1 00:00:06,080 --> 00:00:10,400 We're going to continue in our summer long study through the 2 00:00:10,720 --> 00:00:14,920 Sermon on the Plain, which is the Gospel of Luke's account of 3 00:00:14,920 --> 00:00:16,520 the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew. 4 00:00:16,760 --> 00:00:21,520 And we're going to come to our last two sermons in this often 5 00:00:21,520 --> 00:00:24,440 considered the greatest sermon ever preached by Jesus. 6 00:00:25,960 --> 00:00:30,200 And I've heard it said the word is timeless, but it's always 7 00:00:30,360 --> 00:00:34,960 timely. And for the topic of the word 8 00:00:34,960 --> 00:00:40,600 today, it will, I'm sure meet some of you even in in some of 9 00:00:40,600 --> 00:00:44,640 your struggles to follow Jesus today or this week or in the 10 00:00:44,640 --> 00:00:48,000 last couple weeks. So let me start just to stir in 11 00:00:48,000 --> 00:00:50,760 your mind our need for such a message. 12 00:00:51,280 --> 00:00:55,120 Just a simple question. Maybe it happened this morning, 13 00:00:55,320 --> 00:00:58,160 maybe recently. When's the last time you thought 14 00:00:58,160 --> 00:01:02,320 to yourself in a moment, let's say of of anger, you looked at 15 00:01:02,320 --> 00:01:05,080 someone's mistake and you said, what were they thinking? 16 00:01:06,040 --> 00:01:07,640 Maybe it happened on the way to church. 17 00:01:07,640 --> 00:01:11,360 I often think of my unhinged anger as I'm driving and we all 18 00:01:11,360 --> 00:01:13,360 just cut each other off. What a beautiful picture of 19 00:01:13,360 --> 00:01:14,440 life. And you just look over and you 20 00:01:14,440 --> 00:01:17,160 think, what an idiot. What were they thinking? 21 00:01:17,840 --> 00:01:21,000 And of course, there's other moments of life where you have 22 00:01:21,000 --> 00:01:25,680 to rub shoulders with people who make critical thinking errors 23 00:01:26,080 --> 00:01:28,960 and they make missteps. And of course, we need to be 24 00:01:28,960 --> 00:01:32,560 reminded that not only can you see it in others, but others can 25 00:01:32,560 --> 00:01:35,280 see it in you. I've heard the popular phrase, 26 00:01:35,560 --> 00:01:38,360 Jesus, save me from your followers. 27 00:01:39,280 --> 00:01:42,000 Christianity would be so easy if it was just us in the Bible. 28 00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:45,080 But the Lord and His graciousness help us to learn 29 00:01:45,080 --> 00:01:48,320 what it means to love by practicing in one another. 30 00:01:48,320 --> 00:01:53,320 It can be very difficult at times to not look at each 31 00:01:53,320 --> 00:01:57,280 other's mistakes and misunderstandings and write each 32 00:01:57,280 --> 00:01:59,880 other off. Well, Jesus has a word for that. 33 00:01:59,880 --> 00:02:03,480 Before we look at the word, I'll share with you an excerpt from a 34 00:02:03,480 --> 00:02:08,039 popular book called The Seven Habits of Highly Effective 35 00:02:08,039 --> 00:02:10,520 People. And in this one section, he 36 00:02:10,520 --> 00:02:15,640 gives the habit of seeking to understand and to do this, to 37 00:02:15,640 --> 00:02:17,880 share this habit. He shares a story I'll share 38 00:02:17,880 --> 00:02:20,560 with you now. He said I was riding a subway on 39 00:02:20,560 --> 00:02:24,960 a Sunday morning in New York, and people were sitting quietly, 40 00:02:25,160 --> 00:02:27,960 reading papers and resting with their eyes closed. 41 00:02:28,200 --> 00:02:31,440 What a beautiful, peaceful scene, probably all of them on 42 00:02:31,440 --> 00:02:34,560 the way to church. Then a man and his children 43 00:02:34,560 --> 00:02:37,720 entered the subway car and the man sat next to me and closed 44 00:02:37,720 --> 00:02:42,000 his eyes, apparently oblivious to his children who were 45 00:02:42,000 --> 00:02:47,120 yelling, throwing things, even grabbing papers from the fellow 46 00:02:47,120 --> 00:02:49,600 passengers. Parents, you can relate to this 47 00:02:49,600 --> 00:02:53,040 moment where your kids are not the best representation of your 48 00:02:53,040 --> 00:02:56,720 family, He goes on to say. I couldn't believe he could be 49 00:02:56,720 --> 00:02:59,160 so insensitive. Eventually I turned to him and 50 00:02:59,160 --> 00:03:01,880 said, Sir, your children are disturbing people. 51 00:03:02,120 --> 00:03:04,800 I wonder if you could control them a little more. 52 00:03:04,880 --> 00:03:07,600 We've got the the high schooler and junior highers in with us. 53 00:03:07,600 --> 00:03:11,280 So a word to all parents, if they're disturbing, others will 54 00:03:11,280 --> 00:03:15,440 begin to judge you. That might happen today, says 55 00:03:15,440 --> 00:03:20,120 the man lifted his gaze as if he saw the situation for the first 56 00:03:20,120 --> 00:03:22,840 time. He said, you're right, I'm so 57 00:03:22,840 --> 00:03:25,880 sorry, I should do something about it. 58 00:03:26,800 --> 00:03:30,560 We just came from the hospital where their mother has passed 59 00:03:30,560 --> 00:03:34,520 away about an hour ago. And I don't know what to think. 60 00:03:34,640 --> 00:03:36,880 And I guess they don't really know how to handle it either. 61 00:03:38,520 --> 00:03:42,360 The author says suddenly I saw everything differently. 62 00:03:44,680 --> 00:03:48,960 The question that we're going to wrestle with this morning is how 63 00:03:48,960 --> 00:03:54,760 can we be people following Jesus to avoid the human instinct of 64 00:03:54,760 --> 00:03:59,960 being overly judgmental and hyper critical of one another 65 00:04:00,800 --> 00:04:04,360 all the time? This is a sermon that I need to 66 00:04:04,360 --> 00:04:08,040 hear from my own life and just living in the culture we live in 67 00:04:08,080 --> 00:04:13,200 where it's easy to look out and see the hyper judgmental over 68 00:04:13,200 --> 00:04:17,560 critical spirit in the air over every person's missteps and 69 00:04:17,560 --> 00:04:20,640 misunderstandings and the political divides and the church 70 00:04:20,640 --> 00:04:23,560 divides that exist. Jesus will speak a word so that 71 00:04:23,560 --> 00:04:29,080 we can become people who overcome the temptation to be 72 00:04:29,080 --> 00:04:32,880 overly judgmental. And so read along with me in 73 00:04:32,880 --> 00:04:36,440 Luke chapter 6, starting in verse 37. 74 00:04:37,200 --> 00:04:41,640 Jesus says judge not and you shall not be judged. 75 00:04:42,960 --> 00:04:45,800 Condemn not and you shall not be condemned. 76 00:04:46,600 --> 00:04:49,120 Forgive and you will be forgiven. 77 00:04:50,320 --> 00:04:53,800 Give and it will be given to you with good measure. 