

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how to give good gifts to your 
children, how much more shall 

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your Father who is in heaven, 
give what is good to those who 

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ask Him? 
Therefore, whatever you do, 

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whatever you want others to do 
to you, do so for them. 

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For this is the law, and the 
prophets enter by the narrow 

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gate. 
For the gate is wide, and the 

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way is broad that leads to 
destruction, and many are those 

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who enter it. 
For the gate is small and the 

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way is narrow that leads to 
life, and few are those who find

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it. 
So far, I've taking this last 

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verse as well. 
Actually it's the 12th verse, I 

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think, as a sentence on which to
to hang our thoughts this 

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morning. 
As followers of Christ, we must 

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treat others as we want others 
to treat us. 

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Now this is part of the Sermon 
on the Mount, and I'm under the 

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impression that that's what 
you've been dealing with for 

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several Sundays already. 
I looked at the sermon and I 

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noticed that in chapter 5, Jesus
deals with principles of Kingdom

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life. 
Matthew calls it the Kingdom of 

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heaven. 
This Matthew was writing 

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basically to a Jewish audience, 
and we know that the Jews 

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reluctant to call God by name. 
As a matter of fact, if you read

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some Jewish literature even 
today, when they write the word 

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God, they leave out to all. 
God is very holy to them and 

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that is a measure of respect 
that they show. 

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So Matthew, instead of writing 
the Kingdom of God, which we 

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find in other gospels, he says 
Kingdom of heaven and he is 

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talking to the disciples, but 
he's referring to them as 

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citizens of this Kingdom. 
So in chapter 5, it's about 

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principles that should govern 
people who consider themselves 

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Kingdom citizens. 
Chapter 6, he talks about about 

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the disciples, about things like
giving and prayer and fasting 

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and things like like that. 
Then here in Chapter 7, Jesus 

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starts talking about 
relationships. 

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How should a Kingdom citizen 
behave in relationships? 

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Now, at first one one reads our 
text, our portion here. 

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It looks like he's talking about
several different things. 

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But actually when I started 
really concentrating on it, I 

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saw that this is actually a 
series of that progresses and 

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I'll try to expose that to 
explain that as we go along. 

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So in verse 4, verse one, pardon
me, do not judge lest you be 

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judged yourselves. 
It's pretty black and white. 

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Now the word for judge here 
Clino, like a lot of words, has 

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several nuances of meaning. 
One is certainly judge, like if 

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we imagine a court with a judge 
sitting there and making a 

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decision of over an event or 
over a happening, that is 

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certainly a core meaning to 
this. 

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But this word was used sometimes
for discernment or for choosing 

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and not only for for judging 
others. 

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So that's that's how Jesus 
starts off here. 

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So which nuance is Jesus talking
about? 

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Well Jesus starts to explain 
that in verses 2 and three that 

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how we judge we will also be 
judged and uses the example of 

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seeing a fault in our neighbor 
and pointing it out. 

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But the danger is always there 
that we have a similar but 

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greater fault than our neighbor 
actually does. 

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Just like I was saying about 
this sort of judge mental 

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thought that went through my 
head when we heard this little 

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girl protesting. 
Now Jesus in a number of places 

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tells us to judge. 
He says, for example, that we 

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are like wolves among sheep. 
That means we have to judge 

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who's a wolf and who's a a 
sheep. 

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He warns the disciples about 
false prophets and he says you 

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can recognise them by their 
fruits. 

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You won't find grapes on bushes 
or figs on thistles. 

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So there is a place for 
judgement. 

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So what exactly does Jesus mean 
when he says we're not supposed 

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to judge so that we won't be 
judged? 

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It turns out he is thinking, 
thinking more of this 

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instantaneous or hasty judgement
and where we don't take time to 

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evaluate what we're actually 
seeing or hearing and what we're

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judging. 
If we look into Romans chapter 

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14, Paul talks there about to 
the Romans about judging each 

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other. 
Actually, he's what he's 

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concerned about. 
There is there are new 

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Christians, he refers to them as
as weak brothers, and there are 

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the mature Christians whom he 
refers to as strong brothers. 