78 00:04:53,800 --> 00:04:58,040 Pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put 79 00:04:58,040 --> 00:05:03,000 into your bosom, for with the same measure that you use it, it 80 00:05:03,000 --> 00:05:09,520 will be measured back to you. Jesus says in this sermon that 81 00:05:09,520 --> 00:05:14,600 he's just giving this master view of radical love. 82 00:05:14,600 --> 00:05:20,080 He says don't judge, don't condemn, forgive with 83 00:05:20,680 --> 00:05:24,120 generosity. And in the same measure that you 84 00:05:24,120 --> 00:05:27,960 give it, it will be given back to you, which is, to begin, the 85 00:05:27,960 --> 00:05:30,080 point. All of us will be tempted to 86 00:05:30,080 --> 00:05:32,280 judge. And as a reminder, all of you 87 00:05:33,040 --> 00:05:37,240 will leave this place and you will find yourself in a position 88 00:05:37,720 --> 00:05:41,720 under a microscope of judgement. And so as we have done 89 00:05:41,720 --> 00:05:44,480 throughout this sermon series, we'll start by looking at what 90 00:05:44,520 --> 00:05:49,800 Jesus is not saying when he says judge not lest you be judged. 91 00:05:50,840 --> 00:05:55,120 He's not saying that we're not allowed to do any discerning 92 00:05:55,120 --> 00:05:59,000 judgement in life ever. You know, this is often quoted 93 00:05:59,000 --> 00:06:02,280 as the favorite memory verse of those who don't attend church or 94 00:06:02,280 --> 00:06:05,280 would call themselves non believers so that any Christian 95 00:06:05,280 --> 00:06:07,840 they rub up against they can always say don't judge. 96 00:06:08,400 --> 00:06:10,520 Jesus says not to judge me. Only God can judge me. 97 00:06:10,520 --> 00:06:14,040 No one else can judge me. And we live in a a day where 98 00:06:14,160 --> 00:06:18,960 people want to look at any discernment or any declaration 99 00:06:18,960 --> 00:06:24,040 of what is true and good and decry it as overly judgmental. 100 00:06:24,640 --> 00:06:26,040 Well, that's not what Jesus is saying. 101 00:06:26,240 --> 00:06:30,280 Jesus actually wants us to be discerning people who make wise 102 00:06:30,280 --> 00:06:33,160 and good judgment. This is why, as we'll look at 103 00:06:33,160 --> 00:06:37,080 next week in verse 44, he says for every tree is known by its 104 00:06:37,080 --> 00:06:40,680 fruit. We're going to be given a 105 00:06:40,800 --> 00:06:45,320 measurement by which we can take the teachings and of men and and 106 00:06:45,320 --> 00:06:48,760 judge them as wise and good based off the fruit they produce 107 00:06:49,160 --> 00:06:53,240 or to push them away as someone who's teaching as a wolf in 108 00:06:53,240 --> 00:06:56,800 sheep's clothing. So Jesus is saying, use good and 109 00:06:56,800 --> 00:07:00,440 discerning wisdom on whether or not to listen to people, and 110 00:07:00,440 --> 00:07:04,640 he'll give us other moments of discernment on how to navigate 111 00:07:04,640 --> 00:07:08,600 the world without just blindly trusting everything. 112 00:07:08,600 --> 00:07:12,560 It's good to have discernment. I've heard of a lot of ways that 113 00:07:12,560 --> 00:07:15,760 people get out of jury duty, and I'm sure some of them work. 114 00:07:16,720 --> 00:07:20,560 One of them is not that it's against your religion to sit in 115 00:07:20,560 --> 00:07:23,560 a seat of judgement. No one can get a call to jury 116 00:07:23,560 --> 00:07:26,400 duty and say, sorry, I'm a Christian and Jesus says that 117 00:07:26,400 --> 00:07:30,120 I'm not allowed to judge anyone. No, in fact, Christians should 118 00:07:30,120 --> 00:07:34,240 probably be the the person that you would want most on a jury 119 00:07:34,480 --> 00:07:39,120 because our whole heart is to go through it with patience and 120 00:07:39,120 --> 00:07:42,960 wisdom and charity. And that is what Jesus is 121 00:07:42,960 --> 00:07:44,880 getting at. He he's talking about the 122 00:07:44,880 --> 00:07:48,960 measure by which we do things and how the heart behind how we 123 00:07:48,960 --> 00:07:51,400 do things. And this is an overflow from 124 00:07:51,480 --> 00:07:54,920 previous moments in this sermon where Jesus is saying what it 125 00:07:54,920 --> 00:07:58,400 looks like to be in his Kingdom is to be a person of radical 126 00:07:58,400 --> 00:08:01,720 love. That when people speak evil 127 00:08:01,720 --> 00:08:05,680 against you or revile you, your response is not to return serve 128 00:08:05,680 --> 00:08:10,120 in kind, but to love them. Still, when people ask of you 129 00:08:10,120 --> 00:08:13,120 give extra when people borrow things, don't expect it in 130 00:08:13,120 --> 00:08:16,120 return. And now he's saying when you 131 00:08:16,120 --> 00:08:20,960 find yourself in a moment when you have to use discernment and 132 00:08:20,960 --> 00:08:25,240 make a judgment to reconcile a relationship, to navigate a 133 00:08:25,240 --> 00:08:27,960 disagreement or a misunderstanding, he's now 134 00:08:27,960 --> 00:08:33,360 saying keep loving. Extend your love even to these 135 00:08:33,360 --> 00:08:37,080 moments where you're tempted to be hyper judgmental and 136 00:08:37,080 --> 00:08:43,280 critical. Don't be unfair critics of 137 00:08:43,280 --> 00:08:49,040 people's moments of failure or weakness or misunderstanding. 138 00:08:49,040 --> 00:08:51,880 And and part of this lesson is learned as you just studied the 139 00:08:51,880 --> 00:08:53,680 Gospels. This is the context of the 140 00:08:53,680 --> 00:09:00,960 culture Jesus was ministering to everywhere he went to offer wise 141 00:09:00,960 --> 00:09:04,440 and sound healing, teaching literal miraculous healing, 142 00:09:05,640 --> 00:09:08,120 where he went to teach people what it meant to live in the 143 00:09:08,120 --> 00:09:10,440 Kingdom of God. People followed him, the 144 00:09:10,440 --> 00:09:14,640 religious leaders of the day, with a hyper judgmental and 145 00:09:14,640 --> 00:09:19,640 critical spirit over everything he did in his teaching. 146 00:09:19,640 --> 00:09:24,440 They tried to trap him in his words, in his good works. 147 00:09:24,440 --> 00:09:28,280 They tried to trap him as a law breaker for doing things like 148 00:09:28,280 --> 00:09:33,000 healing on the Sabbath. Ultra judgmental and even the 149 00:09:33,000 --> 00:09:37,600 people he was ministering to, they would associate Jesus with 150 00:09:37,600 --> 00:09:41,360 guilt as association that the people were sinners and tax 151 00:09:41,360 --> 00:09:44,520 collectors and unclean. And so he himself couldn't 152 00:09:44,520 --> 00:09:46,840 actually be someone worth listening to. 153 00:09:47,160 --> 00:09:52,080 Everywhere he went he had critics and hyper judgmental 154 00:09:52,080 --> 00:09:55,360 people trying to tear down the good works he was doing. 155 00:09:55,360 --> 00:09:58,240 We'll actually see a story of this as you continue to read in 156 00:09:58,240 --> 00:10:00,040 the Gospel of Luke, just the next chapter over. 157 00:10:00,040 --> 00:10:02,640 Luke Chapter 7, a beautiful story. 158 00:10:02,640 --> 00:10:05,520 Jesus invited into Simon's house. 159 00:10:05,520 --> 00:10:11,160 And as he comes in, there's one person that greets him and it's 160 00:10:11,160 --> 00:10:14,600 a woman they say was so grateful to see him. 161 00:10:14,880 --> 00:10:19,120 She began to wash his feet with her hair and she used the water 162 00:10:19,120 --> 00:10:20,760 of her tears to cleanse her feet. 163 00:10:21,400 --> 00:10:25,040 She broke oil and and and put it on Jesus as a sign of devotion 164 00:10:25,040 --> 00:10:29,120 and love and respect. And in this beautiful moment of 165 00:10:29,200 --> 00:10:34,960 a woman offering praise to Jesus, what was the response? 166 00:10:35,720 --> 00:10:39,600 Hyper judgmental and critical. People looked at it and said who 167 00:10:39,600 --> 00:10:41,640 is this person? If he was actually a prophet, he 168 00:10:41,640 --> 00:10:45,760 would know she was a Sinner. If he was actually anyone worth 169 00:10:45,760 --> 00:10:48,640 listening to, he would know the people you're not to associate 170 00:10:48,640 --> 00:10:52,240 with. There's a similar story of a 171 00:10:52,240 --> 00:10:57,160 woman that comes to anoint Jesus with oil before the cross and 172 00:10:57,160 --> 00:11:01,200 even his own disciples that say we're indignant because the oil 173 00:11:01,200 --> 00:11:04,640 could have been sold and the money given to the poor. 174 00:11:05,520 --> 00:11:09,680 They were judging the hidden motives of this woman's act of 175 00:11:09,680 --> 00:11:12,920 devotion. And in all of these things, this 176 00:11:12,920 --> 00:11:15,880 is where Jesus is taking his warning that when you become 177 00:11:15,880 --> 00:11:20,240 hyper judgmental, you become very quick to condemn. 178 00:11:21,160 --> 00:11:25,280 That's why he said condemn not and you shall not be condemned. 179 00:11:26,040 --> 00:11:33,040 To condemn someone is to judge with a severe verdict of guilt. 180 00:11:34,560 --> 00:11:37,080 So you have the moment, the thought experiment of your own 181 00:11:37,080 --> 00:11:38,360 life. What were they thinking? 182 00:11:38,600 --> 00:11:42,880 And before you can even consider the answer or be the the behind 183 00:11:42,880 --> 00:11:45,600 the scenes story of what's going on in that person's life, you 184 00:11:45,600 --> 00:11:48,040 think I'll never talk to them again? 185 00:11:49,880 --> 00:11:51,520 We used to be friends and now we're not. 186 00:11:52,560 --> 00:11:55,000 They've done something so heinous, I'll never forgive 187 00:11:55,000 --> 00:11:58,080 them. So Jesus saying, not only should 188 00:11:58,080 --> 00:12:02,280 you be so prudent and patient with your judgement, you should 189 00:12:02,280 --> 00:12:07,440 also be charitable with how you judge the outcome. 190 00:12:08,480 --> 00:12:11,680 And right now, in your hearts, in my heart, in the conditions 191 00:12:11,680 --> 00:12:15,040 of every person that Jesus gives this message to, there are two 192 00:12:15,200 --> 00:12:20,600 natural postures of judgement. There is a judgement of 193 00:12:20,600 --> 00:12:23,240 condemnation. It's easy. 194 00:12:23,240 --> 00:12:25,560 It's the human instinct. If someone makes you mad and you 195 00:12:25,560 --> 00:12:27,200 just write them off, you size them up. 196 00:12:28,400 --> 00:12:32,920 It's harsh and severe. You take someone and you now 197 00:12:32,920 --> 00:12:36,080 define them by their misstep or in a misunderstanding or their 198 00:12:36,080 --> 00:12:39,040 weakest moment, and they are condemned in your life. 199 00:12:41,080 --> 00:12:46,680 But there's also by God's grace for the people who follow Jesus. 200 00:12:46,680 --> 00:12:50,040 There's another kind of judgement and it is the 201 00:12:50,040 --> 00:12:55,120 judgement of charity. It is the judgement to look for 202 00:12:55,120 --> 00:12:58,920 that moment of misunderstanding and air on the side of loving 203 00:12:58,920 --> 00:13:02,880 that person, air on the side of what we would call in the court 204 00:13:02,880 --> 00:13:07,640 of law the benefit of the doubt. Where there could be a 205 00:13:07,640 --> 00:13:11,440 misunderstanding, you give them the benefit of the doubt, or 206 00:13:11,440 --> 00:13:14,000 someone might have tripped over their words or actions and it 207 00:13:14,040 --> 00:13:16,600 affected your life. You give them the benefit of the 208 00:13:16,600 --> 00:13:19,560 doubt that that is not the person that they are trying to 209 00:13:19,560 --> 00:13:24,080 be in your life. We call this in the court of 210 00:13:24,080 --> 00:13:29,360 law, reasonable doubt that we don't want to air on the side of 211 00:13:29,360 --> 00:13:33,400 guilt, that the burden of proof is on the prosecution, the 212 00:13:33,400 --> 00:13:38,840 accuser, and not on the person sitting under the microscope of 213 00:13:38,840 --> 00:13:42,720 judgement. Another way to put this, and 214 00:13:42,720 --> 00:13:45,480 maybe a more practical way for the relationships that exist in 215 00:13:45,480 --> 00:13:49,320 the sanctuary is to assume positive intent. 216 00:13:49,600 --> 00:13:52,360 Here's a phrase that maybe you can write down on the the 217 00:13:52,360 --> 00:13:55,360 refrigerator is you just do life with one another and you have 218 00:13:55,360 --> 00:13:59,080 all sorts of moments, just everyday life in the household 219 00:13:59,280 --> 00:14:02,680 that you live in where you have a decision to make about why 220 00:14:02,680 --> 00:14:05,560 someone made such a grievous error against you. 221 00:14:07,120 --> 00:14:10,720 This would be called not jumping to the worst possible 222 00:14:11,000 --> 00:14:13,880 conclusion. There's a marriage conference 223 00:14:14,600 --> 00:14:17,760 that comes through and one of the things they teach every 224 00:14:17,760 --> 00:14:23,280 year, they have the man and wife look at one another and repeat 225 00:14:23,280 --> 00:14:26,520 these words. I am not your enemy. 226 00:14:27,600 --> 00:14:29,840 And it might be a good exercise after church. 227 00:14:29,880 --> 00:14:34,320 Maybe you have to say it in the moment to reconvince your spouse 228 00:14:34,520 --> 00:14:37,160 that you're actually on the same team. 229 00:14:37,840 --> 00:14:40,720 So I have to say this to my wife. 230 00:14:40,760 --> 00:14:43,840 Often times we're on the same team. 231 00:14:44,320 --> 00:14:46,240 We can't let these little people divide us. 232 00:14:46,880 --> 00:14:51,520 We got to stick it out. And this is what Jesus is 233 00:14:51,520 --> 00:14:55,120 saying, that there is a charitable way to view the 234 00:14:55,120 --> 00:14:57,800 intentions that people had in their missteps. 235 00:14:58,760 --> 00:15:02,520 And here's the great news. In both of these postures of 236 00:15:02,520 --> 00:15:07,760 judgement, the posture of harsh condemnation and the posture of 237 00:15:08,160 --> 00:15:14,600 charitable love, you have all done this without a doubt. 238 00:15:15,440 --> 00:15:19,040 Everyone of you, no doubt, has made a quick judgement and got 239 00:15:19,040 --> 00:15:22,800 it wrong and chose to condemn someone or write them off and 240 00:15:22,800 --> 00:15:26,240 size them up and, and and and look at them and say I don't 241 00:15:26,240 --> 00:15:28,160 care what you meant, you hurt my feelings, I don't like it. 242 00:15:30,880 --> 00:15:36,720 But all of you, without doubt, have also given the judgement of 243 00:15:36,720 --> 00:15:39,320 charity to someone. And I can say that with 244 00:15:39,320 --> 00:15:43,880 confidence because we all give ourselves the judgement of 245 00:15:43,880 --> 00:15:46,640 charity. When it is time to come to 246 00:15:46,640 --> 00:15:51,040 someone and explain your side of the story, ask for forgiveness, 247 00:15:52,320 --> 00:15:55,480 We always are very quick to say, I'm so sorry. 248 00:15:55,640 --> 00:15:58,600 That's not what I meant. When you're your own defense 249 00:15:58,600 --> 00:16:00,960 attorney, it's very easy to say, you know, I'm so sorry. 