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Now New Christian has come out 
of a world and he has come to 

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see the errors in that part of 
his life, and then he sees an 

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older, more mature Christian 
doing something which to him is 

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abhorrent. 
The setting there has to do with

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with meat bought in the market. 
Meat in the market in those days

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was meat that the person who had
slaughtered it, who was selling 

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it would be an idol worshipper. 
So this new Christian knew very 

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well that that meat has been 
offered to idols before it's put

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up for sale. 
And so he, the last thing he 

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wanted to do with such meat was 
nothing. 

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He wanted nothing to do with it.
And the strong Christian, on the

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other hand, he would sort of poo
poo that and say, well, that's 

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not important. 
The idols are nothing. 

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And so that guy offered it to 
his idols. 

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I'm just buying it as meat and 
eating it. 

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He also talks about one person 
takes a certain day as very 

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important. 
The other day person takes them 

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all as of equal value. 
So Paul cautions both sides, he 

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says to the new Christian, don't
condemn the older one for buying

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meat at the market and and 
consuming it. 

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And he says to the more mature 
Christian don't for akht disdain

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the the new Christian for being 
sensitive on on that thing. 

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So that is the kind of thing 
that Jesus is pointing at here. 

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And then he says, you hypocrite,
you know, you see this little 

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thing and another person when 
you're not even aware of your 

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own failures and and sins. 
Now maybe to help us get a hold 

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of this idea, I can take an 
example out of the Old 

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Testament. 
We all, I assume, know about 

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David and Bathsheba, Uriah's 
wife, and how they got into a 

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situation that was 
uncomfortable. 

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And so David calls Uriah home 
from from the army and it 

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doesn't turn out the way David 
had hoped. 

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So he sends Uriah back to the 
army with a note, which Uriah 

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had no idea what was in there, 
but a note for his commander to 

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put Uriah in a in a small troop 
and attack the city, hoping that

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Uriah would get killed in that. 
And as a matter of fact, it 

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turns out that he does that 
David's hope is is fulfilled. 

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And then God sends the prophet 
Nathan to David. 

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And the prophet tells David 
about a rich man and a poor man 

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in the same city. 
The rich man had huge flocks, 

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big herds. 
The poor man had one little U 

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lamb. 
And so then in those days when 

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travellers came to a town or to 
a city, then at the gate was 

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usually where the people from 
the town were assembled or 

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hanging around or visiting or 
whatever they were doing. 

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And the culture was one where 
somebody from the town would 

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then invite the stranger home 
for for night and give him 

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supper and so on. 
That's what this rich man did to

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some stranger. 
And then it's time to prepare 

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supper for the stranger. 
And so instead of going to his 

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own herds, he goes and grabs 
this poor man's little ewe lamb 

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and slaughters it. 
That's how Nathan tells the 

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story to David. 
And the King's. 

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One of the King's jobs in those 
days was also to judge 

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situations where there was 
disagreement. 

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And as Nathan finishes this 
story, David is angry. 

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He's incensed. 
That rich man needs to be 

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punished. 
And as he says that, Nathan 

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points to him and says you're 
the man. 

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David had never connected that 
with himself, but this was God's

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message to David, and as a 
matter of fact, Nathan actually 

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tells David how God is going to 
deal with him as a result of 

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that. 
Now what what actually does 

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happen in in David's life is 
that his son Absalom organizes a

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coup against David. 
David actually has to flee 

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Jerusalem and ultimately his 
soldiers win against the the 

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coup that is set up against him.
But this allegory shows us how 

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what Jesus is talking about 
here. 

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David was not seeing himself as 
a problem and yet when he 

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pointed out that problem, Nathan
said that's rather when David 

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judged. 
That's the rich man in that 

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story. 
Nathan said that's you. 

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So I don't know whether you've 
noticed, but the title to my to 

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my sermon was how can you be 
that stupid? 

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And this is a case where we can 
say that to David. 

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How can you be that stupid? 
Only let's not say it too loudly

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because we may have to turn that
finger around and point it at, 

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at ourselves. 
We need to ask, what is it that 

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annoys me about about my 
neighbor? 

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Is it that really that serious? 
Or is it simply that he holds 

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one day a special and we don't, 
or we hold one day special and 

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he doesn't? 
Things like that of what am I 

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guilty? 
Which is more serious, my 

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neighbour's position or my 
position? 