250 00:16:00,960 --> 00:16:02,680 I was super stressed. I shouldn't have said that. 251 00:16:02,840 --> 00:16:04,840 I won't say it again. And you believe yourself. 252 00:16:06,080 --> 00:16:09,080 You say it was a long day. I don't know what I was 253 00:16:09,080 --> 00:16:11,000 thinking. Will you please forgive me? 254 00:16:11,080 --> 00:16:14,920 In all of those appeals, you are placing yourself smack dab in 255 00:16:14,920 --> 00:16:16,520 the middle of the benefit of the doubt. 256 00:16:18,120 --> 00:16:21,640 And that is why this sermon is just an overflow of the Golden 257 00:16:21,640 --> 00:16:24,680 rule. To treat others the way that you 258 00:16:24,680 --> 00:16:28,800 would like to be treated also means to judge others the way 259 00:16:28,800 --> 00:16:31,080 that they would, that you would like them to judge you. 260 00:16:31,800 --> 00:16:34,680 So when you come to them and you plea for the benefit of the 261 00:16:34,680 --> 00:16:38,800 doubt in in order to save the relationship, this is what Jesus 262 00:16:38,800 --> 00:16:41,520 is saying. Well, what measure would you 263 00:16:41,520 --> 00:16:46,720 extend to them when it's time for you to extend the assumption 264 00:16:46,720 --> 00:16:51,080 of positive intent, the benefit of the doubt, the reasonable 265 00:16:51,080 --> 00:16:55,520 path forward to to, to move on and not hold it against them, 266 00:16:56,200 --> 00:16:59,520 Will you extend the same offer that you plea for yourself? 267 00:17:00,680 --> 00:17:04,960 RC Sproul says we have all been hurt by the sins of other 268 00:17:04,960 --> 00:17:10,680 people, but remember, it is rare indeed that the people who have 269 00:17:10,680 --> 00:17:15,760 hurt us by sinning against US ever intended with malice or 270 00:17:15,760 --> 00:17:19,440 forethought the full measure of pain they created in our hearts. 271 00:17:20,640 --> 00:17:25,000 Sin has some very unattended consequences in life, and 272 00:17:25,119 --> 00:17:28,280 there's no doubt that when someone sins against you that it 273 00:17:28,280 --> 00:17:32,400 hurts your heart deeply. But this is a great reminder to 274 00:17:32,400 --> 00:17:36,120 give them grace, that the extent of the pain was not the 275 00:17:36,120 --> 00:17:40,000 intention of the mistake. That they weren't sitting up at 276 00:17:40,000 --> 00:17:43,600 night thinking, how can I really push this person to the edge? 277 00:17:43,600 --> 00:17:46,360 I'm so angry. I have so much malice towards 278 00:17:46,360 --> 00:17:47,760 them. I want to sin against them to 279 00:17:47,760 --> 00:17:50,800 where they really feel it. Mostly that that exists. 280 00:17:51,080 --> 00:17:55,560 There are psychopaths in this world, but mostly our heirs 281 00:17:57,360 --> 00:17:59,240 create all sorts of unintended pain. 282 00:18:00,400 --> 00:18:05,760 And if we could trust that the other person truly is sorry for 283 00:18:05,760 --> 00:18:08,600 the unintended consequences, then we could move forward to 284 00:18:08,600 --> 00:18:12,720 the last step that Jesus offers, the measurement we extend to one 285 00:18:12,720 --> 00:18:14,640 another. He says judge not let you be 286 00:18:14,640 --> 00:18:16,600 judged, condemned not let you be condemned. 287 00:18:16,880 --> 00:18:21,520 And then he says, now forgive and you will be forgiven. 288 00:18:22,960 --> 00:18:27,320 Great news. Once again, Jesus is not saying 289 00:18:29,160 --> 00:18:33,960 that we are to to navigate life by pretending that offence never 290 00:18:33,960 --> 00:18:36,840 existed or pretending that we're never sinned. 291 00:18:36,840 --> 00:18:40,200 Again, she actually says there is a a part of this call that 292 00:18:40,200 --> 00:18:43,800 assumes that someone has actually caused something to 293 00:18:43,800 --> 00:18:46,360 where they're going to need forgiveness from you. 294 00:18:46,680 --> 00:18:50,720 You're going to have to forgive. And forgiveness is the exact 295 00:18:50,720 --> 00:18:55,920 opposite of a severe, a severe and harsh judgement of 296 00:18:55,920 --> 00:19:00,440 condemnation. There will be real offenses. 297 00:19:01,600 --> 00:19:06,760 We will all sin one unto another. 298 00:19:07,400 --> 00:19:12,280 But what Jesus is warning US against is thinking in your 299 00:19:12,280 --> 00:19:15,800 heart or in your mind. I will never forgive that 300 00:19:15,800 --> 00:19:21,000 person. What they did is unforgivable. 301 00:19:23,640 --> 00:19:29,240 And this is going to now start to point us to the way all of 302 00:19:29,240 --> 00:19:30,760 this is actually going to happen. 303 00:19:31,640 --> 00:19:33,440 It cannot be a workshop, a sermon. 304 00:19:33,800 --> 00:19:35,400 Take good notes and and good luck. 305 00:19:37,400 --> 00:19:40,440 I've heard it said that hurting people hurt people. 306 00:19:41,680 --> 00:19:44,000 It's probably true of a little bit of that in all of us where 307 00:19:44,120 --> 00:19:46,520 where we have found ourselves hurt by someone else. 308 00:19:46,520 --> 00:19:51,080 So often that turns into something that we do to 309 00:19:51,440 --> 00:19:54,040 propagate that hurt in other relationships. 310 00:19:54,040 --> 00:19:57,920 It's a it's a very sad consequence of the of the of the 311 00:19:57,920 --> 00:20:03,960 effects of sin. But the good news, it is also 312 00:20:03,960 --> 00:20:10,000 true that forgiven people become forgiving people. 313 00:20:11,560 --> 00:20:14,760 And this is where all of this has to start. 314 00:20:16,120 --> 00:20:20,840 I'll repeat this cannot be accomplished by taking effective 315 00:20:20,840 --> 00:20:23,280 sermon notes and trying your best. 316 00:20:24,520 --> 00:20:27,040 It's accomplished in this very simple statement. 317 00:20:28,560 --> 00:20:30,720 Forgive and you will be forgiven. 318 00:20:35,800 --> 00:20:41,080 This is an impossible sermon without a clearview and radical 319 00:20:41,080 --> 00:20:45,120 faith in the gospel. So what is the gospel? 320 00:20:46,680 --> 00:20:50,760 I loved getting to baptize all of the people that I was a part 321 00:20:50,760 --> 00:20:54,560 of with Chris in the river. It was a confession of the 322 00:20:54,560 --> 00:20:58,800 gospel taking root in their life that they were putting their 323 00:20:58,800 --> 00:21:02,640 faith in. And the gospel is that we are 324 00:21:02,640 --> 00:21:06,160 all in desperate need of the forgiveness of sins. 325 00:21:06,280 --> 00:21:08,720 All have fallen short of the glory of God. 326 00:21:09,000 --> 00:21:12,400 All have committed offence. All are sitting under the 327 00:21:12,400 --> 00:21:17,080 microscope of judgement and gospel means good news because 328 00:21:18,240 --> 00:21:23,840 it is that Jesus came into the world to pay the penalty in full 329 00:21:25,120 --> 00:21:27,760 for our sins. His death on the cross. 330 00:21:28,280 --> 00:21:33,640 And as I was in the baptismal waters, the the the going into 331 00:21:33,640 --> 00:21:36,000 the water and coming out is really the public confession of 332 00:21:36,000 --> 00:21:37,400 an internal confession of your heart. 333 00:21:37,400 --> 00:21:40,160 And it is this that you believe that your sins are forgiven, 334 00:21:40,360 --> 00:21:44,000 paid in full by Christ. And so I asked every person that 335 00:21:44,000 --> 00:21:47,840 we put under, do you believe that Jesus paid the price for 336 00:21:47,840 --> 00:21:50,080 your sins? Yes. 337 00:21:50,800 --> 00:21:52,120 But then I took it a step further. 338 00:21:52,800 --> 00:21:56,920 But do you believe that he paid with the death on the cross and 339 00:21:56,920 --> 00:22:02,160 the shedding of His blood, every single sin in your life, that 340 00:22:02,160 --> 00:22:05,800 there is not one sin you have committed that is going to be 341 00:22:05,800 --> 00:22:09,880 rectified by karma, good works or you trying better, that your 342 00:22:09,880 --> 00:22:12,560 only hope is that Jesus paid in full. 343 00:22:12,560 --> 00:22:15,680 It is finished on the cross, yes. 344 00:22:17,000 --> 00:22:20,720 And then I took it even further. Do you believe that when you 345 00:22:20,720 --> 00:22:23,720 come out of these baptismal waters and you make your first 346 00:22:23,720 --> 00:22:29,320 misstep, when you are reminded that you still live in a fallen 347 00:22:29,320 --> 00:22:33,680 world with a fallen sin suit of a body, and when you sin next, 348 00:22:33,680 --> 00:22:38,720 do you believe that grace will cover your sins from here until 349 00:22:38,720 --> 00:22:42,840 eternity? Yes, well then let's baptize you 350 00:22:42,840 --> 00:22:46,720 because you have just put your faith in the gospel and the 351 00:22:46,720 --> 00:22:52,280 gospel is that you are forgiven. If you've received it, you now 352 00:22:52,760 --> 00:22:57,320 are on a mission to extend it. That is why one of the most 353 00:22:57,320 --> 00:23:01,480 self-righteous things that you can do, if you hate religion, 354 00:23:01,480 --> 00:23:04,000 you should hate being self-righteous. 355 00:23:06,200 --> 00:23:10,120 The most self-righteous thing you can do is to look at the 356 00:23:10,120 --> 00:23:13,480 faults of someone else and say that is unforgivable. 357 00:23:14,320 --> 00:23:18,040 To become a person who is not willing to forgive others is to 358 00:23:18,040 --> 00:23:23,080 deny the reality that you are standing under the grace of God 359 00:23:23,400 --> 00:23:27,080 and His unbounding forgiveness for your life. 360 00:23:27,680 --> 00:23:30,800 Where sin abounds, grace abounds more. 361 00:23:30,960 --> 00:23:35,040 To forgive others is to stand under God's goodness and say, 362 00:23:35,240 --> 00:23:43,880 because I have been forgiven. So Jesus says with that measure, 363 00:23:44,080 --> 00:23:47,680 give it away. Do you imagine if we lived not 364 00:23:47,680 --> 00:23:51,920 in a culture of judge, mental criticism and quick condemning, 365 00:23:52,040 --> 00:23:54,600 but a culture of gracious forgiveness? 366 00:23:56,040 --> 00:23:58,520 I've been forgiven. So you're forgiven. 367 00:24:00,200 --> 00:24:03,920 And it is with this in mind that you will understand verse 38 as 368 00:24:03,920 --> 00:24:06,080 you first read it, as I read it aloud, maybe you thought, what's 369 00:24:06,080 --> 00:24:07,480 he getting at? Here's what he's getting at. 370 00:24:08,000 --> 00:24:09,800 Give and it will be given to you. 371 00:24:10,840 --> 00:24:14,000 Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running 372 00:24:14,000 --> 00:24:16,680 over will be put into your bosom. 373 00:24:17,600 --> 00:24:20,480 For with the same measure that you use it, it will be measured 374 00:24:20,480 --> 00:24:24,320 back to you. And this is what Jesus is 375 00:24:24,320 --> 00:24:29,360 getting at. There is a principle of Fair and 376 00:24:29,360 --> 00:24:35,400 balanced weights in the gospel and to preach this, Jesus 377 00:24:35,400 --> 00:24:38,120 hearers would have fully understood that he was giving a 378 00:24:38,480 --> 00:24:42,440 picture of what takes place in the market of traded goods. 379 00:24:43,080 --> 00:24:46,320 This is the picture of of how you exchange goods in the 380 00:24:46,320 --> 00:24:48,840 marketplace. Anyone who's ever gone into a 381 00:24:48,840 --> 00:24:52,080 marketplace, you know that you can offer a certain measurement 382 00:24:52,080 --> 00:24:55,240 of any commodity that you have and you can either be very 383 00:24:55,240 --> 00:24:58,840 generous with your measurement or you can be, let's say, stingy 384 00:24:58,840 --> 00:25:02,800 to increase the bottom line. So let's say in their day they 385 00:25:02,800 --> 00:25:06,040 were going to sell their wheat and they have a decision to 386 00:25:06,040 --> 00:25:07,840 make. They can they can kind of prop 387 00:25:07,840 --> 00:25:10,680 up the wheat in the bag and then cut it at the very top and make 388 00:25:10,680 --> 00:25:14,720 sure they only sell exactly what is required to legally sell a 389 00:25:14,720 --> 00:25:17,920 bushel. Or they could do what Jesus is 390 00:25:17,920 --> 00:25:21,840 saying or Jesus is saying. Now when you go to the market 391 00:25:22,320 --> 00:25:26,520 with this picture in your mind, push it down, get it real 392 00:25:26,520 --> 00:25:30,560 compact in there, really tight in in the basket and then shake 393 00:25:30,560 --> 00:25:32,120 it so you can push it down even more. 394 00:25:32,280 --> 00:25:37,040 And then he says running over, don't skim off the top, let it 395 00:25:37,040 --> 00:25:42,120 be over the top of the basket. That's how you will give what 396 00:25:42,120 --> 00:25:45,920 I've given to you. Maybe to give it a modern day 397 00:25:45,920 --> 00:25:48,640 analogy, how many of you guys have ever been to Mongolian BBQ? 398 00:25:48,640 --> 00:25:51,240 You're going to get the measurement of the mighty con 399 00:25:51,240 --> 00:25:53,560 bowl. If you haven't been to Mongolian 400 00:25:53,560 --> 00:25:55,880 BBQ, they give you a bowl and they say you can fill it up. 401 00:25:56,600 --> 00:25:59,280 And so anyone who's been there with any kind of shrewdness for 402 00:25:59,280 --> 00:26:01,400 the bottom dollar, you take those noodles and you push them 403 00:26:01,400 --> 00:26:04,520 down as far as you can and you, and then when you get to the, 404 00:26:04,560 --> 00:26:07,600 the, the, the chef, he's got a stick in the big thing and, and 405 00:26:07,600 --> 00:26:12,560 you got the noodles overflowing. That's the picture of a generous 406 00:26:12,640 --> 00:26:15,560 measurement. And with that in mind, he's 407 00:26:15,560 --> 00:26:17,680 saying, well, what is the, the commodity? 408 00:26:18,440 --> 00:26:24,040 The commodity is forgiveness. The commodity is love and 409 00:26:24,040 --> 00:26:27,840 charity and quick to cover everything with grace with the 410 00:26:28,000 --> 00:26:30,640 the the the amount, the measurement that it's been given 411 00:26:30,640 --> 00:26:35,360 to you give it away overflowing because you could be tempted to 412 00:26:35,360 --> 00:26:39,280 hear this message and say, OK, legally to follow Jesus to be a 413 00:26:39,320 --> 00:26:41,520 law abiding Christian and a good churchgoer. 414 00:26:41,720 --> 00:26:44,480 I've got to remove bitterness and I've got to forgive people. 