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And verse 5, Jesus clearly says,
you hypocrite, first take that 

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log out of your own eye, then 
you might be able to see clearly

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enough to remove that speck from
your neighbour's eye. 

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As Jesus followers, we are to be
holy. 

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The word holy is this idea of 
setting apart, setting something

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aside and that's what we as 
children of God are. 

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We have been set aside. 
We are supposed to be be holy. 

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However, if we approach our 
neighbor hypocritically, then 

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what happens is that's the next 
verse here, verse 6. 

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Then we are actually giving our 
holiness to vicious dogs and to 

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pigs. 
Now both these dogs, apparently 

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dogs would run the streets 
during that time. 

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And Gabby and I have experienced
that when we lived up north in a

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little northern village close to
the Yukon, there were tons of 

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dogs running those streets. 
And so that seems to be the kind

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of situation in in Jesus time as
well. 

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So dogs and pigs, we know that 
eating pig meat for a Jew was 

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actually forbidden. 
So if we as holy ones, citizens 

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of the Kingdom are judging and 
are hypocritical judges, then 

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what happens is the other person
will see the hypocrisy in US. 

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And what will be his reaction? 
Well, his reaction will be that 

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who are you? 
And, and look how hypocritical 

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you are in this situation. 
That's like throwing pearls in 

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front of swine. 
Pig couldn't care less about 

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00:19:23,960 --> 00:19:27,680
about pearls. 
He wants to eat grain and, and 

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those kinds of things. 
So we see how this passage is 

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progressing. 
Then we get to this ask and it 

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shall be given to you. 
Seek and you shall find and so 

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on. 
I'd like to jump over verses 7 

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to 11 and go directly to verse 
12 first. 

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00:19:47,120 --> 00:19:50,800
Then we'll back up and look at 
those previous verses. 

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Verse 12, Jesus says to the 
disciples, therefore, whatever 

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you want others to do to you, do
so for them, for this is the Law

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and the prophets. 
Jesus and the Sermon on the 

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00:20:07,280 --> 00:20:10,840
Mount refers back to the Law and
the prophets a number of times. 

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00:20:12,280 --> 00:20:17,400
Here the word therefore tells us
that there is a connection 

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00:20:17,680 --> 00:20:23,080
between what He has just said in
7 to 11 and this verse, verse 

242
00:20:23,080 --> 00:20:29,000
12. 
So this idea that we find in 

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00:20:29,000 --> 00:20:32,160
verse 12 is very common. 
We're all familiar with that. 

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00:20:32,840 --> 00:20:35,360
Do unto others as you want 
others to do unto you. 

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00:20:37,320 --> 00:20:41,240
And of course everybody nods his
head. 

246
00:20:42,000 --> 00:20:43,560
Even whether you're a believer 
or not. 

247
00:20:43,560 --> 00:20:47,320
That just seems like a good way 
to live. 

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00:20:49,080 --> 00:20:54,320
Now with what we have just seen 
in the 1st 6 verses about not 

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00:20:54,320 --> 00:20:58,920
judging, we then go to verses 7 
to 11. 

250
00:20:59,240 --> 00:21:05,480
Then it all of a sudden starts 
to make sense in not judging. 

251
00:21:05,760 --> 00:21:11,200
We need God's help. 
So ask, and it shall be given to

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00:21:11,200 --> 00:21:13,640
you. 
Seek and you shall find. 

253
00:21:14,200 --> 00:21:20,200
Knock, and it shall be open to 
you, for everyone who asks 

254
00:21:20,200 --> 00:21:24,480
receives, and he who seeks 
finds, and to him who knocks, it

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00:21:24,480 --> 00:21:33,800
shall be open. 
Jesus drives that home with just

256
00:21:33,800 --> 00:21:37,520
this little illustration. 
What man is there among you when

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00:21:37,520 --> 00:21:41,160
his Son shall ask him for a 
loath, we'll give him a stone, 

258
00:21:41,400 --> 00:21:44,840
or if you ask him for a fish, 
we'll give him a snake. 

259
00:21:44,840 --> 00:21:46,840
I mean, the answer is obvious, 
right? 