415 00:26:44,600 --> 00:26:47,360 So this person, I don't like them, but I'll forgive them. 416 00:26:50,680 --> 00:26:53,800 And Jesus says, no, that's not the measurement that was given 417 00:26:53,800 --> 00:26:57,240 to you. God gave a measurement that 418 00:26:57,240 --> 00:27:01,680 overflowed with forgiveness. I can preach confidently that 419 00:27:01,680 --> 00:27:05,800 not one of you has offended God to the point where he's almost 420 00:27:05,800 --> 00:27:10,440 out of grace for your life. I can preach confidently that 421 00:27:10,440 --> 00:27:13,840 the source of forgiveness that we stand under the grace of 422 00:27:13,840 --> 00:27:19,560 today is not stingy. There is nothing that any of you 423 00:27:19,560 --> 00:27:23,520 will do to go and fall in the in the attempt to be righteous in 424 00:27:23,520 --> 00:27:27,000 the failures of life and come back. 425 00:27:27,000 --> 00:27:30,160 And I will not have to ever preach a gospel where there are 426 00:27:30,160 --> 00:27:32,160 some who are far out and disqualified. 427 00:27:32,160 --> 00:27:36,680 I will always be able to preach where sin abounds, grace abounds 428 00:27:36,680 --> 00:27:39,160 even more. The Fountainhead of forgiveness 429 00:27:39,320 --> 00:27:43,520 is overflowing for all of us. It's not stingy. 430 00:27:44,200 --> 00:27:46,840 And so when I stand in the baptismal waters and I pull them 431 00:27:46,840 --> 00:27:49,960 out of the water and I say, now go forth and grace abounds. 432 00:27:50,280 --> 00:27:54,880 I don't want to preach a stingy fountain of God's grace. 433 00:27:54,880 --> 00:27:57,800 And I don't want to preach it from behind the pulpit, and I 434 00:27:57,800 --> 00:27:59,480 don't want to preach it with my life. 435 00:28:01,680 --> 00:28:05,520 And I want to encourage you for those of you who are following 436 00:28:05,560 --> 00:28:10,760 Jesus to preach generous forgiveness and grace with your 437 00:28:10,760 --> 00:28:14,280 life. That's what he's getting at. 438 00:28:17,240 --> 00:28:19,320 I've heard it said you can't out give God. 439 00:28:19,320 --> 00:28:21,880 And often times that's just limited to this one little 440 00:28:21,880 --> 00:28:25,240 category of the way that you give him the provisions of your 441 00:28:25,600 --> 00:28:28,280 money or resources. But think of it in these terms. 442 00:28:28,560 --> 00:28:38,960 You can't out give God's grace. And for this Jesus says, you 443 00:28:38,960 --> 00:28:41,040 know, there's, there's a way to measure the fruit of your life. 444 00:28:41,040 --> 00:28:42,920 Let's just measure the fruit of our lives. 445 00:28:44,880 --> 00:28:47,040 Have you been quick to judge others? 446 00:28:47,160 --> 00:28:49,360 Have you been quick to condemn the missteps and 447 00:28:49,360 --> 00:28:53,280 misunderstandings of others? Let me let me give you 2 pieces 448 00:28:53,280 --> 00:28:55,560 of fruit for you to measure. One of them is just radical 449 00:28:55,560 --> 00:28:57,240 peace. Jesus followers have what he 450 00:28:57,240 --> 00:28:59,240 calls Shalom or peace in their lives. 451 00:29:00,880 --> 00:29:03,600 Roman says if it's possible, as much as depends on you, live 452 00:29:03,600 --> 00:29:08,480 peaceably with all people. So when you become a follower of 453 00:29:08,560 --> 00:29:11,240 Jesus that wants this to be overflowing your life, one of 454 00:29:11,240 --> 00:29:13,600 the fruits that you get is you have a heart full of peace 455 00:29:13,600 --> 00:29:17,280 towards people. That's good news because if you 456 00:29:17,280 --> 00:29:20,760 haven't figured out this lesson in your life yet, if this is 457 00:29:20,760 --> 00:29:23,440 speaking to you in real time and you're like, this is me. 458 00:29:23,440 --> 00:29:25,960 I'm judgmental, I'm critical and I'm harsh all the time. 459 00:29:26,120 --> 00:29:29,120 Here's what I can tell you about your life without knowing you. 460 00:29:29,800 --> 00:29:31,320 You don't have a real peaceful life. 461 00:29:33,360 --> 00:29:36,960 It's not real joyful to walk around and just see fault in 462 00:29:36,960 --> 00:29:40,920 everyone and everything. And yet when you start following 463 00:29:41,000 --> 00:29:45,240 Jesus, he will cover all of these missteps with Shalom with 464 00:29:45,240 --> 00:29:48,160 peace. And here's another amazing fruit 465 00:29:48,160 --> 00:29:50,200 that will come when you do this with your life. 466 00:29:51,240 --> 00:29:55,120 Not only we have peace, but you'll also have people. 467 00:29:57,120 --> 00:29:59,960 One of the the fruits of belonging to the Kingdom of God 468 00:29:59,960 --> 00:30:04,080 is that he calls us to love God radically and love people to 469 00:30:04,080 --> 00:30:08,400 love our neighbors. As Jesus gives more instruction 470 00:30:08,400 --> 00:30:11,160 on how to reconcile with people in Matthew 18, he says go to 471 00:30:11,160 --> 00:30:15,520 your brother and if he listens you will win a brother. 472 00:30:17,200 --> 00:30:21,760 Which means as you live in this culture where it is so easy to 473 00:30:21,760 --> 00:30:26,560 do the opposite, it is so easy to unsubscribe and unfollow and 474 00:30:26,560 --> 00:30:30,000 unblock and leave church and change friend groups and and 475 00:30:30,000 --> 00:30:32,560 remove yourself from the last workplace to get to the new one. 476 00:30:32,680 --> 00:30:36,000 And it's always someone else's offence against you. 477 00:30:36,200 --> 00:30:40,160 What you will find is you live with a wake of ex friends behind 478 00:30:40,160 --> 00:30:46,040 you, and you will continually go down the road of condemnation 479 00:30:46,240 --> 00:30:53,480 until you're all alone. But the way of Jesus is that he 480 00:30:53,480 --> 00:30:55,280 was a friend of sinners, a friend. 481 00:30:56,520 --> 00:31:02,040 He lived in radical community with people that were all sorts 482 00:31:02,040 --> 00:31:07,320 of different tax collectors and zealots and prostitutes and 483 00:31:07,320 --> 00:31:14,560 Pharisees and fishermen and with the Master, the Teacher, the 484 00:31:14,560 --> 00:31:19,240 Savior as the North star of their culture. 485 00:31:20,040 --> 00:31:24,960 They had each other, they stayed together, and that can be true 486 00:31:24,960 --> 00:31:28,520 of your life. You can actually have peace and 487 00:31:28,520 --> 00:31:31,600 you can have the fruit of people in your life. 488 00:31:33,440 --> 00:31:38,360 And once again, throughout this sermon we've had to say the only 489 00:31:38,360 --> 00:31:44,720 way any of this is possible is with a clear vision of the 490 00:31:44,720 --> 00:31:47,960 person in the heart of Jesus. And that's why he says in verse 491 00:31:47,960 --> 00:31:51,920 40, sorry, in verse 39. And he spoke a parable to them. 492 00:31:52,200 --> 00:31:56,680 Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into the 493 00:31:56,680 --> 00:32:01,320 ditch? In his day, scribes, Pharisees, 494 00:32:01,320 --> 00:32:05,200 Sadducees, lawyers, they had one thing in common. 495 00:32:05,200 --> 00:32:10,120 They were critically judgmental with a very limited view of what 496 00:32:10,120 --> 00:32:14,000 they were judging. They wrote people off and called 497 00:32:14,000 --> 00:32:18,320 them sinners, and Jesus came and saw them as people that were 498 00:32:18,320 --> 00:32:21,520 worth dying for. They were blind to the heart of 499 00:32:21,520 --> 00:32:27,640 God. And as a reminder for your life, 500 00:32:27,640 --> 00:32:32,800 your ability to actually judge people's hearts and minds and 501 00:32:32,800 --> 00:32:35,360 actually know what they're going through and what they've been 502 00:32:35,360 --> 00:32:40,280 through and what God sees in them is practically blind. 503 00:32:43,360 --> 00:32:46,240 So dangerous to size people up based off their clothes or their 504 00:32:46,240 --> 00:32:50,880 tattoos or the car they drive or the mistakes of their life 505 00:32:51,760 --> 00:32:54,400 because you can't see the depths of their heart. 506 00:32:54,720 --> 00:32:58,280 You are blind. And if you're rallying people to 507 00:32:58,440 --> 00:33:01,400 also make judgement against them, you are blind leading the 508 00:33:01,400 --> 00:33:02,800 blind. And here's what's going to 509 00:33:02,800 --> 00:33:04,880 happen. You will hit the ditch. 510 00:33:07,360 --> 00:33:11,120 Just look at our culture. Blind politicians leading the 511 00:33:11,120 --> 00:33:15,080 blind, blind celebrities have no vision for where they're taking 512 00:33:15,080 --> 00:33:18,800 people and and it's a common end of story. 513 00:33:19,560 --> 00:33:23,480 Everyone hits the dead end and everyone divides in the end 514 00:33:24,840 --> 00:33:27,840 where there's a spirit of retribution and revenge and 515 00:33:27,840 --> 00:33:29,760 condemnation and writing each other off. 516 00:33:29,920 --> 00:33:32,640 You are walking towards the Cliff of a relationship. 517 00:33:37,400 --> 00:33:41,120 Great memory verse for all of us in moments of conflict within 518 00:33:41,120 --> 00:33:43,880 relationships is First Corinthians chapter 13, verse 519 00:33:43,880 --> 00:33:46,400 12. You've heard First Corinthians 520 00:33:46,400 --> 00:33:48,160 chapter 13 if you've ever been to a wedding. 521 00:33:48,160 --> 00:33:51,960 It's the whole chapters about the definition of love, what 522 00:33:51,960 --> 00:33:54,800 love looks like. Why does Paul write that 523 00:33:54,800 --> 00:33:57,160 chapter? Because of a church that was 524 00:33:57,160 --> 00:34:00,240 divided and fighting. He said one way that you can 525 00:34:00,240 --> 00:34:04,320 overcome all of your little divisions is to study and 526 00:34:04,320 --> 00:34:08,000 practice the character of God's love with one another. 527 00:34:08,000 --> 00:34:10,800 And then when he gets to the very end of the chapter, listen 528 00:34:10,800 --> 00:34:13,719 to what he says. For now we see in a mere dimly 529 00:34:13,719 --> 00:34:17,639 lit but but then we'll see him face to face. 530 00:34:18,360 --> 00:34:23,440 Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am 531 00:34:23,440 --> 00:34:26,880 known should be circled in everyone's Bible. 532 00:34:26,880 --> 00:34:32,920 I see through a mere dimly lit. I can't make a full assess 533 00:34:33,760 --> 00:34:38,840 judgement of what God is doing in your life. 534 00:34:39,400 --> 00:34:41,880 In the times we live in, there's a day where we're going to see 535 00:34:41,880 --> 00:34:44,360 him face to face. There'll be no need for a son. 536 00:34:44,360 --> 00:34:46,239 There's so much glory. But for right now, give each 537 00:34:46,239 --> 00:34:48,560 other grace. We all have a tiny view, a tiny 538 00:34:48,560 --> 00:34:54,719 perspective of what God is up to in this world and what God is up 539 00:34:54,719 --> 00:34:57,600 to in each one of our lives. We all see through a mirror, 540 00:34:57,600 --> 00:34:59,560 dimly lit. Can the blind lead the blind? 541 00:34:59,720 --> 00:35:02,880 No. So what's the answer? 542 00:35:03,080 --> 00:35:08,040 Verse 40, a disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone 543 00:35:08,040 --> 00:35:11,240 who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher. 544 00:35:13,080 --> 00:35:18,280 I love that everyone who's perfectly trained. 545 00:35:20,120 --> 00:35:22,400 Maybe it would help all of us to just take a step back from the, 546 00:35:22,480 --> 00:35:24,800 the, the heated moments where all this gets tested and 547 00:35:24,800 --> 00:35:30,800 remember that from baptism to heaven is essentially training, 548 00:35:32,040 --> 00:35:34,200 You know, before you get saved, you're kind of being recruited. 549 00:35:34,320 --> 00:35:37,400 We want you to join the Kingdom of God, newness of life, 550 00:35:37,400 --> 00:35:39,280 forgiveness of sins come in recruitment. 551 00:35:40,560 --> 00:35:45,040 And then you put your faith in the power of God's saving grace 552 00:35:45,040 --> 00:35:48,680 in your life and he makes you a brand new creation. 553 00:35:48,680 --> 00:35:54,760 And now it's training. So 1 thing that you can just 554 00:35:55,080 --> 00:35:58,840 have as a a rightful perspective for the challenges, the trials, 555 00:35:58,840 --> 00:36:01,520 the difficulties in this life, including the difficulties of 556 00:36:01,520 --> 00:36:06,440 people is God loves training his disciples difficult people. 557 00:36:06,560 --> 00:36:09,480 Thanks for the training. I hope I do better next time 558 00:36:11,320 --> 00:36:12,920 misunderstandings, miscommunication. 559 00:36:12,920 --> 00:36:15,200 Thanks for the training. I've I've got a mere dimly lit 560 00:36:15,360 --> 00:36:19,160 and I can't wait till I see it all, says those who are 561 00:36:19,160 --> 00:36:21,800 perfectly trained And what happens to those people? 562 00:36:23,480 --> 00:36:30,120 They'll be like the teacher. This is why the whole series, 563 00:36:30,120 --> 00:36:35,080 we've come back to this one common theme, the way of Jesus. 564 00:36:37,320 --> 00:36:45,640 To be patient and loving in your judgement, to be cautious and 565 00:36:45,640 --> 00:36:52,920 gracious in condemnation, to be generous in forgiveness is to be 566 00:36:52,920 --> 00:36:58,320 like Jesus. Everything that you'll read in 567 00:36:58,320 --> 00:37:02,360 this sermon, as Jesus says, here's what my people will look 568 00:37:02,360 --> 00:37:04,960 like. He's saying here's what people 569 00:37:04,960 --> 00:37:09,320 who model their lives after my perfect life will look like. 570 00:37:10,760 --> 00:37:16,880 The only person to model your life after, the only person that 571 00:37:16,880 --> 00:37:21,960 will create a culture of grace and forgiveness is the person 572 00:37:21,960 --> 00:37:23,840 and the power of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. 573 00:37:23,840 --> 00:37:26,320 That's it. That's the whole point of all of 574 00:37:26,320 --> 00:37:33,320 this is be more like me. John 316 says for God so loved 575 00:37:33,320 --> 00:37:35,240 the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever 576 00:37:35,240 --> 00:37:37,840 believes in him should not perish but have everlasting 577 00:37:37,840 --> 00:37:39,640 life. Verse 17. 578 00:37:40,440 --> 00:37:43,600 God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world. 