260
00:21:47,640 --> 00:21:52,960
Everybody would have the same 
and the correct answer, Nobody. 

261
00:21:54,480 --> 00:22:03,840
So then Jesus says, OK, if you 
guys who are not guiltless, he 

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00:22:03,840 --> 00:22:08,480
actually uses the word evil. 
If you guys know how to give 

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00:22:08,680 --> 00:22:13,600
your child good gifts, how much 
more will your Father in heaven 

264
00:22:14,840 --> 00:22:24,440
give you what you ask for? 
So our danger is that we judge 

265
00:22:24,440 --> 00:22:30,560
other people. 
Christ's advice is ask God for 

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00:22:30,560 --> 00:22:33,800
help. 
It's not just a matter of asking

267
00:22:33,800 --> 00:22:36,640
there and then sitting there 
with your arms crossed. 

268
00:22:37,920 --> 00:22:41,200
Also seek. 
So seek is already action, 

269
00:22:41,280 --> 00:22:50,240
activity and knock so that God 
will reveal to you on the one 

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00:22:50,240 --> 00:22:56,480
hand where you need to improve, 
where you need to fix things in 

271
00:22:56,480 --> 00:23:01,200
your life, and on the other 
hand, not to judge the other 

272
00:23:01,200 --> 00:23:09,440
person. 
So as Jesus followers, we are to

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00:23:09,440 --> 00:23:11,480
be holy. 
Set apart. 

274
00:23:16,920 --> 00:23:21,320
Now I said that verse 12 is the 
goal. 

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00:23:22,120 --> 00:23:26,600
That's what we want to get to, 
treating others the way we want 

276
00:23:26,600 --> 00:23:37,000
to be treated. 
Just maybe a week ago or so, 

277
00:23:37,400 --> 00:23:41,320
Gabby and I were driving from 
Niverville to Steinbeck and 

278
00:23:42,360 --> 00:23:46,400
along the 311 there's an 
intersection where traffic comes

279
00:23:46,400 --> 00:23:49,960
from New Bothwell. 
We were coming along the 311 

280
00:23:50,520 --> 00:23:57,000
almost at the intersection when 
a car pulls up ahead of us and I

281
00:23:57,000 --> 00:24:01,960
had to break fairly well. 
It wasn't a near accident, but 

282
00:24:02,320 --> 00:24:07,320
it could have been. 
And so, you know, our comments 

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00:24:07,320 --> 00:24:11,160
to each other were, I mean, that
was sort of a nasty thing to do.

284
00:24:11,880 --> 00:24:17,120
And it's situations like that 
that road rage come out of, I 

285
00:24:17,120 --> 00:24:20,880
don't know, you may not have 
road rage here, but in Manitoba 

286
00:24:20,880 --> 00:24:29,000
it sometimes happens. 
And so how 1 responds in, in 

287
00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:31,400
that particular situation, there
was traffic coming from the 

288
00:24:31,400 --> 00:24:35,040
front, so I couldn't pass and, 
you know, slam on the brakes or 

289
00:24:35,040 --> 00:24:39,640
do anything stupid like that. 
But that sometimes happens, 

290
00:24:39,640 --> 00:24:41,560
doesn't it? 
We're sometimes tempted to do 

291
00:24:41,560 --> 00:24:46,280
that. 
And is that a proper response? 

292
00:24:46,280 --> 00:24:55,400
You know, you consider that 
person very inelegant. 

293
00:24:55,400 --> 00:25:00,680
He, he just couldn't care less 
about other drivers as long as 

294
00:25:01,200 --> 00:25:04,200
he gets onto the road and and 
gets going. 

295
00:25:05,200 --> 00:25:09,960
And so those are things, 
everyday things that happen in 

296
00:25:09,960 --> 00:25:14,080
our lives and they happen so 
quickly and our judgement is 

297
00:25:14,560 --> 00:25:20,040
just as quick. 
And then comes this statement. 

298
00:25:20,680 --> 00:25:24,520
Treat others the way you want to
be treated by them. 