579 00:37:44,440 --> 00:37:51,360 Be like Jesus. Ephesians 4 verse 32 Be kind to 580 00:37:51,360 --> 00:37:57,160 one another, tender hearted, forgiving one another, even as 581 00:37:57,160 --> 00:38:06,040 God in Christ Jesus forgave you. This all is an exaltation of the 582 00:38:06,040 --> 00:38:10,800 beauty and perfection of the ways of Jesus and a desperate 583 00:38:10,840 --> 00:38:14,200 plea in humility to say, Lord, without the power of your 584 00:38:14,200 --> 00:38:21,960 Spirit, we could do nothing. As we get trained, become more 585 00:38:22,240 --> 00:38:25,480 and more and more like the Master. 586 00:38:28,360 --> 00:38:32,640 And so before we close, I just want to look at one more passage 587 00:38:32,640 --> 00:38:37,360 of Scripture because there's a chance that some of you may have 588 00:38:37,360 --> 00:38:43,400 heard this sermon and thought to yourself, wow, I so wish this 589 00:38:43,400 --> 00:38:49,520 person could hear this. Some of you were listening to 590 00:38:49,520 --> 00:38:50,880 the sermon and you were nudging your neighbor. 591 00:38:50,880 --> 00:38:55,360 This one's for you. You're thinking about who you 592 00:38:55,360 --> 00:38:57,600 want to send a message like this to. 593 00:39:01,360 --> 00:39:09,240 Even in a message about charitable judgment and cautious 594 00:39:09,240 --> 00:39:16,160 condemnation and generous forgiveness, we could still be 595 00:39:16,160 --> 00:39:18,320 tempted to make it all about someone else. 596 00:39:21,280 --> 00:39:26,600 And so Jesus gives US1 last picture so that we would fully 597 00:39:26,600 --> 00:39:28,480 understand where all of this starts. 598 00:39:29,520 --> 00:39:32,840 Verse 41. Why do you look at the speck in 599 00:39:32,840 --> 00:39:36,040 your brother's eye, but do not perceive the plank in your own 600 00:39:36,040 --> 00:39:37,320 eye? Plank. 601 00:39:37,320 --> 00:39:40,480 Another word for log. A comedic picture, Really. 602 00:39:40,640 --> 00:39:44,000 Someone with a log in their eye and trying to do eye surgery to 603 00:39:44,000 --> 00:39:45,800 get a piece of dust out of someone else's eye. 604 00:39:47,880 --> 00:39:50,800 Verse 42, he says, how can you say to your brother, brother, 605 00:39:50,800 --> 00:39:54,280 let me remove the speck that is in your eye when you yourself 606 00:39:54,280 --> 00:39:56,120 don't see the plank that is in your own eye. 607 00:39:56,720 --> 00:40:01,000 Hypocrite. First remove the plank from your 608 00:40:01,000 --> 00:40:05,280 own eye and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that 609 00:40:05,280 --> 00:40:09,560 is in your brother's eye. So tempting to want this sermon 610 00:40:09,560 --> 00:40:11,720 to be for someone else. And Jesus says well wait a 611 00:40:11,720 --> 00:40:17,160 minute. All of that judgement and 612 00:40:17,160 --> 00:40:19,880 condemnation and unforgiveness you have for someone else. 613 00:40:21,720 --> 00:40:23,480 Are you not guilty of similar sins? 614 00:40:26,960 --> 00:40:31,280 This is a master teaching by Jesus to humble all of us. 615 00:40:32,480 --> 00:40:34,640 The judgement would start with ourselves and not others. 616 00:40:34,960 --> 00:40:40,840 And I can tell you this. I can share this beautiful 617 00:40:40,840 --> 00:40:45,560 picture with logical steps of how it works. 618 00:40:48,800 --> 00:40:57,200 Because as I look out into the sanctuary right now, I don't 619 00:40:57,200 --> 00:41:03,960 know the thoughts of your mind. I don't know the the depths of 620 00:41:04,160 --> 00:41:07,960 your evil hearts. I don't know the real history of 621 00:41:07,960 --> 00:41:10,000 any of you. Right now I look out and the 622 00:41:10,000 --> 00:41:13,120 best I could ever see is tiny specks of sin. 623 00:41:15,560 --> 00:41:19,200 But there is someone that I know the racing thoughts of. 624 00:41:20,320 --> 00:41:23,280 There's someone that I know the evil intentions in the heart of, 625 00:41:23,280 --> 00:41:29,760 and that's myself. I know all the failures of my 626 00:41:29,760 --> 00:41:31,120 heart. I know the times I've been 627 00:41:31,120 --> 00:41:34,520 tempted to act in my carnal flesh and return evil for evil. 628 00:41:35,440 --> 00:41:40,760 I know the times that I have been tempted to react to someone 629 00:41:40,760 --> 00:41:43,640 in a way that is the opposite of love. 630 00:41:45,240 --> 00:41:48,200 I know the times that my prayer life has become dead. 631 00:41:48,200 --> 00:41:51,680 I know the times where I've read the Word and been in rebellious 632 00:41:51,680 --> 00:41:55,920 unsubmission to it. I know the times that I've been 633 00:41:55,920 --> 00:41:58,480 short tempered with my wife, I've been harsh with my 634 00:41:58,480 --> 00:42:04,880 children. I know the depths of my own sin. 635 00:42:06,920 --> 00:42:13,800 So compared to what I know about you, my sin makes all of you 636 00:42:13,800 --> 00:42:18,640 look like Saints. And that is true for every 637 00:42:18,640 --> 00:42:21,680 single one of us. This verse is not simply given 638 00:42:21,680 --> 00:42:25,800 to the one with the most sin, it is given to all of us to start 639 00:42:25,800 --> 00:42:31,360 with the reality that our biggest plea for forgiveness is 640 00:42:31,360 --> 00:42:33,760 not for The Dirty sinners we have to do life with. 641 00:42:35,640 --> 00:42:40,240 Our biggest plea for forgiveness right now is for our own hearts. 642 00:42:43,440 --> 00:42:49,920 And when we realize that as much as we can confess sin, as much 643 00:42:49,920 --> 00:42:53,160 as we allow the Holy Spirit to draw out our own need for 644 00:42:53,160 --> 00:42:56,120 forgiveness, we will meet the grace of God in overflowing 645 00:42:56,120 --> 00:43:00,080 abundance. We will become people who can 646 00:43:00,080 --> 00:43:04,760 then extend the grace of God in overflowing abundance. 647 00:43:04,760 --> 00:43:13,080 And This is why every week we hold the bread and the cup, and 648 00:43:13,080 --> 00:43:15,600 we remember the cost of our own salvation. 649 00:43:16,840 --> 00:43:19,760 The cost of our salvation was not that we just became better 650 00:43:19,760 --> 00:43:22,400 people. The cost of every single one of 651 00:43:22,400 --> 00:43:25,400 the forgiveness of sins that have been granted freely is the 652 00:43:25,400 --> 00:43:28,800 death of the Savior on the cross for you and for me. 653 00:43:32,480 --> 00:43:34,880 Paul writes to Timothy in First Timothy chapter 1. 654 00:43:34,880 --> 00:43:38,240 This is a faithful saying worthy of all acceptance, that Christ 655 00:43:38,240 --> 00:43:43,640 Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am 656 00:43:43,640 --> 00:43:48,880 chief. As we take communion today, 657 00:43:49,760 --> 00:43:52,200 consider the love of God. Christ came into the world to 658 00:43:52,200 --> 00:43:57,360 save sinners, of whom we are all chief. 659 00:43:58,600 --> 00:44:02,280 But he who is forgiven much can love much. 660 00:44:05,120 --> 00:44:11,920 May you be people who live in a radical culture of love and 661 00:44:11,920 --> 00:44:15,400 forgiveness. Thanks for joining us today. 662 00:44:15,680 --> 00:44:18,440 If you would like to watch the full service, check out the link 663 00:44:18,440 --> 00:44:21,280 in the description. For next steps and to learn 664 00:44:21,280 --> 00:44:23,520 more, visit calvaryboise.com.