299
00:25:25,560 --> 00:25:29,600
As followers of Christ, we need 
to treat others the way we want 

300
00:25:29,600 --> 00:25:36,320
to be treated. 
This truth has not gone gone 

301
00:25:36,320 --> 00:25:41,160
lost to our society either. 
I'll share 3 English proverbs 

302
00:25:41,160 --> 00:25:46,160
with you that actually give the 
same thing as what Jesus is 

303
00:25:46,160 --> 00:25:51,280
teaching here. 
I suspect that almost all of you

304
00:25:51,280 --> 00:25:57,120
will have heard you're the pot 
calling the kettle black. 

305
00:25:58,680 --> 00:26:04,000
So that's simply, hey, you're 
accusing that person of such and

306
00:26:04,000 --> 00:26:07,600
such and you're just as black as
he is. 

307
00:26:08,560 --> 00:26:13,200
Or another one is people who 
live in glass houses shouldn't 

308
00:26:13,200 --> 00:26:19,040
throw stones. 
So the accuser is just as 

309
00:26:19,040 --> 00:26:23,400
vulnerable as one the person he 
accuses. 

310
00:26:24,040 --> 00:26:29,240
Or a third proverb, Those who 
protest the loudest have the 

311
00:26:29,240 --> 00:26:36,160
most to hide, simply saying that
the accuser is just as imperfect

312
00:26:36,440 --> 00:26:39,360
as the one to whom he points the
finger. 

313
00:26:42,120 --> 00:26:48,000
There was a pastor in California
by the name of Ray Steadman, and

314
00:26:48,040 --> 00:26:50,160
he was a pastor over many, many 
years. 

315
00:26:50,160 --> 00:26:56,160
And and he has written in one of
his books the following. 

316
00:26:56,560 --> 00:26:59,480
Well, first of all, I'll just 
mention in that book he talks 

317
00:26:59,480 --> 00:27:06,880
about how we are often blind to 
our own imperfections or even to

318
00:27:06,880 --> 00:27:10,440
our misdeeds and so on. 
And when we do something that 

319
00:27:10,440 --> 00:27:14,600
isn't right and we even know 
that it's not right, but over 

320
00:27:14,600 --> 00:27:17,760
time, that thought sort of fades
away. 

321
00:27:17,760 --> 00:27:22,280
That memory fades away and we 
just keep on living like we 

322
00:27:22,280 --> 00:27:25,600
always have. 
And then I'll quote a little bit

323
00:27:25,600 --> 00:27:27,920
what he what he writes in his 
book. 

324
00:27:27,920 --> 00:27:31,160
There he says other people lie 
and cheat. 

325
00:27:31,800 --> 00:27:33,960
We simply stretch the truth a 
little. 

326
00:27:35,240 --> 00:27:38,920
Others betray. 
We simply are protecting our 

327
00:27:38,920 --> 00:27:44,880
rights. 
Others steal, we borrow, others 

328
00:27:44,880 --> 00:27:48,040
have prejudices, we have 
convictions. 

329
00:27:49,240 --> 00:27:54,600
Others murder and kill. 
We exploit and ruin, sort of 

330
00:27:54,600 --> 00:28:00,120
diminishing what? 
Diminishing our own faults and 

331
00:28:00,680 --> 00:28:02,800
holding the light up to other 
people's faults. 

332
00:28:03,080 --> 00:28:08,240
He closes that section there 
with Jesus, says he that is 

333
00:28:08,240 --> 00:28:11,160
without sin among you, let him 
cast the first stone. 

334
00:28:11,800 --> 00:28:15,120
Yes, we are all guilty of the 
same things we accuse others of 

335
00:28:15,120 --> 00:28:19,680
doing. 
As followers of Christ, we must 

336
00:28:19,680 --> 00:28:22,520
treat others as we want others 
to treat us. 

337
00:28:24,640 --> 00:28:27,000
What does God's Word tell us 
about ourselves? 

338
00:28:28,600 --> 00:28:32,320
Back to the book of Romans. 
In chapter 2, verse one, we read

339
00:28:32,320 --> 00:28:36,960
this verse. 
You therefore have no excuse, 

340
00:28:37,000 --> 00:28:40,600
you who pass judgement on 
someone else, for at whatever 

341
00:28:40,600 --> 00:28:45,480
point you judge another, you are
condemning yourself, because you

342
00:28:45,480 --> 00:28:50,120
who pass judgement do the same 
things. 

343
00:28:51,520 --> 00:28:55,800
That's what Paul wrote to the 
Romans in chapter 14, which I 

344
00:28:55,960 --> 00:29:00,960
made reference to before. 
There's another verse and let's 

345
00:29:00,960 --> 00:29:05,280
listen to this carefully. 
He says, who are you to judge 

346
00:29:05,280 --> 00:29:08,440
the servant of another to his 
own master? 

347
00:29:08,440 --> 00:29:12,640
He stands or falls and he will 
stand, for the Lord is able to 

348
00:29:12,640 --> 00:29:15,720
make him stand. 
Now this is in the context of 

349
00:29:16,120 --> 00:29:18,640
that weak Christian and that 
strong Christian, that new 

350
00:29:18,640 --> 00:29:27,360
Christian and that mature 
Christian that I will answer to 

351
00:29:27,360 --> 00:29:30,400
God and my neighbor will answer 
to God. 

352
00:29:32,120 --> 00:29:38,480
He does not. 
Answer to me, there's no right 

353
00:29:38,720 --> 00:29:43,360
for me to judge him. 
God will know what to do with 

354
00:29:43,360 --> 00:29:46,640
him. 
And he says God is able to make 

355
00:29:46,640 --> 00:29:49,840
him stand. 
Paul is talking about believers,

356
00:29:51,600 --> 00:29:57,560
believers who are citizens of 
the Kingdom of heaven, and God 

357
00:29:59,200 --> 00:30:06,200
is able to make him the person 
that he can welcome into the 

358
00:30:06,680 --> 00:30:10,880
into the Kingdom. 
A. 

359
00:30:10,880 --> 00:30:16,480
Few years ago. 
When we had COVID, our. 

360
00:30:16,480 --> 00:30:20,200
Pastor. 
Always had the habit of going to

361
00:30:20,200 --> 00:30:22,040
church quite early on Sunday 
morning. 

362
00:30:22,440 --> 00:30:26,160
And I think what he did is he 
reviewed his sermon once more 

363
00:30:26,160 --> 00:30:30,000
and so on and so forth. 
While he was there by himself in

364
00:30:30,000 --> 00:30:34,720
the church, he got a phone call,
total stranger. 

365
00:30:36,360 --> 00:30:41,280
And so the first question that 
Stranger asked was, are you 

366
00:30:41,280 --> 00:30:44,800
following the government rules? 
For. 

367
00:30:45,560 --> 00:30:51,760
For church at that time, the 
church was supposed to be empty 

368
00:30:51,760 --> 00:30:56,960
enough that families could feet 
sit 6 feet apart and those kinds

369
00:30:56,960 --> 00:30:59,920
of things. 
And so his response was, yes, we

370
00:30:59,920 --> 00:31:03,240
do that. 
Oh, you're a servant of Satan. 

371
00:31:04,240 --> 00:31:07,480
And he just tore a strip off of 
our pastor. 

372
00:31:07,880 --> 00:31:10,880
Our pastor was almost a bit 
shaken that morning. 

373
00:31:13,000 --> 00:31:17,920
Then there were those. 
Who got vaccinated, followed 

374
00:31:17,920 --> 00:31:23,040
government rules and. 
Very often we disdain. 

375
00:31:23,040 --> 00:31:31,120
Those who denied vaccines and 
that kind of thing, judging from

376
00:31:31,120 --> 00:31:34,920
both sides. 
It's not for us to. 

377
00:31:34,920 --> 00:31:42,000
Judge God will. 
Judge, we need to treat. 

378
00:31:42,000 --> 00:31:45,040
Others as we ourselves want to 
be treated. 

379
00:31:47,640 --> 00:31:52,360
So the man I told you about in. 
The beginning Brent, his 

380
00:31:52,360 --> 00:31:55,720
reaction, what he. 
Wanted to do. 

381
00:31:56,040 --> 00:31:59,000
When that man yelled at him was 
to yell back. 

382
00:32:00,760 --> 00:32:02,760
But at that. 
Moment. 

383
00:32:05,120 --> 00:32:08,120
The thought went through his. 
Head I have a choice to make 

384
00:32:08,120 --> 00:32:11,120
here. 
And so he walked. 

385
00:32:11,120 --> 00:32:16,120
Up to the man and in basically 
one sentence explained the 

386
00:32:16,120 --> 00:32:22,000
situation that his six year old 
daughter was on her way to her 

387
00:32:22,000 --> 00:32:26,840
7th chemotherapy session. 
She had a tumor. 

388
00:32:26,880 --> 00:32:31,520
In her brain. 
She was unable. 

389
00:32:31,520 --> 00:32:35,200
To walk without a Walker, 
that's. 

390
00:32:35,200 --> 00:32:41,640
Why he was carrying? 
His daughter, apparently, the 

391
00:32:41,640 --> 00:32:47,000
way this I read the article. 
At that point, both men started 

392
00:32:47,000 --> 00:32:52,640
to cry. 
We can. 

393
00:32:52,640 --> 00:32:58,120
Misread another person's 
situation so badly. 

394
00:33:00,800 --> 00:33:05,360
We don't have any. 
Clue what that other person is 

395
00:33:05,360 --> 00:33:09,160
going through. 
Jesus says do. 

396
00:33:09,160 --> 00:33:13,160
Not judge. 
So then we. 

397
00:33:13,160 --> 00:33:17,640
Have verses 13 and 14 enter the 
narrow gate, for the gate is 

398
00:33:17,640 --> 00:33:21,000
wide and the way is broad that 
leads to destruction, and many 

399
00:33:21,000 --> 00:33:23,920
are those who enter by it for 
the gate. 

400
00:33:23,920 --> 00:33:26,000
Is small. 
And the way is narrow, that 

401
00:33:26,000 --> 00:33:28,560
leads to life, and few are those
who find it. 

402
00:33:31,680 --> 00:33:33,960
We need to set a direction. 
In our lives. 

403
00:33:36,040 --> 00:33:38,080
Do we want to go through that? 
Small gate. 

404
00:33:39,680 --> 00:33:44,160
Or the wide gate. 
I'll admit, those 17 years that 

405
00:33:44,160 --> 00:33:49,320
I drove to Mexico, I avoided 2 
lane highways. 

406
00:33:50,480 --> 00:33:55,880
I liked the freeways. 
Because. 

407
00:33:56,800 --> 00:33:59,360
I made more time. 
You know that a colleague of 

408
00:33:59,360 --> 00:34:03,360
mine, he always tried to drive 
the very shortest distance. 

409
00:34:03,760 --> 00:34:07,000
He drove 500 kilometers less 
than I did. 

410
00:34:08,639 --> 00:34:12,280
And I drove. 
Five hours less than he did. 

411
00:34:15,719 --> 00:34:19,800
But in life? 
Jesus says the gate that we 

412
00:34:19,800 --> 00:34:24,159
should be looking for is a small
one, and we'll find that at the 

413
00:34:24,159 --> 00:34:30,320
end of the narrow Rd. 
Forget the wide. 

414
00:34:30,320 --> 00:34:32,760
One that's leading to the wrong 
place. 

415
00:34:38,760 --> 00:34:42,400
We need to treat. 
Our neighbor as we want to be 

416
00:34:42,400 --> 00:34:50,080
treated ourselves. 
Let's pray, our Father, we thank

417
00:34:50,080 --> 00:34:50,679
you. 
That you are a. 

418
00:34:50,679 --> 00:34:54,840
Merciful and gracious God, and 
we need your mercy. 

419
00:34:54,840 --> 00:34:59,000
We need your grace. 
But Lord, we also. 

420
00:34:59,000 --> 00:35:07,160
Ask that you would help us to 
not be a judge mental person. 

421
00:35:09,840 --> 00:35:12,800
But rather. 
To look after our own life. 

422
00:35:16,760 --> 00:35:20,640
And to live in. 
A way that pleases you and that 

423
00:35:20,800 --> 00:35:24,520
shows the world how you want us 
to live. 

424
00:35:28,200 --> 00:35:29,400
Give us. 
The grace to do. 

425
00:35:29,400 --> 00:35:34,160
That to your honor and glory, in
Jesus name, Amen.

